Jahanara Begum Sahib

            Most people don’t know of hear about Shah Jahan’s kids. His eldest daughter Jahanara Begum Sahib was not the daughter of Mumtaz Mahal but she took over as the First Lady of the Empire when Mumtaz Mahal died. Even though Shah Jahan had three other wives he still made his daughter Jahanara the First Lady of the Empire. Jahanara was only 17 when Mumtaz Mahal died, so she was in charge of the Empire at a very young age. Jahanara was the one known for bringing Shah Jahan out of his depression after his childhood love had died.         

            She was born April 2, 1614 and died on September 16, 1681. She was buried in Nizamuddin Dargah, New Delhi. A lot of people back them were Hindu but not her she was Islamic. After her mother died she had to oversee her brothers’ marriage that Mumtaz Mahal had originally planned but was postponed by her death. Mumtaz died while giving birth to her fourteenth child. Mumtaz Mahal personal fortune was worth 100,000,000 rupees which Shah Jahan gave half to Jahanara and the rest to the rest of his surviving children. Her father took advice from her repeatedly and made her in charge of the Imperial Seal. Shah Jahan was very fond of his daughter so he bestowed her many titles like, Lady of the Age, Lady Emperor, and Princess of Princesses.  Days after her thirtieth birthday she doused her garments in oil and she caught on fire. Until she was all well Shah Jahan was taking care of her himself. After her accident she went on a pilgrimage to Moinuddin Chishti’s shrine in Ajmer. After whole recovery Shah Jahan gave her rare gems and jewelry as gifts. She would now visit Ajmer on frequent bases like her great grandfather before he died.   

             I think that the character trait Jahanara is Initiative she recognized and did what needed to be done before she was asked. She was part of the solution instead of the problem and she contributed to the success of the whole team. 

Twiggy!

Twiggy was born in north London on September 19th, 1949. She was named "The Face of '66" by the Daily Express. In the mid 60's at 16 years of age, Twiggy became internationally known as the world's first supermodel, her photographic modeling success epitomising the age.

Twiggy went on to become a successful actress in film, stage and television, beginning her acting career by starring in Ken Russell's film "The Boyfriend", for which she won two Golden Globe awards; most promising newcomer and best actress in a musical. She has recorded many albums since, encompassing a variety of styles including pop, rock, disco, country and show tunes. Twiggy's successful recordings have earned her two silver discs, two chart albums and hit singles.

Twiggy was a beautiful young women and she is very beautiful now also.  She battled with anorexia and she was bulimic most of her young life. She was all legs and eyelashes as she would call herself. She said, "At sixteen I was a funny, skinny little thing, all eyelashes and legs. And suddenly people told me that i was gorgeous. I thought they had gone mad." Now she is a beautiful women with a very good perspective on life. She didn't go looking for the modeling job it came to her in a salon in England. She was 5'8'' and only weighed 90 lbs at age 16. She was considered healthy For being only 90 lbs.  

Now Twiggy she is the perfect size looks a little more healthier than she did back then. She was married to Michael Whitney and they had a daughter named Carly together, but he unexpectedly did in 1983. Four years later in 1988 she married Leigh Lawson and he adopted her daughter and they are still married to this day. She has been in many movies and she was a judge on Americas Next Top Model.  

Marilyn Monroe

       Marilyn Monroe born Norma Jeane Mortenson; June 1, 1926 – August 5, 1962 was an American actress, model, and singer, who became a major sex symbol, starring in a number of commercially successful motion pictures during the 1950s and early 1960s.

       After spending much of her childhood in foster homes, Monroe began a career as a model, which led to a film contract in 1946 with Twentieth Century-Fox . Her early film appearances were minor, but her performances in The Asphalt Jungle and All About Eve (both 1950), drew attention. By 1952 she had her first leading role in Don't Bother to Knock and 1953 brought a lead in Niagara, a melodramatic film noir that dwelt on her seductiveness. Her "dumb blonde" persona was used to comic effect in subsequent films such as Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), How to Marry a Millionaire (1953) and The Seven Year Itch (1955). Limited by typecasting, Monroe studied at the Actors Studio to broaden her range. Her dramatic performance in Bus Stop (1956) was hailed by critics and garnered a Golden Globe nomination. Her production company, Marilyn Monroe Productions, released The Prince and the Showgirl(1957), for which she received a BAFTA Award nomination and won a David di Donatello award. She received a Golden Globe Award for her performance in Some Like It Hot (1959). Monroe's last completed film was The Misfits (1961), co-starring Clark Gable with screenplay by her then-husband, Arthur Miller.

       Marilyn Monroe was known as one of the most beautiful women in history. There is a difference between beautiful then and beautiful now. Now all of the women are skin with no meat at all on their bones. Marilyn wasn't a small person but she wan't huge either. Back when Marilyn was a model; they liked the thicker girls that showed true beauty. I think that that's how it should be now. 

         

The Prince!

ALL STATES, all powers, that have held and hold rule over men have been and are either republics or principalities.
Principalities are either hereditary, in which the family has been long established; or they are new.
The new are either entirely new, as was Milan to Francesco Sforza, or they are, as it were, members annexed to the hereditary state of the prince who has acquired them, as was the kingdom of Naples to that of the King of Spain.
Such dominions thus acquired are either accustomed to live under a prince, or to live in freedom; and are acquired either by the arms of the prince himself, or of others, or else by fortune or by ability.

Lucrezia Borgia

          Lucrezia Borgia was born on April 18, 1480, in Subiaco, near Rome. She was the daughter of Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia (c. 1431–1503), who would later become Pope Alexander VI, and one of his mistresses, Vannozza Cattanei, who was also the mother of Lucrezia's two older brothers, Cesare and Giovanni. Lucrezia reportedly spoke and wrote several languages, among them Italian, French, Latin, and Greek.She was engaged to one nobleman and then another before her father had the engagements dissolved so that he could arrange for her to be married to Giovanni Sforza, at age 13. Cardinal Rodrigo Borgia, was named Pope Alexander VI in 1492, and Lucrezia was married a year later. Four years later, Lucrezia's marriage became less politically advantageous, and Pope Alexander VI sought to have it annulled under the pretense of the relationship never having been consummated. During their annulment Lucrezia rested in a nearby convent. She had clearly consummated a relationship with some individual, however, because when annulment was officially granted on December 27, 1497, Lucrezia was six months pregnant. In July 1498, Lucrezia married Alfonso of Aragon, the 17-year-old Duke of Bisceglie and son of the late king of Naples, and they had a child together. Unfortunately for Alfonso, by 1500, Pope Alexander and Lucrezia’s brother Cesare sought a new alliance with France, and Lucrezia's marriage to Alfonso was a major obstacle.

               On July 15, 1500, Alfonso was stabbed several times, but he survived. On August 18, his luck ran out, when, as is generally believed, Cesare’s hired men to strangle Alfonso to death as he lay recovering from his previous stab wounds. After Alfonso’s death, Lucrezia's father arranged for her to be married to Alfonso d'Este, Duke of Ferrara, in early 1502. Lucrezia's new husband was initially hesitant because of the Borgia reputation. The couple soon moved out of Rome to Ferrara, escaping the endless scheming of her father and brother, and the pair had several children (many of whom died young). With this marriage, Lucrezia managed to rise above her family’s reputation, and she thrived in her new surroundings.

                Lucrezia Borgia was a very interesting lady. Some people would say that she was a fine young lady and others would say that she was promiscuous. She really put herself out there when it came to men or so it seemed. People thought that she was incest but they proved the people wrong. Historians still don’t know if all the Borgia’s were incest. Also they would say that she was the most depraved women in Italy and the world. She was believed to poison people that she did not like or that did her family wrong.

               Lucrezia Borgia was born on April 18, 1480 in Subiaco, Italy. Her parents were Rodrigo Borgia and her mother was one of his mistresses Vanozza Catanei.  When she was young her father took her and her two older brothers Juan and Cesare from their mother to carry on the family name and traditions. Lucrezia was married three times and possibly a fourth. Rodrigo made her get married and they were all too influence the Borgia’s name.

                When she was 11 her dad decided to marry her off to Don Gasparo but soon after they announced that they were getting married her dad became Pope Alexander VI he cancelled they wedding plans. A few years later when she was 13 her father married her to Giovanni Sforza. He was twice her age and they never meet before their wedding. Four years into their marriage their relationship became less political advantageous so Pope Alexander VI sought to have it annulled. During the annulment she sought comfort in their stable hand Pedro Calderon. Which she became came pregnant. When their annulment was official she was 6 months pregnant. The child’s father was unknown but there were rumors that it was Cesare’s or her fathers which she denied. Pedro was later murdered by who they believe was Cesare.

                In July of 1498 Lucrezia married Alfonso of Aragon. He was the 17 year old Duke of Bisceglie. They fell in love with each other and then Lucrezia’s brother Cesare stabbed Alfonso several time, but he survived. Lucrezia doctored him and took care of him like a good wife would. A month went by and somebody snuck into his chamber (which they believed the Cesare hired) and strangled him to death. Lucrezia was heart broke and sick. They had a son together.

After Alfonso’s death her father arranged her to marry Alfonso d’Este. She wasn’t too happy because she loved the other Alfonso. Alfonso and her marriage was hard neither of them were fully committed. They both had affairs with different people Lucrezia had many different men during her marriage. Her father died in 1503 and it was very hard on Lucrezia but it made her life more stable. The Alfonso’s father died in 1505. They became very close and had children together and they stopped having affairs with other people.

Lucrezia never believed that Cesare killed her lovers. It’s hard to understand but I think that they were in love which is really weird because they are brother and sister but they are only half related. I watch a documentary on them and it said that they were in love and he would do anything to protect her so he killed her lover and husband because they weren’t right for her.

Botticelli

                                                                                           Only five years older than Lorenzo de'Medici by the late 1460s Botticelli had made a name for himself under the apprenticeship of Filippo Lippi, an infamous Medici artist. The teenager was originally spotted by Piero il Gottoso and offered his own studio space inside the Medici Palace. He quickly befriended the charismatic heirs to the dynasty, Lorenzo and his brother Giuliano.
Such intimacy with the most powerful family in Florence was critical to Botticelli's career. He didn't need to depend on his Medici friends for work. Their extended family and hangers-on fell over themselves to keep him busy. The most notorious example was the tax collector Guasparre dal Lama who, in an effort to impress the Medici, asked Botticelli to compose an “Adoration of the Magi"       Source:http://www.pbs.org/empires/medici/renaissance/botticelli.html

 

 

Bottecelli was a great artist for his time. As a child he was poor and lived on the backstreets of Florence. He was very lucky when he was asked to go into the Medici Palace to be an artist as a teenager. It was told that he was a very handsome man that all the girls liked. He painted some very controversial pictures that were hidden for hundreds of years. He painted a painting called The Birth of Venus for one of the Medici's wedding gift, because Venus was the goddess of fertility and birth. They thought that it was very risque for the time period. Now a days people think that it is beautiful and deserves to get recognized as it is.