1 00:00:04,080 --> 00:00:07,400 Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of 2 00:00:07,480 --> 00:00:14,440 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild. Our world is full of 3 00:00:14,480 --> 00:00:18,400 Speaker 1: the unexplainable, and if history is an open book, all 4 00:00:18,480 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: of these amazing tales are right there on display, just 5 00:00:22,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: waiting for us to explore. Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. 6 00:00:36,240 --> 00:00:39,559 Speaker 1: Alexander the Great is known for his military conquests, but 7 00:00:39,680 --> 00:00:41,920 Speaker 1: if you think he was just a great warrior, you're 8 00:00:41,920 --> 00:00:45,479 Speaker 1: missing the forest for the trees, because Alexander's greatest talent 9 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:48,960 Speaker 1: was in his ability as a strategist and an engineer. 10 00:00:49,320 --> 00:00:51,480 Speaker 1: And this was never more true than in three point 11 00:00:51,479 --> 00:00:54,800 Speaker 1: thirty two BC, when Alexander laid siege to the island 12 00:00:54,960 --> 00:00:58,320 Speaker 1: of Tire. Tire was an island nation near the modern 13 00:00:58,400 --> 00:01:02,000 Speaker 1: day border between Israel and Lebanon. It was heavily fortified 14 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,319 Speaker 1: on all sides, with walls that went right up to 15 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,399 Speaker 1: the shore. Alexander arrived from the north after conquering several 16 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: coastal cities belonging to the Persian Empire. He wanted to 17 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,280 Speaker 1: push east and confront the Persian king Darius, but he 18 00:01:15,319 --> 00:01:18,480 Speaker 1: didn't want to leave the Persians with access to the Mediterranean, 19 00:01:18,920 --> 00:01:23,800 Speaker 1: Tire had to fall. Alexander was highly educated, having been 20 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,440 Speaker 1: taught by none other than the philosopher Aristotle, so while 21 00:01:27,480 --> 00:01:30,600 Speaker 1: other conquerors had previously looked upon Tire and saw an 22 00:01:30,720 --> 00:01:35,080 Speaker 1: unconquerable fortress, Alexander simply saw it as a difficult problem 23 00:01:35,120 --> 00:01:39,000 Speaker 1: to solve. The king and his advisors studied the landscape 24 00:01:39,200 --> 00:01:41,880 Speaker 1: and realized that there were large stone ruins on the 25 00:01:41,920 --> 00:01:46,320 Speaker 1: mainland leftover from the original ancient incarnation of Tire. They 26 00:01:46,360 --> 00:01:49,200 Speaker 1: also noticed that there was a natural land bridge leading 27 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:52,080 Speaker 1: from the land to the island, with only a few 28 00:01:52,120 --> 00:01:55,400 Speaker 1: feet of water washing over it. Alexander put two and 29 00:01:55,400 --> 00:01:59,080 Speaker 1: two together and immediately started construction of a causeway using 30 00:01:59,120 --> 00:02:02,640 Speaker 1: the stones from the old city. Once the causeway construction 31 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 1: reached out about seventy five percent of the way to 32 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:08,800 Speaker 1: the city, the builders encountered a problem. The water suddenly 33 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:11,919 Speaker 1: got much deeper, and so the causeway would now take 34 00:02:12,040 --> 00:02:16,280 Speaker 1: much longer to finish. But once again Alexander didn't give up, 35 00:02:16,639 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: ordering massive towers filled with catapults and other siege weapons 36 00:02:20,320 --> 00:02:23,200 Speaker 1: to be constructed on the edge of this new causeway. 37 00:02:23,600 --> 00:02:26,880 Speaker 1: These protected the workers and they battered the city while 38 00:02:26,919 --> 00:02:31,040 Speaker 1: the construction continued. However, now it was the Tyrant's turn 39 00:02:31,200 --> 00:02:34,639 Speaker 1: to prove their ingenuity. They sailed out toward the Causeway 40 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,040 Speaker 1: from both their northern and their southern harbors, and as 41 00:02:38,040 --> 00:02:41,280 Speaker 1: their ships got closer, Alexander's eyes went wide when he 42 00:02:41,360 --> 00:02:44,280 Speaker 1: saw what they were transporting. The Tyrants had filled their 43 00:02:44,280 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: ships with flammable materials, and as the ships hurtled toward 44 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:51,400 Speaker 1: the siege towers, their pilots lit the boats on fire 45 00:02:51,720 --> 00:02:53,919 Speaker 1: and weighing them down in the back so that their 46 00:02:53,960 --> 00:02:56,440 Speaker 1: bows would reach up out of the water and crash 47 00:02:56,520 --> 00:02:59,600 Speaker 1: into the towers. The tyrants soldiers then jumped out of 48 00:02:59,639 --> 00:03:02,000 Speaker 1: the boat and swam for the safety of the city 49 00:03:02,280 --> 00:03:06,200 Speaker 1: behind them. The flaming boats crashed into the towers, reducing 50 00:03:06,240 --> 00:03:09,960 Speaker 1: them to ash and setting the causeway on fire. Alexander 51 00:03:10,240 --> 00:03:12,960 Speaker 1: was enraged, but he knew that he couldn't allow his 52 00:03:13,120 --> 00:03:16,560 Speaker 1: enemy to outsmart him, and so he tried a new tactic. 53 00:03:17,160 --> 00:03:20,400 Speaker 1: He summoned ships from all over Greece. He split some 54 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 1: of the larger ships into pears, and he suspended battering 55 00:03:24,040 --> 00:03:27,480 Speaker 1: rams between them with ropes. These ships then sailed toward 56 00:03:27,520 --> 00:03:30,880 Speaker 1: the Tieran walls and began swinging their battering rams between them, 57 00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,120 Speaker 1: trying to create a breach, but once again it was 58 00:03:34,200 --> 00:03:37,680 Speaker 1: tires turn to respond. This time they rolled huge boulders 59 00:03:37,760 --> 00:03:40,600 Speaker 1: from their harbors up onto the walls, and then they 60 00:03:40,680 --> 00:03:43,800 Speaker 1: rolled those boulders over the edge, crashing them down onto 61 00:03:43,840 --> 00:03:46,080 Speaker 1: the cliffs at the base of the walls. And now 62 00:03:46,080 --> 00:03:49,080 Speaker 1: the battering rams could no longer reach their target. But 63 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,520 Speaker 1: Alexander would not be deterred. He sent more ships to 64 00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:55,840 Speaker 1: tie ropes around the boulders and tow them away, and 65 00:03:56,040 --> 00:03:59,280 Speaker 1: in response, the tyrants fired arrows that severed the ropes, 66 00:03:59,560 --> 00:04:02,920 Speaker 1: and to count After this, Alexander replaced the ropes with chains. 67 00:04:03,440 --> 00:04:05,960 Speaker 1: It was a game of constant one upmanship, and it 68 00:04:06,000 --> 00:04:09,520 Speaker 1: was dragging on for months, costing many many lives. Something 69 00:04:09,600 --> 00:04:13,640 Speaker 1: obviously had to give. Finally, Alexander realized that he simply 70 00:04:13,680 --> 00:04:16,839 Speaker 1: needed to try all of his various methods at once, 71 00:04:17,080 --> 00:04:19,800 Speaker 1: rather than focusing on one at a time, and so 72 00:04:19,920 --> 00:04:22,440 Speaker 1: he sent his ships to attack the northern and southern 73 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:25,880 Speaker 1: harbors while also battering the walls. And by this point 74 00:04:25,880 --> 00:04:29,120 Speaker 1: his workers had also finished constructing the causeway, which now 75 00:04:29,160 --> 00:04:32,400 Speaker 1: went right up to the island. The tyrants were forced 76 00:04:32,400 --> 00:04:35,159 Speaker 1: to defend too many different parts of the city at once. 77 00:04:35,560 --> 00:04:38,640 Speaker 1: When one of the battering rams finally breached the southern wall, 78 00:04:39,040 --> 00:04:42,719 Speaker 1: troops started to pour in, And meanwhile, Alexander led his 79 00:04:42,839 --> 00:04:45,120 Speaker 1: men from one of the siege towers on the causeway, 80 00:04:45,480 --> 00:04:48,360 Speaker 1: taking over the walls that had challenged him for so long. 81 00:04:48,760 --> 00:04:51,359 Speaker 1: And he showed no mercy when he got there either. 82 00:04:51,760 --> 00:04:55,520 Speaker 1: The protracted siege had made him furious. He killed six 83 00:04:55,600 --> 00:04:59,960 Speaker 1: thousand tyrants and crucified another two thousand. The remaining thirty 84 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:03,960 Speaker 1: two thousand were taken as slaves. In the end, all 85 00:05:04,000 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 1: of his education had failed to teach him the value 86 00:05:06,760 --> 00:05:10,560 Speaker 1: of human life. Curiosity leads us to wonder what Alexander 87 00:05:10,640 --> 00:05:12,960 Speaker 1: might have accomplished if he had set his mind to 88 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:30,680 Speaker 1: improving lives rather than taking them. Everyone knows the story 89 00:05:30,760 --> 00:05:33,400 Speaker 1: of Camelot, but few know that there was an Eastern 90 00:05:33,440 --> 00:05:38,600 Speaker 1: European kingdom with an almost equally fantastical history, and unlike Camelot, 91 00:05:38,600 --> 00:05:41,800 Speaker 1: this place was real. The kingdom was known as Kievan 92 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:45,320 Speaker 1: russ and its impact on Europe can still be felt today. 93 00:05:46,120 --> 00:05:48,400 Speaker 1: The story of this kingdom begins all the way back 94 00:05:48,400 --> 00:05:51,080 Speaker 1: in the year Age sixty two, and so many of 95 00:05:51,120 --> 00:05:53,600 Speaker 1: the details of the founding have been lost at time. 96 00:05:53,839 --> 00:05:56,279 Speaker 1: This is most important when it comes to the ethnic 97 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:59,880 Speaker 1: makeup of the russ people, which is still somewhat debated 98 00:05:59,920 --> 00:06:03,840 Speaker 1: to this day. The most commonly accepted narrative is that 99 00:06:03,880 --> 00:06:07,080 Speaker 1: the lands were settled first by the Eastern Slavs, an 100 00:06:07,120 --> 00:06:10,799 Speaker 1: ethnic group from Central Europe, and these Slavs were beset 101 00:06:10,839 --> 00:06:13,800 Speaker 1: on all sides by different enemy tribes and lacked the 102 00:06:13,920 --> 00:06:17,680 Speaker 1: means to defend themselves. They supposedly reached a deal with 103 00:06:17,720 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: a group of legendary warriors, the Vanagarians, who were Viking 104 00:06:21,640 --> 00:06:25,360 Speaker 1: raiders from Sweden. The Vanagarians were invited to Novgorod to 105 00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: rule as kings. They took the city as their new capital. 106 00:06:29,240 --> 00:06:33,880 Speaker 1: As the Vanagarian kings and Slavic villagers intermingled, they became 107 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: one people, the Rus. Their leader, the Viking king Rurik, 108 00:06:38,040 --> 00:06:41,279 Speaker 1: set about conquering the surrounding lands. He then sent two 109 00:06:41,320 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: of his best warriors with an army south to conquer 110 00:06:44,000 --> 00:06:47,440 Speaker 1: the legendary city of Constantinople. But on their way they 111 00:06:47,520 --> 00:06:50,600 Speaker 1: encountered a city on a hill. It was well fortified 112 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: and served as a strong base from which to raid 113 00:06:53,279 --> 00:06:56,479 Speaker 1: the surrounding areas and Eventually they were able to conquer 114 00:06:56,480 --> 00:07:00,480 Speaker 1: the city, which was called Kiev. Now the Rus officially 115 00:07:00,480 --> 00:07:03,880 Speaker 1: become the Kiev and russ After King Rurik died, his 116 00:07:04,000 --> 00:07:08,480 Speaker 1: closest ally Oleg, became regent until Rurik's young son Igor 117 00:07:08,560 --> 00:07:11,520 Speaker 1: could come of age. Oleg was known for his cunning 118 00:07:11,680 --> 00:07:14,720 Speaker 1: and his sense of strategy. Although his base of power 119 00:07:14,880 --> 00:07:19,000 Speaker 1: was in Novgorode, Rurik's two generals still ruled Kiev. He 120 00:07:19,080 --> 00:07:22,400 Speaker 1: conquered more and more of Eastern Europe until arriving at 121 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:25,520 Speaker 1: the southern city under a white flag. He invited the 122 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:27,960 Speaker 1: two generals out of Kiev to meet with him, and 123 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:31,640 Speaker 1: they foolishly complied, allowing Oleg to kill them both and 124 00:07:31,720 --> 00:07:35,880 Speaker 1: take Kiev as his new capital. Oleg seemed unstoppable at 125 00:07:35,880 --> 00:07:38,440 Speaker 1: this point. In fact, there was a prophecy stating that 126 00:07:38,480 --> 00:07:41,720 Speaker 1: the only thing that could kill him was his prized stallion. 127 00:07:42,200 --> 00:07:45,560 Speaker 1: Why that is is still unclear. But even more unclear 128 00:07:45,640 --> 00:07:48,320 Speaker 1: is why Olig did what he did next. Instead of 129 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:50,960 Speaker 1: killing the stallion, he sent it to a stable in 130 00:07:51,080 --> 00:07:55,240 Speaker 1: Kiev to be well cared for. After several years, word 131 00:07:55,320 --> 00:07:57,760 Speaker 1: came to Olig that the stallion had finally died of 132 00:07:57,800 --> 00:08:01,040 Speaker 1: old age, and so Oleg returned to Kiev and to 133 00:08:01,160 --> 00:08:04,280 Speaker 1: the stable, where they lit a funeral pyre for the horse, 134 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:07,560 Speaker 1: and once it was reduced to ash and bone, Oleg 135 00:08:07,640 --> 00:08:11,520 Speaker 1: walked forward and smashed his heel down on the horse's skull. 136 00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:15,360 Speaker 1: Unfortunately for him, there was a snake hiding beneath it, 137 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:19,040 Speaker 1: and it slithered out, biting him in the ankle, killing him. 138 00:08:19,480 --> 00:08:22,240 Speaker 1: Rurik's son Igor came to power at that point, but 139 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:25,920 Speaker 1: he was assassinated by a rival tribe. His widow, Olga, 140 00:08:26,160 --> 00:08:28,760 Speaker 1: not to be confused with O'leg, set out on a 141 00:08:28,880 --> 00:08:32,720 Speaker 1: legendary quest for revenge. She had emissaries from the rival 142 00:08:32,760 --> 00:08:36,000 Speaker 1: tribe buried alive. She invited some of their wise men 143 00:08:36,040 --> 00:08:38,920 Speaker 1: to Kiev, claiming that she wanted peace, and then trapped 144 00:08:38,920 --> 00:08:41,440 Speaker 1: them in a bathhouse and burned it to the ground. 145 00:08:41,880 --> 00:08:44,800 Speaker 1: But her most infamous action was when she laid siege 146 00:08:44,840 --> 00:08:47,520 Speaker 1: to the capital city of the rival tribe. She had 147 00:08:47,520 --> 00:08:50,080 Speaker 1: her men tie pieces of hot coal to the legs 148 00:08:50,080 --> 00:08:52,800 Speaker 1: of various small birds, and when the birds flew away, 149 00:08:52,840 --> 00:08:55,800 Speaker 1: they eventually nested in the trees and the rafters around 150 00:08:55,840 --> 00:08:58,840 Speaker 1: the city. The hot coals came into contact with dry 151 00:08:58,880 --> 00:09:02,720 Speaker 1: wood and straw and eventually lit the entire city on fire. 152 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:07,280 Speaker 1: Olga got her revenge. At its height, the Kingdom of 153 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:11,120 Speaker 1: Kievan Russ spanned from the Baltic Sea in northern Europe 154 00:09:11,240 --> 00:09:14,160 Speaker 1: to the Black Sea in the south. They spread trade 155 00:09:14,160 --> 00:09:17,360 Speaker 1: and culture throughout the continent. Some of the kings and 156 00:09:17,400 --> 00:09:21,880 Speaker 1: queens even became saints within the Eastern Orthodox Church. But 157 00:09:21,960 --> 00:09:25,760 Speaker 1: eventually in fighting between various princes left them vulnerable to 158 00:09:25,880 --> 00:09:29,280 Speaker 1: invasion from the Mongols, and the kingdom was destroyed in 159 00:09:29,360 --> 00:09:34,480 Speaker 1: twelve forty. However, the legacy of these people has still endured, 160 00:09:34,600 --> 00:09:38,559 Speaker 1: and today the people of Ukraine, Belarus, and Russia all 161 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:42,360 Speaker 1: claimed the Kievan Rus as their common ancestor. In fact, 162 00:09:42,360 --> 00:09:45,600 Speaker 1: this is a factor in the ongoing conflict between Ukraine 163 00:09:45,679 --> 00:09:49,600 Speaker 1: and Russia. The Russian state believes the Ukraine belongs under 164 00:09:49,640 --> 00:09:53,160 Speaker 1: their control, as they see themselves as the inheritors of 165 00:09:53,200 --> 00:09:57,320 Speaker 1: the Kievan Russ legacy, and of course Ukrainians know that 166 00:09:57,360 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 1: they have just as much claimed that legacy as their 167 00:10:00,080 --> 00:10:04,560 Speaker 1: Russians and prefer their well deserved independence. It's a choice 168 00:10:04,640 --> 00:10:07,880 Speaker 1: that shouldn't be ignored, not least of all because of 169 00:10:07,920 --> 00:10:11,800 Speaker 1: the historical accuracy of it. All because while common ground 170 00:10:11,960 --> 00:10:16,000 Speaker 1: is good and valuable, it's never enough to justify taking 171 00:10:16,040 --> 00:10:23,280 Speaker 1: away a nation's freedom. I hope you've enjoyed today's guided 172 00:10:23,320 --> 00:10:26,760 Speaker 1: tour of the Cabinet of Curiosities. Subscribe for free on 173 00:10:26,800 --> 00:10:29,800 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or learn more about the show by visiting 174 00:10:29,920 --> 00:10:34,520 Speaker 1: Curiosities podcast dot com. The show was created by me 175 00:10:34,720 --> 00:10:38,360 Speaker 1: Aaron Mankey in partnership with how Stuff Works. I make 176 00:10:38,400 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: another award winning show called Lore, which is a podcast, 177 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,000 Speaker 1: book series, and television show, and you can learn all 178 00:10:45,040 --> 00:10:49,079 Speaker 1: about it over at the Worldolore dot com. And until 179 00:10:49,120 --> 00:10:52,800 Speaker 1: next time, stay curious.