Hannibal the general

Hannibal, son of Hamilcar Barca, is the great Carthaginian general. The reason he is so "great" is the fact that his military strategy is what helped him and his soldiers overpower the Roman army.

When Hannibal was just under ten years of age he went with his father on a conquest for Spain. Since he was from Carthage he already had a great hatred for Romans. Starting from when he was 18 to age 25 he worked for his brother-in-law, Hasdrubal, this was around 224 B.C. Hasdrubal helped to expand the province of Carthage on the Iberian Peninsula. When Hasdrubal was killed in 221 B.C. Hannibal was elected as commander-in-chief of the military. "In two years he subjugated all Spain between the Tajo (Tagus) and Iberus (Ebro) rivers, with the exception of the Roman dependency of Saguntum (Sagunto)…"(Microsoft Corporation). Subsequently Saguntum was taken over, this angered the Romans because they had made a treaty with Carthage and the fact that Saguntum was the only stronghold Roman had left in Spain. The Romans told Carthage to hand Hannibal over to them so they could punish him for breaking the treaty. This caused the second Punic War because Carthage refused to give them Hannibal. In this same year that Saguntum was taken over, 218 B.C., Hannibal and his forces started on their way to fight Rome. With about 40,000 troops, including elephants, Hannibal and the 40,000 marched from New Carthage, in Spain, and crossed the Alps. It took them fifteen days because of being attacked by those who lived in the mountains and the bad weather. On the way there 15,000 men were lost during the march, but Gallic people from Italy, called Insubres, joined them and even took over the Insubres enemies. There were other tribes the Liguarian and Celtic to help him. In 216 B.C. although he was far outnumbered by the Roman military force, Hannibal and his forces defeated them killing over 50,000 Romans. By 217 B.C. he had defeated another part of the Roman military that was under the power of Gaius Flaminius, a Roman Consul. Eventually the Romans started winning battles and around 202 B.C. Carthage was defeated in the Punic War. Hannibal was in charge of the civilian Carthigian government when Carthage surrendered to Rome. He ended up fleeing Carthage in 195 B.C. when he was accused of trying to break the peace between Carthage and Rome.

I do not think that he deserved his status as a monster because he was basically doing what the Romans were doing themselves, seeking power. The Romans saw him as a monster because he was the only one that could defeat them so greatly in battle

Citation: "Hannibal (general)." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.

Roman Republic BBC

Listening to the broadcast about the Roman Republic shows how Rome came to be. It all started with the Monarchy that had a tight hold on the freedom of all Romans, even aristocrats. I feel that the aristocrats in Rome really did not like having a monarchy anyway because they kicked out all leading family for the crime of one son. The people did not want one ruler, they wanted freedom and the rule to be distributed evenly, hence the Roman Republic. Under the Roman Republic came the great Roman Empire. Romans are very patriotic so with the power distributed evenly the people felt safe knowing that the officials in charge were watching out for them. They liked telling stories of great Roman heroes and conquests; the noblest way to die was for Rome in battle.

The Roman constitution was very helpful in so many times when it should have fallen. The Roman army or military was very well developed which is what helped them make their empire so large. The constitution is what helped make the military so strong. The military’s strong point was that the fighters were very patriotic and wanted to fight so badly for Rome. The rules of the republic gave the people the choice to go to war or not. All male citizens can be sent to war, but they were mostly motivated to go. The bigger the empire of Rome got, the bigger its military power.

Although the Republic did not equal complete freedom, it was the most freedom they had in that period of history.

Although all of the foreign countries that joined the Republic were taken over by Rome, becoming a Roman citizen seemed like a good thing to do. In the BBC interview, the woman even said that some countries wanted to gain Roman citizenship but did not want to just ask for it but would go to war so it would seem like it was forced on them.

As Rome spread and when things go through changes it is the norm for an adaption to be made, or reasons for the changes to be given. The high officials in Rome would always give an example in history where change has happened.

I liked that although Rome gained a lot of power from its military there was almost no weaponry allowed in the city of Rome. It reminds me of the phrase, “you don’t poop were you eat”.

Things started change between Pompey and Julius Caesar. Things changed because of people having too much power. The early Romans who created the republic were wise and knew that’s what would bring the fall of Rome. Since Rome was getting so big and taking on more people the armies were big and would be gone for a long time. The big armies needed big people in charge. The big armies would not have time to get back to Rome to vote so they generals got into politics also.

Alexander notes continued......

• Alexander went to Persepolis
• he met the the Persians at issus

• Alexander beat the Persians in this battle because they had put all their strength on one side and all their weak on one side. Darius gets away and is left for dead by his own people. Alexander went after the person who left Darius for dead. Why does he do this? He is now in charge of Persia and wants to get the people of Persia to like him by defeating the man who killed their king. He went east and as he went East took over everything. When he reached the sea he went West. While going west they are hit and attacked over and over again. He hears talk of other civilizations and wants to keep going but his men want to go home. He lets them. All of his men that originally came with him are dead all over Persia, his men have married Persian women. On their way back his friend dies and he becomes depressed. He drinks a lot and dies of sickness. He was around 32 years old when he died. When he dies his empire is split between his generals. The two basic areas that were split up were the Seleucid Empire, Eastern Part.

Persophone, goddess queen of the Underworld and of Spring Growth

Persephone goddess queen of the Underworld on Prezi

Struggle of Orders

In Rome there were social classes. There were Patricians and Plebeians. Patricians were Romans who owned land. Plebieans worked for the Patricians. Patricians had a lot of influence when it came to political power. The plebes on the other hand had absolutely no political power and could not hold any office or priesthood. They did not like it and thus the Struggle of Orders. When the Republic becomes more of a democracy the Plebes have freedom in politics.

citation: "Crown of Italy". Commons Wikimedia. Feb 24, 2010.http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/81/Crown_of_Italy.svg

Does Power Corrupt

Power is a very important thing in modern society and in history. It seems that even today gaining power is what we work for everyday. Students go to school to get an education and have a good job when they get older, that is a power. If you have a job one of the things you want to do is get a promotion. A promotion equals more power. Sometimes power can be good and sometimes it can be very bad. Gaining power can make or break a person; how you use power defines you. You can use power to help those below you or you can use it to keep yourself at your position by crushing those below you. According to Encarta Dictionaries power is three things. Power is the capacity to do something, strength, and control and influence. What makes power corrupt or not, is the control and influence it has. Everyone has their own views on whether or not power corrupts. The truth is power does not corrupt people, people and their personalities and thought processes corrupt people.
In history we see that our ancestors always strived for power. In fact according to Charles Darwin’s theory of natural selection, stronger smarter animals or plants are the ones that live and reproduce, even the more powerful organisms live on. It seems that behind most of the horrible events in history we see someone striving for more power, once again.
One of the most powerful people in history it seems was Julius Caesar; he was killed by his closest peers because they thought he had too much power. Julius Caesar is considered a dictator, but not the bad kind because the Roman people loved him. The whole reason Julius Caesar even became “Caesar” was that Pompey, the consul in charge, was jealous of Caesar’s “power”. Pompey tried to get rid of Julius Caesar’s command in Gaul because without it he would be weak. This a common sense move because when one is without their strength or back up they are in fact powerless, which is what Pompey wanted. Caesar did not meet Pompey without his troops and Pompey ended up fleeing. Power is a very commanding thing. Pompey was corrupted by power because he let it go to his head that he would somehow lose that power. One could not say that he was paranoid because that how it was then and now, people seem to constantly want to take power.
“Julius Caesar appointed dictator for life in the winter of 45 B.C.”(Cheilik). According to Encarta Dictionaries a dictator is a leader who rules a country with absolute power, usually by force. There it goes again, power. Caesar’s peers seemed to think appointing him as dictator was a mistake because Rome was supposed to be a republic because if one person had all the power, things would go wrong. Caesar was so powerful he changed the name of a month to Julius, now July, this is where power seems to corrupt people. Although it is good to have self-confidence power seems to heighten a person’s ego. Julius Caesar himself seemed to like abusing the power he already had. He could manipulate people to do what he wanted. In the play Julius Caesar written by Shakespeare, Shakespeare wrote of how Julius Caesar would blame any wrong he did on his falling sickness but wanted to be proclaimed as a god. Julius Caesar was not a bad man though, it is not possible that he would have gotten where he was if that was the case. Good things can be done with power. He fixed dishonest tax schemes, gave money to retired soldiers, and gave many people citizenship.
Power seems to be what people are constantly seeking. Power is controlling and can change people for the better or worse. Once again we look back at Julius Caesar. The reason he was killed before his time is because those that were close to him in position feared he would be name king. Well you might think, he’s already a dictator what’s so bad about being king? A king is the supreme ruler of a monarchy which is in charge of a country or state. If Julius Caesar became king then his son would be king and so on and so forth. This is not how the Roman Republic worked because the Roman Republic did not like to put anyone in particular in charge. In a republic officials are elected and therefore can be taken from their position. In a Monarchy for a king to be overthrown a lot of trouble must be gone through.
Another example in history where absolute power was a goal was in the case of Alexander the great and his country, Macedonia. Alexander had taken Macedonia and moved east. He helped the Greeks against Persia and took over the Persian Empire. Alexander is an example of someone who did well with their power. Although he was constantly on the prowl to increase his empire as his father could not he did not abuse his power. He would let the civilizations that he conquered continue on with their practice their culture and structure. He did not let power corrupt him because he did not have a corruptible personality. Sometimes with the power the problem is not being venal, but having a personality that does corrupt those around you. An example in history of a person who corrupts what is around them is Adolf Hitler. Adolf Hitler was, here it goes again, a very powerful dictator. He is a great example of a person that is not corrupted by power. Power does not change people. Adolf was the way he was before he became the Fuhrer. The character Cassius from the Tragedy of Julius Caesar notes that even if you are good, you can still be influenced by things or people. If you are easily influenced you should stay in good company. “Noble minds keep ever with their likes.”(Shakespeare).
Power does not corrupt people, people and their personality corrupt people. The reason power does not corrupt is the sole fact that power does not make decisions for you. Although trying to get power or having it already may influence your decisions over anything it does not make the decision. There are many examples in history who did not let power debase them of their moral integrity. Even though power is a formidable thing, only you can make decisions for yourself.
Citation
Valentine, James W. "Natural Selection." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Shakespeare, William. No Fear Shakespeare; Julius Caesar. New York: Sparks Publishing, 2003.
Cheilik, Michael S. "Julius Caesar." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Encarta Dictionary.
"Alexander the Great." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
Weinberg, Gerhard L. "Adolf Hitler." Microsoft® Student 2009 [DVD]. Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation, 2008.
"Arm_flex." commons wikimedia. Web. 24 Feb 2010. .

Athens vs. THIS IS SPARTA!!

-480 B.C. Athens and Sparta defeated the Persians
-Athens came out on top, they had arts, religion, money
-hostilities erupted between Athens and Sparta
-battles on plains of Attica= neither side defeating the other
-the Athenians were stuck in the walls that were around their port
-plague breaks out in many of the Athenians who can't leave die, they cannot get any supplies
-Sparta leaves and Athens must bring itself back up
-Sparta had allies in Sicily
-Athens used their navy to go around Sparta and attack Sicily. Alcibiades was the person who came up with the idea Sicilian expedition
-right before they were going to leave someone committed mass Vandalism and Alcibiades's political enemies convinced everyone he did it
-Alcibiades and his ships left for Sicily before anything could happen
-while he is gone they have a trial against him without him there and he is found guilty and they send another boat to get him
-he refuses to do it and goes to SPARTA (uh-oh)
-when the Athenian fleet gets to Sicily, Sparta and Sicily are there and ready. The Athenian fleet is greatly defeated

Alexander!

-Alexander the Great was taught by Aristotle

-his father was King Philip the the King of Macedonia

-Philip gets assassinated when Alexander is 19, making him King

-Alexander goes to Greece and gets revenge on those who killed his father

-After this he does not really know what to do and decides to take over the world

-He tries to take Persia and succeeds, by around 25 he rules most of the world

-He goes to Troy, throws a spear and when it lands he says "With this Spear i conquer Persia"

-goes to Persian coast and defeats the Persians there

-Gordian Knot

-Alexander goes to Gordian. A huge knot is on a cart and it has so many ends you don't know where to start. Legend goes that whoever can undo the knot will become the conquerer of the world. Alexander hears the story decides to do it. Alexander chops the knot with his sword and says "it does not matter how you undo the knot"

-He goes to Egypt and is hailed as a king because they hate Persia

-he and his friends go to the Oasis of Siwa