History School.

[PachaMinnie]

Seleucid Empire

The break-up of Alexander's Empire was a harsh one. His best and most loyal generals fought for the scraps of his empire like wild dogs fight for a scrap of meat, and only for their own greed. One of these generals was Seleucus, and he staked his claim over the city of Babylon. His realm spread over the majority of the eastern half of Alexander's empire and each had their own capital: Antioch in Syria, and Seleucia in the Anatolia.

The following years where ones of great expansion, and great loss. The new empire was now on the door step of Macedonia, but it was over stretched and unstable. The Seleucids failed to take over Asia and where forced into an alliance with Chandragupta Maurya. Other nations haulted further Seleucid expansion, and at the time of Seleucus's death in 281 BC, much of what he built began to fall apart. This even worsened when Seleucus came to power, for he found himself engulfed in civil wars and enemies at the gates. He also had to fight his brother who was the leader of Egypt, which later lead to the Seleucid's defeat.

However, around 233 B.C, when Seleucus II's son, Antiochus III, took the throne, things began to look up for the Empire. Although once again not successful in besieging Egypt, Antiochus managed to reel back in the nations of Pathia and Bactria. Around 205 B.C., following a campaign into India, which ended in him receiving tribute from the king Sophagansenus, he discovered that the death of Ptolmaic Egypt's latest king had left the kingdom in the hands of a child. He saw an opportunity to finally break through Egypt and make it Seleucid. Following some wheeling and dealing with Egyptian leaders, Antiochus ousted the Ptolemaic leadership and, in 198 B.C., gained control of southern Syria and Palestine.

However, these events lead Antiochus III to become overconfident, on the urging of the exiled Hannibal to come to Seleucia, Antiochus lead an assault into Greece. He was repulsed in 191 BC by the Romans, then he lost all of his European territory and some of Asia Minor. While searching for a vassal to pay for his loss he died.

From that point, the now poor empire just went downhill. The Maccabean revolt against Seleucid power in Palestine effectively ended their power there, and the Parthians once again left the Seleucid Empire. Antiochus IV, the leader at that time, around 170 B.C., was killed while attempting to sort out the situations plaguing the kingdom. Civil wars pulled apart the nation, eventually bringing what was referred to as the Seleucid Empire to merely Antioch and a few other surrounding areas. The Jews were entirely independent at this time, as the dynasties of the Empire were killed, replaced and repeated over the years. Essentially, the structure was destroyed until all provinces had ceded. Those that held out in Antioch were quite weak, and not much more than a border between the warring states around them.

Then the Romans came knocking, and conquered the nation, assimilating the nation into their own. The Seleucid Empire was finally finished, and soon took away the self governing provinces and made then Roman.

Although it is up to debate about the Seleucid's power, there is little denying their major role in shaping Asia Minor and beyond.

[Shiav]

What's next, Yugoslavia? Bulgaria? Transylvania?

[PachaMinnie]

What's next, Yugoslavia? Bulgaria? Transylvania?

Ha ha Shiav. No the next are Parthia, Armenia, Pontus, then finish Macedonia. Then some barbarians. Perhaps some Greek cities. Keep in mind I am doing so many ancient civilizations.

Unless you want to make a request... I am open for suggestions.

[Invader]

What's next, Yugoslavia? Bulgaria? Transylvania?

I'm guessing you're craving some more variety?

[PachaMinnie]

Finishing Macedonia

Ptolemy took Egypt, Seleucus the East, and Antipater Macedon and Greece. It is Antipater with whom we shall follow now. He ruled as regent for many years, always consolidating his power, and killing any threat to that power. His son Cassander, who ruled after him, ended all concerns by having Alexander's mother Olympias murdered, and shortly thereafter killing the Persian wife and son of Alexander III.

After Cassander, who was forced to give the Greek cities their independence, Macedon was again wracked by the civil strife and internal disorder of many claimants. Most kings of this period lasted few years if any, and turmoil was the rule of the day. Even Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans in two Pyhhric victories, was crowned King of Macedon at one point. This turmoil lasted until Philip V took the throne.

Philip gained the throne at 17, fairly young, but at a time when Macedon was blessed by external events. Rome was locked into a battle of survival against Hannibal and Carthage, Egypt's king (and enemy of Macedon) had recently died, and Greece had been mostly recovered. He allied his realm with that of Antiochus of the Seleucids to divide the Aegean and modern Turkey between them.

Philip saw the threat of a resurgent Rome, and allied himself with Hannibal after Cannae to ensure the Romans went down and stayed down. This would, he thought, secure his western flank while he expanded his growing realm eastward. This was in hindsight a foolish move, as neither partner had a means of helping the other as long as the Roman Navy was supreme upon the Adriatic. So when Hannibal eventually withdrew from Italia and Rome was again on the Rise, the Senate ordered Titus Flaminius to put the Macedonians firmly in their place. Philip lost heavily at Cynocephalae in 197 and was forced to relinquish the Greek cities, to pay a huge indemnity to Rome, to promise to refrain from aggressive war, and to stay within the borders Rome set for Macedonia. Philip, powerless after the catastrophe, agreed.

His son Perseus did not. He ended up starting the Third Macedonian War trying to recover his country's lost status as regional powerhouse. Lucius Aemilius Paullus, grandson of the consul killed at Cannae, decisively defeated him at Pydna in 168 BCE and forever established the dominance of the Roman legionary over the Greek-style hoplite and phalangite. Macedon was divided into four autonomous parts, then later amalgamated into a Roman province. Thereafter Macedon retired from the world stage, never to be seen again.

И сега за мојот балтичките браќа

Птоломеј зеде Египет, Селевк на исток, и Антипатар Македонски и Грција. Тоа е Антипатар со кого ќе го проследиме сега. Тој владеел како регент за многу години, секогаш консолидирање на својата моќ, и убивање на каква било закана за таа моќ. Неговиот син Касандар, кој владеел по него, заврши сите загриженост со тоа што мајка Олимпија Александар убиени, а кратко потоа убивање на персиски сопругата и синот на Александар III.

По Касандар, кој беше принуден да се даде на грчките градови нивната независност, Македон, повторно беше опфатен со на граѓанска војна и внатрешно нарушување на многу баратели. Повеќето кралеви на овој период траеше неколку години доколку ги има, и превирања беше владеењето на денот. Дури и Пир Епирски, кој ги поразил Римјаните во две Pyhhric победи, бил крунисан кралот на Македон во еден момент. Оваа криза трае до Филип V зеде престолот.

Филип стекнато на престолот на 17, прилично млади, но во време кога Македон беше благословен од надворешни настани. Рим бил заклучен во битката за опстанок против Ханибал и Картагена, Египет цар (и непријател на Македон) неодамна почина, а Грција била претежно обнови. Тој сојуз неговата царството со онаа на Антиох на Селевкиди да се подели на Егејското и модерна Турција меѓу нив.

Филип виде закана од бунтовнички Рим, и во сојуз со Ханибал самиот по Cannae за да се обезбеди Римјаните слезе и остана долу. Овој, си помисли, ќе обезбеди неговите западни крило, додека тој ги прошири своите растечки царството кон исток. Ова беше во ретроспектива глупави потег, бидејќи ниту партнер имаше средство за помагање на други се додека римскиот морнарица беше врховен по Јадранот. Значи, кога Ханибал на крајот се повлекоа од Италија и Рим повторно беше во пораст, Сенатот нареди Тит Flaminius да се стави на Македонците цврсто на своето место. Филип изгубени во голема мера во Cynocephalae во 197 и беше принуден да се откаже од грчки градови, да се плати огромна штета во Рим, за да ветуваат дека ќе се воздржат од агресивно војна, и да остане во рамките на границите Рим постави за Македонија. Филип, немоќни по катастрофата, се согласува.

Неговиот син Персеј не. Тој заврши почеток на Третата македонска воjна се обидуваат да повратат изгубени статусот на неговата земја како регионален центар. Луциј Aemilius Paullus, внук на конзул убиени во Cannae, решително го порази на Пидна во 168 п.н.е. и во вечни векови воспоставена доминацијата на Римската legionary во текот на грчко-стил hoplite и phalangite. Македонски била поделена на четири автономни делови, а потоа соединета во римска провинција. Потоа Македон се повлекол од светската сцена, никогаш нема да се видат повторно.

Forgive me I just couldn't resist.

If you guys don't want me to do any more Ancient nations just say so.

[PachaMinnie]

Adolf Hitler

Since yesterday was his birthday, and he was the most important person in all of the 20th century, I though I would write a bit about old Adolf.


Hitler was born on May 20th 1889 in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Hitler was the son of 52 year old Austrian Customs Official, Alois Schickelgruber Hitler, and his third wife, a young peasant girl named Klara Poelzl. The young Hitler was a resentful, disconnected child, he was lazy, moody, and had a very unstable temper. He Hated his strict father, this is because when Hitler was young he wanted to be an artist, but his father wanted him to be a customs official. The relationship between Hitler and his father only worsened until his father's death when Hitler was 13. It was due to his father that Hitler cared very little about school. He set his sights on artistry, and his father had made that his only passion, so he didn't care at all about his school work. He dropped out of High School when he was 16 and lived with his mother and other siblings until he was 19. He had the opposite relationship with His mother Klara, who loved him and spoiled him.

In October of 1907 he left his home and moved to Vienna to try to become an artist. In 1908 he was rejected from Vienna art school, and in December of the same year his mother died from Cancer. This was his welcoming into his life as a tramp in Vienna. He called it "5 years of misery and woe". Hitler never got a stand up job, in fact he hated them. Instead he did various odd jobs here and there, which was why he was so poor. His five years in Vienna led him to adopt his hatred for Jews, Marxists, Liberalism, and the cosmopolitian Hapsburg Dynasty. It was also in Vienna he got his first political lesson from a Christian Social Mayor named Karl Luegar. Here he adopted his horrible views that would shape him and the world for many years to come.

World War 1
Hitler left Vienna for Munich and when war broke out in 1914 he joined the 16th Barvarian Infantry Regiment, serving as a dispatch runner. Hitler proved to be an able courageous soldier, he even earned the Iron Cross First Class for his bravery, but never rose above the rank of Lance Corporal. Twice wounded, he was badly gassed just four weeks before the wars end. He was temporarily blinded when he heard the news. First, he remembers crying for hours on end curing the German government and asking how could it have happened. Then, as Hitler always did, he got angry and found someone to blame it on. He was convinced his purpose in life was to rid the world of Bolsheviks and Jews, and restore the hurt nation of Germany to her rightful glory! Assigned by the Reichswher to "educational duties" [A.K.A. spying on other political parties] he stumbled upon the small German Worker's Party, a party with only about 40 members. On September 16th he joined the party, quickly rising to its head leader in 1921 and renamed the party the Nationalist Socialist German Workers' Party.

***** Currently Under Construction ********

[Shiav]

Adolf Hitler

Since yesterday was his birthday, and he was the most important person in all of the 20th century, I though I would write a bit about old Adolf.

Your lucky I can't post pictures here, little one.

[tfordp]

Ha ha Shiav. No the next are Parthia, Armenia, Pontus, then finish Macedonia. Then some barbarians.

You're going to write about the three musketeers too?

[Invader]

I think someone else needs to post some history, no offense. I'd like to hear about the more major nations, like Russia or Britain.
(We haven't done anything on those yet, have we? I think we need links in the OP.)

[PachaMinnie]

I think someone else needs to post some history, no offense. I'd like to hear about the more major nations, like Russia or Britain.
(We haven't done anything on those yet, have we? I think we need links in the OP.)

Yeah I'm going to stop after Hitler. Take a break for a little bit.

Yes Hitler was the most important person in the 20th century, He started up the worst war in human history which led to the Atomic Bomb being invented and the Cold War. He has left more of an impact than anyone else form that era. I mean I suppose that is really an opinion, because you can never really prove someones usefulness.

Also I will do more ancient kingdoms, just later. Later, much later. Just let me finish Hitler and I will not post about anything else for a bit. Promise. Also Russia was done by Shiav, first page.

[Shiav]

I think someone else needs to post some history, no offense. I'd like to hear about the more major nations, like Russia or Britain.
(We haven't done anything on those yet, have we? I think we need links in the OP.)

Russia is done. Page one.

[Shiav]

Yeah I'm going to stop after Hitler. Take a break for a little bit.

Yes Hitler was the most important person in the 20th century, He started up the worst war in human history which led to the Atomic Bomb being invented and the Cold War. He has left more of an impact than anyone else form that era. I mean I suppose that is really an opinion, because you can never really prove someones usefulness.

Also I will do more ancient kingdoms, just later. Later, much later. Just let me finish Hitler and I will not post about anything else for a bit. Promise. Also Russia was done by Shiav, first page.

This point can be argued to infinity and beyond. Because, arguably, woodrow wilson and the signatories of the Treaty of Versailles are more important, for they're the cause of Hitler being able to start ww2. Or Gavrilo Princep, for causing WWI causing Versailles causing WWII. Or Sulieman the Magnificent, 600 years before, for conquering the balkans and starting off what has been 700 years of ethnic tensions and nationalism.

[PachaMinnie]

This point can be argued to infinity and beyond. Because, arguably, woodrow wilson and the signatories of the Treaty of Versailles are more important, for they're the cause of Hitler being able to start ww2. Or Gavrilo Princep, for causing WWI causing Versailles causing WWII. Or Sulieman the Magnificent, 600 years before, for conquering the balkans and starting off what has been 700 years of ethnic tensions and nationalism.

I said 20th Century, so Sulieman the Magnificent couldn't be one of the top canidates. This is true however, but Hitler got the ball rolling. It would have taken a long time for someone like him to take power, because I doubt any other politician would've had the guts to constantly defy the Euro powers with such a weak economy and small army.

[Shiav]

I said 20th Century, so Sulieman the Magnificent couldn't be one of the top canidates. This is true however, but Hitler got the ball rolling. It would have taken a long time for someone like him to take power, because I doubt any other politician would've had the guts to constantly defy the Euro powers with such a weak economy and small army.

Had it not been Hitler it would've been the communists. They wouldn't have to defy the european powers, as they'd already have the entire east secured

[PachaMinnie]

Had it not been Hitler it would've been the communists. They wouldn't have to defy the european powers, as they'd already have the entire east secured

That still would have called for a massive arms build up, and I don't think any leader in Germany at that time could've helped Germany out of her economy. If the communists had taken power there wouldn't have been a World War 2. They wouldn't have felt the need to take back all of Germany's "Rightful" lands. That is unless they wanted the Communist powers united, then they would've invaded Poland and likely started a World War. However they would've quickly lost because they Germans won early victories due to the Blitzkrieg tactic and that wouldn't have been used I don't think.

[Shiav]

That still would have called for a massive arms build up, and I don't think any leader in Germany at that time could've helped Germany out of her economy. If the communists had taken power there wouldn't have been a World War 2. They wouldn't have felt the need to take back all of Germany's "Rightful" lands. That is unless they wanted the Communist powers united, then they would've invaded Poland and likely started a World War. However they would've quickly lost because they Germans won early victories due to the Blitzkrieg tactic and that wouldn't have been used I don't think.

Well, this all being speculation, I don't think WWII would've happened anywhere near when it did or how it did. Italy would've continued on its little quest to rebuild the Roman Empire (and still failed miserably) but a communist Germany would've made Poland a higher priority than czechoslovakia or austria. And, were it not for the fact that Germany had already pissed off the british with both of those annexations, I doubt a ww2 would've happened just from an invasion of Poland. Bearing in mind that they would have had Soviet backing, I don't think the British would've gone to war. They stood to lose a lot more on many more fronts against the Soviets than the Germans. And the British Raj was VERY pro-communist. A revolution there might've happened sooner, and then the British would be royally screwed. (pun intended)

[PachaMinnie]

Well, this all being speculation, I don't think WWII would've happened anywhere near when it did or how it did. Italy would've continued on its little quest to rebuild the Roman Empire (and still failed miserably) but a communist Germany would've made Poland a higher priority than czechoslovakia or austria. And, were it not for the fact that Germany had already pissed off the british with both of those annexations, I doubt a ww2 would've happened just from an invasion of Poland. Bearing in mind that they would have had Soviet backing, I don't think the British would've gone to war. They stood to lose a lot more on many more fronts against the Soviets than the Germans. And the British Raj was VERY pro-communist. A revolution there might've happened sooner, and then the British would be royally screwed. (pun intended)

I suppose it doesn't matter. Hitler was a furherious man and he did what he set out to do. No one else did that for him, he did. Arguing who set it in motion and who could have done what doesn't matter. He was responsible for the deaths of 56 million people,he was responsible for World War 2 which brought on the Cold War, Atomic Bomb, the dissolving of all colonial empires, the fall of communism, tanks and planes becoming VERY important in war, and countless other things. We could argue on what would've happened if someone didn't do something in the past or if he died in World War I, but that doesn't matter. He played with the hand he was dealt, and he played it with ruthless efficiency.

[Hawk]

I really admire the effort you are putting into this History school thread, PachaMinnie!

Could you please put all the info on Macedonia in just one post though? Someone will read the first post and not realize there's even a second post. Plus it's just more orderly and easier to index in the future.

[PachaMinnie]

I really admire the effort you are putting into this History school thread, PachaMinnie!

Could you please put all the info on Macedonia in just one post though? Someone will read the first post and not realize there's even a second post. Plus it's just more orderly and easier to index in the future.

Macedonia

The Kingdom of Macedonia was arguably one of the most important nations in the ancient Kingdom. They built one of the largest empires known to man, spread Hellenistic Civilization across the Middle east and Asia, and after its collapse new important kingdoms formed from the ruins. [ I am talking about Alexander's empire when I say new and important kingdoms formed from its ruins]. The Macedonians themselves where Hellenistic. Some of them even considered themselves to be Greek. The Macedonians had their own customs, language, even their own religion however, so they where a separate nation.

Macedonia's founding is shrouded in myth and legend. From what we can gather, the Macedonians where a bunch of scattered, fragmented tribes until a man named Caranus united the tribes. These tribes where different from all of their neighbors, and did something none of them could do - unite.

The Macedonians where in the worst spot and the best spot. Their area was rich in timber and minerals, but they where bordered by the Warlike Illyrians and Thracians and shunned by the Greeks. When Darius invaded Greece in the 5th Century B.C. the Macedonians where first allied with the Persians, but switched sides due to interest. Here the Macedonians sat, lying in wait, remaining in the background waiting, building their infastructure, and wroking within their borders to bring themselves out of barbarism and into a civilized era. All they needed was a great leader, and this came in the form of Phillip the 2nd.

Philip the 2nd of Macedon was a genius. He was a great politician, commander, and all-around great person. He inherited the Macedonian kingdom from his father, and gave it some reforms. First he lengthened the spears his pikemen used so they would be more effective vs Greek Hoplites, then he reduced their shield size. After that he introduced heavy cavalry into the mix and gave light infantry more of a role. He also made soldering a profession, and not some task that doesn't pay. In fact he paid the soldiers good sums of money and made staying in the army one more year worth while. Thus the Macedonians became better at fighting, because their soldiers where more trained.

He also settled the succession of the kingship. Prior to his reign, since the death of King Archelaus (in 399 BCE) who began the build-up of infrastructure, Macedonia was wracked with civil war as pretender after pretender seized the throne and was cast from it. Tribal chiefs became powerful as the king's waned with the constant changes. Philip, who had been a hostage in Thebes for three years, emerged and quickly solidified his reign by conquering those chiefs, reducing them to local lords, and subduing or driving away the Illyrians, Paeonians, and Thracians who had been plaguing Macedon's borders. Polygamy was lawful for Macedonian kings at that time, and Philip used this extensively to secure his realm. He married an Illyrian princess to gain a lasting peace on that border, then a Macedonian one to quell internal strife. Then he married an Epirote princess to secure his western border. He also established a Greek-style school in his capital for education of noble children- who then also served as informal hostages for the good behavior of their parents. By these methods, and frequent use of his new and improved army, Philip quickly mastered Macedonia.

He then conquered a few towns bordering an area of interest to the Athenians, razing them and selling their people as slaves. Athens did nothing but complain, as it was tied up in the Social War following its defeat in the Peloponnesian War. Philip seized upon this inactivity and sieged Amphipolis (an Athenian colony), then proceeded to take all of modern Greece north of Thermopylae. Thereafter he dealt with a few rebellions and fought the Thracians, conquering them to the Danube, where he destroyed a Scythian army.

These actions in Northern Greece earned him a spot on the Delphic Council, which earned him the hatred of the Greek cities. With all the money he was earning, he used the Greeks as his play things, making them battle each other. This kept them pre-occupied while Philip continued his wars amongest his other enemies. The Greeks hated him so much, they sided with the Persians to take him down, Forcing him to lift his siege of Byzantium, then the Greeks confronted him.

Athens and Thebes had been sworn foes during the Peloponnesian War, at the conclusion of which Thebes had even demanded of the Spartans that Athens be razed and its citizens sold into slavery. The Spartans wisely declined, and that preserved Athens. Now, faced with the Macedonian surge, Thebes and Athens allied with each other to confront Philip at Charonaea in 338.

They lost, and lost heavily. Philip had one half of his phalanx fall back while the other surged forward, creating a gap in his lines- and one in the Allied lines. Through this gap thundered Alexander and the Macedonian Heavy Cavalry. The result- the Theban Sacred Band was annihilated, and the rest of the army thoroughly beaten. Philip was supreme in Greece.

His reign as Hegemon of Greece did not last long. He was assassinated by a Macedonian nobleman in 336 BCE, leaving a 20 year old son to rule his vast realm. This was Alexander III, later known as Alexander the Great.

Alexander brought the empire to new heights. He vanquished the Persians and took them over. He fought the Persians, Greeks, Egyptians, Indians, sieges, storms, assualts, and battles against the harshest enviroments, ranging from the harsh deserts to deep jungles. His exploits could fill up books, and books, and books, he has inspired so many greats after him, he never even lost a battle. Could some of his victories be contributed to luck or good subordinate commanders? Yes, of course. However, none can deny his generalship, ability to read the battlefield, his perfect timing, his charisma, his ability to inspire the troops, he truly earned the title "Great".

He was not to live forever, nor his empire. He died of sickness after living in Babylon without a soul to conquer. At this point in his life he was a drunk. He killed one of his best friends after a drunken fit of rage. He was pronounced dead 323 BC and the exact moment he took his final breath was the exact time his empire fell apart. His generals now argued over who should rule, and this lead to the split of his empire.

Ptolemy took Egypt, Seleucus the East, and Antipater Macedon and Greece. It is Antipater with whom we shall follow now. He ruled as regent for many years, always consolidating his power, and killing any threat to that power. His son Cassander, who ruled after him, ended all concerns by having Alexander's mother Olympias murdered, and shortly thereafter killing the Persian wife and son of Alexander III.

After Cassander, who was forced to give the Greek cities their independence, Macedon was again wracked by the civil strife and internal disorder of many claimants. Most kings of this period lasted few years if any, and turmoil was the rule of the day. Even Pyrrhus of Epirus, who defeated the Romans in two Pyhhric victories, was crowned King of Macedon at one point. This turmoil lasted until Philip V took the throne.

Philip gained the throne at 17, fairly young, but at a time when Macedon was blessed by external events. Rome was locked into a battle of survival against Hannibal and Carthage, Egypt's king (and enemy of Macedon) had recently died, and Greece had been mostly recovered. He allied his realm with that of Antiochus of the Seleucids to divide the Aegean and modern Turkey between them.

Philip saw the threat of a resurgent Rome, and allied himself with Hannibal after Cannae to ensure the Romans went down and stayed down. This would, he thought, secure his western flank while he expanded his growing realm eastward. This was in hindsight a foolish move, as neither partner had a means of helping the other as long as the Roman Navy was supreme upon the Adriatic. So when Hannibal eventually withdrew from Italia and Rome was again on the Rise, the Senate ordered Titus Flaminius to put the Macedonians firmly in their place. Philip lost heavily at Cynocephalae in 197 and was forced to relinquish the Greek cities, to pay a huge indemnity to Rome, to promise to refrain from aggressive war, and to stay within the borders Rome set for Macedonia. Philip, powerless after the catastrophe, agreed.

His son Perseus did not. He ended up starting the Third Macedonian War trying to recover his country's lost status as regional powerhouse. Lucius Aemilius Paullus, grandson of the consul killed at Cannae, decisively defeated him at Pydna in 168 BCE and forever established the dominance of the Roman legionary over the Greek-style hoplite and phalangite. Macedon was divided into four autonomous parts, then later amalgamated into a Roman province. Thereafter Macedon retired from the world stage, never to be seen again.

easy

[Hawk]

Thank you!

I'll copy and paste your bit of info on Rome under the title of Rome on the first page...Hopefully we get a lot more though, which I am willing to do if no one else ends up doing.

[Vito_Lucente]

I'm probably gonna finish World War I within the next couple of days, I'll post the second part and edit the first.

EDIT: There really do need to be links in the OP to each lesson.

[Hawk]

There really do need to be links in the OP to each lesson.

I'll set up some links soon.

[SlickSlicer]

================================================
China
================================================

(drawn from CIA Factbook. Link at the bottom):

-China has the largest population of any country in the world. It contains over 1.3 billion people.

-China is the fourth largest country in the world at 9,596,961 sq km.

-China borders fourteen other countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, Burma, India, Kazakhstan, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, Vietnam

-The three largest cities in China are Shanghai (上海), Beijing (北京) and Chongqing (重慶). The capital of China is Beijing, which literally means "Northern Capital." "Nanjing," another city which has in the past been used as China's capital, means "Southern capital."

-In 2010, China became the world's largest exporter and its economy was rated as second-largest in the world, only behind the United States of America.

-Mandarin, or Putonghua (普通話), is the main language of China. Mandarin is usually romanized using Pinyin. In the past it was Romanized with Wade-Giles.

-China has traditionally been called Zhongguo (中國 ), which literally means the "Middle Kingdom." It has also been given the moniker "Cathay" in the past. The name "Cathay" stems from the "Khitan" or "Khitai" people, which ruled over the state of Liao in the 10th, 11th and early 12th centuries. Liao's borders encompassed parts of Northern China. (Mote, 60) It has been claimed that the modern name "China" comes from the "Qin" (pronounced "Chin") dynasty. Since the original pronunciation of Qin differed, it's possible that the term "china" comes from a Persian root instead, which was originally used to define porcelain. Today the term "china" or "chinaware" still survives to describe porcelain, which makes this etymological origin fairly logical.

In English, the proper name for the country is currently "People's Republic of China." In Chinese that is Zhonghua Renmin Gongheguo (中華人民共和國). The term "renmin" means "the people," and China's currency is called renminbi (人民幣), which means "The People's currency." Their dollar is called the "yuan" (元).

Data drawn from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publicat...k/geos/ch.html

Works Cited:

Mote, Frederick W. Imperial China: 900 - 1800. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: Harvard Univ., 2000. Print.

United States. CIA. CIA The World Factbook. 4 May 2012

Wheatley, Julian K. "Learning Chinese: A Foundation Course in Mandarin." MIT Opencourseware Chinese I. MIT. 4 May 2012 <http://ocw.mit.edu/courses/foreign-languages-and-literatures/21f-101-chinese-i-regular-spring-2006/readings/background_1.pdf>.

================================================
Introduction
================================================

Short version: I will summarize China as best as I can. I'm going to avoid using Western terms like "Medieval" to describe Chinese history. Also, at the end of each section I'll post a summary under a "tl;dr" heading.

Intro: The history of China is long and full of achievements. Summarizing China's history does it a disservice: Numerous aspects of Chinese history are worth discussing. The country's cultural, economic, military and scientific feats over the span of the last several thousand years are extensive. Today China is a rising world power. Some people even believe that China will supplant the USSR as the next superpower to challenge the United States' global dominance. In fact, throughout much of recorded history, China has been a force to reckon with. As in the past, it is likely that China will continue to profoundly impact politics and the global economy in the future.

In analyzing premodern, Imperial Chinese history, it is useful to abandon Western terms for historical periods such as "Classical," "Medieval," and "Renaissance." Instead, it is probably best to characterize most periods of Chinese history by the sovereign states that existed in any given time period. Chinese History fluctuates between periods of tumult and periods of unity. The famous novel Romance of the Three Kingdoms sums up this trend the best with the phrase, "Lùn tiānxià dàshì, fēn jiŭ bì hé, hé jiŭ bì fēn (論天下大勢，分久必合，合久必分)-Speaking of the Empire under Heaven, [the Empire that is] long divided, must unite. [The Empire that is] long united, must divide." In periods of fragmentation, a genuine desire for civilized order and re-unity eventually resulted in the formation of a dynasty powerful enough to take back the country. After long periods of peace and prosperity, however, internal corrosion or external conquest could bring about a new era of warlordism and division.

In discussing different periods of Chinese History, I will be using terms like "Han Dynasty," "Spring and Autumn Period," "Warring States," "Three Kingdoms," "Northern and Southern Dynasties," "Tang Dynasty," etc. I will avoid applying Western nomenclature to China such as "Ancient" or "Medieval" China. Terms like these obfuscate the fact that China moved through history in a very different way than Western civilization.

At the end of each section I will put a "tl;dr" blurb. tl;dr means: "Too long, don't read." It will give an abbreviated version of Chinese history.

================================================
The Zhou Dynasty
================================================

Traditionally, Chinese civilization is held to have begun with the Xia and continued under the Shang. Historians do not know as much about Shang's predecessors; therefore, most Western sources of Chinese history begin by discussing the Shang. The Shang laid linguistic, cultural, administrative and religious foundations for Chinese civilization. They kept written records on oracle bones and bronze vessels, which is one reason why historians know much more about the Shang than preceding states (Tignor, et al. 123-126).

The Shang dynasty had defeated the Xia to seize power, but they were in turn conquered by the Zhou. The Zhou then proceeded to found the longest lasting Chinese dynasty in history (1045-221 BC). The concept of the Mandate of Heaven [tianming 天命] was conceived at this time (Tignor 173); this concept was used to explain the transfer of power from Shang to Zhou. Tradition holds that the last rulers of Xia and Shang were depraved; this led Heaven to punish these dynasties with extinction and reward their successors with the Mandate of Heaven. The Mandate of Heaven initially was a religious compact between the Zhou people and Heaven (ibid.). It eventually evolved into a complicated philosophical notion. The Mandate of Heaven was similar to the concept of 'divine right,' but it was not rewarded to rulers and their successors arbitrarily. It was given only to those who manifested qualities befitting of heaven (which could be anything from virtue to martial majesty: the concept was debated extensively). Philosophically, this meant that Chinese rulers were somewhat accountable to their citizens. If they ruled poorly or conducted a disastrous military campaign, Heaven might ordain their destruction, according to the philosophy. In practical terms, this meant that rebels often legitimized their actions by claiming that an incumbent ruler had lost the Mandate of Heaven or that they (the rebels) had received it (Perry 163), as the Zhou dynasty did when they subjugated the Shang. This legitimization of power could serve the interest of Chinese Emperors or become their worst nightmare. It potentially gave Emperors great authority with the backing of Heaven, but it could undo them and their dynasties if their performance faltered too severely.

Even as they simultaneously discredited the Shang's administration, however, the Zhou borrowed many methods of governance, rituals and cultural elements from the Shang. My decision to start my summary of China with the Zhou, rather than the Shang, is completely arbitrary. In doing so, I am not attempting to ignore the Shang's many notable successes. I have decided simply that the Zhou dynasty's duration and own sizable contributions to the history of China make them a good starting point for this post.

Western Zhou (1045-771 BC)*

Zhou government

As stated before, the Zhou dynasty was technically the longest in Chinese history. However, while the Zhou dynasty lasted long, it did not necessarily rule the entire country for long. Compared to other Chinese dynasties, the Zhou was somewhat decentralized. As Maria Khayutina wrote in her article on Zhou royal receptions and hospitality, "The larger Western Zhou polity embracing the territories of the regional states never represented an integral economic entity, and regional rulers (“all the lords,” zhuhou 媠侯) were administratively autonomous within their domains." However, "politically, the larger Zhou realm was considered a whole, and regional rulers continued nominally to accept the terms of hierarchical subordination to the Zhou king long after the royal house had lost the ability to enforce obedience." (Khayutina, 11-12)

The term "Western Zhou," mentioned in the title, might be confusing to the reader. Although the phrases "Western Zhou" and "Eastern Zhou" refer to the same Chinese dynasty, the Zhou, they refer to this dynasty at different times. The name "Western Zhou" comes from the fact that early in Zhou history, the main capital of the Zhou, Zongzhou (宗周) [also called Fenghao] (Khayutina, 2), was located in its Northwestern territory. In the 8th century BC, the Zhou were forced out of this capital (Tignor, 178) and retreated to a secondary, Eastern one at Chengzhou (成周) (Burenhult, 109). This inaugurated the so-called "Eastern Zhou" period. During the Eastern Zhou, the Zhou dynasty lost real political power and became a figurehead in Chinese politics.

The Zhou state and its rulers thus had a greater impact on Chinese history during the Western Zhou period, but the exact machinations of their government are somewhat vague. In the past, Western Zhou government has been described as "feudal." This assertion has been challenged in the last few years, particularly due to archaeological finds of ritual bronze vessels from the Zhou era containing inscriptions regarding matters of government. Li Feng has argued that in certain areas, particularly ones directly controlled by the Zhou rather than their vassals, the Zhou state developed a bureaucracy (Eno, 1097-1098).

The Zhou founded capitals at Zongzhou and Chengzhou, as well as another royal residence at a location called "Zhou" nearby Mount Qi. Historians debate these locations' significance (Khayutina, 3). Apparently the Zhou Court was fairly mobile, moving around to various places to prepare for military campaigns, meet with their subordinates (which was particularly important due to how decentralized the state was otherwise) or conduct religious rituals (Khayutina, 7). The Zhou's network of vassals and overall territory was greater than Shang's (Burenhult, 109). In fact, the "Zhou world" would continue to expand in numerous directions under Zhou's nominal satellite states, even when the Zhou royalty itself lost power during the Eastern Zhou. Areas that were newly incorporated into Zhou's sphere of influence, particularly in the Yangzi valley, became important centers of Chinese civilization.

The Duke of Zhou


The early Zhou, as with many periods of early Chinese history, has been romanticized as a period of great and wise men. Particularly conspicuous among these heroes is the "Duke of Zhou," who ruled as a regent. The so-called Duke of Zhou came to power shortly after the Zhou ruler, King Wu (武 "martial"), finished the conquest of Shang. Since King Wu's son, King Cheng, was too young to properly govern a country, the Duke of Zhou (King Wu's brother) maintained the realm in his stead. The Duke of Zhou was not an usurper. He can best be compared to a figure like Cardinal Richelieu of France. He strengthened the state and the royal house, in the process educating King Wu's son about a ruler's duties. Because of his loyalty and statesmanship, he receives lavish praise from Chinese historians. (Upshur et. al., 68) During the Duke of Zhou's regime, several of King Wu's brothers, along with remnants of the previous Shang dynasty and other anti-Zhou powers, revolted against the Zhou state. (Shim, 21) This rebellion has been linked to several factors. One is that the state of Shang had not been completely vanquished at the time of King Wu's death (Shim, 19-20); a few Shang hold-outs in the East were still resistant to Zhou hegemony. In any case, the Duke of Zhou wiped out the last serious Shang resistance to Zhou rule and consolidated Zhou control. When Duke Cheng came of age, the Duke of Zhou retired and peacefully handed over the reins of government. His suppression of rebels in the East and peaceful turnover of power ensured Zhou stability for many years.

Many other achievements are credited, albeit dubiously, to the Duke of Zhou. He is purported to have invented the "well-field" (井田) system of government. According to this concept, a village would be divided into nine components. Eight families would each receive an equally sized plot of land to farm, and in the center of these plots would be a well and the homes of the villagers. The villagers shared the well and gave part of their crop yield to their lord. This simple and equitable system inspired many reformers in later centuries (Xiaowendi of Northern Wei being particularly notable). However, it is unlikely that land redistribution on such a widespread scale was implemented by the Duke of Zhou (Upshur, 69). Traditionally, the Duke of Zhou is credited with authoring the Zhou Li (Pearce et. al, 157) and other works on rites and government. These achievements are all unlikely for the most part. For example, the Zhou Li is believed to have been written during the Warring States era (Pearce et. al, 157).

End of an Era

As time passed, the power of the Zhou state waned. The many vassals of the Zhou government became attached to their hereditary land holdings. In time they carved miniature states of their own and began fighting among each other. The Zhou court, which struggled to contain barbarian invasions in the North, could no longer restrain its vassals. In 771 BC, the Zhou King was killed and the Western capital of the Zhou was overrun by northern adversaries; the remainder of the Zhou court fled to the Eastern capital. This marked the effective end of the "Western Zhou" period, and the effective end of de-facto Zhou power in general. (Upshur 71) But while the Zhou royalty itself had lost power over the country, it was still respected as a nominal authority for centuries to come.

*-These dates are not exact. They also refer to the Western Zhou dynasty after Shang had been conquered. The Zhou had been around prior to 1045.

tl;dr:

-The Shang dynasty was conquered by the Zhou. The Zhou rulers invoked the concept of the "Mandate of Heaven" in order to justify their takeover of Shang.

-The Zhou government was somewhat decentralized. The Zhou rewarded land to vassals or meritorious subjects. They developed some bureaucratic aspects as well, however. Their rudimentary bureaucracy would be influential to states of the Eastern Zhou and later dynasties.

-The Zhou court had several capitals and moved around frequently.

-After the Zhou conquered the Shang, the Duke of Zhou consolidated Zhou control and set up a stable and effective government.

-The Zhou ruled for several centuries. As time passed, their control over the Empire began to decline. Many former Zhou vassals eventually controlled more land than the Zhou royalty itself. Finally, in 771 BC, the Zhou court was driven from its Western capital by foreign invaders and forced to relocate to the East.

Works Cited:

Perry, Elizabeth J. "Challenging The Mandate Of Heaven: Popular Protest in Modern China." Critical Asian Studies 33 (2001): 163-80.

Tignor, Robert L. Worlds together, worlds apart: [a history of the world]. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 2011.

Khayutina, Maria. "Royal Hospitality and Geopolitical Constitution of the Western Zhou Polity." T'oung Pao 96 (2010): 1-73.

Burenhult, Goran. Great civilizations. society and culture in the ancient world. San Francisco, CA: Fog City P, 2003.

Eno, Robert. "Envisioning Eternal Empire: Chinese Political Thought of the Warring States Era./Bureaucracy and the State in Early China: Governing the Western Zhou." American Historical Review 115 (2010): 1097-099.

Upshur, Jiu-Hwa Lo. World history before 1600: The development of early civilization. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011.

Shim, Jae-Hoon. "The Political Geography of Shanxi on the Eve of the Zhou Conquest of Shang: An Alternative Interpretation of the Establishment of Jin." T'oung Pao 88 (2002): 1-26.

Pearce, Scott. Culture and power in the reconstitution of the Chinese realm: 200 - 600. Cambridge, Mass. [u.a.: Harvard Univ. P, 2001.

Eastern Zhou (770-256 BC) until the Qin: The Spring and Autumn (722-453 BC) and the Warring States Eras (453-221 BC)

The shrunken royal domain of the Zhou could no longer exert actual authority over the much larger states that had emerged around it. Although these states continued to pay lip-service to the Zhou, in reality they were independent entities. The period of time from 770 BC-256 BC is called the "Eastern Zhou" (Upshur 71). However, it is better to conceive of this period not in terms of the Zhou's longevity, but in terms of the independent states that formed (and competed with one another). Combined with the subsequent Warring States era that led to the unification of China by the Qin Dynasty, this was one of the longest periods of division in Chinese history. Despite the fragmentation and seemingly anarchic nature of the times, though, both this period and the Warring States period were times of great progress. Moreover, although the Qin is credited for unifying China under Qin Shihuangdi (The First Emperor of Qin: Ying Zheng), it's probably more accurate to say that the process toward unification began during the Eastern Zhou; over time, larger states in this period swallowed smaller ones until China was finally unified by a victor. In the late eighth century BC, over 100 states existed. In the 5th century, this number had been reduced to about 40. At the close of the Zhou dynasty, China was divided between just a few large, powerful states. (Watson, xxxi)

Since the start of the Eastern Zhou, the Spring and Autumn Period (I'll explain this phrase shortly) and the Warring States period all make up essentially one era of fragmentation, I'm going to take some shortcuts and lump them together in this summary. These periods were not just significant in terms of their political progress (leading to the unification of China), but also for the numerous other innovations that appeared during this time. [to be continued]



Works Cited:

Zuoqiu, Ming, and Burton Watson. The Tso chuan: Selections from China's oldest narrative history. New York: Columbia UP, 1989.

Upshur, Jiu-Hwa Lo. World history before 1600: The development of early civilization. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 2011.

[ddesart]

Very well done Slick...inspiring really..."I don't know if I can do it well", then bam!!! Good job...

[SlickSlicer]

It's more like...it's too extensive to easily cover. I haven't even finished a single dynasty yet.

[Hawk]

It's more like...it's too extensive to easily cover. I haven't even finished a single dynasty yet.

Yes, there is just so much to Chinese history, but it does look like your the man for the job. Good work!

[Hawk]

I want to do a post on the Romani at some point, as I'm quite familiar with their history and origins. I know they have been nomadic for most of their history, and some of them are still nomads, but I figure since the Huns are listed as a civ there shouldn't be a problem. Besides, we are discussing history as a whole as well as various civs.

[Hawk]

Romani/Gypsies

Class teacher: Hawk


There have been many misconceptions about the Romani people and their origins, which is largely because of two reasons: a) For most of their history they have been nomads - in fact many of them are still nomadic, but now most of them are settled. b) Their unwillingness to be absorbed into a society, which has both preserved their culture, and caused more people to see them as alien or different. So where did these generally dark skinned nomads originate from? Somewhere in Northwestern India, and sometime before 400 A.D., where a group of Indians became nomadic craftsmen and entertainers, and never fully returned to settled life since.

Interestingly, an ancient Persian poet, Firdawsi, mentioned the early ancestors of the Romani in the Shah-Nameh ("Book of Kings"), which explained how how the Persian Shah Bahram Gur persuaded the Indian King Shangul to send him 10,000 Luri musicians ("Luri" is the term still used for the Romani in Iran and the surrounding areas). Many years later, Hamza, (an Arab historian) called these same musicians "Zott." (The word "Zott" means "a stranger" or a "foreigner" in the ancient Arab language. It is also still used today to describe the Romani people), who were to be distributed to the various parts of the Persian kingdom.'
Gradually the early Romani continued to travel, and were found in more and more parts of the Middle East. It was not until around the late 1200s that the Romani (or at that time "Aresajipe") reached Europe for the very first time,
which coincides with the expansion of the Mongol empire reaching Turkey at that time. The Romani would have reached Europe anyway, however most probably the Mongols sped their travels.

It was in Eastern Europe where one of the largest tribes of Romani would at first flourish and expand, these would be called the "Roma" ("Rom" or "Roma" means "Man" or "Men" in the Romany language (a "y" at the end refers to the language, while an "i" refers to the people themselves)), but would not be the only tribe to form in Europe. The term "Gypsies" originates in Turkey, where tit was thought that the Romani came from Egypt, due to their dress styles, dark complexion, and amount of jewelry worn. This term started out as "Gyptians" and changed to "Gypsies" over time. Romani people in general do not refer to themselves as "Gypsies".
The Romani continued to spread through Europe, and form other tribes, such as the Sinti, Manuch and Gitanos. A map of their travel pattern as they migrated through Europe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Movimiento_gitano.jpg

Unfortunately many locals saw the arrival of the Gypsies as a bad omen, especially with the arrival of the Black Death in the 1300s. This added to the suspicions, and ultimately the constant persecution of the Romani since. Over the years Romani people were expelled or exiled from cities and towns, as well as countries, with penalties of torture and death. They are also widely used as slaves, but usually treated like animals. By law of the Lutheran Church, priests were not to have any dealings with Romani people, and their children are not to be christened and their dead not to be buried. During the Medieval era, laws were permitted for anyone to enter a Gypsy camp and empty the cooking pot (usually an entire clan would eat from one large pot) to see if there was any human remains, as it became believed that they were cannibals (which it terns out was not true). This meant that the clan would either have to remake the meal or miss out on dinner, as Gypsies would never eat anything that touched the ground. Some countries, such as Portugal, even banned Romani dress and clothing. Romani children under the age of ten are forcibly removed from their families and are placed in homes to be brought up by Christian families. Gypsy men are made sterile. Many Romani people are deported to colonies as convicts, such as to Australia.
Not all of their history since was miserable...Some countries under some leaders allowed them freedom, even if it never lasted, and in 1498 Christopher Columbus had four Gypsies accompany him on his third voyage to the New World. Many Romani became famous musicians. Also, in 1856 begins the Abolition of slavery in Romania or "The Slobuzenja".

Persacution reached an all new low when WW2 began, and Hitler turned his attention to the Roma and Sinti tribes. Richard Liebich's work on the Romani, back in 1868, introduces the phrase "lives unworthy of life" with specific reference to them, and is used as a racial category against Roma and Sinti in Nazi Germany. Roma and Sinti are either shot on sight, or rounded up and put in death camps, and many are experimented on - especially the children - and most of those died from the experiments. Up to 1,500,000 Sinti and Roma were killed in Europe by the Nazi regime and its puppet states. Determining the percentage or number of Roma who died in the Holocaust is not easy. Much of the Nazi documentation still remains to be analyzed, and many murders were not recorded, since they took place in the fields and forests where Roma and Sinti were apprehended.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Porajmos.jpg

The Romani now have a flag of their own: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Roma_flag.svg The blue represents the sky, the green represents the earth, and the shape in the middle represents the wagon wheel, and is a symbol of freedom.


Intriguing Romani facts:

Early Romani people were often used as paid mercenaries, but were also paid to hunt certain animals, play musical instruments, or foretell the future.

Traditionally Romani people were probably over clean in lifestyle, as they never ate from the floor, never wash male and female clothing together, people who died from disease were cremated with all their belongings in a wagon, and many of them viewed all other peoples as unclean.

Each clan had their own leader or "King". A King was generally male, however some have been known to be female. Now there are two people who both claim to be King of all the Gypsies.

In pop-culture the men wear earrings, but traditionally only women wore earrings. Men wore lots of rings, probably more than the women. Rings could hold special meaning, such as reaching a certain age, or gaining approval of parents or notable figures in a clan - such as the King.

Some Gypsies in the past have been known to believe in the existence of vampires.

The Romani had their own code of laws and punishments, and their own court system (called the "Kriss"), some of their punishments were quite harsh. Punishment for different crimes included fines, beatings, imprisonment, being given the title "Gjier" or "Non-Gypsy", being exiled from the clan for ever, or death. Laws and punishments vary from tribe to tribe, and time to time.

Different tribes and different clans specialize in different trades, such as horse breeding, entertainment, and metal working.

Some tribes and clans would sometimes war with each other. Some still do.

[ddesart]

I just bought my newest car from a Romani person...he was very nice...

[Hawk]

I just bought my newest car from a Romani person...he was very nice...

Cool! You'll find that Romani people are spread all over the globe now. Although most of them are now settled, and live much like everyone else, some groups still travel. We met a Manuch clan (Manuch are a tribe that live mainly in France) in Australia, and they were traveling around and still lived in caravans.

[Hawk]

Iroquois/Haudenosaunee

Class teacher: Hawk


The Iroquois are a still existing league of six Native American nations, who are the Mohawk, Seneca, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and the Tuscarora tribes. The Tuscarora joined the original league of fine nations in 1722. They are located largely in the State of New York, but also in North Carolina and Canada: http://www.mhschool.com/ss/ca/images...p_iroquois.jpg
They were one of the strongest civilizations of North America throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, and they reach the height of their power around 1680.

An Iroquois settlement: http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgu...9,r:0,s:0,i:52

"Iroquois" (Pronounced "Eer-uh-kwoy") is not what the Iroquois people call themselves. Originally they called themselves the Kanonsionni, which means "People of the Longhouse", and now they call themselves the Haudenosaunee, which means "They Are Building a Longhouse". The word "Iroquois" comes from a French pronunciation of the Huron word "Irinakhoiw" (The Huron, or Wyandot people, are another indigenous people of America, and traditional enemies of the Haudenosaunee people), the word originally meant something like "black snakes" or "real adders", and was used more as an insult. (For the convenience of the name, such as renown and pronunciation, I am using "Iroquois", but mean no disrespect)

The league first formed around the 16th century, or earlier, with the help of two historical characters, Dekanawida (Also known as the Great Peacemaker), and of course, Hiawatha.

As well as peace, the Iroquois also played an important role in wars. Notably the Beaver Wars, the French and Indian Wars, and the American War of Independence. Although at first they tried to remain neutral, it was the War of Independence that would divide the six nations and have them fight amongst themselves in civil war, as the Tuscarora and the Oneida tribes took sides with the colonials, while the Mohawk, Seneca, Onondaga and Cayuga fought for Great Britain. This proved devastating to the Iroquois, as every tribe lost their cities - out of all the Iroquois settlements only two remained relatively untouched by the end of the war - and many of those cities were completely burned to the ground. The destruction left most Iroquois homeless, and to top of the disaster that their situation had turned into a Winter that was far colder than usual, so many people either starved or froze to death. A lot of Iroquois family's who managed to survive moved north to Canada.
After the English surrendered, all Iroquois lands were given to the new and independent American government, all without any Iroquois having a say in the matter. The Iroquois, however, were far from ended, and they stubbornly kept pressing to regain their land and were eventually allowed to own the poorer parts of their original territory.

The early European colonists were used to fighting by certain rules, and in open fields, making European warfare much like a game of chess, sometimes with each side literally taking turns while the other wait for their turn. This meant the Iroquois had an advantage, as the colonists weren't used to the stealth and ambush forest fighting that the Iroquois were used to, but more than that the Iroquois were not often deterred by the wooden walls the Europeans built around their settlements, as they were also used to similar walls built around their own settlements. A battle tactic used by the Iroquois was to have man carry large shields up to enemy walls and place them up against them to use as ladders - This kept them safe from ranged attacks while they approached, and then made it easy for them to scale the walls. When the colonists first arrived in the Americas, the Iroquois soon started trading with the Europeans for horses, guns, ammunition, and sometimes even cannons! Within a very short time most of their technological disadvantage had been met, but the Iroquois kept their old technology as well, which was not a bad thing. Bows were easy to repair, and arrows easy to replace, while the old style rifles would become useless if they failed. The tomahawk axes were ideal as well, as they were quick and could be thrown, but the Iroquois would sometimes sharpen the end on their rifles so they would also be effective in melee.
The Iroquois certainly were formidable foes...It was said that the Iroquois warriors would "come like foxes through the woods. They attacked like lions." and "They take flight like birds".

When it came to government the Iroquois used democracy, except only the women could vote for a leader or chief. There was a chief for each clan, and the clan chiefs from each of the nations of the league would come together once a year to meet at their capital to form the Grand Council.

The flag of the Iroquois: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...onfederacy.svg


Intriguing Iroquois/Haudenosaunee facts:

Each tribe had their own language, and all the Iroquois languages were similar, but Mohawk was the most commonly used and was the language spoken by the Great Council.

Dogs were originally the only domesticated animal, and were kept as "watchdogs" and to help with hunting, but were generally not viewed as "family pets" in the same way we do today.

Men and women had different roles. Men did the hunting and fighting, while women grew crops and gathered food from the surrounding forest.

Iroquois used "companion planting" as a farming method, where they would grow in the same row of plants corn, beans and squash. Before hand they used a technique called "slash and burn", which was clearing an area by cutting down trees, cutting out shrubs, and burning the area with fire.

The Iroquois diet also included roots, tubers, greens, nuts, berries and other fruits, as well as fish, waterfowl, and deer and other mammals.

[Hawk]

Sorry it's taking me so long to do another post...Been so busy these last couple of months, and it's not over yet.

Meanwhile, feel free to contribute.

[Hawk]

Canada

Class teacher: PachaMinnie


The name Canada comes from the St. Lawrence Iroquoian word Kanata, which means villiage or settlement. The word was first used as a name for the region by Jacques Carter.

Humans first arrived in Canada about 23,000 B.C. and slowly began to move west, arriving at modern day Ontario around 7500 B.C.. Native American groups include the Inuit, the Metis, and the First Nations. Most Canadians can trace their DNA to find atleast one Aboriginal person in their ancestry.

The first know European settlement came from Noresmen who settled the land around 1000 A.D. in Newfoundland. This settlement was founded by the great explorer Leif Erikson. However, the settlement only lasted a few years. The vikings returned once in a while, but never built any major settlements.

In 1497, John Cabot, who was from Genoa, explored the Canada's Atlantic coast for his buddies the English. He claimed either Newfoundland, or Cape Brenton Island, in the name of the Queen and the English on June 24th 1497. Cabot then returned to England, was given 10 pounds (Which was a 2 years pay for any commoner) and set out again in 1499 only to disappear. He wasn't the only explorer to explore Canada, in 1534, Jacques Carter explores the coasts of Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, and New Brunswick then lands on the Gaspe Penninsula and claims it in the name of King Francis and the French. In 1535, he journeyed up the St. Lawrence river to the Native settlements of Stadacona and Hochelaga. It is here he gave the name Canada to the territory. In 1535 he returned with Sieur de Roberval to found a settlement. They named it Charlesbourg-Royal and it became the first French settlement in North America. In 1583 Sir Humphrey Gilbert claims St. John's in Newfoundland to be England's first North American Colony.

French Explorer Samuel De Champlain arrived in 1603 and established the first permanent settlements at at Port Royal in 1605 and Quebec City in 1608. French Canadiens settled on the St. Lawrence river, while fur traders and missionaries explored the Great Lakes and Hudson bay.

During the 17th century the Beaver Wars broke out over North American fur trade. The first major battle between the French and Indians was at the Battle of Long Sault. The Beaver Wars lead to the French campaigns against the Iroquois. These campaigns weakened Iroquois and stopped Iroquois raids into French Canada. Four wars erupted between the French and British. There four were:

King William's War. Fought between France and Britain with their Native American Allies. This led to the treaty of Ryswick and a statis quo ante bellum. In other words, no one gained anything and everthing returned to the state at which it was before the war. 1688–1697

Queen Anne's War. Fought between France, Spain, Wabanaki Confederacy, Caughnawaga Mohawk, Choctaw Timucua, Apalachee, and Natchez versus Great Britain, the Creek, Chickasaw, and Yamasee. France lost Acadia Newfoundland, Hudson Bayand Saint Kitts to Britain. 1702–1713

King Georges War. Fought between France and the Wabanaki Confederacy versus Great Britain and the Iroquois. The war lead to a Statis Quo Ante Bellum. 1744–1748

The French and Indian Wars. This war was the largest. It was fought between the French, the Spanish, and their Native allies, versus Great Britain, the Iroquois, the Catawaba, and the Cherokee. The war was fought primarily along the frontiers separating New France from the British colonies from Virginia to Nova Scotia, and began with a dispute over the confluence of the Allegheny and Monongahela rivers, the site of present-day Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. France ceded French Louisiana west of the Mississippi River to its ally Spain in compensation for Spain's loss to Britain of Florida (which Spain had given to Britain in exchange for the return of Havana, Cuba). France's colonial presence north of the Caribbean was reduced to the islands of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, confirming Britain's position as the dominant colonial power in the eastern half of North America.

The next war that erupted was the American Revolution. Thousands of loyalist refugees from America poured into British Canada. This led to the division of upper and lower Canada between the French and English speaking Canadiens. Lower Canada being Quebec and Upper Canada being Ontario.

The Canadas soon became the main front of the War of 1812 This led to the Canadians burning the White House. An act they won't shut up about even today. Now you know how the British feel Americans. Now you know. Following the war, large scale immigration began from Britain and Ireland to Canada. Between 1825 and 1846, 626,628 European immigrants reportedly landed at Canadian ports. Desire for a more responsible government led to the Rebellions of 1837. This war led to the unification of Lower and Upper Canada.

The 1867 Constitution Act officially proclaimed a Canadian State. Canada assumed control of Rupert's Land and the North-Western Territory to form the Northwest Territories, where the Métis' grievances ignited the Red River Rebellion and the creation of the province of Manitoba in July 1870. In 1880 The government sponsered three transcontinential railways to make the west more open. This included the Canadian Pacific Railway. They also established the North-West Mounted Police to assert authority over the Northwestern territory of Canada. In 1898, in response to the Klondike Gold Rush, the Canadian government created the Yukon province. Prime Minister Wilfrid Laurier created the provinces of Alberta and Saskatchewan in 1905.

Because Britain still controlled Canada's Foreign Affairs under the Confederation Act of 1867, Canada was automatically brought into World War One. The Canadian Expeditionary Force composed of four Shock divisions participated at Somme in 1916 and took Vimy Ridge in April of 1917. They also partook in the battle of Passchendale. A total of 56,638 Canadians died, 13.5% of the men who went overseas.

In 1919 Canada joined the League of Nations independently, and in 1931 they were given full rights to rule their country as the pleased. The Great Depression hurt Canada's economy greatly. In response, the Co-operative Commonwealth Federation (CCF) introduced many independent elements of a welfare state between the 1940s and 1950s.

Canada declared war on Germany independently 3 days after Britain on September 6th 1939. The first Canadian units arrived in Britain on December in 1939. The Canadians were the main suppliers of food, equipment, and new military formations to Great Britain until America joined the war in 1941. The Canadians took part in many major battles on the European front, including the Invasion of France, Battle of Britain, the Dieppe Raid of 1942, Allied Invasion of Italy, Normandy Landings, Battle for Normandy, Battle for the Scheldt, and the battle for Hong Kong. Canada is largely credited for the liberation of the Netherlands. Canada finished the war with a very strong military and economy.

Newfoundland was incorrperated into Canada in 1949. Canada changed greatly after the war. They adopted the Maple Leaf Flag (1965), the implementation of official bilingualism (1969), and the institution of multiculturalism (1971). Socially Democratic programs were also instituted. This includes Medicare, the Canada Pension Plan, and Canada Student Loans. At the same time, Quebec underwent profound social and economic changes through the Quiet Revolution of the 1960s, giving birth to a modern nationalist movement.

In addition to the issues of Quebec sovereignty, a number of crises shook Canadian society in the late 1980s and early 1990s. These included the explosion of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, the largest mass murder in Canadian history; the École Polytechnique massacre in 1989, a university shooting targeting female students; and the Oka Crisis of 1990, the first of a number of violent confrontations between the government and Aboriginal groups.

Lately, Canada has been helping her allies in conflicts like the Gulf War, the Invasion of Afganistan, and the Libyan Civil War. Canada has a bright future ahead of it.


Canadian Maple Leaf Flag: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_Canada.svg

Canadian Hero Adam Dollard during the Battle of the Long Sault: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ba...Sault_1660.jpg

The last spike in the Canadian Pacific Railway: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:La..._BC_Canada.jpg

The burning of Washington 1814: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Bu...ington1814.jpg

Wilfrid Laurier 7th Prime Minister 20 November 1841 – 17 February 1919: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Si...ier_-_Bain.jpg

William Mackenzie King 10th Prime Minister December 17, 1874 – July 22, 1950: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wm...enzie_King.jpg

[DrJohn123]

The Lithuania Should be added, because at 1386-1434 A.D it was a major power in europe. Here is the link to the map http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...VytautoLDK.png . Lithuania was mentioned at the first time in written sources in 1009 A.D. So it may be founded much more earlier. Lithuania became a Kingdom in 1253 A.D , but sadly the royal dinasty was murder and from 1263 A.D it never became a Kingdom again. From that time it was called The Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Later From 1569 A.D The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland Kingdom merged together, because Russians were attacking them, but sadly they still were ocupied in 1795 A.D, until 1918. Later it was ocupied again in 1940 A.D, but Lithuanians managed to free themselves in 1990 A.D. By the way Lithuanian language is the odlest living language in europe.

[PachaMinnie]

The Lithuania Should be added, because at 1386-1434 A.D it was a major power in europe. Here is the link to the map http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...VytautoLDK.png . Lithuania was mentioned at the first time in written sources in 1009 A.D. So it may be founded much more earlier. Lithuania became a Kingdom in 1253 A.D , but sadly the royal dinasty was murder and from 1263 A.D it never became a Kingdom again. From that time it was called The Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
Later From 1569 A.D The Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Poland Kingdom merged together, because Russians were attacking them, but sadly they still were ocupied in 1795 A.D, until 1918. Later it was ocupied again in 1940 A.D, but Lithuanians managed to free themselves in 1990 A.D. By the way Lithuanian language is the odlest living language in europe.

I already did a write up on Lithuania mate, stop spamming the forums please. This is the 5th time you've posted this exact same message on the forums. Please, just stop. Also, Lithuanian isn't the oldest language in Europe (Not like that's an accomplishment)

[Hawk]

Ok, this time it's really annoying me! This is a History school to help educate eachother about history, and not a thread for asking for new civs - we have specific threads for that, check it out here: http://forums.2kgames.com/showthread...ilization-Civ5

It was a little annoying seeing this same message being repetitively spammed, but this is crossing the line. I've reported the post as spam.

[Hawk]

Aborigines/Koori (work in progress...)

Class teacher: Hawk


The indigenous people of Australia are amongst the most colourful and unique cultures on the planet, which developed separately from cultures elsewhere due to being, for the most part, isolated from the rest of the world - at least until European settlement - and they are one of the oldest continuous cultures in the world. They first arrived in Australia from South-east Asia
Most people know them collectively as the Aboriginals or Aborigines, the latter often being preferred, as it's more distinct, while the term "Aboriginals" can be used for any indigenous people (The word "Aboriginal" means the first people to live in a location). Amongst the Australian Aboriginal people there are hundreds of languages, and in each language there is a word used for all Australian Aboriginal people, but the most commonly known, and most used amongst the European settlers as well, is "Koori" - this term is used most commonly in the states of New South Wales and Victoria, which is where the word originated.

Before Europeans, the Koori were nomadic, never staying in one place for too long. This was the ideal way of life in Australia at the time, as the "bush tucker" (native food) was not ideal for farming, and most of the land was, and still is not, ideal for crops. This would also be one of the things that contributed to their mostly stagnant technology growth - also to contribute was the fact that there weren't really "wars" like the rest of the world experienced, just small bands battling each other with primitive weapons, which meant there was little threat, and thus little need for defencive structures or grouping in very large numbers. Even with a more advanced technology, however, their way of life in most of the continent was doomed, as when Europeans arrived, so did their diseases. Disease heavily shrunk the Koori population, and Europeans began pouring in soon after.

The Australian Aboriginals have their own flag (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...ginal_Flag.svg), as do the related Torres Strait Islander people who inhabit the islands just north of the top point of Australia (http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...nders_Flag.svg). With the Aboriginal flag, the black colour stands for the people, the red colour stands for their blood that has been spilt over the years, and the yellow middle stands for the sun.


Intriguing Aborigine/Koori facts:

The Koori believed each individual person, or each clan (depending on the area), had their own totem animal, and it was forbidden to eat your totem animal.

There are two types of boomerang, the hunting boomerang, which is longer and heavier, but doesn't come back, and the toy boomerang, which made boomerangs famous as when thrown right they return to the thrower. Hunting boomerangs were also used in combat - including melee.

Dingos were brought to Australia by the Koori people, and were pets in mainland Australia. They are not native to Australia. In Tasmania the Koori had thylacines as pets (Tasmanian tigers) as they didn't have dingos.

[Hawk]

We need more unofficial history teachers...Anyone else interested in the job?

[Hawk]

*Bump*

Our History school is falling behind guys...This would be much easier if more people contributed to it - thus far a few people have posted just once, and the brunt of the load has been on PachaMinnie and my shoulders. There is still so much of history to cover, so can we get more people involved? Remember, this is to help educate people, so by adding to this you are doing others a service.

[AessaSH]

May I join..?
I can provide information about Javanese. I personally don't like to call Javanese civilization as Majapahit, because Majapahit itself is a kingdom, not a civ..

Javanese Civilization encompassing all Sundanese and Javanese (Java Island), Madurese (Madura Island), and Balinese (Bali Island). Also, its influence spread across Maritime Southeast Asia.
Here we go..

Javanese

History

Java is an island in Maritime Southeast Asia. This island is "blessed" with tropical climate and chain of volcanoes. Rainfall allowed the development of wet-field rice cultivation. More mountains and highlands help to split the interior into a series of relatively isolated regions suitable for wet-rice cultivation; volcanic ash and lava also form rich soil. The rice lands of Java are among the richest in the world.


Yes indeed, the first Javanese civilization was emerged based on agriculture. The island allowed the development of wet-field rice cultivation, which required sophisticated levels of cooperation between villages. Out of these village alliances, small kingdoms developed.


Yawadvipa or Jawa Dwipa (Java Island) was mentioned in India's earliest epic, the Ramayana. The first historically recorded Indianized kingdom in Western Java is Salakanegara, created by Indian trader after marrying a local Sundanese princess. This Kingdom existed between 200-362 AD.
After that, many recorded kingdoms was emerged. From Taruma, Sunda, Kalingga, Medang (The one who build Candi Borobudur and Prambanan), Kediri, Singhasari, Wilwatikta (The official name of Majapahit that time), Demak (The first major sultanate in Java), Pajang, Mataram, to Surakarta and Yogyakarta which integrated with Indonesia today.


Although Javanese kingdoms mainly dependent on rice agriculture, yet they also pursued trade within the Indonesian archipelago, and with China and Indian.
In the era of Kediri, their economy grew to rely more heavily on trade, especially the spice trade. This resulted from Kediri development of a navy, giving them the opportunity to control the spice trade routes to eastern islands. Kediri collected spices from tributaries in southern Kalimantan and the Maluku Islands. Indians and Southeast Asians then transported the spices to Mediterranean and Chinese markets by way of the Spice Route that linked a chain of ports from the Indian Ocean to southern China.


The peak of Javanese thalassocracy (from Greek language, literally "rule of the sea") was during the era of Majapahit, the greatest empire in Java. Majapahit was a vast thalassocratic archipelagic (ruling the island group and sea) empire from 1293 to around 1500. Majapahit was an empire of 98 tributaries, stretching from Sumatra to New Guinea; consisting of present day Indonesia, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, southern Thailand, the Philippines, and East Timor. Also controlling the Spice Route and spice islands in East Indonesian Archipelago and Maritime Silk Route in Malacca Strait.
This is the result of Gajah Mada's effort, the prime minister of Majapahit, to fulfilled his famous Palapa Oath during reign of Queen Tribhuwana (Yay.. My Favorite Empress.. If Firaxis want to add Javanese, I hope they choose her and dressed her like this.. ) .


For protecting their hegemony, Majapahit rigidly use fire-arms and cannonade as a feature of warfare. The Javanese bronze breech-loaded swivel-gun, more correctly known as a cetbang was used ubiquitously by the Majapahit navy.


Majapahit navy and later Javanese kingdoms also use jong ship, a large ship with three or four screens. The entire hull was built without using nails. Mentioned by Portuguese at Demak era, Javanese jong has four masts, made of four layered board and able to withstand cannon fire Portuguese ships. The weight average jung 600 tons, surpassing the Portuguese warships. Jong bulk's weight reached 1,000 tons are used as troop carriers.


After the decline of Majapahit, Javanese began to face the rise of Javanese Sultanates (1475 - 1800), the European colonization (1800 - 1942), the Japanese occupation (1942 - 1945), until the emergence of Indonesia (1945 - now). Right now, Java is the world's most populous island, and one of the most densely-populated places on the globe. Java is the home of 60 percent of the Indonesian population. Java dominates Indonesia politically, economically and culturally.

Religion

Today the majority of the Javanese people identify themselves as Muslims. Because Javanese civilization has been influenced by more than a millennia of interactions between Kejawen or Sunda Wiwitan (the native animism) and the Indian Hindu—Buddhist culture, there are traces of their influences in Javanese history, culture, traditions and art forms. In the end, majority of Javanese follow an unique syncretic form of Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism and Kejawen.

Language

Javanese Language is a member of the Austronesian family of languages and is closely related to, but distinct from, other languages of Indonesia. It is notable for its great number of nearly ubiquitous Sanskrit loans, found especially in literary Javanese. This is due to the long history of Hindu and Buddhist influences in Java.
The Javanese language was commonly written with the a script descended from the Brahmi script, natively known as Hanacaraka or Carakan.

Music

The most famous Javanese music is gamelan, a traditional musical featuring a variety of instruments such as metallophones, xylophones, kendang (drums) and gongs; bamboo flutes, bowed and plucked strings. Vocalists may also be included.

Architecture

Candi is the one remarkable building in Java. In modern Indonesian, the term Candi commonly refers to ancient Hindu-Buddhist temples.
The term "candi" itself derived from Candika one of the manifestations of the goddess Durga as the goddess of death. This suggested in ancient Java the "candi" has mortuary function as well as attributed with the afterlife. The historians suggested that temples of ancient Java also used to store the ashes of cremated deceased kings or royalties.
This is also in-line with buddhist concept of stupa as the structure to store buddhist relicts including the ashes and remnants of holy buddhist priest or the buddhist king, the patron of buddhism. The statue of god stored inside the garbhagriha (main chamber) of the temple often modelled after the deceased king and considered as deified self of the king portrayed as Vishnu or Shiva according to the concept of devaraja.


The another architecture is pendopo and joglo. Joglo is a traditional vernacular house of Javanese people. It consist of two parts; the pendopo and dalem. The pendopo is the front section of Joglo that have large roofed space with columns and without wall or partition. The dalem is the inner sections with walled enclosure and rooms such as bedroom and kitchen.
Pendopo are common ritual spaces primarily intended for ceremony, wayang theater, and also for a variety of purposes such as receiving guests in the compounds of wealthy Javanese, and even as cottage industry work spaces.

Cultural Heritage Elements

Javanese already have four cultural elements that was listed in UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage:

- Wayang Theater, an unique form of theatre employing light and shadow. The puppets are crafted from buffalo hide and mounted on bamboo sticks. When held up behind a piece of white cloth, with an electric bulb or an oil lamp as the light source, shadows are cast on the screen. The plays are invariably based on romantic tales, especially adaptations of the classic Indian epics, the Mahabharata and the Ramayana. Some of the plays are also based on local happening or other local secular stories. Islam missionaries also often to add Islamic element into Indian epic, resulting culture and religion syncretisme.


- Kris, an asymmetrical dagger famous for its distinctive wavy blade, but in the past, most had straight blades.


- Batik, a cloth that is traditionally made using a manual wax-resist dyeing technique. Javanese traditional batik, especially from Yogyakarta and Surakarta, has notable meanings rooted to the Javanese conceptualization of the universe. Traditional colours include indigo, dark brown, and white, which represent the three major Hindu Gods (Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva). This is related to the fact that natural dyes are most commonly available in indigo and brown. Certain patterns can only be worn by nobility; traditionally, wider stripes or wavy lines of greater width indicated higher rank. Consequently, during Javanese ceremonies, one could determine the royal lineage of a person by the cloth he or she was wearing.


- Angklung, a musical instrument made of two bamboo tubes attached to a bamboo frame. The tubes are carved to have a resonant pitch when struck and are tuned to octaves. The base of the frame is held in one hand, whilst the other hand struck the instrument. This causes a repeating note to sound. Each of three or more performers in an angklung ensemble play just one note or more, but altogether complete melodies are produced. The Angklung is popular throughout Southeast Asia, but it originated in today's Java and has been played by the Sundanese for many centuries.

Cultural Heritage Sites

Javanese also have three Cultural Heritage Sites that was listed in UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The list is:

- Borobudur Temple Compounds, a term used by the World Heritage designation of the area of three Buddhist candi in Central Java, Indonesia. It comprises Borobudur, Mendut, and Pawon. These three candis are located in a straight line, and have been considered as being built during the Sailendra dynasty from Medang Kingdom circa 8th–9th centuries. Borobudur itself is the largest Buddhist structure in the world.


- Prambanan Temple Compounds, a 9th-century Hindu candi compound in Central Java, Indonesia, dedicated to the Trimurti, the expression of God as the Creator (Brahma), the Sustainer (Vishnu) and the Destroyer (Shiva). The candi compound is located approximately 18 kilometres (11 mi) east of the city of Yogyakarta on the boundary between Central Java and Yogyakarta provinces. The candi, is the largest Hindu candi in Indonesia, and is one of the largest Hindu temples in Southeast Asia.


- Subak System, Subak is the name of water management (irrigation) system for rice terraces on Bali island, Indonesia. For Balinese, irrigation is not simply providing water for the plant's roots, but water is used to construct a complex, pulsed artificial ecosystem. Rice terraces in Bali were built around water pura (Balinese temple) and the allocation of water is made by a priest.

Event and Trivia

Devaraja

"Devaraja" is the Hindu-Buddhist cult of deified royalty in Southeast Asia. It could be simply described as Southeast Asian concept of divine king. The concept viewed the monarch to possess transcendental quality, the king as the living god on earth, the incarnation of the supreme god, often attributed to Shiva or Vishnu. The concept was institutionalized and gain its elaborate manifestations in ancient Java and Cambodia, where monuments such as Prambanan and Angkor Wat were erected to celebrate the king's divine rule on earth.


The cult of devaraja or God King was the ancient Cambodian state religion, while it may have originated in Java. In ancient Java, since Sailendra dynasty, or even older Tarumanagara kingdom, the state religion regarded the king as god incarnated on earth.


Jayavarman II that was widely regarded as the king that set the foundation of Angkor period in Cambodian history, began with the ritual conducted to celebrate the independence of Khmer from Javanese dominion. At that ceremony Prince Jayavarman II was proclaimed a universal monarch or God King (Deva Raja in Sanskrit). According to some sources, Jayavarman II had resided for some time in Java during the reign of Sailendras Dynasty, or "The Lords of Mountains" Dynasty, from Medang Kingdom, hence the concept of Devaraja or God King was imported from Java. At that time, Sailendras allegedly ruled over Java, Sumatra, the Malay Peninsula and parts of Cambodia.

Prophecies of Jayabaya

Sri Mapanji Jayabaya or Jayabaya, was Javanese King of the Kediri in East Java from AD 1135 to 1157. Jayabaya is most famous for his oracles or prophesies attributed to him. Jayabaya is attributed as author of the Prelambang Joyoboyo, a prophetic book that played an important role in the Japanese occupation.
According to a selectively lines within a Jayabaya prophesy (all are extremely long epic poems):

"The Javanese would be ruled by whites for 3 centuries and by yellow dwarfs for the life span of a maize plant prior to the return of the Ratu Adil (Just King): whose name must contain at least one syllable of the Javanese Noto Negoro."


When Japan occupied the Netherlands East Indies, in the first weeks of 1942, Indonesians danced in the streets, welcoming the Japanese army as the fulfillment of the prophecy ascribed to Jayabaya, who foretold the day when white men would one day establish their rule on Java and tyrannize the people for many years – but they would be driven out by the arrival of yellow men from the north. These yellow dwarves, Jayabaya had predicted, would remain for one crop cycle, and after that Java would be freed from foreign domination. To most of the Javanese, Japan was a liberator: the prophecy had been fulfilled.


In the waning days of 1944, Japan realized that they could not win the World War II. The Japanese officially granted Indonesia its independence on 9 August 1945. As one account of Indonesian history puts it, "With the minor exception that three crops had been harvested, Jayabaya's prophecy had been realized."


Many believe that the time for the arrival of a new Ratu Adil is near (as the prophecies put it, "when iron wagons could drive without horses and ships could sail through the sky"), and that he will come to rescue and reunite Indonesia after an acute crisis, ushering in the dawn of a new golden age.

Mongol invasion of Java and the founding of Majapahit

Kertanegara, the fifth ruler of Javanese Kingdom of Singhasari, was a man with ambition. In 1289, Mongol emissary came to Java to demand his submission to the Great Khan of the Yuan dynasty, Kublai Khan. Kertanegara reject it, cut their ears and send them back to China. The Khan was shocked and ordered a punitive expedition against Kertanagara. Anticipating Mongolian revenge, he preparing to thwart the forthcoming invasion by conquering important ports and kingdoms in Maritime Southeast Asia. His most important expedition was Pamalayu expedition to Sumatra in 1292, where he send Javanese army to conquer Sumatra from various successor states of Srivijaya.


When the bulk of Javanese army in overseas, Jayakatwang, viceroy of Kediri, a vassal state of Singhasari, seize his chance and launched the coup against Singhasari. He launched diversionary attack to the northern Java, where his troops draw the remaining Singhasari troops left in the island that was lead by Kertanegara's son-in-law, Raden Wijaya. With Singhasari defenseless he attack the capital city.


Kertanegara was killed along with many courtiers in his palace, apparently when they were drinking palm wine in a religious Tantric Buddhism ceremony. Jayakatwang then declare himself ruler of Java and king of the restored Kediri.


Among few surviving relatives of Kertanegara was Raden Wijaya, who fled to Madura where he was sheltered by its regent, Arya Wiraraja. Following Wiraraja plea, Jayakatwang forgive Wijaya, who in return submitting himself to Jayakatwang. Jayakatwang gave Wijaya land in Tarik forest in Brantas delta, to build a village that was later called Majapahit, from the sour (pahit) beal (maja) tree that grow in the area.


Mongol expedition of the Yuan dynasty sent by Kublai Khan finally arrived in Java. Sailing from Quanzhou, and after journey from China through Dai Viet and Champa, landing at the port of Tuban, Java in early 1293. Raden Wijaya seeing this event as opportunity to revenge Kertanegara's death and claim the throne of Java. He soon offered submission and allied himself with the Mongol, who wasn't aware on the recent political change in Java.


The Mongolian expedition consisted of 20.000 army with 1.000 boats and a year of grain provision. The expedition consisted mostly of southern Chinese conscript. They arrived at port of Tuban and soon preparing their fleet to enter the rivers of Java.


With Wijaya as guide, Mongol troop declared war against Jayakatwang. Wijaya's and his Mongol allies defeated captured Jayaktwang's navy in Surabaya at delta of Brantas river. Following the victory they easily marched along Brantas to Kediri in Java's interior. After heavy fight, they besieged and conquered Kediri. Jayakatwang was captured and then executed, in March 1293.


Thus the troops sent to Java that with the intention to punish the king who insulted the Mongols (Kertanegara), ended up revenging his death and killing his usurper (Jayakatwang).


Once Jayakatwang was destroyed by the Mongols, Raden Wijaya returned to Majapahit, ostensibly to prepare his tribute settlement, leaving his allies who were exhausted after the war with Jayakatwang to celebrate their victory. Wijaya asked the Yuan forces to come to his country unarmed.


Two hundred unarmed Yuan soldiers led by two officers were sent to Raden Wijaya's country, but Raden Wijaya quickly mobilized his forces again and ambushed the Yuan convoy. After that Raden Wijaya marched his forces to the main Yuan camp and launched a surprise attack, killing many and sending the rest running back to their ships. The Yuan forces had to withdraw in confusion, as the monsoon winds to carry them home would soon end, leaving them to wait on a hostile island for six months. The Yuan army lost more than 3,000 of its elite soldiers.

===

Ack.., my post is more like wiki than history school..
But well.. Whatever..