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Rulers who were likely insane
Posted on 11/12/18 at 3:50 pm
Posted on 11/12/18 at 3:50 pm
Plenty of interesting ones throughout history.
One of the earliest ones I would say is King Cleomenes I of Sparta (One of the 2 kings Sparta always had)
Interesting part is he didn't completely fall apart till later in life. He was able to defeat Argos (though according to Herodotus he burnt over 6,000 Argives to death). He also threw Persian messengers down a pit. Sadly the rug got pulled out from under him when he decided it would be a good idea to try and over throw his co-king so he had to go into exile. After forming an army to try and retake his throne the Spartans allowed him to return.
And this is where his mental breakdown began truly began it seems. When Spartans would come to visit him, he would hit them on the head with his scepter. Due to his growing insanity he was chained up and imprisoned. However the written account is that he convinced his servant to free him and leave him with a knife to kill himself, thus it was determined to be a suicide.
Kinda sounds like theyd had enough of him and decided to end it, but who knows
Any other fine examples of rulers going insane (beyond just killing their citizens)
One of the earliest ones I would say is King Cleomenes I of Sparta (One of the 2 kings Sparta always had)
Interesting part is he didn't completely fall apart till later in life. He was able to defeat Argos (though according to Herodotus he burnt over 6,000 Argives to death). He also threw Persian messengers down a pit. Sadly the rug got pulled out from under him when he decided it would be a good idea to try and over throw his co-king so he had to go into exile. After forming an army to try and retake his throne the Spartans allowed him to return.
And this is where his mental breakdown began truly began it seems. When Spartans would come to visit him, he would hit them on the head with his scepter. Due to his growing insanity he was chained up and imprisoned. However the written account is that he convinced his servant to free him and leave him with a knife to kill himself, thus it was determined to be a suicide.
Kinda sounds like theyd had enough of him and decided to end it, but who knows
Any other fine examples of rulers going insane (beyond just killing their citizens)
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Posted on 11/12/18 at 3:51 pm to thatguy45
Donald Trump
Posted on 11/12/18 at 3:53 pm to BowlJackson
quote:
Donald Trump
You cant just name drop bro, you gotta cite interesting examples
Posted on 11/12/18 at 3:58 pm to thatguy45
Look at the darkness in his eyes.
It's as if his personal life ceases to exist.
His only goal is destruction of his opposition.
He has no soul and will likely live forever.
I hate him.
Posted on 11/12/18 at 4:01 pm to thatguy45
Caligula
Named his horse the heir to his crown.
Named his horse the heir to his crown.
This post was edited on 11/12/18 at 4:03 pm
Posted on 11/12/18 at 4:04 pm to deeprig9
quote:
Named his horse the heir to his crown.
Seems reasonable, but then anyone who's nick name is little boot is bound to lose it
Posted on 11/12/18 at 4:11 pm to thatguy45
Prince Sado of Korea
Posted on 11/12/18 at 4:12 pm to thatguy45
quote:
You cant just name drop bro, you gotta cite interesting examples
He thinks he's going to build a 30 ft wall across the border
Posted on 11/12/18 at 4:23 pm to navynuke
quote:
In 1752, Sado read a Taoist text called Okchugyeong. Whilst reading, he hallucinated that he saw the Thunder God. Henceforth, Sado was terrified of thunder and refused to touch any object engraved with the characters of the book
In 1757, King Yeongjo's legal mother (Queen Inwon) and wife (Queen Jeongseong) died within a month of each other. Sado had been close to both of them and their deaths led to a marked deterioration in his mental health and relationship with his father. As a way of dealing with his frustration and rage, Sado beat his eunuchs. In the same month as the burial of Queen Jeongseong, Sado walked into his chambers holding the severed head of a eunuch whom he had killed, forcing the ladies-in-waiting and his wife to view it. After this, he frequently killed palace staff to release his emotions, as well as assaulting and raping many ladies-in-waiting
By 1758, a previous phobia of Sado's regarding clothing became intensively problematic. "For him to get dressed, I had to have ten, twenty, or even thirty sets of clothes laid out. He would then burn some, supposedly on behalf of some ghost or other. Even after this, if he managed to get into a suit of clothes without incident, one had to count it as great good luck. If, however, those serving him were to make the slightest error, he would not be able to put his clothes on, no matter how hard he tried. In the process, people were hurt, even killed. It was truly dreadful."
the body of a royal could not be defiled and, under the then-common practice of communal punishment, Sado's wife and son (the family's only direct male heir) could also face death or banishment if he were executed as a criminal. As a solution, Yeongjo ordered Sado to climb into a wooden rice chest (roughly 4x4x4ft) on a hot July day in 1762.
Wow dude was really insane, rough way to go too
Though I imagine this did not help his mental state
quote:
Yeongjo also always made sure to chastise his son (Sajo) in front of a large crowd, either of ladies-in-waiting or eunuchs.
Thanks for the read, had not heard of him before
This post was edited on 11/12/18 at 4:25 pm
Posted on 11/12/18 at 4:34 pm to thatguy45
King George III later in life. King Charles II of Spain.
Posted on 11/12/18 at 4:53 pm to deeprig9
Elagabalus: enjoyed disguising himself as a whore and having sex with just about anyone he came across.
Posted on 11/12/18 at 5:46 pm to navynuke
Peter the Great of Russia.
Killed thousands moving the capital to swampland and calling it St. Petersburg. Turned free people into serfs then turned them into military cannon fodder and public works slaves. At 7 feet tall in the 1600s I'm sure there was a disorder that affected his nervous system.
Killed thousands moving the capital to swampland and calling it St. Petersburg. Turned free people into serfs then turned them into military cannon fodder and public works slaves. At 7 feet tall in the 1600s I'm sure there was a disorder that affected his nervous system.
Posted on 11/12/18 at 6:00 pm to thatguy45
King Charles VI of France
Posted on 11/12/18 at 7:17 pm to BowlJackson
quote:
He thinks he's going to build a 30 ft wall across the border
He could if it wasn't for short sighted assholes.
Actually not short sighted they want to destroy the country
Posted on 11/12/18 at 8:04 pm to thatguy45
quote:
Rulers who were likely insane
Admins
Posted on 11/12/18 at 8:27 pm to momentoftruth87
Ah shite yea...definitely Chicken.
Posted on 11/12/18 at 9:08 pm to thatguy45
Vlad The Impaler comes to mind. His nickname was pretty obvious, as he had an obsession of impaling captured troops. Oh and how is Hitler not of this list? Talk about insane.
Posted on 11/12/18 at 9:15 pm to RoleTideFan80
How were either of those men insane? Hard and determined yes, and both were ultimately failures, but I'm not sure either were insane.
Posted on 11/12/18 at 9:32 pm to KSGamecock
Psychopathy is generally regarded as insanity. Psychopaths are born without the ability to feel emotions the same way you and I can. Specifically, they lack empathy.
Sociopaths are in the same category as psychopaths but they aren't born that way. Their pathological personalities come from their experiences with their environments. They learn that exploiting others will bring rewards to themselves.
Not all psychopaths and sociopaths are dangerous, however. If their relationships can hold them in check, they can live fruitful and productive lives.
Donald Trump, for example, is a classic sociopath. He learned early on that being direct, cold, deceitful and decisive are traits of leaders. Without the legislative and judicial branches of government to hold him in check, he would quickly devolve into a despot similar to Russia's Putin and China's Xi.
Sociopaths are in the same category as psychopaths but they aren't born that way. Their pathological personalities come from their experiences with their environments. They learn that exploiting others will bring rewards to themselves.
Not all psychopaths and sociopaths are dangerous, however. If their relationships can hold them in check, they can live fruitful and productive lives.
Donald Trump, for example, is a classic sociopath. He learned early on that being direct, cold, deceitful and decisive are traits of leaders. Without the legislative and judicial branches of government to hold him in check, he would quickly devolve into a despot similar to Russia's Putin and China's Xi.
This post was edited on 11/12/18 at 9:33 pm
Posted on 11/12/18 at 9:37 pm to Kentucker
Reasonable people will disagree about their definitions of insanity because it isn't a medical term to my knowledge. You might consider anti-social personality disorders insanity, I personally do not. I'm also not convinced that either Hitler or Vlad suffered from it as their characters are so deeply clouded in decades of stacking propaganda and poorly crafted pop history that it is impossible to say. It makes for cute rhetoric though.
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