Axis Age/Golden Age in Greece

Hey there everyone, I’m here with Pericles today and we’re gonna ask him some questions.

Q: Can you give a brief description of yourself?

A:  I was born 495 BC into an aristocratic Athenian family.  My father, Xanthippus was an Athenian politician and a great general in the Persian Wars.    My mother’s name was Agariste.  And she was the neice of Cleisthenes of Athens, a former leader of the Athens who gave citizens more opportunites to participate in government.  I grew up being well educated, which was necessary since I was interested in politics.  I died in 429 from a plague:(

Q: How’d you gain power?

A: In 463, there was  conflict between Cimon and Ephialtes for a while.  Cimon was a general who was the most powerful politican at the time and an aristocrat who watned peace with Sparta.  Ephialtes was the leader of a group known as the democrates.  I sided with Ephialtles.  Ephialtes was assassinated and Cimon exiled. The democrats were left in power, and I soon became their new leader.

Q: I heard about how there was a golden age in Greece and the Athens under your power.  Can you explain?

A:  Oh yes, there was a direct democracy.  The citizens could participate directly in everyday affairs of government.  I believed anyone, no matter what kind of money they have, should be able to being involved in government.  So I created this thing called stipend where Athens paid a fixed salary to men who participated in the Assembly ad its governing council.  This allowed poor men to serve in government.  Athenians also served on juries.  There was this other thing called ostracism where a person that seemed a threat to our democracy could be banished by vote for about 10 years.  Culture was great too!  I directed the rebuilding of the Acropolis (which the Persians destroyed during the Persian Wars, darn those Persians)  Athens became the cultural center of Greece from all the arts, dramatic competitions, and building projects we had. From those building projects, jobs opened up for  Athenian artists, sculptors, architects, and laborers.  There was also great science and philosphy:)

Q: Anything else you’d like to say?

A:  All in all, from my wise and skillful leadership, our economy was better than ever, government became more democratic, and culture flourished.  There was a golden age for the Athens under my rule from 460 to 429 BC with great science and philosopy.

“Pericles.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/

“Pericles.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. <http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/&gt;

Alexander the Great

 

Hey there Mr.Great!  I’m gonna ask you some questions today, and I hope you won’t mind.

Q: So Mr.Great, when were you born and when did you die?

A: Well, I was born in 356 BC, son of  Philip II, the king of Macedonia, and Olympias of Epirus.  I was lucky to have the great philosopher Aristotle as my teacher when father invited him to the Macedonian court in 342.  Unfortunately, my father was assassinated in 336, and I was to become king. I died 323 BC.  I was ill for several days before dying in the city of Babylon on June 13. Sorry for the long drawn out answer, I’m quite intense.

Q: Thats quite alright.  Anyways, are there any major conquests you’ve had?

A: Actually, yes.  Yes indeed!  I’ve been known for never losing a conquest.  Well in 334,  my army (which was pretty small) and I crossed the Dardanelles into Asian Minor.  The Persian Army of Asia Minor assembled to  fight and on the east bank of the Granicus River.  I led my army through the river into the Persian line, and us Macedonians were victorious. I was pretty happy because winning the Battle of Granicus, I established myself as a great commander.  We also won the Battle of Issus.  The Persians sued for peace, but I refused.  Appartently historians have seen this me having an intent to march deep into Persia, which I guess is pretty true.  I continued south into Egypt. I then visted the oracle of Amon at Siwa in 331, for some reason the people called me pharoah.  We had several successes after, and at the Battle of Gaugamela, we defeated King Darius III and his army once again.  The Persian Empire was destroyed! We defeated Persia at Arbela in 331 AD! OMG! I was so ecstatic!

Q: That’s astounding!  Anything else you want to say? About culture, life in general?

A: Ahh yes!  Which brings me to the time when I took my army all the way to the Indus.  Another awesome victory for us!  After that my army nagged me to return, so I did. Along the way, I founded some cities which helped me to spread Greek culture. My army and I traveled with scientists and men of the liberal arts to try to spread Greek thought across the known world.  In 324 in Babylonia, a lot of peeps started hatin on me.  I guess people didn’t like me adopting some Persian ways. 

Q: Oh, I’m sorry about that.  Well that about does it for this interview, any last things you’d like to say?

A: Well I’m gonna do some braggin here, not to be arrogant.  I’m just kinda gonna give you a recap on me.  So… I’d consider myself pretty important for my military accomplishments and impressive for my conquests. I spread Greek culture too!  During my reign you could say a new era arose, one in which Greek culture spread to new areas. The Hellenistic culture:)

“Alexander the Great.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. <http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/&gt;

Julius Caeser/Fall of the Roman Republic

Ayyyy! It’s my man Julius!  Ready for the interview Julius?  Okay let’s get started!

Q: Can you tell me about your childhood?

A: I was born in 100 BC, son of a noble patrician family.   My childhood was filled with political turmoil.  I spent some time studying in Asia Minor before starting my military and political career.

Q: How’d you distinguish yourself?

A: I returned to Rome in 73 B.C. to assume the duties of a pontifex (an important Roman priest) and then worked my way up to become a military commander.  Me and my man Pompey dominated Roman politics.

Q: What did you do during your lifetime?

A: In 58 BC, me and my army went out to make some conquests.  You know how it is.  And what was pretty cool was we conquered Gaul (modern day France and Belgium) after 9 years of fighting.  Pompey was jealous of me and scared that I people would think I’m better than him (which I am!), so he told the senate to make me break up my army.  Of course I said no!  Then I crossed the Rubicon River to enter Rome (which was against the law but whatevs).  Civil war erupted across Rome.  I then killed Pompey and his supporters for control of Rome.  Then, I forced the senate to make me dictator for life!  I maintained the senate and other features of the republic, but i was the absolute ruler of Rome.

Q: What kind of things did you do when in control?

A: Well between 48 BC and 44 BC, I made a bunch of reforms.  I made a program to give jobless people jobs and public land to the poor, I reorganized the government of the provinces and granted Roman citizenship to more people, and I created the Julian calender (which is used today).  

Q: How did you die?

A: Short story short, on March 14, 44 BC, I was killed by senate members by being stabbed to death.  My enemies were worried I would make myself king of Rome and thought this would save the republic. 

Q:What happened after this?

A:Well my death caused Rome to undergo even more civil wars.  My allies Mark Antony and Octavian defeated the senate.  Octavinian defeated Mark Antony in 31 BC and gained power.

Esler, Ellis. Prentice Hall World History. Boston, MA, Glenview, IL, Shoreview, MN, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2009. 158. Print.

Constantine the Great

I’m here with Constantine the Great, and we’re gonna ask him a few questions today.

Q: So how’d you become emperor?

A:In 305 CE, Diocletian was ill, so him and Maximian gave up power. My father, Constantius, became coemperor of the Western Roman Empire, with Galerius ruling the Eastern Roman Empire. In 306, Father died in Britain. Back in Rome, Maxentius took over as coemperor of the west after he died. But the military favored me. I showed everyone that I was to rule the Western Roman empire by defeating Maxentius in 312 at the Battle of Milvian Bridge. I defeated Licinius in 324, the last of the leaders of the Eastern Roman Empire, and became sole ruler of the entire united empire.

Q: Wow!  I’ve heard a lot about this new religion and new capital, can you tell me more?

A:  I attributed my victory at the Battle of Milvian Bridge to the Christian God and stopped the Christian persecutions that happened under preceding Roman rulers. This one Christian historian Eusebius thinks that I saw the sign of the cross in the heavens showing the inscription “In this sign conquer.” This other guy thinks  Jesus of Nazareth came to me in a dream and told me to put the sign of the cross on his soldiers’ shields to ensure victory in the battle.  I was the first Roman emperor to support Christianity openly.  In 313, I issued the Edict of Milan, legalizing Christianity in the empire and people had the freedom to worship.  In 330, I made the new capital Byzantium, renaming it after myself as Constantinople (which continued to be the capital of the powerful Eastern Roman Empire until it was conquered by Muslims in 1453, pretty awesome right?).

Q: Well I think that’s all the time we have for this interview, any last words?

A: I’d just like to make sure you guys know that I restored order to the Roman world and laid the foundation for the empire’s success for centuries to come. During my reign (which lasted until 337), I had important military reforms and introduced many Germans into the Roman military, and I was the first Christian emperor of the Roman empire.  And thats basically the most important things you need to know about me!

“Constantine I.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. <http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/&gt;

“Constantine the Great.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/

Rome sacked/falls to Barbarians

 

Hey, we’re here with THE man who managed to sack Rome!  He’s a barbarian (visogoth to be specific) and his name is Alaric! 

Q: What was the reason for invading Rome?

A: Well around 370 AD, the Huns migrated from central Asia toward eastern Europe.  Us Visogoths crossed into Roman territory for safety. The Roman empire was already in decline from politcal instability and economic problems, so it was pretty easy for us to take over. They tried to fight back in 378 at Adrianople, it was a pity though.  We easily defeated them.

Q: When and what happened when you sacked Rome?

A: In 410, we invaded Italy and went for Rome.  According to tradition, a Roman noblewoman opened the city gates for us.  We entered the city on August 24 and plundered and burned the city for three days, although we spared most of the inhabitants and left the majority of the structures intact. 

Q: What lasting impact to you think you had on the empire?

A: I died shortly after this event,  but I think what happened greatly changed the way the view the Romans had on themselves.  No one had ever succeeded in gaining an entrance to the city for almost 800 years!  Until us!  It left the empire and its people in shock and feeling vulnerable. Rome’s aura of invincibility and permanence was shattered, and the city suffered further assaults in the course of the fifth century. By the end of the century, the Western Roman Empire had disappeared. 

“Alaric.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/

“sack of Rome.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. <http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/&gt;

Battle of Tours

Hey everybody!  Guess what??  We’re gonna have an interview with Charles THE HAMMER Martel!  Wooopie!

Q: Who was it that you fought against during the Battle of Tours?

A: The Muslim moors.

Q: Did anything happen before the Battle of Tours that lead up to it?

A: Yes, the Muslim moors crossed into Spain from North Africa.  They wanted to expand their empire and import their faith in Muhammad.  In a way it was a religious mission to them to bring Islam into new territory.  The Moors thought Europe was an easy target since it was defended by barbarians who fought amongst themselves instead of enemies.  In 730, Moorish general Abd ar-Rahman I defeated southern France, raiding and devasting Aquitaine.  They also attacked Autun and towns along the Rhone River.

Q: So then what happened after that?

A: After taking the riches from southern France, they turned northward, confident that they could take all of France.  But what they didn’t know was I was awaiting them, prepared and ready to fight.  I was commander and chief of the Frankish army.  I knew that we had a harsh rival, so I made sure our army was strong.  I made our countrymen become soldiers of my army.  I needed money to create a successful army, so I took land and property from the Church and used it to finance the development of a well trained army.  On October 10, 732, the Battle of Tours began.  The Moors withdrew and we were victorious.  That’s how I got my nickname Charles “The Hammer” Martel. 

Q: So overall what do you think resulted from your victory at the Battle of Tours?

A: Well, I was credited as the savior of Christianity and Europe.  The victory at Tours ended the raids by Muslims from Spain and helped Charles strengthen his hold on the kingdom. Our victory ended the Muslim raids from Spains and was a great turning point in the history of military technology.

“Battle of Tours.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 6 Nov. 2010. <http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/&gt;

Charlemagne

We’re lucky enough to have the great Charlemagne here with us today?  Thankyou Mr.Charlemagne for spending some of your time with us, it’s highly appreciated.  Now, I will ask you some questions.  This’ll just take a sec…

Q: So, can you tell me a little about yourself?

A: Well first of all, I was born April 2, 742 to Pippin and Bertrada and reigned  768 to 814, king of the Franks and the Holy Roman empire.  Not to mention I was the grandson of Charles the Hammer Martel.

Q: How did you gain reign?

A: Long story short, 768 my father Pippin died, and divided the realm between my brother, Carloman, and I.  It was kinda an unfair split though. First of all my bro’s kingdom was waaaay easier to control than mine.  In mine, people kept revolting (it was so annoying). Though I managed. Second, Carloman didn’t even help me with my dillio!  What kind of a brother is he?  So me and him didn’t really get along well, pretty serious tension (almost on the brink of war!).  Carloman suddenly died in 771, leaving me as the sole Carolingian king. I tried to be friendly with the pope in Rome and helped to defend his territories from invasion. On Christmas Day in 800, Pope Leo III crowned me the emperor in a ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.

Q: Fascinating!  How’d you manage to create a unified Christian empire?

A: I continued my father’s program of conquest over neighboring kingdoms.  I spent a lot of my time fighting muslims in Spain, I subjugated the Lombards in present-day Italy, subdued the rebellious Saxons in present-day Germany, and destroyed the Avars’ power in Eastern Europe. Throughout my life, I ruled nearly all of Christian Western Europe except for the British Isles.  My conquests reunited much of the old western Roman empire.  Not to brag, but my army was pretty pimpin.  Along with that, I tried to spread Christianity.  Missionaries converted many Saxons and Slavs.  Things were kinda getting out of order with the old Franks’ tribal system of government, so I turned to the Roman Catholic Church as a model of the government I wanted. I appointed powerful nobles to rule local regions.

Q: I hear education was a top priority for you, can you explain?

A: Very true.  In my eyes, this was another way to unify my kingdom.  I wanted my officials to keep accurate records and write clear reports.  I revived Latin learning in my empire and created local schools.

Q: Any last comments?

A: After my death, my empire didn’t remain intact.  But, I believe I  was a lasting model for future European kings, extended the Christian civilization into northern Europe, and blended Germanic, Roman, and Christian traditions more.

“Charlemagne and the Carolingian Renaissance (Overview).” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/

“Charlemagne.” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 3 Nov. 2010. <http://ancienthistory.abc-clio.com/&gt;

Great Schism

I am going to have an interview with this man from the Byzantine empire.

Q: Were there any differences between Eastern and Western Europe? 

A: First of all, the Byzantine empire was in Eastern Europe.  Christianity was just as important in our empire as it was in Western Europe.  But, the way we practiced Christianity was pretty different.  In the East, the patriarch had authority and the pope had authority in the West.  Us Byzantine Christians only listened to the patriarch and not the pope.  Byzantine clergy were allowed to marry while priests in Western Europe were not.  Greek is our language and Latin was the language for the West. 

Q: Can you tell me about what happened with the whole thing about icons?

A: There was a dispute over the use of icons (holy images).  We used the images of Jesus, the Virgin Mary, and saints in their worship.  But in the 700s, our emperor said we couldn’t use these icons anymore since he thought it violated God’s commandment against worshiping graven images, and this set off a bunch of battles.  The western pope completely disagreed with our emperors ban and fought too.  The use of icons was eventually restored, but the point is that after this, our emperor was greatly disliked. 

Q: Can you tell me about the Great Schism?

A: Basically everything I said previously and some other controversies lead to a schism (split) between the eastern and western Christianity, which is called the Great Schism (1054).  We became known as the Eastern, or Greek, Orthodox Church and the west became known as the Roman Catholic Church.  The pope and the patriarch both excommunicated eachother.  We became rivals after this.

Esler, Ellis. Prentice Hall World History. Boston, MA, Glenview, IL, Shoreview, MN, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2009. 286. Print.

William the Conqueror

Sup Will, can I call you that?  No?  Oh…okay.  Well then let’s start this thing.

Q: When and where were you born?

A: I was born 1027 AD in Falaise, France and died September 9, 1087 (just thought I’d throw that in there).

Q: So how’d you gain rule?

A: Well in 1066, King Edward died without an heir and a council of nobles chose Harold (who was Edward’s brother-in-law) to rule.  I was not happy when I heard this because I too am related to Edward and claimed the throne.  It was up to war to decide who was to rule!  And you know how it is, I got the Pope on my side and got myself an army.  We sailed across the English Channel to England and defeated Harold at the Battle of Hastings!  I was then crowned king of England on Christmas day 1066.  From this, I acquired the name William “the Conqueror.”

Q: How’d you manage to control over your kingdom?

A:  I did many things like granted fiefs to Norman lords and to the Church, although I kept some land for myself, I monitored castles, and made all vassals swear allegiance to me.  I wanted to learn more about the land that I gained rule over, so I issued a census in 1086 and outcame all the numbers for every castle, field, and pigpens in England.  All of these numbers were contained in a book I’d like to call the DOOMSDAY BOOK. DUN DUN DUNNNN.  This book helped me to create a nice tax system.

Esler, Ellis. Prentice Hall World History. Boston, MA, Glenview, IL, Shoreview, MN, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2009. 245. Print.

Crusades

Hey there, we’re here with Pope Urban II today and we’re gonna have an interview about the crusades!

Q: What was the reason you launched the first crusade?

A: In 638 CE, Arabs captured the city of Jerusalem, and us European Christians went on pilgrammages there because it was our Holy Land (we believed Jesus lived and preached there).  These Arabs were okay with us making the pilgrammages.  But in 1071, the Seljuk Turks migrated from Central Asia into they Middle East and gained control of the city and weren’t cool with us making the pilgrammages.  Plus, they invaded the Byzantine empire and threatened them.  The  Byzantine emperor Alexius I asked me to help them fight the Muslim Turks.  Even though we were rivals, I agreed.  On 1096, I launched the first crusade to recapture the Holy Land.

Q: What happened after that?

A: The first crusade was the only time we came close to achieving our goal.  We captured Jerusalem in 1099.  The crusades continued for 200 years.  We divided our lands into 4 small states called crusader states which the Muslims kept trying to destroy.  But in 1187, the stupid Muslims took Jerusalem back under Saladin.  All the other crusades we failed in taking Jerusalem back.

Q: What was the impact of the Crusades?

A: The returning crusaders brought back a bunch of stuff from the Middle East, including fabrics, spices, and perfumes.  Trade increased and expanded.  The crusades also encourage the growth of a money economy and increased power for the monarchs.  From the crusades, we learned the world was so much bigger than we thought.

Esler, Ellis. Prentice Hall World History. Boston, MA, Glenview, IL, Shoreview, MN, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, 2009. 255-259. Print.

“The Crusades (Overview).” World History: Ancient and Medieval Eras. ABC-CLIO, 2010. Web. 12 Nov. 2010.

PS: We’ve still got 2 more interviews left!  The Magna Carta and Columbus leaves Spain!  Just click to the next page!