Axis Age/ Golden Age in Greece

Introduction:  Today we interview Pericles.

               

Question:  What was the Golden Age in Greece?

Answer:  The Golden Greece was the time of light in ancient Greece.  We had beautiful architecture and art.  The theatre was revolutionized in the Greek civilization.  The Persian invaders had been driven out entirely and the Athenian empire needed to be rebuilt.  There was the evolution of the jury system.  Mathematics originated during this time period.  There was amazing science and philosophy also.  The Golden Age of Greece was when Athens was at its height in wealth, prestige and military power.


Question:  Were you a ruler during this age?

Answer:  Yes I was.  I ruled from 460-429 BC. 

Question:  What were your views on democracy?

Answer:  I had three goals; to strengthen democracy, beautify the empire and expand the empire.  I wanted a direct democracy.  I wanted to change the balance of power between the rich and poor.  I raised public service and individual ability above class. I paid my public officials, so the poor could afford to hold office.  As long as you were over 18, a free male, and a son of Athenian-born parents you could be in office. 

Question:  In philosophy, what some great Greek achievements?

Answer:  Some philosophical achievements in Greek would include humanism, which states that man is the center of Heaven and Earth.  Socrates developed the Socratic Method.  This method would be a series of questions he would ask citizens of Athens to analyze their lives.  He was put on trial at age 70 and he was condemned to death.  Plato, a student of Socrates, wanted a republic which was more of a group of educated men and a philosopher king.  He didn’t trust a democracy after the death of Socrates.  His student, Aristotle, wanted one single well educated ruler.  Overall, ancient Greece had many great philosophers. 
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Alexander the Great

Introduction:  Today we interview one of the most famous conquerors of all time.  He was important enough to make 33 on Michael Hart's list of top 100 most influential persons.  Introducing: Alexander the Great

Question:  Alexander the Great, the first question on everyone's mind is why were you called "Alexander the Great", and not just Alexander?

Answer:  Well to answer that question, you have to go further back into my history.  You have to start at the very beginning of my story.  What's unique about my story is that my family had already been rich and successful before I accomplished anything.  My lifestyle had already been chosen before I was born by my father; Philip of Macedon. 

Question:  You say your father chose your lifestyle.  What do you mean by that?

Answer:  My father, Phillip, lived from 359-336 B.C. and is best known for uniting Macedonia.  He had a powerful and skilled army that also conquered Greece.  He left a great inheritance when he died shortly after his conquests.  I already had money and stability, but I also had a large job to do; to rule the land that my father had conquered.  As a boy my father made sure I had the best education.  He had scholars come in to teach me about philosophy and my father himself taught me warfare and politics. 

Question:  There are nasty rumors going around that your mother, Olympia, arranged the assassination of your father so you could rule sooner.  What is your perspective on this?

Answer:  I believe that there are rumors about all large political figures.  Whether this one is true or not is my mother's business.  I was young when my father was murdered and I don't believe that my mother was responsible.  She told me I was the son of Zeus, not Philip.  Regardless I was crowned ruler and my father died. 

Question:  Your army helped you a great deal, did it not?

Answer:  With my father's death, he left me three things; gold, Greece and most importantly the strongest army in the 4th century.  My new army was different from any other.  Instead of the traditional three lines to fight battle, I had a unit that could respond to flags signals and trumpet calls, taking orders and being able to move at my will in different formations.  I had a strong navy, Cretan archers, and a great cavalry that no one could match.  My men were my strength and I treated them with great respect.  I lead them in all battles and we won all battles.  We never lost and I was invincible.  My enemies feared me more than any other being.

Question:  You had major conquests in Asia.  Tell me about them.

Answer:  I set out in spring of 334 to conquer Asia.  I first went to Troy to gain allies and recruits.  Next I encountered my first major battle at the Granicus River.  I won the battle and moved on to the city of Gordium.  In this city there was said to be a knot that only the true conqueror of Asia could loosen.  I tried for a while to untie the knot, but there weren't any loose ends showing so I simply cut through it with my sword.  I doing so I became the one prophesized to conquer Asia, but I first had to get past the Persian army.  They came between me and the sea in the mountains.  It was a town called Issus and they were on the other side of the Pinarus River.  I decided to go straight for King Darius.  When I did this he fled and his collapsed.  Winning this battle showed me and everyone else that I could become the King of Darius' land and my own current land.  I finally defeated them at Arbela in 331 BCE. 

Question:  What did the Egyptians think of you?

Answer:  The Egyptians were happy to be rid of the Persians.  They had forced their culture and gods on Egypt and I restored their culture.  They eventually made me a Pharaoh and a god.  I began to question whether I was a god.  I am charming, never lost a battle, rich and adored by everyone.  But I mostly wanted to accept their customs for an alliance and recruits to defeat the Persians. 

Question:  What nations did you conquer?

Answer:  I conquered the Achaemenid Persian Empire, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria and Mesopotamia. I also extended the boundaries of my own empire as far as Punjab, India.

Epilogue:  Alexander the Great lived from 356 BCE to 323 BCE.  He died at the age of 32 and is known as the most successful conqueror of Greece and a prominent member of history.

http://timesonline.typepad.com/.a/6a00d83451586c69e2011570b0e6f6970c-320wi

Constantine the Great

Introduction: Today we interview Constantine the Great.  He was born on 27 February AD 272 in Naissus.

Question: When were you Emperor?

Answer: I was the Emperor in 312 BC.
Question: What were your religious views?

Answer: I, personally, have been Christian since I was 30.  This made me the supreme ruler of France.  I do believe, however, that everyone is entitled to their own religious beliefs.  I support freedom of worship.  I made Christianity legal in 313 AD.  This conversion helped me with Christian allies. 

Question: What was your greatest accomplishment?

Answer: My greatest accomplishment was the creation of Constantinople in 330AD.  This is the city I made the capital during my reign as Emperor.  Constantinople was the center of trade for centuries. It commanded key trade routes and was the busiest market place.

Question:  What goods were traded at Constantinople?

Answer:  We received goods from many different ports.  We traded silks from China, wheat from Egypt, gems from India, spices from Southeast Asia, and furs from the lands of the Vikings.

Question: What was the downfall of Constantinople?

Answer:  Constantinople's decline started when the Fourth Crusades sacked Constantinople.  They brought extensive damage to the city. The Crusaders blocked the city with ships and stole its riches with force.  Men blinded by their greed didn't think to spare the sanity of the men and woman living in the city.  They took everything worth taking, sparing only the lives of some citizens.  They real end of Constantinople was when the Ottoman Turks took the city in 1453.  They later renamed my great city Istanbul.

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Julius Caesar: Fall of the Roman Republic

Introduction:  Julius Caesar very famous in history.  His is the inspiration for Little Caesar’s Pizza, Caesar salads and Caesar's Place in Las Vegas.  In the year 46 BC he came to power as a dictator.

Question: So, what were you before a dictator?

Answer:  In 48 BC I went to battle against Pompey, my rival general.  Pompey and I had been colleagues, but he turned against me and turned the Senate against me too.  The Senate declared me an enemy and demanded for me to step down from my position as general, but I chose otherwise.  Instead of stepping down, I used my loyal soldiers and crossed the Rubicon River.  This was a bold action because in that time the river marked the boundary between my province and Italy.  It was a crime against the state, but I wasn't willing to give up all of my hard work because the Senate had declared me an enemy.  My troops crossed the river and in 49 BC the Civil War between Pompey and I began.  I won in Pharsalus, Greece.  After I won I took part of Asia. 

Question:  Did you ever return to Rome?

Answer: I returned to Rome in 46 BC and demanded that the Senate make me a dictator.  My people loved me because I reconstructed the government and made decisions for the people. 

Question:  What was your greatest accomplishment?

Answer:  My greatest accomplishment was probably the Julian Calendar, in which has been used to this day.

Question:  Is it true that you and Cleopatra had a love affair?

Answer:  Yes, it is.  This led Egypt to be my ally in times of conquest.  The Egyptians assassinated Pompey.

Epilogue:  Julius Caesar was late assassinated on   

March 14, 44BC by senate members.  This led to a 13 year was and the downfall of Rome.
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Rome Sacked/ Falls to the Barbarians

Introduction:  Today we interview King Alaric.  He was responsible for the fall of one of the greatest empires in ancient history; Rome.

Question:  How did you know when to attack Rome?

Answer:  I sacked Rome in 410.  At that time, Rome was already having internal issues.  There was political stability and economic problems.  There were 26 emperors in Rome’s history.  Only one of those emperors died of natural causes.  What does that say about the great city?  Obviously it was not a perfect system of government.  They had high taxes, farm lands were over cultivated and they entirely relied on slave labor.  To top it all off, in 284, Diocletian divides the empire into two halves.  He ruled the eastern half and his colleague, Maximian, ruled the western half.  Rome was no longer the capital of the Roman Empire.  Then Constantine came to power in 312 and he ruled two halves at first, but abandoned the system and ruled a single kingdom again.  He made the new capital of the empire Constantinople, a city in the east.  Barbarians came from the north to escape the Huns.  They moved into Rome and that’s when we knew to attack.  The empire had been weakened greatly and I knew that we, the Visigoths, would triumph.

Question:  How did you go about sacking the city?

Answer:  The Romans knew I was in their city.  They knew I was hostile towards them and they knew that was planning to attack their city.  I suddenly had an epiphany.  My army had men of all ages and some had barely grown out beards yet, they had just become of age.  I demised a plot to overthrow the city from within.  I went to the nobles of the city and said that I admired their loyalty to the emperor, so much so that I would leave the city with my men.  They were ecstatic to not have to worry about the barbarians attacking their city anymore.  I also gave each of them a gift for their admirable attributes; a slave.  I had three hundred of my men given to each member of the senate.  The men were obedient and intelligent.  They did exactly what the members wanted with no question asked.  Then when the planned time came, they rushed to the gate by the name of Salarian and killed the guards.  They opened the gate allowing my army to rush inside.  We burnt down houses and killed anything in our path.

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Battle of Tours

Introduction:  Today we interview Charles Martel.

Question:  Why did the Battle of Tours take place?

Answer:  The Battle of Tours took place because of the Muslims.  They were creating an empire and trying to take Europe.  They were advancing quickly and took over the region from Palestine to North Africa to Spain.  They drew the last straw when a Muslim army crossed in to Spain.  They were well out of line crossing into my territory. 

Question:  Who won the Battle of Tours?

Answer:  In 732, I met them with a Frankish army and triumphed over the Muslims.  God was on our side.  They no longer advanced into Western Europe, but unfortunately the kept Spain.

Question:  What would have happened had you not stopped their advance?

Answer:  Everyone would be Muslim in Europe.  All new lands would be of Islamic religion and life would cease to exist as we know it. 

Question:  What was the affect of the Muslim presence in Europe?

Answer:  Knowing that there was an outside force close by made everyone paranoid.  It brought anxiety to out European Christian leaders.  However, some peasants did trade with the Muslims because, admittedly, they were smarter than us in many aspects. 

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Charlemagne

Introduction:  Today we interview Charlemagne, the Greatest King of the Dark Ages.  He is the most illuminating figure of the dark ages.  He never lost a military conquest, reestablishes education and economic importance of the empire.

Question:  How did you earn the respect you undoubtedly have now?

Answer:  I was King of the Franks and my territory included modern France, Germany, Holland, Switzerland, Austria and Poland and most of Italy.  At 24, I was the largest share holder of the biggest kingdom in Europe.  I tried to pull the people of Europe out of the dark ages. 

Question:  What are your religious views?

Answer:  I am a Christian.  I gave my subjects a choice; become Christian or die.  Pagans were killed for practicing their beliefs.  I had 50 military campaigns that were designed to expand my empire and save souls.  Christian soldiers enforced the will of God and answered directly to me.  In 782, I defeated and murdered the Saxons for worshipping false gods.  This was known as the Bloody verdict of Verdum.

Question:  How did you combine your faith with your authority?

Answer:  Aside from my religious campaigns, I founded the Holy Roman Empire and was the first Holy Roman Emperor.  This meant that I had both religious and government authority. 

Question:  What were the educational aspects of your reign?

Answer:  I built a chain of royal schools starting a new age of learning.  I wanted children of all ages to receive education.  I, myself, tried to learn to read and write. 

Question:  What was your final challenge?

Answer:  On Christmas Day 800 I was 60 years old and crowned Emperor of the West.  I was very shocked.  I had no idea the coronation was going to take place.  It was the most daunting political challenge. 

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The Great Schism

Introduction:  Today we interview the Byzantine Emperor Leo III. 

Question:  So, Leo, how did you contribute to the Great Schism?

Answer:  I contributed to the Great Schism because my decisions were basically the base of the controversy in Christianity.  I banned icons in my empire because it violated God’s commandment against worshiping “graven images”.  Many of my subjects worshiped icon and this set off violent battles within my empire.

Question:  What are icons?

Answer:  Icons are religious images. Byzantine Christians commonly used these in worship.  Common icons were Jesus, Mary, saints and such.

Question:  I don’t understand.  Why would banning the use of holy images lead to war and controversy?

Answer:  Religion is sacred and everyone wants to be right when it comes to God.  No one wants to be violating God’s wishes.  People would fight battles over religion all of the time because they wanted to fight for what they thought was religiously correct.

Question:  What is the Great Schism?

Answer:  The Great Schism was a split in Christianity which derived from my ban.  It happened in 1054.  The church split in two branches; the Roman Catholic Church which was western and the Orthodox, or eastern branch.  The Roman Catholic Church banned icons.  The Pope and Patriarch, the head of the Orthodox Church, excommunicated each other.  All further contact between the two branches became distant and competitive. 

Question: I was under the impression that the Great Schism led to three branches of the Church.  Is this true or a fallacy?

Answer:  This is true.  Around the 1500’s the church was not as Christians intended it to be.  The Pope was competing with Italian Princes for political power and fought wars to protect Papal States form Secular rulers.  They planned the demise of Monarchs who tried to get too involved in the Church and influence the Church’s hold on their lands.  The Church also wanted to expand its own interests.  People were able to buy their way into religious positions and Popes were violent.  The Christians wanted their churches to be beautiful.  They hired artists to paint and decorate churches.  Unfortunately, with labor comes a cost.  The church had encountered a dilemma; how to make money.  Churches increased charges for weddings and baptism.  They also sold indulgences.

Question: What are indulgences?

Answer:  Indulgences were the lessening of time a soul spent in purgatory.  They sold indulgences to fund church.  It was a way for rich people to get around being good people. Instead of having to perform a good deed to get into heaven, you could buy your way into the afterlife.  This led to protests and revolts.  A few famous ones were led by Erasmus and John Wycliffe.  However, the Church didn’t appreciate revolts and  Erasmus and John were both executed. 

Question:  How were these unjust actions stopped?

Answer:  Martin Luther stopped these revolts. I strongly recommend you interview him on this.

Intermission:  Searching for Martin Luther

Question:  Martin, how did you put a stop to the unjust actions of the Church?

Answer:  It started in 1517.  The Church had become corrupt and the last line was crossed in Wittenberg, Germany.  John Tetzel, a priest, was offering indulgences for the rebuilding of the St. Peter Cathedral in Rome.  He was claiming that if you purchased these indulgences you’d get entry into heaven and so would your dead relatives.  I got an idea.  I came up with the 95 theses.

Question:  What were the 95 theses?

Answer:  They were reasons that indulgences are unholy.  A few examples of what they stated were that indulgences had no basis in the Bible, the Pope had no authority to release souls from purgatory, and Christians can only be saved through faith.  I posted the list on the door of Wittenberg’s All Saints Church.  They were copied and distributed all over Europe.  I was asked to recant, but I wouldn’t.  I couldn’t give up my views and let this corruption continue.  Instead, I encouraged others to go against the authority of Rome.  I was excommunicated by Pope Leo X and Charles V labeled me an outlaw. They would’ve killed had I not been so well-known. 

Question:  What are your central beliefs?

Answer:  I believe that all Christians are equal before God.  I don’t support indulgences, pilgrimages, confession and prayers to Saints.  I also believe that Clergy can marry along with a simplified marital service. 

Question:  What were your followers referred to as?

Answer:  My followers were referred to as Protestants and created the third branch of Christianity; The Protestant Church.
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Crusades

Introduction:  Today we interview Pope Urban II. 

Question:  Why were there so many knights during the middle of the 11^th century?

Answer:  Well, around that time Europe was still in the Dark Ages.  We had just conquered the Vikings.  During the time when we were at war with the Vikings we needed a lot of military support to fend off the raiders, so we had a lot of left over knights.  Life was hard.  There was economic depression, disease and religious persecution.  The knights turned from honorable to thugs.  They were strong, violent individuals that were hungry for battle, but there was no battle to fight.

Question:  What did you do with the knights when there is no imposing threat?

Answer:  At first lords hired them.  They were rich enough to buy large armies.  Lords would have them attack the peasants and force them to accept the lords’ authority.  Castles were built to subjugate the people in the countryside.   

Question:  How did you control the chaos?

Answer:  The Church placed limits on who, what, and when to attack.  Missionaries would use relics, or religious objects, to instill the importance of the rules.  We would threaten them.  If they disobeyed our rules, the Saints which the relics coincided with would punish them.  We had two main proclamations.  They were “Peace of God” and “Truth of God”.  They basically meant that certain weak individuals should not be attacked by the knights and there were periods where there shouldn’t be any warfare.  They also had to chivalrous, brave and loyal.  The highest honor in knighthood was to save a damsel in distress.  Bishops would try to redevelop the energy of the knights who weapons but lack land. 

Question:  What led to the Crusades?

Answer:  In 1095, Seljuk Turks invaded the holy land; Jerusalem.  It was time to launch a Crusade.  I could picture Jesus’ house being defied and disrespected by the Muslims.  It made me sick and anxious.  The crusades were god’s will.  The first Crusade was the most successful.  In 1099 we captured Jerusalem and massacred the Jewish and Muslim residents.  Over the next 200 years there were 9 Crusades with no permanent conquests.  In 1187, Jerusalem fell to the Muslims.

Question:  What good came of the Crusades if there no permanent conquests?

Answer:  The Crusaders came back to Europe with knowledge, books, medicine, surgery and language.  Also they brought back ancient Greek ideas.  Extraordinary stone castles were built, military supplies lines transformed into merchant roads, roads were rebuilt and tourism boomed.  We finally exited the dark ages. 
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William the Conqueror

Introduction:  Today we interview William the Conqueror.

Question:  How did you become King of England and earn your title?

Answer:  In 1066, King Edward the Confessor died without an heir to his thrown.  A council of nobles chose Harold Godwinson, Edward’s brother-in-law to become the next King, but King Edward had promised me the thrown.  I am a descendant of the Vikings and was back then known as “William, Duke of Normandy” from France.  I received the Pope’s support.  To determine who got the thrown, a war was to be fought.  I quickly raised an army and sailed across the English Channel to England.  I fought Harold in the Battle of Hasting and was victorious giving me the title “William the Conqueror”.  I was crowned King of England on Christmas Day 1066.

Question:  Once King, what did you set out to do?

Answer:  I wanted to get control of my land.  I accomplished this by granting fiefs to Norman Lords and Churches, keeping land for myself, and monitoring where all castles are built.  I also had all vassals swear allegiance to me. 

Question:  What is a vassal?

Answer:  A vassal was a knight that would pledge allegiance to feudal lords, but I had them pledge allegiance to me instead.  This way I couldn’t be threatened. 

Question:  What is a “Domesday Book”?

Answer:  A “Domesday book” was the census of everything in my kingdom.  In 1086, I wanted to learn about my kingdom so I had a complete census taken.  The “Domesday Book” listed all people, property, buildings and livestock in my kingdom.  This helped me to create the first tax system.    

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Magna Carta

Introduction: The Magna Carta was a document signed by King John.  And here today we will discuss this important piece of paper with King John himself.

Question: What was the Magna Carta?

Answer:  I was sent the Magna Carta in 1215.  It was a legal document which basically stated that I, the King, had to follow laws too.  It also stated the Due Process of Law.  This basically means that there are certain rules the government must follow for fair and impartial trials.

Question:  Why were you sent it?

Answer: I personally thought I did a fine job ruling.  I had some loses, but doesn't everyone?

Question: Yes, I suppose.  But if you a good ruler, why would they send you this?

Answer: I guess not everyone appreciated the job I was doing.  The Barons rebelled against me and forced me to sign the document.  Along with what I said before, the document stated the Baron's state rights.  My legal system was questionable according to them.  They didn't like the taxes I made. 

Question:  Earlier you said you had loses.  Can you elaborate?

Answer:   I lost England some land in France when I lost the battle against King Phillip II.  I gave up Anjou and Normandy.  I also lost a battle with Pope Innocent III.  He excommunicated me because we didn't agree on who the new archbishop should be.  And then I lost the battle with the nobles when the forced me to sign he Magna Carta. 

Question:  I heard that you weren't following your own law.  Is this true?

Answer:  As I said before, the document stated I needed to follow the laws.  They probably wouldn't have made me sign a document with this in it if they weren't under the impression I was breaking the law.  I have no obligation to answer your question other than to say that the Barons were under the impression that I was breaking the law. 

Question:  Just to sum things up; you the Magna Carta states that you had to follow the law, have fair trials or Due Process of Law, and give the Barons state rights.  They sent you this because you broke the law and had an unjust legal system, according to the nobles.

Answer:  Yes, that sounds about right.

Reply:  Well, thank you for letting me interview you.

Response: No problem.

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Columbus Leaves Spain

Introduction:   We are interviewing Queen Isabella of Spain. 

Question:  Why did you finance Columbus’ voyage?

Answer:  Ferdinand and I had expelled all Jewish peasants in Spain because we wanted to strengthen Catholicism.  However, with the expulsion of these influential members of the community, we lost some of our most prosperous persons.  We hoped that this voyage would bring us wealth and stature. 

Question:  How did Columbus present his proposition?

Answer:  Christopher Columbus was an Italian navigator from Genoa.  He came to us with a proposition.  He wanted to reach the East Indies, or a group of islands in Southeast Asia.  He knew that the world was sphere, so he was well educated.  Unfortunately he underestimated the Earth size. 

Question:  Tell me more about the voyage.

Answer:  We gave him three small ships; the Nina, the Pinta, and Santa Maria.  They set sail on August 3, 1492.  They saw land on October 12.  They halted immediately and docked the ships.  The world was larger than he’d expected, so the voyage had been going on long enough for them to be low on rations.   He was under the impression he had landed in the Indies.  The natives there were called “Indians”.  He returned back to Spain in 1493 as a hero.  He didn’t know he had discovered a new continent.  Later Europeans explorers found out the route led to what is now known as America. 

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