Friday, December 7, 2012
Renaissance
The Renaissance began in Italy for multiple reasons. One reason is that the Black Plague had drastically reduced the population in Europe and paved the way for new opportunity. Another reason is that the location of Italy allowed for access to the ocean to increase different cultural changes. Lastly because many activists such as Martin Luther sparked rebellion in the people and changed followed in church and government.
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Tuesday, December 4, 2012
Wednesday, November 28, 2012
Michelangelo (The Last Judgement)
Michelangelo, in full Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (born March 6, 1475, Caprese, Republic of Florence [Italy]—died February 18, 1564, Rome, Papal States), Italian Renaissance sculptor, painter, architect, and poet who exerted an unparalleled influence on the development of Western art. Michelangelo was considered the greatest living artist in his lifetime, and ever since then he has been held to be one of the greatest artists of all time. A number of his works in painting, sculpture, and architecture rank among the most famous in existence. Although the frescoes on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel are probably the best known of his works today, the artist thought of himself primarily as a sculptor. His practice of several arts, however, was not unusual in his time, when all of them were thought of as based on design, or drawing. Michelangelo worked in marble sculpture all his life and in the other arts only during certain periods. The high regard for the Sistine ceiling is partly a reflection of the greater attention paid to painting in the 20th century and partly, too, because many of the artist’s works in other media remain unfinished.
The Last Judgment is a canonical fresco by the Italian Renaissance master Michelangelo executed on the altar wall of the Sistine Chapel in Vatican City. The work took four years to complete and was done between 1536 and 1541 (preparation of the altar wall began in 1535.) Michelangelo began working on it some twenty years after having finished the Sistine Chapel ceiling.The work is massive and spans the entire wall behind the altar of the Sistine Chapel. It is a depiction of the Second Coming of Christ and the final and eternal judgment by God of all humanity. The souls of humans rise and descend to their fates, as judged by Christ surrounded by prominent saints including Saints Catherine of Alexandria, Peter, Lawrence, Bartholomew, Paul, Peter Simon, Sebastian, John the Baptist, and others.This painting qualifies as a Renaissance art piece because it depicts humans in great detail which was a new concept of the Renaissance era.Monday, November 26, 2012
The year is 1515 and I am a merchant in Florence, a booming economic city. The plague has wiped out most of the population and the efforts to rebuild the society are in motion for the survivors such as myself. The efforts to rebuild mean a high demand for merchants, bankers, and tradespeople throughout the city. As of late I've been very well-off and making so much money I don't know what to do with. With my increasing wealth I've been put in a new social status know around town as the middle-class. I'm not quite sure but education is becoming more important in the city, everyone is becoming literate and reading for recreation. Also, my friend who's a banker and doing very well, was telling me about this study that he called arithmetic that he was learning and my other friend who's a tradesman is learning several different languages that i had never even heard of before. This a very odd time with so much change and advancement I guess you could say it's very overwhelming for myself, but i do know that there's money to be made and I'm making lots of it so I can't complain to much.
A modern day example of Niccolo Machiavelli is Adolf Hitler. Hitler resembles Machiavelli because Hitler's demise came from his obsessive focus on war and controlling as much of the world that he could. I do not believe that it is better to be feared than loved. Any leader in history that ruled by fear was eventually brought out of power by revolting citizens or government officials. If you are loved instead then the people will support you and not try to overthrow your power.
Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Fujiwara Japan (Heian)
Fujiwara Japan
I
have just returned with pictures from my latest journey to Japan during the Heian period. During this time period Japan was ruled by the Fujiwara Family, who through the marrying of Fujiwara daughters to emperors gained
power over many parts of Japan. The
original founder of the Fujiwara Family was Nakatomi no Kamatari who was rewarded by Emporer Tenji with the honorific "Fujiwara",
which evolved as a surname for Kamatari and his descendants. However, decline in food production, growth of the population, and
competition for resources among the great families all led to the gradual
decline of Fujiwara power and gave rise to military disturbances in the mid-tenth
and eleventh centuries.
I got my camera and materials I needed
for the trip and went back into my time machine. I carefully set the dial to
821 to the location of Heian, Japan and off I went flying
back through time. There was the usual flash of light and the time machine came
to a sudden and I stepped out into the sights and sounds of ancient Japan. The first
thing that I saw and photographed was a statue of Buddha that was located in
the middle of the city. I also photographed a Buddhist temple and different sacred
grounds throughout the city. Buddhism was the main religion in Japan at this
time and was widely practiced by the citizens of Heian.
I walked
through the city for the next couple of hours taking pictures of different
things I found interesting. The economy in Japan was very poor during this time
period so many citizens lived in poverty. I photographed houses on the
outskirts of the city made of clay, wood, and or tile and shoddily constructed.
As I walked around longer I came across me in heavy metal body armor
brandishing razor-sharp swords snuggly strapped around their waists. After further
research I have identified these worriers as samurais who were soldiers that
worked under nobles to fight and protect land against enemies. Once I finished
photographing I got back in the time machine and set the dial to 4020 to return
home once again.
http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=TwjmaEySNofSdM:&imgrefurl=http://landsofwisdom.com/%3Fp%3D3111&docid=YVBhUXG_XmAu3M&imgurl=http://landsofwisdom.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Buddhist-temple-in-Japan.jpg&w=500&h=333&ei=qdiNUPmBFIaq8ATH64DwAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=189&vpy=308&dur=3231&hovh=183&hovw=275&tx=186&ty=107&sig=110381827345726014815&page=1&tbnh=148&tbnw=212&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0,i:86
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=Eksj6E-92BunBM:&imgrefurl=http://globaltwilight.edublogs.org/2011/04/26/japans-feudal-period/&docid=aiTgyJeKlgWKYM&imgurl=http://globaltwilight.edublogs.org/files/2011/04/samurai-1y21nzq.jpg&w=490&h=338&ei=jtmNUPemNor89QS-uoCYBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=190&vpy=206&dur=1935&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=198&ty=120&sig=110381827345726014815&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=210&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:89
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=Eksj6E-92BunBM:&imgrefurl=http://globaltwilight.edublogs.org/2011/04/26/japans-feudal-period/&docid=aiTgyJeKlgWKYM&imgurl=http://globaltwilight.edublogs.org/files/2011/04/samurai-1y21nzq.jpg&w=490&h=338&ei=jtmNUPemNor89QS-uoCYBg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=190&vpy=206&dur=1935&hovh=186&hovw=270&tx=198&ty=120&sig=110381827345726014815&page=1&tbnh=145&tbnw=210&start=0&ndsp=21&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:89
Sunday, October 21, 2012
Song Dynasty (China)
Song Dynasty (China)
In my
latest time travel journey I went back in time to the Song Dynasty in 1231. I’ve
always been interested in Ancient China and was excited to go back and
photograph this great place in history. At this time, China was developing very
quickly creating things such as gunpowder which strengthened China’s Military
and played a cultural role in China. The Song Dynasty was divided into two separate
periods, the Northern Song and the Southern Song. During the Northern Song, which
lasted from 960 to 1127, the Song capital was in the northern city of
Bianjing and the dynasty controlled most of inner China. The Southern
Song lasted from 1127 to 1279, and refers
to the period after the Song lost control of northern China to the Jin Dynasty.
So once again I climbed into my
trusty time machine and dialed in the time and location, 1231 the Song Dynasty.
I pushed the button and off I went flying back through time until the time
machine suddenly stopped. I climbed out and found myself in the middle of a
battle field, I ran for cover as arrows fly past me and the bang of cannons
rang out in the distance. Soldiers on horseback brandishing razor sharp swords
galloped from my right clashing with opposing soldiers and I could hear the
sharp clink of metal meeting metal as the soldiers swords struck armor. I identified
the soldiers on horseback as Mongols and quickly made me way back to the time
machine, snapping a few picture in the process, and franticly pushed the button
again.
The time machine sped off and
stopped once again. I stepped out and this time I wasn’t in the middle of a
battle I was standing in the middle of a busy city market. I was in the city of
Hangzhou, which had a population of
over a million and was one of the largest cities in the world at the time. I began
taking pictures of the market and the people, venders were selling everything
from chickens to coal and the buyers used a paper money system to purchase
these items. After exploring the city a little more and taking a few more
pictures I returned to time machine and set the dial back to 4020 pushed the
button and went back home.
Monday, October 15, 2012
Life inmy time of 4021 is a very advanced society with many new inventions and achievements.Ever since the invention of the time machine in 4019, life as a photographerhas been much more exciting. I’ve traveled back through time to many ancient civilizationssuch as Ancient Egypt and Rome, observing and photographing the ways of lifeback then. However on my latest journey I went back in time to an empire entirelynew to me, the Ancient Kingdom of Ghana.
I setthe dial on the time machine to go back to the year 815 C.E. to the location of theAncient Kingdom of Ghana in western Africa. I stepped out of the time machineand into the city of Kumbi Saleh and was immediatelystruck with the hot dry climate of this region. There were people crowded inthe city trading goods with Saharan traders who traveled across the Sahara incaravans to trade items such as gold, ivory, and salt. The native people worebright colored clothes and the women were carrying jugs of water and food ontheir heads through the streets.
I also made my way to a part of the city called the El Ghaba whichwas home to the royal palace, as well as other wealthy residents of thetown. The houses in El Ghaba weremade out of wood and stone as opposed to houses for poorer people which weremade out of clay and wood. El Ghaba also contained a sacred grove oftrees that was used in religious ceremonies. On the other side of thecity there was a section containing more than a dozen mosqueslocated within the trading center. After taking the pictures that I wanted andlearned all that I had wanted to learn I returned to the time machine and camewent back to the year 4021.
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/Kingdom_of_Ghana
http://www.google.com/imgres?num=10&hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=yDpNW5R9aZF5jM:&imgrefurl=http://www.kidspast.com/world-history/0099-kingdom-ghana.php&docid=
http://www.google.com/imgres?hl=en&safe=active&biw=1360&bih=673&tbm=isch&tbnid=aU59a2oXAxl8KM:&imgrefurl=http://www.sunseekerstours.com/info/history.html&docid=4kXVXixypV6_NM&imgurl=http://www.sunseekerstours.com/info/p-history3.jpg&w=243&h=308&ei=58p8UI_eLI_K9gSlp4C4BQ&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=338&sig=110381827345726014815&page=1&tbnh=149&tbnw=118&start=0&ndsp=19&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:0,i:90&tx=84&ty=59
Monday, October 1, 2012
Umayyad Damascus
The bombs that went off exploded on the road and on in the Syrian Army HQ. The bombs impacted the historical sites because it stopped traffic on the highway and the Syrian Army is now shutting down and patrolling the city to prevent other attacks. The Syrian Army is upset with the incident and are trying to prevent any future attacks.
Monday, September 24, 2012
Inspiration Maps Lite document: Byzantine Empire
Sunday, September 23, 2012
Byzantine Empire
b) What are the differences between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Church?The Roman Catholic Church believed in separation between political and religious leaders, their religious art portrayed as suffering for the sins of mankind, priests could not marry, they had gothic architecture, and theology was less influenced by Greek philosophy. The Eastern Orthodox Church believed in Caesaropapism and union between political and religious leaders, their religious art conveyed Jesus as majestic and divine, priests could marry, architecture was inspired by ancient Roman arches and domes, and theology was influenced by Greek philosophy.
c) Why do the Russians claim Moscow is the capital of the Third Roman Empire? (Explain the logic behind this claim)
The Russians claim Moscow as the capital of the Third Roman Empire because they want religious freedom to practice beliefs of the Russian Orthodox Church. Also, claiming Moscow helped the Russians take control over the Mongols.
d) How are Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible important figures in Russian History?
Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible controlled much of Russia for many years. They instituted absolute rule and centralized royal power limiting the power of boyars and granted land to nobles in exchange for military service.
c) Why do the Russians claim Moscow is the capital of the Third Roman Empire? (Explain the logic behind this claim)
The Russians claim Moscow as the capital of the Third Roman Empire because they want religious freedom to practice beliefs of the Russian Orthodox Church. Also, claiming Moscow helped the Russians take control over the Mongols.
d) How are Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible important figures in Russian History?
Ivan the Great and Ivan the Terrible controlled much of Russia for many years. They instituted absolute rule and centralized royal power limiting the power of boyars and granted land to nobles in exchange for military service.
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