One of the more bizarre incidents in Islamic history occurred in 930 when I think what we would today call a "radical" Shia group seized Mecca during the Hajj pilgrimage season and stole the Black Stone of the Kaba. The group in question were the Karmatians, a group of Ismaili Shia with a number of odd, apocalyptical beliefs that came to hold power in the Bahrain region (i.e. not just the Island of Bahrain, but also much of the eastern Arabian coast.)

They believed, under the leadership of a man named Abu Tahir, that the end of the age of Islam was nigh and the Mahdi's return to usher in a new religious age was imminent.

Abu Tahir's activity reached its climax in his conquest of Mecca during the pilgrimage season in 317/930. The Karmatis committed a bar- barous slaughter among the pilgrims and inhabitants and carried off the Black Stone of the Kacba, thus palpably demonstrating the end of the era of Islam.

While this was, and remains an unprecedented act, things only got weirder from there:

In Ramadan 3i9/Sept.-Oct. 931, Abu Tahir handed the rule over to a young Persian from Isfahan in whom he recognized the expected Mahdl. However, events took a different turn from what had commonly been expected for the advent of the Mahdl. The date was evidently chosen to coincide with the passing of 1,500 years after Zoroaster (= end of the year 1242of the era of Alexander) for which prophecies attributed to Zoroaster and Djamasp predicted the restoration of the reign of the Magians. The young Persian was said to be a Magian and a descendant of the Persian kings. Isfahan, his home town, had long been as- sociated by the astrologers with the rise of a Persian dynasty which would overthrow the Arab caliphate. The chief priest of the Magians, Isfandiyar b. Adhar- bad, was executed a few years later by the caliph al-Radl for his complicity with Abu Tahir. The Persian ordered the cursing of all the prophets and the worship of fire. He then encouraged various extravagant abominations and put some prominent Karmatl leaders to death. After some 80 days Abu Tahir was forced to kill him and admit that he had been duped by an impostor.

While the movement lost much of its strength it was not yet finished:

claiming that they were acting on the orders of the hidden Mahdl. Abu Tahir carried out raids on a minor scale to southern clrak and the coast of Fars and continued to obstruct the pilgrim- age. After the failure of earlier negotiations, he reached an agreement with the cAbbasid government in 327/939 under which he promised to protect the pilgrimage in return for an annual tribute and a protection fee to be paid by the pilgrims.

Not until Abu Tahir's death was the Black Stone eventually returned and the group's aggressiveness diminished:

After the death of Abu Tahir in 332/944 his surviving brothers, ruling jointly, continued his peaceful policy. In 339/ 951 they finally returned the Black Stone of the Kacba for a high sum paid by the cAbbasid govern- ment, after having rejected earlier offers, including one by the Fatimid caliph al-Mansur.

With multiple periods of advance and setback, the Qarmatian state in Bahrain would hold out for over a century:

In ca. 459/1067 the Karmatis of al-Bahrayn lost control of the island of Uwal [i.e. the modern Island of Bahrain] after an insurrection of the inhabitants and a defeat of the Karmati fleet. Soon afterwards, al-Katif was taken from them by a local rebel. In 462/1069-70 cAbd Allah b. CA1I al- cUyunl, chief of the Banu Murra b. cAmir of cAbd al- Kays residing in the northernmost part of the prov- ince of al-Ahsa5, rose against them. After a victory over the Karmatis and their tribal allies, he laid siege to al-Afcsa3 for seven years. Aided by a troop of 200 Turkoman horsemen from clrak, he took the town in 469/1067 and subdued a revolt of the Karmatis and the Banu cAmir b. Rablca in 470/1077-8, putting a definite end to the Karmati reign.

Source: *The Encyclopaedia of Islam entry on "Karmati".

Not sure if it technically qualifies since it's more of a consequence of a possible hostile take-over, but it's one of my all time favourite Scottish history stories and any chance I get to share it...

Medieval Scotland, around the 1450s, as the Auchinleck Chronicle reports and Iain MacDonald in 'Clerics and Clansmen: The Diocese of Argyll between the Twelfth and Sixteenth Century' explains: Gilbert McLathane and Morris McFadzane, chancellor and treasurer to the cathedral of Lismore are being summoned by their bishop, George Lauder. Now, the two men are Gaelic, the bishop is a Lowlander Scot, but they are serving the bishopric of Argyll, which in the middle ages remained a hub of Gaelic culture. The fact that George Lauder does not have a syllable of Gaelic in him was seen as problematic, and when Gilbert and Morris are summoned, they are afraid they will be deprived of their position by this foreigner who has not preached in his own parish for quite some time.

Actions are taken. When the bishop is out riding with a small retinue later, lo and behold, here come Morris and Gilbert, the latter bringing along his entire clan. According to the Auchinleck Chronicle, the bishop is then greeted with 'Bannachadee!', the Gaelic equivalent of 'God Bless', and promptly gets the shit beaten out of him. Morris and Gilbert also threaten to kill Lauder if he does not absolve them of their crime, and then run off with his valuables and papal bulls.

After a long hiatus from participating in these things due to work commitments, I have a decent answer: the World Hockey Association (WHA), one of my favourite topics in hockey history.

The WHA was formed in 1972, the idea being it would be a major professional hockey league in North America, one that would rival the NHL. Those who know sports history may note that this era saw similar attempts in both baseball (the proposed Continental Baseball League), football (the American Football League, later World Football League), basketball (American Basketball Association), and so on, its because the driving force behind most of them (namely the WFL and ABA, as well as a pro tennis league) were the same guys behind the WHA, Gary Davidson and Dennis Murphy, a couple of American businessmen. It is also notable that all of these ventures failed, though most did see teams merge into the established league. That is what happened with the WHA.

For seven years, from 1972 to 1979, the WHA and NHL co-existed, albeit on hostile terms. Threatened by the rising salaries offered by the WHA, as well as their entry into previously underserved markets, scared the NHL leadership, and merger talks began as early as 1974. However, despite the WHA being on shaky financial ground from the start, it held on until 1978, when at last a compromise was found. At that point there were just 7 WHA teams left (from a peak of 14), and one of them (the Indianapolis Racers) folded partway through the season. The six remaining teams seemed destined to join the NHL, except that two of them, the Cincinnati Stingers and Birmingham Bulls, were paid to fold instead (both actually joined the minor league Central Hockey League, and lasted a couple more years).

This left four WHA teams to join the NHL: the Edmonton Oilers, Hartford Whalers (formerly New England Whalers; name changed due to opposition from the Boston Bruins), Quebec Nordiques, and Winnipeg Jets. Each team paid a heavy price to survive, both financially and in terms of team make-up: each paid $6 million to join (a huge number at the time; expansion clubs paid that in 1970, for example), were only allowed to keep 3 of their players, leaving the rest exposed to be claimed by the "original" NHL clubs, and for the upcoming entry draft of junior players, were placed at the end of each round (convention had expansion teams near the front). Even then, the teams never really settled in: in 1995, 1996, and 1997 the Nordiques, Jets, and Whalers moved in turn to Colorado (Avalanche), Phoenix (Coyotes), and Carolina (Hurricanes), leaving the Oilers, who were a phone call away from becoming the Houston Oilers in 2000.

Well, since we're talking about theft... Mexican General Santa Anna was one of those disastrous leaders, quick to want command but not very bright and quick to bail....kind of like the guy who starts a fight in the bar and then expects all his friends to deal with the cops while he escapes.

In 1838 he was fighting the French at Veracruz and a cannon ball smashed his ankle. This being before surgeons knew anything about how to preserve or reconstruct bones, they amputated his leg. From then on, he had wooden ones. One pretty one, that had a permanent boot, for show, and one simple one that looked a bit like a baseball bat. In 1847, he was embroiled in a war with the US ( very much a war of territorial acquisition for the US). In the Battle of Cerro Gordo his army was flanked and became surrounded on three sides. In the general collapse, a unit of Illinois infantrymen surprised his camp and he was forced to escape- leaving both of his wooden legs. These then went home with the militia to Illinois. One of the soldiers managed to make a bit of a sideshow attraction with the pretty one for a number of years, but finally one- the fancy one- settled into the Springfield State Museum. The other - the plain one- somehow came to the Oglesby Library in Decatur, IL.

There's now a movement in Texas to have the fancy leg sent down to the San Jacinto Museum. Their argument seems to be, essentially, they've got other Santa Anna stuff, and, hey, they're Texas. The Illinoisans are not impressed by this, and the leg is not leaving Springfield anytime soon. I can't find any news of the Decatur library being approached by the Texans, but then, that's a pretty plain leg for Texas.

I once talked with some Mexican friends - both history buffs- about whether there could be a cooperative movement between US and Mexican citizens to bring the leg back to Mexico. It could have been fun, I said: the Leg Repatriation Society. Think of the possible speeches... we are all standing on principle, striding towards our goal, step by step we can achieve this, etc... They shrugged. Why bother? It's Santa Anna, another leader Mexico would have been better off without. Why try to bring anything of his stuff back?