The Inca Empire

I found the Inca Empire to be so interesting. A state built along the spine of a mountain about 2500 miles in length. They were ruled by a divine emperor, though each region, about 80 or so, had its own govenor. They had inspectors to watch the emperor and govenors also. Births, deaths and marriages all were carefully recorded. The Inca did not require a tax of their conquered citizens rather they demanded a labor service called mita. What people did at home was theirs though all were required to work for the state also. Farming, construction, herding, mining and military service are how people served their state. Specialized skill people were sent to manufacture textiles, metal goods, ceramics and stoneworks. Women were the most specil of these spefic jobs. Young girls would be pulled from home and trained in Inca ideology. They later would be given to men of distinction or they would serve as priestesses in certain temples. The Inca lived a life of gender parrallelism. They were different but equal to their men, which is unlike many societies prior. The Inca people had an interesting way of leading their subjects, though they did not rule equally, they did rule as sapay Inca, or the Inca ruler, and the coya, his female consort. They goverend together and were said to have descended from the sun and the moon. It is so strange that they vanished so fast. They seemed to ahve a really good thing going for them during their 100 year history.

AN AMAZING 150 YEARS

For 1300 plus years the world evolved at a steady rate. Developing wonderful things such as writing, agruculture and language. The 100 years from 1350 and roughly 1500 brought forth some of the greatest empires and expansion achievements ever. Every region had their own impact and important events. In the Central and East Asia Region the great Ming dybasty rose to power, around 1368, and ruled for nearly 300 years. This region also started to explore the world and discover maritime routes of their owen. In the Middle East, the expansion of the Ottoman Empire was great as they conquered Constantanople. In Europe this period may have flourished the most. After the terrible Black Death, which killed around a quarter of western Europes people, the Renaissance emerged. The rebirth of the Classical era had begun. This brought forth so much great philosophical minds and amazing art, much of which still amazes the world today. Europe also saw the Portugese set out on their own maritime voyages along the Western African coast. With so many new beginnings in Europe being reborn, Europe also saw the end of the Byzantine Empire and the rule of the Mongols in Russia during this period. The Americas saw a very impressive growth also, especially in South America where the Aztec and Inca empires developed. These empires were very unique and structured. As all know in 1492 America was "discovered". Though there were alreadt settlers on the land, the introduction of Europeans to colonize this new land and the influence of the Renaissance brought over allowed America to develop into the nation it is today. With so much maritime travel and exploration the world was becoming more connected. Trade routes were being established, relationships were developing and the idea of building your society based on what others could provide was growing. Wealthy Europeans had so many goods and money, though they had no access to some of the beautiful, earthly goods that the empires in the Americas had an abundant amount of. The unfortuante part of all this travel and trade was that greed did settle in and eventually the bigger, stronger power wanted everything and massacared all of those who stood in the way of them getting it. No matter, this 150 years of world growth seems quite amazing.

Response to Andrews blog

Andrew brings up that the Mongols have no written records left behind because they had no written language. This is interesting because that means that the records of these people were written by others. Those are people that they conquered or did business with or had communication with. Interesting that there were so many "positive" things written by others, though very understandable why the things that are so terrible about these people is so heavily written. No one likes to be defeated, let alone destroyed in such a terrible manner as they did to most people. One has to wonder were this bad or were they maybe misinterpreted by those that they defeated? The Persian Empire maybe might sound similar if they did not have the formal written language that they did. It is so unfortunate that some of these great societies have no record because they did not have written language. If only we could find out what we do not know some how. Unfortunately what we know is what we will most likely ever know.

Those evil Mongols...???

The Mongols, the intimidating monters from the east. They terrorized and raided villages for whatever they wanted whenever they wanted it. Taking it in gruesome manners. This is what history teaches us usually. I was shocked but some of the things that Strayer says about them. For example, they did not force religion upon their subjects, their rulers were humble men that looked to shamans for advice and guidance so to give their people the best chance to survive, and they were smart enough to salvage the people of specialty in order to use in their society rather than just kill them to prove they are the all powerful.

The Mongol nation were though who teachers tell their students about. The policy by Chinggis Khan exemplified that: Whoever submits shall be spared, but those who resist, they shall be destroyed with their wives, children and dependents...so that the others who hear and see should fear and not act the same. That is quite a message and one that all should believe unless they have a nation and an army so overwhelming in numbers that they do not have to be threatened.

I am impressed by the census taking that they did also. Khan was smart and wanted to know exactly what he had available to him in terms of military assisitance. He seemed to be a very intelligent leadr. Also impressive was the relay stations they set up to estabalish faster communications and trade. Inviting all faiths seems smart because it makes all your conquered citizens able to still follow their faith and not feel trapped by their conquerers religion of choice.

I also found very interesting the story or Khutukun. This women who wrestled men and defeated them all and then refused to marry a man because she was supposed to. It was cool to see she said she would marry a man that could defeat her and it never happened. Also the fact that she was on the battlefield right next to her father was awesome. For so long I have wondered if there was a society that gave women more freedom and equality anmd it seems that the Mongol nation did so a bit. When her father died it is said that he wanted her to take his place though with 13 brothers in line that was shot down. The fact that it was even an option speaks highly of her abilities in life to lead and on the battle field. The fact that it is unknown whether she died in battle or by assassination is weird though I would not doubt that it was assassination by one of her brothers who may have been jealous and feared her power.

I have found the Mongol empire very interesting and plan to look into it more to get a better understanding of these people.

response to Luis

  

 

Luis says in his chapter 9 blog that " it was nice to see a change once in awhile where history was not about fighting. The fact that every color was represented through the pilgrimmage makes it that much more special." I must agree that anytime there is minimal to no fighting that it is a nice thing to read or hear. Most of history has been built on fights though. Whether it be territorial one s or religious ones. The gathering of so many ethnicities at Mecca is a mazing but it is the bad Muslims that have left such a bad image in the mids of many when they think about Muslims. The attack on he twin towers rocked the world and especially this country and the label attached to it was Muslim, therefore Islam. These were men attcking on their own interpretation of what they believed their God wanted them to do. Silly. Though as an American I must admit I was not happy at first and blamed all Muslims but then realized that most are faithful kind people that would never wish this upon anyone. Those who acted on their own will get no love from their God when their time comes because their God will ask them what were you thinking. Hopefully this country and others can see that Islam is aniother religion, just like Christiaqnity and Buddhism that has its rules and its Gods and menas no harm to others. Again anytime there is no fighting is a good time.

response to Carly

I read Carlys ch.9 blog and I agree with the fact that understanding Islam is a bit easier because it is more like Christianity. The belief in one God is much easier to connect with. It is a huge problem I feel that there seems to be little to no distinction between the religious laws and the state or civil ones. America pushes that card a bit also with matters like swearing on a Bible, the pledge of alleginace, the words In God We Trust and so on. Religion is one thing and law is another or at least that is how it should be. People just can not seperate such strong emotions and when those two get intertwined it can get very ugly very fast.

I also have wondered at times about the restrictions on Muslim women as Carly has. Muslim women do sound as if they are to be obediant and silent but are the veils till necesarry? It would make sense if so because if the men are so concerned about the women being obediant and in the shadows then it makes sense to keep them covered up with only their eyes, the eyes that must focus on their duties, being visible. For the sake of these women and for the equality that all women have earned and deserve, I hope one day these veils become an option or choice and not  mandatory.

In reading about Islam I like that the Quran has remained a scared text in the way that it has not beeen translated into hundreds of languages, thus losing abit of its deep meaning. The book says that "Mulims claim when heard in its original Arabic, conveys nothing less than the prescence of the Divine." It the says that "its unmatched poetic, beauty, miraculous to Mulims convinced many that it was indeed a revalation from God." By keeping this sacred text in its natural form its beauty and holy feeling can shine through as it was intended. With religious texts such as the Bible, it has been translated so many times and for so many years that I feel many do not know at times what was really being said. Everyone has their own version ajnd input on the meaning of the lords words. I agree that books and storeis should be retold and translated but when it comes to powerful things like the Bible, the Quran or even historical pieces like the Constitution of the Magna Carta, they need to be left in their true state. Yes their words can be paraphrased in other languages so all can learn of it but others who do not truely understand the depth of something so powerful should not be able to interpret it for themselves as they see fit. If someone truely wants to learn it and convert to it the n they will take the time to learn to read it. Yes this seems harsh and time consuming but it also would secure the power and integrity of these revolutionary pieces.

Islam is the most structuredd and time committed religion I have learned about. Its structure through the Five Pillars really keeps its followers faith strong. By donating to the poor and praying five times a day in the direction of Mecca, this religion is not for the fair weather holy person who is seeking a new person to follow. Following Ramadan and then the possible pilgrimmage to Mecca are very intense practices. A person does not have the time to stray away from their faith. With many catholics they go to church once a week, with a prayer here or there. This gives many hours and days to stray off the path of ritcheousness and possibly hurt your chances of the eventual afterlife. In Islam the followers have such strong beliefs and discipline that they stay very regimented. Understanding where the religion was birthed is an amazing feature of Islam also. To go to Mecca and understand the true depth of this religion is incredible. Christians should take a trip to Galilee or Jerusalem or Buddhists to the tree of Siddhartha. These acts just show a deeper commitment and passion for the religion in which you are putting your faith and afterlife possibilitis.

Response to Meghan

I must agree with Meghan. She says in her blog that only the upper class in the Chavin society enjoyed the benefits of their rich civilization. Only the upper class enjoyed the artwork, ceremonies, housing structures and all the other wonderful natural resources they had. It has been a repetitive theme in this class that only the upper class enjoy the good stuff. In most societies the lower class were slaves or laborers and probably enjoyed little to nothing at all. I keep waiting for some society or civilization that threw the world a curveball and let all reap in the joys and wonders of life. A civilization that did not just  treat all based on class or wealth. I have a feeling that we are not going to be learning about that though anytime soon. The world we live in today has many shades of this same mentality. The poor in many areas of the world stay poor and miss out on the luxuries of life. Yes the government tries to help the homeless and sends food and aid to struggling third world countries but it is not enough and most likely never will be. I am blessed to be on the better side of life but I feel for those that are not. I hope some society we learn about gave the poor a chance at some time. Maybe even a poor peasant who learned to write somehow and then kept a record about what lie was like back then for them also. To understand a story one must understand both sides of it. 

response to Chad

I read Chads blog for Chapter 7 and he brought up some good points about the trade of this era. During my reading the trade of goods and disease caught my attention the most. Religion though was also traded. Though a religion did not go somewhere new just to bring their religion they did look to convert people over. Christianity, Muslims, Islam, Buddhists all traveled with many goods and with them they brought their faith. Not only is a trader bring goods and getting either money or other goods in return but they also are getting more followers to make themselves that much stronger. With a strong number of religious followers it gives a religion allies to continually trade with or to possibly fight along side if one day there is need to unite. Also a leader from Rome who may be spreading Christianity along with his goods may eventually conquer a country and already have it easy because most are already on the side of their religion. The trade of disease had a major impact on history and the trade of religion stills plays a major role in what religion may converted to centuries ago and still today may follow. A country in the middle east that converted so many years ago may now be fighting another country because of their religious beliefs and position in the world.

In Chapter seven there is a snapshot of the Economic Exchange along the silk Roads. It tells what were the major resources traded and moved along the the Silk Roads for specific countries. I found the information interesting. I like seeing what was important and accessible to different areas of this time. Things like silk, bamboo, ginger, chrysanthemums and paper make great sense. Things like mirrors and lacquerware are understandable though interesting. Obviously if the chinese had access to mirrors then they would want to spread these to further areas to share or trade them, though it is just interesting to hear about people of this time using mirrors. The Forrest lands of Siberia exchanged just animals and people pretty much along with basic needs for a forrest environment. Falcons, livestock, horses, furs and slaves were their big movers, but the one I found the most interesting was the walrus tusks. I would not think there would be many walrus' in the forrest areas of Siberia but I guess times were different then. If one were to make a chart of the United States today I wonder what it would look like? We live in a world where so much of what we have is imported...so what would we have? iPhones, certain cars, oranges, peaches, avocados, apples, vegetables, certain types of wood...that is a quick thought that I am sure is barely tapping into what we are really about.

The unfortunate thing that was exchanged along the silk road was disease. Smallpox and measles wiped people out. Through simple contact and communication people were infecting one another and killing many. On that chart nowhere is there medical care or vaccines. I guess that is a major one the US could put on theirs today also. It is hard to imagine a world in which disease is incurable. It is hard to fathom that living to 30 would be considered old. That children die daily because they are not strong enough to fight this new strain of sickness that has attacked people. As crazy as our country can be our medical fields are amazing. People today can be cured of so many diseases that once killed many. Measles, mumps, smallpox, syphilis, polio all are gone. Cancer is being cured and fought as is AIDS, amazing. In history we learn of all the great minds and inventors, the great warriors and leaders, but think of how many the world lost because there was no cure for a unknown disease.