Marcus Aurelius (Antonious)

Marcus Aurelius was orginally named Marcus Annius Catilius Serverus. When he became emperor he was given the name Marcus Aurelius Antonious. He was born in 121-180 in Ancient Rome. Under Diognetus's influenced young Marcus, he became a precocious Stoic at the age of 11 and remainded a devoted folloers of stoicism. Marcus Aurelius had an excellent education, he had became a Stoic philospher and he wrote Meditations in Greek as a source of his own guidance and self improvement.

Marcus raised new legions, even accepting slaves and gladiators, auctioned of furnishings from the imperials palaces to raise funds, and in 168 went with Verus to the front. Verus died in early 169, and Marcus was left to face the war alone. The barbarians were driven back, but still the war dragged on in a mixture of victories and barbarians were driven back, but still the war dragged on in a mixture of victories and defeats, with Marcus living mainly at the front, sometimes on the Danube, sometimes on the Rhine as the focus of crisis shifted. Gradually the Romans gained the upper hand, and by 175 we are told that Marcus was inteding to annex the lands of the tribes nearest the frontier when he was suddenly forced to call off the war because of the revolt of Avidius Cassius in the East.

THE BLACK DEATH

THE BLACK DEATH

The Black Death was a horrible epidemic which historians believe started in Africa and shot across Central Asia and then the European countries through trade. The main reason is through the fleas on rodents, and the rodents themselves. The plague got the name for one of two reasons. First, being the late stage of the disease, where skin would blacken due to hemorrhages , then leading to gangrene (pictures are on the internet, but some are just to crazy to force people to view while reading, so I will just leave you to google them). The second reason is due to the fact that it was so dark and morbid and there being no cure leading to imminent death. The Bubonic plague, being the current name of the disease, would cause the victim to swell, get a fever, and then spit blood. Upon this, the family and friends of the victim would usually abandone them, leaving them to die where they were and rot without a proper burial. This also, would leave the victim in a state of fear and being alone, dying without any hope or friendly voice, which in my opinion, is one of the most dark and brutal ways to go.

It is important to the world in multiple ways. This was a huge killing power, believed to have killed many millions during the 14th century. During the medieval times, it was supposed to have killed 30%-60% of Europes population. When it didn't strike the people directly, it would kill off the livestock and domesticated animals. Invading troops used the infected bodies of the dead in catapults, launching them over the walls of defending peoples. It was a huge factor in cities being lost, churches going down, and loyalty and kinship being destroyed. Some believed it was an angry God and his wrath upon the world. Others blamed the Jewish people, which led to the killing thousands of innocent people. Nonbelievers would find religion, while the religious would leave it.

Negative impacts on our world today can include, but aren't limited to, massive amounts of death. This slowed the growth of many cities and countries, which if not for the plague, could be alive and immense in knowledge/beauties. With the killing of thousands due to blame, it has made feuds between people that could still have the hatred for persecutions. Positive impacts could be that the Black Death helped the world shape into what it has become. Without the instance, we as people might not be ready for an immense epidemic. Sure they didn't have the technology and vaccinatiosn we do now, but we do have the written experiences of what happened and with that, a little more preparation to handle it. It also helped regulations for trades. Trading during the time period possibly got tougher and was watched to make sure that nothing like this would happen again.

Huns and Goths

Amminaus wrote about the Huns and Goths ten years after the events took place. Ammianus was prejudice toward the Huns and Goths and it was shown in his writings. His writings show sympathy towards the Goths because they were abused by the Roman gernals. The Huns and Goths are raised to be a race of savage beasts from birth. From the first moment when they exit the womb the baby Huns are marked with an iron so that instead of hair they have scars. The Huns believe it is best to grow up without beauty but rather to be a beast at sight. The Huns are enormous and have short legs so that people might just believe they are a beast or monster of some sort. The Huns do not care about the flavor of the food nor do they use fire to cook it. They would rather eat their food raw and the place the food between their thighs to warm it up a little bit. It seems that the Huns don't care for a life of luxury they rather live like a wild animal in the jungle. They do not sleep under a roof or even on a bed they sleep on their horse which does not seem very comfortable. The Huns live a life that most of us today would not even dream of and I don't mean that in a good way they finally decided to come out of the mountains and take over the lands of the Goths. The Goths were so afraid of this mention of the barbarians (Huns) taking over like a "whirlwind" that most of them fled their homes to find a safe place to hide out. This event was important to know because what if we today were put in a similar situation. We could look back and see what we could do better to handle the situation.

Feudalism and the Truce of God

Feudalism itself is a form of government developed in the time after the Roman Empire. This method of ruling enables weaker leaders to retain control over their land by contracting it out to others in return for their service to the king. This government structure is great for situations like the one that developed during the middle ages where there weren't the countries that we see today, but groups of allied kings that ruled over smaller areas. However, even though it is often classified as a type of government, the concept of Feudalism doesn't dictate in any way the way these kingdoms are ruled. Instead it simply provides a way for rulers to attain and retain power.

This type of rule is very good in theory, but it is one that requires good enforcement of the oath taken by the subjects who have pledged allegiance to the king. Without guidelines, the king would not be able to defend his land or even summon his army when he called on it. It is because of that oversight that rulers implemented laws for the lords and vassals to follow. One set of laws was brought forth by the Catholic church and is called the Truce of God.

The Truce of God was a set of rules designed primarily to prevent conflict on certain days of the year. In addition to providing new laws for people to abide by, it also provided punishments for those that would violate the law. These rules and regulations  dealt mostly with the carry and use of a weapon on Sundays and various holy days such as Lent and it was eventually amended to include Fridays as well. The idea behind creating this Truce of God was to keep Christians from fighting each other and more importantly, to keep knights from violent acts as much as possible. If one of the codes were broken though, the Truce of God contained the information needed to carry out a fitting punishment for the crime and goes so far as to tell who would be the one to implement the punishment as well. It's safe to say that without this code of ethics and the addition of many others, Feudalism may not have lasted in the middle ages. 

The Holy Kaaba

The Kaaba is a cube shaped building located in Mecca, Saudi Arabia. The Kaaba is the holiest location in the Muslim faith. The building is thought to be more than two thousand years old. A mosque, called Masjid al-Haram, was built around the Kaaba. All Muslins are supposed to make a pilgrimage to the Kaaba at least once during their lifetime, also when Muslins pray they must face toward the Kaaba.

The Kaaba was built using granite from the hills surrounding Mecca. In the eastern corner of the Kaaba is the “black stone”. The black stone is believed to be a meteorite that has been around since the time of Adam and Eve. Some pilgrims attempt to kiss the stone as Muhammad did when he founded the religion of Islam. When Muhammad founded Islam he made the Kaaba the central point.

The Kaaba is still maintained to this day. The cloth surrounding the Kaaba is replaced once a year. The black stone and the marble base are sprayed with scented oils. Each year thousands of pilgrims flock to the Kaaba to worship and prove their faith to Islam and Allah.

A 3-D view of the Kaaba can be found here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=40SNX5wLntU.

The Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres

The article is contained in the dedication or preface of Copernicus’ book, The Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres. Copernicus was trying to explain to the Pope, Paul III, that what he states in the book is not heresy nor is he trying denounce the Bible in any way. He states that his theory that the sun is the center of the universe and the Bible can coexist, because it doesn’t change the ideas of the church merely the idea that the Earth is the center of the universe.

This document written by Nicolaus Copernicus was important because it was a major event that in the astronomy world. Until that time most scientists believed in the Ptolemaic idea that the Earth was the center of the universe with the elements: earth, water, fire and air around the Earth. This theory also believed that the sun and stars oppositely rotated around the sun in a twenty-four hour period which explained night and day. The only problem with the theory is that it lacked an explanation for the elliptical orbit. Copernicus’ idea had an explanation for all of these mysteries. The large problem is that in the day the document was written, religion and science went hand in hand and the Earth at the center explained that heaven was beyond the planets.

The Revolution of the Heavenly Spheres impacted our world because it is the basis of Copernicanism, belief that the sun is the center of the universe, which we hold as truth to this day. Though Copernicus did not get wide acceptance for his work mainly because it was too technical for most people to understand; it paved the way for others like Tycho Brahe, Johannes Kepler and Galileo Galilei who eventually gained widespread support for Copernicanism.

The English Bill of Rights (1689)

After the Parliament overthrew and beheaded King Charles I, it did a bit of experimentation to rule England as a republic. Ultimately, England asked the Dutch ruler William of Orange to become the new king. However, before this came about, the Parliament wanted some reassurances about what life would be like under the new king and so they crafted the English Bill of Rights.

The document is important in that it is a very early statement that the king is no longer to be considered divine and omni-powerful. The powers of the monarch are curtailed greatly and the powers of the Parliament to make or approve the laws of the land are detailed. It also states that the populace can retain arms. Also, the members of Parliament cannot be persecuted for actions taken in Parliament and that the election to the Parliament is to be free. It further goes on to state that an army kept inside the kingdom without the consent of Parliament in a time of peace is illegal. It is important in that the rights of citizens are not to be curtailed by the capricious nature of a king.

The document had a great impact on the writers of the American Constitution some 100 years later. In fact, article 10 of the American Bill of Rights is virtually a word for word copy of the tenth article of the English bill of rights: “Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.” The founding fathers undoubtedly used much of this document to make our constituion.