Mumtaz Mahal and Shah Jahan: a love story. Iranian Princess Anis al Dolah: man or woman in the photo, what is known about the life of the princess Princess Zahra Khan Taj

The Taj Mahal is one of the most grandiose buildings located in India; every year the number of visitors to the majestic mausoleum exceeds 5 million people. Tourists are attracted not only by the beauty of the structure, but also by the beautiful story. The mausoleum was erected by order of the padishah of the Empire, who wanted to tell the whole world about his longing for deceased wife Mumtaz Mahal. What is known about the Taj Mahal, declared the pearl of Muslim art, and the love that led to its creation?

Shah Jahan: biography of the padishah

“Lord of the World” - this is the meaning of the name that one of the most famous Mughal padishahs received from his father, who loved him more than other children. Shah Jahan, the famous creator of the Taj Mahal, was born in 1592. He led the Mughal Empire at the age of 36, seizing the throne after the death of his father Jahangir and getting rid of his rival brothers. The new padishah quickly established himself as a decisive and ruthless ruler. Thanks to several military campaigns, he managed to increase the territory of his empire. At the beginning of his reign, he was one of the most powerful people of the 17th century.

Shah Jahan was interested not only in military campaigns. For his time, the padishah was well educated, cared about the development of science and architecture, patronized artists, and appreciated beauty in all its manifestations.

Fateful meeting

Legend has it that the ruler of the Mughal Empire met his future wife Mumtaz Mahal by chance; it happened while walking through the bazaar. From the crowd of people, his gaze caught a young maiden holding wooden beads in her hands, whose beauty captivated him. The padishah, who was still heir to the throne at that time, fell in love so much that he decided to take the girl as his wife.

Mumtaz Mahal, an Armenian by nationality, came from the family of vizier Abdul Hassan Asaf Khan, who was part of the circle of Padishah Jahangir’s circle. The girl, who was named Arjumand Banu Begam at birth, was the niece of Jahangir's beloved wife Nur Jahan. Consequently, she could boast not only of an attractive appearance, but also of noble origin, so there were no obstacles to the wedding. On the contrary, such a marriage strengthened the position of the heir as a contender for the throne, but he still married for love.

Marriage

Jahangir happily allowed his beloved son to marry the girl he liked, Mumtaz Mahal; the bride’s nationality was also not perceived as an obstacle, given the noble origin of her father. The betrothal ceremony took place in 1607, when the bride, born in 1593, was no more than 14 years old. For unknown reasons, the wedding was postponed for 5 years.

It was during the wedding that I received my beautiful name Mumtaz Mahal. The biography of the famous wife of the ruler of the Mughal Empire says that it was invented by his father-in-law Jahangir, who was still ruling at that time. The name is translated into Russian as “the pearl of the palace,” which serves as proof of the girl’s extraordinary beauty.

The husband of the “pearl,” as befits the heir to the throne, had a huge harem. However, not a single concubine was able to win his heart, making him forget about the charming Arjumand. Even during her lifetime, Mumtaz Mahal became the favorite muse of famous poets of that time, who praised not only her beauty, but also kind heart. The Armenian woman became a reliable support for her husband, accompanying him even on military campaigns.

Misfortune

Unfortunately, it was Arjumand's devotion that cost her her life. She did not consider pregnancy an obstacle to being close to her beloved husband during all his travels. She gave birth to a total of 14 children, which was typical up to that time. Last birth They turned out to be difficult, and the empress, exhausted by the long campaign, was unable to recover from them.

Mumtaz Mahal passed away in 1631, just short of her fortieth birthday. The tragic event took place in a military camp located near Burhanpur. The emperor was with his beloved wife, with whom he had lived together for 19 years, in her last minutes. Before leaving this world, the empress made two promises from her husband. She made him swear that he would not remarry and also build a grand mausoleum for her, the beauty of which the world could enjoy.

Mourning

Until the end of his life, Shah Jahan could not come to terms with the loss of his beloved wife. For 8 whole days he refused to leave his own chambers, rejected food and forbade anyone to talk to him. Legend has it that grief even pushed him to attempt suicide, which, however, ended in failure. By order of the ruler of the Mughal Empire, mourning in the state continued for two years. During these years, the population did not celebrate holidays; music and dancing were banned.

The famous padishah found some consolation for himself in the fulfillment of Arjumand’s dying will. He really refused to marry again, and finally lost interest in his huge harem. On his order, construction began on the mausoleum, which today is one of the most majestic buildings in the world.

Location of the Taj Mahal

In which city is the Taj Mahal located? The city of Agra, located approximately 250 km from Delhi, was chosen for the construction of the mausoleum. The Padishah decided that the tribute to the memory of his beloved wife would be located on the coast of the Jamna River. He was attracted by the picturesqueness of this place. This choice caused certain inconveniences to the builders due to the instability of the soil located next to the water.

A unique technology that had never been used before helped solve the problem. An example of its application in modern construction is the use of piles in the construction of skyscrapers in the UAE.

Construction

Six months after the death of Mumtaz Mahal, the inconsolable husband ordered the construction of the mausoleum to begin. The construction of the Taj Mahal took a total of 12 years, construction work began in 1632. Historians are unanimous that no building in the world required such costs as this one. Execution of will deceased wife, according to palace chronicles, it cost the padishah approximately 32 million rupees, which these days is several billion euros.

Shah Jahan made sure that the builders did not skimp on materials. The building was faced with the purest marble, which was supplied from the province of Rajasthan. It is interesting that, according to the decree of the ruler of the Mughal Empire, the use of this marble for other purposes was prohibited.

The costs of building the Taj Mahal were so significant that famine broke out in the state. The grain that was supposed to be sent to the provinces ended up at the construction site and was used to feed the workers. The work was completed only in 1643.

Secrets of the Taj Mahal

The majestic Taj Mahal gave immortality to the padishah and his beautiful sweetheart Mumtaz Mahal. The story of the ruler’s love for his wife is told to all visitors to the mausoleum. Interest in the building cannot be surprising, because it has amazing beauty.

The builders were able to make the Taj Mahal unique thanks to optical illusions, which were used in the design of the mausoleum. You can enter the territory of the complex only after passing through the arch of the entrance gate, only then the building opens before the eyes of the guests. To a person who approaches the arch, it may seem that the mausoleum is getting smaller and moving away. is created when moving away from the arch. Thus, every visitor can feel as if he is taking the grand Taj Mahal with him.

A clever technique was also used to create the building’s striking minarets, which appear to be positioned strictly vertically. In reality, these elements are slightly tilted to the sides of the building. This solution helps protect the Taj Mahal from destruction as a result of an earthquake. By the way, the height of the minarets is 42 meters, and the height of the mausoleum as a whole is 74 meters.

For the decoration of the walls, as already mentioned, a snow-white shining color was used under the influence sun rays. Decorative elements included malachite, pearls, corals, carnelians, and the elegance of the carving makes an indelible impression.

Mumtaz Mahal burial site

Many people interested in history and architecture know in which city the Taj Mahal is located. However, not everyone knows where exactly the empress’s burial place is located. Her tomb is not located under the main dome of the building erected in her honor. In fact, the burial place of the ruler of the Great Mongol Empire is a secret marble hall, for which an area under the mausoleum was allocated.

It was no coincidence that the Mumtaz Mahal tomb was located in a secret room. This decision was made so that visitors do not disturb the peace of the “pearl of the palace.”

End of story

Having lost his beloved wife, Shah Jahan practically lost interest in power, no longer undertook large-scale military campaigns, and had little interest in the affairs of the state. The empire weakened, was mired in the abyss of an economic crisis, and riots began to break out everywhere. It is not surprising that his son and heir Aurangzeb had loyal supporters who supported him in an attempt to take power from his father and deal with his brother claimants. The old emperor was imprisoned in a fortress, in which he was forced to spend last years life. Shah Jahan left this world in 1666, a lonely and sick old man. The son ordered his father to be buried next to his beloved wife.

The emperor's last wish remained unfulfilled. He dreamed of building another mausoleum opposite the Taj Mahal, exactly repeating its shape, but decorated with black marble. He planned to turn this building into his own tomb; a black and white openwork bridge would connect it to the burial place of his wife. However, the plans were not destined to come true; his son Aurangzeb, who came to power, ordered the construction work to be stopped. Fortunately, the emperor still managed to fulfill the will of his beloved woman and build the Taj Mahal.

And many probably believed in the very specific tastes of the Iranian ruler Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar, because these princesses were assigned to his harem.

But did oriental beauties really look like this?

Of course not Ruler of Iran - Nasser ad-Din Shah Qajar since early childhood He loved photography very much, and when he came to power, a photo studio appeared in his palace. And Anton Sevryugin, by the way, our compatriot, became the court photographer. All this happened in the 1870s, and although Sevryugin had an honorary title for his contribution to the art of Iran, he did not have the right to photograph the harem, but could only photograph the Shah himself, the courtiers and guests of the head of state.
Only the Shah himself had the right to photograph the wives from the harem; there is information that he often did this, personally developed the photographs in the laboratory and kept them secret from everyone so that no one could see them. It’s even interesting what he photographed there

So where did the photographs of the “Princesses of Iran” come from?

And why are these women so different from the concept of beauty of that time, which we could read about and even see in films?

In fact, these are not Iranian princesses, not the wives of the Shah and... not women at all! These photographs depict the actors of the first state theater, created by Shah Nasruddin, who was a great admirer European culture. This troupe played satirical plays only for courtiers and nobility. The organizer of this theater was Mirza Ali Akbar Khan Naggashbashi, who is considered one of the founders of modern Iranian theater. The plays of that time were performed only by men, since Iranian women were prohibited from performing on stage until 1917. That’s the whole secret of the “Iranian princesses”: yes, this is the Shah’s harem, but in a theatrical production.

Soraya went down in history as the woman who caused the king of Afghanistan to lose his throne. Although in reality, of course, the king’s opponents used Soraya as an excuse: she allegedly disgraced the country by removing her hijab in public and was leading women astray.

Soraya really actively “knocked down” women, moreover, with the full support of her husband. In his famous speech“You Afghan women…” the queen said that women make up the majority of the population of Afghanistan and yet are completely overlooked. She encouraged them to learn to read and write and to participate in public life.

In 1921, Soraya created an organization to protect women and opened a school for girls near the royal palace itself. At the same time, the queen’s mother began to publish the first women’s magazine in Afghanistan, dedicated to very to a wide circle issues ranging from everyday life and raising children to politics. Within a couple of years, it was necessary to open a second women’s school - there were enough students, as well as hospitals for women and children. Soraya's husband, Padishah Amanullah, issued a decree obliging government officials to educate their daughters.

A woman of such progressive views grew up, of course, not in the most traditional family.

Soraya was the granddaughter of a famous Pashtun poet, the daughter of an equally famous Afghan writer, and her mother, Asma Rasiya, was a feminist by conviction. True, this did not stop her from blessing her daughter’s marriage at the age of fourteen: it was at that age that Soraya married Prince Amanullah. On the other hand, the prince might not have waited otherwise, and a husband-king was a wonderful chance to improve the situation of women in the country.

Contrary to all customs, Soraya became the only wife of Amanullah. When he ascended the throne, she was only twenty years old, and both spouses were full of strength, energy and, most importantly, desire to lead the country along the path of progress. But first he had to deal with foreign policy problems. Soraya accompanied her husband through the rebellious provinces that wanted to secede, risking her life; During the Revolutionary War, she visited hospitals to encourage wounded soldiers.

At the same time, the husband began to actively introduce Soraya into social and political life. For the first time in the history of Afghanistan, the queen was present at receptions and military parades, but, most importantly, ministerial meetings could no longer take place without her. Sometimes Amanullah joked that he, of course, was a king, but it would be more correct to say - a minister with his queen. He respected and adored the padishah’s wife immensely.

In 1928, he publicly removed his queen’s hijab and invited all women in the country to do the same.

It was this act that made it possible for clerical circles (and, as many believe, the British, who did not like communication royal family with the Soviet government) to incite the Afghan tribes to revolt. As a result, Amanullah was forced to abdicate the throne and leave the country with his family.

The route ran through India. Everywhere Amanullah got out of a train or car with his family, the royal family was greeted with thunderous applause and shouts: “Soraya! Soraya! The young queen managed to become a legend. There, in India, Soraya gave birth to one of her daughters and named her after this country. The former king and queen spent the rest of their lives in Italy.

Zahra Khanum Taj es-Saltan: with a crown of sorrow

Princess Zahra of the Qajar dynasty is the only nineteenth-century Iranian princess to have written memoirs (titled Crown of Sorrow: Memoirs of a Persian Princess). Her father was the same Nasreddin Shah, who unrestrainedly photographed the inhabitants of his palace, her mother was a woman named Turan es-Saltan. Zahra was taken away from her mother early and given to nannies. She saw her mother twice a day; if her father was in Tehran, she also visited him briefly once.

For his time, the Shah was a progressive person and tried to see his children. But, of course, such attention was not enough for the children.

From seven to nine years old, Zahra studied at the royal school, but after the engagement it became indecent, and the girl continued her studies in the palace, with mentors. Yes, her father arranged her engagement at the age of nine, and just six months later he signed a marriage contract for her. The groom-husband was eleven, he was the son of a military leader, whose alliance was important to the Shah. Fortunately, the parents did not insist that the children begin married life immediately. Both Zahra and her little husband lived almost the same as before their marriage.

When Zahra was thirteen, her father was killed, and her husband took her into his home and consummated her marriage. The princess was very disappointed with her marriage. The teenage husband took on endless mistresses and paramours, and his wife barely had time for even just conversations at the dinner table. the princess did not feel either his love or her own, and decided that she did not owe him anything. Moreover, she was considered a beauty and many men dreamed of her love.

It is known that the famous Iranian poet Aref Qazvini dedicated his poem to the beauty of Zahra.

From her husband, Zahra gave birth to four children - two daughters and two sons. One of the boys died in infancy. When Zahra was pregnant for the fifth time, she found out that her husband had... venereal disease, which can seriously affect the development of the fetus. She decided to have an abortion - at that time a very dangerous procedure, both physically and physically. possible consequences. After the abortion, she felt so sick that the doctors decided that she had hysteria and ordered her to leave the house for walks more often. It was on these walks that it is believed that she began to have affairs. At the same time, Zahra sought a divorce from her unloved husband.

After the divorce, she was married twice more, but unsuccessfully. Men in Iran at that time were not much different from each other: they could court each other flowerily, but, having got a woman, they simply began to court another. Considering that Zahra also pointedly refused to wear a hijab, her reputation in Iranian high society was terrible.

Behind her back (and sometimes to her face) she was called a whore.

Frustrated in trying to disappear into family life, Zahra began to participate in social activities. During the Constitutional Revolution in Iran, she joined, along with some other princesses, the Women's Association, whose goals included universal female education and normal access to medicine. Alas, in the end she died in poverty and obscurity, and no one can even name exact location her death.

Farrukhru Parsa: who fed her murderers

One of Iran's first female doctors and the country's first and last female minister, Parsa was executed by firing squad after the Islamic Revolution. Ironically, the leaders of the revolution received their education at universities opened in Iran by Parsa, and studied at the expense of her department. Whether they realized it or not, there was not an iota of gratitude in their actions.

Farrukhru's mother, Fakhre-Afaq, was the editor of the first women's magazine in Iran and fought for women's right to education. She was punished for her activity: she was exiled together with her husband, Farrukhdin Parsa, to the city of Qom under House arrest. There, in exile, the future minister was born. She was named after her father.

After the change of prime minister, the Pars family was allowed to return to Tehran, and Farrukhra was able to receive normal education. She trained to be a doctor, but worked as a biology teacher at the Joan of Arc school (for girls, of course). Farrukhru actively continued her mother’s work and became a well-known person in Iran. At less than forty years old, she was elected to parliament.

Her husband, Ahmad Shirin Sohan, was as surprised as he was proud.

As a member of parliament, she achieved voting rights for women, and soon, becoming Minister of Education, she had the opportunity to build up the country with schools and universities, giving girls and boys from poor families the opportunity to study. The Parsi Ministry also subsidized theological schools.

Thanks to the activity of Pars and other feminists, the country had a law “On the Protection of the Family,” which regulated the divorce procedure and raised the marriageable age to eighteen years. Following Farrukhru, many women decided to pursue a career as an official. After the revolution, the age of consent dropped back to thirteen, and the age of criminal responsibility for girls to nine (for boys it was fourteen).

Before her execution, the deposed minister wrote a letter to the children with the words: “I am a doctor, so I am not afraid of death. Death is just a moment and nothing more. I would rather face death with open arms than live in shame, being forcibly covered with a veil "I will not bend the knee to those who expect me to feel remorse for my half-century of struggle for gender equality."

Another one sad story women of the East:

“Sometimes a meme pops up on social networks - a corpulent woman of the Middle Eastern type with a noticeable mustache and in a hijab and a comment: a Persian princess, because of the love for whom 13 young people committed suicide. And of course, in the comments there is a lot of bullshit. But this is all lies and nonsense , and as always, no one is interested in a real living person, because this person is a woman. So I’ll tell you about her.

So, Princess Zahra Khanum Taj al Sultane from the Qajar dynasty, which ruled Iran from 1785 to 1925. Born in 1883 in Tehran. Father - Nasreddin Shah, mother Turan al Sultane. I grew up in a harem and saw my parents very rarely. She was taught at home - literacy, prayers, embroidery, playing Persian musical instruments, and as a nod to modernity - on the piano. At the age of nine she was engaged. The groom was eleven. He was the son of an influential military commander, whose support Nasreddin Shah wanted to enlist.

Zahra Khanum Taj lived interesting life and wrote a voluminous memoir. She achieved a divorce from her husband, not wanting to tolerate his infidelity, which was for that time and that society. was unheard of. She was the first at the Shah's court to open her face and began to wear European clothes. After the divorce, she was married twice more and dedicated poems to her famous poet Aref Qazvini. She held the first literary salon in Tehran, where intellectuals looking towards the West gathered. She was one of the founders of the first feminist organization in Iran, the Women's Liberation League, around 1910.

Zahra Khanum Taj has never left Iran except for a trip with youngest daughter to Baghdad. She died in Tehran in 1936. Her memoirs were published in 1996 under the title Crown of Sorrow: Memoirs of a Persian Princess from the Harem to the Present 1884-1914.
From FB Rina Gonzalez Gallego

"Taj es-Saltaneh is a beauty, a feminist, a writer who left memories of life at her father's court and after his assassination.

The memoirs have come down to us in an incomplete copy, and this is the only evidence of its kind authored by a woman from the royal family of Iran at that time.

Taj's early childhood memories are full of bitterness. She was raised by nannies, governesses and tutors, and was separated from her mother, whom she saw only twice a day. If her father was in Tehran, then once a day, usually around noon, she was brought to see him for a short time. In his memoirs, Taj mentions the need for close contact with the mother and the benefits of breastfeeding.

At the age of seven, a girl receives elementary education at the royal school, but in 1893 she was forced to leave school and study with private tutors, some of whom she mentions in detail in her book. The style and content of the memoirs reveal her familiarity with Persian and European literature and history. She was also taught to play the piano and tar, painting and the art of embroidery.

When Taj turned eight, negotiations began about her marriage. In early 1893, at the age of nine, Taj es-Saltaneh was betrothed to Amir Hussein Khan Shoja al-Saltaneh, and a wedding contract was signed in December of that year. The groom was also still a child, “probably eleven or twelve years old.” But the marriage was not consummated; the couple celebrated their wedding only in 1897, a year after the assassination of Nasser ad-Din Shah, when Taj was thirteen years old.

All marriages of women from the royal family were concluded for reasons of profit, there was no talk of love. However, Taj looked forward to marriage, hoping to gain the relative independence of a married woman. After the murder of her father, all the royal wives and children were transported to one of the residences of Sarvestan, where Taj es-Saltana felt almost like a prisoner

Taj advocates for love marriage, criticizing contractual unions in which well-being is completely disregarded married couple. In the first years of their married life, she and her husband were teenagers still playing children's games, and the young wife was offended by her husband's neglect, which began almost immediately after their wedding night. Like most men from noble Qajar families, Hussein Khan had many lovers, both male and female; and Taj justifies his own flirtations and affairs as revenge for his spouse's neglect and infidelity. Aref Qazvini, an Iranian poet, composer and musician, is the most famous of the men mentioned in the memoirs. He dedicated beautiful daughter Shah's famous poem "Ey Taj."

Taj gave birth to four children - two sons and two daughters, but one boy died in infancy.

Taj also mentions a dangerous abortion undertaken after she learned of her husband's venereal disease. Ironically, the physical and emotional consequences of the abortion were considered manifestations of hysteria, a diagnosis that gave her freedom to leave her home: “The doctors ordered me to go outside to unwind... due to my illness, I was given some relief from the usual confinement at home.”

She spoke about the interest of her contemporaries in Europe and wrote in her memoirs: “I desperately wanted to go to Europe.” But, unlike her older sister Akhtar, she never managed to visit there. While writing her memoirs in 1914, she attempted suicide three times.

The troubled first marriage ultimately ended in divorce in December 1907. Taj does not discuss any subsequent marriages in his memoirs, but as mentioned, the manuscript is incomplete. Her free communication with men and her romantic (or even sexual) relationships with them gave her the reputation of a “free woman” (she was considered a prostitute).

In March 1908, Taj remarried, the marriage lasted only a few months, and divorce followed in July 1908. In more later years Taj es-Saltaneh became actively involved in constitutional and feminist activities. Along with some other women of the royal family of Iran, she was a member of the Women's Association during the Constitutional Revolution in Persia 1905-1911. and fought for women's rights.

In 1909 she marries for the third time; it is unknown how this marriage ended, but in 1921 Taj describes herself as a single, unmarried woman.

Memories depict a deeply unhappy life, and a series of letters written by Taj to various premiers in the early 1920s to restore her pension reveal the financial difficulties she was going through.

In 1922, Taj accompanied one of her daughters to Baghdad, where her son-in-law, an official in the Foreign Office, was posted. She died in obscurity, probably in Tehran in 1936."

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At all times, the earth has been filled with all kinds of myths, and with the advent of the Internet in our lives, true and not so true stories instantly become known to the general public. You've probably already heard about the "incomparable Anis al-Dolyah", because of whom 13 young people took their own lives, and you've even seen her photo. What can you say about Melania Trump’s grandmother: are they similar to her supposed granddaughter or not?

website did some research and found out what's really behind some popular internet stories.

Myth #16: The Iranian Qajar princess was a symbol of beauty in the early 20th century. 13 young men committed suicide because she did not agree to become their wife

You've probably seen a photo of "Princess Qajar" or "Anis al-Dolyah" with such a caption. This woman doesn't fit into modern beauty standards even in Iran itself, but some people believe that things were very different more than 100 years ago.

There is some truth in this, but it is worth asking another question: did such a princess really exist? Yes and no. The woman in the tutu-like outfit was named Taj al-Dola, and she was the wife of Nasser al-Din Shah of the Qajar dynasty.

There is an opinion that the photo is not the real wife of the Shah, but a male actor, but this is probably nothing more than speculation, because Taj was a real historical figure.

Princess Qajar is a symbol of beauty in Persia (Iran) 13 young men killed themselves because she rejected them. pic.twitter.com/DYvOd41LT1

— Creatures Of Earth (@culture_pix) November 2, 2017

And here is another “Qajar princess” (on the left), a photo of which you could also see with the same text about the symbol of beauty and 13 unfortunate young people. This lady was the daughter of Taj al-Dola and her name was Ismat al-Dola.

Of course, both mother and daughter were not fatal beauties who broke the hearts of numerous fans. If only because they lived in a Muslim country and hardly had the opportunity to communicate with strangers, much less choose a husband.

As for the woman on the right, her name was also Taj and she was Ismat al-Dol’s sister on her father’s side - he, like many eastern rulers, had more than one wife. Taj al-Saltaneh, also known as Zahra Khanum, went down in history as an artist, writer and the first feminist in Iran who was not afraid to take off her hijab, wear European clothes and divorce her husband.

Myth #15: Nikola Tesla worked as a swimming instructor

And this is what a real giant hornet looks like. The true size of the “tiger bee” is also impressive, but fortunately it is not as huge as its model, which we are incredibly happy about.

Myth #12: The whale that died from eating garbage

A photo that many took for image of a dead person whale with a lot of garbage in its stomach, is actually an installation created by Greenpeace Philippines to raise awareness about ocean pollution. But, unfortunately, this happens in reality, and not only whales suffer, and not only in the Pacific region, so we have something to think about.

Myth No. 11: “Ancient Astronaut” on the wall of the New Cathedral in Salamanca (Spain)

Where did the astronaut come from on the wall of the cathedral, built in the 16th century? It's simple: during the restoration in 1992, the artist Jeronimo Garcia decided to depict something unusual and carved a figurine in a spacesuit, and in addition to it, a faun holding an ice cream cone in his paw.

Myth No. 10: Description of a photograph of a wolf pack

“A wolf pack: the first 3 are the old or sick, they give the pace to the entire pack. If it was the other way round, they would be left behind, losing contact with the pack. In case of an ambush they would be sacrificed. Then come 5 strong ones, the front line. pic.twitter.com/bh1PtM7nV1

— LoneWanderer ♔🇭🇷 (@MMLoneWanderer) June 16, 2018

This photo also “went to the people” with a description taken from someone’s head and not corresponding to reality. Allegedly, the first three wolves in the pack are the oldest and weakest, the five following them are the strongest, in the middle is the rest of the pack, another five strong animals close the group, and behind them all is the leader who controls the situation.

However, the author of the photo, Chadden Hunter, explains that the pack hunts bison in this way, and in front is not the three weakest animals, but the alpha female.

Myth No. 9: A she-wolf protects the male's throat in a fight.

You have probably seen this photo more than once with a touching caption that the she-wolf is “hiding”, pretending to be scared, while at the same time she protects the male’s throat, knowing that she will not be touched in a fight. Alas, this too is nothing more than a beautiful fairy tale.

A fairly popular photograph “without Photoshop” turned out to be the result of merging two different photographs. The sky was borrowed from the Dutch photographer Marieke Mandemaker and superimposed on a photo of the Crimean Bridge in Moscow.

Myth No. 7: "Heaven's Gate" photographed by the Hubble telescope

“An unusual photo that amazed scientists” turned out to be a work graphic designer Adam Ferriss, which, however, was based on real photo Omega Nebula (also known as the Swan Nebula).

This is what the original photo looks like. By the way, this nebula can be observed in an amateur telescope - its shape resembles a ghostly swan floating across the sky.

Myth No. 6: In China they fake... cabbage

It seems that we have already become accustomed to the idea that in our time absolutely everything can be faked. And in fact, cabbage made from some liquid substance is very similar to the real thing. Is it really being sold to unsuspecting buyers? Not at all.

This “fake” cabbage, as well as other “products”, serves only as a dummy in food service outlets in China, Korea, Japan and some other countries.

Myth #5: There was no hotel room for Arnold Schwarzenegger, so he had to sleep on the street next to his own statue.

Before “Iron Arnie” had time to make a joke on his Instagram, sharing this photo with the meaningful caption “How times have changed,” it was immediately posted on another resource, where they made up a whole story about how the actor and former governor of California was not allowed into the hotel and he had to sleep right on the ground.

Of course, Schwarzenegger didn't spend the night on the street. And the photo was taken not near the hotel, but near the city convention center, opposite the entrance to which there is a statue depicting young Arnold in his best form.