Venn Diagram

Roman Empire Pocket Map

Alexander “the Great”?

I believe that Alexander is entitled to his fame and glory. He was a great military strategist at a very young age and was fit to be the conqueror of the world. Though he did have his fair share of flaws from his alcoholism to his relationships with women, to his reckless acts of cruelty. His military prowess shines through when he met Darius between the Tigris and Greatzab River, knowing fully that he was going into an ambush where he was outnumbered. He arranged his men so he could find an opening in the Persian lines of forces to get to Darius which he did, making the Persian army retreat and making him the victor. All of this and only being just 25 years old. He also defeated and captured Bessus, the last Persian offense. He also founded Alexandria the farthermost; kind of adds to his ego/glory a city by his name on the edge of his empire and him being wanted to be worshipped as a god. He also did not help his image when he, in an overly ambitious act, burned down Persepolis. It is also important to mention his killing of those who opposed him (Cleitus and Calisthenes both who spoke against his status) was a bit rash, but it kept his mythos going and consistent. This is why Alexander of Macedonia is in my opinion allowed to be known as 'Alexander the Great'. His mixture of great conquests and his need to do what others had not is what made him great.

India and Greece

1.      What’s McNeill’s argument?

·         McNeill argues that caste and territorial sovereignty and enormously different effects on the subsequent development of Indian and European society.

2.      How does McNeill define Caste? Does this match up with the textbook’s definition?

·         A modern caste is a group of persons who will eat with one another and intermarry, while excluding, others from these two intimacies. The textbook definition of caste is fairly close to McNeill's definition.

3.      What three feelings and thoughts helped to maintain the idea of caste:

·         The idea of ceremonial purity and avoiding contaminating oneself 

·         The thought of giving to feel superiority over a lower cast system but the miserable could not

·         The doctrine of reincarnation of the "varna"

4.       Are these convincing?

·         I believe these are convincing since they are backed up with historical evidence.

5.      Why did caste itself not cause strong political organization to form?

·         The caste itself did not cause strong political organization to form because of the idea of reincarnation that gave a logical justification. The state of someone which is directly linked with the deeds of their own past life. Also, caste decreased the meaning of a political group since the person is identified with their cast first.

6.      What causes Indian religion to shift from deity pleasing to the act of worship itself?

·         The Brahmans argued that by actually performing ritual correctly, they could compel god to grant what was asked of them, which reinforced the relation between natural and supernatural reality.

7.      How did the Upanishads change the nature of Indian religion and thus the goals of Indian society?

·         Under the Upanishads, one would not seek riches, health and long life, but would work to escape the endless round of rebirth. To escape did not need the obedience to the holy men and priests, but by the process of self-discipline.

8.      How does McNeill define “Territorial Sovereignty?”

·         McNeill defined “Territorial Sovereignty” as supremacy of territoriality over all other forms of human association is neither natural nor inevitable, as the Indian caste principle.

9.      Why did Greeks turn away from religion as an explanatory factor in organizing society?

·         The Greeks turned away from religion because a few individuals had fretted over the logical inconsistencies of Greek religion and traditional world view. They had found conflicting and unsupported stories about the gods to be unsatisfactory; they had taken a drastic step of omitting gods completely. They had substituted natural law instead as a ruling force of the universe.

10.  What was the consequence of the Greeks’ rigid adherence to the polis?

·         The consequence of the Greeks’ rigid adherence were no room for personal achievement, the incompatibility between claims of the polis to the unqualified loyalty of every citizen and their pursuit of personal holiness, and the fact that now  more than the total population was engaged in cultural and political action.

11.  Do you buy his argument? Why or why not?

·         I do buy his argument since he provided historical evidence which in turn supported his assertions.

The Comparison of Bhagavad Gita(Hinduism), Zoroaster(Zoroastrinianism) and the Teachings of Confucius(Confucianism)

Bhagavad Gita(Hinduism)

• Brahmins(educated priest class)
• Brahmins spread religion through word of mouth and ceremonies.
• Detachment from worldly pleasures
• Everyone has a soul that needs saving
• The soul lives on forever and escape samsara.
• Multiple deities,main ones being Krishna and Vishnu (polytheism)

Zoroastrianism

• Mahi(priest class)
• Mahi/Magi responsible for keeping Zoroaster's teachings (oral traditions)
• Emphasis on moderation
• Everyone has a soul that needs saving
• The soul lives on forever, but will be judged.
• Ahura Mazda(monotheism)

Confucianism

• Emphasized people playing their roles in society(enforcing social distinctions/stratification)
• Spread significantly by the Zhou dynasty as it was adapted as the core of Chinese education.
• Focused on 5 relationships(ex.father-son) and 5 virtues(Ren-humanity)
• No reference to a soul
• More of a way to live a virtuous life and an orderly existence
• No reference to a god

The Indian Invention of “Arabic” Numerals

The invention of "Arabic" numerals or more accurate Indian numerals, allowed mathematicians to carry out routine calculations with ease (much more difficult in say, Roman numerals). This was facilitated with the availability of the zero and the place-value notation.