Thesis: In the developing times of the ancient world water, which people used in almost every single thing they did, was the most important resource on the earth.
Primary Source #1:
" The Greek cities are thought to have flourished mainly on account of the felicitous choice made by their founders, in regard to the beauty and strength of their sites, their proximity to some haven, and the fineness of the country. But the Roman prudence was more particularly employed on matters which have received but little attention from the Greeks---such as paving their roads, constructing aqueducts, and sewers. In fact they have paved the roads, cut through hills, and filled up valleys, so that the merchandise may be conveyed by carriage from the ports. The sewers, arched over with hewn stones, are large enough in parts for actual hay wagons to pass through, while so plentiful is the supply of water from the aqueducts, that rivers may be said to flow through the city and the sewers, and almost every house is furnished with water pipes and copious fountains."
Ancient History Sourcebook: Strabo (64/3 BCE- c.21 CE):The Grandeur of Rome, c. 20 CE from Geography, V.iii
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/strabo5-rome.html
Primary Source #2:
"Frequently praise is given to the great sewer system of Rome. There are seven "rivers" made to flow, by artificial channels, beneath the city. Rushing onward like so many impetuous torrents, they are compelled to carry off and sweep away all the sewerage; and swollen as they are by the vast accession of the rain water, they reverberate against the sides and bottoms of their channels. Occasionally too the Tiber, overflowing, is thrown backward in its course, and discharges itself by these outlets."
Ancient History Sourcebook: Pliny the Elder (23/4-79 CE):The Grandeur of Rome, c. 75 CE from Natural History
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/pliny-natihist-rome.html
Primary Source #3:
"The river of Bel (?) Nanna fills with water. The brilliant (?) river Nanna fills with water. The river Diglat [Tigris] Nanna fills with water. The brilliance of the Purattu [Euphrates] Nanna fills with water. The canal with its gate Lukhe, Nanna fills with water. The great marsh and the little marsh Nanna fills with water."Ancient History Sourcebook: A Collection of Babylonian Prayers, c. 1600 BCE
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/1600babylonianprayers.htmlExplanation of Argument:
The first and second sources narrate how the city of Ancient Rome is becoming dependent on water. The first source explain water in the home. Every house has plumbing, an aspect of home life that never left since they installed it. The second source highlights how water is being used to the advantages of the citizens outside of their homes. The water is utilized to serve many different functions, even to clean up the city. The third source is an excerpt from Ancient Babylonian prayers. Water is a clear symbol in the passage; there is a god of water, Nanna, that created all of the waters of the world. So, water was a key aspect of life in the ancient world.
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Question: Who is a better model for modern historians: Herodotus or Thucydides? Why?
Thesis: Thucydides and his comprehensive study of the Peloponnesian War is a much better model for modern historians than Herodotus and his work The Histories.
Primary Source #1:
"As for Artayctes, and the troops with him, who had been the last to leave the town, they were overtaken by the Greeks, not far from Aegospotami, and defended themselves stoutly for a time, but were at last either killed or taken prisoners. Those whom they made prisoners the Greeks bound with chains, and brought with them to Sestos. Artayctes and his son were among the number." The History of Herodotus By Herodotus Written 440 B.C Book IX Primary Source #2: http://classics.mit.edu/Thucydides/pelopwar.3.third.html Primary Source #3:
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/eb11-herodotus.htmlExplanation of Argument: The first and second sources are excerpts from each of the historians most famous histories. It is evident by the excerpts that Thucydides was a better historian than Herodotus. Thucydides said exactly where and when the subject was and what was happening exactly. Herodotus only wrote about certain events. This is even more obvious when the Brittanica says that Herodotus had incorrect dates and omitted events. Thucydides is a better example for modern historians than Herodotus. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question: Considering all of the conflict of the first century BCE, was Rome better off as an 'empire' than as a republic? Thesis: All of Rome: the city life, the government, the conquers, and everything in between fared much better when Rome was officially a Republic. Primary Source #1: "If he (plaintiff) summon him (defendant) into court, he shall go. If he does not go, (plaintiff) shall call witnesses. Then only he shall take him by force. If he refuses or flees, he (plaintiff) shall lay hands on him. If disease or age is an impediment, he shall grant him a team (of oxen). He shall not spread with cushions the covered carriage if he does not wish to." THE TWELVE TABLES (451-450 B.C.) http://www.csun.edu/~hcfll004/12tables.html Primary Source #2: "The military stipends are thus regulated. The pay of a soldier in the infantry is two obols by the day; and double to the centurions. The pay of the cavalry is a drachma. The allowance of corn to each man in the infantry consists of about two-third parts of an Attic bushel of wheat by the month. In the cavalry, it is seven bushels of barley, and two of wheat. To the infantry of the allies the same quantity is distributed as to that of the Romans: but their cavalry receives only one bushel and a third of wheat, and five of barley." Ancient History Sourcebook: Polybius (c.200-after 118 BCE):Rome at the End of the Punic Wars [History, Book 6] http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/polybius6.html Primary Source #3: "My father, Drusus, was able to force Germany to submit, because behind him reigned a profound peace assured by the tranquillity of the Gauls. And note well, that at the moment he was summoned to that war, he was busy instituting the census in Gaul, a new institution among them, and contrary to their customs. And how difficult and perilous to us is this business of the census, although all we require is that our public resources should be known, we have learned by all too much experience." Ancient History Sourcebook: Claudius (b. 10 BCE, r. 41 CE - d.54 CE): A Discourse in the Senate, c. 48 CE http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/48claudius.htmlExplanation of Argument: The first two sources relate to Rome when it was running as a Republican nation. There was a strict order of laws, as evidenced by the first source, that everyone had to follow and it made the city run smoothly. Also, in the second source, are even more examples of order. The third source shows how Rome began to fall apart when it became an Empire. The Gauls were no longer peaceful to the Romans and Rome was in no way ready to defend. Rome was defeated as an Empire. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question: Were the Vikings "barbarians"? Thesis: The Vikings, even though it seemed that they were pillaging and plundering to survive, were a violent race that can only be described as "barbaric". 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." Medieval Sourcebook: Three Sources on the Ravages of the Northmen in Frankland, c. 843 - 912 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/843bertin.htmlPrimary Source #2: "They went without shields, and were mad as dogs or wolves, and bit on their shields, and were as strong as bears or bulls; men they slew, and neither fire nor steel would deal with them; and this is what is called the fury of the berserker.'' Volsunga Saga, chapters 7-8 Going Berserk http://www.mircea-eliade.com/from-primitives-to-zen/145.html Primary Source #3: "According to their custom the Northmen plundered eastern and western Frisia and burned down the town of Dordrecht, with two other villages, before the eyes of Lothair [The Emperor], who was then in the castle of Nimwegen, but could not punish the crime. The Northmen, with their boast filled with immense booty, including both men and goods, returned to their own country." Medieval Sourcebook: Annals of Xanten, 845-853 http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/xanten1.htmlExplanation of Argument: The Vikings were a terrible force to be reckoned with and scared all of the other nations into submission. The first source describes how the Vikings pillage Holy Lands and destoryed messengers of God, bishops and the clergy. They wanted to burn and kill out of pleasure. The second source shows one of the most horrifying rituals in history, the Vikings who could fight almost bear-handed and win. The final source describes yet another plunder and hints that the Vikings may have taken slaves back to their country. The Vikings were the epitome of the word "barbarian". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question: What was the significance of the Black Death and the 100 Years' War to the development of Europe as we know it today? Thesis: The two major events of Medieval Europe, thusly, the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War, devastated the land and thrust the Europeans back in the timeline and they had to rebuild. Primary Source #1: "And at first the deaths were a little more than the normal, then the mortality rose still higher, and afterwards the tale of dead reached five thousand each day, and again it even came to ten thousand. Now...each man attended to the burial of the dead of his own house, and these they threw even into the tombs of others...but afterwards confusion and disorder everywhere became complete. For slaves remained destitute of masters, and men...were deprived of the service of their domestics who were either sick or dead, and many houses became completely destitute of human inhabitants."
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/542procopius-plague.html Primary Source #2: "At last, as it pleased God, the King seeing that too many of his liege subjects would be undone, and too much blood split, took pity in his heart, and granted them all pardon, on condition that they should never rise again, under pain of losing life or members, and that each of them should get his charter of pardon, and pay the King as fee for his seal twenty shillings, to make him rich. And so finished this wicked war."
http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/anon1381.html Primary Source #3: "In the year 1349 there occurred the greatest epidemic that ever happened. Death went from one end of the earth to the other, on that side and this side of the sea, and it was greater among the Saracens than among the Christians. In some lands everyone died so that no one was left. Ships were also found on the sea laden with wares; the crew had all died and no one guided the ship. The Bishop of Marseilles and priests and monks and more than half of all the people there died with them." Jewish History Sourcebook: The Black Death and the Jews 1348-1349 CE http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/jewish/1348-jewsblackdeath.html Explanation of Argument: The first source is depicting the horrors of the Black Plague and how many people it affected. Not only did people die from it, but masters lost their slaves and did not know what to do without them. So, people who survived would have to buy new slaves, teach them how they wanted them to work, and basically start their lives over again. The second source describes the end of the Hundred Years War and how the king became rich. The money would be used for corrupt things and have an affect on all of Europe. The third source describes how people lost their religious rulers and how that had an impact on them. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Question: How does Henry VIII maintain power while breaking away from the Catholic Church? Thesis: Henry VIII maintains power while breaking away from the Church because he has gained such prestige and power that people do not want to go against his word. Primary Source #1: |
