Thuggee Life: The Most Murderous Cult

A group of Thugs stabbing the eyes of recently murdered travelers, prior to throwing them into the well. Artist unknown, 1830’s.

The place is India, in the era of the British Raj.

Imagine traveling on a dark road. You and some traveling companions are making your way to a distant city. Perhaps you’re a merchant with wares to sale. The roads are dangerous, especially at night, and there’s safety in numbers. Your party allows yet another fellow traveler into your caravan, someone unknown to you. It’s not an uncommon occurrence in your day. After a few days on the road together, after your confidence is gained, it strikes. You never see it coming. Strangled. Mutilated. Dumped in a well or a shallow grave. Nothing is ever seen or heard of you again.

The event described above was a creation of mine. An event that never happened, yet happened 1,000 times…and 1,000 times again. The perpetrator of the crime was a member of the Thuggee cult, which incidentally gave the English language the word thug. They were feared by all and the extent of their crimes may never be known. Thug Behram, a leader of the cult during the early 1800’s, claimed to have murdered 125 men with his own hands, while attending to a total of 931 murders! If the latter total were correct, it could be claimed that Behram were the most prolific serial killer in history.

War Paint (Part 3): Battle of Nagashino

Part 3 in a 10 part series on war in art.

The Battle of Nagashino is one of the seminal battles in Japanese history. It took place on June 28, 1575 near Nagashino Castle and was one of the key engagements toward to conclusion of the Sengoku period.. The battle was fought as the forces of Takeda Katsuyori besieged the castle. Oda Nobunaga and Tokugawa Ieyasu sent relief forces. The two sides squared off in what is considered the first ‘modern’ battle in Japanese history. The Takeda clan had introduced the cavalry charge in recent times, to devastating effect. To counter this, Oda implemented a revolutionary use of firearms, volley fire, never before seen in Japan. As wave after wave of Takeda’s mounted troops rushed Oda’s position, they were mowed down by the revolving fire of the matchlock rifle-toting, samurai-led riflemen.

Hiroo Onoda: A Serious Commitment to Duty

Hiroo Onoda as a young officer, c 1944. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

The latest edition of  my History in the News Series, a look at current events that have some sort of historical slant.

On January 16, 2014, Second Lieutenant Hiroo Onoda of the Imperial Japanese Army passed away at the age of 91.

Sometimes some people take things too seriously. War is probably something that does not fall into that category very often. There were a handful of Japanese holdouts following the island empires defeat in World War II who continued the armed struggle well beyond the August 15, 1945 surrender of their nation. Most of them were cut off by the United States’ island hopping campaign and were located on small islands in the Pacific. Some held out through the 40’s while others managed to keep the struggle going until the 70’s. Onoda’s story is, by far, the most remarkable.

Qin Shi Huang: A One-Man Dynasty

Qin Shi Huang, first Emperor of China. Artist and date unknown.

China’s history is littered with the names of famous dynasties. Imperial China began in 221 BC and lasted until 1911 AD with the fall of the Qing. Dynastic names like Ming and Han are well-known throughout the world, but the first imperial dynasty, the first to unite all of China, as well as one of the shortest-lived, was the one founded by the man known to history as Qin Shi Huang, the Qin Dynasty.

Born Zhao Zheng, he inherited the throne of the kingdom of Qin at the age of 13. Court life was full of twists and turns and intrigue. He was the son of the King Zhuangxiang and a concubine. It would be rumored that Zheng was illegitemite, and attempts to install a rightful error would come.