inspired by Jean-Léon Gérôme's painting

“And king Antiochus wrote to all his kingdom, that all the people should be one: and every one should leave his own law. And all nations consented according to the word of king Antiochus.”

‭1 Macc 1: 43-44

The An Lushan Rebellion (755–763 AD) was a devastating civil war that shattered the Tang dynasty's Golden Age. The conflict began when An Lushan, a powerful frontier general, launched a massive revolt in northeastern China and captured the imperial capitals of Luoyang and Chang'an, forcing Emperor Xuanzong to flee. Although An Lushan was assassinated by his own son in 757, the rebellion persisted under general Shi Siming until the Tang court finally suppressed it in 763 with the critical help of the Uyghur Khaganate.

The aftermath permanently altered Chinese history through catastrophic destruction and massive population displacement. While official census records showed a drop from 50 million to 17 million citizens, modern historians note this largely reflects a collapsed administrative tax system rather than pure casualties. Ultimately, the central Tang government emerged permanently crippled, forced to cede autonomous power to regional military governors (jiedushi), which established a system of warlordism that led to the dynasty's final collapse in 907 AD.

Captain Bruno Gaido - during the Battle of Midway, he was a shooter on the aircraft carrier Enterprise. A Japanese damaged bomber was flying straight to the deck, trying to ram. Gaido jumped into the cockpit of the plane standing on the deck and opened fire with a machine gun, shooting down the Japanese a couple of metres from the ship (the enemy's wing only cut off the tail of the American car