As a result, Rome's culture still has an impact in the Western world today. The basis for much of Western culture comes from Ancient Rome, especially in areas such as government, engineering, architecture, language, and literature.
29More
History: Ancient Rome for Kids - 3 views
-
-
This meant that Rome's leaders, such as senators, were elected officials that served for a limited amount of time, not kings who were born into leadership and ruled for life. They had a complex government with written laws, a constitution, and a balance of powers. These concepts became very important in forming future democratic governments, like the United States.
-
The Roman Forum was the center of government
- ...7 more annotations...
-
split Rome into two empires. One was the Western Roman Empire and was ruled out of the city of Rome. The other was the Eastern Roman Empire and was ruled out of Constantinople (today's Istanbul in Turkey). The Eastern Roman Empire would become known as Byzantium or the Byzantine Empire.
-
Circus Maximus, a huge stadium built for chariot races, could seat around 150,000 people.
-
The highest position in the Roman Republic was the consul. There were two consuls at the same time to make sure that one didn't become too powerful.
-
was Latin, but they often spoke Greek as well.
7More
Medieval Weapons - 2 views
-
From the early period of medieval times all kinds of medieval weapons were being developed as wealthy landowners and Kings sought to increase their wealth and power by invading other people's territory, hoping to steal their land and treasures such as gold, silver and other precious metals.
-
clubs and maces which were effective against chain mail and plate Armour, Daggers were used mainly for stabbing and thrusting moves in close combat situations.
- ...3 more annotations...
-
Bill and Staff weapons on the battlefield and these consisted of bladed weapons such as polearms, pole hammers and mainly long staff weapons were very popular.
-
Great swords, and lets not forget one of the battlefields most treasured weapons in medieval times because of their effectiveness, Longbows (Popular in England) and Cross Bows (Popular in Europe).
8More
History of Veterans Day - Office of Public Affairs - 1 views
-
World War I – known at the time as “The Great War” - officially ended when the Treaty of Versailles was signed on June 28, 1919, in the Palace of Versailles outside the town of Versailles, France.
- ...4 more annotations...
-
The original concept for the celebration was for a day observed with parades and public meetings and a brief suspension of business beginning at 11:00 a.m.
-
amended the Act of 1938 by striking out the word "Armistice" and inserting in its place the word "Veterans." With the approval of this legislation (Public Law 380) on June 1, 1954, November 11th became a day to honor American veterans of all wars.
-
Veterans Day continues to be observed on November 11, regardless of what day of the week on which it falls. The restoration of the observance of Veterans Day to November 11 not only preserves the historical significance of the date, but helps focus attention on the important purpose of Veterans Day: A celebration to honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country, and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good.
3More
Slavery in Africa prior to European contact - 2 views
-
we know about slavery from about 900 AD. But the lives of African slaves in West Africa and African American slaves were very different. In many West African societies, land was owned by communities, not by individuals. Social status and class could therefore not be based on land ownership. Instead, they were based on one's place in the social environment. Slaves were thus part of the family as well as private property. And slavery was not a lifetime status—someone might be born free, made a slave for a few years, and then be free again for the rest of their life.
-
"nitially, the slaves were war prisoners, criminals or people in debt. However, as the European demand for slaves grew, African leaders turned to new ways to find slaves. Wars were started for the sole reasons of taking prisoners to sell, and many were simply kidnapped (either by people from their own tribe, or from competing tribes). Some African rulers earned great profits by controlling the regional slave trade."
73More
BBC - History - Ancient History in depth: The Democratic Experiment - 1 views
-
Take politics for example: apart from the word itself (from polis, meaning city-state or community) many of the other basic political terms in our everyday vocabulary are borrowed from the ancient Greeks: monarchy, aristocracy, tyranny, oligarchy and - of course - democracy.
- ...69 more annotations...
-
There's a theory that the word demokratia was coined by democracy's enemies, members of the rich and aristocratic elite who did not like being outvoted by the common herd, their social and economic inferiors.
-
By the time of Aristotle (fourth century BC) there were hundreds of Greek democracies. Greece in those times was not a single political entity but rather a collection of some 1,500 separate poleis or 'cities' scattered round the Mediterranean and Black Sea shores 'like frogs around a pond', as Plato once charmingly put it.
-
monarchies, called 'tyrannies' in cases where the sole ruler had usurped power by force rather than inheritanc
-
-
nder this political system that Athens successfully resisted the Persian onslaughts of 490 and 480/79
-
victory in turn encouraged the poorest Athenians to demand a greater say in the running of their city
-
Ephialtes and Pericles presided over a radicalisation of power that shifted the balance decisively to the poorest sections of society
-
when Athens had been weakened by the catastrophic Peloponnesian War (431-404) these critics got their chance
-
n 411 and again in 404 Athenian oligarchs led counter-revolutions that replaced democracy with extreme oligarchy
-
'blips' such as the trial of Socrates - the restored Athenian democracy flourished stably and effectively for another 80 years
-
total population of fifth-century Athens, including its home territory of Attica, at around 250,000 - men, women and children, free and unfree, enfranchised and disenfranchised. Of those
-
This was thought to be the democratic way, since election favoured the rich, famous and powerful over the ordinary citizen.
-
mid fifth century, office holders, jurymen, members of the city's main administrative Council of 500, and even Assembly attenders were paid a small sum from public funds to compensate them for time spent on political service away from field or workshop.
-
adult male citizens need apply for the privileges and duties of democratic government, and a birth criterion of double descent - from an Athenian mother as well as father -
-
Athenian democracy did not happen only in the Assembly and Council. The courts were also essentially political spaces, located symbolically right at the centre of the city.
-
One distinctively Athenian democratic practice that aroused the special ire of the system's critics was the practice of ostracism -
-
For almost 100 years ostracism fulfilled its function of aborting serious civil unrest or even civil war
-
Power to the people, all the people, especially the poor majority, remained the guiding principle of Athenian democracy.
27More
Feudal System - 14 views
-
Feudal SystemThe Feudal System was sustained by the rights and privileges given to the Upper Classes and in most cases enacted by laws. Everything was a source of privilege for the nobles. They had a thousand pretexts for establishing taxes on their vassals, who were generally considered "taxable and to be worked at will." Kings and councils waived the necessity of their studying, in order to be received as bachelors of universities. If a noble was made a prisoner of war, his life was saved by his nobility, and his ransom had practically to be raised by the "villains" of his domains.
- ...19 more annotations...
-
-
-
-
-
Knights had the right of receiving double rations when prisoners of war; the right of claiming a year's delay when a creditor wished to seize their land; and the right of never having to submit to torture after trial, unless they were condemned to death for the crime they had committed.
-
-
of claiming the goods of a person dying on their lands who had no direct heir. They also had the right of claiming a tax when a fief or domain changed hands.
-
8More
Feudalism and Religion in the Middle Ages - 8 views
-
All schools taught religion, most politicians were also priests, and no food was eaten without first saying thanks to God.
- ...4 more annotations...
-
Priests also collected a tenth of whatever the peasants had produced from their land over the course of the year. This was called a "tithe."
-
Anyone who was suspected of disagreeing with the church's teachings was called a heretic and burnt at the stake.
-
even if they did make it to heaven in the afterlife, they would have to spend a thousand years in purgatory to be cleansed of their sins on earth. So, many rich people would pay the church to say extra masses for them in the hope that it would reduce the amount of time in purgatory.
12More
shared by alove_ on 06 Mar 14
- No Cached
The Third Crusade - 7 views
www.lordsandladies.org/the-third-crusade.htm
third crusade middle ages king richard the lion heart saladin
![](/images/link.gif)
-
He raised money for the enterprise bythe persecution and robbery of the Jewsthe imposition of an unusual tax upon all classesthe sale of offices, dignities, and the royal lands
-
The knightly adventures and chivalrous exploits which mark the career of Richard in the Holy Land read like a romance.
-
At one time, when Richard was sick with a fever, Saladin, knowing that he was poorly supplied with delicacies, sent him a gift of the choicest fruits of the land.
- ...9 more annotations...
-
And on another occasion, Richard's horse having been killed in battle, the sultan caused a fine Arabian steed to be led to the Christian camp as a present for his rival.
-
King Richard on his return from the Holy Land was shipwrecked off the coast of the Adriatic. Attempting to travel through Austria in disguise, he was captured by the duke of Austria, whom he had offended at the siege of Acre. The king regained his liberty only by paying a ransom equivalent to more than twice the annual revenues of England.
-