How Inbred were the Habsburgs? 1/2 The Spanis...

Genghis Khan is famous for launching the conquest of the largest contiguous empire the world has ever seen. And for fathering enough children that today nearly every person of Asian decent carries his DNA. But he might not have done any of it if not for the love he bore one incre ...  Show more

If you want to be a monarch, you need three things: ultimate power over your domain, a brilliant gold crown to impress the peasantry, and the best seat in the palace. The idea of giving the most important person in a given space a special place to sit is near-universal. Many anci ...  Show more

People will do crazy things to keep hold of power.The Habsburgs - one of the most powerful families in European history - were a prime example of this. To keep hold of their power, they decided they would keep their gene pool as small as possible.What were the disastrous conseque ...  Show more

The Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the Habsburg dynasty's mightiest ruler, was at once King of Spain, Archduke of Austria, Lord of the Netherlands and Duke of Burgundy. With a lineage supposedly stretching back to Noah’s Ark, and a name born in Ancient Rome, the Habsburgs are one ...  Show more

In the first of a special four-part series on the Habsburgs, Professor Suzannah Lipscomb traces the unlikely rise of Europe’s most enduring imperial family. Emerging from a modest Swiss noble house in the 10th century, the House of Habsburg would go on to dominate the political, ...  Show more

The Habsburg Jaw is the result of inbreeding. But what is it? Click play and learn!

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