Leon Trotsky (#65, August 20th)

Background

Lev Davidovich Bronstein was born on Nobember 7, 1879, the son of a Jewish Farmer in what is now Ukraine. When Bronstein was eight, his parents sent him to school in Odessa. Bronstein stayed in Odessa until 1896, when he moved to Nikolayev for his final year of school. It was in Nickolayev that Bronstein learned the ideas of Marxism. Bronstein began meeting with political exiles and surrounding himself with other men with revolutionary ideas.

In 1897, Bronstein helped to found the South Russian Workers' Union, which got him arrested. To years later, Bronstein was put on trial and sent to Siberia. In Siberia, Bronstein met his first wife, Alexandra Lvovna, who was also in prison as a revolutionary. The two had two daughter's during Bronstein's stay in Siberia. Bronstein escaped prison in 1902, leaving his wife and two children behind. When forging a passport, Bronstein made a fake name, the name Leon Trotsky.

Under this name, Trotsky moved to London, where he met Vladmir Lenin, another revolutionary, and the two worked to founded the Social-Democrats' newspaper, Iskra. In 1903, Trotsky married his second wife, Natalia Ivanovna, with whom he had two more children.

Work in Russia

In 1905, when Bloody Sunday occured, Trotsk decided to return to Russia, where he wrote numerous pamphlets to encourage the overthrow of the Tsar's power. That same year, Trotsky led a revolution which failed. Trotsky was arrested and sent back to Siberia. In 1907, Trotsky escaped with a deer-pulled sleigh. Trotsky fled the country, living in cities throughout Europe and America. Trotsky was in New York when the Tsar was overthrown, and arrived back in Russia in May of 1917.

Trotsky became the leader of the 1917 Russian Revolution, officially joining the Bolshevik Party in August. Lenin would become the leader of the Soviet Union with Trotsky as his second-in-command. Trotsky negotiated the treaty with Germany to end the Soviet Union's involvement in World War I, and later, Trotsky became the leader of the Red Army.

Before Lenin died, he named Trotsky as his successor, but when Lenin died in 1924, Trotsky was politically outmaneuvered by Joseph Stalin, who pushed Trotsky out of politics and into exile, eventually forcing Trotsky to leave the Soviet Union all together.

The End

Trotsky traveled the globe, living in Turkey, France, and Norway. In 1936, Trotsky moved to Mexico. Trostky, in exile, began writing again, criticizing Stalin. Stalin accused Trotsky of a conspiracy against the Soviet Union. This began Stalin's Great Purge, where Stalin began eliminating all his political enemies. Trotsky was number one on Stalin's list. In May of 1940, Soviet agents machine-gunned Trotsky's house, but he was not killed. The Great Purge ended on August 20th, 1940, when Ramon Mercader hit Trotsky in the head with an ice pick. 

Trotsky is on our list for being one of the few leaders of the Soviet Union to stick to the Marxist ideals. Also, anybody who defies Stalin for as long as Trotsky did deserves recognition.

The Independence of Cyprus (August 16th)

After the Russo-Turkish War ended in 1878, Cyprus was leased to the British Empire from the Ottoman Empire during the Congress of Britain. Cyprus would be used as a base for the British to protect the Ottoman Empire from Russian aggression.

By 1906, Cyprus had become a strategic colonial point for Britain. When the Famagusta harbor was finished, Cyprus was a strategic naval outpost to both overlook the Suez Canal and the Mediterranean. In 1914, Britain contained full control of Cyprus from the Ottoman Empire. During World War II, Britain offered Cyprus to Greece in exchange for military aid. Though Greece refused the offer, many Greeks enlisted in the British Army in hopes that the island would be united with Greece.

On August 16th, 1960, Cyprus was given independence in the Zurich and London Agreement between the UK, Greece, and Turkey. Though there were movements to reunite with both "motherlands," Cyprus remained independent, even withstanding an Invasion from Turkey.

Tsar Šćepan Mali (#73)

Tsar Šćepan Mali

Background

In 1762, the Russian Tsarina, Catherine II, had her husband, Tsar Peter III, murdered. There were many witnesses to this crime and there was no doubt that the murder actually occurred.

Rise to Power

Despite the obvious reality behind the murder, a Serbian farmer, known as Šćepan Mali, or Steven the Little, walked into the Balkan state of Montenegro and claimed to be Tsar Peter III. Steven claimed that he had escaped the assassins of Catherine II and had run away from Russia to Montenegro. No one really knows if the Montenegrin people really believed Steven or just went with his plan, but they kicked out the current ruler of Montenegro, and put Steven into his position. Steven became the ruler of the Council of Nobles of Montenegro. Surprisingly, Steven the Little was one of the best rulers that Montenegro had ever seen. Steven brought internal stability to Montenegro, uniting the warring factions within the nation. He also organized Montenegro's first national census, improved the Montenegrin road network, and created a central police force. Steven was also able to bring the Balkan nations into a state of peace, which is pretty amazing, considering that the Balkans are never at peace.

Dealing with the Russians

Steven, of course, had to deal with the reality that some people, namely the Russians, knew for a fact that Tsar Peter III was dead. Tsarina Catherine II sent a group of nobles to Montenegro to declare that Steven the Little was not Peter III. Steven, instead of arguing with these nobles, welcomed them with open arms and gave them drinks and women. When the Russian nobles left, they had not punished Steven in any way and did not declare anything about Steven not being Tsar Peter III. 

Dealing with the Ottomans

Now, if you look at Ottoman-Turkish history, you can clearly see that they do not like Russians. There have been so many battles between the two nations that historians have simply stopped naming them, so if you're the Sultan of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, and you hear that the Tsar you thought was dead is actually sitting  in a nation that's right on your doorstep, you'd probably not be to happy, so the Ottomans went to war with Montenegro. The Ottomans marched on Montenegro with 60,000 soldiers armed with muskets and canons. When Steven heard about this army, he formed a volunteer army of about 10,000 citizen-soldiers armed with pitchforks and any makeshift weapons they could find. After a day of fighting, the Montenegrin army was in pretty bad shape, but somehow, the Montenegrins were able to force the Ottomans back. Steven became the hero of Eastern Europe and the Christendom, saving both from the terror that was the Ottoman Empire. This heroism solidified Steven's position as the ruler of Montenegro.

 The End

Steven the Little died on September 22nd, 1773 when he was strangled in his sleep by his personal barber. It turned out that the barber had been payed off by the Turks. Steven the Little is on our list of people because he pulled off what is arguably the biggest con in history.

Donuts for Your Viewing Pleasure

#07- Abu Abdullah Ibn Battuta

07 Abu Abdullah Ibn Battuta

Abu Abdullah Ibn Battuta (1304-1365) was a Muslim from Morocco who began his travels at age 21, when he decided to go on a Hajj, a pilgrimage to Mecca, the holy city of the Islamic religion. Though his main destination on this trip was Mecca, the trip turned into a 30 year expedition. Ibn Battuta made his way acroos nothern Africa to the Arabian Penninsula, where Mecca is located. He moved on from Mecca to eastern Africa. Ibn Battuta also made his way through Palestine and Syria to Asia Minor. He saw the great city of Constantinople, which would later be renamed to Istanbul. After reaching Constantinople, Ibn Battuta traveled to Delhi, India. On this same travel, Ibn Battuta went farther into Asia, making his way to Peking and Hang Chow, China and Cambodia. After returning, Ibn Battuta traveled around his homeland to Muslim Spain and the Niger. Although Ibn Battuta not actually an explorer, his travels were one of the greatest accomplishments of the day, because his journey stretch across three continents and three decades. He also wrote about many places that he went, including the Great Lighthouse of Alexandria. Although Ibn Battuta only planned on going to Mecca once, he travled through the city seven times during his journeies.

Information From...

www.ummah.net

Random Picture from Turkey

Turkey's Hagia Sophia

The Holy Place of the Roman Empire

In Istanbul lies one of the greatest churches to ever be built. Hagia Sophia, or 'The Church of Holy Wisdom' was first built by Emperor Constantine, the first Christian Emperor of Rome. Unfortunately, the church was destroyed and had to be rebuilt by Constantine's son, Constantius II, but was, again, destroyed. Emperor Justinian I resolved to build the church again, but to such a scale that nobody would ever want to destroy it again. Starting in 532, the project took 10,000 men to build and a legion of priests to continually pray over the construction sight. Hagia Sophia's dome, measuring 182 feet high and 100 feet across, was the one largest of its time, second to only the Pantheon, in Rome. Justinian succeeded in making it so great that it would never be destroyed, for when the Ottomans invaded in 1453, they were so amazed that they turned it into a mosque by adding a few minarets (Towers built next to mosques). The Ottomans helped to preserve many of the original Roman artistry on the walls of the building when they plastered over them. Because of this preservation, many of the mosaics and paintings are still there for tourists to enjoy today.

Information from...
Wonders of the Ancient World By Justin Pollard