The story is interesting for the appearance of numerous impostors in it. The most commonly known cases are when someone declared himself to be an existing real person for the purpose of obtaining power or material gain. In Russian history, the most famous case was Tsar False Dmitry.
Often scammers pretend to be persons who never existed at all, it is enough to remember the children of Lieutenant Schmidt. It is interesting that in the romantic era (XVIII-XIX centuries) a lot of fake princesses and natives of exotic nationalities arose.
Today, impostors prefer to pretend to be movie and theater stars, famous athletes, singers. Let's talk about the ten most famous impostors in the history of mankind, who, with varying degrees of success, used their legend to achieve their goals.
Gaumata.
The first known impostor was Gaumata, who seized power in Persia as early as 522 BC. By official version this Median priest took advantage of the absence in the country of the legitimate king Cambyses, who was with an army in Egypt, and revolted. In order to have the right to the throne, Gaumata declared that he was Bardiya, the younger brother of the king, who had been killed shortly before by him. Cambyses moved troops against Gaumata, but died on the way under mysterious circumstances. For 2 months, the power of the impostor was recognized by all the peoples of the country. The first steps of the new king was the abolition of taxes for three months and military service. The internal policy of Gaumata was manifested by the destruction of the privileges of the Persian nobility, all this made the king very popular among the people. Naturally, dissatisfied people quickly appeared, especially since Gaumata did not appear in public, which caused doubts among the nobility. The daughter of one of them decided to check if the king's ears were cut off, as Gaumata should have been. For this, she agreed to spend the night with him. When the truth came out, a riot broke out. The conspirators destroyed not only Gaumata, but also many other priests, and Darius became the new king. Gaumata's reign lasted only 7 months. Several sources testify to this coup, almost all of them call Gaumata a magician, which rather testified not to his abilities, but to his Median origin. Historians believe that it is impossible to unequivocally believe that Bardia was killed and did not rule. Perhaps the story of the false king was invented by Darius in order to subsequently enter the throne and justify his claims to power. The well-known document of that time, the Behistun inscription, testifies in favor of history, which could hardly have been fabricated.
Behistun inscription, which tells, among other things, about the case of Gaumata.
Alexander I Walas.
Another well-known impostor of antiquity was Alexander I Valas, king of Syria and Pergamum and ruler of the Seleucid state. This man was born in Smyrna and was of simple origin. However, over time, he began to present himself as the son of King Antiochus, thereby declaring his rights to the throne of the Seleucids. It is curious that the claims of the fraudster were recognized by the Roman Senate, Pharaoh Ptolemy VI and other rulers. The king of Egypt even gave Alexander his daughter as a wife. During civil war King Demetrius I of Syria was deposed and led the empire in 150 BC. the impostor stood up. He immediately took full advantage of the fruits of power, starting to lead a wild life. The Ptolemies had a strong influence on him, the country even minted coins with the face of the founder of the dynasty. However, over time, the Egyptians turned away from Alexander, he was defeated, power in 145 BC. passed to the son of the legitimate king. The impostor fled, was killed and beheaded.
Nero.
The famous emperor Nero, after his death, left not only an unstable state and a bad memory (it is enough to recall only the first persecutions of Christians!), but also several false Nerons. The prerequisites for their appearance was the fact that, despite the dislike of Rome for the emperor, other provinces of the empire kept a good memory of him. The very news of the death of the ruler was announced by one person, and the funeral was not public. In 68 AD, in the year of the death of Nero, the first impostor appears in Greece, who gathered beggars and slaves around him and captured the island of Cytna. However, the uprising was quickly crushed. The next impostor, Terenty Maxim, also outwardly resembled the emperor. In addition, he knew how to play the kifared, like Nero, and his own predecessor. Despite unconvincing stories about staying somewhere for 11 years, the impostor in 79 was able to win over to his side many gullible people who helped him meet with the king of Parthia. The swindler quickly attracted him to his side, who was in opposition to Rome and was thinking about the restoration of Nero. However, the nobleman, having received evidence of imposture from Rome, executed Terenty. Most likely, by that time the political situation had also changed.
Princess Margaret.
The first known impostor of Europe was the False Margaret. Princess Margaret was the daughter of King Eirik of Norway and the granddaughter of King Alexander of Scotland. Chronicles say that the girl's mother died during childbirth in 1283. When the little girl was two years old, her grandfather died and a struggle for power began in Scotland. As a result, the parties agreed that it was Margaret who should become the ruler of the country, and due to her age, a regency council of six nobles was appointed so far. There were far-reaching plans that included the marriage of the princess with Prince Edward, the future king of England and the unification of the two countries through this. However, at the age of 6, Margaret, or as she was called the Scottish Maiden, died. This was the beginning of a new wave of civil strife, the struggle for power and independence. The appearance of the false princess was facilitated by the fact that the girl died without witnesses, it was not clear how and what she was ill with, thereby rumors and gossip appeared. In 1300, a certain person appeared in Norway from Germany, who announced that she was Margarita, and her death was staged in order to seize power. History has no doubt that she was an impostor, because she looked about 40 years old, gray hair shone through. How could this happen to a seventeen-year-old girl? King Hakon, Margaret's uncle made a thorough investigation. The adventure to seize the royal throne failed, because the nobility, unlike the petty nobles, did not support the princess. It is believed that behind the impostor were big nobles who tried to come to power. In 1301, False Margaret was burned at the stake and her husband beheaded. It is curious that in Bergen, Norway, the cult of the holy martyr Margaret soon arose, a church was built, people were drawn here to bow to her ashes. Numerous merchant wills made the parish rich, but the Reformation destroyed the cathedral, like other Catholic buildings.
Saint Margaret the Martyr. Stained glass window from the Basilica of St. Nicholas
Lambert Simnel.
There were cases when impostors performed their role even against their will, as happened with Lambert Simnel (1477-1534).
Degradation royalty and defeat in the Hundred Years' War led to bloody civil strife in England known as the "War of the Roses". The parties destroyed everyone who could claim the throne, by the time the open war ended in 1486, only Edward Warwick, the nephew of Edward IV, remained alive. Henry Tudor comes to power, who soon executed the juvenile pretender. The York party had no one to oppose to the king, so it was decided to nominate an impostor. It is known that the applicant was born in Oxford, in a wealthy family. At the age of 10, the boy was sent to study the theologian Simon, who secretly sympathized with the Yorks. It was the priest who discovered the similarity of the child with the children of Edward IV. At first they planned to marry the boy to Richard of York, the youngest of the king's children, and when in 1486 there was a rumor about the death of Edward Warwick, the plan changed. Behind Simon stood the nobility, who had prepared prominent positions for themselves in the event of victory. The child received an excellent education, knowledge of court etiquette. A rumor was spread to the masses that the prince managed to escape and get to Margaret of Burgundy, who was the head of the Yorkists. It is not surprising that there she recognized Simnel as the Earl of Warwick, although before that she knew him very well. King Henry, in an effort to feed the people's murmur, ordered to deliver from the Tower and show the real and quite alive Edward Warwick to the people. But this did not convince people of the existence of the impostor. In 1487, the Yorkists landed in England with an army of mercenaries. During the decisive Battle of Stoke Field on July 15, the rebels were defeated, and Lambert Simnel and his guardian Richard Simon were captured. The priest could not be executed because of his rank, so he was sentenced to a long prison term. In Coventry, Simon publicly repented and spoke about the true name of the applicant, about the role assigned to him. The prudent king understood that the ten-year-old boy himself could not threaten his power in any way, so he left him alive and even gave him a job in the royal kitchen. Simnel remained at court, rising to the rank of falconer and outliving the king.
Joan of Arc.
Few people know, but the story of Joan of Arc had a continuation in our vein. The story of the "French Virgin" was continued by Jeanne des Armois.
Jeanne des Armois (medallion)
In 1436, 5 years after the burning of Jeanne, an unknown named Claude appeared in Lorraine, she was poorly dressed, rode a horse and had no means. She turned to the knight Nicolas Cyr, with whom the real Jeanne was familiar. The nobleman recognized her as a heroine and lent her money for further travel. Here she met with her brothers and other noble people, everyone recognized the real Jeanne in her. In Metz, the resurrected heroine made a real sensation, people gathered in crowds to look at their idol. Soon Jeanne meets with dukes and counts, even takes part in intrigues. The girl begins to be interested in the Inquisition, which cooled her activities. Soon Jeanne marries Senor Robert des Armois, it is curious that he had previously seen the real "Virgin of Orleans". A marriage contract was drawn up, the bride received part of the land holdings, the coats of arms of the spouses were combined, and Jeanne used the original coat of arms, donated once by the king when elevated to the nobility. Over the next three years, the woman gave birth to two sons to her husband, at which time the inhabitants of Orleans continued to pay for masses for the repose of the soul of their heroine, not understanding whether to believe the rumors about her miraculous salvation. On July 24, 1439, Jeanne appeared in the city, she was given a magnificent reception and presented with a huge amount of money in gratitude for saving the city. The triumphant journey through the cities ended in Paris, where in 1440 a woman was arrested as an impostor and sentenced to the pillory. King Charles, shamefully inactive during the war, was disadvantageous to the appearance national hero. Be that as it may, Jeanne allegedly confessed to lying and repented, returning to her husband. However, there is still debate whether Madame des Armois was the real Jeanne or not. She herself did not tell anything about how she escaped the fire, or about the five years of her life spent before appearing in public. The very fact of the execution of the heroine is shrouded in mystery, perhaps the British, following some of their goals, saved Jeanne's life. Researchers are confused by the fact that too many have recognized the heroine without pursuing any of their interests. There is a clear similarity between the bas-relief of Joan of Arc and the portrait of Joan des Armois, but this may have been done on purpose to confirm the legend. This story remains unrevealed to the end, historians are looking for new evidence and facts, and the des Armois family reveres Jeanne as their most glorious ancestor.
Mathurin Bruno 
was the most famous of more than a hundred (!!!) impostors who proclaimed themselves Louis-Charles Bourbon
. In 1789, this four-year-old prince became heir to the French throne, but in 1792 the monarchy fell and the royal family was imprisoned in the Temple. After the death of Louis XVI in 1793, his wife, Marie Antoinette, swears allegiance to the young dauphin as king, and European countries also recognize him. However, in 1795, the ten-year-old king dies of tuberculosis and is buried in a common grave. Almost immediately there were rumors that the real king was able to survive and escape. This is what gave rise to a whole crowd of impostors. One of them, Mathurin Bruno, was born into a shoemaker's family, leaving home at the age of 11. The smart boy appears to be the son of a baron, but over time he is exposed and for the period from 1795 to 1803 traces of Bruno are lost. Then Mathurin wanders, gets into the army, flees and eventually finds refuge in America. In 1815, Bruno returns to France, introduces himself as the rich man Filippo, who had disappeared 8 years earlier ... Soon the swindler again begins to lead the life of a tramp, and here he decided to introduce himself as Louis-Charles Bourbon. As in the case of other impostors, the same mechanism works - the people suffering hardships are ready to recognize the "true" monarch. Rumors begin to spread across the country that the true king is in prison and is suffering hardships. Fearing riots, the impostor is transferred from one prison to another. In Rouen, real fame comes to him, everyone is allowed to visit him, Bruno himself is going to write to his royal relatives and compose memoirs. On February 19, 1818, 65 jurors unanimously delivered a verdict - before them was an impostor. However, the people do not believe in this, believing that the accused was drunk. Bruno spent the rest of his days in various prisons and died presumably in 1825. Interestingly, the sister of Louis-Charles, until her last days, was sure that her brother managed to escape. Only in 2000 was DNA analysis of the heart of the young king, which was seized during the autopsy and preserved to this day. Experts confirmed the royal origin of the organ, therefore, King Louis XVII really died in the Temple, and all the numerous stories about his miraculous salvation are fiction.
Stephen Small. 
The story of Stephen the Small is also interesting. He appeared in Montenegro in 1766, using several versions of his origin. At that time he looked to be about 35-37 years old. Stefan was hired as a farmhand to a wealthy peasant and then became famous for his ability to heal and take money only from those he helped. The healer often talked with the sick about the unification of Montenegro, which was under Turkish rule. Soon the country was filled with rumors that the Russian Tsar Peter III did not die, but fled to one of the neighboring Slavic countries. I must say that Montenegro has always perceived Russia as an older brother, expecting help from our country in getting rid of oppression. The companions of Metropolitan Vasily Petrovich, who was at court in 1753-1759, were the first to recognize the tsar in Stefan. When the portrait of the emperor was found, everyone was convinced of the clear similarity, while Stefan himself only contributed to the spread of rumors. Just a month later, Maly was recognized as the Russian and Montenegrin king throughout the country. As a result, the question of the impostor was put before the seven thousandth assembly, which unanimously decided to give Stefan Maly power over the state. However, when envoys came to the impostor on November 2, 1767, to everyone's surprise, he tore up the letters and announced that he was relinquishing power while civil strife continued in the country. Surprisingly, everyone obeyed the demand! And now Stefan, as a king, travels around the whole country, openly proclaiming himself Peter III. It is curious that on state seal the name "Stefan" was carved. The Turks and neighboring countries took a wait-and-see attitude. The impostor led the wise internal politics- tribal strife was eradicated, for robbery, murder and theft began to be carried out judgments. A census was conducted in the country, and the church was separated from the state. In fact, under Stephen, Montenegro took the path of becoming a state of the modern type. Having suffered sensitive defeats from the Venetians and Turks, the Montenegrins officially found an ally in the person of Russia. Stefan himself hid from enemies for a long time, being seriously wounded in 1770, he continued to rule the country from the Brceli monastery. But in 1773, a bribed servant killed the impostor, taking his head with him to receive a reward.
Tsar False Dmitry I
The most famous impostor in Russian history was Tsar False Dmitry I. Tsarevich Dmitry (1582-1591), the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible, formally had no right to the throne. After the accession of his brother, this was the last representative of the Moscow Rurikovich. According to the official version, while playing with peers, the prince had an epileptic attack, and he hit himself in the throat with a pointed object, which caused his death. It is believed that the actual ruler Boris Godunov in the struggle for power could be interested in the destruction of the prince. In 1598, the Rurik dynasty was interrupted, the country came Time of Troubles. In 1603, an impostor appeared in Poland, proclaiming himself Dmitry, who miraculously escaped. The reason for the appearance of False Dmitry was the dynastic crisis, the discontent of the people and the terrible famine of 1601-1603. There are several versions of the origins of the impostor, the main one says that his name was Grigory Otrepiev, and he belonged to a noble, but impoverished Lithuanian family. As a child, False Dmitry came to Moscow, served as the Romanovs and took the vows as a monk. It was there that he showed intelligence, starting to ask about the circumstances of Dmitry's death. Gregory's boasting about plans to seize the throne force the authorities to act, the monk flees, eventually falling into the Commonwealth. In 1604, Otrepiev came to the court of the Polish king Sigismund. He, pursuing his plans, recognizes False Dmitry and provides funds for hiring his own army. Grigory proposes to the noblewoman Marina Mnishek, promising his future father-in-law 1 million gold coins, and his wife - the lands of Pskov, Smolensk and Novgorod. On August 15, 1604, a motley army marched on Moscow. However, mediocre tactics led to the fact that False Dmitry got stuck in Putivl, receiving ambassadors there and making loud promises. In May 1605, Boris Godunov died, and some of the royal nobles went over to the side of the impostor. On June 20, 1605, False Dmitry solemnly entered the Kremlin. The impostor was recognized even by his mother, Queen Martha, and already on July 30 he was crowned king. The people had an ambiguous attitude towards the new king. On the one hand, he optimized taxes, improved the judicial system, and on the other hand, he violated fasts, brought the Poles into power, and in 1606 married the Catholic Mary Mniszek. However, less than 10 days after the wedding, Vasily Shuisky raised a riot, as a result of which False Dmitry was killed, and abuses were committed over the body. However, soon, in 1607, another impostor appeared, who went down in history as False Dmitry II, declaring that he was Dmitry, and, accordingly, False Dmitry. To him, despite all her disgust, Marina Mnishek swore allegiance. Soon the new impostor gathers an impressive army, mostly from Poles, and in 1608 sets up camp in Tushino, for which he receives the nickname "Tushino Thief". The new False Dmitry is recognized by many lands, but when the Poles themselves begin an open intervention against Russia, the army falls apart, and the False Dmitry himself dies. This is how the history of the Russian Time of Troubles gave power to two impostors at once.
Princess Tarakanova.
. Serdyukov. Portrait of an unknown. According to the owner of the painting, P.F. Simson, it depicts Princess Tarakanova
Another well-known Russian impostor swindler was Princess Tarakanova, who pretended to be the daughter of Empress Elizabeth and her favorite Razumovsky. Where the impostor came from is not clear. It was said that she was the daughter of either a baker or an innkeeper, but such versions could not explain her outstanding education and manners, knowledge of languages and tact. The adventuress was distinguished by rare beauty, she was smart, and loved luxury. Tarakanova was always surrounded by fans, which she shamelessly used all the time. The fraudster traveled around Europe, fleeing from creditors, under the names of Maiden Frank, Sultana Ali-Emete, Princess of Azov and Princess Elizabeth of Vladimir. She herself never used the name of Princess Tarakanova. In 1774, under the influence of the Poles, the impostor declared herself the daughter of Elizabeth, telling everyone the details of her life with her mother until the age of nine and sending out manifestos to European politicians. However, the beauty succumbed to the tricks of Alexei Orlov and, at the behest of Catherine II, was captured and in May 1775 was taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress. It was here that she died of consumption in December, hiding her true origin even from the priest.
On January 21, 1775, Emelyan Pugachev, the most famous impostor who posed as Emperor Peter, was executed on Bolotnaya Square.III. In Russian history, there were many people who claimed the title of kings or their relatives. We will tellaboutseven most famous impostors in Russia.
Emelyan Pugachev
The death of Emperor Peter III, who was killed during palace coup in 1762, led to a flood of impostors. The most famous of them is Emelyan Pugachev.
Emelyan Pugachev - Don Cossack from the village of Zimoveyskaya, participant Seven Years' War 1756-1762 and Russian-Turkish war. After being wounded and ill, he was sent home for treatment, but his retirement was refused. Unsuccessfully tried to escape from the service, was caught, but then still escaped. In 1773-1774 he headed Peasants' War in the Volga region and Southern Urals, posing as Peter III, who had escaped and was hiding among the common people. Was betrayed by his associates and issued tsarist army in August 1774, executed in Moscow in January 1775.
Gavrila Kremnev
Gavrila Kremnev - the first of the impostors, who called himself Peter III. The impostor appears at the beginning of 1765 in Voronezh province. After 14 years of military service, he fled from the regiment and attracted several people to his side. Pop Lev Evdokimov became an ardent supporter of Gavrila Kremnev. The army of Gavrila Kremnev grew rapidly and reached about 500 people.
A half-squadron of hussars was sent to catch the thief and impostor. The army of the impostor fled at the very first shots, and the soldier emperor was brought to Petersburg for interrogation and punishment.
Catherine's government treated the runaway soldier relatively mildly. The impostor was ordered to be taken to all the villages and towns where he declared himself emperor, tied to his chest a board with the inscription "The Fugitive and the Pretender", put on a disgrace and publicly flogged with a whip. At the end of the trip, the self-proclaimed emperor was burned on his forehead with the initial letters of the words "Fugitive and Pretender" (BS) and exiled to an eternal settlement in Nerchinsk.
Catherine wrote that “this crime happened without any consideration with reason and sense, but only from drunkenness and ignorance, that there were no further and dangerous views and intentions. The priests should point out that it is necessary to fast not only in food, but also in drinking.
False Dmitry I
The impostors of the Time of Troubles basically claimed the title of the miraculously saved Tsarevich Dmitry, the youngest son of Ivan the Terrible. The most famous and successful impostor of Russia is False Dmitry I. He was on the Russian throne for almost a year, from 1605 to 1606.
False Dmitry came to power thanks to the armed support of the Poles, as well as popularity among the common Russian people, who did not support his rival, the young Tsar Fyodor Godunov. The official historical version says that it was a native of noble family Nelidov, a fugitive monk of the Chudov Monastery Grigory Otrepiev. False Dmitry I was killed during a popular uprising in Moscow in 1606.
False Dmitry II
False Dmitry II pretended to be Tsar Dmitry (False Dmitry I), who had escaped during the uprising of 1606. He controlled a significant part of the territory European Russia, besieged Moscow - the impostor camped in Tushino near Moscow, for which he received the nickname Tushinsky thief. In addition, he temporarily enjoyed the support of the Poles and lived with Marina Mnishek, who “recognized” him as her husband, False Dmitry I. He was killed in 1610 in Kaluga.
False Dmitry III
False Dmitry III - appeared in 1611, the third impostor, allegedly miraculously escaped already from Kaluga, Tsar Dmitry. The false tsar appeared first in Novgorod, then in Ivangorod and Pskov. In this city, he enjoyed the support of the local population and part of the Moscow Cossacks, but a year later he was killed as a result of a conspiracy.
The data on his personality vary - according to some sources, he was an experienced criminal Sidorka, according to others - a fugitive Moscow deacon Matvey.
Timofey Ankudinov
Timofei Ankudinov, an official from Vologda, posed as the non-existent son of Vasily IV Shuisky. In Russia, he had financial problems, because of which the official was forced to flee abroad. Before that, he burned down his own house with his wife. For 9 years he traveled around Europe, calling himself the Prince of Great Perm, the son of Tsar Vasily IV Shuisky. Thanks to his artistry and ingenuity, Ankudinov enlisted the support of such influential people as Pope Innocent X, Bogdan Khmelnitsky, Queen Christina of Sweden.
Ankudinov promised that as soon as he ascended the throne, he would definitely “share the territory”, issued decrees and signed them with his own hand. As a result, the prince of Great Perm was handed over to Tsar Alexei Mikhailovich, taken to Moscow and quartered.
Princess Tarakanova
Princess Tarakanova posed as the daughter of Empress Elizabeth and her favorite Razumovsky. The true origin of this woman is unknown: many claim that she was the daughter of a simple baker or innkeeper, but such versions do not explain her outstanding education and manners, knowledge of languages, etc.
Tarakanova was distinguished by her bright appearance, she was always surrounded by fans.
At the same time, she never used the name of Princess Tarakanova. In 1774, under the influence of the Poles, she declared herself the daughter of Elizabeth. She told everyone the details of her life with her mother until the age of nine and sent out manifestos to European politicians.
However, the princess succumbed to the tricks of Count Alexei Orlov and, at the behest of Catherine II, was captured and taken to the Peter and Paul Fortress in May 1775. It was here that she died of consumption in December, hiding her origin even from the priest.
What kind of legends were not invented by the impostors in order to come to power. Here the children of Lieutenant Schmidt would envy. But the fate of all impostors, at least, was unenviable. An instructive lesson for future generations is that it is better to live your own life than to live for someone else.
In pursuit of power, people change the fate of peoples and states. And sometimes they sacrifice their own names and personalities. The phenomenon of imposters has existed throughout human history. And huge empires sometimes turned out to be deceived. The story of five people who went through very different paths in pursuit of someone else's throne is in our rating.
The lust for power has always turned people's heads and pushed them to commit insane acts. Those who were lucky enough to be at the head of countries and peoples strove to fully enjoy their power, and many of those who were far from power were ready to fight for it by hook or by crook. This is how impostors appeared in world history - people who pretended to be representatives of legitimate authority. Some of them managed to take the throne and rule for some time. For others, the path to the top was interrupted at the very beginning. Some were driven by their own ambitions, others were just weak-willed puppets in the hands of others. But they all had one thing in common - the desire to take someone else's place. Today we share 5 of the most amazing stories impostors from different lands and times.
The most cunning
Cambyses II, who ruled Persian power Achaemenids in the VI century BC, went down in history as a cruel and conceited king. In order to preserve his throne, he killed his brother Bardiya (according to another version, his name was Smerdis), whom he suspected of organizing uprisings against his power. And then he went to conquer Egypt. During the campaign, he was overtaken by rumors that a certain person calling himself Bardia had seized power over the Persians.
Antique historians called a certain Median magician (that is, a priest) by the name of Gaumata a pseudo-Bardia. He was left by Cambyses to look after the palace and decided to take advantage of the long absence of the king. Being close to the ruler, Gaumata knew about the murder of Bardia, whose death was kept secret from the people. Therefore, it cost him nothing in 522 BC to declare himself the legitimate king and start issuing decrees. So the trickster did not even have to make up a story about his miraculous "salvation", as most impostors did.
Having learned about the coup, Cambyses, in a rage, moved with an army from Egypt, but on the way he died due to an absurd accident, cutting himself with his own sword. After that, the false Bardia began to rule without fear of retribution. He immediately relied on winning the sympathy of the common people and announced the abolition of taxes and military service for 3 years. Thanks to this, his popularity in all territories subordinated to the Persians constantly grew. People liked the "good king", especially in contrast to the cruel Cambyses.
However, the Persian tribal >nobility was extremely dissatisfied with the policy of the new ruler. Suspicions were also aroused by the fact that the false Bardia never left his palace. Apparently, he did this so that those who knew Bardia well by sight would not recognize the substitution. Although, according to some testimonies, Gaumata was very similar to the murdered brother of the king. In the end, a nobleman named Otan, whose daughter was in the royal harem, seriously suspected that Bardia was dead, and the magician Gaumata occupied the throne. He knew that Gaumata's ears had once been cut off as a punishment for a crime, and he asked his daughter during the night with the king to check whether everything was in order. When it turned out that the ears of the false Bardia had indeed been cut off, a conspiracy of the Persian nobility immediately formed against the impostor. After holding the throne for only 7 months, Gaumata was overthrown and killed. And the next king of the Persians was the leader of the conspiracy; - Darius.
Most similar
We are accustomed to perceive the Roman emperor Nero as a tragicomic figure - a tyrant, known for his extravagant antics, but not for the art of government. It is not surprising that in 68 he ended his life ingloriously - by committing suicide after the Senate declared him an enemy of Rome. However, much less known is the fact that Nero enjoyed great popularity and even love of the people in the eastern provinces of the empire. Greece was grateful to him for serious tax breaks. And Parthia, with whom Nero made a favorable peace by returning Armenia to her, sincerely considered the emperor her friend.
So when, around the year 79, a man suddenly appeared in the East, calling himself the emperor Nero who had escaped death, he immediately found many supporters. Moreover, the impostor, according to eyewitnesses, really looked a lot like Nero - this was confirmed by those who saw the emperor during his lifetime. The resemblance was not limited to facial features and figure. The false Nero played the cithara well and sang. His behavior and petty habits also corresponded to the surviving memories of the ruler of Rome. Nevertheless, the name of the impostor is known - it was the merchant Terence Maximus from Asia Minor. There is a version that he was specially trained for the role of Nero by those who knew and remembered the manners of the “original”. But even if this is so, no information about the organizers of this scam has been preserved.
Terence Maximus was not the first false Nero. But he managed to achieve the widest recognition. During his campaign in Mesopotamia, more and more supporters joined him. Alas, not a single experienced military leader or officer was among them. Therefore, the army of the false Nero was defeated in the very first serious battle with the Roman legions sent to suppress the rebellion. For some time, the impostor found shelter in Parthia, whose king Artaban IV recognized him as the real Nero and promised all kinds of support. However, having figured out that there was no real power behind Terence Maximus (according to another version, having received some “irrefutable evidence” that he was dealing with an impostor), Artaban cold-bloodedly handed him over to the Romans for reprisal.
most unfortunate
The so-called War of the Scarlet and White Rose between the English houses of York and Lancaster ended in 1485 with the accession of King Henry VII. The Yorkies lost, but continued to hatch plans for revenge. However, for a coup d'état, they needed a legitimate claimant to the throne. So they decided to declare a boy named Lambert Simnel, who outwardly looked a bit like the young Prince Richard of York, who was killed during his imprisonment in the Tower. True, the conspirators soon changed their minds and decided to marry Simnel to another young prince - Edward Warwick, the nephew of King Edward IV. The boy, who was the son of a simple townsman, was very well prepared to play the role of a prince. Then he was transported to Ireland, where the Yorkists were strong and from where the uprising was to begin.
The conspirators did not take into account one thing - the most important thing. Edward Warwick, whom they thought dead, turned out to be alive. King Henry VII, who heard rumors of a conspiracy, ordered Warwick to be urgently delivered from the Tower, where he was imprisoned, and shown to the people of London so that they could see that the Yorks supported the impostor.
Despite this, in May 1487 the Yorkists crowned Lambert Simnel as King Edward VI in Dublin Cathedral and in early June launched an invasion of England. Despite the fact that a couple of cities opened their gates to them, the conspirators failed to provoke a large-scale uprising against Henry. The king, on the other hand, moved to meet the army and on June 16 utterly defeated the Yorkists at the battle of Stoke Field, which is considered the last battle of the War of the Scarlet and White Rose.
We must pay tribute to Henry VII - he rightly judged that the 10-year-old boy, who was a puppet in the hands of the conspirators, was not to blame for anything. Therefore, Lambert Simnel was neither executed nor imprisoned, but sent to work in the royal kitchen. There he very successfully coped with his duties and soon received the position of steward. It is said that once, when an Irish delegation was present at the royal feast, Henry VII made a mocking joke, pointing to Simnel, who was serving at the table: “My Irish nobles! So you will get to the point that you will crown the monkeys! Simnel lived at court for many more years, eventually rising to the position of a falconer.
the luckiest
Perhaps False Dmitry I, who ruled Russia from June 1605 to May 1606, can safely claim the title of the most successful impostor of all times and peoples. Despite the fact that he ended his life tragically as a result of a coup arranged by Vasily Shuisky, he went down in history as an adventurer who achieved almost all his goals and proved to be a quite capable politician.
Despite the fact that the power of False Dmitry rested on the military support of the Poles, he did not behave in Russia, as in a conquered country. He did not seek to thoughtlessly enjoy the opportunities that fell on him. Moreover, some of the reforms of False Dmitry were very progressive for their time and clearly aimed at changing the country for the better. For example, he legally banned bribery and streamlined the collection of taxes. And he replaced corporal punishment for the nobles with fines to the treasury.
False Dmitry himself said: “There are two ways to reign, mercy and generosity or severity and executions; I chose the first way; I made a vow to God not to shed the blood of my subjects and I will fulfill it.” And these words can hardly be called completely hypocritical.
At the same time, False Dmitry was a prisoner of his petty passions, which had little to do with the image of the God-chosen king. For example, he had a pathological passion for women, turning many boyar daughters actually in their concubines. Which, of course, did not add to his popularity. In addition, a rather curious detail is known - the impostor constantly lied, with or without reason. Moreover, he did it so clumsily that the members of the Boyar Duma said to his eyes: “Sir, you lied,” and False Dmitry had nothing to answer, the justice of these words was so obvious.
With the boyars, he could not find common language. Moreover, no one believed for a second that they really were the son of Ivan the Terrible, and not the fugitive monk Grigory Otrepyev (however, there are still more than a dozen versions of the origin of the impostor). He managed to expose several conspiracies in time, but in the end he was overthrown and killed. And the Time of Troubles in Russia continued.
The bloodiest
“God forbid to see a Russian rebellion - senseless and merciless,” this phrase of Alexander Sergeevich Pushkin forever became the main symbol of the uprising led by Emelyan Pugachev, who pretended to be the miraculously saved Emperor Peter III. Indeed, for a whole year, from 1773 to 1774, the entire Urals, the Kama region, the Volga region and neighboring regions of Russia were on fire, engulfed in a full-scale war. Fierce battles and sieges alternated with brutal reprisals against the vanquished. And when the uprising was crushed, no less blood was shed with no less bitterness by representatives of the legitimate authorities, who sought to burn out all the memory of the rebellion.
The paradox of Emelyan Pugachev is that he managed to cause very serious trouble Russian Empire, although few of his inner circle seriously believed in the story of the "resurrected king." The Yaik Cossacks, who became the basis of the Pugachev army, had long been dissatisfied with their position and the restriction of traditional liberties. All that was needed was a fairly brave and ambitious person, ready to lead an army against government regiments. Pugachev became such a person. The authenticity of "Peter Fedorovich" was believed mainly by peasants who fled from estates or from state factories. By joining the uprising, they made Pugachev's army truly numerous.
In an effort to maximize his popularity among the common people, Pugachev organized cruel reprisals against officers and neighboring landowners in all the captured cities and fortresses. According to the “royal sentence”, many people were subjected to bullying, torture and execution. At the same time, it was not only the “masters” who got it. During the defeat of state factories, the Pugachevites, like ordinary robbers, took away cattle and property from bonded peasants. Those who tried to fight back were killed on the spot.
According to some estimates, the total number of the Pugachev army at its peak (in January 1774) exceeded 100 thousand people! The number of government troops involved in the suppression was about 30 thousand people. The total losses of both sides exceed 25 thousand people. The number of those who died as a result of the reprisals of the Pugachevites or government repressions cannot be accurately calculated. Emelyan Pugachev himself was quartered on January 10 (old style) 1775 in Moscow.
Viktor Banev
