"Sadistic Rulers From Ancient History Who Were ..." Topic

…Basically Crazy Psychopaths

"Today's elections aren't the only political events with their fair share of nutty candidates. There were plenty of weird ancient rulers who pretty much had a monopoly on odd behavior, ranging from endearing quirks to more unfortunate personality problems, and often, simply being insane. Whether that meant sleeping with one's own mother and then assassinating her after a series of unsuccessful attempts to do so or reinventing an entire country's millennia-old religious system, these crazy ancient rulers weren't afraid to indulge their whims.

Perhaps the most eccentric bunch of them all was the Roman emperors. There's the uber-creepy Tiberius, a decent soldier turned weird pedophile who built a sex grotto on the island of Capri. Caligula (or, as he was properly known, Gaius; "Caligula" was a childhood nickname meaning "little boots") planned on making his horse, Incitatus, a consul and gave him an ivory manger; he also seduced his sister, Drusilla. And then there's dear old Commodus, he of Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator fame, who loved prancing about the arena and killing people…."
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Amicalement
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They missed Empress Lu – Empress Consort of the first Han Emperor, Regent for the second and third, and then Dowager Empress.

Lü Zhi did not harm most of Gaozu's other consorts and treated them according to rules and customs of the imperial family. For example, consorts who bore male children that were instated as princes were granted the title of "Princess Dowager" (王太后) in their respective sons' principalities. One exception was Concubine Qi, whom Lü Zhi greatly resented because of the dispute over the succession between Liu Ruyi (Qi's son) and Liu Ying. Liu Ruyi, the Prince of Zhao, was away in his principality, so Lü Zhi targeted Concubine Qi. She had Qi stripped of her position, treated like a convict (head shaved, in stocks, dressed in prison garb) and forced to do hard labour in the form of milling rice.

Lü Zhi then summoned Liu Ruyi, who was around the age of 12 then, to Chang'an, intending to kill him together with his mother. However Zhou Chang (周昌), the chancellor in Liu Ruyi's principality, whom Lü Zhi respected because of his stern opposition to Emperor Gaozu's proposal to make Liu Ruyi crown prince, temporarily protected Liu Ruyi from harm by responding to Lü Zhi's order that "The Prince of Zhao is ill and unfit for travelling over long distances." Lü Zhi then ordered Zhou Chang to come to the capital, had him detained, and then summoned Liu Ruyi again. Emperor Hui tried to save Liu Ruyi by intercepting his half brother before the latter entered Chang'an, and kept Liu Ruyi by his side most of the time. Lü Zhi refrained from carrying out her plans for several months because she feared that she might harm Emperor Hui as well.

One morning in the winter of 194 BC, Emperor Hui went for a hunting trip and did not bring Liu Ruyi with him because the latter refused to get out of bed. Lü Zhi's chance arrived, so she sent an assassin to force poisoned wine down Liu Ruyi's throat. The young prince was dead by the time Emperor Hui returned. Lü Zhi then had Concubine Qi killed in an inhumane manner: she had Qi's limbs chopped off, eyes gouged out, ears sliced off, forced her to drink a potion that made her mute, and thrown into a latrine. She called Qi a "human swine" (人彘). Several days later, Emperor Hui was taken to view the "human swine" and was shocked to learn that it was Concubine Qi. He cried loudly and became ill for a long time. He requested to see his mother and said, "This is something done not by a human. As the empress dowager's son, I'll never be able to rule the empire."[2] From then onward Emperor Hui indulged himself in carnal pleasures and ignored state affairs.

And she just kept on trucking…

Thanks!.

Amicalement
Armand