That is why the kingdom of France went to Philip, son of Charles of Valois, who was the closest male heir and grandson of Philip III. The new Philip VI got the ironic nickname Fortunate. It was due to the fact, that without the sudden deaths of three Capet kings he would not have a single chance to become the ruler of France. But, since his father was the brother of the late Philip the Fair, he was therefore a nephew of Philip IV and the cousin of Louis X, Philip V and Charles IV.

Edward III was furious that his claim to the throne was rejected. He tried all kinds of diplomacy, intrigues and negotiations to achieve his goal, but everything failed. The only remaining solutions for him remained the use of force. These were the key events that led to the bloody Hundred Years War between England and France.

The Capet dynasty was one of the longest ruling families in Europe. So, when Philip IV, the Fair, died, there was no trouble on the horizon either. After all, Philip had three grown up sons Louis, Philip and Charles, who were supposed to continue the Capet dynasty for many years in future. Philip the Fair also had a daughter Isabella married to the king of England Edward II.

But everything went awry after all three sons died one after another, after ruling for a very short period of time. What was even worse: neither of these French kings was able to provide a single surviving male heir to the throne.

Still, it seemed that the dynasty would not end. The strongest claim to the throne belonged to Isabella’s son, king of England Edward III. However, the French interpretation of medieval Salic law only recognized the male line. French nobility demanded the throne be passed through the male descendants of late Charles of Valois. It was also evident, that no Frenchman would accept an English King as his ruler.

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Soon Spartans accused Themistocles of treasonable intrigues with Persia. Subsequently he was proclaimed a traitor in Athens and all his property was confiscated.

As a bitter irony, Themistocles could only find shelter at his enemy whom he fought for so many years. Artaxerxes I, successor of Xerxes I, offered him asylum and took Themistocles under his protection. Artaxerxes even made Themistocles a governor of the province of Magnesia in Asia Minor. He probably was well received in Magnesia and showed his talents there too, because Magnesians worshiped Themistocles as a god.

From what we know, Themistocles died of illness in Magnesia , when he was sixty five. He was probably a broken-hearted man, because there were persistent rumors that his death was not of natural causes but that he committed suicide by taking poison.

If you watched a move about 300 brave Spartans, you know that king Leonidas was one of the most important figures in Greco-Persian wars. But there was also another equally or even more important statesman whose name is is rarely mentioned due to certain reasons that need to be explained.

I am talking about famous Themistocles from Athens. It was him who persuaded Athenians to build a powerful fleet and it is thanks to him that Greek ships defeated the much larger Persian navy and forced king Xerxes I of Persia to retreat. The naval battle of Salamis took place in 480 BC and was the turning point of the campaign, leading to eventual Persian defeat.

After the war Themistocles showed himself as a brilliant statesman again and again by making his native Athens the finest trade place in Greece. But then his life took a really tragic turn. He was accused by his fellowmen of arrogance and taking bribes. That led to the exile of Themistocles from Athens to Argos. Yet, his troubles did not end there.

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Pharaohs in ancient Egypt had three crowns: red, white and blue. Red and white eventually became a double crown symbolizing united kingdoms of Lower and Upper Egypt. During military campaigns, especially battles, pharaoh wore the blue crown. All of these crowns typically were adorned by a uraeus - stylized, upright form of an Egyptian spitting cobra, used as a symbol of sovereignty, royalty, deity, and divine authority.

For the last two hundred years archaeologists discovered a lot about ancient Egypt. But never, not even once, any pharaohs crown was found. We only know about them from various depictions and portraits of Egyptian rulers.

It is quite mysterious that in spite of so many searches no crown was discovered in tombs either. Of course, many tombs were robbed by grave diggers. Yet, Tutankhamun’s tomb, discovered intact. It contained many regal items but not a crown. Crowns were assumed to have magical properties. So it is possible that there were items a dead pharaoh could not take with him and therefore all crowns had to be passed along to his living successor.

Fifty five hundred of these warriors were sent by emperor Marcus Aurelius to guard Roman settlements in Britain against attacks by the Celts. In our times the archaeological evidence related to presence of this Sarmatian force was discovered in Britain. Sarmatians even built there their own retirement villages!

Around these times specialists observe the first appearance of Celtic dragon image, which highly likely came from Sarmatian sources. The most curious fact is that in the religion of the Sarmatians, the altar represented a sword embedded in a stone. As we remember from Arthurian legends, famous Excalibur was that kind of the sword. Excalibur could only be drawn from the stone by Arthur, the rightful king. In some versions of the legend the sword is not even called Excalibur but with another name - Sword in the Stone.

This establishes an interesting and valid possibility between the Arthurian legends and the Sarmatians. There is also another interesting coincidence. Arthur’s father was called Uther Pendragon, which, basically, means “Dragon’s head” and refers to the dragon head symbol on a shield. The evidence suggests that the Sarmatians with their armor created a military caste that survived several centuries and provided the leadership in the early feudal era.

Archaeological search still continues. So, there will be more discoveries that may establish Sarmatian presence and their influence on Celtic Britain.

What similarities can the system of knighthood in England share with nomadic tribes that lived on the vast steppes of what is now Russia and the Ukraine? How can any link between them be possible?

There is a theory that knighthood was brought to Britain by Sarmatians, an Iranian language speaking people who displaced the Scythians. Sarmatians tribes migrated from Central Asia to the Ural Mountains around fifth century B.C. and eventually settled in most of southern European Russia, Ukraine, and the eastern Balkans. In fact, their realm was even wider. At some point it extended from China in the east and the Roman empire in the west.

Among other things Sarmatians adopted the dragon motif. They were skillful horse riders and archers, they were also famous for using heavily armored cavalry in their battles. They wore dragon emblems on their shields and armor.

A first big clash between Sarmatians and Romans took place in the third century AD. There was a big battle between them near the mouth of the Danube River on the Black Sea. Romans overcome the Sarmatians but were very impressed with their fighting prowess. That is why, one of the terms of the peace agreement with Sarmatians, included the following condition advanced by Romans. They demanded six thousand Sarmatians warriors and their horses join the Roman army.

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Vitellius ruled only three months from till December 22, 69. The armies of the eastern provinces had proclaimed a rival emperor; their commander, Vespasian. Very soon all Roman legions of the East, Dalmatia, and Illyricum had declared for Vespasian. Everybody deserted Vitellius. On the entrance of Vespasian’s troops into Rome he was dragged out of some hiding place and there struck down. He was beheaded and his head paraded around Rome. His brother and son were also killed.

The Senate acknowledged Vespasian as emperor on the following day, December 22, 69. This was the end of the Year of Four Emperors. Vespasian turned out to be quite a savvy administrator and reformer. He ruled for ten more years and died of natural causes in 79.

On the news of Otho’s suicide, Vitellius was recognized as emperor by the Senate. It is interesting to say that around 120 people claimed the credit for killing emperor Galba, being anxious to win Otho’s favour and hoping for a large reward. A list of their names was drawn up, which fell into the hands of Vitellius when he succeeded Otho as emperor. Every one of them was executed.

Vitellius turned out to have extremely violent nature. He quickly accrued large debts by conducting numerous feasts, banquets and triumphal parades that brought treasure close to bankruptcy. Yet, those who dared to demand repayment for debts were tortured and executed. He also started killing citizens who named him as their heir, often together with any co-heirs. New emperor also lured each and every rival into the palace with promises and assassinated them without any remorse.

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Year 69 AD in Europe is called the Year of Four Emperors. In this remarkable period four Roman emperors Galba, Otho, Vitellius, and Vespasian consecutively became the rulers of the empire. Three of them would rise and fall, while the last one - Vespasian - became the founder of the stable Flavian dynasty that succeeded Julio-Claudians.

After forced suicide of emperor Nero in 68 AD, Roman general Galba was recognized as emperor and welcomed into the city at the head of his legions. However Galba rule ended on January 15, 69, when a large group of Praetorian guard killed him in the Forum. Assassins hacked Galba’s corpse to pieces and paraded his severed head on a pole.

Roman senator Otho was recognized as emperor by the Senate that same day. He belonged to the noble Etruscan family descended from princes of Etruria. He ruled till April 16 of the same infamous year of 69 AD. Rebellious general Vitellius easily defeated him in the battle. Otho stabbed himself in the heart with a dagger, which he had concealed under his pillow, and died as his attendants entered the tent.

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