Crusades of the Early Eras

Nicholas R. Davis
HIS 101-03
10/23/2013

Crusades

They were many kinds of crusades but most of them deal with a religion as an excuse. These crusades that are mentioned will be about Christianity. Also of the last crusade which was to many the worst of them. I believe that even during this time period there were those who strived for power and wealth and during these crusades they were able to do things that they would not have been allowed, for example they were cases of some soldiers who performed adultery (having sex with another woman that is not ones wife) and they were told that their sins were gone. Though they were not many cases that have been proven but they were still those that were even if it was a small number. These crusades were for the lord (God) that they believed; they were trying to gain the land that was sacred to them regardless of what would happen they would even pillage towns and kill those they suspect that did not believe in their religion.

Going in order, I believe during the first crusade the Pope during that time wanted to reclaim the land which was sacred to them, which was Jerusalem and it is also a holy place for Muslims to. During this crusade they took a long way, the reason behind this is so the soldiers could kill the Jews and Muslims because they did not view God the same way as they do. So under the Pope they used this power to kill those that, maybe, did not have anything to do with this crusade all together.  Though this crusade was started by the Pope, he did not attend but he did however appointed people to lead the armies. It is needless to say that after this crusade ended they won back their sacred land but soon after they lose it again.

The second crusade took place between 1147 and 1149. Unlike the First Crusade, which was led by counts and dukes, the Second Crusade was led by a man named St. Bernard. It was to my amazement that when I discovered the Second Crusade had very little amount of organization and planning involved. During this crusade they failed to reclaim land that was lost.

The third crusade, I did not really care for much because to me it all seemed like humans were just going insane, trying to get something.

The last crusade dealed with only farmers and workers, they wanted to gain not land but just material things they marched in cities and killed the citizens for no “supposedly” righteous reason like all the others had done. This crusade was very morbid in the thought that a revolt of like a lower class (farmers and such) because they got tired of living the way they did.

All in all these crusades were in my opinion was pointless.

Jesus of Nazareth

Nicholas Davis

His 101-03

October 1, 2013

 

Even If you are not religious it is quite likely you have heard of the name Jesus. There are many different religions in the world today, and not really surprising Christianity is one of the most being followed since all of the crusades that was done throughout humanity. Most of us in America know about this religion and we know the at least the minimum.

It came as a shock to have found out that what I learned of Jesus in the past was a little wrong. I was taught that Jesus was born within his century (C.E.) but now he was born in 4 B.C.E.? It will be hard to get that down and remember it but I am glad and also confused by this information. However, after reading further ahead in history I began to understand his life and career. I knew that Jesus of Nazareth produced miraculous healings but to find out that he also did exorcisms as well, that is amazing. He began his career as a teacher and healer during the reign of Tiberius, a Roman emperor. He first started out as telling the ways of Christianity and about his god which is all-loving. He taught many things to the people for instance, he taught them the basic meaning of humbleness. His passion brought those who were in need of a religion that they did not have to be afraid. What made a big uproar in the Christian and Roman community was when Jesus was crucified on a cross for blasphemy and later on he was found alive and well, this gave the people of eternally living after death.

Jesus introduced an entirely different ideology to the Roman public. Romans only knew that their gods influenced if they would prosper or not and if they did not pleased their gods, it is a possibility in them being punished by the gods. People wanted to believe in this kind of god because it gave them hope, an all-loving and forgiving god whom cherishes everyone. Jesus gave hope to those people that wished for a sort of paradise. Jesus was so passionate about what he believed in the people wanted to gain the same type of passion.

Socrates and His Favorite Student

By: Nicholas R. Davis

 

Socrates lived in Athens, Greece from 469-399. He was one of the most famous philosophers during his time. It was around the time of the war with Sparta that Socrates became famous. Socrates believed in reincarnation of an eternal soul which contained all knowledge. He devoted his life questioning people about their beliefs, way of life and in justice or injustice. Socrates never wrote any of his ideas down because he did not need to. Though his students did take notes and in return for what they learned, they made sure he was taken care of for the rest of his life. Socrates had attempted to teach younger people of Athens of his philosophies and values. With that it created a problem. The leaders of Athens viewed Socrates’ teachings of political and religious values as unorthodox. As you could tell he was not a liked philosopher. This was because of his ways taught people to question everything around them be it there teachers even their parents and with that it angered them. What was pretty strange about Socrates is that he never done labor to earn a living, nor participate voluntarily in affairs of state. Instead of making a living through labor and such he embraced poverty. He even refused the money that people were offering for him teaching.

One of Socrates students was Plato, his best student during all his time. Plato was born in Athens in 428 or 427. When he was around the age of twenty he started to take an interest in the teachings of Socrates and devoted himself to it. When Plato was about 25 years old, Socrates was tried and executed by the leaders of Athens. Socrates was forced to poison himself. He was soon captured by pirates, wandering around the Mediterranean area. When he bought his freedom from them, he opened a school called Academy, which was founded in 386. This was also the first school of its time to permit women to attend. Here the students studied mathematics, astronomy, and philosophy and other subjects but mainly these three. In time it became the Greek center of learning and for many years to come. With the knowledge that he learned from Socrates before he was executed, Plato taught philosophy the same way to his students. Plato took the notes that he took from Socrates’ teachings and then turned them into a famous book known as the Dialogues. The Dialogues were basically Socrates words put on paper. Plato spent the rest of his life teaching and filling the minds of the young people with his ideas. In time even Plato had a student which was by the name of Aristotle. Aristotle was Plato’s prized student, just as Plato had been for Socrates. The difference in them is that Aristotle disagreed in many ways with Plato but he still respected his values and beliefs.

 

 

 

Cited:

http://www.sacred-texts.com/cla/plato/

Western History Concise edition

The Ancient City of Athos

It takes quite some time to make a city-state; much less the government that goes along it. Greek had done so more than once. After the Greek dark ages, the villages started to band together, they were called city-states also known as polis. In time hundreds of city-states had formed in Greece.

Argos was the second oldest city of Ancient Greece; it was located in the northeast part of the Peloponnese. Argos was founded by Phoroneus, but the mythological founder of Argos was Argos, son of Zeus and Niobe, the first mortal lover of Zeus. Argos was occupied from the early Bronze Age also it was near a harbor which gave them fish and other resources. The civilians that lived in and around Argos are known as Argives. It was even mentioned in Homer’s Illiad as the kingdom of Diomed. Argos’ goddess was Hera, wife of Zeus. Argos was the center of Argolis and in the 7th cent. , under King Pheidon, who dominated much of the Peloponnesus. For a long time it was up with Sparta, Athens and even Corinth struggling as a powerful Greek city against each other. Their power disappeared after Cleomenes I of Sparta took the city. The city joined the Achaean League in 229 and soon later was taken by Rome. Under Rome's rule trade flourished.

 

 

Work citied:

http://www.religionfacts.com/greco-roman/places/argos.htm

http://www.ancient.eu.com/argos/

Text Book