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by Ron Unz, The Unz Review: Ten days ago a sudden surprise Israeli attack inflicted a terrible, decapitating blow upon the leadership of the Islamic Republic of Iran, successfully assassinating the country’s top military commanders, its chief nuclear weapons negotiator, and nearly all of its most prominent nuclear scientists. Many of these victims were killed in their […]

  Rome’s first emperor Augustus erected the Ara Pacis, an altar dedicated to Pax Romana, in 13 BCE. It celebrated that Augustus had brought peace to Rome following years of war, and its dedication coincided with a period during which Augustus promoted the importance of family and fertility for the future of Rome.   By this time, Augustus’s family had become a royal family in all but name, and the lines between Augustus’s activities as a private individual and a state functionary had become blurred. He was now pater patriae, a title he would adopt in 2 BCE, the “father of the fatherland.”   Augustus used the Ara Pacis to visualize on a monumental scale what he believed to be the importance of family for the future of Rome, and the importance of his own family within the Roman state.   Ara Pacis: Dedication of the Altar The Ara Pacis as it is today, restored in a museum space in Rome. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The Ara Pacis is a sacrificial altar that was dedicated for the purpose of conducting blood sacrifices as part of the Roman state religion. The Romans believed that for the state to thrive, the gods had to be respected as the patrons of Rome through blood sacrifice. They believed that failing to make sacrifices, or making them incorrectly, could lead to disaster.   In his Res Gestae, Augustus’s account of all his great deeds, Rome’s first emperor explains why the Senate voted him the altar. It is worth noting that while the altar was officially dedicated by the obedient Senate in 13 BCE, there is no question that Augustus was the mastermind behind the piece of propaganda consecrated on January 30, 9 BCE.   “When I returned from Spain and Gaul, in the consulship of Tiberius Nero and Publius Quintilius, after successful operation in those provinces, the Senate voted in honor of my return the consecration of an altar to Pax Augusta in the Campus Martius, and on this altar, it ordered the magistrates and priests and Vestal Virgins to make annual sacrifices” (II.12).   The altar is surrounded by a marble screen that is decorated with detailed high-relief scenes that were originally colorfully painted. The various scenes represent the core contributors to Pax Romana. It shows scenes from mythology that established Rome for greatness, and it places Augustus’s family very prominently on a public stage, suggesting that the prosperity of Rome depended on them.   That Rome’s prosperity is linked to Augustus himself is encapsulated in the dedication to Pax Augusta, the goddess that personifies peace as achieved through Augustus. Several other virtuous personifications were also linked to Augustus. The temple of Concordia in Rome was rebuilt and dedicated to Concordia Augusta in 10 CE. On coins we often see Victoria Augusta, Fortuna Augusta, Securitas Augusta, and more.   Altar Decorations Procession scene from the outward facing side of the barrier of the Ara Pacis altar, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   The altar itself sits on a stepped-based podium with a table placed on top, and decorated barriers on top of the table. On one side, the outward facing side of the barrier shows a sacrificial procession, with men in short tunics leading three animals to sacrifice. These have been identified as an ox, a bull, and a ram. The men carry a variety of sacrificial tools including a club, a knife, dishes, and pitchers. The scene is capped on either end with a winged lion griffin. The top of the barrier is decorated with what are known as vegetal scrolls, curling scrolls formed by depictions of plants.   Procession scene from the inner facing side of the barrier of the Ara Pacis altar, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   The inner facing side of the same barrier shows a sacrificial procession with six Vestal Virgins flanked by male figures. These processions seem to reflect the sacrifices ordered by the Senate at the altar, as the Vestals were among the priests specifically listed.   The detailed procession scenes from the other barrier do not survive, but we know that it was decorated in a similar fashion from remnants of surviving figures. Overall, the altar seems to have been designed to be functional, with minimal decoration. This contrasts with the style of the walls of the precinct that was set up around the altar.   Interior Decoration of the Ara Pacis precinct, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   The upper register of the interior of the precinct walls are decorated with images of ox skulls, garlands, and other vegetal imagery, which represent abundance. The lower register imitates the appearance of traditional wooden altar precincts and was no doubt a tribute to these earlier altars.   Pax Relief Pax relief on the Ara Pacis, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   It is the exterior walls of the precinct, which would have been visible to the passing public, that have the most elaborate decoration. It is here that Augustus clearly communicated his vision.   The east side has a façade opening to enter the altar precinct and is decorated either side of the façade with an upper and lower register. All the lower registers on the outside of the precinct walls are decorated with vegetal scrolling and plant imagery. These regions would not have been highly visible among the passing crowds. The upper registers are another story.   The left side focuses on a seated woman in the garb of a goddess. Her identification is not certain. She may well be Pax, as she does not appear to be depicted elsewhere on the altar. But the scene clearly represents abundance, suggesting that she could be Roma, Italia, or Tellus, personifications of Rome, Italy, and the Earth. It has also been suggested that she represents Venus, the goddess that the Julio-Claudians claimed as their ancestor.   Silver Tridrachm, featuring Augustus and Pax, c. 28 BCE. Source: The British Museum   Whoever the goddess is, she sits on a rocky outcropping and gently encircles a child in each arm. An ox and a sheep are near her feet, and fruits lie in her lap. She is flanked by nymphs representing the beneficial winds of the earth and the sea. This goddess is clearly a symbol of fertility. This does not exclude her from being Pax, and peace brings abundance and fertility.   Not unlike modern states, Augustus was concerned about the decrease in fertility among the Roman people and passed morality laws, in 18 BCE and 9 BCE, designed to increase the population by encouraging marriage and baby-making. The law incentivized women to marry and have children by liberating women who had at least three children from the male guardianship to which they were usually subject. They also had the right to inherit from their own children. People who stubbornly refused to marry were restricted from inheriting.   Roma Relief Roma relief on the Ara Pacis, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   The relief on the right side of the façade is almost completely lost. Nevertheless, it is speculated that it depicted the Roma. All that survives is the lap of a seated figure, draped in fabric, and part of a shield. Based on these tiny details, it has been suggested that the goddess is Roma, as she was often shown enthroned on a shield and other weapons on Roman coinage starting from the 1st century BCE.   Coin from the reign of Nero showing Roma enthroned on a shield and various other weapons, Rome, 66 CE. Source: Coin Archive   Roma became an important figure in Roman religion as the Roman Empire expanded. The people of many new Roman provinces, especially in the east, were accustomed to paying cultic homage to conquering kings, but Rome had none. These provincials were known to offer cults to individual magistrates, but these were always short-lived as officials changed regularly. But this all changed with Augustus.   The province of Asia requested permission to dedicate a temple to Augustus in 29 BCE. The princeps, wanting to at least appear humble to those watching in Rome, accepted the temple only if it was in combination with the goddess Roma. This set a precedent, and similar temples of Roma and Augustus popped up all over the empire.   While this was acceptable in the provinces, Augustus would not have depicted himself alongside Roma on an altar in the heart of Rome. It is unclear what imagery flanked Roma on the Ara Pacis relief, if it even is a relief of Roma.   Lupercal Relief Lupercal relief on the Ara Pacis, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   On the west side there is another façade entrance to the precinct with reliefs on either side. The relief on the left side is known as the Lupercal relief because the fragmentary relief is believed to show the shepherd Faustulus discovering the infants Romulus and Remus suckling from a she-wolf at the entrance to a wolf cave, a Lupercal, while Mars, their divine father, looks on.   This reconstruction is based on minimal surviving portions of the relief. All that survives of the shepherd is a portion of his arm and hip alongside a small portion of a fig tree. The head of the god Mars also survives, identified by his plumed helmet. The reconstruction is based on other Lupercal scenes, such as on the Trajanic altar below.   Altar dedicated to Mars and Venus showing a Lupercal scene, Rome, c. 98-117 CE. Source: Wikimedia Commons   This scene refers to the legendary foundation of Rome and points to the continuity and divine favor of the city. The twin boys Romulus and Remus were the sons of the Alban princess and Vestal Virgin Rhea Silva by the god Mars. Through their mother, the boys were the descendants of the Trojan hero Aeneas and various Italian kings. The boys were born after their grandfather’s throne was usurped by his brother, and when they were born, the new king ordered the pair thrown in the Tiber River. The men sent to do the job simply left them on the side of the river to die. But instead, they were found by a she-wolf who suckled them until a shepherd, Faustulus, who knew who the boys were, found them and adopted them.   When the boys grew up, they avenged their grandfather, restored his throne, and then decided to establish their own city. Remus was killed in a conflict between the two about where to locate the city, but Rome was established, and Romulus elected its first king. He also made the first sacrifices to Jupiter and other gods to bring divine fortune to the city.   The presence of Mars in the scene also suggests that peace is won through war and was probably meant to recall the Augustan campaigns that were responsible for the current peace. This would have been a powerful message for many Romans who had lived through decades of civil wars.   Aeneas Relief Aeneas Relief on the Ara Pacis, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   On the right side of the façade is what is known as the Aeneas relief. It shows a man in priestly garb and two young attendants preparing to sacrifice a pig, which was a common sacrificial victim when Rome made peace treaties.   Some scholars suggest that the priestly figure is meant to be the Trojan hero Aeneas, who made his way to Italy after the sack of Troy. According to the Roman poet Virgil, when he arrived, he sacrificed a sow and 30 piglets to the goddess Juno. Aeneas is not only meant to be an ancestor of Romulus but was also claimed as an ancestor of Augustus. It was through Aeneas, reportedly the son of Venus, that the Julio gens also claimed descent from the goddess. We know that this is a legend that Augustus himself promoted because it features heavily in Virgil’s epic poem about Aeneas, The Aeneid, written under Augustan patronage between 30-19 BCE. Virgil implies that it was Aeneas’s destiny to begin the civilization that would become Rome, and that Augustus is fulfilling his ancestor’s divine mission.   However, nothing in the surviving scene verifies that the priestly figure is Aeneas, although it would make sense within the context of Augustan ideology. An alternative suggestion is that it is Rome’s second king, Numa Pompilius, who is credited with establishing most of the religious traditions, including priesthoods and sacrifices, that the Romans relied on for their positive relationship with the gods. He also built the temple of Janus, which was associated with peace. The temple doors were only closed when Rome was at peace and were said to be closed throughout Pompilius’s reign. In his Res Gestae, Augustus included how many times he was able to close the doors of the temple of Janus.   Procession Reliefs South side procession relief on the Ara Pacis, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   The two other sides of the enclosure have no entrance facades and therefore have long upper panel reliefs. Augustus utilized these to show a larger-than-life religious procession of the sort that would have occurred on important sacrificial days. It has been argued that the procession depicted represents a specific sacrifice, probably a thanksgiving ceremony for Augustus’s victories held in 13 BCE, the same year the altar was originally dedicated.   The procession on the south side is marked by two prominent figures wearing togas. They have facial features recognizable from other portraits, and have been identified as Augustus and Agrippa, Augustus’s right-hand-man in power until he died in 12 BCE.   Bust of Agrippa, 25-24 BCE. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Augustus is the first semi-complete figure visible in the procession, though half of his body is missing. He wears a laurel crown, which was a symbol of victory. While Augustus is also wearing priestly garb, he is not shown as the Pontifex Maximus, the chief priest of Rome, as he would not assume that position until 12 BCE. He had to wait for the incumbent, his now exiled former ally Marcus Aemilius Lepidus, to die.   Augustus is preceded by a group of lictores, who carried the fasces representing the imperium and authority of Augustus and acted as his bodyguard. The fact that they are looking in various directions and not following the procession suggests that they are active in this capacity.   Looking at the prominent figures in the foreground, rather than the crowd in the background, Augustus is followed in the procession by the two consuls and four men in spiked caps, who are flamines maoires. There were traditionally three flamines maoires, who served the cults of Jupiter, Mars, and Quirinus. This procession depicts four, and the fourth was probably the priests of Divus Julius, created when Augustus had his adoptive father Julius Caesar deified in 42 BCE. After them comes an attendant with an ax, used to dispatch the sacrificial victims.   Portion of the procession on the Ara Pacis showing Augustus at the start and Agrippa at the end, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   Behind the flamines is another figure who has been carved to be very prominent and has his head covered. This is Agrippa. His attire suggests that he was acting as high priest, with Lepidus in exile.   The figure to the right of Agrippa is probably Livia, Augustus’s popular and powerful wife. Between them is a small boy. It has been suggested that he is a Germanic prince, living in Rome as a hostage, because he wears no toga. Behind Livia is presumably her son Tiberius, Augustus’s stepson who would be the next Roman emperor. Behind him is probably Antonia the Younger, the daughter of Mark Antony and Augustus’s sister Octavia.   Behind Octavia are Drusus, her husband and Tiberius’s brother. Between them we can see their young son, who would become the famous general Germanicus. They are followed by Antonia the Elder, another daughter of Antony and Octavia, and by her husband Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus. The children between them are probably their son and daughter. Their son, Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus, would go on to be the biological father of the emperor Nero.   North side procession relief in the Ara Pacis, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   While the north side does not feature Augustus, it features a similar combination of priests and family members.   In the fragmentary section at the start of the procession, where a few children are visible, it is assumed that this section featured Augustus’s daughter Julia and her sons Gaius and Lucius Caesar, who would be Augustus’s heirs until their untimely deaths in 4 CE and 2 CE respectively. Augustus’s sister Octavia probably also appears.   It is difficult to identify many of the figures on this side as many of the heads are not original. We can identify priests of the college of quindecemviri, who were the guardians of the sacred Sybilline books, and the septemviri, who were responsible for preparing religious feasts, and more lictores.   Understanding the Ara Pacis Augustae Close up of Augustus on the Ara Pacis, Rome, 9 BCE. Source: Reed College   While we cannot identify all the people in the procession scenes that appear on the Ara Pacis, the meaning is still clear. The mixing of the men, women, and children of Augustus’s family, and the mixing of Augustus’s theoretically private family with public officials, were both unprecedented.   The number of women and children probably relates back to Augustus’s moral legislation that promoted fertility. Augustus was clearly showing that his family practiced what he preached.   The blurring of the lines between public officials and Augustus’s private household shows how closely the prosperity of the Roman state and the prosperity of Augustus and his household were believed to have become. Just as the Romans needed the favor of the state gods, such as Jupiter and Mars, to thrive, they also needed Augustus’s household to thrive.

  Genghis Khan’s genetic legacy has never been doubted. The question is, how many kids did Genghis Khan have? According to historical records, Khan’s official heirs numbered four through his primary wife Börte. Married to Temujin, later Khan, at age 17, Börte’s original tribe helped cement his political grip. She would later help Khan rule at home. More importantly, she bore him his four official heirs: Jochi, Chagatai, Ögedei, and Tolui. Born between 1182 and 1191, they helped Khan expand the Empire after 1206.    Börte was not Genghis Khan’s only wife- just the important one. Altogether, Khan’s wives numbered six, all Mongolian, who gave them over thirteen children. With his other wives and concubines, he fathered over 120 children.    Evidence of Genghis Khan’s Offspring Borte, Genghis Khan’s Wife. Source: The Met   There is no doubt Khan had children, possibly into the thousands. His official offspring are known, plus indirect evidence from concubines. Khan also kept a harem, organized into camps called ordos. From here, it’s thought that Genghis Khan could have fathered thousands of children, beyond the official offspring. Evidence must be gleaned from historical records or DNA evidence.   One of the best historical sources is “The Secret History of the Mongols.” Written in the 13th century, this source covers Khan’s reign. The details cover Khan’s four primary sons and mention his daughters. Central Asia and surrounding groups possess oral traditions linking Khan as an ancestor. The Hazara of Afghanistan claim this heritage, given that Mongol clans settled during the invasions.    Oral traditions are valuable but sometimes unreliable, but the Hazara claim Genghis Khan as an ancestor. While pockets of Mongol DNA exist in Afghanistan, doubts remain about the tribe’s lineage.   Genghis Khan’s Heir Ögedei. Source: National Palace Museum, Taiwan   A 2003 genetic study claims that Khan’s DNA spread across Asia, even to Russia’s southern plains. Utilizing the Y or male chromosome, the study traced Khan’s DNA across the breadth of the former Mongol Empire. The Y chromosome is passed from father to son.   The study’s scientists explain this in distinctive Y chromosomes that spread too rapidly. Originating from Mongolia about 1,000 years ago, the Y chromosome crept into many regions. The study asserts that up to 8% of males in the conquered territories carry Khan’s gene. Or in simple terms, roughly this 8% represents 0.5% of all males worldwide.    Chinghis (Genghis) Khan Family Tree Source: Wikimedia   However, this study of Genghis Khan’s direct DNA in so many ancestors is under challenge. The biggest is a lack of direct DNA evidence. Khan’s burial location remains unknown, so there can’t be any direct comparison. A 2017 study found different results regarding the Y chromosome. This casts doubts on the one DNA source.   Recent research throws doubt on the 2003 study results. Scientists used a bigger study base, gathering DNA from thousands more across Central Asia. The result? The Y chromosome linked to Genghis Khan appeared 1000 years before Genghis Khan’s empire building. Thus, there is little or no link.   Genghis Khan’s Descendants and Their New Dynasties Mongols at war, 14th-century watercolor. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Genghis Khan built the Mongol Empire with superior tactics, organization, and blood. He achieved Pax Mongolia, creating a peace that the Romans longed for. His four acknowledged sons expanded into Poland, the Middle East, and China. Besides establishing their khanates, these four rulers left a genetic trail that possibly linked them to their progenitor.   Genghis Khan maintained a harem with many concubines and wives. Ögedei, Jochi, Chagatei, and Tolui kept large harems as per the Mongol custom. Jochi fathered fourteen sons, and his brothers at least eleven more. The idea, however, of Khan fathering thousands himself is a stretch.   Separating Genghis Khan’s DNA Myth from Reality A portrait of Genghis Khan, 14th century. Source: National Palace Museum, Taipei   The common thought today is that Khan had thousands of children, which later spread to millions. There is no doubt his DNA diffused across his empire. However, the source of Genghis Khan’s Y chromosome is likely the larger group of Khan’s descendants. Groups like the Afghan Hazara use their oral history to assert a direct link to Khan. Oral histories are invaluable, but here there’s no confirmed evidence.   Time distorted the question of how many children Genghis Khan had. The Mongols customarily kept large harems. From his various marriages or liaisons, Khan did produce numerous children. The “thousands of children” myth cannot be backed by solid evidence. Genetic studies prove that a Y chromosome linked to his heirs is widespread. Unfortunately, due to a lack of records plus a shaky DNA link, there’s no telling the exact number of children.

  The late Middle Ages and the Early Modern period saw the “Age of Exploration” really come into play, from a Eurocentric viewpoint. Some of the biggest names in history are to be found in this period: Christopher Columbus, Vasco de Gama, Marco Polo, and perhaps a man that you’ve never even heard of: Henry the Navigator. This Portuguese explorer helped to establish Portugal as a global power in the 15th century, and in the article below we will discover all there is to know about this incredible man.   Henry the Navigator’s Early Life A portrait largely presumed to be Henry the Navigator, by Nuno Gonçalves, c. 1470. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Henrique, Duke of Viseu, was unsurprisingly born into Portuguese royalty. His father was the Portuguese King John I (r. 1385-1433), and his mother was Philippa of Lancaster—a member of the English royal family, her father being John of Gaunt (Edward III’s fourth son, thus making Philippa of Lancaster a granddaughter of King Edward III of England, and young Henry a great-grandson of the legendary English king).   Henry was born on March 4, 1394 and was the third surviving son of John I and Philippa of Lancaster. It is presumed that he grew up in and around the Portuguese city of Porto.   Henry’s first fore into exploration was when he was aged 21; with the help of his brothers and father, he captured the Moorish port of Ceuta on August 21, 1415, which had been a home to the Barbary Pirates for a number of years. The pirates used this port as their base from which to attack many of the coastal cities of Portugal and they depopulated entire villages and sold people into the African slave trade. Capturing the city for Portugal was thus a huge win for young Henry.   It was this initial success that inspired young Henry to explore further. His primary objective was to explore the African coast, in search of the legendary kingdom of Prester John—a Christian semi-legendary king who was said to rule over a lost Christian nation in the Orient.   At this time, Europeans knew very little about Africa, and Henry was determined to find either Prester John or the source of the African gold trade. And he never looked back—becoming an explorer who would go on to discover sights far beyond even his own imagination.   Funding Henry’s Adventures King John I of Portugal, c. 1450. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Although Henry was born into the nobility, he still had to find a valuable source of income to be able to fund his exotic travels.   In 1419, Henry’s father appointed him as Governor of the Algarve, the southern region of Portugal which borders the Atlantic Ocean. This helped to fund Henry’s expeditions as he held a monopoly on tuna fishing in the Algarve. A year later, his father made him the governor of the Military Order of Christ, which was Portugal’s answer to the succession of the Knights Templar; Henry would hold this position as governor for the rest of his life, and it became an important source of income for him.   These two appointments were key in funding Henry’s explorations, but he was also well-versed diplomatically, too. His second brother, Peter, Duke of Coimbra, embarked on a tour of Europe, and Henry asked him to bring him any geographical materials back that he could and he returned with a map of Venice. All of these notions went on to inspire Henry to travel and discover what lay beyond the borders of Portugal.   John I died in 1433, and Henry’s eldest brother was crowned King Edward of Portugal. He granted Henry all profits from trading within the areas he discovered, as well as the authorization to go on expeditions beyond Cape Bojador in the Western Sahara region. Edward died in 1441, and Henry then supported the efforts of his next brother, Peter, in his regency during the minority of Edward’s son, the future King Afonso V. Henry received a confirmation of this levy for his support.   Portuguese Exploration Efforts Lisbon in the Age of Discovery, by Franz Hogenberg and Georg Braun, 1572. Source: Wikimedia Commons   During Peter’s regency, he supported Portuguese maritime exploration and expansion in both Africa and the Atlantic Ocean. It was during this regency that Henry promoted the colonization of the Azores, a group of islands in the Atlantic Ocean, which are still under Portuguese control today.   Much of the Portuguese Empire’s early exploration efforts were centered on the western coast of Africa, and thanks to Henry’s control over the Algarve, this gave him a prime spot from which to base his exploration attempts.   As part of his exploration efforts, Henry employed a number of cartographers, who helped map out the West African coast. Much of modern-day Mauritania was mapped out by Henry the Navigator long before other European explorers had even visited the continent.   The Logistics of Exploring in the 15th Century A statue of Gil Eannes in Lagos, photograph by Glen Bowman, taken in 2007. Source: Wikimedia Commons   For a man who was called “the Navigator,” the ships that Henry sailed in were remarkably small. They were called caravels and were used as they were light and easy to control and maneuver—and most of the voyages that Henry undertook only used one or two of these ships. They were much smaller than the ships used by his Chinese contemporary, Zheng He.   It was during this time period that Portuguese navigators—including Henry—began to understand oceanic wind patterns, and it was this understanding that helped spur Henry’s exploration efforts. It was the understanding of these wind patterns that was crucial for the success of the exploration of the New World, as well as the slave trade in later centuries.   Naturally, Portugal’s main rivals at this time were Spain and particularly the Castilian monarchy. One of the first areas that Henry ordered to be colonized was Madeira, a small island not far from both Africa and Portugal, and it was largely in response to Spain’s colonization of the Canary Islands that Henry ordered the colonization of Madeira.   Nevertheless, Madeira would soon become a key colony for the Portuguese and a strategic location from which they could organize expeditions. Most historians agree that it was around 1420 that Madeira was colonized fully by the Portuguese. Like the Azores, it is still under Portuguese rule today.   The Portuguese in Africa Portuguese presence in Africa and the Middle East 1342-1801, by Hugh Refachino, 2020. Source: Wikimedia Commons   As mentioned earlier, western Africa was a key area for the Portuguese. Much of Mauritius’s coastline had been mapped out by Henry’s cartographers, but there was still much more of this vast landmass for the Navigator to explore.   Until 1424, Cape Bojador (on the western coast of the Sahara Desert) was the most southerly point of Africa that European explorers had reached by boat. It was rumored that the end of the world lay beyond the Cape and that the waters were treacherous and filled with ungodly sea monsters, simply waiting for unknowing sailors to sail into their watery lairs.   However, Henry was determined to find out the truth. Over the course of the next decade, he sent 15 expeditions to go beyond the Cape, with each of them returning unsuccessfully, with a myriad of excuses.   However, in 1434, Gil Eannes became the first European explorer to go south of the Cape in almost 2,000 years, when Hanno (a Carthaginian explorer) had done so.   It was largely thanks to the caravels that the Portuguese were able to go further—Cape Blanco (a peninsula between Western Sahara and Mauritania) was reached in 1441, and two years after that the Portuguese sighted the Bay of Arguin, which is also in modern-day Mauritania. By 1448, the Portuguese had set up a trading fort on the island.   The planting of the cross by Bartolomeu Dias at the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, by F. Benda, c. 1750. Source: Wikimedia Commons   In 1444, another Portuguese explorer (Dinis Dias) saw the Senegal River, and by this point, the Portuguese had passed the southern boundary of the Sahara. This was one of Henry the Navigator’s earliest goals that he had finally achieved: Portugal had passed the Muslim-ruled lands of the Sahara and thus had a route into Africa without having to go through the Muslim-controlled Sahara.   This meant that Portugal had officially circumnavigated the Sahara Desert, and as a result, both slaves and gold began pouring into the country. Algiers and Tunis (the modern-day capitals of Algeria and Tunisia, respectively) suffered greatly from this discovery, while the Portuguese Empire and economy boomed, and became incredibly rich almost overnight.   Between 1444 and 1446, almost 40 vessels sailed from Lagos in the Algarve on Henry’s behalf, and mercantile expeditions began.   Another Portuguese explorer, Alvise Cadamosto, became the first recorded European to reach the Cape Verde islands off the coast of western Africa, which he claimed for Portugal, which he did so in 1456. This was the last major Portuguese discovery in Africa before Henry’s death aged 66 in 1460.   Henry the Navigator’s Legacy Vasco da Gama, unknown artist, c. 1525. Source: Wikimedia Commons   It is easy to see the influence that Henry had on Portuguese exploration, including the influx of gold and slaves into the Portuguese Empire. Portugal became one of the first European nations to have a grip on Africa before the Scramble for Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.   Henry’s status as a member of the Portuguese royalty undoubtedly helped his cause, but he was diplomatically intelligent enough to know who to support and when, and utilizing his resources carefully and wisely.   Henry the Navigator’s biggest legacy was the expansion of the Portuguese Empire, which would not have happened when it did if it was not for Henry. For example, by 1462, the Portuguese had reached as far as modern-day Sierra Leone on the West African coastline. In 1490, Bartolomeu Dias successfully proved that Africa could be circumnavigated when he reached the Cape of Good Hope (the most southerly point of Africa). Just eight years after this discovery, another great Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, became the first European sailor to reach India by sea.   It is little wonder that even today, Henry is regarded as the patron of Portuguese exploration.

  In the late 14th century, Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I annexed several Turkic emirates to ensure the political unity of Anatolia (modern-day Turkey). The lords who had their principalities usurped by Bayezid requested the aid of Timur, founder of the Samarqand-based Timurid dynasty, and self-proclaimed “protector” of Muslims. At the Battle of Ankara in 1402, Bayezid and Timur fought to secure their political hegemony. However, Bayezid’s luck seemingly ran out on the battlefield. Both the Sultan and his Serbian wife Despina were captured by their rival.   The Ambitious “Thunderbolt”  Sultan Bayezid I, by Paolo Veronese, 16th century. Source: Meisterdrucke   Born in 1360 as the son of Ottoman Sultan Murad I and his Greek wife Gülçiçek Hatun, Bayezid was educated by the foremost contemporary scholars in the fields of Islamic philosophy, warfare, and statecraft. The first known mention of the young şehzade (prince) concerns his marriage in 1381 to Devletşah Hatun, a princess of the Turkic Germiyanid Dynasty. Devletşah’s dowry included much territory across Anatolia, which subsequently came under Bayezid’s control.   As a prince who both governed territories and commanded a wing of his father’s army, Bayezid gained a reputation as a daring and ambitious but somewhat impulsive leader. These characteristics earned him the moniker, “thunderbolt” or Yildirim in Turkish, which is how his father referred to him.   As part of his ambitious nature, Bayezid dreamt of expanding his dynasty’s power and conquering Constantinople, the imperial capital of the Byzantine Empire. In his youth, Bayezid was most likely exposed to the “conquest” Hadith (sayings of the Prophet Muhammad) which predicted that a great Muslim army and even greater conqueror would one day conquer Constantinople. Yet, Bayezid’s position as a prince was one of submission and obedience to his sultan father. Any desire for conquest would remain unfulfilled until he became Sultan, a position dependent not only on his father’s death but also on his ability to defeat his brothers — who under Turkic custom had an equal claim to the throne.   The Thunderbolt Strikes The forces of Sultan Murad I and Prince Lazar of Serbia battle on the fields of Kosovo (1389), ca. 1460. Source: Koninklijke Bibliotheek   By the late 14th century, the once petty Ottoman emirate had become a great military power. Expanding out of Anatolia, Bayezid’s father Murad I had been the first sultan to develop the small ghaza (“holy war”) raids into Balkan territories into fully-fledged conquests. By 1387, parts of Greece and all Southern Macedonia were captured. Murad’s advancement into Serbia was initially halted by Serbian Lord Lazar. Yet, as the Ottomans steamrolled through the Balkans, the two rulers met face-to-face at Kosovo Polje in 1389.   In this decisive battle, both Prince Lazar and Sultan Murad were killed. The ever-astute Bayezid quickly secured the allegiance of his father’s statesmen, although this technically could not prevent his brother Yakub from asserting his right to rule. According to popular tradition, Bayezid had Yakub summoned to his father’s tent on the field of Kosovo. The unassuming prince was then strangled to death with a silk cord.   Now, nothing stood in the way of Bayezid and his aspirations of rulership and conquest.   From Sehzade to Sultan Turkish miniature of the Crusaders and Ottomans battling in Nicopolos, by Nakkaş Osman, 16th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons   By the beginning of Bayezid’s rule in 1389, the Ottomans controlled vassal principalities across Western Asia and Europe. The Byzantine emperor, the Serbian Despot, and several Turkic chiefs in Anatolia, like the Karamanid and Candarid dynasties, came under Ottoman control. These vassal states were expected to lend military support to Ottoman campaigns, even if it meant fighting against their co-religionists.   Bayezid quickly adapted to his new role; in 1393, he stormed into the Balkans, bringing Danubian Bulgaria under his rule. Next, he annexed Nicopolis (Northern Bulgaria) and executed the Bulgarian King Shishman. Bayezid also moved the Ottomans toward a more centralized system of governance.   Fearing the ever-increasing Ottoman encroachment, Pope Boniface IX declared a new crusade against the Turks in 1394. Bayezid had put Constantinople under siege that same year, adding to the sense of urgency. Several European nations, such as France, Hungary, Germany, and Wallachia swiftly banded together their forces to create a Crusader army. Yet, they—along with independent Western Knights—were no match for the highly organized and united Ottoman army. Commanded by the sultan, the elite Janissary forces—slave soldiers who were taken as a tax from Christian families in the Balkans—and sipahis (cavalry) led the Ottomans to a stunning victory at the Battle of Nicopolis (1396).   Bayezid’s victory was, in both Anatolia and Europe, a confirmation of his glory and strength. Yet, the conqueror’s dreams of a centralized empire were halted by the existence of Turkic principalities who demanded independence. The question remained as to how Bayezid would ensure Ottoman supremacy over these Muslim polities within the boundaries of Islamic law, which forbade war against other Muslims.   Stretched Thin Map of the Turkic beyliks (principalities) in Anatolia, along with depiction of a Turkic bey (chieftain), from the Catalan Atlas, by Abraham Cresques, 1375. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Returning to Anatolia in 1398, Bayezid immediately began to plan the subjugation of his greatest rivals. By the end of the year, he had added the Karamanids and the principality of Kadi Burhaneddin to his empire. This was not surprising considering Bayezid’s self-image. In 1395, the Sultan had written to the Abbasid caliph in Cairo to secure his title as “Sultan-al-Rûm,” or Sultan of the Byzantine (Anatolian) lands. Of course, Bayezid was not only motivated by ideas of grandiosity or religious fervor. By gaining control of Beylik lands as far as East as Erzincan (Eastern Turkey), the sultan secured important Silk Road trade and caravan routes, and thus, increased state revenue and wealth.   However, the Turkic beys (chieftains) who ruled the different branches of the semi-nomadic Turkic settlers were greatly distressed by the loss of their lands and power. Desperate to repel Bayezid, they appealed to Timur (or Tamerlane), a Turco-Mongol raider-turned-ruler, to protect them against the Ottoman powerhouse.   The Wrath of Timur Amir Timur (Tamerlane), by Sekko. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Timur (b.1330s, d.1405) was born in Modern-day Uzbekistan to a minor nobleman of the Barlas Tribe, a Turkicized nomadic Mongolian group. As a young man, he gained a reputation as an astute military leader in the service of the Mongol Khans. Due to a leg injury, Timur developed a limp, earning him the epithet “the Lame.” Following his meteoric rise to power, Timur expanded his empire—which reached from Persia to Delhi—mainly through incessant campaigns and conquests. Such sieges were also conducted as far west as Armenia and Eastern Anatolia, where regional lords came under his influence.   It was their mutual claim to power that brought Bayezid and Timur in contact with one another. Correspondence between Bayezid and Timur indicates that the former viewed Timur as a “caffre” (from Turkish “kafir” meaning infidel), a view partially related to Timur’s Mongol ancestry. This, in Bayezid’s eyes, made Timur a legitimate target for holy war. On the flip side, Timur viewed himself as the protector of Muslims, such as the Turkic rulers whose lands were being usurped by Bayezid.   Several insulting letters were exchanged between the rivals; Timur referred to Bayezid’s armed forces as “poll-tax-paying caffres” (Anooshahr, 2008, p.125) most likely referring to the Christian vassals who sent military support to Bayezid. The Ottoman sultan, on the other hand, claimed that Timur would “shed blood, and violate the honor of women” (Anooshahr, 2008, p.123).   These tensions boiled over when Bayezid refused to deliver Kara Yusuf—ruler of the Karakoyunlu emirate who had sought asylum in Anatolia—to Timur. In the Central Asian conqueror’s eyes, this was an open declaration of war.   The Battle of Ankara Sultan Bayezid Imprisoned by Timur, by Stanisław Chlebowski, 1878. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Preoccupied by his siege of Constantinople, Bayezid was caught off guard by Timur’s entry into and sack of Sivas (Central Turkey). Yet, true to his reputation as a “thunderbolt,” the Ottoman sultan readied his forces for battle, and hurriedly marched toward Ankara, hoping that Timur would execute a premature attack. However, Timur was a master of war, and rather than follow Bayezid’s army, he invaded the latter’s undefended territories. Bayezid then moved his army to Tokat, around 360 miles east of Ankara. On a seemingly never-ending march, Bayezid’s forces began to tire, no doubt affected by the blazing summer heat.   Timur’s army was much more flexible. They were accustomed to long sieges and had a cavalry that used steppe warfare tactics. As a result, they conducted efficient attacks and swift retreats, destroying their enemies while suffering minimal damage themselves. On the road to Ankara, Timur’s forces had laid waste to significant land and resources that Bayezid’s army needed. Reaching the city before the Ottomans, Timur cut off the city’s water supplies, which exacerbated the condition of Bayezid’s parched soldiers.   When the two armies finally met on the battlefield, things only got worse for Bayezid. He was deserted by his Tartar (Mongol) and Turk fighters, who chose to fight alongside Timur. The Ottoman army lost further traction as the Serbian flanks retreated. However, Bayezid refused to abandon the battlefield until the very end. Needless to say, this led to his capture by Timur’s forces.   A Humiliating Fate Bayezid is depicted in a humiliating position in a cage, under the table, and as a footstool, note his wife Despina, semi-nude and serving food to Timurid men, Germany, Album Amicorum, 16th century. Source: Sotheby’s   The Timurid victory was a great blow to the prestige and reputation that the Ottomans had built up over the previous century. Following Bayezid’s defeat, their capital city of Bursa was plundered by Timur’s forces. The Turkic lords had their principalities restored to them, resulting in a significant loss of territory for the Ottomans. Perhaps most significantly, Bayezid and his wife Despina Hatun, sister of Bayezid’s Serbian ally Prince Stefan Lazarević, were captured. The Ottoman Empire was also thrown into civil war, with Bayezid’s sons Isa, Mehmet, Musa, Suleyman, and Mustafa battling for the throne.   The captivity and death of Bayezid also created a deep scar on the Ottoman psyche. Several versions of the story circulated in both Turkey and Europe. Later Ottoman historians like Aşıkpaşazade (d.1484) claimed that Bayezid committed suicide by smashing his head against the bars of his cage. However, contemporary travelers to Timur’s court, such as Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, did not mention the existence of any cages. Still, this version of the story gained popularity in the European imagination. In English playwright Christopher Marlowe’s 1587 play Tamburlaine, both Bayezid and his wife Despina are portrayed as committing suicide in this way.   Ultimately, Despina survived. However, to prevent such dishonor from recurring, later generations of Ottomans regulated the harem institution more strictly. Bayezid was not so lucky; he died under suspicious circumstances, and the cause of his death remains an issue of speculation. Whether the sultan committed suicide, died of heartbreak and humiliation, or was poisoned by Timur, this event serves as a reminder that unbridled ambition often comes with dire consequences.   Bibliography:   Anooshahr, Ali, The Ghazi Sultans and the Frontiers of Islam: A Comparative Study of the Late Medieval and Early Modern Periods, (Routledge, 2008).   Inalcik, Halil, The Ottoman Empire: The Classical Age 1300-1600, (London: Phoenix, 1973).   Imber, Colin, The Ottoman Empire: The Structure of Power, (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009).   Baer, Marc David, The Ottomans: Khans, Caesars, and Caliphs, (Basic Books, 2021).

  Anne of Cleves is often characterized as Henry VIII’s least favorite wife. The infamous womanizer had his marriage to her annulled on the basis that her looks were so unappealing that he could not consummate the union. But the evidence of Henry’s treatment of Anne after their divorce suggests that she held a special place in his heart, though as a sister and friend rather than a lover. In fact, she may have been the luckiest and most beloved of all his six wives.   Introducing Wife Number Four Henry VIII, by Joos van Cleve, 1530-35, Source: Royal Collection Trust   Anne of Cleves was King Henry VIII’s fourth wife. Catherine of Aragon was divorced in 1533, Anne Boleyn was beheaded in 1536, and Jane Seymour died in 1537. The king’s wedding to Anne of Cleves took place on the 6th of January 1540. This was the annual celebration of the Feast of the Epiphany, which also marked the culmination of King Henry’s Christmas festivities. This event was intended to be filled with warmth, joy, and romance.   Despite the happy occasion of their wedding, their union lasted just six months. Anne and King Henry formally separated on the 9th of July that same year, having failed to fall in love with each other and, more importantly, consummate their relationship.   Jane Seymour, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1536-7. Source: Kunsthistorisches Museum   Anne had the misfortune of succeeding Jane Seymour, the woman traditionally thought to have been the greatest love of King Henry’s life. When he married Anne, King Henry’s heart was still breaking over the premature death of his beloved Jane. We know that King Henry never really recovered from the loss of his third wife. Even when married his sixth wife nearly a decade later, it was the deceased Jane Seymour he had painted into his family portrait, rather than the living Catherine Parr.   To make matters worse for Anne, Jane had been the perfect example of a 16th-century wife. She had been beautiful, meek, pious, kind-hearted, and agreeable. What’s more, she had provided England with a healthy and legitimate heir. What woman in her right mind would have wished to follow her?   As a result, Anne is remembered as being a particularly unappealing, indeed so unattractive that King Henry was unable to do his duty as a husband. Consequently, she is often described as the wife Henry liked the least.   Who was Anne of Cleves? Arms of the House of La Marck, by Euryrel, Source: Wikimedia Commons   Anne of Cleves was born in Dusseldorf, Germany, in 1515. At the time of her birth, King Henry had already been King of England for six years and was happily married to his first wife, Catherine of Aragon.   Anne’s father was John III of the House of La Marck, and her mother was Maria, the Duchess of Julich-Berg. She was the second of their four children. Her siblings were Sibylle (1512-1554), who would later marry the Elector of Saxony, Wilhelm (1516-1592), who would receive the Dukedom of Julich-Cleves-Berg, and Amalia (1517-1586), who would, despite her parents’ best efforts, remain unmarried until her death.   This small nursery possessed a grand and prestigious lineage. Each child was descended from various Kings of both England and France and held particularly close ties to King Louis XII of France and the Duke of Burgundy.   The children spent their earliest years together in extremely close quarters, but girls were poorly educated and prepared only for a life of Royal housekeeping and motherhood. Their limited and old-fashioned schooling consisted mainly of painting, needlework, household management, music, dancing, and card games. Nevertheless, the girls represented valuable prizes on the European marriage market.   Wilhelm V., Duke of Julich, Berg, and Cleve, by Heinrich Aldegrever, 1540, Source: Metropolitan Museum of Art   In 1527, when Anne was 11, she was betrothed to Francis, the nine-year-old son and heir of Antoine Duke of Lorraine. However, because Francis was under the age of consent for marriage, ten in Germany at the time, the betrothal was later considered unofficial. Nevertheless, the issue of this pre-contract would provide Henry with grounds for him to question the validity of his own marriage to Anne later.   In 1539, Thomas Cromwell, the man who eventually lost his head for his involvement in this marriage contract, first contacted the Cleves family to propose a union between King Henry and one of the daughters. Hans Holbein the Younger was sent to paint reliable depictions of both Amalia and Anne so that King Henry could choose which he would prefer. He selected Anne.   Was Anne of Cleves “The Ugly One?” Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves in The Tudors. Source: Screen Crush   It is entirely possible that Anne of Cleves was no great beauty. But is there any reliable evidence to support the theory that Anne was particularly unpleasant to look upon? The likelihood is that Anne was no less attractive than any other woman King Henry had ever encountered. True, she may not have possessed the same allure and sex appeal as Anne Boleyn, and she may have lacked the English-Rose-style beauty of Jane Seymour. But King Henry was the only person who ever saw fit to complain about her.   Edward Hall (1498-1547) gave extremely favorable descriptions of Anne’s appearance. He described her hair as being “long, yellow, and fair.” He stated that she dressed in English fashion but with a French hood, which at the time would have been the height of fashion. Hall even went as far as to say that her clothes “set forth her beauty and good visage so much that every creature rejoiced to behold her.”   Portrait of Anne Boleyn at Hever Castle, artist unknown, c. 1550. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Charles de Marillac (1510-1560), the French Ambassador, described her as being “tall and slim, of middling beauty,” and of a “very assured and resolute countenance.”   While these are not the most flattering descriptions a woman could wish to hear, they paint the picture of a wealthy, striking, confident, well-dressed, well-maintained, and averagely pretty woman. The disappointed King Henry claimed, “I see nothing in this woman as men report of her.”   Several portraits of Anne also survive by various artists. Hans Holbein the Younger (1497-1543), Cornelis Martinus Vermeulen (1644-1708), Adriaen van der Werff (1659-1722), and John June (1740-1770) are just a few of the men who captured her likeness. So often has she been painted that London’s National Portrait Gallery alone is home to 14 such depictions.   Anne of Cleves, by Hans Holbein the Younger, 1539, Source: Web Gallery of Art   The image we are most familiar with is undoubtedly the version of Anne painted by Hans Holbein the Younger, commissioned by King Henry himself in 1539. It is this depiction of Anne that King Henry laid his own eyes upon long before he laid eyes upon the woman in the flesh. To the modern eye, a portrait of Anne of Cleves looks very much the same as a portrait of Catherine Howard, Catherine of Aragon, or any other woman of the era.   One interesting piece of evidence suggests that Anne of Cleves believed herself to be attractive. She went as far as to declare to her friends that she possessed better looks than Catherine Parr. According to reliable reports, when it was announced that King Henry was to marry once again, Anne remarked to her ladies that she was a good deal more attractive than the Queen-to-be. She also mentioned, perhaps in a bout of jealousy, that Catherine was unaware of what she was taking on in marrying King Henry.   It was Eustace Chapuys (1489-1556), the Imperial Ambassador, who just happened to overhear this conversation. Whether he approved or disapproved of Anne’s confidence is unclear. But since he was a man who did not usually have trouble expressing his opinion if he had thought her comments laughable, he very likely would have recorded it.   Rebecca Dyson Smith as Anne of Cleves, Secrets of the Six Wives. Source: Apple TV   Predictably, casting directors of our era have not yet cared to appoint an unattractive Anne. Over the last century, she has been portrayed by a wide variety of beautiful women, including Elsa Lanchester in The Private Life of King Henry VIII (1933), Pia Girard in King Henry VIII (2003), Joss Stone in The Tudors (2007), and Rebecca Dyson-Smith in the documentary series, Six Wives With Lucy Worsley.   The reasons for King Henry’s criticism of Anne’s appearance are clear. What King of England would publicly admit his inability to consummate a marriage? There was no one for him to blame for this failure other than his wife.   Did Henry Have Affection for Anne of Cleeves? Anne of Cleves’ coat of Arms as Queen Consort, by Sodacan, 2010. Source: Wikimedia Commons   King Henry did not love Anne of Cleves as devotedly as he had loved Catherine of Aragon. He was not as infatuated with Anne of Cleves as he had been with Anne Boleyn. He did not treasure her as he had treasured Jane Seymour. He did not lust after her in the same way he would lust after Catherine Howard, and he did not trust her and rate her as highly as he would trust and rate Catherine Parr.   However, there is evidence to support the idea that he harbored a genuine, brotherly affection for Anne. There is a wealth of material to confirm the notion that he thought of her with warmth and friendship, so much so that they might have been better suited as platonic companions than as husband and wife.   Henry and Anne’s First Meeting First Meeting Between Henry VIII and Anne of Cleves, by George Folingsby, 1879, Source: Wikiart   Even before their first meeting, King Henry had decided that his marriage to Anne was going to be a success. Having decided that he was in love with her after only a few positive descriptions from Thomas Cromwell and a swift glance at her portrait by Holbein, he was hardly able to wait for her arrival in England. So excited had he been to lay eyes upon her in the flesh that he had ridden out with a group of companions, in true Arthurian fashion, to surprise her with an early rendezvous. To make matters worse, he had come up with the ingenious idea of disguising himself as a lowly messenger and testing Anne on her ability to recognize true love.   The curators of Hampton Court Palace tell us that “while on the way to London, Anne was surprised by a group of masked men, led by a tall, burly middle-aged man who tried to kiss her. Anne, unused to such behaviour, pushed him away in bewilderment.”   Anne had thought that she had several days left to prepare herself for her first meeting with her future husband and was horrified when this group of rowdy and excitable gentlemen burst in on her and her temporary household unexpectedly. The Royal-blooded Catherine of Aragon, the sophisticated Anne Boleyn, and the well-prepared Jane Seymour would have recognized this for what it was, a game of chivalric tradition and courtly love. However, the foreign and ill-prepared Anne of Cleves was completely caught off guard by what she perceived to be a random attack.   Joss Stone as Anne of Cleves in The Tudors. Source: Pinterest   We are told that, immediately upon seeing his soon-to-be bride, King Henry took her in his arms and kissed her. We can take this as a sign that he was initially pleased. He found her attractive enough to pay her the compliment of physical affection.   Unfortunately, Anne did not recognize King Henry as quickly as he had hoped, and it was after this fiasco that things swiftly went downhill. Perhaps if their first meeting had gone as planned, and if their relationship had not started out with confusion and miscommunication, it might have had more of a chance at survival.   The Unhappy Marriage of Henry and Anne? The Arms of Manners, Dukes of Rutland and Barons of Manners, by sodacan, 2017. Source: Wikimedia Commons   Anne had no complaints about her marriage. If she thought there was something wrong with her marriage, she certainly did not voice her concerns to those around her. Instead, she complimented King Henry as a sweet and kind-hearted husband. In February, just a month after their wedding, Anne told the Countess of Rutland that she and he conversed twice daily.   “When he comes to bed,” Anne began, “he kisseth me, and taketh me by the hand, and biddeth me ‘good night, sweetheart.’” She continued, “and in the morning he kisseth me and biddeth me ‘farewell, darling.’”   Henry and Anne’s Divorce Settlement Hever Castle from the Moat, by David Cox, 1850, Source: Abbott and Holder Ltd   Henry granted Anne a generous divorce settlement. The best that most ex-queens could hope for was a life in obscurity. Most would have been thankful for the chance to live out their days in a prestigious but quiet countryside Abbey. But Anne of Cleves was granted the greatest gift King Henry could have given, the chance to begin her life again. As far as King Henry was concerned, Anne had done nothing wrong. Therefore, it made no difference to him if she enjoyed what she was technically owed as a former Queen of England.   Anne received an extremely generous divorce settlement. She was given manors in Hampshire formerly owned by Breamore Priory and Southwick Priory and, even more excitingly, Hever Castle, the childhood home of the deceased Anne Boleyn.   Anne was free to remain in England and to live as a private person in her own right. She was answerable to no one but the King, and since by this time he was planning to spend most of his time in bed with Catherine Howard, he had very little care for what his ex-wife might do.   Since King Henry confirmed that Anne was still a virgin, she was free to marry whoever she chose. Unsurprisingly, this was one opportunity she chose not to take.   Finally, Henry placed her above almost all other women in England. After her divorce, Anne was hardly treated as an outcast. Instead, she was considered an honorary member of King Henry’s family. Anne and King Henry grew to like each other, probably much more so than they had when they were married, and even became fond of each other’s company.   King Henry insisted that all should refer to Anne as “the King’s beloved sister.” Such was her favor that he decreed she was to be given precedence over all other women in England, save his own wife and daughters. Anne Of Cleves: The Wife Who Lived Anne of Cleves, by Hans Holbein the Younger, c.1540s. Source: Wikimedia Commons   “Divorced, beheaded, died; divorced, beheaded, survived.”   Over the last five centuries, historians have been conditioned to believe that it was Catherine Parr who was the most successful of King Henry’s wives. She is the queen who appears with a resounding victory at the end of the verse written above. Traditionally, it is she who is remembered as “the one who survived.”   While Catherine of Aragon suffered in exile, Anne Boleyn and Catherine Howard lost their heads, and Jane Seymour died in agony bearing a Prince, Catherine Parr managed to avoid the inevitable without so much as a scrape on her hand. So relieved are we to hear of her narrow escape that we can almost forget that she died just a year later while bearing the child of her final husband, Thomas Seymour.   Although she is labeled simply as “the one who was divorced,” it was Anne of Cleves who survived King Henry the longest. Her life went on for another decade after his death, having been provided with a clean slate and a good chance of happiness, she certainly made the most of that life. Anne did not live in obscurity after her husband’s death, but made many notable public appearances. Most significantly of all, she took part in the Coronation procession of her daughter-in-law, Queen Mary I, on the first of October in 1553.   Mary I, by Hans Ewouth, 1555-8, Source: Wikimedia Commons   Anne’s only sadness was that she never had the chance to return home to Germany. Evidence suggests that she was generally content in England, but she did express the occasional bout of homesickness in her letters.   Anne died at Chelsea Old Manor on the 16th of July, 1557. The most likely cause was an unknown form of cancer. Just a few weeks later, on the 4th of August, Anne was buried in Westminster Abbey. She received Catholic rites, as she had requested.   Anne mentioned many friends and family members in her will. These included her brother, her sister, and her sister-in-law, as well as Queen Mary, the future Queen Elizabeth, the Duchess of Suffolk, and the Countess of Arundel, all of whom she counted among her closest friends. She left money and belongings to each of her favored servants and beseeched Mary and Elizabeth to employ them in their households.   Raphael Holinshed (1525-1582) described Anne as “a lady of right commendable regard, courteous, gentle, a good housekeeper, and very bountiful to her servants.” He confidently stated that there had never been “any quarrel, tale bearing or mischievous intrigues in her court, and she was loved by her domestics.” Anne was remembered by everyone who served her as a kind, fair, and easy-going mistress. It seems that nobody had a bad word to say about her.   The Old Chelsea Manor House, 1873. Source: Wikimedia Commons   The body of Anne of Cleves now lies on the South Side of the High Alter at Westminster Abbey. According to the Abbey, “her monument is a low stone structure of three sections with carvings showing her initials with a crown, lions heads and skulls and crossed bones.” Her Epitaph simply reads “Anne of Cleves, Queen of England, born 1515, died 1557.”   Anne Of Cleves: The Wife King Henry Loved Most? Anne of Cleves and Henry VIII in The Tudors. Source: Apple TV   While Anne of Cleves may not have been the wife King Henry loved most, there is absolutely no doubt that he genuinely liked and respected her as a woman in her own right. Certainly, she was not the despised and ill-treated Queen that so many people now perceive her to have been.   On the day his marriage to Anne was annulled, King Henry delivered to her a comforting letter. “You shall find us a perfect friend,” he assured her, “content to repute you as our dearest sister. We shall, within five or six days, determine your state minding to endow you with four thousand pounds of yearly revenue, from your loving brother and friend.”   If that is not good enough proof of King Henry’s affection for Anne, what is?

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