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We love a good revenge story, whether it’s Batman hunting Gotham’s criminals or the Count of Monte Cristo destroying his betrayers. But real-life history delivers payback that’s even wilder than fiction.
People online have been sharing history’s greatest acts of vengeance, featuring icons and everyday people who pulled off some of the most diabolical payback schemes.
For example, there's the story of the French Resistance, who cut the Eiffel Tower’s elevator cables so Hitler would have to climb over 1,600 stairs just to hoist his flag. Or the story of Caesar crucifying pirates for underestimating his ransom.
Some of these stories feel like cathartic justice. Others are just terrifyingly brutal.
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#1
Peter The Great had his wife's lover's head cut off, and kept pickled in a jar in their bedroom where she could always see it.
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#2
It's unbelievably petty, but: when France was lost during WW2, some people in Paris cut the elevator cables in the Eiffel Tower so Hitler would have to take the stairs.
Long before courts and cops, our ancestors in the Pleistocene era lived in a lawless wild west. If someone stole your mammoths, you couldn’t call 911. You had to handle it yourself or risk becoming an easy target.
That’s where revenge comes in. Experts believe that revenge isn’t just a petty tantrum; it’s actually an ancient survival mechanism hardwired into our biology.
A swift and brutal payback sent a loud public message to the tribe. It protected your resources, family, and life.
#3
Buenos Aires Argentina, 1936. The Anchorera family, one of the oldest and most powerful families of the Buenos Aires aristocracy - dating back to the 1700s- lives in a mansion in front of the San Martin Square called "San Martin Palace" (now the ceremonial headquarters of the Chancellery) and a few blocks away they ordered the construction of a basilica designed as a family crypt that could be seen in all its splendor from the mansion.
The Anchorenas were (are) very conservative and when one of the sons wanted to marry the daugther of a millionaire family they opposed to the wedding considering her a "new rich inmigrant" (her parents were irish) and the couple split up.
Years later, the rejected girlfriend, Cora Kanavagh sold 3 of her homestead and ordered the construction of the largest, most massive building in all of south America at that time and chose to build it right between the mansion and the basilica, completely covering the view.
The anchorena would see the "Kavanagh building" every time they looked out the window. And now the only access to the basilica is through a small street named after her.
#4
Much of the marble used by the Soviet Union in its memorial to the fallen of WW2 came from Hitler’s own office.
Giraffe Sitter 1 hour ago
The Russians shamefully ransacked Germany as “reparations” and stole everything that wasn’t nailed down, plus everything that was - they literally stripped power stations clean and shipped the generators home. But this one I can get behind.
Scientists have found that the urge to get even is tied to how your DNA builds your brain’s reward system.
Certain variations change how you process dopamine after someone crosses you. For some people, their genetic makeup makes the prospect of punishing a wrongdoer feel incredibly rewarding. It might also make them more likely to hold a grudge.
Studies of related traits such as aggression, punishment behavior, and personality typically find heritability estimates ranging from about 30% to 50%.
#5
The Gauls sacked Rome then for the next 200 years Rome built the best fighting force in the world and conquered Gaul in the end.
#6
In November 1002 the English king Æthelred ordered the murder of Englands Danish inhabitants. Among the victims were the sister and brother-in-law of the Danish king Swein Forkbeard, arguably the most powerfull viking leader at the time. He did not take it well and spend the next decade raiding England and finally conquering it in 1013.
#7
Pierre Picaud, shoemaker who was betrayed by his friends and got his fiancee stolen. He returned years later and slowly and methodically took them out in elaborate fashion. His story became the basis of the novel the Count of Monte Cristo.
Historically, humanity has been split into two totally different camps when it comes to getting even.
You’ve got the peaceful school of thought, popularly summed up by the famous warning: “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.”
On the flip side, the pro-revenge camp includes some of history’s most famous thinkers, philosophers, and texts.
The ultimate pragmatist of the Renaissance, Niccolò Machiavelli wrote a book on power (The Prince, 1513) and viewed revenge as cold, hard math.
For him, brutal payback was the only way to secure long-term peace and authority.
Even the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle linked revenge to honor and righteous anger.
#8
During the Sengoku (Warring States) period in Japan in the 16th century, Azai Nagamasa, a local warlord in the northwest, reneged on his alliance with the most powerful warlord of the time Oda Nobunaga, and rebelled against the Oda clan while Nobunaga was waging war with someone else, thus trapping Nobunaga in an unexpected pincer attack.
Nobunaga, being the military genius that he was, not only survived the pincer attack, but would go on to destroy the treacherous Azai clan who dared to stab him in the back when he least expected it. He then had Nagamasa's skull lacquered in gold to be used as a cup for drinking sake.
#9
Probably the treaty of Versailles of 1918. The French were clearly not over the humiliating defeat of 1870.
#10
When Alexander the Great reached the Persian capital of [Persepolis], he and his men sacked the city. The most common thought for why he did so is due to Xerxes I invading Greece in 480 BCE, burning villages, cities and the Parthenon of Athens, until he was defeated and turned back to Persia. This invasion of the Persian wars was long remembered by the Greeks and is given as the primary motivation for why Alexander burned Persepolis.
For power-seekers, revenge serves as a clear warning that you are not to be trifled with. In societies where the rule of law is weak, it acts as a tool to maintain order and deter bullies.
“People who are more vengeful tend to be those who are motivated by power, by authority and by the desire for status. They don’t want to lose face,” says social psychologist Ian McKee.
#11
Genghis Khan sent a trade mission with a great amount of wealth to the Khwarazmian Empire in 1219. Ambassadors including trade ambassadors were considered near sacred to Mongolians. You did not harm them for any reason and to do so was considered a great insult to the empire. When the trade mission reached the town of Otrar the governor of the city had them k****d and took the goods that they were bringing for himself.
Genghis Khan then sent another ambassador mission to the shah in order to try to reconcile the situation (aka they wanted the Governor responsible) there are many conflicting reports upon what happened but all of them are bad with at least one of the ambassadors being k****d. This caused Genghis Khan declare war on them. The war swallowed the empire and destroyed it and according to conservative estimates caused the d***h of about 1-2 million people which was a heavy percentage of the population.
#12
The legend of Peter the I of Portugal and Inês de Castro. Some details are legend, others are fact. King's son who falls in love with a galician lady-in-waiting, which angers both his father and the castillian court, due to possible grave political ramifications. He insists on staying with her, and the couple has 3 children.
Finally the father has had enough and sends 2 men to k**l her, which they do in front of one of the children.
Dude loses it, chases the murderers and rips their heart out, earning the nickname of both Just and Cruel. Legend has it he tore the heart of one killer through the front and the other through the back.
Then, he has the corpse of his lover placed on the throne. Organizes a marriage/coronation ceremony (can't remember which), forcing the entire court to kiss the corpse's hands as if recognizing their lawful portuguese queen.
Ian McKee’s study found that students who highly value authority, tradition, and social dominance are the most likely to support revenge and retribution.
People with these personality traits are naturally less forgiving and less benevolent.
They place very little value on universal connectedness or empathy. Instead, their worldview focuses strictly on hierarchy and punishment.
They also see payback as a justified tool to enforce rules and maintain social order.
#13
I'm going to give it to Nicolo Tartaglia, who was the victim of a French invasion (his name means "stammerer" because his jaw got a saber through it, giving him speech problems).
How did he get his revenge? He learned mathematics (couldn't afford a tutor so he did it on his own, pretty much) and developed ballistics so the cannons could get revenge for him.
#14
I'd say that Basil II's revenge against the Bulgarians is a strong contender. So the story goes, Basil II had been leading the Byzantine army against the Bulgarians in a bloody war for about 15 years. After the Battle of Kleidion in 1014, Basil captured about 15,000 Bulgarian soldiers. He ordered them into groups of 100 and stabbed out the eyes of 99 men in each group. The last man had one eye destroyed and was given the task of using that eye to lead the rest of his group back home across the wilderness. Supposedly, the Bulgarian king had a stroke and died when he saw the army of blinded men march in. Needless to say, Basil won that war.
#15
Bar Kokhba rebelled against Rome. He was initially successful in establishing an independent area. Nevertheless, Rome crushed the rebellion, and as revenge committed genocide against the Jews, sent survivors into diaspora, and went so far as to rename Judea as Syria-Palestina.
Culture changes what triggers your inner John Wick.
Research found that Americans get vengeful when their personal rights are violated, driven by pure anger.
Collectivist cultures (like those in Korea) get vengeful when their sense of duty and obligation is threatened. In such cultures, revenge is contagious — if you insult one person, you insult the whole tribe.
#16
Sikh History has a number of instances when their martyrs were avenged. In 1704, the Mughal Empire’s governor of Sirhind (northern India, Panjab region) sentenced the two youngest sons (ages 5 & 7) of the 10th Guru - Guru Gobind Singh, to be bricked alive. Alongside the children was their elderly grandmother, the Guru’s mother, who hearing the news passed away immediately. In 1710, an army of Sikhs led by Baba Banda Singh Bahadur ransacked numerous towns under Mughal control & set them free. Upon reaching Sirhind they burned the city down.
Then towards the 1730s/1740s the Mughal governors of Panjab had a strong enough grip to exile Sikhs out of the region, leaving their shrines empty almost. The holiest site of the Sikhs - Sri Darbar Sahib (the Golden Temple) in Amritsar was taken over by Massa Ranghar, who defiled the holy site by smoking tobacco in the vicinity & having prostitutes entertain him there. Sikhs at this point were in Rajasthan state, it was a shoot on site sort of deal if any Sikhs were spotted in Panjab let alone the holy city of Amritsar. Yet still, the fearless Bhai Mehtab Singh accompanied by Bhai Sukha Singh disguised themselves as Muslim tax collectors and rode on horseback to Amritsar. Upon reaching they paid their respects to Sri Darbar Sahib before entering, once they entered they see that Ranghar is drunk. Being disguised as tax collectors they show him a bag full of gold coins, the drunk Ranghar stuck his head in the bag of coins to closely admire them. With great swiftness, Bhai Mehtab Singh took his sword out and beheaded Massa Ranghar. A fight broke out between Ranghar’s thugs and the two Sikhs but they were able to make it out and meet back with the rogue Sikh military camped out in Rajasthan. There, the Sikh army played field hockey with Ranghar’s head being the ball. Even today you can go to Rajasthan where the Budha Dal (sikh military) camped out, the tree is still there for where they played hockey with Ranghar’s head. If you go to the Golden Temple and go to the Akaal Takht museum in the complex, you will see the very sword of Bhai Mehtab Singh which was used to behead Massa Ranghar.
#17
In China a consort of the Emperor murdered the queens dog and then fed it to her.
The queen then had the arms and legs cut off the consort and inserted her still living torso into a large jar of wine.
She lived for quite a while.
#18
The United States, throughout the Cold War, spent billions and billions of dollars to win an arms race against the USSR. In the end, among other things, having to spend so much on military expenditures, the Soviets went bankrupt.
Fast forward 30 years, then look out your window.
Tim Fawcett 9 hours ago
I am cynical enough to think that the Cold War was just a way for those who gained power and warmth during WW II to maintain that in what should have been peace time. An unseen threat and proxy wars just to keep themselves relevant.
But payback comes with a steep psychological cost.
Instead of giving you closure, studies show that getting even keeps you trapped in a cycle of overthinking. By constantly dwelling on the grudge, you keep the wound open and prolong your own unhappiness.
In an experiment, it was found that people who punished cheaters actually felt much worse than people who just let it go.
If you don’t get revenge, your brain trivializes the event and moves on.
#19
There's a story in my family about an ancestor of ours from Scotland who was a fisherman who owned a fishing boat (and he hired employees to work on the boat).
One day, the King imposed a new tax on fisherman. The tax dictated that X fish out of every 100 they caught had to go to the king.
So when he took his boat out, he told his men to all throw the tax fish back overboard. When they got back to land, the taxmen were like "okay where's our fish?"
"Out there, catch them yourself".
He was burnt at the stake.
#20
Hannibal Barca crossing the alps to slaughter an unprecedented amount of roman troops in one of the bloodiest battles in recorded history. Maybe revenge for his family and their treatment at the hands of Rome.
If vengeance makes us miserable, why are we wired this way?
Kevin Carlsmith, a social psychologist at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York, says if you ask people why they seek revenge, they’re likely to tell you their goal is catharsis.
“Punishing others in this context — what they call ‘altruistic punishment’ — is a way to keep societies working smoothly. You’re willing to sacrifice your well-being in order to punish someone who misbehaved.”
#21
Turning Confederate General Robert E. Lee's family home in the north into a mass Cemetery for soldiers.
nottheactualphoto 12 hours ago
That family home is (was) in Virginia, hence technically still in the "south."
#22
Hannibal Barca's invasion of Rome. His father Hamilcar Barca was defeated in rome- Carthage war and swore to avenge his defeat.Trained his son for the same. Carthage main council was against attacking Rome but Hannibal did not pay heed, assembled an army and attacked anyway. Rest is history.
Nicole Weymann 4 hours ago
Headline "Sore Loser's Son Takes Revenge, Gets Prosperous Home City Razed, Population KiIIed, Survivors Sold As Slaves". Rome had it in for Cathage anyway, but that embarassment sure didn't help relations in any way.
#23
I think Hitler had one great F--- you towards the French. At the end of WW1 the Germans signed the Armistice in a traincart on a small portion of military train tracks in France. The tracks where removed and the cart was stored in a building close by. The cart was given the name: Wagon de l'Armistice. When in WW2 N**i Germany conquered France Hitler ordered the cart to be broken out of the building, the military tracks to be laid again and the cart to be placed at the exact same location for the new armistice to be signed. Afterwards the building in which the cart had been on display was completely destroyed, and the cart was moved to Berlin, where it was destroyed by Hitler's orders in 1945 so none could take away his revenge.
Did I say that out loud? 12 hours ago
Someone doesn't know the difference between an armistice and surrender.
We no longer live in the lawless wild. While historical blood feuds make for great entertainment, acting on those impulses rarely delivers justice. Instead, it just locks you in a toxic loop of overthinking.
The ultimate modern power move then is refusing to let someone live rent-free in your head.
#24
British East India Company was eventually bought by Indians.
#25
Caesar and the pirates. He was kidnapped by pirates and he got mad at them because they were asking for just 20 talents of gold, while Caesar believed he was worth at least 50 talents. The pirates really liked Caesar tho, as he told them stories, poetry and jokes. Sometimes, Caesar would say that as soon as he was free, he would crucify them all - and they all laughed at the joke. Well, Caesar wasn't kidding about his worth because the 50 talents of gold were paid. Soon after Caesae captured the pirates, got his money back and crucified them all.
#26
I would say when the Mongols absolutely destroyed the middle-east. Destroying levies, rerouting rivers, pillaging to the max. Much of the reason the fertile crescent today is a desert is because of mongolian aggression from those empires taunting the mongolians.
#27
When Tojo was captured by the Americans, he was given a set of brand new dentures into which “Remember Pearl Harbor” was embedded in Morse code.
#28
Ivan the Terrible:
"The ruthless Shuiskys gradually gained more power. In 1539 the Shuiskys led a raid on the palace, rounding up a number of Ivan's remaining confidants. They had the loyal Fyodor Mishurin skinned alive and left on public view in a Moscow square. On December 29, 1543, 13-year-old Ivan suddenly ordered the arrest of Prince Andrew Shuisky, who was reputed to be a cruel and corrupt person. He was thrown into an enclosure with a pack of starved hunting dogs. The rule of the boyars had ended.".
#29
There are so many, but I choose
Marvin Heemyer and his Killdozer Rampage.
It started with a concrete company trying to by his property. The property which held his Muffler shop where he made a typical working mans wages. He tried to get a higher percentage out of the concrete company but as time went on the concrete company, other businesses and representatives, and the local government in his Colorado town had put upon him a list of unjust violations against him. Draining the savings of him and his fiancée. Marvin, a hardworking man of God, would take no more it.
Over the course of around a year, whilst continuing his losing battle against the concrete company and local government, Marvin would use his muffler shop for a certain project. With the bulldozer he had aquired when he had plans of expanding his business, he transformed it into a high grade war machine.
He used his skills of welding to attached thick steel plates surrounding the dozer's exposed areas and boxing him in. He also added a camera system which included fans to blow away debris from the lens, an air conditioner, and most notebly he added gun ports. Gun ports which had allowed him to use a a battle rifle as well as a Barrett .50 cal.
Marvin made basically no effort to conceal his project. The few visitors he had did not think much of it and simply ignored it. In fact, Marvin had taken photo's and taped recordings documenting his entire build and his personal thoughts on the ongoing events of his life. He had finished the machine with the final step being the release of the armor shroud that rests ontop of the dozer that was being held up by a crane.
It was on June 4th, Marvin would take nothing more. His father died, his wife left him, and the concrete plant was going to simply destroy his business and his life. He took a list of all those who wronged him to that point. He took his weapons, which also included a handgun, into the dozer. He dropped the shroud into place, and fired life into his new beast. No more violations or citations from companies or corrupt local governments, it was time for a just man to do unjust things.
Marvin and his dozer trecked all over town. Working his way further down the list. He clashed, crumbled, and demolished businesses of anyone who wronged him which included even the minor bits of public property which stood in his way. When he was out on the streets he used his rifles to pick off powerlines and electrical boxes to cut the power of anywhere he went.
In the attempts to stip him, it went from the family who runs the concrete plant trying to flag him down outside his business, to the entire police department following him. They were shooting at his tank, dropping flashbangs down the exaust and breathing ports, and simply attempting to climb ontop of the behemoth trying to pry at the armour for an opening.
The police could do nothing except watch, which was exactly what Marvin wanted. It had gotten to the point where the local government wanted to call in the national guard and even hellfire missiles to stop him but had closed that idea due the obvious overkill. It would not matter in the end.
Just as Marvin was taking his beast through a buulding, the floor on the inside gave in and it had left the machine stranded and half standing on the edge. Marvin tried everything he could but the already damaged and leaking machine could do no more. The cops immediately hopped on and started doing what they can to skewer the hide of his monstrous homemade tank. He knew it was over, so with the handgun he had brought with him, he took his own life.
The result of Marvins rampage were $7+ million worth of property damage to businesses and government own property. Despite the name "Killdozer," it is crucial to note that the only casualty throughout the entire event was in fact just Marvin himself. To this day people are split on whether or not he avoided hurting people intentionally or just passed him by, however it really seems clear what he was really trying to hurt.
After hours of hacking through the steel they finally retrieved his body. The governent then dismantled the machine, piece by piece, and scattered them to junkyards all across the nation.
In the eye's of many, Marvin is indeed an American hero. When the government failed to support him and took away his right to liberty and property, he enacted justice upon them and those that collaborated with them. They learned the lesson that persons in power learn only by the hard way.
This might not be history's all time most big and greatest act of revenge, but I feel it to be most important and critical now due to recent events and opinions, especially for the Americans. I highly recommend you all to check out the video on youtube made by Count Dankula on Marvin and his Killdozer as he goes into proper detail. There is also a Netflix documentary on the event as well called "Tread." It is also recommended if you want to see the people who caused their personal demise.
#30
The 1945 Fall of Berlin has to be up there.
Gordon Tate 5 hours ago
Upwards of 90% of the women of Berlin between the ages of 8 and 80 were r***d by Russians. Thousands committed s*****e. Two wrongs don't make a right.
#31
Maradona's hand of God goal against England, which led to their elimination in the México 86 World Cup, after the British victory in the Falklands war of 82.
Loosey Goosey 7 hours ago (edited)
Yes, but the Falklands is still a British Overseas Territory because Argentina soon ran away home as soon as the SAS and SBS were sent in. So they can have their little trophy that they had to cheat to get. 🤷
What do you think ?
Loosey Goosey 6 hours ago
Queen Elizabeth II insisted on driving the the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia around her Balmoral estate, knowing that women weren't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia at the time. He'd never been driven by a woman (or since I'm guessing) and he became so nervous with the way she was confidently driving down the narrow Scottish country roads that he had his interpreter tell her to slow down.
Tim Fawcett 9 hours ago
All these just show how childish people are, particularly those with power. It also demonstrates that "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" just leads to a lot of blind people who have to eat through a straw
Kristiina Männiste 5 hours ago
My great grandma and my grunkle. They tracked down and eliminated the n**i collaborators who k****d my great grandpa. After the revenge was completed, my family named each one of his great granddaughters after him to carry on his memory and as a final f-you for the nazis. And thats the reason why there is a Kristiina, a Kristel and a Kristin Männiste in our family😅
Loosey Goosey 6 hours ago
Queen Elizabeth II insisted on driving the the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia around her Balmoral estate, knowing that women weren't allowed to drive in Saudi Arabia at the time. He'd never been driven by a woman (or since I'm guessing) and he became so nervous with the way she was confidently driving down the narrow Scottish country roads that he had his interpreter tell her to slow down.
Tim Fawcett 9 hours ago
All these just show how childish people are, particularly those with power. It also demonstrates that "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth" just leads to a lot of blind people who have to eat through a straw
Kristiina Männiste 5 hours ago
My great grandma and my grunkle. They tracked down and eliminated the n**i collaborators who k****d my great grandpa. After the revenge was completed, my family named each one of his great granddaughters after him to carry on his memory and as a final f-you for the nazis. And thats the reason why there is a Kristiina, a Kristel and a Kristin Männiste in our family😅
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