IVAN THE TERRIBLE
(1533-1584)
His name says it all. The first tsar
of Russia is known for expanding
his territories into Eastern Europe’s
Kievan Rus, and spearheading the
brutal secret police. He carried out
the systematic, and sadistic, tor ture
of nobleman. He even murdered his
own son, killing him after hitting him
with a pointed staf f in a par ticularly
heated temper.
Image © WikicommonsImage © WikicommonsSULTAN IBRAHIM I, OR
“IBRAHIM THE MAD” (1615–1648)
Sultan Ibrahim was released from a special prison called
the Kafes, reser ved for possible heirs to the throne. He
took over from his brother in 1640. In fact, his brother had
ordered that Ibrahim be killed upon his own death, but
he was allowed to live because he was thought to be
too mad to be of any danger to the empire. Sadly, this
proved to be a fool’s error. Ibrahim brought the empire to
its knees. He famously took a concubine who weighed
over 150 kilograms, and bequeathed her with the title of
Governor General of Damascus. After hearing a rumour
that his concubines had been unfaithful, he ordered
that 280 of the unfor tunate women were drowned.
He married one of his concubines, and ordered that
her palace be carpeted in sable furs. These escapades
earned him the nickname “Ibrahim the Mad”. To be fair,
his years locked up in the large prison without windows
may have been a contributing factor...POWER PLAYPOWER PLAY