tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-82185260760122648832024-03-21T20:39:01.000+07:00Ancient World HistoryThe Ancient World Prehistoric Eras to 600 c.e.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comBlogger365125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-51390234509710373272012-04-12T23:40:00.000+07:002018-10-14T10:16:26.153+07:00Battle of Adrianople<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://marketingatoz.blogspot.com/2011/04/innovation.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="blank"><img alt="Battle of Adrianople" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1BdteKcv_CYbXV9SumxBAwmVm_6oP-T41kNJsMLbK1gO5HqseFg6asI1-LLXzzxhtBuM9m2OROKXPEIcNeZ4H3qq79FeNcxko2YxH0Kkf8_O49QrEwSSPaN6A4XhrHioZWGxzix8R-Xc/s1600/Adrianople.jpg" title="Battle of Adrianople" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Battle of Adrianople</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
On August 9, 378 c.e., the Eastern Roman army under the command of Emperor Valens attacked a Gothic army (made up of Visigoths and Ostrogoths) that had camped near the town of Adrianople (also called Hadrianoplis) and was routed. The battle is often considered the beginning of the collapse of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/roman-empire.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a> in the fifth century.<br />
<br />
During the 370s c.e. there was a movement of peoples from Mongolia into eastern Europe. Called the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/huns.html" target="_blank" title="Huns">Huns</a>, they were driven from Mongolia by the Chinese. From 372 to 376 the Huns drove the Goths westward, first from the region of the Volga and Don Rivers and then the Dnieper River.<br />
<br />
This pushed the Goths into the Danube River area and into the Eastern Roman Empire. Seeking refuge from the Huns, Emperor Valens gave the Goths permission to settle in the empire as long as they agreed to serve in the Roman army.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1841761478/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=b95aaa11757c423175fe36c59f9471ee&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1841761478&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1841761478" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0195143663/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=eeac7ad262b2c9ef060f4369168e5524&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0195143663&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0195143663" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The Romans agreed to provide the Goths with supplies. Greedy and corrupt Roman officials tried to use the situation to their advantage by either selling supplies to the Goths that should have been free or not giving them the supplies at all.<br />
<br />
During a conference between the Visigoth leadership and Roman authorities in 377, the Romans attacked the Visigoth leaders. Some of the leaders escaped and joined with the Ostrogoths and began raiding Roman settlements in Thrace.<br />
<br />
Throughout July and August of 378 the Romans gained the upper hand and rounded up the Gothic forces. The majority of the Goths were finally brought to bay near the town of Adrianople. The Western and Eastern emperors had agreed to work together to deal with the Goths.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://historyworldsome.blogspot.com/2013/10/russo-ottoman-wars.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Gothic Cavalry return from foraging to attack the rear of the Roman army of Emperor Valens" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5nlngRoI1LRDSPwjtMhmuIK9BEeqFG_zZw4yVKbSkjeYUBUIxblctWM2M8s3QX7PKU6D0LMea6zywCaZsv8RsrUvvzsZiht5oQGxLyhaZ1Sh4ivf-DTI3OqxPtzLWDJfVnnlEs6tk6JM/s1600/gothic.jpg" title="Gothic Cavalry return from foraging to attack the rear of the Roman army of Emperor Valens" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Gothic Cavalry return from foraging to attack the rear of the Roman army of Emperor Valens</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Western emperor Gratian with his army was on his way to join Valens when Valens decided to attack the Goths without Gratian and his army. Moving from Adrianople against the Gothic wagon camp on August 9, Valens’s attack began before his infantry had finished deploying.<br />
<br />
As the Roman cavalry charged the camp, the Gothic cavalry, having been recalled from their raids on the surrounding countryside, returned and charged the Roman cavalry and routed it from the battlefield. The combined force of Gothic infantry and cavalry then turned on the Roman infantry and slaughtered it. The Goths killed two-thirds of the Roman army, including the emperor.<br />
<br />
It took the new emperor, <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/theodosius-i.html" target="_blank" title="Theodosius I">Theodosius I</a>, until 383 to gain the upper hand. Theodosius was able to drive many of the Goths back north of the Danube River, while others were allowed to settle in Roman territory as Roman citizens.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Day-Barbarians-barbero-alessandro/dp/1843545942/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=59886064c489e176ad4c1d02ffaecc54&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1843545942&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1843545942" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415183014/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=9eb71c96aa03c896281dcf35ee4b87a8&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415183014&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0415183014" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1473837642/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=0e675748193fb5761322ece0fbe7e49c&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1473837642&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1473837642" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In the short term this ended the problems with the Goths but set the stage for problems for the Western Roman Empire. With the peace the Eastern Roman Empire gained a source of soldiers for its army. These soldiers would eventually rebel and march against Rome.<br />
<br />
In 401 the Gothic leader Alaric led a Goth-Roman army on an invasion of Italy. The invasion was turned back in 402, and Alaric finally agreed to stop hostilities in 403. The peace only lasted until 409, when Alaric invaded Italy again and eventually captured and sacked Rome on August 24, 410 c.e.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-68499880114959499262012-04-12T23:30:00.000+07:002018-10-14T09:57:28.684+07:00Aeneid<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/shang-dynasty.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="blank"><img alt="Aeneas at the court of Latinus" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXeqxMF0J8IsvHxX-pFXqqW7o4VqSBsLyd6g_ocFFmrbn9SWKFcAVPENqgfyWaKk61llYdWzUJPdwIYA7VHCDAHcWunfGMF_Cgq8lpILqpfGSe6K4IT5ECbS08ECOw4u246g_iCpk8CQg/s1600/aeneas.jpg" title="Aeneid" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aeneid</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Virgil’s Aeneid is arguably the most influential and celebrated work of Latin literature. Written in the epic meter, dactylic hexameter, the Aeneid follows the journey of Aeneas, son of Venus, after the fall of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/troy.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Troy">Troy</a>. According to an ancient mythical tradition, Aeneas fled the burning city and landed in Italy, where he established a line of descendants who would become the Roman people.<br />
<br />
Virgil (70–19 b.c.e.) draws on the works of numerous authors, such as Lucretius, Ennius, Apollonius of Rhodes, and, especially, Homer. Virgil consistently adopts Homeric style and diction (a good example of this is the first line of the poem: “I sing of arms and a man ...”).<br />
<br />
He also re-creates entire scenes from the Iliad and the Odyssey. Books 1 to 6 of the Aeneid show such close parallels to the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/homeric-epics.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Homeric Epics">Homeric epics</a> that they are often called the “Virgilian Odyssey.”<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0679729526/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=8Jq2vx3aA1cCTdaPhRKMJA&slotNum=0&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=04a39f22cdedefa4b6de8e839faf2268&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0679729526&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0679729526" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140268863/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=8Jq2vx3aA1cCTdaPhRKMJA&slotNum=1&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=a7a6cf2f65e3d36480dc72c201b23761&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140268863&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0140268863" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Books 7 to 12, meanwhile, closely echo the Iliad. Virgil’s use of Homeric elements goes beyond mere imitation. Virgil often places Aeneas in situations identical to those of Odysseus or Achilles, allowing Aeneas’s response to those situations to differentiate him from (and sometimes surpass) his Homeric counterparts.<br />
<br />
Virgil constructs his epic in relation to the Roman people and their cultural ideals. He defines Aeneas by the ethical quality of piety, a concept of particular importance for Rome at the time of the Aeneid’s composition. The Aeneid also contains several etiological stories of interest to the Roman people, most notably that of <a href="http://agemythologystories.blogspot.com/2010/04/aeneas-meet-dido.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Aeneas Meet Dido">Dido</a> and the origin of the strife between the Romans and the Carthaginians.<br />
<br />
The Dido episode is one of the most famous vignettes of the Aeneid. Dido, the queen of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/carthage.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Carthage">Carthage</a>—also known by her Phoenician name, Elyssa—aids Aeneas and his shipwrecked Trojans in Book 1. Through Venus’s intervention, Dido falls desperately in love with Aeneas and wants him and his men to remain in Carthage.<br />
<br />
But a message from Jove reminds Aeneas that his fated land is in Italy. Immediately, he orders his men to depart. Dido is heartbroken over Aeneas’s leaving: She builds a pyre out of Aeneas’s gifts and commits suicide on it, prophesying the coming of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/hannibal-carthaginian-general.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Hannibal - Carthaginian General">Hannibal</a> before she dies. When Aeneas descends to the Underworld in Book 4, Dido’s shade refuses to speak with him.<br />
<br />
Dido’s character shows a great deal of complexity. She appears first as an amalgam of Alcinous and Arete as she hospitably receives her Trojan guests but soon becomes a Medea figure, well acquainted with magic and arcane knowledge.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://inamericanhistory.blogspot.com/2016/05/bank-war.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Aeneid and the sibyl" border="0" data-original-height="435" data-original-width="749" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwMQfPJ5Wwmi6AE8K4EZWBsNicCfL4shL6IY6qSnhJ1vAmPuno5Xa9Iz4C4TW5JCq1OWKX7vQfUh6MIhf8aqO5e4hRFq2J05zTOS8BTOfCgvdMXX5VIP6q5kdAZu8EgOUKM1EKEHyXrt8/s1600/aeneid-sibyl.jpg" title="Aeneid and the sibyl" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aeneid and the sibyl</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Dido is a sympathetic character throughout the epic, though much of how Virgil describes her would have brought to the Roman reader’s mind the Egyptian queen Cleopatra (associated with Mark Antony and the civil war).<br />
<br />
Interpretations of the Aeneid are numerous and far from unanimous. The Aeneid’s composition coincides with the end of the civil wars and the beginning of Augustus’s regime. Virgil ostensibly endorses the new princeps by referring to him as the man who will usher in another <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/roman-golden-and-silver-ages.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Roman Golden and Silver Ages">golden age</a>.<br />
<br />
Yet several elements of the epic might suggest that Virgil did not wholeheartedly support <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/augustus-caesar.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Augustus Caesar">Augustus</a>. Much of the debate centers on the war in Italy that occupies the second half of the epic, in which some scholars see a reference to the Battle of Perusia in 41 b.c.e., an event Augustus would have preferred to forget.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0143105132/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=189999718fe265b7307210f255fcf0ed&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0143105132&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0143105132" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/149656118X/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=ca824236cc6b38d1154ff59bcac05ef0&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=149656118X&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=149656118X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Iliad-Classic-Fiction-Diego-Agrimbau/dp/1496555848/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1496555848&pd_rd_r=312ffefe-cf5c-11e8-891f-0f79428572f9&pd_rd_w=Jv4k2&pd_rd_wg=y5WK6&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=HD2T3DKCV9F58H127A4G&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=HD2T3DKCV9F58H127A4G&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=69afb813ed659dcd24f427fc20f04414&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1496555848&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1496555848" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Scholars also point to the end of the Aeneid, where Aeneas kills Turnus as he pleads for his life, as unambiguously criticizing the new leadership. This anti-Augustan view of the Aeneid has, however, met with opposition.<br />
<br />
Many scholars find more evidence of the Iliad than of Augustus’s campaign in the latter half of the Aeneid. Others suggest that in killing Turnus, Aeneas acted appropriately for his cultural circumstances.<br />
<br />
The Aeneid has also been proposed to represent, not Virgil’s view of Augustus, but rather the condition of the Roman people. Virgil seems to offer conflicting evidence for his perspective on Augustan Rome and may intentionally leave the matter ambiguous so that the reader may decide for him- or herself.<br />
<br />
The Aeneid was highly anticipated even before publication and has since enjoyed immense popularity. Quintilian regarded Virgil as nearly equal to Homer and credits him with having the more difficult task. Latin epic writers after Virgil looked to the Aeneid as their model. Statius even acknowledges that his epic, the The baid, cannot surpass that of Virgil.<br />
<br />
The Aeneid became a standard school text of the ancient world and was a critical part of a good education. Virgil, however, considered the work unfinished. At the time of his death he famously called for the Aeneid to be burned rather than published. Augustus saved the Aeneid from the flames and ordered its publication.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-33124677012221572212012-04-12T23:17:00.000+07:002018-10-14T10:53:16.242+07:00Aeschylus - Greek Playwright<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://historyworldsome.blogspot.com/2013/11/industrial-revolution.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Aeschylus - Greek Playwright" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiKm9KNug7BVzSCP1F8Zu-O_4jsOPjUlzIt5ap3u38Mn-Y8amYKt8BtssbCGMtEgRKzgY8L3fWI5hR3v59dUv0xIVoBV1fqc5NWnaMYEfs9jYBzOYvHeSsbZru_xZnaK9d4qWbQWPbrqYY/s1600/Aeschylus.jpg" title="Aeschylus - Greek Playwright" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aeschylus - Greek Playwright</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The son of a wealthy family in sixth century b.c.e. Attica, Aeschylus was a tragedian at a time when Greek theater was still developing from its beginnings as a form of elaborate dance.<br />
<br />
In contrast to the first dramas, performed in honor of <a href="http://agemythologystories.blogspot.com/2010/04/dionysus-and-his-followers.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Dionysus and His Followers">Dionysus</a> and under the influence of copious amounts of wine, Aeschylus’s work emphasized natural law and punishment at the hands of the gods, by examining the role of his characters in a larger world.<br />
<br />
His participation as a soldier in the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/battle-of-marathon.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Battle of marathon</a> in 490 b.c.e., when the invading Persians were successfully repelled by vastly outnumbered Greek forces, probably informed his approach. The Persians told the story of the battle and was first performed 18 years later.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140443339/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=0034318d60ad27f4e80c2a2198809d83&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140443339&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0140443339" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0226311449/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=292ec3b551a6697fc755e67d1becb747&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0226311449&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0226311449" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Of Aeschylus’s 70-some plays, only seven survive. They are the earliest known Greek tragedies, as he is one of only three tragedians (with Euripides and Sophocles) whose works have survived to the modern era. <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0195070070" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="8001d1c3193906015241e34309ab960e" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Seven against Thebes" href="http://www.amazon.com/Seven-Against-Thebes-Tragedy-Translations/dp/0195070070/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=8001d1c3193906015241e34309ab960e&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_6399143" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Seven against Thebes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_6399143" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=8001d1c3193906015241e34309ab960e&_cb=1453738414884" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> is another battle narrative, concerning that of “the Seven” mythic heroes against Thebes in the aftermath of the death of the sons of Oedipus.<br />
<br />
The Suppliants is a simpler story about the daughters of Danaus fleeing a forced marriage, while the Oresteia is a trilogy of plays about the house of Atreus, starting with the return of Agamemnon from the Trojan War<img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_2680811" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=03916ba9957eaf6e56d3240b7a38ce7f&_cb=1453738473169" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />.<br />
<br />
The Oresteia has had enduring appeal in the modern world: 20th-century playwright <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Three-Plays-Strange-Interlude-Mourning/dp/0679763961/ref=as_li_ss_tl?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0679763961&pd_rd_r=76ec805d-cf64-11e8-a739-33eb8bfc8d81&pd_rd_w=XxNLv&pd_rd_wg=qLu9N&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=7d5d9c3c-5e01-44ac-97fd-261afd40b865&pf_rd_r=GRC9AD8XHAM4R9S4HX7M&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=GRC9AD8XHAM4R9S4HX7M&linkCode=ll1&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=4392c3ab1164f1009eeace9a875eb1ef&language=en_US" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Eugene O’Neill’s Mourning Becomes Electra</a> was based on it, substituting the Civil War for the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743264428/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0743264428&linkId=863680862f23d6309a428bbab5dd71ee" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Trojan War</a> in the backstory of O’Neill’s trilogy.<br />
<br />
Composers Richard Strauss and Sergey Taneyev each based operas on the Oresteia, and many more writers and artists have found compelling the idea of the Furies who in Aeschylus’s trilogy bring down the wrath of the gods upon Orestes for having killed his mother.<br />
<script type="text/javascript">
amzn_assoc_tracking_id = "epichistory-20";
amzn_assoc_ad_mode = "manual";
amzn_assoc_ad_type = "smart";
amzn_assoc_marketplace = "amazon";
amzn_assoc_region = "US";
amzn_assoc_design = "enhanced_links";
amzn_assoc_asins = "B011G3HFF2";
amzn_assoc_placement = "adunit";
amzn_assoc_linkid = "21b3db20b62f1a34daed4eab8673a8df";
</script><script src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US"></script><br />
In a sense the Oresteia is not just the earliest surviving trilogy of Greek plays. It is also one of the earliest horror stories, with the Furies tracking Orestes by following the scent of his mother Clytemnestra’s blood, and the play’s emphasis on the idea, so resonant in horror literature and ghost stories, of the supernatural exacting horrible justice on transgressors.<br />
<br />
Legend claims that Aeschylus met his death under the strangest of circumstances, when a passing eagle dropped a turtle on his head.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-28744305463297855272012-04-12T23:03:00.000+07:002018-10-14T11:15:15.747+07:00Aesop<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/sima-qian.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="blank"><img alt="Aesop" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMrRV4SI0fe4RkBdCqXdkk6VsNrJouV0rYNveaOLi2M5X3o5jrvZJqYQ4EOUsd1SpSsZoVhFfkQ7Vd3-OGUdWS5C9HE6PtLBeirVzzs-CmbWc7JRsNn0cTHJhyphenhyphenYVVLJEo9WjaLIHzfXNU/s1600/Aesop.jpg" title="Aesop" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aesop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A slave in ancient Greece in the sixth century b.c.e., Aesop was the creator or popularizer of the genre of fables that bear his name. Little about him is known: More than half a dozen places have claimed him as a native son, and although Herodotus records that he was killed by citizens of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/delphic-oracle.html" target="_blank" title="Delphic Oracle">Delphi</a>, he gives no indication of motive.<br />
<br />
Aesop’s fables were brief stories, appropriate for children and structured around a simple moral lesson. Most of them featured anthropomorphized animals—animals who spoke and acted like humans, often motivated by some exaggerated human <a href="http://amazingrainbow.blogspot.com/2009/12/characteristics-of-good-leader.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">characteristic</a>.<br />
<br />
Unlike the animal tales of many mythic traditions—the Coyote stories of <a href="http://historyworldsome.blogspot.com/2013/12/financial-panics-in-north-america.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">North America</a>, for instance—Aesop’s animals did not represent spiritual or divine beings, nor did they explain the nature of the world. They were comparable instead to modern children’s literature and cartoons, though with an educational bent.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0762428767/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=FTP95qBkVclKoGud5ARoUQ&slotNum=0&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=864513c8e16e1abdda3ff826875fe1a1&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0762428767&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0762428767" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0199540756/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=FTP95qBkVclKoGud5ARoUQ&slotNum=1&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=a4840701d5e3c9a9b1280f80618d0b85&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0199540756&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0199540756" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The fables remain some of the best-known stories in the Western world, often lending themselves to proverbs. Some of the most famous include <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="1402783450" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="2144e8015f1b98a8e5127740b8bde0f9" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Fox and the Grapes" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Grapes-Silver-Penny-Stories/dp/1402783450/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=2144e8015f1b98a8e5127740b8bde0f9&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_3779932" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Fox and the Grapes</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_3779932" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=2144e8015f1b98a8e5127740b8bde0f9&_cb=1453738889738" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, from which the idiom sour grapes is derived, to refer to something that, like the grapes the fox cannot reach, is assumed to be not worth the trouble.<br />
<br />
<a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0316183563" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="1734b3947d1f75645ebe20c44266b725" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Tortoise and the Hare" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Tortoise-Hare-Jerry-Pinkney/dp/0316183563/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=1734b3947d1f75645ebe20c44266b725&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_2756535" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Tortoise and the Hare</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_2756535" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=1734b3947d1f75645ebe20c44266b725&_cb=1453738930100" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, which concludes that “slow and steady wins the race” and has been adapted to a number of media, including a Disney cartoon; The Ant and the Grasshopper, the latter of which suffers through a harsh winter he had not prepared for as the ant did; and perhaps most evocatively, <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="1413466206" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="296273a09fc044a5825b3732430940b7" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="The Scorpion and the Frog" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Scorpion-Frog-Natural-Conspiracy/dp/1413466206/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=296273a09fc044a5825b3732430940b7&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_5546247" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Scorpion and the Frog</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_5546247" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=296273a09fc044a5825b3732430940b7&_cb=1453739016076" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />.<br />
<br />
In this tale a scorpion asks a frog to carry him across the river, and when the frog refuses out of fear of being stung, the scorpion brushes the concern aside, pointing out that should he sting the frog, both will die as the scorpion drowns. Nonetheless, the frog’s fear proves warranted—when the scorpion stings him partway across the river, he reminds the frog that such behavior is plainly the nature of a scorpion.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-81356652081665443852012-04-12T22:55:00.000+07:002017-03-26T17:18:52.370+07:00African City-states<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://abouthealthsome.blogspot.com/2016/05/sjogrens-syndrome.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="African City-states" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhe1DesyShxuym36J5v-yJhvYOKHGMXDWJidUutdslfWuM-mQoyE9oEPPeSa-Diq0-Wb55d2gKSKHVF75oH1SavBeQcJSC42zqig3UO_1BFqGg9sumv9fXFOBDLvmbtVH47mHAlasOCtKU/s1600/african-state.jpg" title="African City-states" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">African City-states</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The emergence of African city-states began in North Africa with ancient Egypt and then later the formation of the Carthaginian empire. These civilizations are both heavily documented by written accounts, as are the other North African kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania.<br />
<br />
However, apart from surviving second- hand accounts from early travelers from Egypt or <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/carthage.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Carthage">Carthage</a>, knowledge of city-states in the rest of Africa relies entirely on archaeological evidence. Carthage ruled the area around its capital through direct rule, and the remainder of its areas through client kings such as those of Numidia.<br />
<br />
The Numidians throwing their support behind the Romans at the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1472814215/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1472814215&linkId=e49497827623c4a562e6aa0d1c847a5b" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Battle of Zama</a> in 202 b.c.e. saw the defeat of the Carthaginians, setting the scene for the destruction of Carthage itself in 146 b.c.e. Numidia had a brief period of independence before it too fell under Roman control.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0792253841/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0792253841&linkCode=as2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=CDRGSPJMH6LVM6LL" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0792253841&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0792253841" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1580730450/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1580730450&linkCode=as2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=AHOSBKND5LY7HQMV" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1580730450&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1580730450" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The most well-known African city-states outside North Africa are thought to have emerged in modern-day Sudan and <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/ancient-ethiopia.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Ancient Ethiopia">Ethiopia</a>, with many settlements near the confluence of the Blue and White Niles, and ancient megaliths were found in southern Ethiopia.<br />
<br />
Gradually two city-states, those of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/meroe.html" target="_blank">Meroë</a> (900 b.c.e.–400 c.e.) and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1558765050/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1558765050&linkId=b913645bb92263ee94779e7b4af004d6" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Axum</a> (100–1000 c.e.), emerged, both transformed from powerful cities to significant kingdoms controlling large tracts of land, relying heavily on the early use of iron.<br />
<br />
The use of bronze and iron in war are also clearly shown by the location of some of these settlements. The remains of many ancient villages and small townships have been found in Sudan, which show that protection from attack was considerably more important than access to fertile arable land.<br />
<br />
The other area that seems to have seen the emergence of city-states in the ancient period was in sub-Saharan <a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/07/akan-states-of-west-africa.html" target="_blank">West Africa</a>. The finding of large numbers of objects and artifacts at Nok in modern-day Nigeria, which flourished from 500 b.c.e., has demonstrated the existence of a wealthy trading city on the Jos Plateau.<br />
<br />
It seems likely that there would have been other settlements and small city-states in the region, with people from that area believed to have started migrating along the western coast of modern-day Gabon, <a href="http://historyworldsome.blogspot.com/2013/12/congo-free-state.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Congo</a>, and Angola, and also inland to Lake Victoria.<br />
<br />
The major African city-state emerging toward the end of this period was <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00DUMH88C/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00DUMH88C&linkId=bec977a138b49097d9f8fa4d333ad336" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Great Zimbabwe</a>. Its stone buildings, undoubtedly replacing earlier wooden ones, provide evidence of what the society in the area had developed into by the 11th century c.e.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-32053446059102881192012-04-12T22:36:00.000+07:002016-09-16T07:22:30.227+07:00African Religious Traditions<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/09/vladimir-i-vladimir-great.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="blank"><img alt="African Religious Traditions" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiR-mDKANNPy6MJAzTgotV47ZoI7TKh7pwYAeR4HCto6OPRbAGiXENQLCMZPtzjQZKlSTNsmOsTSVIIJy46rA1BqG-RZKvgjDoPhyW8xhfKFRMewauCNz9Csazm-h3IFpGbR-hUxrpNlw5T/s1600/african-traditions.jpg" title="African Religious Traditions" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">African Religious Traditions</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Little contemporary written material has survived about religious traditions in ancient Africa, except in inscriptions by the ancient Egyptians about their beliefs and in accounts by <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/herodotus-thucydides-and-xenophon.html" target="_blank">Herodotus</a> when he described the religions and folklore of North Africa.<br />
<br />
The Egyptian beliefs involved gods and the monarchs as descendants of these deities and their representatives on earth. Many of the Egyptian gods have different forms, with some like <a href="http://agemythologystories.blogspot.com/2010/04/revenge-of-horus.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="The Revenge of Horus">Horus</a> and <a href="http://agemythologystories.blogspot.com/2010/04/isis-and-seven-scorpions.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Isis and The Seven Scorpions">Isis</a> being well known, and changes in weather, climate, and the well-being of the country reflecting the relative power of particular contending deities.<br />
<br />
Briefly during the eighteenth Dynasty, the pharaoh Akhenaten (14th century b.c.e.) tried to establish monotheism with the worship of the sun god Aten. The move eroded the power of the priests devoted to the sun-god Amun-Ra, who struck back.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr>
<td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594771332/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1594771332&linkCode=as2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=DMKLQ73HPDTUMDYL" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1594771332&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1594771332" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0826350763/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0826350763&linkCode=as2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=I3XIWNHAG4O5WD3Z" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0826350763&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0826350763" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td>
</tr>
</tbody></table><br />
After establishing a new capital at Tel el Amarna, the pharaoh died under mysterious circumstances and the old religion was restored and continued until the Ptolemies took over Egypt in the fourth century b.c.e., which saw the introduction of Greek gods, and later Roman gods when Egypt became a part of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/roman-empire.html" rel="" target="_blank" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a>.<br />
<br />
Although these concepts started in Egypt, similar ideas, almost certainly emanating from Egypt, can be found in Nubia and elsewhere. At Meroë in modern-day Sudan, there is evidence of worship of gods similar to the Egyptians’. It also seems likely that similar ideas flourished for many centuries at Kush and Axum, the latter, in modern-day Ethiopia, influenced by south Arabia and introducing into Africa some deities from there.<br />
<br />
In <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/carthage.html" target="_blank" title="Carthage">Carthage</a> many beliefs followed those of the Phoenicians. The deity Moloch was also said to be satisfied only by human sacrifice, with some historians suggesting that one of Hannibal’s own brothers was sacrificed, as a child, to Moloch.<br />
<br />
Modern historians suggest that the Romans exaggerated the bloodthirsty nature of the worship of the <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="1846039584" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="29c19972474ab15e50ad2203f80de51c" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Carthaginian" href="http://www.amazon.com/Carthaginian-Warrior-264-146-Nic-Fields/dp/1846039584/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=29c19972474ab15e50ad2203f80de51c&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_9093325" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Carthaginian</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_9093325" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=29c19972474ab15e50ad2203f80de51c&_cb=1453739857580" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> deity Moloch in order to better justify their war against Carthage and that the large numbers of infant bodies found by archaeologists in a burial ground near Carthage may have been from disease rather than mass human sacrifice of small children.<br />
<br />
The kingdoms of Numidia and Mauretania to the west of Carthage would have been partially influenced by Carthaginian ideas but later came to adopt Roman religious practices, both becoming parts of the Roman Empire.<br />
<br />
Much can be surmised about religious practices in sub-Saharan Africa during this period from the statuary found in places such as Nok, in modern-day northern Nigeria. Their carved stone statues of deities have survived, showing possible similarities with some Mediterranean concepts of Mother Earth. However, it seems more likely that ancestor worship was the most significant element of traditional African religion, as it undoubtedly was for many other early societies.<br />
<br />
Human figurines, as the hundreds of carved peoples of soapstone from Esie in southwest Nigeria and the brass heads from Ife are thought to represent ancestors, chiefs, or other actual people. At Jenné-jeno and some other nearby sites, the bones of relatives were sometimes interred within houses or burial buildings. As Islam came into the area, this dramatically changed the religious beliefs of the area.<br />
<br />
Islam led to the building of many mosques, with cemeteries located in the grounds of these mosques or on the outskirts of cities. The graves of holy men became revered and places of pilgrimage and veneration. In some places Islam adapted to some of the local customs, but in other areas, such as Saharan Africa, it totally changed the nature of religious tradition.<br />
<br />
In some parts of <a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/07/akan-states-of-west-africa.html" target="_blank">West Africa</a> there was a clash between the fundamental concepts of Islam and tribal customs, but in most areas ancestor worship was replaced by filial respect for ancestors.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-62459176475787579862012-04-12T22:14:00.000+07:002018-10-16T08:54:59.863+07:00Ahab and Jezebel<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/07/human-sacrifice-and-aztecs.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="blank"><img alt="Ahab and Jezebel" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpCWlQdljXrSVwIcZtYrRP903PO2O-Grg8Whm9gTen7cSsoHBZuKJtReL6GmrxJyI8UioXbmV0EJGAS9sqHOyD7vuzv1sI6vLyaq5pBraD7TFU5cn8uPrxkzpXXJ5Feql9fWzMEhoTXsA/s1600/Jezabel-Ahab.jpg" title="Ahab and Jezebel" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ahab and Jezebel</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
King Ahab and Queen Jezebel were the royal couple of Israel most vilified by later biblical writers, yet it is Ahab who made Israel and its army one of the strongest on the stage of Near Eastern nations and powers in the early ninth century b.c.e. He fortified and beautified the newly founded capital of Israel, Samaria.<br />
<br />
Archaeological excavations show that during his reign cities in various regions of his kingdom were built up so that Israel could withstand attack from neighboring peoples. His reputation gained the attention of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/phoenician-colonies.html" target="_blank">Phoenicians</a> to the north so that one of their priest-kings offered his daughter Jezebel to Ahab in an arranged political marriage.<br />
<br />
The Bible records that Ahab fought three or four wars with the dreaded <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/aramaeans.html" target="_blank" title="Aramaeans">Aramaeans</a> and won two of them. The genius of Ahab’s foreign policy seems to be his peacemaking with Judah to the south, the Philistine states to the west, and Phoenicia to the north. Conserving his resources and limiting his battles allowed him to gain concessions from the Arameans.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00QPHPQLU/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=f34a547ab5978a49b195603e038f2abe&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00QPHPQLU&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B00QPHPQLU" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Jezebel-Untold-Story-Bibles-Harlot-ebook/dp/B000W967EW/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=6178b0c584c82efc9103216c91fa52ce&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B000W967EW&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B000W967EW" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The real challenge came from the traditional hotbed of imperial ambition, Mesopotamia. Here the fierce Assyrians were mobilizing their forces to reestablish their empire in the western end of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/fertile-crescent.html" target="_blank" title="Fertile Crescent">Fertile Crescent</a>. Only a makeshift alliance of all the kingdoms could stand in Assyria’s way.<br />
<br />
The Assyrian records tell of a battlefield victory at Qarqar (853 b.c.e.) in the Orontes Valley in the coastal region of present-day Syria, but it was not decisive enough for the victors to push on toward their goal. Phoenicia was not even touched, much less Israel. Other minor losses for Israel during this time are reported in the Moabite Stone: A small region far to the southeast (present-day Jordan) seceded from the hegemony.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://crisissome.blogspot.com/2016/06/communist-party-of-indochina.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Jezebel was an ardent devotee to Baal" border="0" data-original-height="823" data-original-width="650" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5-vNTfrY_tWtr2i5paKt8bMxoBwcKoPxcwtcrK2If56Peo9Fm0ylB48_MG6jXb1WwbX6VDko7KVCK20BZJ2-1wcUxhOs2xKcogjW3c7jkJaCNYejKfwax3hMfz7KBfKU22SYovkeEgTI/s1600/jezebel.jpg" title="Jezebel was an ardent devotee to Baal" width="470" /></a></div>
<br />
Ahab also knew how to run the internal affairs of a state. He relied on the new capital of Samaria to integrate the non-Israelite interest groups, chiefly the advocates of Baal and Asherah worship, while the older city of Jezreel served as residence to the traditional elements of Israelite culture. This balance suggests that Ahab allowed the building of foreign temples, though he showed some wavering attachment to the Israelite God.<br />
<br />
The explanation for this double-mindedness, according to the Bible, was his increasing submission to his Phoenician wife, Jezebel. According to the geologies given in Josephus and other classical sources, she was the great-aunt of <a href="http://agemythologystories.blogspot.com/2010/04/aeneas-meet-dido.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Aeneas Meet Dido">Dido</a>, banished princess of Phoenicia and legendary founder of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/carthage.html" target="_blank" title="Carthage">Carthage</a>.<br />
<br />
She was an ardent devotee to Baal, working behind the scenes to achieve dominance for her religion and dynasty. She tried to eliminate the all-traditional prophets in Israel and plotted against the famous prophet Elijah.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0800721705/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=774be785427df578718f2dfbb71b88e4&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0800721705&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0800721705" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1533572283/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=c06b93722f05b57bf1f08121b8cb4a29&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1533572283&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1533572283" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1533572070/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=841d63cedd65cbfb8cb4ca75fea6aacb&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1533572070&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1533572070" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
She outlived her husband by 10 years and only died when her personal staff turned against her in the face of a rebellious general. Her sons and daughter went on to rule: Ahaziah was king for two years after Ahab’s death; then her son Joram ruled for eight years; her daughter Athaliah married the king of Judah, then ruthlessly killed all offspring of her own son so that she could rule for six years after her son died.<br />
<br />
In the biblical account Elijah, the prophet of Israel, is the unadulterated light that casts the reputation of Ahab and Jezebel into dark shadows. Ahab stands as a pragmatist who compromises his faith and coexists with idolatry, while Jezebel takes on the role of a self-willed and idolatrous shrew whose drive for power undermines divinely balanced government. In the New Testament, Jezebel becomes a type of seductive false prophetess who gives license to immorality and idolatry under the cloak of religion.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-83248281575139082272012-04-12T21:31:00.000+07:002018-10-16T10:08:53.140+07:00Akhenaten and Nefertiti<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://crisissome.blogspot.com/2016/06/d-day.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Akhenaten and Nefertiti" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivEcWaUhMUvizpjobqy0kVh_mtq04TGWqUMR9MQ-1mHTvFbu1Wb4qfONpXQMFEBjJN8tsN3fdSSrAvCIHW3qjJWP618zOfMLqyP1-VXJ2nDgzuLkK9yw4EOZThijBu1wVMGHDifZtxUcw/s1600/akhenaten-nefertiti.jpg" title="Akhenaten and Nefertiti" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Akhenaten and Nefertiti</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Akhenaten, the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/pharaoh.html" target="_blank" title="Pharaoh">pharaoh</a> of the eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, was the second son of Amenhotep III (r. 1391–54 b.c.e.) and Tiy (fl. 1385 b.c.e.). His reign ushered a revolutionary period in ancient Egyptian history. Nefertiti was his beautiful and powerful queen. He was not the favored child of family and was excluded from public events at the time of his father <a href="http://amzn.to/2mih7Ou" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Amenhotep III</a>.<br />
<br />
Akhenaten ruled with his father in coregency for a brief period. He was crowned at the temple of the god Amun, in Karnak, as Amenhotep IV. From his fifth regnal year, he changed his name to Akhenaten (Servant of the Aten). His queen was renamed as Nefer-Nefru-Aten (Beautiful Is the Beauty of Aten).<br />
<br />
The pharaoh initiated far-reaching changes in the field of religion. He did away with 2,000 years of religious history of Egypt. In his monotheism, only Aten, the god of the solar disk, was to be worshipped. The meaning of the changed names for himself and his queen was in relation to Aten.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1537272276/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=ab357c1b02d0795754adefb4dff1d3e8&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1537272276&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1537272276" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nefertiti-Novel-Egyptian-Royals-Collection/dp/0307381749/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=d73fb6674d3fb8301dfe5f8d44faaf6f&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0307381749&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0307381749" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Even the new capital that he constructed was given the name Akhetaton (Horizon of Aten). Making Aten the “sole god” curbed the increasing power of the priesthood. Earlier Egyptians worshipped a number of gods represented in animal or human form. Particular towns had their own gods. The sun god received the new name Aten, the ancient name of the physical Sun.<br />
<br />
The king was the link between god and the common people. Akhenaten was the leader taking his followers to a new place, where royal tombs, temples, palaces, statutes of the pharaoh, and buildings were built. In the center of the capital city, a sprawling road was built.<br />
<br />
Designed for chariot processions, it was one of the widest roads in ancient times. The capital city Akhetaton on the desert was surrounded by cliffs on three sides and to west by the river Nile. The tombs of the royal family were constructed on the valley leading toward the desert.<br />
<br />
Near the Nile, a gigantic temple for Aten was built. The wealthy lived in spacious houses enclosed by high walls. Others resided in houses built between the walled structures of the rich. About 10,000 people lived in the <b>capital city of Akhetaton</b> during Akhenaten’s reign.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://abouthealthsome.blogspot.co.id/2016/07/pilates.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="capital city of Akhetaton" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEju_0C0ozN3Su-2CJYZwKBp5GSQMqdUgSHu13Y4-0Kg476GvzEHIh61Ra-0beBMhxL9btBmbJKrg2KxhHmMvDJp_ro08rRBPjLenGy96TlqeZBSIw__vXfnr9TTKip6hedm-0-PMwA8kbw/s1600/city-Akhetaton.jpg" title="capital city of Akhetaton" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">capital city of Akhetaton</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Artwork created during the reign of Akhenaten was different from thousands of years of Egyptian artistic tradition by adopting realism. Akhenaten, possibly suffering from a genetic disorder known as Marfan’s syndrome, had a long head, a potbelly, a short torso, and prominent collarbones.<br />
<br />
Representations of the pharaoh did not follow the age-old tradition of a handsome man with a good physique. The sculptor portrayed what he saw in reality, presumably at the direction of Akhenaten.<br />
<br />
The background of the exquisitely beautiful and powerful queen Nefertiti is unclear. Some believe that Queen Tiy was her mother. According to others, she was the daughter of the vizier Ay, who was a brother of Queen Tiy. Ay occasionally called himself “god’s father” suggesting that he was the father-in-law of Akhenaten.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1545009430/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=f7a1ae41e35cc8529e6385a6bb7d190c&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1545009430&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1545009430" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1517665701/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=34e88ccd94c533d09424c50eccf5ea62&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1517665701&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1517665701" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500291209/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=8e0d30ab7f62ea324b8a9036e8abda5d&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0500291209&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0500291209" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
She carried much importance in her husband’s reign and pictures show her in the regalia of a king executing foreign prisoners by smiting them. According to some Egyptologists, she was a coregent with her husband from 1340 b.c.e. and instrumental in religious reforms.<br />
<br />
Some Egyptian scholars believe that in the same year she fell from royal favor or might have died. Nefertiti was probably buried in the capital city, but her body has never been found. Some researchers think that she ruled for a brief period after the death of Akhenaten. She had no sons, but future king <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009W5YHS0/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B009W5YHS0&linkId=4b8d64c6807217e3af7cffd8243767b2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Tutankhamun</a> was her son-in-law.<br />
<br />
Known as the “first individual in human history,” the reign of Akhenaten forms an important period in Egyptian history. Despite his revolutionary changes, Egypt reverted to earlier religious discourse after his death.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-51288123626176258312012-04-12T21:00:00.000+07:002019-02-03T05:40:16.983+07:00City of Akkad<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxTN7cWDJQNre_3LT1nBN7qWqirFROoZNnx_ozxIAEXcXpYygTjf8f5pqos4Kw60fk5liocqbeLqdElt3SLTuZKKj_L25n-QymX9S9D6JwiEtQ_skGiDGPkNm0Ttf-cMpms-TfU9sDCQ/s1600/Akkad.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="City of Akkad" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsxTN7cWDJQNre_3LT1nBN7qWqirFROoZNnx_ozxIAEXcXpYygTjf8f5pqos4Kw60fk5liocqbeLqdElt3SLTuZKKj_L25n-QymX9S9D6JwiEtQ_skGiDGPkNm0Ttf-cMpms-TfU9sDCQ/s1600/Akkad.png" title="City of Akkad" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">City of Akkad</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Mesopotamia’s first-known empire, founded at the city of Akkad, prospered from the end of the 24th century b.c.e. to the beginning of the 22nd century b.c.e. <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/sargon-of-akkad.html" target="_blank" title="Sargon of Akkad">Sargon of Akkad</a> (2334–2279 b.c.e.) established his empire at Akkad; its exact location is unknown but perhaps near modern Baghdad.<br />
<br />
His standing army allowed him to campaign from eastern Turkey to western Iran. Although it is still unclear how far he maintained permanent control, it probably ranged from northern Syria to western Iran.<br />
<br />
His two sons succeeded him, Rimush (2278–70 b.c.e.) and Manishtushu (2269–55 b.c.e.), who had military success of their own by suppressing rebellions and campaigning from northern Syria to western Iran.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0756629721/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=cc333e4429e63cd54a7a4f64307bbfd5&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0756629721&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0756629721" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140265740/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=d28fd98434c5de70f0d75c8ed72a0921&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140265740&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0140265740" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Yet it was Manishtushu’s son Naram-Sin (2254–18 b.c.e.) who took the empire to its pinnacle. He established and maintained control from eastern Turkey to western Iran. In contrast to his grandfather who was deified after his death, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1138909750/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1138909750&linkId=fd61ea9f411b8e37c9c6f434ff53489c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Naram-Sin</a> claimed divinity while he was still alive.<br />
<br />
The rule of Naram-Sin’s son Shar-kali-sharri (2217–2193 b.c.e.) was mostly prosperous, but by the end of his reign the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1522847308/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1522847308&linkId=a69bf27b26ad5f92e72cef6c82d70a77" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Akkadian Empire</a> controlled only a small state in northern Babylonia. Upon Shar-kali-sharri’s death anarchy ensued until order was restored by Dudu (2189–2169 b.c.e.) and Shu-Durul (2168–2154 b.c.e.), but these were more rulers of a city-state than kings of a vast empire.<br />
<br />
The demise of the Akkadian Empire can be explained by internal revolts from local governors as well as external attacks from groups such as the Gutians, <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/medes-persians-and-elamites.html" target="_blank" title="Medes, Persians, and Elamites">Elamites</a>, Lullubi, Hurrians, and Amorites. The Akkadian Empire set the standard toward which Mesopotamian kings throughout the next two millennia strove. Because of this, much literature appeared concerning the Akkadian kings, especially Sargon and Naram-Sin.<br />
<br />
In the Sargon Legend, which draws upon his illegitimate birth, Sargon is placed in a reed basket in the Euphrates before he is drawn out by a man named Aqqi and raised as a gardener. From this humble beginning Sargon establishes himself as the king of the first <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00UGTD31S/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00UGTD31S&linkId=bb932d62834544aec28d7b1054a7194e" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mesopotamian empire</a>.<br />
<br />
The King of Battle is another tale of how Sargon traveled to Purushkhanda in central Turkey in order to save the merchants there from oppression. After defeating the king of the city, Nur-Daggal, the local ruler is allowed to continue to govern as long as he acknowledges Sargon as king.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://crisissome.blogspot.com/2016/06/dust-bowl.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Map of Akkadian empire" border="0" data-original-height="524" data-original-width="566" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi83uPvSmLb8_JdAopyhFvc9HqjbrNCLilfSsiq25xN4sO6pKjyotiAHfcl3lwSWjmUwBDAvAy4BdJ_1NBvGbPSDXqMyQiT-5Twx5Y3c1rdWHYdq98rmE7rRwc170lTIaucJFc7ZB7fD98/s1600/akkadian.gif" title="Map of Akkadian empire" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Akkadian empire</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Naram-Sin, however, is often portrayed as incompetent and disrespectful of the gods. In The Curse of Akkad, Naram-Sin becomes frustrated because the gods will not allow him to rebuild a temple to the god Enlil, so he destroys it instead. Enlil then sends the Gutians to destroy the Akkadian Empire.<br />
<br />
As we know, however, the Akkadian Empire continued to have 25 prosperous years under Shar-kali-sharri after the death of Naram-Sin, and the Gutians were not the only reason for the downfall of the Akkadian Empire.<br />
<br />
In fact, there is no evidence for the Gutians causing problems for the Akkadians until late in the reign of Shar-kali-sharri. Although this story had an important didactic purpose, it shows that caution must be used in reconstructing the history of the Akkadian Empire from myths and legends.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Sumerians-History-Culture-Character-Phoenix/dp/0226452387/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0226452387&pd_rd_r=b8e229e3-d0f3-11e8-84cd-5d1350972647&pd_rd_w=iIKId&pd_rd_wg=VY4rb&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=QFGSFE1RD802EJEWXX13&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=QFGSFE1RD802EJEWXX13&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=57b17a1379a941eee2ac73cef73fb2e4&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0226452387&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0226452387" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1541914627/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=120b5731f4ec609c6b19b6df1f455a94&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1541914627&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1541914627" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Age-Agade-Inventing-Ancient-Mesopotamia-ebook/dp/B019FQ7TH6/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=1eabbe273e1e363d16c7ad4373f64880&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B019FQ7TH6&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B019FQ7TH6" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
In the Cuthean Legend, Naram-Sin goes out to fight a group that has invaded the Akkadian Empire. Naram-Sin seeks an oracle about the outcome of the battle, but since it is negative, he ignores it and mocks the whole process of divination. As in The Curse of Akkad, Naram-Sin’s disrespect of the gods gets him in trouble as he is defeated three times by the invaders.<br />
<br />
He finally seeks another oracle and receives a positive answer. Naram-Sin has learned his lesson: “Without divination, I will not execute punishment.” Despite these tales, there are others that paint Naram-Sin in a more positive light as an effective king with superior military capabilities.<br />
<br />
Along with a centralized government comes standardization. This included the gradual replacement of Sumerian, a non-Semitic language, with Akkadian, an East Semitic language, in administrative documents.<br />
<br />
Dating by year names, that is naming each year after a particular event such as “the year Sargon destroyed Mari,” became the system used in Babylonia until 1500 b.c.e. when it was replaced with dating by regnal years. There was also a standardized system of weights and measures. Taxes were collected from all regions of the empire in order to pay for this centralized administration.<br />
<br />
The Akkadian ruler appointed governors in the territories the empire controlled, but many times the local ruler was just reaffirmed in his capacity. The governor would have to pledge allegiance to the Akkadian emperor and pay tribute, but at times, when the empire was weak, the local rulers could revolt and assert their own sovereignty.<br />
<div id="amzn-assoc-ad-9a29416b-1577-4936-8e71-82bb8e57c589"></div><script async src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=9a29416b-1577-4936-8e71-82bb8e57c589"></script><br />
This meant that the Akkadian rulers were constantly putting down rebellions. But perhaps the most important precedent started by the Akkadian Empire was the installation of Sargon’s daughter Enheduanna as the high priestess of the moon god Nanna at <a href="https://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/city-of-ur.html" target="_blank" title="City of Ur">Ur</a>.<br />
<br />
She composed two hymns dedicated to the goddess Inanna, making her the oldest known author in Mesopotamia. This provided much needed legitimacy for the kingdom in southern Babylonia and continued to be practiced by Mesopotamian kings until the sixth century b.c.e.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-3367440723400061892012-04-12T19:07:00.001+07:002018-10-16T11:27:40.359+07:00Alcibiades<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://crisissome.blogspot.com/2015/06/urbanization.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Alcibiades return to Athens" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMoUbv1bOMZb3YjEFnAJlhBiB1CbKHdXb6HY8yRkwJ5WImBB_eC11uAu-gpG_VYC22FaQOFT5M605oZXAXN9PeBspfsdk5rOIxd-bCvP1SPqqChq8RA13T3xpWmQYOKFaEI36hiFnRPuI/s1600/Alcibiades.jpg" title="Alcibiades return to Athens" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alcibiades return to Athens</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Alcibiades was an Athenian who was influential in the creation of turmoil in his home city that went a long way to explaining the defeat by Sparta in the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/peloponnesian-war.html" target="_blank" title="Peloponnesian War">Peloponnesian War</a> (431–404 b.c.e.). Alcibiades was a controversial and divisive figure, and his legacy in part continues to be colored by his character flaws even millennia after his death. Thucydides, Plato, and Plutarch recount the adventures of Alcibiades in their histories.<br />
<br />
Alcibiades was born into a powerful family, and his father commanded the Athenian army at the battle in which he was killed. Alcibiades was then only about seven years old, and he became the ward of the statesman Pericles. He subsequently entered into Athenian public life in the political and military fields. Owing in part to his background, he quickly achieved high office and served with distinction.<br />
<br />
At the Battle of Delium, he assisted Socrates who had been wounded and in turn benefited from the older man’s advice. However, Alcibiades was too extravagant a personality to abide by the moral strictures that <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/socrates.html" target="_blank" title="Socrates">Socrates</a> required of his pupils. Indeed, association with Alcibiades was later part of the charge brought against Socrates for corrupting the youth.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1456303333/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=AwS8Q.SIm8W6dfb3kEbznw&slotNum=0&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=fe227db330543dc4a1084f7f14c00599&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1456303333&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1456303333" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0553381393/ref=as_li_ss_il?&imprToken=AwS8Q.SIm8W6dfb3kEbznw&slotNum=1&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=576f34577e0202fa45da241a56171a4a&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0553381393&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0553381393" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Alcibiades was busy establishing himself as a leading personality in the Athenian assembly, the Ekklesia, while also becoming known as a budding socialite. His family had enjoyed personal relations with Spartan interests, and he had anticipated that he could call on these connections to broker a peace agreement to end the Peloponnesian War.<br />
<br />
However, Spartan leaders refused to countenance this personal approach and insisted on formal arrangements. Subsequently, Alcibiades pursued an anti-Sparta policy that probably perpetuated the war, arguably from a sense of pique.<br />
<br />
He organized the alliance with the Peloponnesian city-states of Argos, Elis, and Mantineia. The alliance was defeated at the Battle of Mantineia in 418, which led to Spartan dominance of the land and forced the Peloponnesian League to seek new fronts in the war.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIuetMdtIybPPsOg9fsuJUCb2OugozBAM-k-9On4C8mdZHo6Vi87-vAxJgBr_CI6PwF9qrMRrFDfR5HMC_x5hTYEHc9YO-cQBFsrqY2BuJf-99JiqNguqAnLePgwE0DIlR24mN-46BME/s1600/alci-socra.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img alt="Alcibiades being taught by Socrates" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKIuetMdtIybPPsOg9fsuJUCb2OugozBAM-k-9On4C8mdZHo6Vi87-vAxJgBr_CI6PwF9qrMRrFDfR5HMC_x5hTYEHc9YO-cQBFsrqY2BuJf-99JiqNguqAnLePgwE0DIlR24mN-46BME/s1600/alci-socra.jpg" title="Alcibiades being taught by Socrates" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alcibiades being taught by Socrates</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
It was the necessity of opening a new front that led to the Syracusan campaign in Sicily. Alcibiades positioned himself to be one of the leaders of this campaign, but on the verge of the expedition leaving, statues of the god <a href="http://mythologynames.blogspot.com/2010/12/hermes.html" target="_blank" title="Hermes">Hermes</a> were found to have been mutilated and, on rather circumstantial evidence, Alcibiades became accused of violating the Eleusinian Mysteries.<br />
<br />
He sailed with the expedition, but inquiries continued during his absence. When it was determined that he should return to Athens to answer the charges against him, Alcibiades fled to Sparta and ensured his safety by providing the Spartans with valuable military advice. He made himself less popular by supposedly seducing the wife of the king of Sparta.<br />
<br />
Eventually the Spartans tired of Alcibiades, and he sought to make a new career for himself by courting the Persians, who saw the turmoil on the Greek mainland as a possible opportunity to expand their influence.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Nemesis-Alcibiades-Athens-David-Stuttard-ebook/dp/B07BTHHMRZ/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=25094e524a0e27d989edf029813101cb&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B07BTHHMRZ&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B07BTHHMRZ" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1945199016/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=14fd9e3b12a100af03668488c5fb2608&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1945199016&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1945199016" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Legion-versus-Phalanx-Struggle-Supremacy/dp/1472828429/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=1472828429&pd_rd_r=1d69c5d5-d0fb-11e8-b413-df24a88cfed6&pd_rd_w=JdHid&pd_rd_wg=Faf1V&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=18bb0b78-4200-49b9-ac91-f141d61a1780&pf_rd_r=XYN2GKHK9YYSPZZWGRYK&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=XYN2GKHK9YYSPZZWGRYK&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=cf2ea299e19373fa1f304fe1d40082a6&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1472828429&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1472828429" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
For several years Alcibiades switched sides from Persia, to Athens, to neutrality, depending on the political winds. Brilliance of expression and savoir-faire were combined with total lack of scruples as he sought for the best advantage for himself.<br />
<br />
Finally Spartan naval victories secured a decisive advantage, and they took the <a href="http://marketingatoz.blogspot.com/2011/04/opportunity.html" target="_blank" title="Opportunity">opportunity</a> to cause the governor of Phrygia, where Alcibiades had been taking shelter, to have him killed. Thus ended the life of one of the most vivid personalities of ancient Athens, who could surely have achieved genuine greatness if he could have married his gifts with some sense of personal integrity.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://crisissome.blogspot.com/2015/06/vichy-france.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="The death of Alcibiades" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXpyk7yOj9Gwc1b3JV3b2ooCb6yTvRegeLdCRR67P24lYNR49iBswxnx6og0CzA5oVv_i1QACdzrgFVE-IPmseCpcm6iBZfy22W9hdLUGsIe1QIEvFIHfuqiETlQkaif_IJYGAR_UcbVE/s1600/death-alci.jpg" title="The death of Alcibiades" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The death of Alcibiades</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-43246314194580207972012-04-12T17:51:00.000+07:002018-11-29T08:46:01.445+07:00Alexander the Great<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://historyworldsome.blogspot.com/2013/11/qing-ching-dynasty-in-decline.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Alexander the Great" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiRzs4M-H1sxlFLCBdyUmlcZBE-LhBQKOwor6IOgVciENesUomBfu-20UQIVUREr2fN1nLt5nPu2HpHenmfvMDlKolsmxWtBPbG4L4uIUTIpv9GVitEOPFII2N0b0nPMtuTCYga5w1Ftxo/s1600/alexander-the-great.jpg" title="Alexander the Great" width="460" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexander the Great</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Alexander the Great was born in a town called Pella in the summer of 356 b.c.e. His father was <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/philip-of-macedon.html" target="_blank" title="Philip of Macedon">Philip of Macedon</a>, and his mother was Olympias. Philip II ascended to the throne in 359 b.c.e., at the age of 24. Under Philip II, Macedonia thrived and emerged as a strong power.<br />
<br />
Philip reorganized his army into infantry phalanx using a new weapon known as the sarissa, which was a very long (18-foot) spear. This was a devastating force against all other armies using the standard-size spears of the time.<br />
<br />
Alexander’s birth and early childhood are unclear, related only by Plutarch, who wrote his Life of Alexander around 100 c.e., many centuries later. In his youth Alexander had a classical education, with Aristotle as one of his teachers. One of his tutors, Lysimachus, promoted Alexander’s identification with the Greek hero Achilles.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416592814/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&amp&amp&amp&amp&amp&amp&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=177de3bed0ba1a7237554c270094a4df&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1416592814&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1416592814" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140442537/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&amp&amp&amp&amp&amp&amp&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=5f20a1639f46c754cfe0a0290e8d2ae9&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140442537&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0140442537" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Later, Philip II took another wife, Cleopatra, who bore him a son named Caranus and a daughter. This created a second heir to the throne. Olympias was a strong-willed woman who jealously guarded her son’s right to succession. She had given Philip his eldest son, however, she was no longer in favor with Philip.<br />
<br />
At the age of 18, Alexander and his father led a cavalry against the armies of Athens and <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/thebes.html" target="_blank" title="Thebes">Thebes</a>, which were fighting the last line of Greek defenses against Philip’s conquest. Philip had set a trap with his maneuver and at the decisive moment, Alexander, with his cavalry, sprung the trap.<br />
<br />
This victory at the Battle of Chaeronea in August 338 completed Philip’s conquest of Greece. In 336 Philip was murdered by Pausanias, a bodyguard. Upon the death of his father, Alexander and his mother, Olympias, did away with any of his political rivals who were vying for the throne. Philip’s second wife and children were slain.<br />
<br />
<b>Alexander the King</b><br />
<br />
Alexander became king in 336. He was an absolute ruler in Macedonia and king of the city-states of Athens, Sparta, and Thebes. As a new king, he had to prove that he was as powerful a ruler as his father, Phillip II, had been. Revolts against his rule first occurred in Thrace.<br />
<br />
In the spring of 335, Alexander and his army defeated the Thracians and advanced into the Triballian kingdom across the Danube River. Alexander faced the challenge of placating the recently conquered Greek city-states. While Alexander was in the Triballian kingdom, the Greek cities rebelled against the Macedonian rule.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://historyworldsome.blogspot.com/2013/11/first-and-second-great-awakening.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Alexander journey" border="0" data-original-height="389" data-original-width="686" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEid90qF0lPxedMOkBJ5YnyMnvml7R7nHy74wHum9YtPmojSD97WlrIWmW3TtnD2a6LNZ3ktkmAVcsBX2khhl_7dd1fxPt-LXczzM1mMMHpoopjsePq0U04InV2ydKU0_px5hRjMOYp6wiI/s1600/alexander-journey.gif" title="Alexander journey" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexander journey</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The Athenian orator <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/demosthenes.html" target="_blank" title="Demosthenes">Demosthenes</a> spread a rumor that Alexander had been fatally wounded in an attack. News of Alexander’s death sparked rebellions in other Greek states, such as Thebes. The Thebans attacked the Macedonian garrison of their city and drove out the Macedonian general Parmenio.<br />
<br />
Their victory was due to a Greek mercenary named Memnon of Rhodes. Memnon defeated Parmenio at Magnesia and pushed him back to northwest Asia Minor. Alexander returned to Thebes after his victories and faced strong opposition from the Thebans, but Alexander defeated them swiftly.<br />
<br />
<b>Campaign Against Persia</b><br />
<br />
Alexander embarked on a campaign against Persia in the spring of 334. The Persians had attacked Athens in 480, burning the sacred temples of the Acropolis and enslaving Ionian Greeks. Alexander, a Macedon, won great favor with the Greeks by uniting them against Persia.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B078JTG6YY/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=4b1f14f60d1b8d8345bca4280eda9227&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B078JTG6YY&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B078JTG6YY" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0521148448/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=b2f049eac7fde808c5fb471d83021b33&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0521148448&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0521148448" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00PGAZAU4/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=5d003ff58921cffa3e451fd16e899d69&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00PGAZAU4&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B00PGAZAU4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
He set out with an army of 30,000 infantry, 5,000 cavalry, and a fleet of 120 warships. The core force was the infantry phalanx, with 9,000 men armed with sarissa. The Persian army had about 200,000 men, including Greek mercenaries. Memnon, the Greek mercenary general, led the Persian force.<br />
<br />
Alexander had an excellent knowledge of Persian war strategy from an early age. In the spring of 334 he crossed the Hellespont (Dardanelles) into Persian territory. The Persian army stationed themselves uphill on a steep, slippery rocky terrain on the eastern bank of the river Granicus. Here they met Alexander’s army for the first time in May 334. Alexander was attacked on all sides but managed to escape, though he was wounded.<br />
<br />
The Persians left the battle, thinking they had claimed victory, and left behind only their Greek mercenaries to fight, resulting in a very high casualty rate on the Persian side. Alexander’s armies advanced south along the Ionian coast. Some cities surrendered outright. Greek cities, such as Ephesus, welcomed him as a liberator from the Persians.<br />
<br />
Memnon’s forces still presented a threat to Alexander. They stationed themselves at sea, and as Alexander did not wish to join in a sea battle, they were unable to stop his advances on land. In the city of Halicarnassus, Alexander and Memnon met in battle again.<br />
<br />
Alexander took the city, burned it down, and installed Ada, his ally, as queen. The Persian cities Termessus, Aspendus, Perge, Selge, and Sagalassus were taken afterward without much difficulty. This ease of conquest continued until he reached Celaenae, where he ordered his general Antigonus to placate the region.<br />
<br />
<b>“Divine” Ruler of Asia</b><br />
<br />
Throughout his military campaign people perceived Alexander to be divine. Even the ocean, according to legend, seemed to be servile toward him and his armies. There was a legend involving a massive knot of rope, stating that he who could unravel the knot would rule the world. Many had tried, while Alexander merely cut through the knot with his sword.<br />
<br />
Upon hearing this, King Gordius of Gordium surrendered his lands. The story of this divine prophecy being fulfilled spread quickly. Memnon’s death was also regarded as proof of Alexander’s divine quality. This hastened Alexander’s progress through the Persian territories of the eastern Mediterranean, which were long-held, conquered Greek states.<br />
<br />
The Battle of Issus in the gulf of Iskanderun was a decisive battle fought in November 333. The Persian king Darius himself led the Persians forces. Darius had a massive force, much larger than Alexander’s army. Darius was brilliant, approaching Alexander’s army from the rear and cutting off the army’s supplies.<br />
<br />
The battle occurred on a narrow plain not large enough for the massive armies; it was fought across the steep-sided river Pinarus. This lost the advantage for the Persians, and Alexander emerged victorious as King Darius III fled.<br />
<br />
The Battle of Issus was a turning point. Alexander moved from the Greek states that he liberated to lands inhabited by the Persians themselves. He conquered <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/byblos.html" target="_blank" title="Byblos">Byblos</a> and Sidon unopposed. In Tyre he faced real opposition.<br />
<br />
The city fortress was on an island in the sea, and his prospects were worsened by his lack of a fleet. To his aid came liberated troops, defected from the Persian fleet. The army and the people of Tyre were defeated—most were tortured and slain, some were sold into slavery. Other coastal cities then readily surrendered.<br />
<br />
In 331 Alexander marched on to Egypt. Egyptians welcomed him as he was freeing them from Persian control, and the city of Alexandria was founded in his name. Alexander took a journey across the desert to the temple of Zeus Ammon, where an oracle told him of his future and that he would rule the world. From Egypt, Alexander corresponded with Darius, the Persian king. Darius wanted a truce, but Alexander wanted the whole of the Persian Empire.<br />
<br />
The same year he marched into Persia to pursue Darius. He conquered the lands around the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Alexander encountered Darius at Gaugamela and defeated the Persian army. Babylon and <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/persepolis-susa-and-ecbatana.html" target="_blank" title="Persepolis, Susa, and Ecbatana">Susa</a> fell, and he reaped their riches. After conquering the Persian capital of Persepolis, he rested there for a few months and then continued his pursuit of Darius. However, his own men had already assassinated Darius.<br />
<br />
Alexander started to adopt Persian dress and customs in order to combine Greek and Persian culture as a new, larger empire. He married Roxane, creating a queen who was not Greek, and this lost some of his Greek supporters. Still he gathered enough military support to invade India in 327.<br />
<br />
After many conquests he encountered Porus, a powerful Indian ruler, who put up a great battle near the river Hydaspes. After this his men were then reluctant to advance further into India. Alexander was seriously injured with a chest wound, and his armies retreated from India.<br />
<div id="amzn-assoc-ad-6f011dc1-eff3-4ee1-9d89-13cdc7fefa21"></div><script async src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=6f011dc1-eff3-4ee1-9d89-13cdc7fefa21"></script><br />
Alexander died on June 10, 323 b.c.e., at the age of 33. Different scenarios have been proposed for the cause of his death, which include poisoning, illness that followed a drinking party, or a relapse of the malaria he had contracted earlier.<br />
<br />
Rumors of his illness circulated among the troops, causing them to be more and more anxious. On June 9, the generals decided to let the soldiers see their king alive one last time, and guests were admitted to his presence one at a time. Because the king was too sick to speak, he just waved his hand. The day after, Alexander was dead.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-39322264492151191322012-04-12T13:16:00.000+07:002018-10-17T05:58:00.446+07:00Alexandria<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/10/caesaropapism.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Lighthouse of Alexandria" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQjPIJczE-974dFdV3X6zh4ZFlQikMPw7joOtz4Hn2JHmGJH1YwF8AYrpJcAJfGvLHNRQBDMgtazaFewTglANgs5CjxVxOYXnaMSFAOoMF8GfE51hpF7vYmadKk2cE3kQUu0EDh66P9ng/s1600/lighthouse-alex.jpg" title="Lighthouse of Alexandria" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lighthouse of Alexandria</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Alexandria, also known by its Arabic name al-Iskandariyya, was named after Alexander the Great. Alexandria was built on the Mediterranean Sea coast of Egypt at the northwest edge of the Nile Delta. The city lies on a narrow land strip between the sea and Lake Mariut (Mareotis in Greek).<br />
<br />
Alexander the Great founded the city in 331 b.c.e. He ordered Greek architect Dinocrates of Rhodes to build the city over the site of the old village of Rakhotis that was inhabited by fishermen and pirates. Alexander left the city under the charge of his general, Ptolemy (also known as Ptolemy I). The city would later become Alexander’s final resting place.<br />
<br />
After it was built, Alexandria evolved into an important economic hub in the region. It began by taking over the trade of the city of Tyre whose economic prominence declined after an attack by Alexander. Alexandria soon surpassed <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/carthage.html" target="_blank">Carthage</a> as well, an ancient city that was the center of civilization in the Mediterranean.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Rise-Fall-Alexandria-Birthplace-Modern-ebook/dp/B001JL2RM8/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=799d5945c8feb3968e3acdff3c375a19&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B001JL2RM8&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B001JL2RM8" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01MT3QW4O/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=5a445ca3e0051f0dae91a1d190532a05&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01MT3QW4O&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B01MT3QW4O" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Although the city rose to great prominence under the Ptolemaic rulers during the Hellenistic period, it was soon surpassed by the city of Rome. During its peak Alexandria was the commercial center of the Mediterranean. Ships from Europe, the Arab lands, and India conducted active trade in Alexandria, and this contributed to its prosperity as a leading port in the Mediterranean Basin.<br />
<br />
The inhabitants of Alexandria consisted mainly of Jews, Greeks, and Egyptians. The Egyptians provided the bulk of the labor force. Alexandria was not only a bastion of Hellenistic civilization; it occupied a very prominent position in Jewish history as well. The Greek translation of the Old Testament in Hebrew was first produced there. Known as the Septuagint, the Hebrew Bible took between 80 and 130 years to translate.<br />
<br />
Thus, Alexandria was a major intellectual center in the Mediterranean. The city boasted two great libraries, with huge collections, one in a temple of <a href="http://mythologynames.blogspot.com/2010/11/zeus.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank" title="Zeus">Zeus</a>, and the other in a museum. As early as the third century b.c.e., the libraries housed somewhere between 500,000 and 700,000 papyri (scrolls).<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/10/first-four-caliphs.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Alexandria harbour" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhAMEc0BzVuiRMg1guyWsK2JWqjFOP0sK7YLcSOzehT7fW-iXJKE-dawHvbSfD2gF1hq9G44Q8ZAfKAgVyAzyFoMGsDzaVlJqtAkfWjzF1iUR1xx4nBImpP9zg5ySEA3BageokY1NSOF-g/s1600/alex-harbour.jpg" title="Alexandria harbour" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Alexandria harbour</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
A university was built near the libraries, attracting renowned scholars to Alexandria. One of them was the great Greek mathematician Euclid, a master of geometry, and author of the famous work Elements.<br />
<br />
After Cleopatra the queen of Egypt committed suicide in 32 b.c.e., the city of Alexandria came under the rule of Octavian, later known as Augustus, the first Roman emperor. Augustus installed a prefect in Alexandria, who governed the city in his name. Trade continued to flourish in the city under the Romans especially in the product of grain.<br />
<br />
The city went into decline under the Romans. A <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/jewish-revolts.html" target="_blank" title="Jewish Revolts">Jewish revolt</a> in 116 c.e. weakened the city. It resulted in the decimation of the Jewish population residing there. Nearly a century later in 215 c.e., for reasons that are unclear, the Roman emperor <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/edict-of-caracalla.html" target="_blank" title="Edict of Caracalla">Caracalla</a> decreed that all male inhabitants be massacred, perhaps as punishment.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Alexandria-City-Western-Theodore-Vrettos-ebook/dp/B003QP4NP4/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=313193f5a0c6682e49c5544d173f6ce2&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B003QP4NP4&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B003QP4NP4" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1517106451/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=d46a3e567e9c452d3ec2b2fbc10720bb&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1517106451&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1517106451" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/031265023X/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=91253fbbca20148f1627a416c69c04db&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=031265023X&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=031265023X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This further undermined the city’s importance in the region and was worsened by the rise of other important cultural, economic, and intellectual centers such as <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/constantinople.html" target="_blank" title="Constantinople">Constantinople</a>, founded in 330 c.e. by Roman emperor <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/constantine-great.html" target="_blank" title="Constantine the Great">Constantine the Great</a>.<br />
<br />
In both 638 and 646 c.e. Muslim Arabs invaded the city. During this time Cairo became another rival city. Alexandria soon weakened, and it was not resurrected until the 19th century.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/10/celtic-christianity.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Library of Alexandria" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiz4qx6mfZlTAvRJ33ciNHOc7rHjcy8VLvHrrSeHK3cqLTwlEv6ROLs7pzA67MvurouT8vTQnCLrIOqguj_Pkz2RwENyNVvyMkBJq-bRF5B5gAdfGzmDicVoLjNLb4pVSHtPC-1ecJMAlI/s1600/Library-Alexandria.jpg" title="Library of Alexandria" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Library of Alexandria</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-80056247892296648922012-04-12T12:59:00.000+07:002018-10-17T06:18:44.631+07:00Ambrose - Bishop and Theologian<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://crisissome.blogspot.com/2016/03/agustin-farabundo-marti.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Ambrose - Bishop and Theologian" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEileaeUz1BfDbU-Ltw9uodmFfmTHCCQbnckZjE-7zqxrU91yBWWGjMAFC6-VESdb4g-jZscUpaePLIzTjK81_q8hJfYW_k8EH5r6EVmEhcmSlZVlv_nkiuDsDW7CWeKoPIxVD9m6XvG77o/s1600/ambrose.jpg" title="Ambrose - Bishop and Theologian" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ambrose - Bishop and Theologian</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Ambrose, bishop of Milan, was born in Trier of the noble Aurelian family. His mother moved the family to Rome after the death of his father. Educated in rhetoric and law, Ambrose was first employed in Sirmium and then in c. 370 c.e. as governor of Milan.<br />
<br />
After the death of the Arian bishop of Milan, a violent conflict broke out in the city over whether the next bishop would be a Catholic or an Arian. Ambrose intervened to restore peace and was so admired by all that both sides accepted him as a candidate for bishop, although he was not even baptized at the time. He was baptized and consecrated a bishop within a week.<br />
<br />
He immediately gave his wealth to the poor and devoted himself to the study of scripture and the Greek fathers of the church. As a bishop, he was famous for his preaching, which was partly responsible for the conversion of the great theologian <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/augustine-of-hippo.html" target="_blank">Augustine of Hippo</a>, whom Ambrose baptized at Easter in 387.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0582251133/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=452f8a5cb0b3f8496990200edd947786&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0582251133&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0582251133" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ambrose-Milan-Christian-Transformation-Classical-ebook/dp/B00QWRLSRO/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=4cab6ea47ea106437592231012e9fbde&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00QWRLSRO&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B00QWRLSRO" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Ambrose’s career was heavily involved with politics. He was continually defending the position of the Catholic Church against the power of the various Roman emperors during his episcopate: Gratian, Maximus, Justina (pro-Arian mother of Valentinian II), and <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/theodosius-i.html" target="_blank" title="Theodosius I">Theodosius I</a>.<br />
<br />
He was able to maintain the independence of the church against the civil power in his conflicts with paganism and Arianism. Regarding the former, Ambrose battled with Symmachus, magistrate of Rome, over the Altar of Victory in the Senate: The emperor Gratian had removed the altar in 382, and after Gratian’s death Symmachus petitioned Valentinian II for its restoration. Under Ambrose’s influence, the request was denied.<br />
<br />
Arianism received a blow when Ambrose refused to surrender a church for the use of the Arians. His decision was taken as sanctioned by heaven when—in the midst of the controversy—the bodies of the martyrs Gervasius and Protasius were discovered in the church. Ambrose further strengthened the church’s authority before the state in two incidents in which he took a firm stand against the emperor <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/theodosius-i.html" target="_blank">Theodosius I</a>.<br />
<br />
One incident involved the rebuilding of the synagogue at Callinicum in 388; the other had to do with the emperor’s rash order that resulted in the massacre of thousands of innocent people at Thessalonica in the summer of 390. Ambrose refused to allow Theodosius to receive the sacraments until he had performed public penance for this atrocity. The reconciliation took place at Christmas 390.<br />
<br />
One reason for Ambrose’s influence over Theodosius was that, unlike most Christian emperors who delayed their reception into the church until their deathbed, he had been baptized and so fell under the authority of the church in his private life.<br />
<br />
Ambrose’s knowledge of Greek enabled him to introduce much Eastern theology into the West. His works include hymns, letters, sermons, treatises on the moral life, and commentaries on scripture and on the sacraments. He was also a strong supporter of the monastic life in northern Italy.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-50649587817991615482012-04-12T12:45:00.000+07:002018-10-17T20:41:17.697+07:00Antonine Emperors<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://marketingatoz.blogspot.com/2011/04/marketing-mix.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Antonine Emperors" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfdwiDb751DbsoFvFMk5WrGIwpI_lRtoc4LmV7h3TGcRO20fBW9NtnMXQmP0D28NlRSHnBSrUiqPj45Ozd6KNOkxw9saRz5ZCp-4CfFm1CIeV3O_eGs6eVP0nJ21lJ-blnvCBI9OmiIHc/s1600/Antonine-Emperors.jpg" title="Antonine Emperors" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Antonine Emperors</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The four Antonine emperors of Rome—Antoninus Pius (r. 138–161 c.e.), Marcus Aurelius (r. 161–180 c.e.), Lucius Verus (r. 161–169 c.e.), and Commodus (r. 180–192 c.e.)—ruled over a time extending from the height of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/pax-romana.html" target="_blank">Pax Romana</a> to one where the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/roman-empire.html" target="_blank" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a> was having increasing difficulty carrying its many burdens.<br />
<br />
The founder of the dynasty, <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1298522226/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1298522226&linkId=d87e09ed2f23b9a03ab5335e7f6c2ca4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Antoninus Pius</a>, was born to a family that already numbered several consuls among its members. He served for many years in the Senate and as Roman official before being adopted as successor to <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/hadrian-roman-emperor.html" target="_blank">the emperor Hadrian</a> in 138 c.e. Part of the arrangement was that Antoninus would in turn adopt two boys as his heirs. One was the nephew of his wife, Annia Galeria Faustina.<br />
<br />
This was Marcus Antoninus, the future <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/marcus-aurelius.html" target="_blank" title="Marcus Aurelius">Marcus Aurelius</a>. The other was Lucius Verus, the son of Hadrian’s previous choice as successor, Lucius Aelius Caesar. When Hadrian died the same year, Antoninus succeeded peacefully. Antoninus was more than 50 when he became emperor.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415138140/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=NDr5la.e2POoOSCZFESHdw&slotNum=1&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=2fcecf73208a7f62897ea6b9019433ae&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415138140&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0415138140" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500289891/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=NDr5la.e2POoOSCZFESHdw&slotNum=2&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=86d9e67ae635663cf375f80cb82c604c&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0500289891&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0500289891" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The reign of Antoninus was marked by peace and by an emphasis on Italy and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1107182565/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1107182565&linkId=9a830ba42717f803e7199217fc1d2e36" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Roman tradition</a> that broke with the practices of the globetrotting philhellene Hadrian. His dedication to traditionalism was one of the qualities for which the Senate gave him the title of “Pius.” Antoninus also cut back on the heavy spending on public works that had marked Hadrian’s reign.<br />
<br />
Antoninus spent most of his time in Rome, by some accounts never leaving Italy during his reign. The 900th anniversary of the city’s legendary founding took place in 147 c.e., and a series of coins and medallions with new designs stressing Rome’s <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0910261288/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0910261288&linkId=c9b331890d537f59e4e50e7e89bab179" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">ancient roots</a> were issued to commemorate the occasion. In foreign policy Antoninus preferred peace to war and did not lead armies himself, but the empire waged war successfully on some of its borders.<br />
<br />
Antoninus’s death was followed by a dual succession, the first in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1631492225/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1631492225&linkId=cb9627c482343b2e47551435fe2fb250" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Roman history</a>. Lucius Verus and Marcus Aurelius became co-emperors, although Marcus was clearly the dominant partner in the relationship. The new emperors faced many challenges. In the east, the king of Parthia hoped to take advantage of the inexperienced new rulers with an intervention in the buffer state of Armenia.<br />
<br />
Marcus sent Lucius, accompanied by a number of Rome’s best generals, to deal with the Parthians. The Parthian war was successful but followed by a devastating plague and pressure from the Germanic peoples across the Danube as the Marcomanni and Quadi actually made it as far as northern Italy.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/06/edo-period-in-japan.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Map of Roman Empire during Antonine dynasty" border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeMZjrRxj1pynkWUYCZA_I2imwOceC4VLBNsfcv0QKVEuYEpPD90xnwzx0r4AgjRMZpCibn_vxbkF0NvFkXP0wviZun44WLwC5iuPPQTM43a5lLc9vOnRU5WTYTCdTUFFWJzGUdMmiOSw/s1600/Roman-117.jpg" title="Map of Roman Empire during Antonine dynasty" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Map of Roman Empire during Antonine dynasty</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The relationship between the emperors was troubled, as Marcus’s austere dedication to duty clashed with Lucius’s sometimes irresponsible hedonism. Lucius died on campaign against the Germans, however, before any open break could occur, and Marcus referred to him fondly in his Meditations.<br />
<br />
Marcus’s long campaigns against the Germans were successful, but he died before he could organize the conquered territories into Roman provinces, and his son and successor <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1473827558/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1473827558&linkId=60536412083fd707b27ba99504cedd1c" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Commodus</a> (who received the title of emperor in 177) quickly abandoned his father’s conquests, returning to Rome in order to enjoy the perquisites of empire. Commodus was the first son to succeed his natural father, rather than to be adopted by an emperor, since Domitian.<br />
<br />
The hedonistic and exhibitionistic Commodus contrasted with his grim, duty-bound father. His policy of generosity made him popular among Rome’s ordinary people, particularly in the early part of his reign, but the Senate despised him.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Emperors-Rome-Imperial-Julius-Emperor/dp/1780877501/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=5a9bfb2f74dfacc3c85173b067a4d4bc&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1780877501&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1780877501" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Commodus-Five-Good-Emperors-Allegory/dp/1481196227/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=8c1d35f08dd6d44a931af15abac8a3c7&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1481196227&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1481196227" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Circus-Maximus-History-Largest-Stadium/dp/1974287122/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=4d7d114e3638394ec23f3912a06a1184&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1974287122&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1974287122" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Commodus was extraordinarily arrogant, renaming the months, the Senate, the Roman people, and even Rome after himself. Unlike Marcus, Commodus had little interest in persecuting Christians, and subsequent Christian historians remembered his reign as a <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/roman-golden-and-silver-ages.html" target="_blank">golden age</a>.<br />
<br />
In 192 he was removed in the traditional fashion for “bad emperors,” through an assassination plot—the first emperor since Domitian to be assassinated. Commodus left no heirs, and his death marked the end of the Antonine dynasty.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-76700923971027014812012-04-12T11:20:00.000+07:002018-10-17T21:13:48.551+07:00Anyang<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://historysome.blogspot.com/2013/05/indochina-war-first-and-second.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Anyang" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHMVjQp4AGgSCmbmILc4GP4WZ-im6slSBjrK5DOOpaxHtUtl6ZWqvv626ZMolVgxAE-FgS14so36v-wgVWvIpXLbxQ1WI_vmC5llaUKjepsBIjItjd7GZ-U3gUQX1PSBgrkvmEtJqV_zc/s1600/Anyang.jpg" title="Anyang" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anyang</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Anyang is the modern town where the last capital (Yin) of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/shang-dynasty.html" target="_blank" title="Shang Dynasty">Shang dynasty</a> (c. 1766–c. 1122 b.c.e.) of China was located. The discovery of inscribed oracle bones there early in the 20th century and the scientific excavation of the site beginning in 1928 ended the debate on whether the Shang dynasty was historic.<br />
<br />
It is located south of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0674058240/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0674058240&linkId=332216323ee4763ccc040e80191a3f28" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Yellow River</a> in present-day Henan Province. The Shang dynasty, founded by Tang (T’ang) the Successful moved its capital several times until it settled at Yin in 1395 b.c.e. and remained there until its end in 1122 b.c.e.<br />
<br />
The last phase of the dynasty is therefore also called the Yin dynasty. After the city was destroyed when the dynasty was overthrown by the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1885008376/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1885008376&linkId=87110132a9ea1fb7769fe88bbca48d65" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Zhou dynasty</a> (c. 1122–256 b.c.e.), the site was known as Yinshu, which means the “waste of Yin.”<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/052171981X/ref=as_li_ss_il?&imprToken=UFgPT0hl25.kYB8XVAi.iw&slotNum=3&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=d3321640b21b3718101dc6fd8c11b8d5&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=052171981X&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=052171981X" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0756613825/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=UFgPT0hl25.kYB8XVAi.iw&slotNum=4&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=3f0be9d3de74bf068b107dbe67726e5d&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0756613825&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0756613825" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The discovery of the Shang era ruins at Anyang came by accident. In Beijing (Peking) in 1900 an antiquarian scholar became ill, and among the ingredients for traditional medicine that were prescribed for him were fragments of old bones carrying incised marks. The apothecary called them dragon bones.<br />
<br />
This scholar and his friend made inquiries on the bones’ origins and traced them to Anyang, where farmers had found them in their diggings. They began to collect the bones and decipher the writings on them, which they established as the earliest extant examples of written Chinese.<br />
<br />
Archaeological excavations around Anyang found the foundations of palatial and other buildings but no city walls. They also found a royal cemetery with 11 large tombs, believed to belong to kings, which had all been robbed in centuries past.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://historysome.blogspot.com/2013/05/first-intifada.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Wenfeng pagoda, Anyang, China" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifmfNmzdjUZDtnNlwZjlmwcDwxPOt6JUfIsmeBlvig8cPCeSyy2O7m1Kve6KUNzsaOdX07PAGIGOgdmTNHvEIsrdB4HgtvivcC_Bw9TlNS4OrMnqJ6sU6rrZEwGZVJLj-3tRNGiIFNzK4/s1600/wenfeng-pagoda.jpg" title="Wenfeng pagoda, Anyang, China" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Wenfeng pagoda, Anyang, China</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
This authenticates ancient texts that identify 12 kings who ruled from Yin, but the last one died in his burning palace and so did not receive a royal burial. In 1976 an intact tomb belonging to Fu Hao (Lady Hao), wife of King Wuding (Wu-ting), the powerful fourth king to reign from Yin, was discovered.<br />
<br />
Although her body and the coffin had been destroyed by time and water, more than 1,600 burial objects were found, some with inscribed writing, which included her name, on elaborate bronze ritual vessels. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01N9EHOGP/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B01N9EHOGP&linkId=b6bac4a4479ce19791a6b274c34972e5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Bronze vessels</a>, jade, ivory, and stone carvings, and other objects show the advanced material culture of the late Shang era.<br />
<br />
More than 20,000 pieces of inscribed oracle bones (on the scapulae of cattle and turtle shells) provide important information on <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/023117988X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=023117988X&linkId=d2323dd90a523b4d01626016f15421e4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Shang history</a>. Kings frequently asked questions and sought answers from the high god Shangdi (Shang-ti) on matters such as war and peace, agriculture, weather, hunting, pregnancies of the queens, and the meaning of natural phenomena.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01DZ5MAFO/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=e51df37d8458f09a33b4027b7c1c703f&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B01DZ5MAFO&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B01DZ5MAFO" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Archaeology-Early-China-Prehistory-Dynasty-ebook/dp/B00Q8TWS0M/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=9923cb8b6ff481d6f995f870ae018e9d&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00Q8TWS0M&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B00Q8TWS0M" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1107539013/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=c31c096c45b7042e392a3721d440532e&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1107539013&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1107539013" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The questions, answers, and sometimes outcome contain dates, names of the rulers, and their relationship to previous rulers, including those of the pre-Anyang era. They were preserved in royal archives.<br />
<br />
The writing is already sophisticated and must have developed over a long period, but earlier evidence of writing has not been found. It is the ancestor of modern written Chinese and deciphering the characters and information provided from archaeological evidence has enabled historians to reconstruct Shang history.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-45399861459825142812012-04-12T11:09:00.000+07:002019-01-27T09:46:05.084+07:00Jewish and Christian Apocalypticism<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://crisissome.blogspot.com/2016/04/abd-al-aziz-ibn-saud.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUR4WGXYxXZo2yUUiBdXzqgLPj1v6HmDFRYv39UMlaXQ0mDQtP9DxckYptWoSGGyDzhtiIl1JlsjH31tuISF3arP3gjPLZ3PGUslDwyuQ0im6VvgsrzawfkarCIL0g5Ucxgdtd4YDB0Q0/s1600/apoca.jpg" width="460" /></a></div><br />
The scholarly use and understanding of the word apocalypticism has varied much in the history of research on these topics. The different words associated with apocalypticism each possess their own subtle connotations.<br />
<br />
The specific term, apocalypticism, and the many forms associated with it are derived from the first Greek word in <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310421403/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0310421403&linkId=e88a002b42ec83f14ffc52c48239fde5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the book of Revelation</a>, apokalypsis (revelation). The noun apocalypse refers to the revelatory text itself. The particular worldview found within an apocalypse and the assumptions that it holds about matters concerning the “end times” is referred to as “apocalyptic eschatology.”<br />
<br />
The noun apocalypticism refers broadly to the historical and social context of that worldview. When scholars use the word apocalyptic, they typically assume a distinction between the ancient worldview and the body of literature associated with it.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/9004119272/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=e6d9bcad1e335fe69cd2ff9831867bb8&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=9004119272&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=9004119272" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0813215161/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=0a24ba9f315deff13db443a2343dc687&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0813215161&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0813215161" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Apocalypticism refers to a worldview that gave rise to a diverse body of literature generally dating from the time of the <a href="http://amzn.to/2mzHEbN" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Babylonian exile</a> down to the Roman persecutions. Characteristic elements of this literature include a revelation of heavenly secrets to a privileged intermediary and the periodization of history.<br />
<br />
In these texts the eschatological perspective of the text reinforces the expectation that the era of the author will reach its end very soon. This apocalyptic eschatology suggests that the historical setting of these writings is one of crisis and extreme suffering.<br />
<br />
Scholars who work in the area of ancient Jewish and Christian apocalypticism are aware that Jewish apocalyptic literature survived due to ancient Christian appropriation and interest in it. This is because Jewish apocalypticism and the literature associated with it were generally viewed unfavorably by later forms of rabbinic Judaism after the destruction of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0567552489/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0567552489&linkId=1b12074e9ae7009c02b21598241e3696" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Second Temple</a>.<br />
<br />
The lack of a developed Jewish interpretive framework for these texts accounts for part of the scholarly problem in determining the precise origins and influences of this phenomenon.<br />
<br />
Many historical questions about the social context and the use of these Jewish apocalyptic writings in ancient Jewish communities remain unclear and largely theoretical. What is certain is that Christian communities were responsible for the preservation and transmission of these writings, and they appropriated the worldview and the literary forms of Jewish apocalypticism.<br />
<br />
Scholars have long sought to identify the origins of Jewish apocalypticism with little consensus. Many have presumed that Jewish apocalyptic eschatology grew out of earlier biblical forms of prophetic eschatology. Other scholars have proposed a Near Eastern Mesopotamian influence on Jewish apocalypticism.<br />
<br />
While there is no clear trajectory from <a href="http://amzn.to/2lQj6fG" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Mesopotamian traditions</a> to Jewish apocalyptic, and admittedly no Mesopotamian apocalypses exist, there exist some striking resemblances between the two. Some shared characteristics include an emphasis on the interpretation of mysterious signs and on predestination. The motifs of otherworldly journeys and dreams are also prominent in both Mesopotamian traditions and Jewish apocalypticism.<br />
<br />
Other scholars have observed a Persian influence upon Jewish apocalypticism. Present in both is the struggle between light and darkness (good and evil) and the periodization of history.<br />
<br />
Identifying the relationship between Jewish apocalypticism and other traditions has been complex because some of these elements (e.g., otherworldly journeys and revelatory visions) become common to the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0830815899/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0830815899&linkId=ad9937b236b0705dbde216ebd469ca3f" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Greco-Roman world</a> as well. While early Jewish apocalyptic was rooted in biblical prophecy, later forms of apocalypticism from the Greek period have more in common with wisdom literature.<br />
<br />
<b>Literary Genre</b><br />
<br />
Scholars often make a distinction between the general phenomenon of apocalypticism and the literary genre of “apocalypse.” A group of scholars led by J. J. Collins formulated the following frequently cited definition of the literary genre of apocalypse in 1979: “<i>‘Apocalypse’ is a genre of revelatory literature with a narrative framework, in which a revelation is mediated by an otherworldly being to a human recipient, disclosing a transcendent reality which is both temporal, insofar as it envisages eschatological salvation, and spatial, insofar as it involves another, supernatural world</i>.”<br />
<br />
Texts associated with apocalypticism are characterized by an understanding that salvation from a hostile world depends on the disclosure of divine secrets.<br />
<br />
The only example of an apocalypse from the Hebrew Bible is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1543165303/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=31374932a21ec88b9cc5ae704f35d710&language=en_US" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the book of Daniel</a>. Other well-known examples of apocalypses include the writings of Enoch and Jubilees and the traditions associated with them, 4 Ezra, 2 Baruch, 3 Baruch, and Apocalypse of Abraham.<br />
<br />
Some texts from <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/qumran.html" target="_blank">Qumran</a> and the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/006076662X/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&imprToken=srAhCZ34zLzktdBc3-KNFw&slotNum=8&linkCode=ll1&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=45a3875441bc6fbcf25c776087d26d8a&language=en_US" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Dead Sea Scrolls</a> present a worldview that is properly described as apocalyptic but do not qualify as examples of the literary genre (e.g., “Instruction on the Two Spirits” from the Community Rule text and the War Scroll).<br />
<div id="amzn-assoc-ad-6f011dc1-eff3-4ee1-9d89-13cdc7fefa21"></div><script async src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=6f011dc1-eff3-4ee1-9d89-13cdc7fefa21"></script><br />
The last book in the New Testament, known as the Apocalypse of John, is an example of a Christian apocalypse. The canonicity of this book was not accepted at first in the East. The book is a record of the visions of John while he was exiled on the island of Patmos and possesses a prophetic authority among Christian communities throughout history.<br />
<br />
Highly symbolic language, the presumption of a cataclysmic battle, and the disclosure of heavenly secrets to a privileged intermediary make this text a classic example of the genre. Other examples of Christian apocalypse outside the Bible include <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1103740423/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1103740423&linkId=94be7a10cb71d0d251acaf65cfce7819" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Ascension of Isaiah</a> and the Apocalypse of Paul.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-28243963061798157172012-04-12T10:51:00.000+07:002019-02-07T06:42:40.001+07:00Twelve Apostles<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://marketingatoz.blogspot.com/2011/04/differentiation.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Twelve Apostles" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYPpWmluQ-oj-QUxtPFpd_z34xxCUktacxpPAHL2JHJh5DAASXkbTk0cDv83TBHk4OseazUUrO9DYkHS3oy_94kipKNvk3ZBI5LT7rLyy7UAaFqsLPTqfY1e_LKhGpqt6fBPtqHn-pvxY/s1600/twelve-apostles.jpg" title="Twelve Apostles" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Twelve Apostles</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The word disciple is used most often in Greek philosophical circles to describe a committed follower of a master (such as Socrates). Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth had many such disciples, besides the 12 who became the apostles of the church.<br />
<br />
For example, Luke 6:13 hints at the existence of a larger circle of disciples: “And when it was day, he called his disciples, and chose from them 12, whom he named apostles.” Among the disciples who were not chosen as the 12 were women. This is noteworthy because few masters in the time of Jesus had female disciples.<br />
<br />
Beyond these disciples, many men and women were drawn to Jesus and followed him casually. The Gospels call them “crowds.” Jesus shared with the disciples thoughts that were kept from the crowds.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1414320043/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&&&&&&&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=205a2aeb6f2c08eb8a55450d68beaf66&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1414320043&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1414320043" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0785288244/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&&&&&&&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=52bb67f5d5494d9a7e2fceee6e575834&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0785288244&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0785288244" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
For example, according to Mark, after Jesus had finished telling parables to the crowds, the disciples came to Jesus to learn their <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0939117371/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0939117371&linkId=4a994ba85b1d0d9469f7747515d71583" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">hidden meanings</a>. The reason for this private tutoring was that the disciples were expected to develop ears and eyes to discern the true and deeper meaning of Jesus’ teachings.<br />
<br />
The 12 who were chosen, however, followed Jesus even more fully than the other disciples by leaving behind everything they had, including their jobs and families. The 12 were allowed to witness private details of Jesus’ life not available to the other disciples.<br />
<br />
For example, only the 12 were with Jesus on the night of his arrest. According to the synoptic Gospels and Acts, the names of the 12 were Simon Peter; James, son of Zebedee; John; Andrew; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; James, son of Alphaeus; Thaddaeus (Judas); Simon the Cananaean; and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.<br />
<br />
Unlike the other names, Simon Peter, Philip, and James, son of Alphaeus, consistently occupy the same positions (first, fifth, and ninth, respectively) on the list. Based on this observation, it has been suggested that the 12 were organized into groups of four and that Peter, Philip, and James, son of Alphaeus, were their group leaders. This intriguing suggestion, however, has no <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001NQGN7O/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B001NQGN7O&linkId=df7f0ad2fd106d7517a116a8e634dd66" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">hard evidence</a> for support.<br />
<br />
As far as we know, the 12 were all from Galilee. Peter, Andrew, James, and John were fishermen, who, except perhaps Andrew, constituted the innermost circle of Jesus’ apostles. Simon Peter was the undisputed leader of the 12. Andrew was his brother and introduced him to Jesus.<br />
<br />
According to tradition, Andrew preached in Greece, Asia Minor (Turkey), and the areas north and northwest of the Black Sea. Tradition claims that he was martyred in Patras. A late tradition claims him to be the founder of the church of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/constantinople.html" target="_blank" title="Constantinople">Constantinople</a>, the seat of the Greek Church.<br />
<br />
James and John, sons of Zebedee, were also brothers. Possessors of a fiery temper and ambition, they asked Jesus to appoint them to sit at his left and right hand when his kingdom came. James (known also as James the Greater to distinguish him from James, son of Alphaeus) became the first of the apostles to be martyred under Herod Agrippa I.<br />
<br />
According to tradition, James had preached in Spain before meeting his untimely death in Jerusalem. As for John, tradition claims that he was the beloved disciple who wrote the Gospel of John, the three Epistles of John, and possibly also <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0310421403/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0310421403&linkId=01f8b380838856abe4afdaf1673df082" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the book of Revelation</a>.<br />
<br />
Tradition also claims that John, having survived a boiling cauldron of oil and banishment to Patmos under Emperor Domitian for preaching the Gospel in Asia Minor, died a natural death in Ephesus in the company of Mary, mother of Jesus. Modern critical scholarship rejects most of these claims.<br />
<br />
Philip is best remembered in the New Testament for introducing Nathaniel to Jesus and for asking Jesus to show him the Father. According to tradition, Philip’s ministry and martyrdom took place in Asia Minor. Not much is known about Bartholomew in the New Testament.<br />
<br />
According to tradition, he is the same person as Nathaniel in John 1:43–51, the man whom Jesus said was without guile. Tradition claims Bartholomew preached in Armenia and India, among other places.<br />
<br />
Thomas, known also as Didymus (Twin), is best remembered as the cynical doubter who wanted to touch the scars on the hands and the body of the resurrected Jesus. Thomas is a prominent figure in the Syriac culture and church, and according to tradition, he preached in India, where he was martyred.<br />
<br />
He is also credited with the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594770468/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594770468&linkId=17b924ef03a80879e284037ee9d31d58" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gospel of Thomas</a> (reportedly of the Gnostics), which some scholars date to the middle of the first century c.e. Matthew was a tax collector who, according to ancient tradition, was the writer of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080103602X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=080103602X&linkId=4706a87d6dabc2a08bcc7f1dee74fb7b" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Gospel of Matthew</a>. Many scholars reject this tradition, largely because of Matthew’s apparent literary dependence on Mark.<br />
<br />
The New Testament gives virtually no information about James, son of Alphaeus (known also as James the Lesser). James and Matthew would be brothers if Matthew is Levi who is also called son of Alphaeus in Mark 2:14. Tradition makes the questionable claim that James the Lesser was a cousin of Jesus.<br />
<br />
According to one tradition, he preached in Palestine and Egypt, but according to another, he preached in Persia. Thaddaeus (of Mark 3) is probably the same figure as Judas, son of James (of Luke 6 and Acts 1). Not much is known in the New Testament about this man. According to tradition, he preached in Armenia, Syria, and Persia. In some manuscripts, his name appears as Labbaeus.<br />
<br />
Simon the Cananaean is also called Simon the Zealot. It is unclear whether he was a militant type. According to some tradition, his missionary zeal took him to North Africa, Armenia, and possibly even Britain.<br />
<br />
Judas Iscariot, the treasurer for the 12, betrayed Jesus to the Jewish authorities who were seeking to kill him. According to Matthew, Judas hanged himself afterward from guilt. After the death of Jesus, Matthias, a man about whom nothing is known in the New Testament except the name, replaced Judas.<br />
<br />
According to Armenian tradition, however, Matthias evangelized Armenia alongside Andrew, Bartholomew, Thaddaeus, and Simon the Cananaean. The fact that the disciples of Jesus felt compelled to replace Judas Iscariot with Matthias to complete the number 12 seems to indicate that the 12 were believed to be the heads of a newly constituted Israel.<br />
<div id="amzn-assoc-ad-9a29416b-1577-4936-8e71-82bb8e57c589">
</div>
<script async="" src="//z-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/onejs?MarketPlace=US&adInstanceId=9a29416b-1577-4936-8e71-82bb8e57c589"></script><br />
Simon Peter is also referred to as Cephas in Paul and John. It is perhaps his unaffected humanity, accompanied by unrefined manners, that endeared him to Jesus and the rest of the group. He appears to have been the spokesman for the 12. For example, on the night Jesus was transfigured, he offered to build huts for Jesus as well as Elijah and Moses, who had come to visit Jesus.<br />
<br />
The leadership of the church, however, eventually appears to have gone to James, the brother of Jesus. According to ancient tradition, Peter went to Rome, which eventually became the seat of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/latin-church.html" target="_blank">Latin Church</a>, and preached there and died a martyr, crucified upside down.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-85120730593379576952012-04-11T23:58:00.001+07:002017-01-27T20:33:33.639+07:00Pre-Islamic Arabia<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://crisissome.blogspot.com/2016/05/harlem-renaissance.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Pre-Islamic Arabia" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWcMquopH0Z8ZRnTne093b1_pkK1KbbEJhNZHhBDkdtvzjxw3b7jGHosY43DGUaBDsFRS2fWcs3a_q5CEggsA6uU8dYjBmstrqvMJdYMhujR_y6dnIJ2duoufTXVR4uTh_kK_ScYKiUM0/s1600/arab.jpg" title="Pre-Islamic Arabia" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pre-Islamic Arabia</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Arabia, which spans an area of 1.25 million sq. miles, is a rugged, arid, and inhospitable terrain. It consists mainly of a vast desert, with the exception of Yemen on the southeastern tip, a fertile region with ample rain and well suited for agriculture.<br />
<br />
The southwestern region of Arabia also has a climate conducive to agriculture. The first mention of the inhabitants of Arabia, or “Aribi,” is seen in the ninth century b.c.e., in Assyrian script. The residents of northern Arabia were nomads who owned camels.<br />
<br />
In pre-Islamic Arabia, there was no central political authority, nor was there any central ruling administrative center. Instead, there were only various Bedu (Bedouin) tribes. Individual members of a tribe were loyal to their tribe, rather than to their families.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415195357/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0415195357&linkCode=as2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=WOQLNZBAUIIIQX74" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0415195357&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=as2&o=1&a=0415195357" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1480053864/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1480053864&linkCode=as2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=BJKPHTCOL7KCZGY3" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1480053864&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1480053864" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The Bedu formed nomadic tribes who moved from place to place in order to find green pastures for their camels, sheep, and goats. Oases can be found along the perimeter of the desert, providing water for some plants to grow, especially the ubiquitous date palm.<br />
<br />
Since there was a constant shortage of green pastures for their cattle to graze in, the tribes often fought one another over the little fertile land available within Arabia, made possible by the occasional desert springs. Since warfare was a part of everyday live, all men within the tribes had to train as warriors.<br />
<br />
By the seventh century b.c.e. Arabia was divided into about five kingdoms, namely the Ma’in, Saba, Qataban, <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="190601180X" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="ba30a4b7d58746ddc43aa5ddec94823e" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Hadramaut" href="http://www.amazon.com/Time-Arabia-Life-Hadramaut/dp/190601180X/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=epichistory-20&linkId=ba30a4b7d58746ddc43aa5ddec94823e&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_609148" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Hadramaut</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_609148" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=epichistory-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=ba30a4b7d58746ddc43aa5ddec94823e&_cb=1485523165951" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, and Qahtan. These civilizations were built upon a system of agriculture, especially in southern Arabia where the wet climate and fertile soil were suitable for cultivation.<br />
<br />
Of the five kingdoms Saba was the most powerful and most developed. Until 300 c.e. the kings of the Saba kingdom consolidated the rest of the kingdoms. Inhabitants of northern Arabia spoke Arabic, while those in the south spoke Sabaic, another Semitic language.<br />
<br />
As <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/yemen.html" target="_blank">Yemen</a> lay along a major trade route, many merchants from the Indian Ocean passed through it in south Arabia. The south was therefore more dominant for more than a millennium as it was more economically successful and contributed much to the wealth of Arabia as a whole.<br />
<br />
By the seventh century b.c.e. the oases in Arabia had developed into urban trading centers for the lucrative caravan trade. The agricultural base of Arabia contributed to the economy of Arabia, enabling inhabitants to switch to economic pursuits in luxury goods alongside an ongoing agrarian economy.<br />
<br />
The commercial network in Arabia was facilitated mainly by the caravan trade in Yemen, where goods from the Indian Ocean Basin in the south were transferred on to camel caravans, which then traveled to <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/damascus-and-aleppo.html" target="_blank" title="Damascus and Aleppo">Damascus</a> and Gaza.<br />
<br />
Arabia dealt in the profitable products of the day—gold, frankincense, and myrrh, as well as other luxury goods. The role of the Bedu, likewise, evolved. Instead of just being military warriors engaged in tribal rivalries, they were now part of the caravan trade, serving as guardians and guides while caravans traveled within Arabia. These Bedu were different from other nomadic tribes, as they tended to settle in one place.<br />
<br />
Assyrians, followed by the neo-Babylonians, and the Persians disturbed unity in Arabia. From the third century c.e. the Persian <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/sassanid-empire.html" target="_blank">Sassanids</a> and the Christian Byzantines fought over Arabia. Later on, just before the rise of Islam, there emerged two Christian Arab tribal confederations known as the Ghassanids and the Lakhmid.<br />
<br />
The city of Petra in northwest Arabia was under the control of the Byzantines (through the Ghassanids), followed by the Romans, while the northeastern city of Hira fell under Persian influence (the Lakhmid). Under the Lakhmid and Ghassanid dynasties Arab identity developed, as did the Arab language.<br />
<br />
The central place of worship for the nomadic Bedu tribes was the Ka’ba, a cubic structure found in the city of Mecca, which houses a black stone, believed to be a piece of meteorite. The Ka’ba was the site of an annual pilgrimage in pre-Islamic Arabia. <br />
<br />
Abraham first laid the foundations of the Ka’ba. Over a millennium the function of the Ka’ba had drastically changed and just before the coming of Islam through Muhammad, idols were found within the shrine.<br />
<br />
The Bedu prayed to the idols of different gods found within. Although the various nomadic Bedu tribes often formed warring factions, within the sacred space of the Ka’ba, tribal rivalries were often put aside in respect for the place of worship. Mecca became a religious sanctuary and a neutral ground where tribal warfare was put on hold.<br />
<br />
By the seventh century c.e., besides being an important religious site, the city of Mecca was also a significant commercial center of caravan trade, because of the rise of south Arabia as a mercantile hub. Merchants of different origins converged in the city.<br />
<br />
Just before the rise of Islam, the elite merchants of the Quraysh tribe led Mecca loosely, although it was still difficult to discern a clear form of authoritative government in Mecca. Mecca, like southern Arabia, was home to many different people of various faiths.<br />
<br />
Different groups of people had settled in Arabia, especially in the coastal regions of Yemen, where a rich variety of religions had coexisted, having originated from India, Africa, and the rest of the Middle East. <br />
<br />
This is because of its strategic location along the merchant trade route from the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean. They were Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians who had migrated from the surrounding region.<br />
<br />
These migrants were markedly different from the indigenous inhabitants of Arabia in that they adhered to monotheistic faiths, recognizing and worshipping only one God. Thus, the inhabitants of pre-Islamic Arabia were familiar with other monotheistic faiths prior to the coming of Islam, however, subsequent Muslim society would refer to those living in pre-Islamic Arabia as living in jahiliyya, or “ignorance.”Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-83170734590769326072012-04-11T23:39:00.000+07:002017-03-17T22:55:19.336+07:00Aramaeans<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://historysome.blogspot.com/2012/02/juan-domingo-peron.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Aramaeans" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgQN_I4Bibza6VXoSer_s7mxiL9Fu2BTq0bhQZPsKGo3U9qGylMRU5wusYJXca0g6Pe6rMU7f7B-uJKiE852mKfMyhOpKuShMkZ-VhmlC50yxs5XMNafmwGPo4MkAf5auY2DFS1WuRAKxQ/s1600/aramaeans.jpg" title="Aramaeans" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aramaeans</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The Aramaeans interest historians because of the two sources of information about them: the archaeological and the biblical. Part of the challenge in understanding the Aramaeans is in the effort to link both sets of data.<br />
<br />
According to the first citation, the people of ancient Israel and Judah consider themselves ethnic Aramaeans who became a distinct religious group as a result of their experience in Egypt. According to the second citation, the Aramaeans were a people who experienced the brunt of Assyrian aggression in the 12th century b.c.e.<br />
<br />
The 1993 discovery of the Tel Dan Stela, an Aramaic-language stone inscription that mentions Israel and <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/david.html" target="_blank">David</a> and apparently was written by Hazael, the king of Aram and the greatest Aramaean warrior, brings these two strands together in a historical and religious debate.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1606083945/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1606083945&linkCode=as2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=2MUO36TIDR2UAN6R" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1606083945&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=as2&o=1&a=1606083945" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/080284846X/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=080284846X&linkCode=as2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=7XYJUU7JXIX4FCE3" rel="nofollow"><img border="0" src="http://ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=080284846X&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" src="http://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=as2&o=1&a=080284846X" height="1" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<b>Archaeological Evidence</b><br />
<br />
The historian is faced with the dilemma of determining when this people first came into existence versus when there is a historical written record about them. The Aramaeans presumably were a West Semitic–speaking people who lived in the Syrian and Upper Mesopotamian region along the Habur River and the Middle Euphrates for the bulk of the second millennium b.c.e., if not earlier.<br />
<br />
Their first uncontestable appearance in the written record occurred when Assyrian king Tiglath-pileser I (1114–1076 b.c.e.) claimed to have defeated them numerous times. They very well may be connected to the Amorites who previously had been in that area before they spread out across the ancient Near East just as the Aramaeans would do 1,000 years later.<br />
<br />
The early stages of Aramaean history are known not through their own writings, but from what others wrote about them. When the Assyrian Empire went into decline, the Assyrian references to the Aramaeans ceased. Presumably they continued to be the primarily pastoral people that the Assyrians had first encountered and lacked the urban-based political structure of the major powers of the region. They used this time to establish themselves in a series of small polities centering in modern Syria.<br />
<br />
The void in the record changed in 853 b.c.e. when, thanks to the Assyrians, the Aramaeans again appear in a historical inscription. They do so in the records of Shalmaneser III (858–824 b.c.e.), an Assyrian king who sought repeatedly to extend his empire to the west all the way to the Mediterranean Sea.<br />
<br />
His primary obstacle to achieving this goal was a coalition of peoples including Arabs, Egyptians, Israelites, and Aramaeans. According to the Assyrian inscriptions, it was Hadad-idr (Hadad-ezer, c. 880–843 b.c.e.) of Aram who led the coalition. The king was named after the leading deity of the Aramaeans, Hadad, the storm god. That deity is probably better known as Baal, a title meaning “lord,” than by his actual name.<br />
<br />
Shalmaneser tried again in 849, 848, and 845 b.c.e. to no avail. At that point the coalition crumbled, enabling Shalmaneser to focus on the new ruler of Aram, Hazael (c. 843–803 b.c.e.), a “son of a nobody” (meaning a usurper). Even though Hazael now stood alone, Assyria was unable to prevail in 841, 838, and 837 b.c.e. Shalmaneser then stopped trying. The withdrawal of Assyria from the land provided Hazael with the opportunity to expand his own rule.<br />
<br />
His <a href="http://marketingatoz.blogspot.com/2011/04/success-and-failure.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">success</a> produced the pinnacle of Aramaean political power during the remaining years of the ninth century b.c.e. Hazael’s stature in the ancient Near East is attested by the Assyrian use of “House of Hazael” for the Aramaean kingdom in the eighth century b.c.e., and later Jewish historian Josephus’s discussion of Hazael’s legacy in <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/damascus-and-aleppo.html" target="_blank" title="Damascus and Aleppo">Damascus </a>in the first century c.e.<br />
<br />
Eventually Assyria did prevail over Aram. Around 803 b.c.e. Adad-nirari III (810–783 b.c.e.) attacked Aram and its new king, Ben-Hadad (c. 803–775 b.c.e.), the son of Hazael. The weakening of Aram aided Israel, which enjoyed resurgence during the first half of the eighth century b.c.e. The political life of the Aramaeans soon ended when Tiglath-pileser III (745–27 b.c.e.) absorbed all the Aramaean states into the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0500051917/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0500051917&linkId=d961a41da0de0761c23a0998c407cfff" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Assyrian Empire</a>.<br />
<br />
In a great irony of history the Assyrians required a more flexible and accessible language through which to govern their multi-peopled empire. Their cuneiform language was inadequate for the task. Centuries earlier, perhaps around 1100 b.c.e., the Aramaeans had adopted the 22-letter <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/phoenician-colonies.html" target="_blank">Phoenician</a> alphabet.<br />
<br />
Following the Assyrian conquest of the Aramaeans, the latter’s language was accorded special status within the empire and then became the lingua franca of the realm. Its usage continued for centuries including among the Jews.<br />
<br />
<b>Biblical Evidence</b><br />
<br />
The writers of the Jewish Bible were of mixed opinion concerning the origin of the Aramaeans. In some biblical translations they appear as Syrians, reflecting the Greek-derived name for their land, a name that continues to be used to this very day.<br />
<br />
In Genesis 10:22, Aram is a grandson of Noah and son of Shem. This genealogy puts the Aramaean people in Syria on par with the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/medes-persians-and-elamites.html" target="_blank">Elamites</a> (in modern Iran) and the Assyrians (in modern Iraq).<br />
<br />
By contrast in Genesis 22:19, the Aramaeans are grandsons of Abraham’s brother Nahor and thus comparable to Jacob, the grandson of Abraham. In Amos 9:7, the Aramaeans had their own exodus relationship with Yahweh from Kir (sometimes spelled Qir) west of the Middle Euphrates, just as Israel had had from Egypt under Moses.<br />
<br />
Just as the archaeological record of the Aramaeans contains information involving Israel not found in the Bible, the Bible contains information about the Aramaeans during a time of minimal archaeological information about them. Biblical scholarship has struggled to integrate the archaeological and biblical data into a single story. Examples of points of contention include<br />
<ol>
<li> Do the references to the Aramaeans in the stories of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/biblical-patriarchs.html" target="_blank">biblical Patriarchs</a> better fit the circumstances of the 10th century b.c.e. in the time of David and Solomon?</li>
<li>What was David’s relationship with the Aramaeans particularly as recounted in II Samuel 8 and 10?</li>
<li>What was Israelite king Ahab’s relationship with the Aramaeans particularly as recounted in I Kings 20 and 22?</li>
<li>What was Hazael’s relationship with Israel during the Jehu dynasty, given the contrasting comments by the Israelite prophet Elijah in I Kings 19:15–17 and his successor the prophet Elisha in II Kings 8:8–29? According to the biblical text, Elisha was right to weep when he names Hazael king of Aram, given the devastation which the new king would wreak on Israel (see II Kings 10:32, 12:17–18, 13:3). These biblical accounts do agree with the Assyrian account that Hazael was not heir to the throne.</li>
<li>What is the solution to the double murder mystery of Israelite king Jehoram and Judahite king Ahaziah: Was the murderer the Israelite usurper Jehu (II Kings 9–10) or the Aramaean king Hazael (Tel Dan Stela)?</li>
</ol>
According to the biblical record, during the last century of Aram’s existence, Ramot Gilead in the Transjordan and the northern Galilee appear to have been a continual source of contention between Israel and Damascus. The biblical accounts in II Kings describe the ebb and flow to ownership of the land, with Hazael representing the pinnacle of Aramaean conquest, and Jeroboam II (c. 782–748 b.c.e.), the height of Israelite success.<br />
<br />
During this time Assyria occasionally ventured into this arena generally to attack Aram, indirectly benefiting Israel. All this political maneuvering came to an end when Tiglath-pileser III ended the independent political existence of Aram in 732 b.c.e. Just over a decade later Israel fell to the Assyrians.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-21832720879833986462012-04-11T21:48:00.000+07:002018-10-18T07:29:36.535+07:00Archaic Greece<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/06/jahangir-mughal-ruler.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Archaic Greece" border="0" data-original-height="321" data-original-width="500" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhra2gdjC2Xt5_2NYQFGF9qtlrzXaMD1bWSDIQLZPHOToDjzCNB1n5xjp-wDr-ry-jCL8Hgslt_yzQeCMNroh0Zc2goDj9_N16ZscZ_A-F1pdiru2Itz9ETU77hzR9IgN8-cLAK-bhKbBY/s1600/archaic.jpg" title="Archaic Greece" width="470" /></a></div>
<br />
The Archaic Period in Greek history (c. 700–500 b.c.e.) laid the groundwork for the political, economic, artistic, and philosophical achievements of the Classical Period. Perhaps one of the greatest gifts to Western civilization by the ancient Greeks was the beginning of democratic government and philosophy. The seventh century b.c.e. witnessed the decline of the old aristocratic order that had dominated Greek politics and the rise of the tyrant.<br />
<br />
For the Greeks the term tyrant referred to someone who had seized power through unconstitutional means. Tyrants were often accomplished men from aristocratic families who had fallen from political grace. They rode the tide of discontent and demand for more opportunities spawned by population and economic growth to lead the charge against the old aristocracy.<br />
<br />
In order to help solidify their positions they often encouraged trade and business and sponsored ambitious building projects throughout their city-state. Tyrannies did not last beyond the third generation as the sons and grandsons of tyrants typically lacked the political skills and base of support enjoyed by their father and grandfather.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/History-Archaic-1200-479-Blackwell-Ancient-ebook/dp/B00DUVKFBA/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=12842648f5864fb65e17b2b1a5348aaf&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00DUVKFBA&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B00DUVKFBA" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0192842021/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=u-NV-xPh3f9h7N7UyABOTQ&slotNum=2&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=5dca8b6f7448b82e161c54effa34584f&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0192842021&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0192842021" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The Archaic Period saw the continuation of Greek migration that had begun late in the Greek Dark Ages. An increase in population and the resulting land shortage combined with economic growth, primarily in trade, spurred the movement in search of new lands, colonies, and trading posts. The economic expansion brought the Greeks into extensive contact with other peoples and led to the development of Greek colonies throughout the Mediterranean, Ionia, and even into the Black Sea region.<br />
<br />
The growing economic prosperity of the Archaic Period led to cultural changes as city-states viewed building projects, particularly of temples, as expressions of their civic wealth and pride. During this period the Greeks used with greater frequency the more graceful Ionic style in their public buildings.<br />
<br />
Colonization and trade had brought the Greeks into more frequent contact with other great civilizations, such as Egypt. Some scholars give credit to Egypt and her development of large columned halls as influencing the Greeks and their move toward monumental architecture.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/06/japanese-invasion-of-korea.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;" target="_blank"><img alt="Map of archaic Greece" border="0" data-original-height="520" data-original-width="653" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwzL_OZ46RmMNOtmV90SV8xf_MwOunwjhSr-IGsog61xTjFEBqtpcuQZwRer5Gr4AYZXY3I2JzBPl5TpJt77pliLvozLcRuhJ4-SDpMpb5p8QJLjvfkQyUkYsHFkdbDpI7ymRs4LuPcEs/s1600/archaic-map.jpg" title="Map of archaic Greece" width="470" /></a></div>
<br />
The move toward monumental architecture was further encouraged as stone replaced wood in public buildings such as temples, treasuries, and the agora as it transformed from a public meeting site to a local marketplace. In addition to the use of the Ionic column, relief sculptures illustrating mythological scenes increasingly appeared on the pediments and entablatures of late sixth century b.c.e. temples.<br />
<br />
The seventh century b.c.e. saw the rise of lyric poetry, a song accompanied by a lyre. Unlike epic poetry (such as Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey), lyric poetry is set in the present and tells the interests and passions of the author. Lyric poetry provides us with a rare insight to the travails of an individual versus the epic sagas involving entire states.<br />
<br />
The poet Archilochus wrote a poem wishing harm to a man who had rejected the author as unsuitable for his daughter. Sappho, a poetess from the island of Lesbos, wrote a hymn to Aphrodite asking for assistance in a matter of love—her love for another woman. Both poems speak directly and passionately to the audience on matters of a very personal nature.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0823216632/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=666b55428ccce0b2baa92733032a8a98&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0823216632&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0823216632" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B072BTHV68/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=40d17e6ecf37281fc3b0f5862f643504&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B072BTHV68&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B072BTHV68" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Heroes-Gods-Monsters-Greek-Myths-ebook/dp/B009O3ZN2Y/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=66844a7b8076557b831506ddad04ef83&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B009O3ZN2Y&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B009O3ZN2Y" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
In this period the Greeks took the creation of a practical item, pottery, and turned it into such a beautiful piece of art that it spawned cheap imitations and demand for the pieces throughout the Mediterranean. Greek pottery in the seventh century b.c.e. was dominated by Corinthian pottery and its portrayal of animal life.<br />
<br />
Athenian pottery and its portrayal of mythical themes rose to prominence in the sixth century b.c.e. The same century also saw the shift from black figures engraved on a red background to drawing red figures on a black background, which allowed for more detail and movement in their figures.<br />
<br />
Perhaps the greatest contribution made to Western civilization by the Archaic Greeks was in the realm of ideas further developed during the Classical Period that continue to influence us, such as the search for a rational view of the universe, a “scientific” explanation for the world, and the birth of philosophy by the cosmologists in sixth century b.c.e. Miletus.<br />
<br />
In addition, the Archaic Greeks bequeathed to humanity the concept of democratic government, wherein members of the polis (i.e., free men) enjoyed social liberty and freedom and willingly submitted to laws enacted directly by their fellow citizens.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-37841645615056578902012-04-11T21:23:00.000+07:002018-10-18T07:54:48.722+07:00Arianism<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/kushite-kingdom.html" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Arianism" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB6dpciMSmyGMrr9BLlEsxBlCJWJO1h4VHKmFdWw5ES4jDVsOfPe_Bo3uFC7sH09Kp7xLNlr7VK24HWIQFsFz9XElc9WcxQMGo0bXP9NasSvE2H5LqPjyAcwhoqPtjqCe_A8GUPWW5bcwd/s1600/arianism.jpg" title="Arianism" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arianism</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Arianism receives its name from Arius, a Christian priest of Alexandria who taught that the Son of God, the second person of the Trinity, is not God in the same sense as the Father. He believed that the Son of God did exist before time, but that the Father created him and therefore the Son of God is not eternal like the Father. Arius was accustomed to say of the Son of God: “There was a time when he was not.”<br />
<br />
When the bishop Alexander opposed Arius, he took his case to Eusebius, bishop of Nicomedia, who had the ear of Emperor <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/constantine-great.html" target="_blank" title="Constantine the Great">Constantine the Great</a>. In order to put an end to the disputes that arose because of Arius’s teaching, Constantine called for a general council that met at Nicaea in 325 c.e. Arius and his followers were condemned by 318 bishops at Nicaea who also drew up a creed laying down the orthodox view of the Trinity.<br />
<br />
Known as the Nicene Creed, it states that the Son of God is “God from God, Light from Light, True God from True God, begotten not made, consubstantial with the Father ...” The term used to express the idea that the Son of God is consubstantial, or of the “same substance,” as the Father, homoousios, became a rallying cry for the orthodox side, expressing the unity of nature between the Father and the Son of God.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/When-Jesus-Became-God-Christianity-ebook/dp/B003UV8ZZ8/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&me=&qid=&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=4fcaab1ffc73441e646c8929b847c955&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B003UV8ZZ8&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B003UV8ZZ8" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Arius-Heresy-Tradition-Rowan-Williams/dp/0802849695/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=b4c8b3c3b276f75afa5a1730cfb233b5&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0802849695&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0802849695" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The years following the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/council-of-nicaea.html" target="_blank" title="Council of Nicaea">Council of Nicaea</a> were turbulent, in which many groups opposed the teaching of the council. The reason Arianism continued to exert influence after its condemnation was due in large part to the emperors of this period. Some were openly sympathetic to this heresy, while others—wanting political peace and unity in the empire—tried to force compromises that were unacceptable to those fighting for the Son of God’s equality with the Father.<br />
<br />
Some bishops were orthodox in their understanding of the Son of God as truly God, but they were opposed to the word homoousios because they could not find it in scripture. Others feared that the word smacked of Sabellianism—an earlier heresy that had made no ultimate distinction between the Father and the Son of God, holding that the divine persons were merely different modes of being God.<br />
<br />
The defender of the orthodox position was Athanasius, the successor to Alexander in the diocese of Alexandria. Athanasius vigorously opposed all forms of Arianism, teaching that the Son must be God in the fullest sense since he reunites us to God through his death on the cross.<br />
<br />
One who is not truly God, he argued, cannot bring us a share in the divine life. Athanasius went into exile five times for his indefatigable defense of Nicaea. A synod held under his presidency in Alexandria in 362 rallied together the orthodox side after clearing up misunderstandings due to terminology.<br />
<br />
This synod, along with the efforts of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/cappadocians.html" target="_blank" title="Cappadocians">Cappadocians</a>, theologians who took up the banner of orthodoxy after Athanasius’s death, paved the way for the Council of Constantinople in 381, which reaffirmed the Nicene Creed and its condemnation of Arianism.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-5717690975495239572012-04-11T21:14:00.000+07:002019-02-04T06:19:47.440+07:00Aristophanes - Greek Playwright<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://crisissome.blogspot.com/2016/06/dollar-diplomacy.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Aristophanes - Greek Playwright" border="0" data-original-height="1139" data-original-width="736" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpSP6oxmt_4vKAYmupMMPV70DB85qmKT73eC9j8F_e2MkGOf6jwumRBv8UiCCAf_08bEGmukLA3xdUfOip5TvxErosdrIKAaH11hgix0TxLnthIg3TO7Oj14Vm0Q59oSlZtrqKGSLVSXw/s1600/Aristophanes.jpg" title="Aristophanes - Greek Playwright" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aristophanes - Greek Playwright</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Aristophanes was a leading dramatist of ancient Athens and, owing to the quantity and quality of his works that have been preserved, is customarily recognized as being the leading comic playwright of his society and age. Greek comic drama passed through two main phases, referred to as Old Comedy and <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/new-comedy.html" target="_blank" title="New Comedy">New Comedy</a>.<br />
<br />
The transition between the two stages included <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0192V4N6Y/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B0192V4N6Y&linkId=cb55a0687dd741d948b0d7de219f3cc5" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Middle Comedy</a>, which is largely conjectural, although the last work of Aristophanes is often ascribed to this stage. <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009D9VBJS/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B009D9VBJS&linkId=1a86f0413474842346721bf4e842363e" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Old Comedy</a> featured a chorus, which commented on the action in verse and song, mime and burlesque, as well as a sense of ribaldry, broad political satire, and farce.<br />
<br />
New Comedy dispensed with the chorus and adopted more of a sense of social realism, although this is still relative. As a representative of the end of one phase, Aristophanes was working in a time of innovation and change, and as might be expected, his works excited both favorable and unfavorable comment.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140448144/ref=as_li_ss_il?&imprToken=STJNIIZ-kM0DcImCqJiKYg&slotNum=2&imprToken=O9vjsmKKqBYiOB4x0yrSkQ&slotNum=2&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=b1379d5c859142a4a86ef72228778cd0&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140448144&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0140448144" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451214099/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=O9vjsmKKqBYiOB4x0yrSkQ&slotNum=3&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=747986671ff55c50812885d0b639f593&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0451214099&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0451214099" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The entire canon of Aristophanes’ works is not known, but it is believed to have extended to perhaps 40 works, of which 11 have survived in partial or complete forms. His career coincided with the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/peloponnesian-war.html" target="_blank" title="Peloponnesian War">Peloponnesian War</a>, and this formed the backdrop of many of his surviving major works.<br />
<br />
Aristophanes’ most fantastical play is <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0941051870/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0941051870&linkId=5318eb2eb8e30836e601a71479a2702d" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Birds</a>, which follows the adventures of a group of birds who become so disaffected by life in their home city that they leave to establish their own, which is called <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GSPFCYU/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00GSPFCYU&linkId=370a874431d11d2ee0dd1678cb0101bc" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Cloud Cuckoo Land</a> and is suspended between heaven and earth. The Birds can be read as an attack on the rulers of Athens and the idea that people would be better off elsewhere.<br />
<br />
Acharnians is an earlier play, which more directly addresses the misery of war. In Frogs the actions of the gods are explicitly brought into the sphere of humanity as <a href="http://agemythologystories.blogspot.com/2010/04/dionysus-and-his-followers.html" target="_blank" title="Dionysus and His Followers">Dionysus</a> descends into hell to retrieve a famous tragedian to produce work that could enlighten the lives of the people of Athens, given the currently woeful state of that art in the city.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-896457069816848252012-04-11T20:46:00.000+07:002018-10-18T19:13:58.724+07:00Aristotle - Greek Philosopher<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/07/jean-baptiste-colbert.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Aristotle - Greek Philosopher" border="0" data-original-height="891" data-original-width="745" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimNInOZ64BHBVe9sC8iNaP7DywXzsmB71OCvBIkZvdMGEha9r3FYD5fVjUvs80PH_kdfkShghu9gthytqlBoQTis64vq34VDuM5GieWkbUSl9G7gLWKQgsijZHelkztiUk0Od9nr_KHd8/s1600/Aristotle.jpg" title="Aristotle - Greek Philosopher" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Aristotle - Greek Philosopher</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Aristotle is one of the greatest figures in the history of Western thought. In terms of the breadth and depth of his thought, together with the quality and nature of his analysis, his contribution to a variety of fields is almost unparalleled.<br />
<br />
His areas of investigation ranged from biology to ethics and from poetics to the categorization of knowledge. Born in Stagira in northern Greece, with a doctor as a father, he studied under Plato for 20 years until Plato’s death and then left to travel to Asia Minor and then the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1101878029/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1101878029&linkId=5887956d6a093ab48a4b4c42bf28a470" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">island of Lesbos</a>.<br />
<br />
He received a request in about 342 b.c.e. from King <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/philip-of-macedon.html" target="_blank" title="Philip of Macedon">Philip of Macedon</a> to supervise the education of his son Alexander, who was 13 at that time. He consented and prepared to teach Alexander the superiority of Greek culture and the way in which a Homeric hero in the mold of <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0312311109" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="009412ae7260513d9c9fa06db64e2c43" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Achilles" href="http://www.amazon.com/Achilles-A-Novel-Elizabeth-Cook/dp/0312311109/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=009412ae7260513d9c9fa06db64e2c43&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_8759631" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Achilles</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_8759631" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=009412ae7260513d9c9fa06db64e2c43&_cb=1453807394507" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> should dominate the various barbarians to the east.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0684838230/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=453846d3483c5aadcf6838778f2441ed" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0684838230&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&l=li3&o=1&a=0684838230" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0451531752/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=XqqLT66W869uLTSD5dgjzA&slotNum=4&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=0a038843a27ea7d866af1843aaefc034&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0451531752&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=0451531752" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Alexander went on to conquer much of the known world, although he failed to observe Aristotle’s instruction to keep Greeks separate from barbarians by pursuing a policy of <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0299121143/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0299121143&linkId=320ca4b13b8e95189ac1a4abd8626d80" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">intermarriage</a> and adoption of eastern cultural institutions. Alexander proved to be an obstinate student, and Aristotle’s influence was slight.<br />
<br />
Once this tutelage was completed, Aristotle retired first to Stagira and then to Athens to establish his own academy. He continued to be accompanied by former pupils of Plato such as Theophrastus. His academy became known as <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0870137441/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0870137441&linkId=b11f2e7c73a63dfb5d623a24c3a63028" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">the Lyceum</a>.<br />
<br />
Aristotle wrote his most developed works at this time, but much of what has been passed down through the ages was subsequently edited, and much of his work gives the impression that it contains interpolated material and other notes. His works were translated into Latin and Arabic and became immensely influential throughout the Western world. Aristotle departed Athens for the island of Euboea in 322 b.c.e. and died that year.<br />
<br />
<b>Scientific Works</b><br />
<br />
At the basis of Aristotle’s works is his close observation of the world and his astoundingly powerful attempts to understand and reconcile the nature of observed phenomena with what might be expected. This is perhaps most easily witnessed in Aristotle’s scientific works, including the <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0674994361" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="872eb88b4acc0d06147839e5de03ca6d" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Meteorologica" href="http://www.amazon.com/Aristotle-Meteorologica-Loeb-Classical-Library/dp/0674994361/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=872eb88b4acc0d06147839e5de03ca6d&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_9501891" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Meteorologica</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_9501891" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=872eb88b4acc0d06147839e5de03ca6d&_cb=1453807492884" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="3642738141" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="32a8b9b6342fdbb54d730dc1d6033dcf" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="On the Movement of Animals" href="http://www.amazon.com/On-Movement-Animals-Giovanni-Borelli/dp/3642738141/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=32a8b9b6342fdbb54d730dc1d6033dcf&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_2016465" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">On the Movement of Animals</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_2016465" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=32a8b9b6342fdbb54d730dc1d6033dcf&_cb=1453807453982" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />, and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1532843755/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1532843755&linkId=cf600b63a77310c126db715195537559" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">On Sleep and Sleeplessness</a>.<br />
<br />
Aristotle’s works were deeply rooted in the real world, since the establishment of fact is central to the inquiry. This is the strand of Aristotle’s work that was later developed by scholars such as <a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/10/roger-bacon.html" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Roger Bacon</a> and early scientific experimenters.<br />
<br />
<b>Categories</b><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/10/mixtec-and-zapotec.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Aristotle Teaching a Young Alexander the Great" border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1024" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirVcfmoWA79Jg8sTtaPIFSg_8pGqQ2ri6fueQwKIQvgUnB00N0QxrBWibGk5h7NaCGIdQl5PnrJapE8NQGSBPpPhORcpUSjM-ueAFqQ5QAT6ZeS0FNx9GvyF53zvnOxU9mFhGjQE4vJZ4/s1600/aristotle-alexander.jpg" title="Aristotle Teaching a Young Alexander the Great" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span class="irc_su" dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;">Aristotle teaching a young Alexander the Great</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Aristotle’s classification of all material phenomena into categories is contained in his work of the same name. According to this method, everything was part of substance and could be classified as such, while some individual items would be classified as an individual item. The latter are considered to be qualities rather than essential parts of substance.<br />
<br />
The ways in which Aristotle organized these categories does not always appear intuitively correct, which reflects differences in methods of thinking and language. He also distinguished between form and matter. Form is a specific configuration of matter, which is the basis or substance of all physical things.<br />
<br />
Iron is a substance or representation of matter, for example, which can be made into a sword. The sword is a potential quality of iron, and a child is potentially a fully grown person. It is in the nature of some matter, therefore, to emerge in a particular form. If form can be said to emerge from no matter, then it would do so as god.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0375757996/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=42b736e58dbfa8d49b0a32148dc50ab7&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0375757996&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0375757996" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Republic-Hackett-Classics-Plato/dp/0872201368/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=0872201368&pd_rd_r=ea5d77cd-d2ce-11e8-ba19-2f14f43f834b&pd_rd_w=fdlMz&pd_rd_wg=sD8Qf&pf_rd_i=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_p=6725dbd6-9917-451d-beba-16af7874e407&pf_rd_r=BG203C2RMFRE1W7VY6WJ&pf_rd_s=desktop-dp-sims&pf_rd_t=40701&psc=1&refRID=BG203C2RMFRE1W7VY6WJ&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=8b3ab155720d38aa4f1c78a158611ec1&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0872201368&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0872201368" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0140449493/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=ae341db1d9450bfecc08e65b0823f1a2&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=0140449493&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" /></a><img alt="" border="0" height="1" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=0140449493" style="border: none !important; margin: 0px !important;" width="1" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Whether one thing is itself or another thing depends on the four causes of the universe. The material cause explains what a thing is and what is its substance; the final cause explains the purpose or reason for the object; the formal cause defines it in a specific physical form, and the efficient cause explains how it came into existence. According to Aristotle’s thinking, all physical items can be explained and accounted for fully by reference to these four causes.<br />
<br />
In a similar way his exposition of the syllogism in all its possible forms and the definition of which of these are valid and to what extent are an effort to establish a system that is inclusive and universal and is both elegant and parsimonious in construction. The syllogism is Aristotle’s principal contribution to the study of logic.<br />
<br />
<b>Poetics</b><br />
<br />
Aristotle’s methods enabled him to make a number of influential contributions to language and to discourse. His Sophistical Refutations, for example, analyzes the use of language to identify the forms of argument that are valid and discard false or disreputable discourse that is aimed at winning an argument rather than seeking the truth.<br />
<br />
Aristotle, like <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/socrates.html" target="_blank">Socrates</a> and Plato before him, was convinced of the primacy of the search for truth; no matter how uncomfortable this may prove to be. This placed him in occasional conflict with the Sophists, who were more willing to teach pupils to use philosophical discourse for self-advancement.<br />
<br />
Aristotle’s Posterior Analytics was aimed at determining the extent to which scientific reasoning rested on appropriately considered and evaluated premises that flow properly from suitable first principles. He applied the same rigorous approach to his examination of the Athenian polis and also to the study of tragedy in the Poetics.<br />
<br />
The Poetics remains one of Aristotle’s most influential works. It aims to outline the various categories of plot and chain of cause and events that are appropriate for the stage and the ways in which the various elements of theater should interact.<br />
<br />
His conception of the properly tragic character as one whose inevitable downfall is brought about by a character flaw, and that the anagnoresis, or reversal of fortune, was the plot device by which this most commonly was brought about, dominated the production of drama until the modern age.<br />
<br />
<b>Aristotelianism</b><br />
<br />
A number or prominent scholars and thinkers of the medieval ages, called Aristotelians, seized upon Aristotle’s methods. From the time of Porphyry (260–305 c.e.), the Aristotelian method of analysis was used as a weapon to attack Christianity. This raised a theme that recurred numerous times throughout western Europe, particularly in the subsequently developed universities.<br />
<br />
While Arabic scholars generally saw no problem in utilizing the dialectical method as a tool in helping to understand the ways in which the physical universe worked, those from Christian countries faced opposition when Aristotelian thought was classified as irreligious or blasphemous.<br />
<br />
This was determined by the prevailing political and religious environment and meant that some scholars were able to avail themselves of Aristotelian thought quite freely, while others were constrained from doing so and their insights were lost to history. Among the former are, notably, <a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/10/thomas-aquinas.html" target="_blank">Thomas Aquinas</a> (1225–74 c.e.), whose writings investigated the canon of Aristotle with considerable intensity and clarity.<br />
<br />
<a amzn-ps-bm-asin="0877289417" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="6d61069b8e4b085ae5d8fa6bc487f588" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Albertus Magnus" href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Secrets-Albertus-Magnus/dp/0877289417/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=theconthist-20&linkId=6d61069b8e4b085ae5d8fa6bc487f588&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_2166044" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Albertus Magnus</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_2166044" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=theconthist-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=6d61069b8e4b085ae5d8fa6bc487f588&_cb=1453807668671" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> (1200–80 c.e.), an important tutor of Aquinas, had achieved a great deal in integrating Aristotelian thought and methods into the mainstream of Christian thought in terms of responsible philosophical inquiry. Together with <a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/10/roger-bacon.html" target="_blank">Roger Bacon</a> (1220–92 c.e.), the Aristotelians made progress toward experimental science that would eventually flourish with the scientific method.<br />
<br />
In the Islamic world Aristotelianism is perhaps best known in the person of <a href="http://epicworldhistory.blogspot.com/2013/07/ibn-sina.html" target="_blank">Ibn Sina</a> (980–1037 c.e.), the Persian physician and philosopher whose ideas perhaps came the closest of all Muslim thinkers to uniting Islamic belief with the philosophy of Plato and Aristotle.<br />
<br />
Ibn Sina shared Aristotle’s devotion to the systematic examination of natural phenomena and his support for logical determinism brought him into conflict with religious authorities. His religious beliefs tended toward the mystic, possibly as a means of resolving the difficulties inherent in the gap between observable and comprehensible phenomena and divine revelations.<br />
<br />
The eastern part of the Islamic world had enjoyed the infusion of ideas from the Hellenistic tradition for some centuries and so was better able to integrate concepts more peaceably than in, for example, the western Islamic states of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1594770980/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=1594770980&linkId=903a7ed7560eafd21f99c16136d59caf" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Iberian Peninsula</a>.<br />
<br />
Consequently the beneficial impact of Aristotle’s protoscientific method may be discerned in many of the scholarly works of the medieval Islamic world. This also provided a route by which ideas could be transmitted further east.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-37486487799828125432012-04-11T20:17:00.000+07:002018-10-18T19:27:02.501+07:00Ark of the Covenant<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://inamericanhistory.blogspot.com/2012/05/philadelphia-experiment.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Ark of the Covenant" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ3XahuU7wY1WAWfHZfTHTq1_qvenyloBv1X41wNYrJq7-xiJ64519BRx5yAFhDEO2411UXb5eGDbsKfmzJAOdlsKYvp7z-DCfMz8v2iRedoS7LcUSbzggaf8oGQMLz6GbO0rUtCPQKvM/s1600/Ark-Covenant.jpg" title="Ark of the Covenant" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ark of the Covenant</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The political and cult symbol of Israel before the destruction of the Temple was the Ark of the Covenant. This cult object was constantly found with the Israelites and treasured by them from the time of Moses until the time of the invasion of the Babylonians. It was a rectangular chest made of acacia wood, measuring 4 feet long by 2.5 feet wide by 2.5 feet high.<br />
<br />
The Ark was decorated and protected with gold plating and carried by poles inserted in rings at the four lower corners. There was a lid (Hebrew: kipporet, “mercy seat” or “propitiatory”) for the top of the Ark, and perched on top of the monument were two golden angels or cherubs at either end with their wings covering the space over the Ark.<br />
<br />
The first interpretations about the Ark were simple: It was simply the repository for the stone tablets of laws that Moses received on <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/mount-sinai.html" target="_blank" title="Mount Sinai">Mount Sinai</a>. It was housed in a tent and on pilgrimage alongside the children of Israel in the desert. Ancient peoples would preserve treaties or covenants in such a fashion.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009MYASL6/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=d7f571c71a20ec4f30da548e0ce4ff01&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B009MYASL6&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B009MYASL6" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0096X9MOC/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=KTUNQ1GCSmpkgYa59cHHEw&slotNum=1&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=b0728b6fb8aaceea679252b927424dd0&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B0096X9MOC&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=B0096X9MOC" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Soon, however, the Ark became charged with deeper latent powers and purposes. For one thing it was the place where the divine being would choose to make some revelation and communication with Israel. Moses would go there for his meetings with God.<br />
<br />
So the Ark became more than a receptacle for an agreement; God’s presence filled the Ark. A parallel to this notion is the qubbah, the shrine that Arab nomads carry with them for divination and direction as they search for campsites and water.<br />
<br />
In a similar way the Ark was a supernatural protection—called a palladium—that ensured that Israel would never lose in battle. In this sense many Near Eastern cities and nations often had some token of divine protection. Similarly, the Greeks often symbolized their military invincibility through divine emblems such as Athena’s breastplate in Athens and Artemis’s stone in <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="1517592720" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="7e9ec448635c2664b29ddb213b77a2b2" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Ephesus" href="http://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Ephesus-History-Antiquitys-Greatest/dp/1517592720/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=epichistory-20&linkId=7e9ec448635c2664b29ddb213b77a2b2&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_3076695" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Ephesus</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_3076695" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=epichistory-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=7e9ec448635c2664b29ddb213b77a2b2&_cb=1483533673768" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" />.<br />
<br />
When the Jerusalem temple was built under Solomon, the Ark took on a more complex meaning. It had to take into account the kingdom of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/david.html" target="_blank" title="David">David</a> and <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/solomon.html" target="_blank" title="Solomon">Solomon</a>, the capital city of Jerusalem, and the rituals of temple and sacrifice. So the Ark became the throne or the divine contact point for God’s rule over the world.<br />
<br />
The Ark was no longer housed in a tent; it had its own inner courtroom. The angelic representation over the chest became a divine seat, or at least a footstool. Ancient artistic representations of this concept have been discovered in other cultures of the <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/fertile-crescent.html" target="_blank" title="Fertile Crescent">Fertile Crescent</a>: Human or divine kings are often depicted as sitting on a throne supported by winged creatures.<br />
<br />
The Ark disappeared from Jerusalem after the <a amzn-ps-bm-asin="B01M6Y4DEF" class="amzn_ps_bm_tl" data-amzn-link-id="7f3e0b61067df962d809e2746b52ccda" data-amzn-ps-bm-keyword="Babylonians" href="http://www.amazon.com/Babylonian-Harlot-Daniel-Goldman-novel-ebook/dp/B01M6Y4DEF/ref=as_li_bk_tl/?tag=epichistory-20&linkId=7f3e0b61067df962d809e2746b52ccda&linkCode=ktl" id="amznPsBmLink_1636433" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Babylonians</a><img alt="" border="0" height="0" id="amznPsBmPixel_1636433" src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?source=bk&t=epichistory-20&bm-id=default&l=ktl&linkId=7f3e0b61067df962d809e2746b52ccda&_cb=1483533708422" style="border: none !important; height: 0px !important; margin: 0px !important; padding: 0px !important; width: 0px !important;" width="0" /> invaded in the sixth century b.c.e., but it did not disappear from later popular imagination. Some believed that Jeremiah the prophet or King Josiah hid it, others that angels came and took it to heaven; and to this day, Ethiopian Christians believe that they have it safeguarded in their country.<br />
<br />
That the Ark could fall into godless hands was considered to be more catastrophic than the destruction of the Temple. Whatever the cause, Josephus said that it was not present in the rebuilt temple of Herod.Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8218526076012264883.post-78554697807101059852012-04-11T20:10:00.000+07:002019-03-01T08:04:18.666+07:00Armenia<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://mafiasome.blogspot.com/2016/06/slot-machines.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Armenia" border="0" data-original-height="461" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirgpIwlW9F6bUF2EhfbV2L-qmpef8mSO-i_uDu10ESRfNiG9kri5hZDo3P4fLZKAK6_viuwgHw-uRRE1d9eBE7WA6YLgrmmOV7bachwVJCpzcX2eWrNw2Qq4vuKcUyhcUeDffA0aqREJI/s1600/armenia.jpg" title="Armenia" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armenia</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Located at the flashpoint between the Roman and Persian Empires, “<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00M66IOOK/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00M66IOOK&linkId=c0e6207923242237c04942faafa6a403" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Fortress Armenia</a>” stretched through eastern Anatolia to the Zagros Mountains. Armenia was a kingdom established during the decline of <a href="http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/seleucid-empire.html" target="_blank" title="Seleucid Empire">Seleucid</a> control.<br />
<br />
Its independence ended with its incorporation into the <a href="https://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/02/roman-empire.html" target="_blank" title="Roman Empire">Roman Empire</a> in the third century c.e. The region was inhabited after the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0415364140/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0415364140&linkId=6b8dfe4b984d42001f9588865961bbb2" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Neolithic Period</a>, and evidence of high culture is evident from the Early Bronze Age. Urartu was an important regional power in the eighth to the sixth centuries b.c.e.<br />
<br />
The Indo-Europeans arrived from western Anatolia in this period and formed a new civilization that was Armenian-speaking and based on the local culture. The conversion of Armenia to Christianity is associated with a number of stages or traditions. The most important one was the work of Gregory Luzavorich, the “Illuminator” (d. 325 c.e.). Armenians greatly treasure their heritage as the first nation that converted officially to the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0664226205/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0664226205&linkId=43da12e881c494685efa27d807a27cfa" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Christian faith</a>.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr> <td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1403964211/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=2KiS..rtVT3XF0r0wJRnLA&slotNum=3&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=7e143875f3cfc5ffad60554067cef214&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1403964211&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1403964211" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1604447710/ref=as_li_ss_il?imprToken=2KiS..rtVT3XF0r0wJRnLA&slotNum=4&ie=UTF8&linkCode=li3&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=873c9aca1a69c1350c2e729031894273&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1604447710&Format=_SL250_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li3&o=1&a=1604447710" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span></td> </tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0879073160/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0879073160&linkId=34daa1ed73900c6a52537e40d1883fa4" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Syriac Christianity</a> first influenced Armenia: The Armenian version of the Abgar legend makes Abgar an Armenian king, and the evangelization of Addai is described as a mission to southern Armenia. The influence of Syriac literature and liturgy on Armenia remained strong even after the Greek influence, primarily from <a href="https://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/cappadocians.html" target="_blank" title="Cappadocians">Cappadocia</a>, and increased in the third century c.e.<br />
<br />
The Greek tradition states that <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0394800753/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=0394800753&linkId=998dd95b4d1134480019d1d1e5159a6e" target="_blank">Bartholomew</a> was the apostle to the Armenians. The Abgar/Addai legend is earlier than that of Bartholomew. The traditions of the female missionaries and martyrs Rhipsime and Gaiane are among the earliest accounts of the conversion of Armenia. Tertullian (c. 200 c.e.) also mentions that there were Christians in Armenia.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://crisissome.blogspot.com/2016/06/d-day.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Armenia map" border="0" data-original-height="352" data-original-width="600" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhi4D9XqrT9BZt7_il8PpJgFWfcf2jJDCHKN_hVWw3NgM42ZiObrTnWAeB7lhecE-31w4F14xDO_TXjZQszw34Gy6wBbRz6r5C7oIMirjVTPsTkwdFxZBA8lFH-VyqCumUCDrdhSPLavs/s1600/armenia-map.jpg" title="Armenia map" width="470" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armenia map</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
The conversion of the royal house of Armenia dates officially to 301 c.e., predating the conversion of the Georgian king Gorgasali and the Ethiopian Menelik by a generation. In that year Gregory the Iluminator persuaded King Tiridates III (Trdat the Great, 252–330) to be baptized.<br />
<br />
Gregory is identified as the founder of the Christian Armenian nation and as the organizer of the <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00JTNMIJA/ref=as_li_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=epichistory-20&camp=1789&creative=9325&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00JTNMIJA&linkId=b75942c56e90d5f05f1cc36d32756b05" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Armenian Church</a>. Gregory founded Ejmiatsin, the mother cathedral of the Armenian Church, after an apparition by Jesus Christ who descended from heaven at the site of a significant pagan temple (Ejmiatsin means “The Only-begotten Descended”). Gregory’s original church was at Vagharshapat.<br />
<br />
The revelation to found the church at Ejmiatsin coincided with changing political circumstances. Politically, Armenians were always at the mercy of the great powers of Persia and Rome, and in 387 the Roman emperor <a href="https://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/01/theodosius-i.html" target="_blank">Theodosius I</a> and the Persian emperor Shapur agreed to partition Armenia, thus ending its independence.<br />
<br />
<table align="center" border="0"><tbody>
<tr><td align="center"><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1402174446/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=2b4ead1bc85655a7922aa547501d0a60&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1402174446&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1402174446" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Ancient-Lands-Traditional-Duduk-Armenia/dp/B000QZTODI/ref=as_li_ss_il?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=35f1c8dddcbcce228da711c7c13c0042&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B000QZTODI&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=B000QZTODI" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span><span style="padding-left: 7px; padding-right: 7px;"><a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1568591411/ref=as_li_ss_il?ie=UTF8&linkCode=li2&tag=epichistory-20&linkId=7338849a9726e6fe72ad7ec50919e49d&language=en_US" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="//ws-na.amazon-adsystem.com/widgets/q?_encoding=UTF8&ASIN=1568591411&Format=_SL160_&ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=epichistory-20&language=en_US" ></a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-adsystem.com/e/ir?t=epichistory-20&language=en_US&l=li2&o=1&a=1568591411" width="1" height="1" border="0" alt="" style="border:none !important; margin:0px !important;" /></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
As the site of a dominical apparition, the place of Gregory’s Episcopal see, the residence of Armenian Catholicoi, and the most important administrative center of the Armenian Church, Ejmiatsin is for Armenians a holy site on a par with the Church of the Anastasis (Resurrection) in Jerusalem or the Basilica of Bethlehem, where Jesus (Christ) of Nazareth was born.<br />
<br />
The second most important event of the formative period of Armenian history was Mesrob Mashtots’s (c. 400) invention of the Armenian alphabet, which resulted in the <a href="https://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/04/bible-translations.html" target="_blank">translation of the Bible</a> and the liturgy into Armenian and a rapid introduction of Christian and classical works, translated from Greek and Syriac into Armenian.<br />
<br />
During the Christological controversies of the fifth and sixth centuries, the Armenian Apostolic Church rejected the decisions of the <a href="https://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/councils-of-ephesus-and-chalcedon.html" target="_blank">Council of Chalcedon</a> (451) and remains to this day one of the non-Chalcedonian churches that adhere to the strict interpretation of Cyril of Alexandria’s “one nature of the incarnate Logos” formula. For this reason, Armenians are often erroneously and polemically labeled “Monophysites.”<br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://historyworldsome.blogspot.com/2013/11/industrial-revolution.html" imageanchor="1" rel="nofollow" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" target="_blank"><img alt="Armenian army" border="0" data-original-height="568" data-original-width="467" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqQhUFKFSN-3w2g_vEbUol6aZubQHyqGc2ab15TQZ83w9vom8zTUmUJLZ3z2rql4gjQ_C8WwsWCSyyn4oZ-GbRPSbQaglq9RCo-vBgmp-fpAy3kHAV48eWYUrdz3d7zZdmK8MAQ_7nul4/s1600/armenia-army.jpg" title="Armenian army" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Armenian army</td></tr>
</tbody></table>Bunga Tijohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00977713810331516757noreply@blogger.com