Knights v. Samurai

Knights & Samurai Links

Knights of Ni: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhRUe-gz690&feature=related

Monty Python, The Annoying Peasant: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAaWvVFERVA&feature=related

Lego Feudal System: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lts_1HSOQhY&feature=related

A BBC Series on martial arts: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v9HR7TTOReE

Rashomon trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xCZ9TguVOIA&feature=related

The Last Samurai montage: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W_Sag494lhI&feature=related

Monty Python, She’s a Witch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rJFA6uEfUlM

King Arthur Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-N6pZX0sDAk

Samurai Pizza Cats: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDr89sjYJP4

Mythbusters: Can Ninjas Walk on Water: http://mythbustersresults.com/episode78

Spike TV: Deadliest warrior: http://www.spike.com/show/31082

1453: The Fall of Constantinople

As envisioned by a student in another AP World class....

Tournament Results, Pd 1

The Multiple choice tournament began this morning in period 1. The Thundercats were in the lead, briefly, due to their ability to identify the promotion of Confucian teaching as something Shi Huangdi did NOT do, but they got tripped up by the Nestorian view of Jesus. They live to fight another day, and every team in the class, including the Nixon Administration, remains tied at 5.

Unification

Religion as we see it today was developed by the need for unification among the people who lived where the religion was born. At the time of the formation of many of these religions, there was no set ruler or emperor. This specifically pertains to christianity. Since there was no clear ruler after the time of the Roman and Byzantine Empires, the people of Europe and even places such as Africa and the Middle East needed something to unify them. They found this unification in Christianity, which brought together the people of all these places through faith and belief that there was a wonderful place that good, virtuous people would be rewarded with after their departure from the Earth. Christianity brought people together locally because the churches not only as places of worship, but as social environments for the community.

-Aristotle

Why Universal Religion?

Religion took control throughout the world between 300-600 C.E. due to extensive trading. Intercontinental trade routes were vast and ran from China to the Mediterranean. This helped move many religions throughout the world and to spread faster than ever before. Merchants picked up religions on their journeys and passed it on to the next people they came across.

Jesse James

Why Universal Religion?

Why Religion Became Universal

The more recent religions were the ones that became universal because they emerged during a time of political turmoil. It must be noted that during the time that the religions started to become more universal, both the Han and Roman empires, then the two most powerful nations in the world, collapsed. Naturally, people started to lose faith in the stability and power of their governments and turned to the immutable divinities of religions like Christianity and Buddhism. As more people became religious, those in power realized that if they wanted to make their reign appear to be more legitimate, they should claim that the entity people were worshipping endorsed them. To do this, they created giant statues and churches to show their alliance with these deities and forces. Combine this trend with the fact that people and ideas were moving constantly along the Silk Road, and religions became universal.
-Socrates

Whats religion?

The rise of religion was mainly due to a lack of structure during the period of 300-600 CE. Without any true government to protect and serve the people, the inhabitants had to find something to help them struggle through this tough time period. This is why they turned to religion and why religion grew so prominent. Religion have people structure, like the caste system, and allowed people to live their lives with order.

Morgan Freeman

universal religion

with the falling empires and no declared power,people were in need of a structure or something that they could guide by. religion created that sense of structure for them by giving them rules to abide by and limits. they accepted the spread of religion because it wasn't as strict as a defined ruler,but at the same time religion created a universal goal that they could use to discipline themselves in the way that a government/ruler would.

-Marilyn Monroe

Religion

From 300-600 CE there was a huge universalizing of religion because after the fall of the Han and Roman empires people needed structure to live by. Religion filled the void of a lack of an empire. People wanted order. It is also in combination with the fact that people wanted to be hopeful and believe in something. In the stressful time of not having an empire to live under people wanted to turn to religion to feel like there was something good. It was also an easy way to characterize large groups of people that had no other way to identify themselves due to lack of no empire.

-Malcolm X

After the fall of the Han and Roman dynasties, new religions developed and spread throughout different areas because there was no strong centralized government or ruler. Religion provided structure and people became united through religion by sharing common beliefs.
britney spears

With the fall of the Roman and Han Empires, structure was needed to fill the void in people's lives. Thomas Hobbs believed that humanity as individuals were too poorly suited to govern themselves. Religion gave people a way and a guide on how to live their lives. They didn't have to make the decisions about right and wrong, and had an ultimate goal to base their life off of.

Vlad Putin

Religion and stuff

(The Black guy is the collapse of the Han and Roman empires while the hippo is organized religion)

I think religion became a defining feature in world history during this time period because the lack of a strong, centralized ruling body (The Roman/Han Empires) caused a void of authority in the world at the time. Anarchy descended on the world, but it wasn't a Joker-style anarchy with blood and violence but anarchy because people where living their own lives with the only guidelines being religious doctrines and stuff.
-AHong

Universalizing Religions?

With the absence of power in the age that the universifying religions came about, the absence of power was the reason for said action. With the absence of power, the common folk needed to rally themselves among an omnipotent force that did not bare down upon them with the stress of such things as taxes and war. For this reason, religions became much more widespread and accessible; God(s) became easier to understand and more "fun" to devote themselves to. Perhaps a little anarchy is what a peaceful society needs.

-Mahatma Gandhi

Rise of Religions

The idea of how people were lost after the collapse of vast empires like the Han and Roman empires is probably the most logical theory of why different religions developed and grew during 300 CE--600 CE. Because there was no strong government to offer protection to citizens, people needed an outlet in which they could put their faith in and feel protected and/or useful. People therefore turned to organized religion as a source of solace. In addition, people who shared common religious beliefs often lived together in the same community. This commonality could definitely have been enough to bring people together as well as strengthen their faith.

--Nelson Mandela

Why the Rise of Universalizing Religion?

With the downfall of the Roman & Han Empires, religion became the easiest way to characterize large groups of people and a way for society to rebuild itself. People no longer had to focus on war and controversy between societies which lead to the vast spread of religion throughout Europe, Asia & Africa.

~Andrew "Old Hickory" Jackson

Universalized Religion?!

After the Han and Roman empires collapsed, there was a 300 year period in which no dominant, or even strong, political leader took affirmative action. Although the empires had fallen, life still had to go on and religion was able to reach a mass amount of people that other wise would have many differences, and unite all under a common, structured, belief system. Perhaps this theory seems a little too fundamental to have been able to maintain peace for such a long period, but matched with the fundamental beginning arising after the detrimental fallen empires, it is completely logical that inhabitants indeed grouped with those that had the same values. After all, their once loyal habits had to be redirected elsewhere.

-Sasha Obama

Universal Religion

Religion was ascendant during this period because there was not much turmoil going on in other parts of the region. People could focus more on religion because there wasn't a major war breaking out all the time. Also the spread of culture brought new religions to the surface.
-Anastasia Romanov

Religion became a means for rules to control their people. If they could convince the people that they were under a being even greater than the ruler, they would be less likely to defy the rulers.
-Aung San Suu Kyi

Universal religion

When the two biggest empires of the world (the Han and the Romans) collasped, people were left with no leadership and more importantly, little stability. As a result, religion was able to flourish. With little stability and needing a feeling of comfort, people turned to religion. Religion served to unite people under common goals or beliefs. Religion gave people some sort of structure or code to follow and this was exactly what the people needed. It was only through religion that people were ultimately able to regain safety and stability.

- The Ming Dynasty aka Peter Chao

Universalized Religion

Religion became the dominant unifying force during this time because of the lack of strong political rulers. Without a dominant empire like Rome or China, there was considerable instability and people turned to religion to provide structure and safety by uniting with various people with similar beliefs. It allowed people to unify for physical and psychological safety, regardless of where they lived. Powerful religious movements occurred in China, the Iranian plateau, and Europe due to the lack of powerful political structure or institution.

-Catherine of Aragon

Universalized Religion

Religion during the 300s-600s was the only unifying factor at the time. No large empires existed, and it was hard to have faith in any one civilization. Because there was a lack of a physical leader, people turned to religion to give them hope where hope could not exist. Later on, as empires began to reform, people would become more diversified, as the empires began to have potential.

-Billy Mays

Universalized Religion

I think that religion diffused so rapidly throughout the world during this time period as a result of the fall of the great empires. The Roman Empire had dissolved, China was split into three, and there was no major political power during this era. People were lost and confused. They needed order and structure, so they turned to religion. The new religions provided stability while filling the void of political power as a result of the lack of government.

-Marie Antoinette

I would say that that the dominance of religion in this age, was the result of the collaspe of empires and lack of political stability. At the fall of the Roman and Han empires, the west and east erupted into civil war. There were no dominant powers in either of the regions and therefore there was little stability. Religion provided a way to unite people from separate nations and regions under a common code. The western people adopted forms of Christianity to unite immensely different cultures, the people of Arabia united under Islam to fight persecution, and the people of Asia migrated predominantly to Buddhism to connect over a wide spread population. Religion provided a means of unity to a divided people of this age.

-King Arthur

Universal Religion

Without being in class today, I would have to say that empires caused Religions to become widespread and universal. Empires, such as the Roman empire, were extremely large and covered large areas of land. Religious changes in an empire will change the religious tone in the entire empire. An example of this is the conversion of Constantine. After his conversion, Christianity expanded exponentially and was much more accepted by most other civilizations.

Alexander the Great

Religion

After the major empires fell, people needed to turn to something. They needed hope, structure, and this is where religion comes in. With religion, people have a specific thing to believe in and certain structure and rules they have to follow. Without structure, civilizations would completely collapse. People may dislike rules but without them, the world would be a chaotic place.
-Oprah

Universal Religion

Rome had fallen and the Han had collapsed. Without these major empires to provide structure for them, people turned to the next best thing, religion. From Rome to the Pacific, religion flourished in the absence of a major empire and evolved to become more universal.
-Ramses

Religions 300-600 AD

The great religions of the 300-600 AD time period were able to form and establish themseleves due to the time period's relative peacefulness. There were not any major wars or conflicts that would distract regions or empires from socially developing. Thus, religions were able to establish themselves between the people, creating an overall united network of various relgions world wide. Aside from the ability for these religions to develop, it is important to note that religion is a practice that contains order and structure. Due to the lack of events during this 300 year period, it is probable that people wanted more structured lives in which they turned to religion. An interest in religion from a large group of people caused the development of the separate religions. These religions all have their routes from their development in the years of 300-600 AD.

-Confucius

Universla Religion Through Empires

Empires made it so that Religions could become universal. When an Emperor or Empress takes power he/she normally establishes a religion. This can be seen with Constantine I who was the first Emperor to adopt Christianity as Rome's religion. This adoption was a huge stimulus for the spread of Christianity and is one of the reasons that it is so common today. Empires establish, spread, and sometimes force their religion upon others, which many times makes the religion universal depending upon the empire. Some good examples are the Ottomans, the Chinese, the Mauryans, and the British. They all influenced others to undertake their religion. People in the empires usually gained benefits by joining these religions such was found with the Ottomans who taxed all but the Muslims. Most major religions today were found in one empire or another. They were spread because wherever the empire conquered the religion conquered. Another reason that follows with political structure is to escape chaos. These religions just like their empire offered a haven in which they were accepted and they were safe. When things go wrong they could look to their religion for help to protect them or make their life better. The happiness of the people was essential for the empires so empires wanted to have religion so that they could remain a world power.
-Ho Chi Minh

Universal Religions

Universal religions were only able to gain momentum because the Roman and Han Empires fell which meant there were no longer domineering influences on each side of the Silk Road. Without the political empires, came empires of the mind or in other words, these religions as people needed some kind of greater authority. For example Buddhism was able to spread because Monks travelled about, teaching Buddhist doctrine. Monks were only able to travel because of the infrastructure created with new technologies. Also, with a new book design, messages were passed more readily. Religion moved faster than any army and brought something new: cultural flexibility. By adapting to many different cultures, religion was accepted by more people that were diverse from one another. This led to large numbers of followers who would eventually unite together under their religion, not their tribe or background. These people came together under leaders who used religion a great deal to assert their authority.
-Eleanor Roosevelt

Religion

It is important to not read too deeply into this question of universalization. Many conclusions that are reached are sure to be wrong as they will be either too vague, or simply contradicted by history. It is probably most correct to simply say that this period provides an example of cultural diffusion by missionaries. It is during this time that Rome became a Christian state. If anything this simple shows the effect that missionaries had by spreading Christianity to Rome. One would be foolish in thinking that one religion is able to surpass another simply on its own merits and beliefs. All major religious change does not come from a seeking of faith but from being an acceptable person. It is perhaps more interesting to treat the spreading of certain religions like a social trend. People are simply attracted to whatever institution is currently the best to attend. There is no precedent for believing that people are deep thinkers, who will consciously choose what god they want to worship. Just look at the stupid stuff people do today. The only people who seriously consider such trivial matters as religion are people who have nothing better to do, or who are employed in it. Religion is basically popular culture. Christianity was popular in Europe and Hinduism was popular in India. People don't really care too deeply about religion as long as they don't already have a vested interest in it. This is why some people rejected the caste system, and changed religions, or why in present times people are okay with being agnostic. Missionaries create the pressure that causes social norms to change. If people don't really care about their current religion, they will change when someone tells them to. In summation, missionaries help spread religion, and people don't always care or contemplate what they believe in.

~Timothy Leary

Time of religion caused by...

The need for structure and something to follow. During the time of peace, people got bored in a sense, and decided it was important to grow spiritually through themselves and their religion. There was nothing to follow, because the governments were laying low, so people of that time united under certain belief systems, and it was their form of 'something to do.' Religion set a basis / foundation for these people and gave them something to follow.

~ Benjamin Franklin.

Universalizing Religion

The fall of Rome usually marks the beginning of the "Dark Ages" in European history. Its impact left a vacuum throughout Eastern Europe and Eurasia. In this vacuum many different religions began to spread and expand exponentially, taking advantage of the cultural haven that was Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire. Located on the Bosporus, it was the middle ground in trade that would hold together the vastly different cultures and ways of life after Rome had collapsed. Islam had sprung up from the Arabian peninsula and had a large void in which to expand, until eventually they collided with Byzantium and took Constantinople in 1453. The collapse of the Han dynasty left China in pieces, and the religions of the East spread and branched out; the situation was similar to the fall of Rome in Europe. Religions took advantage of the vacuums created by the fall of two major empires and spread throughout the eastern hemisphere; unchecked and with no barriers in their way, they proliferated and became universal.

~Charles Bronson

Why the rise of universalizing religion?

I think that the best theory for this is that they needed structure. Things were very disconnected and there was not a lot going on at the time. Religion gave them structure and something to follow. Without religion they would have no structure and nothing for them to do so they would still be doing nothing.
-Christina Aguilera