Islam and the Great Spread

As Muhammad began to spread his influence around Arabia, more and more people began to believe. Muhammad was a merchant by trade. Trade at the time would be a contributor to how religion would spread around from east to west. What appealed to people to convert to Islam was that Islam was a religion that made every man equal to one another. Not one man was greater than another. Another appealing factor was that there was no priest or a middle man to Islam. It was you and God and a peaceful relation between the two.

Islam started with the creation of the Earth. It did not start to gain a large following however until the prophet Mohammed was born in 570 A.D. He began preaching about the God and reading the scriptures of the Quran. He brought together the many tribes in the Middle East and began to preach what Islam truly means, “submission to God”. The Muslims, this is what followers of Islam are called, also started to conquer land to spread their faith. They conquered large parts of northeast Africa and the Middle East. This is the only area where the spread of Islam was done by the sword in this time. When the faith spread to other parts it was done by the draw of the faith. Here is a religion with one God, and he showed mercy on his subjects. This expansion was done after the death of Mohammed. He died in 632, and through his followers Islam saw this great expansion. Islam spread to the Southern tip of France, India, China, more of Africa, and numerous other parts of the world. Today, Islam is still the fastest growing religion, and it stretches from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific. It gets a bad rap because of the terrorist attacks, but at its heart it is a religion founded on love and equality to all. A select few have distorted the image of an entire religion.
If you would like to find out more about Islam check out these sites:
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/islam/history.html
http://www.mnsu.edu/emuseum/cultural/religion/islam/history.html

Islam and Europe

It is clear that Islam has quite an effect on medieval Europe, is many different ways socially and politically. Many different things were brought back from the middle east to Europe that people there had never seen before, in quality and type of things. Many different spices, items and ideas came from the middle east.

The crusades created a constant demand for shipping and men to travel to and from the middle east to gather goods. The economy of many European countries benefited from the invasion and conquest of this area. Items from the middle east were so enchanting and captivating that there simply was not enough of it to satisfy as many Europeans that wanted such goods.

As for many of the Aristocrats and wealthy people who set out for the middle east in search of wealth and prosperity from these lands many of them never returned and the their land and belongings were granted to the kings and queens of these countries. this gave prominence back to many of the kings and queens of the European realm.

Many of the ideas and intellectual advancements of the time for Europe came from the middle eastern realm. The people of the East were far more intellectually advance than their western European brothers and many scientific ideologies were brought back to Europe with the crusaders.

http://www.middle-ages.org.uk/effects-of-crusades.htm

Surrender

The word Islam means “surrender, submission, or subjugation.” It is no surprise, then, that Muslim’s completely surrender themselves to their god, Allah. They are especially dedicated to Allah through five prayers that coincide with the five pillars. During these prayers, the Muslim’s submission to Allah is made clear by their posture, which involves a bent back as if to say they are not free, but a slave. Each Muslim believes he is on earth to worship and serve the one who created him.

Muslims serve Allah in hopes of receiving a gift from him in return. They recite prayers and obey his commands in order to receive earthly or heavenly rewards. The most precious gift they can receive is eternal salvation, which Allah has already given them. Therefore, they behave self righteously to achieve many good deeds and Allah’s grace.

In Islam, prayer to Allah is not voluntary, but rather an obligation. Many different regulations have been enforced in order to ensure Allah is the center of everything. For example, it is mandatory that everyone washes their hands, feet, arms, mouth, and face before prayer. This law is enforced to create a sense of purity in the mosques, and anyone who does not oblige to the rule has nullified their prayer.

One main prayer in Islam is “guide us in the straight path, the path of those whom thou hast blessed, not of those against whom thou are wrathful, nor of those who are astray.” This particular prayer expresses a Muslim’s dependency on Allah. Each Muslim frequently calls out to their god in prayer, and desires to serve him and fight for him wholeheartedly.

This website is especially helpful in understanding a Muslim's relationship to Allah:

http://www.light-of-life.com/eng/gospel/g4105efm.htm

Richard the Lionhearted Encounters Saladin

The Third Crusade although unsuccessful, helped ease tensions between western European Christians and Eastern Muslims. It secured a truce and ensured Christians would be allowed to make their pilgrimages to Jerusalem. As a side story two kings showed each other chivalrous mutual respect.

Richard the Lionheart king of England raised money through taxes and assembled an army with the help and support of France to retake Jerusalem from Saladin and the Muslims. “The two most significant remaining leaders to set out on crusade from the West were Richard of England and Philip of France, who set out by sea separately in 1191. Richard stopped at Cyprus on his way to the Holy Land and conquered the island before meeting up with Philip at the siege of Acre on 8 June 1191. Saladin was unable to break the Christians' blockade, and the city fell to the crusading kings in a little over a month, after which Philip departed to return to the West and Richard turned south toward Jaffa.” During the march on 7 September 1191, Saladin attacked the crusaders on the plains near Jaffa, but he suffered a heavy loss. Richard was then able to take Jaffa, and secure the use of its port. Soon after Saladin tried to retake Jaffa but was unsuccessful.

“However, Saladin's relationship with Richard was one of chivalrous mutual respect as well as military rivalry. When Richard became ill with fever, Saladin offered the services of his personal physician. Saladin also sent him fresh fruit with snow, to chill the drink, as treatment. At Arsuf, when Richard lost his horse, Saladin sent him two replacements. Richard suggested to Saladin that Palestine, Christian and Muslim, could be united through the marriage of his sister Joan of England, Queen of Sicily to Saladin's brother, and that Jerusalem could be their wedding gift.”

Soon after the two commanders agreed on a three year truce. King Richard returned to home to England and shortly after Saladin in 1193. The Third Crusade failed to recapture Jerusalem, but it did secure the coastline from Jaffa to Tyre, creating a point from which future crusades could be launched.


1 Lawson, Rich. Richard and Saladin: Warriors of the Third Crusade
2 Lawson, Rich. Richard and Saladin: Warriors of the Third Crusade
found at http://www.shadowedrealm.com/articles/exclusive/richard_saladin_warriors_third_crusade

Expansion of the Islamic/Arab Empire

Although Muhamed was able to greatly spread the message of Islam, it was not until after his death in 632 CE that the real expansion of the Arab Empire began. Only a few years after the death of Muhamed the Arab armies began to engage the Byzantine and Persian Sassanid Empires, which were the most powerful empires of the region, in battle. These engagements were a continuation of a long tradition of tribal raids into surrounding civilizations. These raids had taken place long before Muhamed and Islam were around. The difference now was that they finally had a centralized state of their own and a central command which could mobilize the military potential of the entire Arab nation. The Arabs were able to use this new found power to attack the Byzantine and Persian Empires, which were weakend from decades 0f war against each other. During the 650s the Arabs were finally able to defeat the Sassanid Empire and while they were not able to completely defeat the Byzantines, they were able to capture the southern half of Byzantium.

After defeating these two great empires the Arabs, who now operated on both land and sea, were able to sweep westward across North Africa. By the early 700s CE the had conquered Spain and had begun to attack southern France. Besides this great expansion west the Arabs army also moved east toward the Indus. Along the way they were able to capture some of the major oases towns of Central Asia. In 751CE the Arab Empire battle Chinese forces in the Battle of Talas River and were able to deal the Chinese a crushing defeat. This battle would have a major effect on the cultural evolution of Asia, as it halted the expansion of China to the west. It also helped to convert the Central Asian Turkic speaking people to Islam. This great expansion was important for multiple reasons. It was obviously important for great religous effect that it had, massively expanding Islam to both the east and west, but it was also important because of the effect that it had on Arab trade. During this expansion the Arab Empire was able to capture to capture profitable trade routes, as well as wealthy agricultural regions, both of which were able to greatly increase the wealth of the Islamic community.

Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World. Vol. 1. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. 2 vols. Print.
http://books.google.com/books?id=mBuaPAAACAAJ&dq=ways+of+the+world+strayer&ei=0Tj7Su_vK46OMoSi_YQP

Western Christendom’s face was the Byzantine Empire. It was the eastern half of the Roman Empire that still remained. Byzantine was based at Constantinople, which is modern day Istanbul, Turkey. The empire was in a war against the Muslim people of the Middle East. The Byzantines were in existence for over 1,000 years, and their empire ended because of the Ottomans. The Byzantines had one of the finest navies of the time, and they were able to repulse the Muslim’s from gaining ground and breaking through their massive walls. This would not last forever though, as the Ottoman Empire united the Muslim people and were able to make a full out attack. The city finally fell in the mid 1400’s, and the Roman Empire fell with it. It was a severe defeat for Christianity and they would repay the Muslims at the Battle of Lepanto. This battle helped to stop the spread of Islam across Europe, and gave people a choice of which religion was right for them. This holds true to what the United States of America was founded upon, and what we still believe today.

Uh oh, it is spreading!

One of the biggest influences in the modern world still today is religion. It has been said for years that there should be a separation of church and state, however religion still determines many of the decisions made globally today. One of the largest religions on Earth today is Christianity, and a major question is what factors and mechanisms helped this religion spread and grow to what it is today.

Global trade, with the establishment of the silk road and other trade networks. was one of the biggest influences in the spread of all religions as well as Christianity. With these established routes people of the Christian faith, such as missionaries, could travel great distances spreading the word of their religions to regions of the world that were not as easily accessible before. Not just missionaries but even merchants and anyone really was able to help spread the word of religion.

When the ruler of the entire Roman empire converts to Christianity it is going to make the idea of this religion a bit more popular. When Constantine converted to Christianity it made Christianity much more popular within the empire, and had one of the biggest impacts on the religion still today.

Christianity was appealing in many ways to simple people as well. The idea of salvation was a huge factor in the conversion of so many. Normal people, not rulers, aristocrats or any other elite class was able to reach salvation through this faith which compelled so many. Such a simple route to salvation would be very appealing to many.

http://mr_sedivy.tripod.com/r_life.html

Caesaropapism.

In history and the rise off the Christan church, there would be a time a great trial and great struggle against either different people or different groups. In the beginnings of the Church communication took a long time. For example, to send a message from Constantinople to Rome would take numerous of weeks. An important message pertaining to church issues could takes weeks to get to its destination and it might be too late when the message arrives. Important matters such as church or civic would come too late to do anything about the matter. When the Church was beginning, the Christians were spread throughout the empire and at times they believed different things that they were calling Christian but were in reality not. At the time in history, the Church and State were not separated, thus it created chaos between who was to control what.
At times civic leaders would make Church decisions which is classified as caesaropapism. Caesaropapism was originally created in the Byzantine Empire in its efforts to combine the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Emperor under one throne. Other cases of caesaropapism have came up past the years of the Roman Empire's fall. In Medieval times, the Church and State were not separated. Taxes would go to the Church as well as the government. Examples would be King Henry VIII taking over the Church in England.

www. encyclopedia. com

The Papal States

In class we have discussed the spread of Christianity and as many know this religion had overwhelming effects on the world. In fact the leader of the catholic church, the Pope, became the ruler of a state called the Papal States. The Pope was the sovereign leader of this large chunk of central Italy from 754 to 1870. The Papal State gained its territory by lands given to the Pope. Although the Papal State had little military strength and barely had control over its territories because of Emperors and nobles contesting the rule of the Papacy, it did have a role in the politics of Europe.

The Pope has the power to excommunicate members of the church. This includes kings and leaders of other countries. This can lead to growing political opposition in excommunicated leader's territories and unhappy Christians because their leader has been cast out of the church.

From 1305 to 1378, the Popes lived in Avignon, in what is now France. While the Papacy was in France their were strongly under the influence of the French Kings. 1378 to 1417 was a period know as the great schism. During this period Gregory XI had returned the papacy from Avignon to Rome. Shortly after he died and the Cardinals under fear of an Italian mob elected another Pope named Urban VI because he was Italian. Shortly after this he acted very offensive to all in the church and the Cardinals declared his election null and void because they were under duress when they elected him. The Cardinals elected Clement VII but Urban VI remained in Rome, refusing to step down, and Clement VII fled to Avignon. From there on until 1417 were two declared Popes of the church, both declaring that the other was illegitimate. Many Christians were confused and perhaps some left the catholic church because of the schism.

Slowly of the centuries the Papal States declined and Italy declared war on the Papal States and took Rome. The Papal States technically lives on as the State of the Vatican City.


All this information and more can be found at the following sources.
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/441848/Papal-States
http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Great_Schism.aspx#1E1-Schism-G
http://www.ohio.edu/chastain/ip/papalsta.htm

Constantine the Great

Constantine was born in Naissus around 285 CE. In 293 CE he became a member of the court of Diocletian. When his father died in 306 CE, Constantine took his place as Augustus. His peers tried to force him to give up his title as Augustus and go back to being a Caesar, but he refused.

In 312 CE, Constantine invaded Italy. During his march to Rome, he claimed to have a vision of the sun with the Chi-Ro shining above it. The Chi-Ro is a divine symbol of Christ, so he had all of his soldiers paint it on their shields. They then battled an army with thousands of soldiers, and surprisingly overpowered them.


Constantine attributed this victory to the Chi-Ro he saw before the battle. He then thought of himself as an emperor of the Christian people. He soon became a dominant leader in Rome, and ordered that authorities stop executing the Christians. For a while, he was not familiar with Christian beliefs, but he learned as time went on. He often tried to solve disputes peacefully. However, at time he became increasingly brutal, and even persecuted the ‘wrong type’ of Christians.

For many years, Constantine only ruled the western half of Rome. While he didn’t force Christianity onto any citizens, he appointed Christian officials and was involved with the Christian church. In the east, however, the second emperor Licinius adamantly opposed the religion. There were several confrontations between the east and west, ultimately ending with Constantine defeating Licinius and becoming the single emperor of Rome.

As the emperor of Rome, he enforced many new laws. First he banned Pagan practices and built Christian churches. He implemented a harsh tax system, ruled that any girl who eloped would be burned alive, and sentenced rapists and their women victims to death. Despite these ruthless laws, Constantine still ruled as a Christian.

Toward the end of his life, Constantine planned to invade Persia. He wanted to be baptized along the way, in the river of Jordan where Jesus was baptized. However, he became sick in 337 CE and never made it to the river. Instead, he asked the bishop of Nicomedia, Eusebius, to baptize him on his deathbed.

For more information, follow this link:
http://www.roman-empire.net/decline/constantine-index.html

The Church after the fall of the Roman Empire

In the 3rd and 4th centuries CE the Western Roman Empire began to be invaded by barbarian tribes, which were coming from Central Asia and in 476 CE the Germanic tribe leader Odoacer, "King of Italy", deposed the last Western Roman Emperor, Romulus Augustulus, marking the end of Western Rome. This could have easily dealt a major blow to christianity, which had grown so much throughout Rome. Fortunatelly this was not the case, as the barbarian tribes that took control of the Roman territory did not completely change the culture in the area but instead kept it along with christianity. It is infact the opposite that occured. With the fall of this great empire the Roman Catholic Church actually gained power instead of losing it.

There was a large hole left with the collapse of Rome and the Church became one of the main powers that stepped in to fill it. The Church, which based its hierachial organization of popes, bishops, priests, and monastaries on the organization of the Roman Empire, began to take over some of the functions of the government in the new nations which took the place of the Western Roman Empire. These functions included, politics, administration, education, and welfare. These new functions gave the Church more power than it had previously had, while also causing it to become quite wealthy. This new found power and wealth lead to the conversion of the many "pagan" people of Europe and to the expansion of christianity.


Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World. Vol. 1. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. 2 vols. Print.
http://books.google.com/books?id=mBuaPAAACAAJ&dq=ways+of+the+world+strayer&ei=0Tj7Su_vK46OMoSi_YQP

The First Crusade

As our class shifts toward the role and history of Christianity in the western world, I think it is important to learn about The First Crusade. The First Crusade was an attempt to recapture the city of Jerusalem. For years it had been under the control of Muslims and in the 11th century a pilgrimage became very difficult and dangerous because of Muslim soldiers. This greatly angered all Christians.

In 1095 Pope Urban II spoke at the Council of Clermont to a large group of clergy, nobles, and commoners. Dr. E.L. Skip Knox gives a summary of the pope's speech, which has been recorded differently in various sources.

"The noble race of Franks must come to the aid their fellow Christians in the East. The infidel Turks are advancing into the heart of Eastern Christendom; Christians are being oppressed and attacked; churches and holy places are being defiled. Jerusalem is groaning under the Saracen yoke. The Holy Sepulchre is in Muslim hands and has been turned into a mosque. Pilgrims are harassed and even prevented from access to the Holy Land.

The West must march to the defense of the East. All should go, rich and poor alike. The Franks must stop their internal wars and squabbles. Let them go instead against the infidel and fight a righteous war.

God himself will lead them, for they will be doing His work. There will be absolution and remission of sins for all who die in the service of Christ. Here they are poor and miserable sinners; there they will be rich and happy. Let none hesitate; they must march next summer. God wills it!" Pope Urban II


Christianity by this time had spread all across Europe and the Catholic church headed by the Pope had a great deal of power. The Crusading army grew to around 10,000 men and they gathered in Constantinople to prepare for their journey to the Holy Land.

First the army captured Nicea and after a seven month siege captured Antioch. The First Crusade came to an end with the capture of Jerusalem in 1099. It was not easy for the Crusaders. They had to travel by land and pillage/scavenge for food and supplies. After the success the conquered territory was divided up into four Latin kingdoms charged with protecting all Christians and defending them from the Muslims.

Christianity was very popular in Europe and the power of the church can be seen by the popularity of the crusades.

more information can be found at
http://gbgm-umc.org/umw/bible/crusades.stm
http://crusades.boisestate.edu/1st/
http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cru2.htm

We Were Not the Only Humans Facing Climate Change

One of the most pressing issues that Humanity faces today is the issue of Global climate change. However, Humanity has faced climate change before and it has had a significant impact. The human race has evolved and changed because of global climate change.

The different climates on the earth have changed, where hot climates have cooled, and cool climates have gotten warm in a matter of a few years and early man has had to adjust to these changes. For some example when wet climates dried out in a few years and massive fires happened, or floods in other regions many of animals in the regions died out, along with many early humans. When there is such a quick and large population decrease different traits become more important. It was during times like these where early hominids developed better hunting skills and tools that helped them cope with the environment that they have been given after being forced into the situations where they had to work on cooperation and innovation in order to survive. Granted, a tool might be considered a sharpened stick or a sharp rock.

These changes in climate happened many times, and every time there was an effect on early man. the biggest effect that it had on early mas was when the ice ages started happening about 2.5 million years ago, brain size of early man started to increase. According to what we know today australopithecine ancestors had the brain the size of an ape, and it did not grow for about ten thousand years. Until ice ages started to occur and then the Hominid brain grew.

http://www.press.uchicago.edu/Misc/Chicago/092011.html

The Council of Nicea

In the 300's C.E., Christianity began to come about in the Roman Empire. Before, the Romans use to persecute the Christians who would go out and proclaim their devotion to the religion and not pay homage to the Roman gods. The Romans believed that they were acting as enemies to the state by not paying their dues to the government. As a result, they were punished and killed for their actions or lack thereof. But under the reign of Constantine the Great, something happened that made him convert to Christianity. He had a vision of two Greek letters that spelled out "Christ" and above in Latin it said "In His name you shall conquer." The next day Constantine faced his enemies and won the battle. After this, Constantine passed the Edict of Milan which made Christianity legal to practice. Soon after Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire. With the religion beginning it would run into problems such as what to believe and what to accept as true and what was not. In the year 325, a man named Arius was spreading a heresy called "Arianism" which created mass confusion on what was to be believed by the Christians at this time. At this mass meeting, Constantine called over 250 bishops from the empire to come and discuss the matters at hand. Immense debate took place between the bishops and Constantine to discuss about what was correct. As a result of the council came what to be the list that all Catholics believed in or known as the Nicene Creed. In the creed it lists the matters that took place that what the Church claims as dogmatic. The council was made to denounce Arianism and to bring about what was to be believed in.

Nihil Obstat. February 1, 1911. Remy Lafort, S.T.D., Censor. Imprimatur. +John Cardinal Farley, Archbishop of New York.

The Movement of the Continents

The land on earth is constantly moving. the continents are moving about 2 cm every year. Since the beginning of the earth, the land has been moving slowly, but continuously. 650 million years ago, the earth looked like this:










Plate tectonics under the earth's surface shift to cause the continents to move and many different environmental features to form. the earth changed a great deal throughout the years. Around 250 million years ago the continents formed a supercontinent called Pangea.










This supercontinent allowed for the distribution of different animals and plants on different continents. Pangea is the reason that people find fossils of a certain type of species on Africa and also on South America; at one point, these continents touched.

Pangea began to break up around 150 million years ago. the continents began their drift to the position that they are in today. this took millions of years. When dinosaurs existed on earth (around 66 million years ago), the planet looked like this:










The continents are not done moving. In millions of years they will look much different than they do now. It is estimated that the continents will look like the following picture when 250 million years has passed. It is believed that another supercontinent will form.











If you would like to know more about the movement of the continents over the years you should visit http://www.scotese.com/earth.htm.

Saint Paul

Paul of Tarsus, originally known as Saul, was probably the second most influental individual in the establishment of Christianity, behind only Jesus himself. He was not always a strong believer in the teachings of Jesus though. The story of Pauls conversion began on the road to Demascus, when he was still going by the name Saul. At this point Paul was actually on a mission to arrest any Christians that he could find and take them back to Jerusalem. According to Acts 9 it was on the road to Demascus when a light from heaven flashed around Paul and he fell to the ground. He then heard a voice which said "Saul, Saul why do you persecute me?"

"Who are you, Lord?" Saul asked

"I am Jesus whom you are persecuting," he replied. "Now get up an go into the city, and you will be told what you must do."

Paul was then lead into Demascus by the men that were traveling with him because he could not see. For three days he was blind and did not eat or drink anything. It was then when, according to the Acts 9, God sent a disciple named Ananias to speak to Paul. When he arrived at the house where Paul was staying Ananias placed his hands on Paul and said, "Brother Saul, theLord--Jesus, who appered to you on the road as you were coming here--has sent me so that you may see agin and be filled with the Holy Spirit." Paul, who was imediately able to see again, was baptised and after taking some food, he regained his strength. Then, according to Acts, Paul spent the next few days preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God.

Paul went on to author many writings that would play a major part in the establishment of the Christian religion, including many books of the Bible. This includes Romans, 1 Corinthians, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians, and Philemon. He also established many of the beliefs that still carry Christianity today, such as the importance of celibacy and the theory of divine grace and salvation. Paul also played a key role in making Christianity a universal religion because he not only preached his beliefs to Jews and fellow Christians, but also Gentiles. He continued this preaching until his death in either 64 or 67 CE. Paul probably believed that what he was teaching was important, but I wonder if he could of even fathomed that his teaching would help lead to what is now considered one of the largest, if not the largest, religion(s) in the world?

Men's Devotional Bible- New International Version. Grand Rapids: Zondervan Corporation, 1993. Print.

http://ancienthistory.about.com/od/christians/p/PaulTarsus.htm

Fun fact: the Toltec used wooden swords in battle so as not to kill their enemy

The Toltec was an ancient civilization in Mexico that gained power around 900 CE. Their capital was an urban center called Tollán, or Tula. In this city, archeologists have found remains of pyramids, ball courts, and temples.

The Toltec were superior in architecture. The name Toltec actually means “master builders” in Nahuatl. They were architecturally advanced because they had access to many materials, such as different metals and stones. Their influences were from Teotihuacán and the Olmec cultures. They built many churches and Olmec inspired pyramids, one of which was in the famous city of Cholula.

The Toltec were polytheistic, but focused their practices on Quetzalcoatl. Quetzalcoatl was a deity who represented the forces of good and evil. He resided in Tula until he left in search of his homeland. In his honor, they built a large pyramid in Cholula. The Toltec also practiced human sacrifice, sun worship, and a sacred ball game called tlatchli.

Around 1000 CE, the Toltec began to expand toward the south. Eventually, they dominated the Mayan empire. It wasn’t until the thirteenth century that the empire weakened, and nomadic people called the Chichimec destroyed them.

Unfortunately, there is not an abundance of information about the Toltec on the web. However, here is the site I found most useful in my research: http://www.infoplease.com/ce6/society/A0848989.html

The Impact of the Silk Road

The Silk road is one of the worlds oldest and great trade routes in history. The effect that the silk road had on trade in that time was massive, however impact it left on global trade and cross cultural boundaries was even greater. The Silk Road was one of the most massive and encompassing trade routes connecting China, Europe, and Western Asia. It branched out in almost every direction, not following one direct route, but many routes through towns and different settlements. So many good were traded using the Silk Road, and the area that these goods covered was massive. The effect that this route had on cultures across the world had quite an impact.

The Silk Road brought people far across Asia and Europe, bring different aspects of their culture with them. With these people came items and goods from different culture that some people of the west had not seen, and these things became more readily available for people of the west. Other than goods, religion traveled along the Silk Road. Buddhism spread great distances and much of the reason why it spread was because of the Silk Road.

The Silk Road was used in forms of communications as well. In the times of the Mongol Empire the Silk Road was used as a major route for communication and spreading of ideas for the Mongols, more than most were open to ideas and religions. Kubilai Khan, for example was one of the most sympathetic and understanding of most religions. During the mongol reign many people across Asia and other lands took part in this trade, spreading culture, religion and many other aspects of their lives all across the continent.

http://www.ess.uci.edu/~oliver/silk.html

The Silk Disaster

The Silk Road served as a large trade network connecting major empires from China to Rome. However, like Jordan said in the post before mine, it actually spread more than goods throughout Asia and Europe. Along with Buddhism, it also spread disease.

In Western Europe in the fourteenth century, a plague affected a large population. The plague earned the name the “Black Death” in the nineteenth century, but originally had the name the “Great Plague” or “Great Pestilence.” The spots on the skin of contaminated people inspired the name “Black Death,” since the spots were black and dark blue.

The disease originated in Central Asia. Traders that travelled across the Silk Road carried the disease all the way to Europe. It quickly infected Spain, England, Ireland, and France. Within five years, the plague had killed around one third of the European population.

It seems that people unintentionally spread the disease more than they knew. When the disease threatened a city, citizens frantically fled and unknowingly brought the disease with them. Also, people attended crowded parties in attempts to comfort themselves and relieve their stress. Instead, they ended up spreading the disease even more rapidly, since they were so close to so many other people.

The plague created major changes in Europe. There were fewer workers, and they demanded higher wages. Many teachers died, so uneducated people taught the schools. Also, people spoke Latin less often, since not all the survivors were familiar with the language. In total, the plague killed as many as seventy five million people.

Follow this link to read more in depth about the Black Plague:

http://www.theblackdeath.co.uk/

Buddhism's is Brought to China

In class today we learned about the Silk Road and its importance in Eurasia. The Silk Road was one of the first major trade routes in the world. It brought goods such as cotton textiles, ivory, and pearls from China to the Mediteranean and many places in between, but it also brought a large cultural influence into China. That cultural influence is the Buddhist religion.

Up until the creation of the Silk Road, in the second century BCE, Buddhism was found primarily in India and some Central Asian nations. With the creation of this major trade network Chinese merchants began traveling west in order to trade goods with Rome, Egypt, India, and the nations of Central Asia. While they were in India came upon this new religion called Buddhism. It is believed that Buddhism reached China sometime in the first and second century CE. Having heard of this religion many monks throughout the next centuries would traveled the Silk Road to India in order to study Buddhism, they would then return to China and teach others what they had learned. Some of these iffluental monks included Zhu Shixing from the Three Kingdoms (220-280CE), Fa Xian and Kumrajva in the Jin Dynasty (265-420CE), Song Yun and Hui Shang in the Northern Dynasty (420-589CE), and Xuan Zang in the Tang Dynasty (618-907CE).

. ">"Culture of Silk Road." Travel China Guide Travel China Guide.com, 2009. Web. 28 Oct. 2009

Russian shift after Mongol invasion

Cross culture contact was common by 1000 AD but still had strong and long lasting effects. The Mongol invasion of Russia in 1237 was no exception. The Mongolian army called the Golden Horde swept into Russia and conquered it easily. For the next 200 years Mongolians, called Tatars by the Russians, ruled over much of the territory. The occupation brought long lasting changes to Russia long after the Mongolians were driven from the lands.

Before the Mongolian invasion Russian society and power was divided into three levels. At the top there were many princes that were scattered around the country each ruling over his own territory. Bellow the princes were nobles who had a great deal of independence. At the bottom were merchants, shopkeepers, and free peasant farmers who met at times to decide local issues by popular vote. After the Mongol invasion and occupancy Russia would never return to this system.

The Mongolians were all united under a Khan or emperor. The Russians on the other hand were scattered across a large territory and each individual kingdom was power hungry. They princes were suspicious of there neighbor rulers intentions and often made war on each other. One by one the individual princes fell to the Mongolians. They were unwilling to band together to repel the invaders. The Mongolians killed most of the princes, nobles, and anyone else the felt like killing.

Eventually after the Mongolians were no longer united under one ruler there was a Russian uprising and they were able to take back their country. The country now was more accustomed to centralized authority and would be lead by tsars. This new beginning would not tolerate independence or democracy and would eventually become the Soviet Union. The culture of the Mongols including their idea of Khans spread to Russia through force and occupation.

The Olmec Civilization

In Mesoamerica, the first indications of complex life were that of the Olmec civilization. This civilization is thought to have been around since 1500 BCE until about 100 BCE or until sometime in the Common Era. The Olmec Empire was very small; at its largest, it had less than 1,000 people. The area where the Olmec people once lived, south of the Gulf of Mexico, is about 125 miles long and about 50 miles wide.
The word “Olmec” means “rubber people” in the Aztec language, Nahuatl. The Olmec people were given this name because they discovered how to make rubber by removing latex from a rubber tree, called Castilla Elastica, and then adding the juice from a vine, called Ipomoea Alba.
Making rubber is not the only accomplishment of the Olmec people. They also constructed great centers with sophisticated architecture and drainage systems. In these centers there were many public-ceremonial buildings, and also houses for both commoners and the elite, so it is obvious that the Olmec centers were for everyone.
It is also believed that the Olmecs where the original creators of the Mesoamerican ball game, played by many tribes in Mesoamerica, and the rubber ball that was use for it. There was a recent discovery of many rubber balls and a ball court where the Olmec people once lived. The Olmecs also might have been the first of the Mesoamerican civilizations to develop a written language, but this is not yet known for a fact.
If you would like to know more about the Olmec civilization, check out this website: http://www.crystalinks.com/olmec.html.

Where is Everyone?

The Americas and Africa were not nearly as populated as Eurasia in the Classical Era. Due to this population imbalance historians focused less on early Africa and America. This caused me to wonder why, what is the cause of this difference. Eurasia made up over eighty percent of the entire worlds population in the Classical Era, whereas Africa and the Americas only made up ten to fifteen percent of the worlds population. There were many environmental and technological reasons for this difference.

One of the main reasons for the difference in population was in Africa and America there was a lack of animals available for domestication. With this, there was not as much food, nor animals to be trained and ready to pull a plow for agriculture or to help transport things over large distances. Eurasia was able to do all of these things because of live stock, horses and other animals. However, because Africa was so close to Eurasia, it was not long until these animals were in use in Africa.

Several technological differences were holding back some of the African and American civilizations from advancement. The civilizations in Africa and America did not have the tools that Eurasian settlements had because of a less developed system of Metallurgy. Weapons and Tools made of iron that very very important in the development of Eurasian civilizations were not around in early African and American civilization.

One of the things that advanced the society of Eurasian civilizations the most was a complex system of writing. African and American civilizations had forms of writing but they were not as effective or widespread as Eurasian writing. Without a form of communication advancement of a culture was very difficult.

Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.

Norse Discovery of North America

Since we haven’t discussed the Americas in class I thought I would talk about its discovery. Growing up everyone has learned that Christopher Columbus discovered America. We say discovered although there was already Native Americans living in the Americas. We say it because most of Europe didn’t know about the Americas. It seems that another group of Europeans beat Columbus to the Americas and that would be the Norse.

The Norse were led by Leif Erickson and made their discovery around 1000. This is approximately 500 years before Columbus discovered the Bahamas. The Norse spotted land west of Greenland in 986 when Bjarni Herjolfsson left Iceland to reach a settlement on Greenland but because of high winds and fog lost his course. He spotted land that was unlike the description of Greenland and corrected his course back east eventually making it to Greenland without landing in North America.

Leif Erickson very interested in Bjarni’s story left Greenland in search of these new lands. Erickson explored the coast and eventually founded a small settlement where they stayed a winter. They called the new land Vinland because of the grape vines that were growing there. In the spring they returned to Greenland.

The archaeological site of L'Anse aux Meadows is believed to be an attempted colony by Leif Erickson and the Norse in 1003. At this site many Norse objects have been found and carbon dating estimates the date around 1000. A list and pictures of these objects can be found at http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/vinland.html

It is believed that the colony failed due to the same problems found in Greenland. The climate got colder and the colonies could no longer sustain themselves with agriculture. The colonies simply vanished in Greenland and must have also failed in North America.

It is very interesting that this is not common knowledge among students growing up in North America. Although research is still being done knowledge of the Norse discovery is being more commonly accepted.


Information found at
http://news.softpedia.com/news/How-Did-Vikings-Discover-America-49891.shtml
http://www.pitt.edu/~dash/vinland.html

Jenne-jeno

Jenne-jeno is one of the oldest cities of sub-Saharan Africa that historians know about today. Inhabitants lived in the civilization as early as 300 BCE. By 900 CE, it had expanded to become one of the largest urban centers of the region, with at one point more than forty thousand people.

The civilization, which was located near the Niger River, attracted migrants who were in search of a dependable water supply. They brought their domesticated animals, their skills, and their iron technology to the region.

Jenne-jeno did not have an organized class structure like the Egyptians or Romans. Instead, they lived in equality without any political authority or warfare. They built many settlements that surrounded a middle city. These smaller settlements specialized in different trades, for example iron smiths, potters, and leather workers. Eventually these occupational groups became segregated. Parents would teach their children the family job, and children only married within their group. Some groups shared services with each other, but still remained physically separated.

Although the Niger provided nutrients for agriculture and clay for pottery, it did not provide other resources such as iron and fuel. This led to a large system of trade throughout West Africa. They used boats to travel the Niger and donkeys to travel by land. The people of Jenne-jeno traded grain, fish, and meats in return for salt, iron, and copper.

Eventually, a cultural shift occurred. Larger empires emerged and West Africa became connected with North America and Islam. However, parts of the culture and life style of the Niger Valley remain today.


Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin’s, 2009. Print.

Teotihuacan

At about the same time as the great Mayan civilizations of southern Mesoamerica there was another great city thriving. This city, known as Teotihuacan, was to the north of the Mayan civilizations in the Valley of Mexico. It is believed that the city was founded around 150 BCE and was actually built to a plan instead of evolving unsystematically like most other cities. By the year 550Ce the city had expanded to take up about eight square miles and had a population, which has been estimated at from 100,000 to 200,000. This made it easily the largest city in America at the time and also one of the six biggest cities in the world.

Unfortunately there is also quite a bit that is not known about the city, including the original name of the city, language which was spoken by its citizens, or what kind of government was in place in the city. We do know, though, that it was, physically, very large and impressive. The city was built with broad avenues, big marketplaces, large plazas, palaces, and marketplaces. There was a main boulevard which went through the city, now known as the Street of the Dead. Along this street there were the majestic homes of the elite, the headquarters of the authorities of the state, many temples, as well as two giant pyramids. One pyramid was known as the Pyramid of the Sun, while the other was known as the Temple of the Feathered Serpent. It is believed by many people that the citizens of this Teotihuacan believed that the Pyramid of the Sun was the site of creation itself, birthplace of the sun and moon. In the Temple of Feathered Serpents archeologists have found the bones of 200 people who were apparently unwilling sacrificial victims that were forced to accompany the high ranking individuals that were buried there into the after life. The city also contained thousands of apartment complexes which were built of the main avenues in a gridlike pattern of streets. These apartments were home to the commoners that called this city home.

Besides all of these great buildings, the city also contained waterways, reservoirs, drainage systems, and many colorful murals. The buildings of the city were all decorated with these murals, as well as sculptures, and carvings. Most of these pieces of art work displayed abstract geometric and stylized images, while others portrayed gods and goddesses in many different forms, such as serpents, starfish, jaguars, flower, and warriors. The artwork found in Teotihuacan was not like that of the Mayan civilizations though because it did not contain many images of self adoring rulers and individuals. Many people believe that “the rulers of Teotihuacan might have intentionally avoided the personality cult of the dynastic art and writing” which was characteristic of the Maya. There are also many people that believe that the rulers of this great city may have been made up of a council of high ranking elites instead of a single monarch. Although the form of government of the city is not known it acknowledged by many historians that around the time 300-600 CE there was a region of about 10,000 square miles that was administered directly from the city, as well as other areas that likely provided tribute to the city.

Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World: A Brief Global History. Boston: Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. Print.

Unlocking long-sealed cave may solve Mexican pyramid mystery. 2008. xenophilius.wordspress.com. Web. 21 Oct. 2009 .

What Both China and Rome Have in Common

In the Classical era, both Rome and China are expanding their empires. What both Rome and China shared was that they both built a system of roads. The roads were key to the empires because it made trade easy and it made communication throughout the empires possible. One Roman road started in Sicily and it stretches the northwestern shore line of the Mediterranean Sea and ends at the Red Sea. The Chinese the Imperial Roads stemming from the central Xi'an City to the Great Wall and to both the East and South China Sea. The Silk Road ends in the city of Xi'an. Both empires specialized in building public works such as roads, aqueducts, and walls (Strayer 1) . All were for the good of the public and the quick mobility of the military. The walls were used to blockade any type of invader from reaping havoc upon the empires. Both Rome and China believed in their own supernatural meaning behind their ruling. The Romans regarded their dead emperors as "gods." The Chinese were quite different by the Emperor being titled the "Son of Heaven" and he was said to govern the "Mandate of Heaven." They believed that when the Chinese were raided or something bad happened, it was linked to the emperor for bad ruling. With a catastrophic even happening, he had losted the Mandate of Heaven thus the emperor will loss his power. A foriegn religion has blosomed out of both these two empires. In Rome, Christianity derived out of Jerusalem and spread around Rome during the Pax Romana. At first Rome did not accept Christianity. They persecuted Christians but the offered one more chance to denouce their beliefs, if refused then they were executed. Around 300 C.E. the emperor Constantine pass a edict that made Christianity legal to praticed which was titled "The Edict of Milan." Later on, Christianity became the official religion of Rome. In China, Buddism was brought in through the Silk Road. Merchants from India and from other lands where it was praticed brought Buddisim to Han China. The religion was not fully supported by the Han Dynasty. It was not till the end of the Han Dynasty when Buddisim was spread throughout China (Strayer 2) .

1 Robert W. Strayer. Ways of the World. Bedford/St.Martin's 2009.

2 Robert W. Strayer. Ways of the World. Bedford/St.Martin's 2009.

The Wheel: A Great Invention

People have been inventing things since the dawn of mankind. My dad is an inventor along with thousands of other people who have an idea that would make life a little better for us all. Although the inventions these days are much more advanced than the inventions that the first humans made, I believe that the invention of the wheel was one of the best inventions of all time.

Many people believe that the wheel has been around since 8000 BCE, however, that date that it was made is not exactly known. The oldest wheel ever discovered was made in 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia. This wheel is thought to have been a potter’s wheel used to make pots and other clay artifacts. Around 3200 BCE, the Mesopotamians began to use the wheel for transportation by putting it on their chariots. The Egyptians later made improvements to this wheel by making it a spoked wheel.

Before the wheel was invented for transportation, people used rollers (logs) to transport heavy objects. They would put one roller beneath the object, roll it, and then place another roller in front of the first, and so on. The invention of the wheel made transporting goods a thousand times easier for these earlier people.

Today, we use wheels all the time; on cars, buses, trains, planes, bicycles, luggage, lawn mowers, trailers, wheelbarrows, etc. The list goes on and on. Wheels make life so much better for everyone, and we can all thank the Mesopotamians for that.

http://hubpages.com/hub/Invention-of-the-Wheel
http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/wheel.htm

Astronomy and The Anceint Egyptians

Astronomy as we know it would not exist if not for the work of ancient Egyptians. Ancient Egypt was home to many of the first few great scientific minds and did many great things in the field of astronomy. Stars and many other constellations were believed to be the gods of the Egyptians, this was the basis of how many constellations were formed. For example, the constellation that we consider to be Orion the Hunter, was known as Osiris the God of death, rebirth and the after life. The Milky Way was believed to be the birth of the sun God Re from the Goddess Nut. From these beliefs the Egyptians mapped out of sky and we still use some of the mappings and recognizing of the constellations that they used. Much of the work that the Egyptians did became the framework of many of the breakthroughs and basis of the movement of stars and many other beliefs in the field of astronomy.

Ancient Egyptian Priests, who were also astronomers helped use astronomy to give humans and understanding of the timing of the seasons as well. Egyptian astronomers realized that the all important flooding of the Nile always occurred at what we know as the summer solstice. Using this information the priests were able to predict the annual flooding of the Nile. This also gave the entire human race one of their first calenders. From their information they were able to create our very first three hundred and sixty five day calender which consisted of twelve, thirty day months with a five day feasting period.

Egyptians even built building according to some of the things that they viewed in the sky. Temples of certain religion would be oriented to having sunlight shine in a certain point of the temple at a certain time of year. Even the great pyramids were aligned in different ways according to the stars. The 2 of the edges of the pyramids are aligned directly north and south, and it is believed that the Egyptians used constellations that we know very well today as the Big and Little Dipper. to help with this orientation. Orientating the pyramids this way was believed by Egyptian mythology to give the deceased access to the northern sky. Also, it is theorized that the positioning of the pyramids is directly correlated to the orientation of Orion's belt. This would make much sense, since Orion was believed to be Osiris the Egyptian God of death, rebirth, and the afterlife. From the interest that the Egyptian had in the stars it would not come as much of a surprise if the pyramids did have such an orientation.


http://www.egyptologyonline.com/astronomy.htm
http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/planetearth/stars_pyramids_wg_001116.html
http://www.robertbauval.co.uk/articles/articles/gizaorion.html

Vikings establish Dublin

Ireland’s capital city Dublin was originally founded by Vikings. In fact they founded many of Ireland’s first cities including Waterford, Wexford, Arklow, Cork, and Limerick. The Vikings raided and looted the Irish cost but eventually made stronger impacts on Ireland and not all of them were bad.

The Vikings started making raids on Ireland around 795 AD. They descended on churches and monasteries up and down the Irish coast. Their main goal was to plunder but over time they began holding relics, abbots and noblemen for ransom. The Vikings found even more money by capturing Irishmen and selling them as slaves. After decades of raids the Vikings decided to set up camp and stay in Ireland.

In 841 a Viking by the name of Turgeis lead his band ashore at present day Dublin. It was a perfect place to lunch raids all along and into Ireland. It was next to the Liffey River and had a harbor on the sea. The Vikings built houses, defensive walls, and established an affective Vikings trading and raiding settlement.

Dublin would be in Viking control for over a hundred years. The Barbarian invasion of Ireland by the Vikings caused panic, death, and destruction, but it also brought positive impacts. The Vikings introduced the concept of cities to Ireland. The cities became centers for international trade. They also taught the Irish to build ships and introduced coinage.

Information available at

http://www.ncte.ie/viking/listt.htm
http://www.wesleyjohnston.com/users/ireland/past/pre_norman_history/vikings.html
and in this book
http://www.amazon.com/Barbarian-Invasions-Shaped-Modern-World/dp/1592333036/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1255586303&sr=8-5

Confusius Say

Since we just discussed Confusius and Confusianism in class I thought that it would be a good subject for this blog. Confusius was born in China, in the state of Lu, in 551BCE to an aristocratic family. His actual name was K'ung Futzu, which means Master K'ung. Confusius is the latin pronunciation of K'ung Futzu which was adopted originally in Europe. One of the Confusius' main ambitions throughout his life was to become a major government official. So he traveled throughout China searching for an opporunity. This did not ever happen though. He was never able to get past being a minor official in his home state of Lu. He instead returned to his home state and continued teaching and studying. It was through these teachings that his students were able to collect his discussions and form them into the Analects, which are the basis for Confusianism.



Confusianism is a religion based on the thoughts and ideas of Confusius. He believed in three main principles. The first principle is Ren. It is the source of all the virtues that Confusius believed that people should express. These virtues included kindeness, empathy, charity and respectfullness. The second principle was Li. This term means propriety. Confusius believed that some people were superior, while others were inferior, and people should know there place in society. The third principle was Xiao, which is the term for filial piaty. Confusius believed that it was important to respect elders. Confusius also had a optomistic view of human nature and this view has become a key characteristic of Confusianism. Although it may not have been the intention of Confusius, his teachings, which are viewed today through the Analects written by his students, have become one of the most well known religions/phylosphies in the world today.

http://www.religionfacts.com/a-z-religion-index/confucianism.htm

Strayer, Robert W. Ways of the World. Boston : Bedford/ St. Martin's, 2009. Print.

Mayans Master Math

Along with Latin America, I also have a personal interest in mathematics. Combining these two interests, I recently learned that the ancient Mayans discovered two important ideas in mathematics. They are positional value and the concept of zero. Today, these two concepts are so effortless to us that it may not seem like a huge discovery. However, two educated civilizations, the Greeks and the Romans, failed to discover the concept before the Mayans. Although we currently use both concepts, our number system is different than the Mayan’s.

Unlike the number system we use, which is based on the number ten, the Maya system is based on the number twenty. This means that the Mayans counted from zero to nineteen before they moved to the next order, while we currently only count to nine. While we learned to count on our fingers, the Mayans must have learned to count using their fingers and toes.

There is also a difference in the symbols we use to count. We recognize a different symbol for each of the ten numbers. On the other hand, the Mayans only used three symbols. They used a shell for zero, a dot for one, and a line for five. For example, to represent the number thirteen, the Mayans would use two lines and three dots.*

The Maya system, in my opinion, was more efficient than the previous systems of the Romans and Greeks. Try to imagine writing a large number using the Roman numeral system in comparison to the new and improved Maya system.

Also, I cannot help but compare our decimal system to the ancient Maya system. I may be a little biased, but I do believe our decimal system is the most efficient system thus far. However, since our system is based off of the Maya system, I feel the need to say thank you ancient Mayans, for making math class easier.

*To see a picture of the symbols used, or to read more about the application of Maya mathematics, follow this link: http://www.mexconnect.com/articles/1122-the-maya-civilization-maya-numerals-and-calendar

Ancient Greece was a time of great intelligence. Many great, well known scientists were from Greece in ancient times. These scientists contributed greatly to the modern world.

One of these scientists is Aristotle, a great philosopher. He was a student of Plato and a teacher to Alexander the Great before he was known as "The Great". He wrote many books about many different topics, ranging from politics and physics to dreams and poems. Many people say that he was one of the most intelligent philosophers of all time.

Another philosopher from ancient Greece is Democritus. Democritus was the founder of the atomic theory. He hypothesized that matter was made up of atoms (which is entirely correct) and that is why matter can change. The atoms are always moving and clustering in different ways and sometimes atoms are added, therefore, things can change from solid to liquid and can grow.

Archimedes is a well known engineer from ancient Greece. He discovered the law of Archimedes which states that an object floating in a liquid weighs less than it did on land; the object's initial weight subtracted by the amount of the liquid that is displaced by the object equals the weight of the floating object. Archimedes also invented the lever and used it to transport ships from the dock to the water.

Hippocrates is known as the greatest physician of all time. He said that one could not study an illness secluded in the body, but had to study the patient as a whole. He often believed that the cause of an illness was due to bad life choices. Hippocrates is believed to have written the Hippocratic Oath (hence the name), which physicians and medical personal follow today.

Aristarchus is a Greek astronomer. He was the first person to view the immense size of the universe. He discovered that the moon, planets, sun, and stars do not rotate around the earth. He found that the sun was actually much, much larger than the earth, which lead to the conclusion that the earth rotates around the sun, instead of the other way around. Aristarchus' findings on the earth and sun where not proved to be correct until 1839.

These are just a few of the many amazing scientists and their contributions from ancient Greece. This was definitely a time of great wisdom.

Introduction

Hello fellow bloggernauts, My name is Marty Reed. I am 20 years old. My major is history. What I intend to do with it is go into secondary education and teach snott nosed smart kids a thing or two about history. Also I am on GVSU's Rowing and yes it is a tough but rewarding sport. If you want to know me more please ask. Thank you.

The Man Behind The First Crusade

For my critical book review for this class I have chosen a book titled The First Crusade: A New World History, by Thomas Asbridge. So far as I have read the book has centered around Pope Urban II and his famous speech at Clermont. Within which he called all European christians to arms against the Muslims who held power in the holy city of Jerusalem. Since I am reading this book right now I thought that a good topic for this first blog would be to talk about the life of Pope Urban II leading up to his Speech at Clermont.

Pope Urban II was born to the noble de Lagery family of Chatillon-sur-Marne, northern France, around the year 1035. Urban grew up in a region of north-eastern France known as the Champagne region. This was an extremely localized environment where even the nobles were not likely to have traveled more than a hundred kilometer from home within their life time. This area was controlled by a class of noble warriors, which was dominated by the knightly profession. This area where Urban grew up was an exceptionally violent society, which was dominated by bloody feud and vendetta. Everyone throughout this region, including the more peacefull nobles took part in the plunder.

Although there was much violence in the area in which Urban grew up, he was still always surrounded by the christian religion. Most people within this society was extremely dedicated to their faith and their daily lives were run by its principles. Most of Urban's early life was dominated by the struggle to avoid sin and attain heavenly salvation. In order to obtain this goal Urban turned to a monastic life style. Within a monasticism Christians dedicate their lives to prayer and the service of God, within an enclosed environment. They embrace the principles of poverty, chastity, and obedience. In order to live within in this type of life style Urban was sent to study at the cathedral school of Rheims, as a young man. He soon joined the church in Rheims and attained the position of archdeacon.

Urban remained in Rheims until his mid thirties, when he made a major decision, choosing to become a monk. Urban joined probably the most influential and respected monastery at the time, the Burgundian house of Cluny. While in Cluny Urban's administrative skills did not go unnoticed for long. By 1074, he had risen to become the grand prior of Cluny, which is second in command to the abbot. While holding this position Urban helped to uphold Cluny's reputation as a stronghold for uncompromising spiritual purity.

Urban's career did not end in Cluny though. While he was there he enjoyed a mutually beneficial alliance with Rome. This lead to his recruitment to become cardinal-bishop of Ostia, one of the most powerful ecclesiastical offices in Italy, around 1080. In the winter of 1084 and 1085 Urban worked in Germany as the papal legate for the man who had brought him to Italy, Pope Gregory VII. While in Germany Urban worked to gain support for Gregory in his struggle against the Holy Roman Empire.

In 1088, after the death of Gregory in 1087 and the short lived papacy of Victor III, Urban was finally elected pope. Although Urban to gain great power, his papacy began in a position of great weakness and vulnerability. In 1088 the Latin West seemed ready to turn their backs on Urban and side with his rival to the papal throne, Clemont III. It was not until 1094 that Urban recovered possession of the Lateran Palace in Rome through bribery and even then he did not have a strong hold over the city. He did begin to gradually restore papal authority though and in march of 1095, while Urban was in the southern Italian City of Piacenza a messenger from the embassy in Constantinople, the capital of the Greek Christian Empire of Byzantium, arrived. He appealed for military aid from their Christian brothers in the West against their Islamic neighbors. This is the request that would eventually lead to Urban's speech at Clermont on November 27th 1095.

Asbridge, Thomas. The First Crusade: A New History. New York: Oxford University Press, Inc, 2004. Print.

The Power of the Pharaoh

As we have discussed in class the power that a Pharaoh had to the ability to use was staggering. However, in our discussion we only had the time to scrape the surface of all the things that the Pharaoh had the ability to command. I am astonished every time I read of these so called "God-Kings" and what their people submit to or believed and put themselves through underneath the reign of the Pharaoh. The power of the Pharaoh as a political leader is almost unrivaled through out time.

The original Pharaohs in recorded had the same names as some Egyptian Gods and it is still not known today weather or not these were actually people who lived. The Pharaoh was considered to be a direct descendant of the Gods, meaning that Egyptians believed that a God took the form of the Pharaohs father and impregnated his wife. Meaning that the people of Egypt thought that the Pharaoh had a divine purpose to rule the land and help powers such as the annual flooding of the Nile river every year. Also, the Pharaoh was responsible for mingling with the gods and keeping their kingdom free of chaos which did not always work in the favor of the pharaoh.

Kings and Pharaohs were the figure that the whole administrative government rested on. All decisions made in the Kingdom were made by the Pharaoh. For example they commanded what was done with the harvest, the army and every other aspect within the Kingdom. The amount of resources and power the Pharaoh controlled was astonishing. One of the best examples of this is the great pyramids. The amount of riches and treasure in terms of, gold jewelry and other things, let alone the amount of manpower and labor it took to build a pyramid is still hard to comprehend today.

What I found most interesting is that from inscriptions being studied today, the almighty Pharaohs had a very difficult time making friends and many people did not like the Pharaoh. Even when this ruler commanded the respect of all the people within his kingdom he or she had a difficult time viewing anyone as equal and lived a somewhat lonely life. I do not mean lonely in sense that the Pharaoh dint have anyone around, being surrounded by advisers and priests, but never having someone that they could relate to.

For more information about Pharaohs and Kings of Egypt this website provided a good resource. http://www.reshafim.org.il/ad/egypt/administration/pharaoh.htm. Another valuable resource that can give a basic knowledge of pharaohs: http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/pharaohs.htm.

The destruction of Ur and the fall of Rome

As we learned in class the nomadic Elamites sacked and destroyed the city of Ur around 2000 BCE. Ur had become a great city and the center of Mesopotamia. The Elamites being nomadic grassland people rose in rebellion and overthrew the third dynasty of Ur and destroyed the city. Approximately 2,400 years later in 410 AD the Goths also overthrew a pinnacle city. They were able to sack Rome. It is amazing that the cities’ greatest enemies turned out to be groups of nomads and barbarians.

The Goths were lead by their king Alaric. Alaric had once fought with the Romans as a mercenary solder. He led a legion of Goths fighting for the emperor. In a battle he lost many men and after the victory was never recognized as a hero and was never granted a high rank in the Roman army. The alliance between the Goths and the Romans collapsed within months. The Goths turned on the Romans and used their own technology to destroy Rome. Much like the Elamites used horses and chariots to go long distances quickly, the Goths used the Roman’s own road system against them. They were able to mass an army and quickly move through Italy. They sacked cities and towns as they pleased while marching on Rome.

When they reached Rome they laid siege and made sure to cut off all food and supplies. Once the food ran out and the bodies started stacking up the senators struck a deal with Alaric. Alaric demanded all slaves of barbarian nations be released, thousands of pounds of gold, silver, and pepper. In return the Goths would leave Rome unharmed. The senators agreed. Alaric and his Goths left with 40,000 liberated slaves and wagons full of loot.

Alaric then again asked the emperor for a military title, specifically commander of Rome’s army in the western provinces. Instead of granting or denying Alaric the position the emperor instructed his men never to grant high rank to a barbarian. The king of the Goths Alaric was insulted and again marched on Rome. They again laid siege to the city but this time in the middle of the night on August 24, 410 someone opened the gates from inside Rome. It was never discovered who let them in but the barbarian Goths flooded the streets and sacked Rome.

More information can be found in
Craughwell, Thomas J. How The Barbarian Invasions Shaped the Modern World The Viking, Vandals, Huns, Mongols, Goths, and Tartars Who Razed The Old World And Formed The New. Beverly, MA: Fair Winds Press, 2008. Print.

A Brief Summary of Aztec Mythology

In order to fully comprehend Aztec mythology, it is important to have a basic knowledge of how the Aztec empire came to be. The Aztecs lived in central Mexico beginning in the twelve hundreds. They weren’t composed of a single group of people, but of multiple groups with varying stories and beliefs. During the thirteen hundreds, the Aztecs formed a city state known as Tenochtitlan, located in current day Mexico City. They continued to grow in unity, and by the late fourteen hundreds successfully conquered a large empire. The diverse population greatly influenced their beliefs, deities, and mythologies.

The ancient myths revolved around three basic themes. First, the Aztecs emphasized the value of sacrifice. They believed that their gods continually sacrificed their lives to better the earth. In an attempt to satisfy their gods, they made sacrifices often. Thoughts of sacrifice and death did not have a negative connotation, but instead brought thoughts of fertility and rebirth. The second theme to keep in mind is the idea that all people had a predetermined fate. They tried to determine the positive or negative influences of gods on their destiny. Many people are familiar with the game played by Aztecs in courts with a rubber ball, in which participants attempt to shoot the ball through a hoop with various body parts. What most people do not realize is that the game was actually a religious ritual that signified the earthly desire to control destiny. The third theme to watch for in Aztec mythology is that of duality. In reading ancient mythology, one will find that most gods or goddesses have two roles. They usually came in pairs, and sometimes could be found with more than one identity.

Many Aztec myths involve the creation of some element in nature. The most common myths include the creation of the earth, the creation of the Milky Way, the creation of the sun and moon, and the creation of people. There was also the story of five suns. This story says that there were four worlds that existed before the Aztecs, plus the one in which they lived. Each world ended with some disastrous event, such as a hurricane or fire, which destroyed everything. The fourth world ended with a flood. This leads into the creation of the fifth sun, or our current earth.

After the flood, two gods found the earth with a vicious monster in the sea. They knew people could never inhabit the earth while the monster could cause harm with her sharp teeth. To defeat the monster, they descended to earth and transformed into two powerful serpents. Together, they tore the monster into two halves. The upper half of the body became the sky, while the lower half became the earth. Other parts of her body were used to form different natural elements. For example, her crocodile back formed mountains, her hair formed trees and shrubs, her skin formed grass, rivers flowed from her mouth, and her eyes formed small ponds. The identifiable theme in this myth is that of duality, since two gods worked together to defeat the monster.

Following the creation of the earth, the gods realized the need to bring warmth to the earth using the sun. In order to do so, one god needed to sacrifice himself by stepping into a fire. One god deemed himself the most worthy of the sacrifice due to his wealth and offerings. However, a second, more humble, god also approached the fire and prayed for courage to sacrifice himself. After four days of praying, the wealthy god approached the fire. However, he was too cowardly and could not commit the sacrifice. On the other hand, the humble god was brave enough to jump into the fire. Feeling angry and worthless, the wealthy god sacrificed himself in an attempt to steal the glory. This angered the rest of the gods who decided one light should not shine as bright as the other, and should always follow the first. Thus, the second light became the moon. In this myth, two themes are easily recognizable, one being the need for sacrifice and the other being the idea of duality, since there were two sacrifices.

The next few myths involve the creation of the Milky Way, the creation of people, and the creation of food. To read about these myths, a more detailed version of the myths I already explained, or many other myths, visit this site, which contains excerpts from the book The Eagle on the Cactus: Traditional Tales from Mexico.
http://books.google.com/books?id=ng3AkBVlyUAC&pg=PA43&lpg=PA43&dq=aztec+mythology+stories&source=bl&ots=Nl6vCMYmrS&sig=13-oWcV10LpSXzOTkK4OKnse4P4&hl=en&ei=9hXBSt-bDo6f8Aa3_r2lAQ&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1#v=onepage&q=&f=false

Also, to read more about the background of Aztecs and their myths, the site I used is http://www.mythencyclopedia.com/Ar-Be/Aztec-Mythology.html.