Michel de Nostredame, better know as Nostradamus, was born in Saint Remi, France. He was a doctor and became known as a "gifted healer". In 1560 he was appointed court doctor by King Charles IX. Before his appointment Nostradamus wrote Centuries in 1555 a book of prophecies between the 1500's and the end of the world 3797 AD, according to his prophecies.

Opinions on Nostradamus and his prophecies vary greatly. Some feel he was the greatest prophet of all time. Others think he misses as much as he hits, therefore he is just lucky. The problem may be interpetation. His prophecies are written in four different languages, old French, Latin, Italian, and Greek. The quatrains are laiden with with metaphors. Nostradamus also deliberately mixed up time sequences to avoid prosecution by the church.

The first prophecy to earn Nostradamus fame was this:

The young lion will overcome the older one, in a field of combat in a single fight: He will pierce his eyes in their golden cage; two wounds in one, then he dies a cruel death.

In July 1559, four years later, King Henry II of France, who used the lion as his emblem, engaged a younger opponent in a jousting contest. The lance of the king's younger opponent pierced the king's gilt helmet and wounded him; King Henry then died a long and agonizing death.

As mentioned Nostradamus was unlikely to give any of his prophecies a date. However he did put a date to his prophecy of the Great Fire in London. He prophecied the tragedy to occur "in three times twenty plus six."

In a letter to King Henry II, he predicts that France will be declared a republic in September of 1792. He also seems to foresee the deaths of Queen Marie Antoinette and Madame Du Barry, mistress of Louise XVI.

Nostradamus, became known as the "doomesday prophet" because of nack for predicting disasters and a fall from power. He predicted the fall of Napoleon and the abdication of King Edward VIII of Great Britain in 1936.

The next two quatrains seem to point to the reign of terror Hitler brought upon Europe:

Liberty shall not be recovered, a black, fierce, villainous, evil man shall occupy it, when the ties of his alliance are wrought. Venice shall be vexed by Hister.

Beasts wild with hunger will cross the rivers, the greater part of the battlefield will be against Hister. He will drag the leader in a cage of iron, when the child of Germany observes no law.

Liberty was occupied, or seized, by an evil (black-hearted and black-haired) man. Venice was "vexed" by her former ally. Hitler's troops crossed rivers and boundaries like ravening beasts, conquering, even though the majority of countries opposed them. Although the last sentence is unclear, many believe this refers to the German naval blockade of Britain.

Many believe Nostradamus predicted World War III to occur in 1999 more specifically July 1999.

In the year 1999 and seven months [July]. The great King of Terror will come from the sky. He will resurrect Ghengis Khan. Before and after war rules happily.

My hope is of course that he is either wrong or the interpetation is wrong. Still the connection with this prophecy and the events in Kosovo is uncanny. World War III according to this prophecy is to last until 2028. Good wins in the end. The death toll is to extremely high. The queastion of Nostradamus's future forecasts remains a Fascinating Mystery.