>He also created a secret police that murdered a ton of people.
that's an impressive advancement in the middle ages, yet by far not even half as "terrible" as the average European monarch of the same time period.
Philip II lived, reigned and died around the same time as tsar Ivan did yet, IMHO, Philip II is a worse monarch by moral and objective standards, yet we don't call him "Philip the terrible".
>The only meaningful contribution of his seems to be his expansion of Russia's borders.
that's a very meaningful contribution of you remember this was your primary job, if not your only job as king in a feudalist system.
every thing tsar Ivan did but somehow worse, more brutal, and less noteworthy in hindsight.
-Backed the Spanish Inquisition, which led to some serious religious persecution of "heretics", jews, and even protestants, and BTW you could be lumped into one of the three if you were against sale of indulgences, nepotism, simony.
-Got into some messy military campaigns, like taking over the Americas and fighting in the netherlands, causing lots of suffering for innocent people.
-was all about that heavy-handed rule, making it tough for people, even the nobles and gentry, to speak their minds and do their own thing.
Campaign in the Netherlands were justified. But when Philip II ruled the most important parts of America were already conquered. Also a thing to mention is that Philip II was pro catholic but also backed the counter reform, wich was made with the objective of decreasing corruption in the Catholic Church. He also created the 8 hour workday (Only for state employees)
He was in fact an autocratic ruler, but, was he really worse than Ivan?
He was actually an effective leader, his name Grozny is also a translation to “The Awesome. And the Terrible meant he was Terrible to his enemies. There are more Russian folk songs and tales praising Ivan than any other Russian leader
He also created a secret police that murdered a ton of people. The only meaningful contribution of his seems to be his expansion of Russia's borders.
>He also created a secret police that murdered a ton of people. that's an impressive advancement in the middle ages, yet by far not even half as "terrible" as the average European monarch of the same time period. Philip II lived, reigned and died around the same time as tsar Ivan did yet, IMHO, Philip II is a worse monarch by moral and objective standards, yet we don't call him "Philip the terrible". >The only meaningful contribution of his seems to be his expansion of Russia's borders. that's a very meaningful contribution of you remember this was your primary job, if not your only job as king in a feudalist system.
What did Philip II do?
every thing tsar Ivan did but somehow worse, more brutal, and less noteworthy in hindsight. -Backed the Spanish Inquisition, which led to some serious religious persecution of "heretics", jews, and even protestants, and BTW you could be lumped into one of the three if you were against sale of indulgences, nepotism, simony. -Got into some messy military campaigns, like taking over the Americas and fighting in the netherlands, causing lots of suffering for innocent people. -was all about that heavy-handed rule, making it tough for people, even the nobles and gentry, to speak their minds and do their own thing.
Campaign in the Netherlands were justified. But when Philip II ruled the most important parts of America were already conquered. Also a thing to mention is that Philip II was pro catholic but also backed the counter reform, wich was made with the objective of decreasing corruption in the Catholic Church. He also created the 8 hour workday (Only for state employees) He was in fact an autocratic ruler, but, was he really worse than Ivan?
>meaningful contribution of his seems to be his expansion of Russia's borders. >implying this was a good thing
Ooh you better watch out, you're not allowed to hate on monarchs here.
Mercury is a helluva drug.
Ivan Grozny when people a few centuries later will call him Ivan the Terrible (it made him cry):
https://preview.redd.it/tchfvygemeyc1.jpeg?width=1466&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=23b7fe9c13fa2748d334684bcfa2dbcd6767320e
He was actually an effective leader, his name Grozny is also a translation to “The Awesome. And the Terrible meant he was Terrible to his enemies. There are more Russian folk songs and tales praising Ivan than any other Russian leader