43 The Greatest of all Monarchs

<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px;">To most contemporaries, Richard I was a hero. Since then his reputation has suffered badly, until even Winston Churchill describes him as the worst of our Richards - which given the other two is going some. So we look at how hi ...  Show more

<span style="font-family: Georgia; font-size: 14px;">Richard came into the lands of his father and was crowned at Westminster in 1189.  For the next 6 months he was packing his bags,  cleaning the fridge and getting ready to go. He sets up his administration, makes sure his borde ...  Show more

Had there been a version of the Forbes list in the early 14th century, a 20-something-year-old Malian king would reign supreme. Dubbed the “richest man of all time," Mansa Musa’s wealth is unmatched to this day. However, Musa paid a hefty price for his position. In the early year ...  Show more

Born into a world of treachery, violence and death, William of Normandy defied all expectations, forging a legacy that lasts to this day. Born out of wedlock and dismissed as an upstart, he was originally known as William the Bastard. Inheriting the Duchy of Normandy at just eigh ...  Show more

Two men stood in a large room shouting at one another, raging over family and war or accusing each other of incompetence and cowardice. A third man stood nearby, servant of one and friend to both. In a corner, a young woman cowered with her face bruised and her body shaking. A ...

The Abbasid fall from grace was long and messy. It’s been a while since the dynasty produced a powerful caliph, the last one being the almighty restorer al Mu’tadid who reigned until the opening years of the 10th century. The subsequent decades saw a sustained and accelerating er ...  Show more