How "Great" was Alexander?

I find the article on Alexander the great very interesting as it tells this story from a different point of view. As his name says, Alexander is seen as Great for being the leader of the Greek Empire starting from a young age. However, the article contradicts the idea of him begin great by telling about his actions that led to his Empire. Alexander made many unnecessary steps while conquering land which had a great costs. Many of his men died due to his determination, which can be seen as a good thing but he overdid it. During his mission of Agis III, he kept sacrificing so many men. Soon his soldiers were rebelling as they did not agree with his actions. This shows how Alexander was not so great as he only thinks about himself and not others. When he started to adopt cultures from Persia and combine them with Greek, most people were not happy with his action but he still continued. Alexander had good intentions in mind but never executed them well. This article showed me the different side of Alexander that not many people think of and know about. Now my view on Alexander had changed after reading the article.

10-9-15

The Persians looked down on the greeks because they see them as a lesser society. The Persians had a complex society, under Mesopotamian influence, that they believed to be far superior. The Persians believed in opulence. Darius had a dream of Persia being a vast and resource rich society that flourished. But the idea of Greece and its resource-poor environment was the opposite of what that strived to achieve, and therefore below them.

Persian Empire and Greece

The Greek city-states that were under the Persian Empire were miserable as Cyrus and his successors were cruel leaders. The Persians might think that Greece was a waste of time because of their geography. Greece was located at the edge of the map and was far away from Persian homeland. It was also a poor city state with nothing much to benefit from. Thus, it probably took a long time for the Persians to get to Greece and get minimal out of it. The Persians also never thought that the Greeks were strong enough to come together and rebel against them. Also, the Greeks had many things in common already with the Persians, which meant that there was not many exchanges that occurred.

I believe that the Persians didn't care for the small land of Greece. Greece was poor and small. Invading Greece and maintaining it would probably have cost quite a lot more than what small profit it actually had. I think Xerxes was foolishly trying to set an example of how people who offended his empire would have been treated and failed, obviously.  Also no Persian ever thought that the Greeks would form a threat to the Persian people, or even be united and strong enough to even form a military unit.  

Conclusively, I suggest the Persians failed to take Greece because they did not wish to conquer it. The land was poor and rough, unsuitable for farming. It was far from the capitals and hard to control, should something happen in Greece it would take at least two to four days for a Chapar to reach the king in Susa or Persepolis. Furthermore, the people of the land were easy to revolt and demanding democracy and this was not to the liking of the monarchic Persian empire, although they allowed the Ionians to have their own popular governments, the Ionians were easier to control than the Hellenes in Greece. Thus the Greeks were best left to themselves.

·      The goods and ideas that spread along the Silk Road where spread in some interesting ways.  Caravans traveling the Silk Road took more than four months to trek across the mostly unsettled deserts, mountains, and grasslands of Inner Asia that stood between Sogdiana and China, carrying with them agricultural goods, manufactured products, and ideas.  Musicians and dancing girls traveled, too – as did camel pullers, merchants, monks, and pilgrims.  The Silk Road was not just a means of bringing peoples and parts of the world into; it was also a social system.  With every expansion of territory, the growing wealth of temples, kings, and emperors enticed traders to venture ever farther afield for precious goods.  For, the most part, the customers were wealthy elites.  But the new products, agricultural and industrial processes, and foreign ideas and customs these long-distance traders brought with them sometimes affected an entire society.  I thought that it was interesting to read that Travelers and traders seldom owned much land or wielded political power.  Also considering the travelers were socially isolated and secretive because any talk about markets, products, routes, and travel conditions could help their competitors, they nevertheless though contributed more to drawing the world together than did all but a few kings and emperors, which was interesting.  The Silk Road seemed to be hugely important in the spread of Religion. 

The Silk Road

          Two of the most important goods that the merchants exchanged along the Silk Road were silk and china, which are exactly the symbols of ancient China’s cultural and political power. The trade of these two goods signifies a powerful Asian civilization’s growing influence on western societies, followed by the popularity of other goods, including teas and spices. Other countries, such as India, also utilized the Silk Road as an important trade route. Moreover, agricultural products on both sides were brought to each other: grapes, carrots and cucumbers to China. In addition to the exchange of real goods, the silk road also fostered the spread of regions,arts, philosophies and technologies. Buddhism was brought to the West and central Asia while Christian missionaries came to the East. The invention of printing was brought to the West and made significant contributions to the spread of ideas in the later movements, including the Protestant Reformation and the Enlightenment. However, the Silk Road inevitably led to the spread of The Black Death as well in the thirteenth century. 

Silk Road and Indian Ocean Maritime System

How do they move goods and ideas?  

First off, the interaction between different cultures originated from the trade of goods, because during this period most people were still confined in their own worlds, and thus had a limited interest in the cultures of other geographical regions. For instance, on the silk road, the first wave of trade was incited by Chinese eagerness for western horses, and Western interests in Chinese silk. It was after these goods were traded that religions including Christianity and Buddhism flourished on the silk road.

Second, women functioned as bridges of cultural exchange in the Indian Ocean Maritime System. Although not prominent in politics, the intermarriage between different cultural groups provided women the ability to merge two languages and cultures into one family. It is interesting to note that although history is commonly perceived to be shaped by the broader vicissitudes in politics, gradual changes in small units of the society, namely individual households, can also join to alter the path of history.

Silk Road and Indian Ocean

The Silk Road, as described in Bulliet, may be viewed as the world's first system of globalization- merchants would bring into cities, along with their merchandise, knowledge and news. In this manner, religion, science, and technology rapidly progressed. Regardless of the rise and fall of empires, the demand for goods was unaffected; thus, the traveling merchant class remained constant. The Indian Ocean Maritime System was an aquatic extension of the Silk Road- it forged faster and more convenient trade routes between nations, which allowed for further exchange of knowledge and culture. The merchant class was, in many Asian societies, ranked lowly due to the penny-pinching nature of their profession. However, I see them as the greatest educators in early civilizations. Their profession made the world smaller and allows humankind to progress faster, as a unit.

Silk Road and Indian Ocean

Silk Road: unsettled deserts, mountains and grassland
The Silk Road was a social system as all kinds of people would travel the Silk Road. It was a place where exchange of ideas and goos occurred. Sometimes, a traded item of idea would affect an entire society. Nomads acquired metal implements from trade and made them into tools and weapons. Sasanid Empire and Byzantines traded with one another during peace. They traded things such as camel saddles and tools that benefitted each empire. Religion played a big part in communities. These religions spread through the Silk Road.

Indian Ocean Maritime System: Indian Ocean and South China Sea
This trade network did not play a big role in the rise and falls of empires but did connect the coastal lands. The sailors from different part of the system had different kinds of sailboats which shows the difference in development. The Indian Ocean trade network involved many big valuable products. However, the geography of each area and port made the volume of trade lesser than other forms of trading routes.

Three main philosophies in China and its political and social influences

Three main philosophies in China and its political and social influences

All started in the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring State period, when China was divided into local states and occupied by local rulers, these three philosophies inevitably involved the philosopher’s reflections of the chaotic social and political situation at that time.  

Confucianism: Although Confucianism had been claimed to be the official “leading philosophy” since Han Dynasty. It was dismissed by the rulers in Confucius’ era. Condemned as “impractical” and “weak”, Confucianism was not suitable for the social context during the Confucius’ period. Nonetheless, in Han Dynasty, when the society was united, relatively peaceful and prosperous, the Han Wu emperor reconsidered to utilize the ideas of Confucianism. The core values of Confucianism----”礼义廉耻”（order, respect, integrity, loyalty, altruism, compassion),“忠君爱国”(loyal to the emperor, love the country)，“重官轻商” (value politics, devalue business)，“重义轻利” (value morals , devalue greediness)----are very favorable for an emperor who wanted to centralize his power but at the same time maintain a “generous” and “loving” self-image. Promoting Confucianism is also helpful for stabilizing the society and earning “hearts” from the people. The Han Dynasty adopted Confucianism largely because they tried to avoid repeating the fate of Qin. 

Daoism: Unlike Confucianism and Legalism, Daoism emphasizes much more on “nature”. Although Daoism had never been adopted as a political philosophy in China, it was indeed very popular among the commoners. A popular religious group, “道教” (also called “Daoism” in English, but different from the philosophical Daoism)，is generated from Daoism. One of the interesting fact to note is that lots of emperors in Chinese history wanted to gain “eternal life”, including Han Wu Emperor. They invited the Daoists to make “medicines” which can help them live forever. Obviously, those medicines never worked. However, because of the emperors’ fascination with these “medicines”, they made lots of irrational decisions that actually altered the path of Chinese history. 

Legalism: Legalism continued to have significant influence in China. It helped Qin to prosper and conquer over the other six main states to unify the country. Later on, it contributed significantly to the consolidation of the Qin Dynasty. Although Confucianism was claimed to be the “official” philosophy in China, Legalism never disappears from historical stage. The successive dynasties adopted the ideas of legalism and incorporate them into Confucianism.

Response to Judaism

In history, the pursuit of religious freedom and expression in the Middle East seems to have always been riddled with violence and conquests- despite the strong message of pacification in the religious scripts of the Torah. Why is this so? Is it the demand for the recognition of one God? Or the richness of natural resources in the region? I have no idea.

10-2-15

-I find it very interesting that you can see connections to early governmental practices, to current politics. Such as Persepolis representatives bringing gifts to the king is similar to public relations and propaganda today.
-Kings followed will of god
- Settlers of different religions brought about new culture and ethnic character.
-Because of Israel's strategic location, it acted as the center of commercial and diplomatic networks. the expansion if Judaism can be attribute to the influence they had on these networks.
-After the conquests of the Assyrian empire, jews were forced to settle elsewhere, bringing there religion with them.

Judaism and Greco-Roman Philosophy Split the Christianity section

The textbook says on page 87, “After Solomon’s death around 920 B.C.E., resentment over royal demands for money and labor and the neglect of tribal prerogatives split the monarchy into two kingdoms: Israel in the north, with its capital at Samaria; and Judah in the southern territory around Jerusalem.  The two were sometimes at war, sometimes allied” Why is it that after Solomon’s death that United Monarchy was affected and got broken up.  Why was the next ruler or Solomon’s successor, not accepted by the people ultimately why was Solomon’s death so impactful?

It was interesting to read about people like Xenophanes who called into question the kind of gods that Homer had popularized. It was interesting to learn about early philosophers like Xenophanes who rejected traditional religious conceptions and sought rational explanations.  I wonder what these philosophers’ motives were by doing this, whether it was for their popularity to rise, for the good of other people, or just something for them to do and question.

9-30-16

Confucianism played a major role in Chinese culture aside from being the widespread religion. It also affected political practices. Much of Chinese government and social aspects were grounded in Confucius policy.
Confucianism had different trains of thought. One being that of Taoism. This train of thought was rooted in finding the moral or ethical path for all matters. Legalism, A stem of confucianism started by the Dynasty of Qin Shi Huangdi. This school of thought believed more in an efficient and pragmatic response to government. Universal and codified law rather than moral.
These beliefs eventually merged in government after 2 millennia when the Chinese state recognized the effectiveness of centralized, bureaucratic rule, while keeping with the Tao, and Confucian spirit.

Three philosophies and their interactions in China

The Spring and Autumn Warring States refers to a period in Chinese history composed mostly of conflicts and turmoil. It was during this era that the three most prominent Chinese philosophies came into existence: Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism. These three ideologies competed with each other in their influences, promoting the inquiry into intellect, philosophy as well as politics and society. Later during the rule of Emperor Wu of Han, he promoted people to "dismiss the hundred schools, revere only the Confucian," thus setting Confucianism as the most dominant ideology of Chinese history, a tradition that lasts until the present day.


“仁义礼智信”
“Ren, Yi, Li, Zhi, Xin"

Confucius and his teachings ask humans, as social animals, refer to the laws of nature and set a series of laws within the society that both the ruler and the commoners should follow. The family is the basic unit of the society, and the country is a reflection of families in the larger scale. If the ruler is competent, and sets a good example in his conducts for his people to follow, then the country he rules should be in a stable, harmonious state. On the other hand, if the country is suffering from misgoverning, the people are justified to replace their ruler with a more morally exemplifying and politically competent person.


"道法自然”
"The Law of Taoism is Nature."

Like Confucianism, Taoism also encourages people to follow the laws of nature, and goes so far as to consider Confucian ideas impure because Confucianism involves people and people's relationships into the ideas of nature. Taoism followers believe that to emerge completely into the nature, a person should not possess desire or wants, and perform "Wu-Wei (Do-Nothing). " Taoism philosophers believe the government would be naturally created without coercion. It has had a great influence on Chinese art, literature and ideals. Taoists even downplay the importance of language because, they think, whenever a person speaks he is locked in a specific time and place, instead of being embraced by the eternity of nature. In short, Taoism encourages people to just "follow the vibe. "


“不别亲疏，不疏贵贱，一断于法。”
"Dear or distant, noble or humble, all is judged by the law."

Legalism reveres a harsher form of government, under which all are presented the same standard of law codes, and whoever that violates the law is punished. It promotes absolute ruling in all aspects of people's lives, creating, as a result, a stable society. The conflicts between Legalism - ruling by law, and Confucianism - ruling by morals, have contributed to numerous arguments on the most apt form of government throughout the Chinese history.

Reaction to the Buddhism statement

“The core beliefs preached by the historic Buddha and recorded by his followers into sutras and other scriptures were, in part, a reaction to the Vedic beliefs and rituals dominant in South Asia. Buddhism changed over time as it spread throughout Asia, first through the support of the Mauryan Emperor Asoka, and then through the efforts of missionaries and merchants and the establishment of educational institutions to promote its core teachings.” 

The statement is made up of two major ideas, both of which I agree with.

First, Buddhism originated from a set of reactions to the Vedic beliefs. 

The Vedic religions were initially put forth and advertised by the priests and scholars in the varna system, and served, to some extent, as a political tool that taught the lower classes to accept the existing social status and lead an obedient life. A group of people eventually started to break free from this determined fate promoted by the Vedic beliefs, and sought a new stream of thoughts that eulogised personal control of his or her own life. One of Buddha's central teachings is definitely associated with this reaction to the Vedic religions. As shown by the quote below, in promoting self-reliance, Buddha refrained from setting himself as the leader of Buddhism, and led towards atheism.

'You are your own master. Future, everything depends on your own shoulder.' Buddha’s responsibility is just to show the path, that’s all"



Second, Buddhism was spread by Buddhas' followers, evolving throughout time and space. 

Buddha incubated his teachings into the minds of his followers, and, before dying, told the disciples to "be their own lights," thus encouraging the free interpretations of his philosophy as long as they are centered on his core teachings. Buddha's atheism was deserted by one school of his followers, the Mahayanans, because he himself was celebrated as the godlike figure of Buddhism, although another group, the Theravadas, adhered to his original teachings and refused to create a god. At some places, monasteries were constructed and a hierarchy of monks and nuns came into being.