Rome sacked/Falls to Barbarians

A sit down with Attila (434 C.E.)

Q: What are you trying to accomplish?
A: I plan to embark on a savage campaign to conquer Europe.

Q: Are you aware there are Barbarian groups trying to capture Rome?
A: Yes, in 410 C.E. Alaric of the Visigoths plundered into Rome as well as other Barbarian groups who were conquering parts around Rome. This helps me by weakening Rome so I can get the final blow.This conquest by Alaric was the sacking of Rome.

Q: What do the Christians call you?
A: The "scourge of God" because they believe I am punishing them for the sins of humankind. I strike fear into everyone of their eyes. Rome is no match for me.

Q: How will the Hun invasion affect other Barbarian groups?
A: They do not want to be killed by me, so they flee to the Roman empire which destroys more and more of Rome before the Hun can take over.

A sit down with a Germanic leader (476 C.E.)

Q: Have you done the unthinkable, conquer Rome?
A: Yes I have ousted the emperor in Rome. This is the official "fall of Rome."

Q: How will your conquering affect Rome?
A: There will be military attacks, political turmoil, economic weakness, and social decay. Rome has entered a dark time.

Constantine the Great

A sit down with Constantine (313 C.E.)

Q: What did the Edict of Milan do?
A: It granted freedom of worship to all citizens of the Roman Empire. This ended the persecution of Christians.

Q: How will legalizing Christianity play out?
A: It will thrive in the empire. It will also underlie social and cultural developments for many centuries.

Q: What will you reform?
A: I will continue Diocletian's reforms, but I will also grant freedom of worship and establish a new capital, Constantinople.

Q: How will Constantinople affect the empire?
A: Constantinople will make the eastern empire the center of power.

Q: What were the results of your reforms?
A: They revived the economy and by the increasing power of government, it will help hold the empire together. But on the down side the reforms failed to stop the longterm decline.

Julius Caesar/Fall of the Roman Republic

A sit down with Julius Caesar (58 B.C.E)

Q: How did you become a significant leader?
A: The Fall of the Roman Republic allowed me to emerge a leader for the Roman people. I plan on dominating Europe.

Q: How would you describe yourself?
A: A ruthless and ambitious military commander. I am also a tremendous leader.

Q: Why did you cross the Rubicon River, which no one had taken an army with before?
A: I was showing Pompey that I am all business, you cannot just tell me what to do and expect me to do it. I am the leader and I take orders from no one.

Q: Why did you make reforms?
A: Here in Rome we have tons of problems. I made a reform to employ the jobless and give land to the poor. I reorganized the government of provinces and granted Roman citizenship to more people. I also reformed the calendar based on that of the Egyptians.

Q: Why were you killed?
A: The Senate was worried I was going to make myself King of Rome so they assassinated me.

Q: Do you think a war will result after your death?
A: There were most likely be a power struggle so there will most likely be a war to gain the throne.

Alexander the Great

A sit down with Alexander the Great (331 B.C.E.)

Q: How did you gain the throne?
A: After the beloved King Philip II was assassinated, my mother Olympias put me onto the throne.

Q: What was your first victory like?
A: When I defeated the Persians at the Granicus River, I was ecstatic and I knew my father would be proud of what I had accomplished; his dream of conquering the Persians.

Q: What did you do after your first victory?
A: I went through Asia Minor into Palestine and south to Egypt before turning east again to take Babylon in 331 B.C.E. My army and I destroyed everyone in our path to total domination.

Q: Why did you pull out of India?
A: We had never lost a battle, but my soldiers were exhausted from our long campaign. Reluctantly, I also turned back to Babylon where I began planning a new campaign.

Q: What do you want your legacy to be?
A: I want to have cultures combine and have Alexandria as the cultural capital. My Hellenistic lifestyle will give new roles for women and they will love me for what I have done.

Axis Age/ Golden Age in Greece

A sitdown with Pericles (429 B.C.E.-after Persian wars)

Q:   What type of government are you using?
A:    A direct democracy

Q:   What exactly is a direct democracy?
A:    Well, under this system the citizens take part directly in the day-to-day affairs of government.

Q:   What is your opinion on the people's involvement with government?
A:    I believe that all citizens, regardless of wealth or social class, should take part in government.

Q:   What are you going to do to allow poor people to get into government?
A:    Athens is going to start to pay a stipend, which is fixed salary.

Q:   I hear you want to do some rebuilding, what is that about?
A:   Yes, I would like to rebuild Acropolis, which those dang Persians destroyed.

Q:   What is your main mission?
A:    I am going to turn Athens into the cultural center of Greece. I strongly support the arts, science and mathematics.

Q:   How are you gonna make your mark on history?
A:   I will go down as one of the greatest rulers in Greek history for everything I have accomplished.

Thanks for your time Pericles

Zheng He

Zheng He was a sick nasty explorer who started in 1405 C.E. by commanding the first of seven expeditions. He departed a with a huge fleet of ships, larger than ever before, to explore Southeast Asia and India.

In 1435, the year he died, the Ming emperor suddenly banned the building of seagoing ships. Later, ships with more than two masts were banned. Confucian scholars had little interest in overseas adventure and commerce. Rigid loyalty to tradition would eventually weaken China and leave it prey to foreign invasion. All of Zheng He's ships and travel logs were destroyed.

60 years later Christopher Columbus would discover the New World. Regretful much?

Song Dynasty

Zhao Kuangyin reunited much of China and founded the Song Dynasty (960 C.E.).

The Song was the Golden Age of China. Just about everything possible flourished: trade, fast growing rice, and the creation of paper money. There was surpluses which allowed people to pursue commerce, learning, and the arts.

The Grand Canal was built under the Song. Food was grown in the south and sent up the canal to the North. The Grand Canal reached its peak under the Song.

China was an ordered an ordered society. It had an emperor, aristocratic families, and a huge bureaucracy.

China had two main social classes: the Gentry and the peasantry. The Gentry was the wealthy land owning class. The Song scholar-gentry valued learning more than physical labor. Social order was based on duty, rank, and proper behavior. The ideal Confucian was a wise, virtuous scholar who knew how to ensure harmony in society. The merchants were on the lowest part of the social scale. Their riches came from the labor of others. An ambitious merchant might buy land and educate one son to enter the ranks of the scholar-gentry.

There was an abundance of rich culture. Artists painted harmony, architecture and porcelain were dominated by Buddhist themes, and Chinese writing had poetry, scholars producing philosophy, history and religion. There were short stories that blended fantasy, adventure and romance. They also invented gunpowder, the mechanical clock, block printing and the movable print.

The Song Dynasty was the greatest dynasty in China and perhaps even the world.

In the late 1200's the Mongols invaded and overthrew the Song Dynasty.