Ten life and death solar eclipses in the history of the world Lunar eclipses

Mondo History Updated on 2024-01-31

10 Captain Boris's clever plan

In the heart of Africa, next to the Belgian Gangli there is an independent country called Mangbetu, with 1.56 million black people, ruled by the Sultan of Yembio, a cannibal country. In the early morning of 18 February, a Belgian officer, Captain Albert Boris, and 20 soldiers strayed into the country and were captured by cannibals. They were on death row, awaiting death, when Captain Boris happened to look through the almanac in his pocket and learned that there would be a lunar eclipse at 8 p.m. that night. Captain Boris came up with a plan when he ordered the guards to deliver a note to the Sultan that read: "If you dare to kill my soldiers, I will kill the moon, and the death of the moon is your end!"."That night, the Sultan came to the cell to see how Boris killed the moon. The captain waited until 8 o'clock, and then pointed to the moon and said"Your time of death has come!"It wasn't long before the eclipse began, and the lunar surface gradually became darker. The Sultan was shocked, and quickly knelt down and demanded that the captain spare his life. And said that as long as the captain did not kill the moon, he would release all the captives in full. Boris demanded that the Sultan recognize the Belgian king's rule over their country, to which the Sultan agreed. At this moment, the captain waved his hand to the sky, and the lunar eclipse ended, and the moon surface reappeared. Captain Boris and his soldiers were all released, and the 4,000-square-mile country of Mangbetu and its possessions became part of the Belgian Congo.

9 1879 - Zulu**

First, because of the territorial dispute between the British and the Zulus over the Transvail, and secondly, because the British were desperate to weaken the power of the Zulu chieftain Setwaio, they launched a war against the Zulu: Lord Chelmsford led an army of 13,000 men to attack the 40,000-strong army of Selvaio. On 22 January, a British unit set up camp on Mount Ithan Delwana. The Zulus surrounded the mountain and issued a campaign against the BritishOffensive. The British and their allies, the Carfers of Netar, were attacked on all sides. At the height of the battle, at 1:02 p.m., there was a solar eclipse in the sky. The British thought they could use the Zulu superstitions to get them out of their army, but this was a mistake. The Zulus say, "The sun becomes very dark and dark, like night," and the Zulus like to fight in the dark. The eclipse encouraged them to crush the British invaders in one fell swoop. Three hours later, the British camp was razed to the ground - all 1,300 Britons and the Kafers of Netar were killed, their heads cut off and their stomachs cut open so that their souls could be freed. A few months later, the British sent in reinforcements to defeat the Zulus in Urundi and take control of the Zulu state, eventually annexing it in 1887.

8 1806 - The prophets of the Indians speak

His original name was Ralawesica (meaning"Loud sound"But then people called him"Tansk Vatawa ("Open doors")。He claims to have vision, is a magician and a prophet. Together with his brother, he lobbied the Indian tribes on the east bank of the Mississippi River to unite against the white colonists, get rid of white customs, and restore Indian traditions. General William Harrison, the governor of the Indiana Territory at the time, was so disturbed by the influence of Tanskvatawa that he wrote a letter and sent it to the Indian tribes. The letter reads:"Who is this guy who dares to speak in the name of the Creator?If he is a prophet, let him stop the sun, change the direction of the moon, stop the flow of rivers, and make the dead crawl out of their graves. "Tansk Vatawa accepted the challenge by announcing that there would be a solar eclipse at noon on June 16, 1806, when he would command the sun to lose its brilliance and darkness to descend on earth. The eclipse occurred, and the Indians celebrated the prophet's victory. Another prophet, however, made a big mistake when he persuaded the Indian warriors to attack General Harrison's troops, saying that they would not be harmed by bullets. As a result, the attack failed miserably, and a quarter of the valiant samurai died at gunpoint. In 1840 General Harrison was elected to the United States, while the prophet retired to Canada, living on an English pension, and died in Kansas.

7 1764 – The Champion is born

During a solar eclipse that year, a maroon foal was born in the stables of the Duke of Cumberland, England, and it was rightly named"Solar eclipse"。It is destined to become the most famous horse in history. When the duke** raised all the horses himself,"Solar eclipse"With 75 guineas** it fell into the hands of a sheep merchant. When it was 4 years old,"Solar eclipse"He competed in a horse race for the first time and won the 4-mile race. The ride impressed the famous gambler Dennis Oakley, who paid 650 guineas for it"Solar eclipse"Half of the ownership. Later"Solar eclipse"After winning 11 horse races in a row, Oakley sold the half for 1,000 guineas. "Solar eclipse"It was so invincible that one horse racing fan wrote: "The Eclipse never loses, it never needs to be whipped or pumped, it never needs to be pumped on, it is never intimidated by the speed and power of its competitors – it is always indomitable, leaving its opponents far behind!"."During his two-year racing career,"Solar eclipse"After winning 26 first prizes, he retired two years later. "Solar eclipse"Died on February 27, 1789, one of its hooves was inlaid with a ** and made into a wine glass, which is displayed at the Jockey Club in Newmarket, where it still stands today.

6 1504 – Christopher Columbus the Wizard On his fourth trip to the New World, Columbus took with him two badly damaged ships, which were dangerously overloaded and had too deep a draft. He had to anchor near Jamaica for a whole year, starving to death on both ships if he didn't get enough food. But the indigenous Jamaicans insisted on not giving food to the whites. Just when Columbus was at a loss, one day he opened a copy of the Almanac of Zacu and learned that a few days later, on February 29, there would be a lunar eclipse. Columbus had an idea, and on that day he found the chiefs of the natives and told them that if he did not give him food, he would die without the moon. This was ridiculed by the chieftain, but that night the lunar eclipse occurred, and the natives were terrified. Columbus told them that if food was provided, he would make the moon shine again. The natives agreed, and soon the eclipse was over, and the moon was shining again, and the natives were busy sending food to the magician. In this way, the eclipse saved the lives of Columbus and the two boatmen from starvation.

5 1032 A.D.—Heaven's Rescue Count George of Tusculen was one of the most powerful lords in Italy. Determined to take control of the Church, he wasted no time in using his private army and wealth to elect his 14-year-old grandson, Theo Philacot, Pope Pennedict IX. The young pope, who was conceited and cruel, spent his days hiding in the Lateran palace lest the Romans remove him from the papal throne. Later, there was an important festival when the pope had to appear in person in public. The Pope's political enemies hatched a plan to assassinate him at St. Peter's Palace in Basilica. They were afraid that they would be easily discovered by people when they were hiding weapons, so they planned to carry a few pieces of rope. The plan was to have some people create a riot to divert the attention of the guards, and then rush at the pope, strangle him with a rope, and flee in the chaos. When the day came, the enemies of the pope blended into the public and were planning to carry out the plan. At this time, according to Gower Graber, "at about 6 o'clock in the morning there was a solar eclipse in the sky, which lasted until 8 o'clock, and all the faces of all men were pale as dead, and everything around them seemed to be soaked in yellow and orange." "In the darkness and confusion, the conspirators hesitated, and their plan was discovered by the Pope, who immediately returned to the palace. The pope ascended the throne of the world four times intermittently during his lifetime, until he was deposed in July 1048 and remained in a monastery for the rest of his life.

4 840 A.D. – A ruler is frightened to death He was Charlemagne's third son, Louis the Pious, because he was deeply religious. He was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 813 AD and called Louis I. He expelled his father's wives and concubines, sent his morally corrupt sisters to convents, reformed the Church, and gave relief to the poor. He also divided part of the country among three of his four sons. When he was about to give fiefdom to his fourth son, the three sons overthrew him and imprisoned him for one year. But because he won the hearts of the people, Louis I returned to the throne. When one of his sons violated the agreement and attacked the Saxonies, he led his troops to repel the invasion. According to historical records, just as Louis Banshi was returning to court, he fell ill on a small island in the Rhine and died soon after. However, there is another theory: this Louis I was frightened to death by a solar eclipse on May 5. After his death, the fortunes of the empire were declining.

3 413 B.C.E. – The Athenian army, led by Niceas, and the Spartan army, led by Jelips, fought a protracted battle in Sicily. Having been attacked by the enemy, Niceas and the Athenians retreated to Siracus, where they were met by a fleet of 70 ships. Niceas had agreed to leave Sicily by boat, but on the night of August 27, there was a lunar eclipse in the sky. The priests immediately said to Niceas: This is a request from heaven for the Athenians not to retreat, but to hold their ground. Niceas heeded their advice, and as a result, the Athenians were slaughtered and more than 70 ships destroyed, which was a turning point in the Peloponnesian War.

2 586 B.C.E.—Lydians and Medes

The Lydians (who were allies of the Greek Spartans) and the Medes (who were ruled by Cyrus the Great of Persia) fought a protracted war. In 586 B.C., the sixth year of the war, another fierce war broke out between the two countries. It was daylight on May 28, and there was a solar eclipse that day. This eclipse was calculated long ago by the Greek mathematician Thales. According to the historian Herodotus: "While the two armies were still in the midst of a fierce battle, the day suddenly turned into night......Seeing this, the Lydians and Medes immediately ceased fighting and were desperate to reach a peace agreement. "Both sides saw the eclipse as God's displeasure with the war, and the six-year war came to an end, saving tens of thousands of lives from suffering.

1 2640 BC – Chinese astronomers The ancient Chinese had their own view of solar eclipses: they believed that it was an evil dragon devouring the sun. They were able to foresee the eclipse, and when the time was approaching, people beat gongs and drums and made a noise in order to drive the dragon away and restore harmony between heaven and earth. The Yellow Emperor had two officials who specialized in forecasting solar eclipses, and their duties included not only measuring the exact time of the eclipse, but also organizing rituals to drive away evil dragons. At one point, however, their predictions were not very accurate, and before the people could even be organized, the dragon began to devour the sun. The sun was about to be eaten by the dragon, but by some kind of luck, perhaps because the dragon had eaten enough that day, it spit out the swallowed sun again and made it shine again. But the Yellow Emperor did not tolerate this, and he thoroughly investigated the incident and found that the two astronomers had misreported the eclipse due to alcoholism. The Yellow Emperor was furious - how could such a matter of human life be so negligent, so the two officials were immediately beheaded for public display.

With the progress of civilization, such a "life-and-death situation" will no longer be possible.

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