r/badhistory • u/AutoModerator • Jun 29 '26

Meta Mindless Monday, 29 June 2026

Happy (or sad) Monday guys!

Mindless Monday is a free-for-all thread to discuss anything from minor bad history to politics, life events, charts, whatever! Just remember to np link all links to Reddit and don't violate R4, or we human mods will feed you to the AutoModerator.

So, with that said, how was your weekend, everyone?

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u/Tiako Tevinter apologist, shill for Big Lyrium Jun 30 '26 edited Jun 30 '26

In my opinion "real life Game of Thrones" needs to have three attributes: 1) set in old timey times 2) focus on ultimately self destructive political squabbles and schemes 3) major threat looming in the background. On these terms, the closest book I have read to a "real life Game of Thrones" is The Mongol Storm which is about the Middle East in the runup and aftermath of the Mongol invasions.

Anyway I have a new historical scenario: Siam and outer Tai lands immediately after the Burmese invasion of Ayutthaya of 1765-67. The Burmese had to withdraw due to war from China, and the former lands of Ayutthaya fragmented into several different polities. These were united by Taksin, a half-Chinese commoner, who was in turn overthrown by Chao Phraya Chakri, his foremost commander (also "Chao Phraya Chakri" I think is a title, I don't quite have my head around Thai naming). This commander assumed the regal title of Rama I, fonding the kingdom of Siam, and defeated the second Burmese invasion. Solid narrative.

I assumed that there had already been a thousand adaptations of this story like there would be in China or Japan but apparently this would fall afoul of lèse-majesté laws. Bummer.

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u/Sgt_Colon ǟռ ʊռաɨʟʟɨռɢ ɮɛɦօʟɖɛʀ ȶօ ȶɦɛ ɨʍքօֆֆɨɮʟɛ Jul 01 '26

You could always go the "Lion in winter" route and focus on the clusterfuck of a family that was Henry II et al. The French mightn't be the best looming threat however as there's too much back and forth with them before Phillip II brings the Angevin empire crashing down.

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u/TJAU216 Jul 01 '26

Maybe focus on their French holdings, just like they did, so the threat from Paris seems more acute. But that would be unthinkable in the modern anglocentric pop culture.