Author | Lightnews

Imperator Cat

@catimperator.bsky.social

300 followers 39 following 130 posts

Historian, Writer, Geek, Felinophile. Questioning everything.

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Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Nov 7

“𝑀𝑜𝑠𝑡 𝑝𝑒𝑜𝑝𝑙𝑒, 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑎𝑐𝑡, 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑛𝑜𝑡 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑏𝑙𝑒 𝑖𝑛 𝑓𝑖𝑛𝑑𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑜𝑢𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑟𝑢𝑡ℎ, 𝑏𝑢𝑡 𝑎𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑢𝑐ℎ 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑐𝑙𝑖𝑛𝑒𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑎𝑐𝑐𝑒𝑝𝑡 𝑡ℎ𝑒 𝑓𝑖𝑟𝑠𝑡 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑟𝑦 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟.”

~ Thucydides

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Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · 11d

Michael Crichton was a prophet

Imagine if #AWS and #Azure have access to raptor cages...

Only Google Cloud is missing

Also f off 'AI'

a man wearing glasses and a leather jacket says yeah yeah but your scientists were so preoccupied

ALT: a man wearing glasses and a leather jacket says yeah yeah but your scientists were so preoccupied

media.tenor.com

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Sep 20

👀

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Sep 19

I knew that the art looks weirdly familiar! Now I know why?

So nothing Roman/Byzantine in the pipeline?

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Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Sep 12

Ooh, I ll definitely give it a look

Alt history is one of my guilty pleasures

Especially if not counterfactuals

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Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Sep 12

Yup. But I would like to see more games with Justinian reconquest topic

Such a fascinating period, yet almost no coverage :/

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Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Sep 12

Though it endured only a few years beyond this date, with Northern Italy lost, the Romans struggling to defend the Apennines - the Empire at the end of Justinian’s reign remains a staggering achievement.

Always breathtaking to behold.

Link to high res
www.deviantart.com/cyowari/art/...

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Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Mar 2

#OTD in 537 AD, the first Siege of Rome began, lasting for a year and nine days. The city was besieged by the Ostrogothic army led by king Vitiges. The Romans were commanded by general Belisarius.

The siege ultimately failed, and Belisarius could continue his reconquest of Italy

🖼️Giorgio Albertini

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Feb 28

A ghost from the past

The SS United States, once the fastest ocean liner in the world, on her way to become artificial reef off the Florida's coast

If you squint, you can imagine her tearing through the ocean waves again, a reminder of the golden age

Courtesy of the captain of the tugboat "Vinik"

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Feb 27

In 1400, emperor Manuel II arrived in London where he met with Henry IV.

It was the first such visit to these islands by a Roman emperor since Constans arrived in Britannia in 343, more than 1,000 years before. And the first time since Constantine III left Britain in 407.

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Feb 20

what a sight, indeed

Well, the dark side will remain the home for a while, but yes, looking forward to the blue skies

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Feb 15

While emperor Claudius coming to Britain atop an elephant is a tempting scene, the reality was probably different, with "elephant" marking a sort of siege weapon.

After all, the Romans had a history of using animal names to name military machines (aries, onager, scorpio, corvus)

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Feb 12

After becoming "religio licita" under Constantine the Great, Christianity rapidly permeated all aspects of daily life in the Roman Empire.

Signet rings with a prayer to God, like the silver ring from the Fine Arts Museum in Budapest (4th c), became ubiquitous among the wealthy

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Feb 4

A poignant reminder of an eternal love

The lions represent a married couple, female (mirror and a comb); male (pruning knife and grapes) - symbols of Aphrodite and Dionysius

Under them is a Greek inscription, which once stood over a closed door, saying "The way is shut"

Fine Arts Museum, Budapest

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 31

I am not the only one reading this in Avasarala's voice, right?

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 28

The 2192-ton iron-hull giant, Milverton was not the largest of the sailing ships at the turn of the century.

Imagine seeing several of those iron colossi anchored in the port!

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 28

Imagine strolling down the street with a view like that to keep you amused.

Mind you, that guy out on the bowsprit gives a good idea of how big some of those ships were.

SS Milverton in Stewarts Dock, Manchester Road, Isle of Dogs,

And no, this is not AI-generated shlock - photo taken in 1919

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 24

Plot twist - Grammarly is seducing you

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 23

The whole Pavilion was lavishly illustrated; Mucha's main aim, celebrating the rich history and cultural diversity of the soon-to-be-annexed region.

An annexation, which would eventually end with shots in Sarajevo and guns of August, plunging the world into a bloody war...

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 23

In 1900, Austro-Hungary opened the Bosnia Pavilion at the Paris World Fair.

Its chief designer was celebrated art-nouveau artist Alfonse Mucha, who painted a stunning mural depicting Bosnia as a beautiful enthroned woman surrounded by her diverse people

🔽

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Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 20

Clearly practiced it in the mirror over & over

Yet still blew it

Awkward

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 18

Indeed. Need to buy a new one

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 18

why you are so cool

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Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 18

all it needs is VR

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 18

#OTD in 532 AD, the Nika Riots, a protest against emperor Justinian's unpopular ministers and then a full-fledged rebellion, came to its bloody end, resulting in the death of 30,000 rioters.

With stability restored, Justinian could now focus on the reconquest of the West.

#byzantinebluesky

Imperator Cat @catimperator.bsky.social · Jan 12

Veni, vidi, convedi, cubavi.

I came. I saw. I fit. I reclined.

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