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Very fun to read how the assumption to aristocratic power in 19th century comes from ancient kingdoms, celestial objects and religious figures.

- ruler of the kingdoms of Macedonia, Babylon, Jerusalem, Upper and Lower Egypt;

- brother of the sun and moon;

- son of Muhammad; steadfast guardian of the tomb of Jesus Christ; grandson and viceroy of God, trustee chosen by God Himself;



Here's another one from Suleiman the Magnificent's letter to Francis I of France who was then in conflict with Holy Roman Emperor Charles V and asking for Suleiman's help:

  I who am the Sultan of Sultans, the sovereign of sovereigns, the dispenser of crowns to the monarchs on the face of the earth, the shadow of the God on Earth, the Sultan and sovereign lord of the Mediterranean Sea and of the Black Sea, of Rumelia and of Anatolia, of Karamania, of the land of Romans, of Dhulkadria, of Diyarbakir, of Kurdistan, of Azerbaijan, of Persia, of Damascus, of Aleppo, of Cairo, of Mecca, of Medina, of Jerusalem, of all Arabia, of Yemen and of many other lands which my noble fore-fathers and my glorious ancestors (may God light up their tombs!) conquered by the force of their arms and which my August Majesty has made subject to my flamboyant sword and my victorious blade, I, Sultan Suleiman Khan, son of Sultan Selim Khan, son of Sultan Bayezid Khan...


You should see Charles V's official list of titles.

`Charles, by the grace of God, Emperor of the Romans, forever August, King of Germany, King of Italy, King of all Spains, of Castile, Aragon, León, of Hungary, of Dalmatia, of Croatia, Navarra, Grenada, Toledo, Valencia, Galicia, Majorca, Sevilla, Cordova, Murcia, Jaén, Algarves, Algeciras, Gibraltar, the Canary Islands, King of Two Sicilies, of Sardinia, Corsica, King of Jerusalem, King of the Indies, of the Islands and Mainland of the Ocean Sea, Archduke of Austria, Duke of Burgundy, Brabant, Lorraine, Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, Limburg, Luxembourg, Gelderland, Neopatria, Württemberg, Landgrave of Alsace, Prince of Swabia, Asturia and Catalonia, Count of Flanders, Habsburg, Tyrol, Gorizia, Barcelona, Artois, Burgundy Palatine, Hainaut, Holland, Seeland, Ferrette, Kyburg, Namur, Roussillon, Cerdagne, Drenthe, Zutphen, Margrave of the Holy Roman Empire, Burgau, Oristano and Gociano, Lord of Frisia, the Wendish March, Pordenone, Biscay, Molin, Salins, Tripoli and Mechelen.`


It sounds like a skilled programmer's CV


I who am the rockstar programmer of rockstars, the hacker of hackers, the dispenser of fixes to the bugs on the face of the Github, the sovereign lord of Realm of Npm, and Kingdom of Rust...


The demolisher of bugs, killer of memory leaks, the vice regent of UI design, the maker of apps


The interest in classical antiquity was not just a European phenomenon. And the Ottomans were very well positioned to lay claim to that past, controlling the right land and also running a multi-ethnic empire in the "Achaemenid, Hellenistic, Roman" tradition.


Time has tended to overlook the Ottoman Empire. The few times I've mentioned it, people often haven't heard much about it. And are very surprised to learn that it was a party in WW1 .. after existing for 600 years ... after they'd tossed out the Mongols that invaded Europe in the 1200s.

Out of the fire, into the frying pan.


Note that the letter is probably not authentic, and does not reflect how an actual Sultan would describe himself.


17th century, but let's not quibble.




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