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<blockquote data-quote="Tratyn Runewind" data-source="post: 1492576" data-attributes="member: 685"><p>Hello, </p><p></p><p></p><p></p><p>Same thing that does today - sporting events. </p><p></p><p>Rioting chariot-racing fans nearly toppled the mightiest ruler in Dark Ages Europe, the Byzantine Emperor, in 532 AD (a bit before the true "medieval" period).</p><p></p><p>Rival fan clubs in Byzantium united to attack the authorities and free members arrested for violence; this rapidly escalated into full-scale arson and rioting that shook the city, with rampaging looters shouting "Nika! Nika!" ("conquer" or "victory", a common chariot-racing cheer). Emperor Justinian prepared to flee his capital city even as his rivals among the nobility exploited the chaos, feeding political demands to the rioters. Justinian's wife, Theodora, inspired him to stay and fight on, and Justinian mobilized the army. The famous general Belisarius (who, incidentally, was mentioned as an "iconic" Fighter in previous editions of the <em>Player's Handbook</em>) and his troops broke the riot after trapping a large number of the rioters in the Hippodrome, Byzantium's chariot-racing arena. When his work was done, an estimated thirty thousand rioters were slain and order was restored. Justinian executed one unfortunate noble who had been proclaimed the new Emperor by some of the rioters, and exiled other opportunistic nobles who had misbehaved during the tumult. </p><p></p><p>For more details, pop the phrase "nika revolt" or "nika rebellion" into your favorite search engine...</p><p></p><p>Harry Turtledove's "Videssos" books are set in an empire based strongly on the Byzantine, and riots are not an uncommon event in them. You mention fear of religious consequences in your post, yet in more than one riot in these books, religious figures are actually fomenting the violence against "heretic" foreign mercenaries brought to the city by the Emperor (who is more concerned with the shrinking borders of his empire than with logic-chopping theological disputes). Visiting foreign merchants are another popular target; they are wealthy minorities who are derided as swindling exploiters, and who also usually have religious differences that can form part of an excuse for murder and plunder.</p><p></p><p>Labor disputes and food shortages have often been the cause of rioting. And not just in medieval times, or among peasants. Last May, a strike among cafeteria help at the United Nations building set diplomatic-service workers from nations all over the world to pillaging and looting their way among the commisaries and snack bars. Food, liquor, and by some accounts silverware and even furniture; all were carted off, and some witnesses compared the aftermath to a war zone. <a href="http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,449436,00.html" target="_blank">Time Magazine's article on the riot</a> describes the scene as "nothing short of Baghdad-style chaos". If pampered modern diplomats (!!!) will do this when their dining room shuts down during lunch hour (because, you know, there's nowhere <em>else</em> to get food in New York City), what will medieval street folk do when told that incompetence and graft among the city's grain-storage bureaucracy will certainly reduce the bread rations that are barely keeping body and soul together even now?</p><p></p><p>Hope this helps! <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite1" alt=":)" title="Smile :)" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":)" /></p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Tratyn Runewind, post: 1492576, member: 685"] Hello, Same thing that does today - sporting events. Rioting chariot-racing fans nearly toppled the mightiest ruler in Dark Ages Europe, the Byzantine Emperor, in 532 AD (a bit before the true "medieval" period). Rival fan clubs in Byzantium united to attack the authorities and free members arrested for violence; this rapidly escalated into full-scale arson and rioting that shook the city, with rampaging looters shouting "Nika! Nika!" ("conquer" or "victory", a common chariot-racing cheer). Emperor Justinian prepared to flee his capital city even as his rivals among the nobility exploited the chaos, feeding political demands to the rioters. Justinian's wife, Theodora, inspired him to stay and fight on, and Justinian mobilized the army. The famous general Belisarius (who, incidentally, was mentioned as an "iconic" Fighter in previous editions of the [i]Player's Handbook[/i]) and his troops broke the riot after trapping a large number of the rioters in the Hippodrome, Byzantium's chariot-racing arena. When his work was done, an estimated thirty thousand rioters were slain and order was restored. Justinian executed one unfortunate noble who had been proclaimed the new Emperor by some of the rioters, and exiled other opportunistic nobles who had misbehaved during the tumult. For more details, pop the phrase "nika revolt" or "nika rebellion" into your favorite search engine... Harry Turtledove's "Videssos" books are set in an empire based strongly on the Byzantine, and riots are not an uncommon event in them. You mention fear of religious consequences in your post, yet in more than one riot in these books, religious figures are actually fomenting the violence against "heretic" foreign mercenaries brought to the city by the Emperor (who is more concerned with the shrinking borders of his empire than with logic-chopping theological disputes). Visiting foreign merchants are another popular target; they are wealthy minorities who are derided as swindling exploiters, and who also usually have religious differences that can form part of an excuse for murder and plunder. Labor disputes and food shortages have often been the cause of rioting. And not just in medieval times, or among peasants. Last May, a strike among cafeteria help at the United Nations building set diplomatic-service workers from nations all over the world to pillaging and looting their way among the commisaries and snack bars. Food, liquor, and by some accounts silverware and even furniture; all were carted off, and some witnesses compared the aftermath to a war zone. [url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,449436,00.html]Time Magazine's article on the riot[/url] describes the scene as "nothing short of Baghdad-style chaos". If pampered modern diplomats (!!!) will do this when their dining room shuts down during lunch hour (because, you know, there's nowhere [i]else[/i] to get food in New York City), what will medieval street folk do when told that incompetence and graft among the city's grain-storage bureaucracy will certainly reduce the bread rations that are barely keeping body and soul together even now? Hope this helps! :) [/QUOTE]
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