Comments on: A Pain in the Royal Horse: 5 Sex Rumors About Royalty

By: Zindadil

Zindadil — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:35:05 +0000

thank God we dont have royalty today. Power to the People.

By: Zindadil

Zindadil — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:33:13 +0000

This Shahjehan love affair cost the public a fortune. It was tax payer money. The poor remained poor and the rich could have all they wanted. One big monument for a stupid love. Rumors are that the hand of the artisans who build the Taj Mahal were cut off so that no one could copy it.

By: gopalan

gopalan — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:24:46 +0000

Loadedguns, Please check again, both you and neatorama are right! Nur Jahan was the favourite wife of Jahangir; Mumtaz, the wife of Shah Jahan (son of Jahangir), the inspiration for the Taj Mahal, was the daughter of the brother of Nur Jahan. Thus, both are right!

By: Matt

Matt — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 15:59:54 +0000

Don't forget about Prince Charles son William, and Williams half-brother Harry...

By: Mike Stajduhar

Mike Stajduhar — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 08:28:40 +0000

Catherine the Great's husband was Peter III not Fredrick whoever that was.

By: Loadedguns

Loadedguns — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 05:15:23 +0000

Alex!
I take my words back...except one thing - we should not forget that Shah Jehan's period was one of greatest prosperity during Mughal reign in India. When you say 300 wives and 5000 concubines, it seems like a porno epic. But it is not so. In that period of instability and revolts, greatest thing which mattered was having a son. Having this 'janankhana' or 'harem' was a provision for bad times (the more women you have, the greater is your prestige). I wonder many of these concubines and wives even ever met Shah Jehan. Further this was a common practice in Medieval times. This fact alone is not sufficient to brand a good king Jahangir as a sex maniac [and you put him at no. 1 of all!!!]

By: ted

ted — Sat, 18 Oct 2008 00:08:12 +0000

Geez, Alex, you made me re-read my comment.

The position of "consul" is more like "president". Not every senator became consul. And I was wrong - Suetonius doesn't say that he made the horse senator. Cassius Dio, who wrote may years later, says that the horse did get a priesthood, though.

My point was mostly about the alleged bestiality, which has no basis in ancient historians.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 23:16:51 +0000

Loadedgun, the article is about Jahangir, the father of Prince Khurram, who later became Shah Jahan

Nur Jahan was Jahangir's favorite wife. Her niece was Mumtaz Mahal, whom Shah Jahan married and made Taj Mahal for.

Ted, Incitatus was never made consul - Roman historian Suetonius wrote that Caligula *planned* to make the horse a consul. Later, the controversy was why: a lot of people thought it was a stunt to annoy the senators.

By: DOJ

DOJ — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:16:54 +0000

wow, 3 out of 5 about horses
Camilla zing!

By: ted

ted — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:11:36 +0000

The one about Caligula is terribly wrong. Caligula had Incitatus made a senator, which outraged the senators. Nowhere in any of the ancient historical sources does it even hint at a sexual relationship between him and the racehorse.

Sounds like Mental Floss gets its information from low-budget porn films.

By: Tempscire

Tempscire — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 22:10:52 +0000

Am I the only one getting a Michael Jackson vibe off Queen Charlotte? Appearance-wise, I mean.

By: drd

drd — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 14:23:21 +0000

well said loaded guns. about the facts regarding shahjehan. But should appreciate the effort made by alex in getting story about royal rumors.

By: Loadedguns

Loadedguns — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:28:31 +0000

Check your facts before sounding knowledgeable. Shahjehan built Tajmahal for his wife - Mumtaj. This is why Taj Mahal is considered as a symbol of love. Nur Jahan was Akbar's son Salim's lover.

Also, the photo is not of Shahjehan.

(wikipedia is always one-click away, you lazy fool).

Off-course I should not take you seriously...

By: Loadedguns

Loadedguns — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 12:27:13 +0000

Check your facts before sounding knowledgeable. Shahjehan built Tajmahal for his wife - Mumtaj. This is why Taj Mahal is considered as a symbol of love. Nur Jahan was Akbar's son Salim's lover.

Off-course I should not take you seriously...

By: The Manticore

The Manticore — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:52:23 +0000

Yea but Caligula eventually had Incitatus beheaded. the reason escapes me now. grr

By: Ali S.

Ali S. — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 05:15:25 +0000

Wow. What is with royalty and wanting to bugger anything that walks on two (or four legs!)?