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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