Question: Describe the importance of water in the ancient world. (from Twitter)
Thesis: Water is an element necessary for human life, and not only was it used to drink by every human being on earth, but it was used for many other necessary practices.
Primary Source #1:
"Hail to thee, O Nile! Who manifests thyself over this land, and comes to give life to Egypt! Mysterious is thy issuing forth from the darkness, on this day whereon it is celebrated! Watering the orchards created by Re, to cause all the cattle to live, you give the earth to drink, inexhaustible one! Path that descends from the sky, loving the bread of Seb and the first-fruits of Nepera, You cause the workshops of Ptah to prosper!
Lord of the fish, during the inundation, no bird alights on the crops. You create the grain, you bring forth the barley, assuring perpetuity to the temples. If you cease your toil and your work, then all that exists is in anguish. If the gods suffer in heaven, then the faces of men waste away."
Hymn to the Nile, c. 2100 BCE.
Primary Source #2:
"The preceding aqueducts, however, have all been surpassed by the costly work which has more recently been completed by the Emperors Gaius [Caligula] and Claudius. Under these princes the Curtian and the Caerulean Waters with the "New Anio" were brought a distance of forty miles, and at so high a level that all the hills---whereon Rome is built---were supplied with water. The sum expended on these works was 350,000,000 sesterces. If we take into account the abundant supply of water to the public, for baths, ponds, canals, household purposes, gardens, places in the suburbs and country houses, and then reflect upon the distances that are traversed from the sources on the hills, the arches that have been constructed, the mountains pierced, the valleys leveled, we must perforce admit that there is nothing more worthy of our admiration throughout the whole universe."
Pliny the Elder (23/4-79 CE): The Grandeur of Rome, c. 75 CE from Natural History
Primary Source #3:
"108: If a tavern-keeper (feminine) does not accept corn according to gross weight in payment of drink, but takes money, and the price of the drink is less than that of the corn, she shall be convicted and thrown into the water.
129: If a man's wife be surprised (in flagrante delicto) with another man, both shall be tied and thrown into the water, but the husband may pardon his wife and the king his slaves.
133: If a man is taken prisoner in war, and there is a sustenance in his house, but his wife leave house and court, and go to another house: because this wife did not keep her court, and went to another house, she shall be judicially condemned and thrown into the water.
259: If any one steal a water-wheel from the field, he shall pay five shekels in money to its owner.
260: If any one steal a shadduf (used to draw water from the river or canal) or a plow, he shall pay three shekels in money. "
Mesopotamia: The Code of Hammurabi.
Explanation of Argument:
The Nile is the longest river in the world, and it was very beneficial to those who lived near it. As stated in the primary source, the Nile gave water for their orchards, water to allow the cattle and other animals to live, water to allow fruits to grow, water that supplied them with many fish to eat, and water that allowed the grain to grow. The second source tells about aqueducts, and whoever had the largest aqueducts would be the most admirable. The aqueducts supplied water for baths, ponds, canals, household purposes, gardens, and places in the suburbs and country houses. Lastly, the Code of Hammurabi uses water as a method of punishment for a variety of crimes; therefore without water, the punishments would be inadequate. Also, there are penalties for stealing water wheels and other things used for irrigation.
Question: Considering all of the conflict of the first century BCE, was Rome better off as an 'empire' than as a republic?
Thesis Statement: Rome was better off as a republic because that took away the chaos of wanting to be an emperor, and many other factors that made the government very un-orderly.
Primary Source #1:
"Such, then, if not worse, were the social conditions of Alexandria under the last kings. The Romans, as far as they were able, corrected -- as I have said-many abuses, and established an orderly government -- by setting up vice-governors, nomarchs, and ethnarchs, whose business it was to attend to the details of administration."
Strabo, Geography, c. 22 CE: Egypt under the Roman Empire (XVII.i.52-53, ii.4-5; XVIII.i.12-13:)
Primary Source #2:
Monarchical | Aristocratic | Democratic |
2 Consuls + other magistrates | Senate | Assembly of Tribes Tribune |
Directed government and army Acted as judges Could issue edicts Acted as chief priest | Controlled state budget Could pass laws | Approved/rejected laws Decided on War Tribune could veto actions of magistrate Acted as final court |
Basis of power: possess imperium, the right to rule need for leadership | Basis of power: members were richest men in Rome. | Basis of power: provided most of the soldiers |
Limits on power: one year term each could veto | Limits on power: could not control army needed majority as soldiers. | Limits on power: Could not suggest laws often paid as clients by the elite |
The Roman Republic: Checks and Balances
Primary Source #3:
"As the custom had been subsequently dropped, it was felt to be of sufficient importance to require the appointment of a Dictator. L. Manlius was accordingly nominated, but, regarding his appointment as due to political rather than to religious reasons and eager to command in the war with the Hernici, he caused a very angry feeling among the men liable to serve by the inconsiderate way in which he conducted the enrolment. At last, in consequence of the unanimous resistance offered by the tribunes of the plebs, he gave way, either voluntarily or through compulsion, and laid down his Dictatorship."
Livy: History of Rome, c. 10 CE
Explanation of Argument:
The first primary source tells about why a republic is much better than an empire, and that is is much less chaotic and is much easier to deal with. There are many new positions for government officials to keep the governor on the right track. The second primary source shows the use of checks and balances to make sure that one person does not get too much power. This will help the people be happier, because more of their choices will be heard. Lastly, the third primary source shows an example of a dictator that made the people angry, which was a very common occurrence. One person simply cannot represent and make decisions for so many people without angering too many. This is why having dictators did not work, and the republic was able to better please the people.
Question: Do you think Alexander honestly felt like he was avenging Persian wrongs? Or was that just propaganda to mask his goal of conquest?
Thesis statement: Alexander truly felt like he was avenging Persian wrongs at first, but when he saw what he could do, he became power hungry and began his conquest.
Primary Source #1:
"But if you turn back now, there will remain unconquered many warlike peoples between the Hyphasis and the Eastern Ocean, and many more to the northward and the Hyrcanian Sea, with the Scythians, too, not far away; so that if we withdraw now there is a danger that the territory which we do not yet securely hold may be stirred to revolt by some nation or other we have not yet forced into submission. Should that happen, all that we have done and suffered will have proved fruitless--or we shall be faced with the task of doing it over again from the beginning. Gentlemen of Macedon, and you, my friends and allies, this must not be. Stand firm; for well you know that hardship and danger are the price of glory, and that sweet is the savour of a life of courage and of deathless renown beyond the grave."
Arrian: Speech of Alexander the Great, from The Campaigns of Alexander
Primary Source #2:
Philip and all his court were in great distress for him at first, and a profound silence took place. But when the prince had turned him and brought him straight back, they all received him with loud acclamations, except his father, who wept for joy, and kissing him, said, "Seek another kingdom, my son, that may be worthy of thy abilities; for Macedonia is too small for thee..."
[Philip] sent for Aristotle, the most celebrated and learned of all the philosophers; and the reward he gave him for forming his son Alexander was not only honorable, but remarkable for its propriety. He had formerly dismantled the city of Stagira, where that philosopher was born, and now he re-built it, and reestablished the inhabitants, who had either fled or been reduced to slavery... Aristotle was the man Alexander admired in his younger years, and, as he said himself, he had no less affection for him than for his own father...
[Alexander] was only twenty years old when he succeeded to the crown, and he found the kingdom torn into pieces by dangerous parties and implacable animosities. The barbarous nations, even those that bordered upon Macedonia, could not brook subjection, and they longed for their natural kings... Alexander was of opinion, that the only way to security, and a thorough establishment of his affairs, was to proceed with spirit and magnanimity. For he was persuaded, that if he appeared to abate of his dignity in the least article, he would be universally insulted. He therefore quieted the commotions, and put a stop to the rising wars among the barbarians, by marching with the utmost expediency as far as the Danube, where he fought a great battle..
Plutarch: Selections from the Life of Alexander
Primary Source #3:
"Macedonians, my speech will not be aimed at stopping your urge to return home; as far as I am concerned you may go where you like. But I want you to realize on departing what I have done for you, and what you have done for me. Let me begin, as is right, with my father Philip. He found you wandering about without resources, many of you clothed in sheepskins and pasturing small flocks in the mountains, defending them with difficulty against the Illyrians, Triballians and neighboring Thracians. He gave you cloaks to wear instead of sheepskins, brought you down from the mountains to the plains, and made you a match in war for the neighboring barbarians, owing your safety to your own bravery and no longer to reliance on your mountain strongholds. He made you city dwellers and civilized you with good laws and customs. Those barbarians who used to harrass you and plunder your property, he made you their leaders instead of their slaves and subjects. He annexed much of Thrace to Macedonia, seized the most favorable coastal towns and opened up the country to commerce, and enabled you to exploit your mines undisturbed. He made you governors of the Thessalians, before whom you used to die of fright, humbled the Phocians and so opened a broad and easy path into Greece in place of a narrow and difficult one. The Athenians and Thebans, who were permanently poised to attack Macedonia, he so humbled (and I was now helping him in this task) that instead of you paying tribute to the Athenians and being under the sway of the Thebans, they now in turn had to seek their safety from us. He marched into the Peloponnese and settled matters there too. He was appointed commander-in-chief of all Greece for the campaign against the Persians, but preferred to assign the credit to all the Macedonians rather than just to himself."
Alexander the Great: The Mutiny at Opis.
Explanation of Argument:
The first primary source is a speech by Alexander, showing that he has become power hungry and wants to conquer everything there is to conquer. He states that he is willing to go through all of this for glory, which was not his original intent. The second primary source tells a story of Alexander when he is young, and he makes a bet that he can ride a horse; but no one else thinks he can, because he never has before. He does it, and his father shows him so much love and affection, and Alexander showed that back. When his father was assassinated and Alexander became King, the first thing he did was to get revenge on the Persians for killing his father, but then ended up taking it a little farther. The last primary source is a speech given by Alexander about all that his father has done for them, and reminding them of why they are fighting. When his troops are abut to leave and go home, he reminds them that they are avenging his father's death, and that they loved his father very much.
Question: Were the Vikings Barbarians?
Thesis statement: There were many different views of the Vikings; to some they were barbarians, but to themselves they were just doing what they needed to survive.
Primary source #1:
"Pirates of the Northmen's race came to Nantes, killed the bishop and many of the clergy and laymen, both men and women, and pillaged the city. Thence they set out to plunder the lands of lower Aquitaine. At length they arrived at a certain island [the isle of Rhé, near La Rochelle, north of the mouth of the Garonne], and carried materials thither from the mainland to build themselves houses; and they settled there for the winter, as if that were to be their permanent dwelling-place."
From The Annals of St. Bertin,
Primary source #2:
"The Northmen came to Paris with 700 sailing ships, not counting those of smaller size which are commonly called barques. At one stretch the Seine was lined with the vessels for more than two leagues, so that one might ask in astonishment in what cavern the river had been swallowed up, since it was not to be seen. The second day after the fleet of the Northmen arrived under the walls of the city, Siegfried, who was then king only in name but who was in command of the expedition, came to the dwelling of the illustrious bishop. He bowed his head and said: "Gauzelin, have compassion on yourself and on your flock. We beseech you to listen to us, in order that you may escape death. Allow us only the freedom of the city. We will do no harm and we will see to it that whatever belongs either to you or to Odo shall be strictly respected." Count Odo, who later became king, was then the defender of the city. The bishop replied to Siegfried, "Paris has been entrusted to us by the Emperor Charles, who, after God, king and lord of the powerful, rules over almost all the world. He has put it in our care, not at all that the kingdom may be ruined by our misconduct, but that he may keep it and be assured of its peace. If, like us, you had been given the duty of defending these walls, and if you should have done that which you ask us to do, what treatment do you think you would deserve?" Siegfried replied. "I should deserve that my head be cut off and thrown to the dogs. Nevertheless, if you do not listen to my demand, on the morrow our war machines will destroy you with poisoned arrows. You will be the prey of famine and of pestilence and these evils will renew themselves perpetually every year." So saying, he departed and gathered together his comrades."
From Abbo's Wars of Count Odo with the Northmen in the Reign of Charles the Fat
Primary Source #3:
"The king had at first wished to give to Rollo the province of Flanders, but the Norman rejected it as being too marshy. Rollo refused to kiss the foot of Charles when he received from him the duchy of Normandy. "He who receives such a gift," said the bishops to him, "ought to kiss the foot of the king." "Never," replied he, "will I bend the knee to anyone, or kiss anybody's foot." Nevertheless, impelled by the entreaties of the Franks, he ordered one of his warriors to perform the act in his stead. This man seized the foot of the king and lifted it to his lips, kissing it without bending and so causing the king to tumble over backwards. At that there was a loud burst of laughter and a great commotion in the crowd of onlookers. King Charles, Robert, Duke of the Franks, the counts and magnates, and the bishops and abbots, bound themselves by the oath of the Catholic faith to Rollo, swearing by their lives and their bodies and by the honor of all the kingdom, that he might hold the land and transmit it to his heirs from generation to generation throughout all time to come. When these things had been satisfactorily performed, the king returned in good spirits into his dominion, and Rollo with Duke Robert set out for Rouen."
From The Chronicle of St. Denis Based on Dudo and William of Jumièges [Vol. III, p. 105].
Explanation of argument:
This primary source tells the story of a Viking raid, in which many important people in the town were killed. To these people, it would be tragic, but to the Vikings, it was necessary for survival. The second primary source is another story of a Viking raid, in which the leader of the Vikings speaks to the leader of the place that they are invading. He says that he does not wish to hurt people, but they may need to. The Viking's way of life requires them to be fierce and to not take no for an answer, so sometimes they need to take what they need by force. The last primary source tells the story of a king asking a Viking to kiss his foot, but he refuses; the Vikings will not bow down to anyone. This Viking tells someone else to do it, and that person lifts the king's foot so that he falls over. The king must have thought this completely disrespectful and barbaric, but the Vikings found it funny.
Question: Describe the significance of the Battle of Tours.
Thesis statement:
Primary Source #1:
"For almost seven days the two armies watched one another, waiting anxiously the moment for joining the struggle. Finally they made ready for combat. And in the shock of the battle the men of the North seemed like North a sea that cannot be moved. Firmly they stood, one close to another, forming as it were a bulwark of ice; and with great blows of their swords they hewed down the Arabs. Drawn up in a band around their chief, the people of the Austrasians carried all before them. Their tireless hands drove their swords down to the breasts [of the foe].
At last night sundered the combatants. The Franks with misgivings lowered their blades, and beholding the numberless tents of the Arabs, prepared themselves for another battle the next day. Very early, when they issued from their retreat, the men of Europe saw the Arab tents ranged still in order, in the same place where they had set up their camp. Unaware that they were utterly empty, and fearful lest within the phalanxes of the Saracens were drawn up for combat, they sent out spies to ascertain the facts. These spies discovered that all the squadrons of the "Ishmaelites" had vanished. In fact, during the night they had fled with the greatest silence, seeking with all speed their home land. The Europeans, uncertain and fearful, lest they were merely hidden in order to come back [to fall upon them] by ambushments, sent scouting parties everywhere, but to their great amazement found nothing. Then without troubling to pursue the fugitives, they contented themselves with sharing the spoils and returned right gladly to their own country"
Isidore of Beja's Chronicle
Primary Source #2:
Explanation of Argument:
The battle of tours was fought because the Franks wanted to become the leading power and wanted to stop the spread of Islamic culture.
