Princess Taiping was a princess of Tang dynasty China. She was the daughter of Emperor Gaozong and Empress Wu Zetian. She became an important figure during her mother's rule as Empress in the second Zhou dynasty 690-705 AD.
Princess Taiping supported saving the Tang dynasty and the Li family. After the death of Empress Wu Zetian in 705, Princess Taiping joined with her nephew Li Longji (later Emperor Xuanzong) to get power for the Tang dynasty again. In 710, she and Li Longji stopped Empress Wei's plan to gain power.
Princess Taiping was also known for her beauty. In the Chinese history (mishi/秘史), it has been said that, after losing two marriages, Princess Taiping loved Li Longji. Mishi said that Emperor Xuanzong told of his love for his aunt in his autobiography. Li Longji confessed that he had fallen in love with Princess Taiping at first sight. He thought of her as a goddess-like figure. However, the truth is still unknown.
After Emperor Xuanzong became ruler in 712 AD, Princess Taiping's old age and power was seen as a threat to the young emperor, and she was given a death sentence to kill herself in 713 AD.
Horus
Horus was the Egyptian god of the Sky. He was the son of Isis and Osiris. After fighting his uncle, Set (Osiris and Isis' brother) he became the king of Egypt. During this fight, he lost his eye. The "Eye of Horus" became one of the most important symbols in ancient Egypt and Egyptian civilization. When Horus lost his eye, his eye set out on a journey of its own. When the other Gods tried to catch the eye, his eye began to cry. These tears became the first people of Egypt in Egyptian belief.
The Eye of Horus, also known as wadjet eye, wedjat eye or udjat eye, is an ancient Egyptian symbol of protection, royal power, and good health. The Eye of Horus is similar to the Eye of Ra, which belongs to a different god, Ra, but represents many of the same concepts. According to Egyptian myth, Horus lost his left eye in a struggle with Set. The eye was magically restored by Hathor, and this restoration came to symbolize the process of making whole and healing. For this reason, the symbol was often used in amulets.
Horus, was worshiped all over Egypt, especially in Pe, Bendet and Khem. There were many falcon gods before Horus, but eventually Horus represented all of them. He was worshiped until the end of the Pre-Dynastic period. In Upper Egypt (south), in the town of Edfu, was Ptolemaic, a temple for Horus. In Kom Ombo, there was another temple for Horus called the Kom Ombo temple. Horus was a good friend of Sobek. He was also worshipped as a guide to the pharaohs.
Horus was considered handsome and usually appeared as a falcon or a falcon headed man, although sometimes he appeared as a falcon headed crocodile. Sometimes he would take the form of a celestial falcon with his left eye the moon and his right eye the sun, his speckled breast feathers the stars, the down sweep of his wings creating the winds. He is sometimes shown with a copper knife. In addition, he normally wore the double crown to signify his rule over all of Egypt and to relate with the Pharaoh.
Horus was the god of the sky and also the God of war. The pharaoh ruling at any given time of Egypt was always the living image of Horus. When he died, that pharaoh became Osiris, the god of the dead and the father of Horus. The new pharaoh became Horus. His purpose was to protect the pharaoh. He was a protector god, who was a god who fought evil. He represented justice and righteousness. He fought with Seth to avenge his father, Osiris, who was killed by Seth. When Horus defeated Seth, he conquered his father, Osiris', throne, and became protector.
Seth
In Egyptian mythology, "Set"' (also spelled Sutekh, Setesh, Seteh, Seth) was a god of the desert (including desert storms), thunder, evil, pain and suffering.
The word 'Seth' was first said as 'Set'. Because of changes in the Egyptian language over the 3,000 years that Seth was worshiped, the 't' in Set was pronounced so similarly from 'th' that the Greeks wrote it as Seth during the Ptolemaic period. Set was originally responsible for protecting Ra during his journey in the afterlife, personally slaying the great serpent Apep. Late period Set killed his brother Osiris, who had succeeded Ra as pharaoh, out of jealousy. Horus (Osiris and Isis' son) eventually defeated Set and claimed the throne.
Set had three siblings: his brother Osiris and his sisters Isis and Nephthys (who was also his wife). He also had a nephew Horus. Nephthys married Set and Isis married Osiris. Set and Nephthys had a son named Anubis. His father and mother were Geb and Nut respectively.
His color is red which represented evil in Egypt. He also possessed people when he wanted to. Set's consort was Nephthys. Set also had foreign wives Anat and Astarte. Set was unified with the key of trouble and death towards Ancient Egypt which made him deadly.
Set is often shown as a mysterious and unknown creature called the Set Animal. The Set Animal had a curved snout, square ears, dog-like body, forked tail, red eyes and red hair. Set could control this animal and would use it to destroy his enemies.
Shaka Sankofa
Shaka Sankofa aka Gary Graham born Gary Lee Graham (September 5, 1963 - June 22, 2000). Sankofa was put to death for the murder of fifty-three year-old Bobby Lambert in Houston, Texas on May 13, 1981. The murder happened when Sankofa was seventeen.
Sankofa was found guilty of shooting Lambert in the parking lot of a Houston supermarket. He told police that he had done ten robberies that week, but did not kill Lambert. The government believed he has done as many as 22 robberies which had happened in that area during that time. One of these included Graham using a shotgun to rob a man who Graham gave a ride to when the man's car stopped working on the highway. During that robbery, the man tried to escape and was shot by Graham but he did live. While there was no physical evidence to link Graham to the murder, one woman was in the parking lot at the time and saw him do it. She said she heard the gunshot and turned on the lights of her car. She saw Graham as he started running and followed him out of the parking lot with her car. There were several other people inside the store but none of them saw the shooting. Sankofa's supporters brought his case international attention, aruging that his conviction was based on the testimony of a single eyewitness who said she saw him for a few seconds in the dark parking lot committing the murder
and she was 30 feet away from the murder scene. The jury did not hear testimony from six other apparent eyewitnesses who believed that Sankofa was not the killer.
Sankofa put to death after many legal tries by his lawyers to stop it. These including an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court. By a vote of 5 to 4, the Supreme Court refused to stop the execution. Sankofa's lawyers also filed a civil suit saying the execution was against his civil rights. District Court Judge James Nowlin rejected that claim.
Many people believe that Sankofa did not kill Lambert. They believe that his lawyers did not do a good job because they thought he was guilty. Sankofa was put to death on an evidence of one person alone. None of the people that saw the man in the store and said this man was 6 inches shorter and thinner than Sankofa were used in the court case. Sankofa's lawyer at the time of his execution believed that the only person who saw the crime was not to be trusted because of how the police dealt with how she identified him. A gun found with Graham when he was arrested a week later was not the murder weapon. Most controversial of all is the fact that weapon used to kill Lambert did not produce any Gary Graham's fingerprints.