Preventing the collapse of the Han Dynasty - with Maya

As advisors to the Han Dynasty,  we would intervene right before Han Wudi started to look for more land in the west.  The war with the Xiongnu was expensive and led to severe tax increases which in turn led to banditry and rebellion within the Han Dynasty. By convincing Han Wudi to abandon the pursuit of capturing western land, we could have prevented the war that led to the demise of the Han Dynasty.

Map of the Chinese Dynasties

Daoism

Daosim is a philosophy which advocates a simple, honest existence, not caring about worldly desires and being non-interfering with natural occurrences and also become a part of them.

Confucius

It is not as much as a religion as much it is a guidebook or a how to live a virtuous life. There is no specific mention of a deity in the book. It contains advice, given through philosophers to people asking questions in a Q & A sort of fashion. The advice is what can help people become good. The reading though supports the idea that humans are flawed but not necessarily bad. “He who aims to be a man of complete virtue in his food does not seek to gratify his appetite, nor in his dwelling place does he seek the appliances of ease; he is earnest in what he is doing, and careful in his speech; he frequents the company of men of principle that he may be rectified: -- such a person may be said indeed to love to learn.”(Legge, Book I, Chapter XIV). The key word in this quote is rectified, and demonstrates Confucius's views, a man who is in good company can correct himself to be like them and as such become good.“2. 'Hold faithfulness and sincerity as first principles. 3. 'Have no friends not equal to yourself. 4. 'When you have faults, do not fear to abandon them.”(Legge, Book I, Chapter VIII). Confucius here, provides many examples of how one can self-improve themselves, by being sincere, modest and bravery to fix yourself and then become good. “When I walk along with two others, they may serve me as my teachers. I will select their good qualities and follow them, their bad qualities and avoid them.”(Legge, Book VII, Chapter XXI). Here is another place where Confucius tells us how good or bad people are made, the good ones that follow the good qualities and the bad ones that follow the bad qualities.

Map of the Persian Empire

Gathas - Hymns of the Zoroastrian Faith

Gatha Yasna 30
O ye, mindful to learn, I proclaim to you this message,
Unheard as yet by those who are destroying the
 civilization of the Righteous,
 with evil ways of the Spirit of Untruth,
The message, most welcome to Thy followers
 dedicated to Thee, O Mazda!
The hymn or gatha starts off by Zoroaster declaring that he is about to announce the teachings about the Ahuras.  This hymn present some of the major central themes of Zoroastrianism. He continues on by informing the audience or followers to listen to his teachings with "illumined judgement", enlightened mind and decide how one should choose a way of life, good or evil. Choice is fundamental to the faith. It is one's choice to choose either the good "path" or the evil one. Humans have free will, they must choose, and bear it's responsibility or consequence. The subsequent verses talk about basically the fateful alternatives to one's decision. It talks about the doctrine of Good and Evil. Zoroaster talks about how every human being had to choose between the good and bad alternative in every situation in life. He says, humans will choose good because of our Rightmindedness. But Evil is chosen, it is in state of deception. Ultimately, the evil-doers will perish while the good-doers will please Ahura Mazda and find their place in heaven.
Gatha Yasna 18
This gatha talks people's choices and their consequence of picking that choice. These verses deal more with retribution and salvation. The search for truth is important as mentioned in this gatha and wisdom seems to be an admirable trait. As it says,
Long suffering for the doer of Evil, and bliss
for the follower of Truth,
Zoroaster talks about that the righteous humans should make this perfect this world. These verses talk about the humans who choose the path of good, will find their place in heaven while the evil-doers will burn and suffer forever.
Gatha Yasna 33
This particular hymn seems more personal. The verses are addressed to Ahura Mazda. Zoroaster states that "The Ratu (Judge) shall deal perfect justice to all;", in other word, everyone will get what they want. Humans which oppose evil-doing, whether just thinking about it or speak against it, are in good standing with Ahura Mazda. This gatha also explains that anyone, regardless of their social standing, who is good will be accepted into Heaven. The subsequent verses are an appeal to the Ahura. He says,
I, who as Thy steadfast priest, have learned the
straight path of Asha (Truth and Righteousness),
He prays to be blessed with Ahura Mazda's vision and consultation with him because he has chosen the "good path" of "Truth and Righteousness". Zoroaster wants Ahura Mazda to come to him and for his message of good-doings be spread all around.
Gatha Yasna 25
The author, Zarathushtra, states in this last hymn that he is dedicating himself and his life to Ahura Mazda. Zoroaster wishes to be a good person and appeals to Ahura Mazda for his help in becoming righteous. He wants courage and have the ability to see the truth. In these verses, it also seems like that the author desperately wants to go to Heaven.  He hopes that his way of living his life, being devoted to him, is good enough for Ahura Mazda. Zoroaster asks for Mazda's guidance in being a good person and also attaining Heaven.

Engineering an Empire: Persia Questions

1. What is the order of Persian leaders?
The order of Persian leaders is Cyrus the Great, then Darius 1.

2. What is a qanat?  How does it work?
Qanat is a gently sloping underground channel or tunnel which is constructed to lead water from the interior of a hill to a village below.  A vertical canal is created until it reaches nearby water then another one of the vertical lines is created.  Also, horizontal canals are created to connect the vertical lines to the horizontal lines. These horizontal lines are slightly tilted while helps the water to flow continuously for long distances.

3. What is Cyrus’ tomb like?
Cyrus's tomb was in the city that he built. His tomb was built on stacks of huge stones. The tomb was simple and elegant. It a modest monument for someone who was so great.

4. What interaction does Cyrus have with the Jews?
Cyrus the Great had freed the Jews from Babylon. Historians believed that he did this in order to create a buffer state which was used to protect his empire. He was greatly respected among the Jewish people and referred him as a messiah.

5. What did Darius build?
Darius builds a massive stone highway which extends to India. This construction was called the Royal Road, which stretched for over a thousand miles.  The  pathway consisted of many rest stations and soldiers periodically along the road which were there to ensure the comfort and safety of travelers. This was a huge advancement in technology because the stones could not be washed away like dirt did.

Comments on Shravya's History Head

Hi Shravya,

I overall really liked your poster. It was colorful and I really liked your drawings. I can't really find any flaw in your poster although, I think you could have made the project more neater. One similarity between our regions would be that they were very devoted and religious. Although, Mesoamericans did the bloodletting ritual to make their gods happy. Mesopotamians did not do such things. The major differences between our regions is that Mesopotamians had developed wheels thus had chariots which they used during battles. Mesoamericans, although, did not domesticate large animals therefore having no wheels. I was wondering, why did you draw all of these pictures?

Sincerely,
Hafsa

Comments on Maya's History Head

Hello Maya, 

I really like your artistic abilities in this project. I think your pictures are really good and colorful. Although, your picture for number 4 is a bit unclear. You explained to me that it was about the Chinese slaves or commoners who had worked to build these buildings. I think if you added a hammer, it would help the viewer to understand the picture. The similarities that I found between our cultures is maritime trade. The Chinese and Mesopotamians (Sumerians) had both traded with different societies. These both societies had chariots which they used for war and gain land. The difference would be the Chinese beliefs which are that their ancestor's spirits would take care of them if the Chinese did. Mesopotamians did not have that belief system, they had worshiped gods for various things such as fertility. My question to you is why did you choose to represent weapons of the same kind of material (which looks like iron) even though the Chinese had monopoly over bronze and they created tools from bronze? 

Sincerely,

Hafsa

History Head Activity

1. Patterns and impacts of interaction between humans and the environment 

Due to the advancements in technology which in this case is weaponry and transportation, an average person rode chariots and had better and more improved weapons to fight against foreigners. The Hittites for example, were responsible for the refinement of iron metallurgy and chariots. Their chariots were faster and lighter compared to Sumerians, making them better for battle, expand and spread more freely. 

2. Development and interaction of cultures
They were a variety of different deities that different people had worshiped. Sumerian had prayed to the deity known as Inanna for fertility. They had created massive temples for deities they had worshiped too for example, the moon god Nanna-Suen. An individual would pray to a certain god when they would be in need. Years later, people such as the Israelites began to believe in Yahweh, the "personal" god and who was the one and only god. People were very devoted these gods.

3. State-building, expansion, and conflict 
The revolt of Sargon the Akkad was when Sargon had created an army and attacked Sumerian cities one by one in a bloody coup.  As Sargon captured more cities, his army grew more powerful and eventually unbeatable by individual cities. The thirst for expansion led Sargon to invade other civilization and capture them. Eventually, people resented the imperial rule and revolted. As an individual, as shown in my picture, would fight to gain his own land back. 

4. Creation, expansion, and interaction of economic systems 
Sumerians had experimented with technologies of transportation through ships. By about 1750 B.C.E. Sumerian merchants had shipped goods such as, woolen textiles, leather goods, sesame oil and jewelry to India in exchange for copper, ivory, pearls, and semiprecious stones. The illustration for number 4 depicts an average human importing goods. I chose this picture because maritime trade led to other cultural advancements such as different civilizations learning to write.

5. Development and transformation of social structures
Women were relatively equal to men before 1200 B.C.E.. Later, women began to wear veils and their influence began to diminish. Due to the Hammurabi's Code, adult men were the head of the household and men had been entrusted with major decisions. I thought of making this illustration because of the Hammurabi Codes, as shown in my picture, women are to take care of and bear kids. They were to remain in the household while the men went out. The farther back we go (before 1200 B.C.E.) women seem to have had higher status and more civil rights.

Reflection

Question: 

How was the test?  How was the essay?  Experiences are great learning tools..what will you do better for next time? 

I personally thought the test was going to be the most difficult test I would ever take. But when I took it, I thought the test was fairly difficult but it was easier than I thought it would be. The essay, because I studied more, was much easier to write. If I had more time, I would have written a better essay. For the test, I wish I could have studied more, there were a few details which I forgot and that were on the test. In the near future, I plan on spending more time studying the chapters and the details. As for the essay, I am going to try writing faster so I have enough time to add more points or to make corrections and proofread again.