Vladimir of Kiev's Acceptance of Christianity

Vladimir ruler of Russes, or what is today Russia, was confused as to which countries religion to follow. He had been approached by Bulgarians, Germans, Jews, and then Greeks. Each claiming their religion to be the rightful one. Each religion was different in their own way, the Bulgarians worshiped in a temple called mosque where they would bow to different unknown Gods and practiced unique rituals, but none had the sense, peace or happiness. What was found in those Bulgarian’s faces was sadness. The Germans offered great performances, acts, and shows. Their ceremonies were rich, but they didn’t give off that fulfillment either. On the other hand, the Greeks offered something different. A religion full of splendor, where in beautiful and magical buildings you felt and saw God.

Unable to decide without knowing each religion in depth, he sent out ten wise men, as emissaries, to arrive at each country and view how they practice their faith. These emissaries were astonished with the Greek faith and its glory. They immediately returned and told Vladimir how beautiful and perfect it was. Vladimir of Kiev, decided to take his army and takeover of Kherson, a city in Greece. Vladimir warned Basil and Constantine that he wanted their unwedded sister’s hand in marriage. Basil and Constantine were taken by surprise and responded that, “they couldn’t give their sister’s hand in marriage to someone who was pagan, or someone that didn’t believe in their God or follow their faith.” The only way he could have her, and their kingdom was to accept their faith, and baptized into Christianity.

Vladimir, who at the time suffered from a disease that made him lose his sight, agreed to be baptized with Anna, Princess of Greece, he went with her priests and was baptized. She said her God, could cure any disease, and Vladimir said that if it were true, and he were cured, that would be his almighty God. Once baptized, he regained his sight, and knew at once that he had found the one true God.

Once he returned to his capital, he ordered all of the pagans (Idols) be destroyed. He had Perun, the highest Slavic God, tied to a horse’s tail, and dragged to a river where he was to be thrown in. Those that had not yet been baptized cried over those Idols being destroyed. Later, they were ordered to obey, and accept the new religion by being baptized in a river, and they knew Vladimir had accepted it because it was for a good reason. Vladimir was satisfied with having his vassals and people accept the Greek God, and offered those help, food, and treasures in his castle. Those that couldn’t manage to reach the castle for illnesses, disability or weakness, were helped as well. He had wagons full of food go throughout the towns, taking goods to individuals who were unable to reach the palace. Vladimir of Kiev died a great ruler, and firm believer in Christianity.

The Divine Rights of Kings

"Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he."-Proverbs 29:18

Complacency has

no place here,

I will put blessings

in your heart lest no fear.

With him "fearful desolation"

abides in your presence,

walk with me, I'll show you

unconditional faithfulness.

You wanted a king

so far, so near,

but you'll come crawling

back just to hear

"I warned you of that man

so wicked and corrupt,"

as I'll turn my shoulder

with your face staring up.

You didn't believe he had

nothing to offer your people,

when all along eyes should've

been focused on the steeple.

But you still have a chance

to crown me as your king,

you'll learn that all I have

to offer is your everything!

The Second Letter of Cortez to King Charles V of Spain

Hernan Cortez was a Spanish conquistador that was one of the first to successfully pierce Mexico bringing an end to the Aztec empire and paved the way for Spanish colonization of Mexico. As Cortez blazed his path of conquest, he wrote letters to King Charles the V of Spain. This second letter that Cortez wrote to King Charles describes his efforts to keep his men from deserting him and how he managed to divide and conquer the native tribes of Mexico, all in the name of Christianity and the for the King of Spain.

Hernan Cortez’s motivation was in his desire to win favor with King Charles the V and obtain royal favor. While Cortez desired to obtain royal favor, he also truly desired to spread Christianity to the native peoples of Mexico. In this letter, that Cortez writes to the King it is obvious that he feels as if the weight of the fight and the journey is all upon him. In the text, he describes to the King how, “I attacked two towns…”, “I took them by surprise…”, “I left them pacified…” His narrative to King Charles describes a man that has conquered an entire land on his own. He laments to the King that his men wanted to leave him and abandon him. Only at Cortez's urging that God was on Spain's side and that nothing was impossible to God was Cortez able to persuade his men to continue on to complete their conquest. Cortez used the fact that he was doing God’s work as justification to destroy and take what he wanted. He claimed to be doing it for the spread of Christianity and for his king. Cortez was able to conquer and take control of ancient people in their own land. He was able to convince these people that they had brought the killing and torture of their own people upon themselves by not submitting to Christianity immediately.

Much of Cortez’s success was due to the religious beliefs of the time period and the need of countries and peoples to obtain land and wealth. Many people today commit acts in the name of their country and God that are unspeakable and intolerable. To this end, our world is much the same in this day and time in that religion and acquisition of lands drives our behavior in how we treat other peoples.

http://library.thinkquest.org/4034/cortes.html

Thucydides on Athens

THUCYDIDES

In 460 B.C.E., a general named Thucydides was born. He became

a Greek historian who wrote the History of the Peloponnesian War, in

which he participated. This war between the Spartans and the Athenians

occurred from 431B.C.E to 404B.C.E. Being that Thucydides was an

Athenian aristocrat, he was exiled by the democracy because of the failed

attempt to keep Athenians from losing against the Spartans. Soon after

this incident, he continued to gather and analyze evidence of what was

happening at that time. He focused on the principle of cause and effect.

Due to his rationalization, he was considered the father of “scientific history.”

Thucydides had a strong interest in studying human nature to better his

knowledge of behavior.
In our society today, some people do not realize the importance

of history. Thucydides acknowledges that human nature is unchanging,

meaning that events that have happened in the past will likely reoccur in

the future. In his analysis, it is not the gods who are entirely responsible

for people’s downfalls, but it is the people themselves. He felt that humans

are never satisfied and always seem to want more. They are eventually

defeated by this form of greed and blame the gods instead of taking
responsibility for their actions.
Developing an understanding of Thucydides’s thoughts brings us to

the point that he was an intellectual man who believed that Athenians

were their own worst enemy. Athens was prosperous in the beginning, but

because of bad decisions, on the part of the leaders, it came to a crash.

Even though some one can tell us how to prevent a situation, does not

mean that we will abide by the certain warning.

Leonardo Da Vinci

The Italian renaissance was filled with amazing artists and men of genius. One of these men was Leonardo Da Vinci, son of Ser Piero Da Vinci. He was not only a wonderful artist but also a scientist and an inventor. Even in his own time he was widely known and respected and has continued to be for generations. Some people have said he did not create with his own hand but with the hand of God. He was an amazing painter who could master any subject no matter how difficult. He gave meaning to the term “Renaissance Man”.

It is important to learn about Leonardo Da Vinci and the renaissance; in order to learn what inspired him to create some of the most influential works of art in history, as well as, learn about the facts. Most important is the great deal of techniques and inventions that Leonardo and the other great people of that time came up with; which we still use today.

His techniques and inventions have made a great impact on the modern world. You may know that Leonardo was an architect and an engineer. However, did you know he invented tanks, cannons, a parachute, and even the helicopter? He created the basis of modern day technology. He also opened the door for magnificent advances in art. For instance, the Mona Lisa, which is one of the most treasured works of art in the world today. His amazing life has led to the creation of numerous documentaries about his life and work. There is no denying that Leonardo was one of the most intelligent and influential people the world has ever seen.

Aristotle on Slavery

Aristotle believed in something called “Natural Slavery” meaning he believed that some people were naturally meant to be masters and others to be slaves. Aristotle also believed that there were several things that one should consider about slaves. 1.) Slaves are only concerned with 3 things, work, food, and punishment. 2.) Even though they are slaves they still have needs and should be taken care of. 3.) Slaves should be offered a goal to keep them motivated. Some might wonder how Aristotle’s theory on Natural Slavery is still relevant today, it’s because to an extent we today are still slaves. When at work there is an Employer and Employee(s), ( Master and Slave(s) ) the employees all report to the employer and are given task(s), most employees are obedient and do as they are without question. They all concern themselves with work, food (lunch hour), and punishment (getting fired, docked pay, etc.). And like some slaves employees are offered a goal to work toward (a promotion, or paycheck.)

Greek Version)

Αριστοτέλης πίστευε σε κάτι που ονομάζεται  Natural Slavery  έννοια πίστευε ότι μερικοί άνθρωποι ήταν φυσικό να είναι πλοιάρχων και άλλες να είναι σκλάβοι. Επίσης, ο Αριστοτέλης πίστευε ότι υπήρχαν πολλά πράγματα που θα πρέπει να ληφθεί υπόψη σχετικά με σκλάβους. 1.) Σκλάβοι είναι μόνο με 3 πράγματα, εργασία, τρόφιμα, και η τιμωρία. 2.) Ακόμη και αν είναι οι σκλάβοι που εξακολουθούν να έχουν ανάγκες και πρέπει να ληφθεί μέριμνα. 3.) Σκλάβοι πρέπει να προσφέρεται ως στόχο να κρατήσει τους κίνητρα. Κάποιοι θα αναρωτιούνται πώς Aristotle  s θεωρία για το Φυσικό δουλεία εξακολουθεί να είναι σήμερα, It  s γιατί σε βαθμό που σήμερα εξακολουθούν να είναι σκλάβοι. Όταν κατά την εργασία υπάρχει εργοδότη και εργαζομένου (-ων), (Master και Slave (s)) όλοι οι εργαζόμενοι στην έκθεση του εργοδότη και έχουν καθήκον (ες), οι περισσότεροι εργαζόμενοι είναι υπάκουοι και να κάνουν ό, τι δεν ερώτημα. Όλοι ασχολούνται με την εργασία, τροφή (γεύμα ώρα), και η τιμωρία (να απολυθούν, σταθερή αμοιβή, κλπ). Και σαν σκλάβους εργαζόμενους προσφέρονται στόχο να εργαστούν προς την κατεύθυνση (μια προώθηση, ή εκκαθαριστικό σημείωμα.)

Marco Polo and the Mongols

Marco Polo on Chinese Society Under the Mongol Rule
Translated by W. Marsden and rendered into modern English by A.J. Andrea

Typically when one thinks of Marco Polo one thinks of a great explorer who went to many distance lands to bring back secrets untold. Marco Polo was indeed a talented person for as a linguist he was able to learn in detail multiple languages. His father was a trader that traveled to new and adventurous lands. Through this travel Polo was able to become part of distant courts, meet high ranking rulers and gather wisdom and riches of these lands. Polo reportedly kept extensive journals of his travels and peoples he encountered. Though these journals have came under suspicion in both past and present day as to the validity of his travels to China, Polo did leave interesting information on the Mongols and Turks.
As Polo writes it is not hard to realize he had a kind of admiration for the Mongols. He writes of the richness of the people, how the well off are dressed in silks and furs. The men have multiple marriages, yet maintain a content household. He seemed to admire how the men’s households are enriched by the thriftiness of the wives. Polo also wrote of the ceremonies associated with the passing of a Khan. Polo goes on to tell of how fierce the people are as warriors and how they were able to be mobile so they could invade and control distant lands.
The Mongols were a band of roving horsemen that became highly skilled warriors to control the best grazing lands for their livestock. The Mongols were able to become successful in their invasions under the rule of Genghis Khan. According to our text, The West, Genghis was able to unite the quarreling tribes under his rule and sweep through other societies to become one of the most extensive empire in the history of the world. The Mongols were able to become such a force because of their mobility and the cavalry tactics they used in battle. The Mongols are also to only force that were able to launch a successful winter campaign against Russia. The Mongols started to loose power when their reputation to be invincible was lost in a defeat against Syria. The tribes started to fall apart as there was much contention to become the Khan and the Mongols were never able to recapture the glory of the empire again as in Genghis’ days.




When Genghis was alive he promoted the trade routes that cross his lands. Once he conquered a new territory he established Mongol Peace and promoted the trade routes. After his death though with the internal turmoil between the tribes, one had to feel a little uncomfortable or wary to travel the caravans that took the trades cross land. One leader by the name of Tamerlane had victories that equaled Genghis’ but his troops pillaged the rich cities along the trade routes causing the rest of the Western civilization to look for safe trade routes to China.


So how did all of this effect the west? If the Mongols had not virtually stopped trade the West would have not started looking for safer trade routes. Christopher Columbus went in search of a sea route to the Indies for gold and spices. Once Columbus came back from his expedition without falling off of the map and finding new land that no one had even thought had existed, it set others in search of places to either provide safe trade routes, provide slaves, produce crops, pillage for spices and gold, or be colonized for the land in which the explorer came. So the Mongols had inadvertently set into motion the settlement, of far distant lands.