History Moments

Florence Nightingale’s Top Hospital Rule

2012-06-28T14:29:00.000-07:00

It may seem a strange principle to enunciate as the very first requirement in a Hospital that it do the sick no harm.

- Florence Nightingale, pioneering nurse from the preface to her book Notes on Hospitals, 1859.

More on Florence Nightingale.

Cheops Builds Great Pyramid

2012-06-26T04:00:00.000-07:00

Previously in Herodotus

124. Down to the time when Rhampsinitos was king, they told me there was in Egypt nothing but orderly rule, and Egypt prospered greatly; but after him Cheops became king over them and brought them to every kind of evil: for he shut up all the temples, and having first kept them from sacrificing there, he then bade all the Egyptians work for him. So some were appointed to draw stones from the stone-quarries in the Arabian mountains to the Nile, and others he ordered to receive the stones after they had been carried over the river in boats, and to draw them to those which are called the Libyan mountains; and they worked by a hundred thousand men at a time, for each three months continually. Of this oppression there passed ten years while the causeway was made by which they drew the stones, which causeway they built, and it is a work not much less, as it appears to me, than the pyramid; for the length of it is five furlongs* and the breadth ten fathoms* and the height, where it is highest, eight fathoms, and it is made of stone smoothed and with figures carved upon it. For this, they said, the ten years were spent, and for the underground chambers on the hill upon which the pyramids stand, which he caused to be made as sepulchral chambers for himself in an island, having conducted thither a channel from the Nile. For the making of the pyramid itself there passed a period of twenty years; and the pyramid is square, each side measuring eight hundred feet, and the height of it is the same. It is built of stone smoothed and fitted together in the most perfect manner, not one of the stones being less than thirty feet in length.

- Herodotus, Book II

* furlong = 220 yards (2 football fields); fathom = 2 yards
More Information: Egypt, Herodotus's Book.

What Harriet Tubman Found

2012-06-21T14:18:00.000-07:00

When I found that I crossed that line, I looked at my hands to see if I was the same person. There was such a glory over everything.

- Harriet Tubman, who led underground railroad for escaping slaves before the Civil War and Union nurse, scout, and spy during it.

More on Harriet Tubman.

Ramses III Goes to Hades

2012-06-19T04:00:00.000-07:00

Previously in Herodotus

122. After these things they said this king went down alive to that place which by the Hellenes is called Hades, and there played at dice with Demeter, and in some throws he overcame her and in others he was overcome by her; and he came back again having as a gift from her a handkerchief of gold: and they told me that because of the going down of Rhampsinitos the Egyptians after he came back celebrated a feast, which I know of my own knowledge also that they still observe even to my time; but whether it is for this cause that they keep the feast or for some other, I am not able to say. However, the priests weave a robe completely on the very day of the feast, and forthwith they bind up the eyes of one of them with a fillet, and having led him with the robe to the way by which one goes to the temple of Demeter, they depart back again themselves. This priest, they say, with his eyes bound up is led by two wolves to the temple of Demeter, which is distant from the city twenty furlongs*, and then afterwards the wolves lead him back again from the temple to the same spot.

123. Now as to the tales told by the Egyptians, any man may accept them to whom such things appear credible; as for me, it is to be understood throughout the whole of the history that I write by hearsay that which is reported by the people in each place. The Egyptians say that Demeter and Dionysos are rulers of the world below; and the Egyptians are also the first who reported the doctrine that the soul of man is immortal, and that when the body dies, the soul enters into another creature which chances then to be coming to the birth, and when it has gone the round of all the creatures of land and sea and of the air, it enters again into a human body as it comes to the birth; and that it makes this round in a period of three thousand years. This doctrine certain Hellenes adopted, some earlier and some later, as if it were of their own invention, and of these men I know the names but I abstain from recording them.

- Herodotus, Book II

* a furlong is 220 yards long or 2 football fields (including their end zones.)

More Information: Egypt, Herodotus's Book.

The Watergate Cancer Quote

2012-06-14T14:01:00.000-07:00

We have a cancer within, close to the Presidency that is growing.

- John Dean, from the Nixon Transcripts, March 21, 1973

Pictured is President Nixon delivering an Address to the Nation from the Oval Office responding to subpoenas for the White House Tapes with edited transcripts on April 29, 1974.

More on Watergate, Richard Nixon, and John Dean.

Robber of Egyptian Treasury Still at Large

2012-06-12T13:00:00.000-07:00

Previously in Herodotus

121. (e) Upon this the king, when it was reported to him that the dead body of the thief had been stolen away, displayed great anger; and desiring by all means that it should be found out who it might be who devised these things, did this (so at least they said, but I do not believe the account),--he caused his own daughter to sit in the stews, and enjoined her to receive all equally, and before having commerce with any one to compel him to tell her what was the most cunning and what the most unholy deed which had been done by him in all his life-time; and whosoever should relate that which had happened about the thief, him she must seize and not let him go out. Then as she was doing that which was enjoined by her father, the thief, hearing for what purpose this was done and having a desire to get the better of the king in resource, did thus:--from the body of one lately dead he cut off the arm at the shoulder and went with it under his mantle: and having gone in to the daughter of the king, and being asked that which the others also were asked, he related that he had done the most unholy deed when he cut off the head of his brother, who had been caught in a trap in the king's treasure-chamber, and the most cunning deed in that he made drunk the guards and took down the dead body of his brother hanging up; and she when she heard it tried to take hold of him, but the thief held out to her in the darkness the arm of the corpse, which she grasped and held, thinking that she was holding the arm of the man himself; but the thief left it in her hands and departed, escaping through the door.
121. (f) Now when this also was reported to the king, he was at first amazed at the ready invention and daring of the fellow, and then afterwards he sent round to all the cities and made proclamation granting a free pardon to the thief, and also promising a great reward if he would come into his presence. The thief accordingly trusting to the proclamation came to the king, and Rhampsinitos greatly marvelled at him, and gave him this daughter of his to wife, counting him to be the most knowing of all men; for as the Egyptians were distinguished from all other men, so was he from the other Egyptians.
- Herodotus, Book II

More Information: Egypt, Herodotus's Book.

Art Is Unthinkable Without This

2012-06-07T13:24:00.000-07:00

Art is unthinkable without risk and spiritual self-sacrifice.
- Boris Pasternak

This is the cover of the first edition on Dr. Zhivago published in 1957.

More on Boris Pasternak.

Egypt’s Pharaoh Looses Robber's Body, Too

2012-06-05T13:00:00.000-07:00

Previously in Herodotus

121. (d) So as the mother dealt hardly with the surviving son, and he though saying many things to her did not persuade her, he contrived for his purpose a device as follows:--Providing himself with asses he filled some skins with wine and laid them upon the asses, and after that he drove them along: and when he came opposite to those who were guarding the corpse hung up, he drew towards him two or three of the necks of the skins and loosened the cords with which they were tied. Then when the wine was running out, he began to beat his head and cry out loudly, as if he did not know to which of the asses he should first turn; and when the guards saw the wine flowing out in streams, they ran together to the road with drinking vessels in their hands and collected the wine that was poured out, counting it so much gain; and he abused them all violently, making as if he were angry, but when the guards tried to appease him, after a time he feigned to be pacified and to abate his anger, and at length he drove his asses out of the road and began to set their loads right. Then more talk arose among them, and one or two of them made jests at him and brought him to laugh with them; and in the end he made them a present of one of the skins in addition to what they had. Upon that they lay down there without more ado, being minded to drink, and they took him into their company and invited him to remain with them and join them in their drinking: so he (as may be supposed) was persuaded and stayed. Then as they in their drinking bade him welcome in a friendly manner, he made a present to them also of another of the skins; and so at length having drunk liberally the guards became completely intoxicated; and being overcome by sleep they went to bed on the spot where they had been drinking. He then, as it was now far on in the night, first took down the body of his brother, and then in mockery shaved the right cheeks of all the guards; and after that he put the dead body upon the asses and drove them away home, having accomplished that which was enjoined him by his mother.

- Herodotus, Book II

More Information: Egypt, Herodotus's Book.

How the Internet Began

2011-04-02T01:00:00.000-07:00

A revelation with an Incredibly Big Message (IBM):

Well, you might have thought that you knew how the Internet started, but here's the TRUE story ....

In ancient Israel, it came to pass that a trader by the name of Abraham Com did take unto himself a young wife by the name of Dot.

And Dot Com was a comely woman, broad of shoulder and long of leg. Indeed, she was often called Amazon Dot Com.

And she said unto Abraham, her husband: "Why dost thou travel so far
from town to town with thy goods when thou canst trade without ever leaving thy tent?"

And Abraham did look at her - as though she were several saddle bags short of a camel load, but simply said: "How, dear?"

And Dot replied: "I will place drums in all the towns and drums in between to send messages saying what you have for sale, and they will reply telling you who hath the best price.

And the sale can be made on the drums and delivery made by Uriah's Pony Stable (UPS)."

Abraham thought long and decided he would let Dot have her way with
the drums. And the drums rang out and were an immediate success. Abraham sold all the goods he had at the top price, without ever having to move from his tent.

To prevent neighboring countries from overhearing what the drums were saying, Dot devised a system that only she and the drummers knew. It was called Must Send Drum Over Sound (MSDOS), and she also developed a language to transmit ideas and pictures - Hebrew To The People (HTTP)

But this success did arouse envy. A man named Maccabia did secrete
himself inside Abraham's drum and began to siphon off some of Abraham's business. But he was soon discovered, arrested and prosecuted - for insider trading.

And the young men did take to Dot Com's trading as doth the greedy horsefly take to camel dung.

They were called Nomadic Ecclesiastical Rich Dominican Sybarites, or NERDS.

And lo, the land was so feverish with joy at the new riches and the deafening sound of drums that no one noticed that the real riches were going to that enterprising drum dealer, Brother William of Gates, who bought off every drum maker in the land.

And indeed did insist on drums to be made that would work only with Brother Gates' drumheads and drumsticks.

And Dot did say: "Oh, Abraham, what we have started is being taken over by others."

And Abraham looked out over the Bay of Ezekiel, or eBay as it came to be known. He said: "We need a name that reflects what we are."

And Dot replied: "Young Ambitious Hebrew Owner Operators." "YAHOO," said Abraham. And because it was Dot's idea, they named it YAHOO Dot Com.

Abraham's cousin, Joshua, being the young Gregarious Energetic Educated Kid (GEEK) that he was, soon started using Dot's drums to locate things around the countryside. It soon became known as God's Own Official Guide to Locating Everything (GOOGLE)

And that is how it all began.

China Receives Burma Ambassador

2011-03-31T01:00:00.000-07:00

Time: 1106
Place: Kaifeng, China

This scroll shows the capital city of China. It dates from this time. Emperor Huizong of the Song Dynasty is 23 years old. As the ambassador from Burma approaches, he could reflect that the diplomatic representatives at the Court was one of the most diverse in the world.

China maintained relations with Egypt, India, Indonesia, and the Khanates of central Asia. Song China numbered 50 million people.

Burma (or Myanmar) was ruled by the Pagan Dynasty under one of Burma’s greatest kings, Kyansittha. He consolidated and expanded Burma’s power in southeast Asia. He is most remembered for peace, maintaining an active diplomacy with his neighbors.

Both China and Burma were to fall to the conquering descendents of Ghengis Khan in the next century.

More info: Kyansittha and Huizong.

A Motley of Nations

2011-03-30T01:00:00.000-07:00

Blogging Will Durant’s History of Civilization

Outside of the main civilizations of the ancient history of the Middle East, Egypt, Sumeria/Babylon/Assyria/Persia, there circles a confusing medly of peoples. Some were barbarians; some were civilizations; some were half and half. Durant tries to make sense of them.

The Hittites settled in the area of modern Turkey (called “Asia Minor”). They used the plentiful deposits to move from the bronze to the iron age. They were suppanted by the Phrygians, who were conquered by the Lydians.

To their east and north of Iraq lies the region of the Armenians, a very ancient people, indeed.

From the Semitic peoples (originating from Arabia) there came the Phoenicians who occupied the lands north of Palestine.

Sadly, in this catch-all chapter, Ethiopia gets mentioned in just 4 disconnected pages from the book’s index – like the treatment the USA got in the last two volumes of the series.

Durant's Brief Outline

The Indo-European Peoples
The Semitic Peoples

- From Book One, The Near East, Chapter XI. A Motley of Nations.

I believe that this series is one of the great works of modern history literature. Its material is essential knowledge.

Ramses Wonders Who Done It

2011-03-29T01:00:00.000-07:00

Previously in Herodotus

121. (c) Now when it became day, the king entered into the chamber and was very greatly amazed, seeing the body of the thief held in the trap without his head, and the chamber unbroken, with no way to come in or go out: and being at a loss he hung up the dead body of the thief upon the wall and set guards there, with charge if they saw any one weeping or bewailing himself to seize him and bring him before the king. And when the dead body had been hung up, the mother was greatly grieved, and speaking with the son who survived she enjoined him, in whatever way he could, to contrive means by which he might take down and bring home the body of his dead brother; and if he should neglect to do this, she earnestly threatened that she would go and give information to the king that he had the money.

- Herodotus, Book II

More Information: Egypt, Herodotus's Book.

Wisdom from the Past 3/28/11

2011-03-28T01:00:00.001-07:00

Any girl can be glamorous. All you have to do is stand still and look stupid.

- Hedy Lamarr

More on Hedy Lamarr.

Chief Joseph

2011-03-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

- Another installment in my series
CHURCHILL’S WORLD
Stories of the world during the time Winston Churchill lived in it: 1874 to 1965.

In 1877, when Winston Churchill was 3 years old, the Nez Perce Indians were told that they had to evacuate their lands and move on a reservation. Instead, they tried to immigrate to Canada, or anywhere where they could be left alone.

Their flight and the U.S. army’s pursuit of them was to take them across the Rocky Mountains, through present Yellowstone geysers area, and then north to Canada. They were stopped just 40 miles short of the Canadian border. It was an epic pursuit of 1,600 miles.

It was epic in another sense as well. It was the last, dramatic story in the theme of barbarian versus civilization. In ancient history, barbarian was on offense; in modern history, civilization moved took and held the offense.

This section of my book will tell the story of this campaign and of it’s larger context of a story that goes back to the beginnings of civilization.

This series consists of short summaries for passages from the book that I am writing. Graphic is that of another Churchill book that I really like.

Other Installments of this series (in progress).

Hope Gets Bombed

2011-03-26T01:00:00.000-07:00

It was at Algiers in North Africa in 1943. Bob Hope was there with his USO tour to entertain the troops and to meet General Eisenhower. Ike promised Hope a night of peace and quiet but unfortunately, the Germans chose that night to fly bombers over the town.

As the bombs fell, the general and the star evacuated to the wine cellar. Ike later send Hope a note regretting that Hope had to resign himself to a night in the cellar instead of a bed. Bob Hope replied that it wasn't the cellar that bothered him; it was the stuff flying overhead.

France's Wars: Charlemagne's 771-814

2011-03-25T01:00:00.000-07:00

Did you ever notice that in almost every great war in history, France has been involved in some way? Here’s an example: the wars which conquered Germany, reversed the trend of barbarian invasion, and launched the Holy Roman Empire.

Summary: Charlemagne’s campaigns united the Frank’s empire and extended it south of the Pyrenees Mountains into Spain, northern Italy, and into Germany. In total, these operations inaugurated a new period in the Dark Ages. Of particular note, the campaigns in Germany brought central Europe from the territory of the barbarians into that of civilization.

Background: After Charles Martel’s time, the Mayors of the Palace went from the status of Prime Ministers to that of kings. His descendent, Charlemagne, inherited the throne (after displacing his brother) and united the empire. Operations on the southern frontiers in Italy and Spain were constantly hampered by the traditional and, in his time, annual invasions from across the Rhine from Germany. After years of wars, Charlemagne decided to end these raids/invasions once and for all.

Major Players:
. 1) France:
United under the Franks but troubled by the autonomous region of Brittany to the northwest, and threatened by raids and invasions from neighbors all around. For example:

. 2) Other Countries:
Spain under the Moslem Saracens, since Tours still a threat,

The Lombards in northern Italy, not a direct threat to France but determined to acquire Rome,

The Bavarians east of the Rhine River, nominally subject to France but troubling the frontier because of pressure from their eastern borders by,

The Avars, occupying Austria and Hungary and troubling not just the Bavarians to their west but the rest of the Slav peoples in Eastern Europe,

The Saxons in northern Germany, who in earlier eras and against less formidable opposition would have began another mass invasion and occupation of France as in the barbarian invasions of yore,

. 3) The Leaders:
Charlemagne, one of the longest reigning monarchs in Europe’s history 768 to 814 and one of the most consequential. Over six feet tall, his commanding presence, his great energy, and his governing skills held his realm to a height of knowledge and commerce that enabled sustained military operations over a wide area that contemporaries could not match,

Widikund, the Saxon leader who’s uprising in 778 convinced Charlemagne that only the most brutal measures would solve the age-old barbarian problem.

Narrative: After a Saxon raid on Hesse, the Franks retaliated in 772. Charlemagne advanced to the Saxons' most sacred shrine, an enormous tree in a grove and burned it down. He established a fort and dispatched Christian missionaries. The Saxons massacred the missionaries and their converts and renewed the war.

This set the pattern for year after year. When he took the army to Italy in 773 and when he took the Lombard crown in 774, the Saxons attacked. Charlemagne built lines of fortifications in order to keep the Saxons out but the Saxons kept attacking and destroying them.

In 778, when Charlemagne and the Franks’ army campaigned in Spain, the Saxons, under Widikund attacked and plundered and burned everything east of the Rhine. Charlemagne had had enough. Year after year his army advanced, devastating the Saxons’ country. Widikund surrendered in 785 but the Saxons rebelled again in 793. Charlemagne adopted the harshest measures to pacify the Saxons.

Pictured is a map of the expansion of the Franks' Empire through Charlemagne. Click on the map to see a large version.

Aftermath: By the time he was done, he had advanced the Frankish Empire to border of Denmark. While the barbarian threat against Europe continued in the centuries that followed, we can look upon this period as the time when the initiative had passed from the barbarian to the civilized. Over the long term, European civilization would spread east to Russia, north to Scandinavia, and south to the Balkans.

For Further Reading:

Wikipedia

Previous War

Master List

Next War

Transvaal Gold Rush

2011-03-24T01:00:00.000-07:00

Time: 1886
Place: Witwatersrand area, Transvaal, South Africa

Above in red is the Transvaal region. (cc) by 3.0 by Seb az86556

It was March; it was a Sunday, or so the legend says. An Australian miner named George Harrison was prospecting and suddenly found gold.

He did not know it but his find was one of the richest deposits in the world. Within 10 years, the Transvaal was producing 2.23 times the amount of all the rest of the world combined. It transformed southern Africa forever.

From all over the world, prospectors came. A new town named “Johannesburg” was founded. Within months, it held 100,000 people.

It transformed agriculture. Before, the region produced tobacco for export; otherwise subsistence farming was all. After, the influx of population and the new wealth encouraged a variety of surplus farming such as, maize, wheat, an fruit.

Sadly, it transformed the native white people’s attitude towards the rest of their world. These native whites were descended from Dutch colonists who had trekked into the interior. They called themselves “The Boers”. Their distrust and opposition to the newcomers turned into oppression. These internal tensions were accompanied by a Boer desire to use this wealth to make the Transvaal the center of an expanded Boer country in southern Africa.

These tensions led to the Boer War against Great Britain at the end of the century.

Epilog: George Harrison sold his stake for 10 pounds sterling, disappeared and was never heard from again.

More info: Wikipedia.

Assyria

2011-03-23T01:00:00.000-07:00

Blogging Will Durant’s History of Civilization

Assyria did a lot of cool things. It conquered Babylon, Judea, and Egypt. It left advancements in the arts and the culture. But it is mainly known in history for the cruelty and terror of its rule. With his coverage of Assyria, we see the first unfortunate tendency in Durant’s outlook and treatment of evil. He continually makes seems to make excuses for evil deeds or otherwise to provide cover for them. Nobody seems do evil in Durant’s series. For example, after a paragraph describing severed heads adorning banquets, flaying people alive, bleeding them like sheep, cutting up bodies and handing the parts out as souvenirs, he says,

It never occurred to Ashurbanipal that he and his men were brutal; these clean-cut penalties were surgical necessities in his attempt to remove rebellions and establish discipline among the heterogeneous and turbulent peoples, from Ethiopia to Armenia, and from Syria to Media, whom his predecessors had subjected to Assyrian rule; it was his obligation to maintain this legacy intact.

So, okay. If the end justifies the means reason is to be used, then how did that end work out? Egypt, Judea, and Babylon all reestablished themselves after only about a century of domination. Nineveh is utterly destroyed. So much for that.

Durant's Brief Outline

Chronicles
Government
Life
Art
Assyria Passes

- From Book One, The Near East, Chapter X. Assyria.

I believe that this series is one of the great works of modern history literature. Its material is essential knowledge.

Ramses Gets Robbed

2011-03-22T01:00:00.000-07:00

Previously in Herodotus

121. (b) And the king happening to open the chamber, he marveled when he saw the vessels falling short of the full amount, and he did not know on whom he should lay the blame, since the seals were unbroken and the chamber had been close shut; but when upon his opening the chamber a second and a third time the money was each time seen to be diminished, for the thieves did not slacken in their assaults upon it, he did as follows:--having ordered traps to be made he set these round about the vessels in which the money was; and when the thieves had come as at former times and one of them had entered, then so soon as he came near to one of the vessels he was straightway caught in the trap: and when he perceived in what evil case he was, straightway calling his brother he showed him what the matter was, and bade him enter as quickly as possible and cut off his head, for fear lest being seen and known he might bring about the destruction of his brother also. And to the other it seemed that he spoke well, and he was persuaded and did so; and fitting the stone into its place he departed home bearing with him the head of his brother.

- Herodotus, Book II

More Information: Egypt, Herodotus's Book.

Wisdom from the Past 3/21/11

2011-03-21T01:00:00.000-07:00

You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

- Dale Carnegie

More on Dale Carnegie.

Chancellor

2011-03-20T01:00:00.000-07:00

- Another installment in my series
CHURCHILL’S WORLD
Stories of the world during the time Winston Churchill lived in it: 1874 to 1965.

In this section, we see Lord Randolph in his prime, speaking of the great liberal champion, William Gladstone. Gladstone's image was that of a simple man, chopping wood as Abraham Lincoln was reputed to split rails. Lord Randolph did not see Gladstone as any Lincoln, however.

Entire forests must perish so that Gladstone may sweat.

He imagined a deputation of workingmen who come to speak to Gladstone at his “humble Castle named Hawarden”. But they cannot be received anywhere in the mansion for that would have been

out of harmony with the advertisement ‘boom’.” So they are conducted out back onto his ornamental grounds. . . strewn with the wreckage and the ruins of the Prime Minister’s sport. All round them, we may suppose, lay the rotting trunks of once umbrageous trees; all round them, tossed by the winds, were boughs and bark and withered shoots. They came suddenly on the Prime Minister and Master Herbert [his son], in scanty attire and profuse perspiration, engaged in the destruction of a gigantic oak, just giving its last dying groan. They are permitted to gaze and to worship and adore, and, having conducted themselves with exemplary propriety, are each of them presented with a few chips as a memorial of that memorable scene.

Thus Gladstone hands out the fruits of his government programs:

Chips to the faithful allies in Afghanistan, chips to the trusting native races of South Africa, chips to the Egyptian fellah, chips to the British farmer, chips to the manufacturer and the artisan, chips to the agricultural laborer, chips to the House of Commons itself. To all who leaned upon Mr. Gladstone, who trusted him, and who hoped for something from him – chips, nothing but chips – hard, dry, unnourishing, indigestible chips.

This was a Lord Randolf speech when he was at the top of his game.

This series consists of short summaries for passages from the book that I am writing. Graphic is that of another Churchill book that I really like.

Other Installments of this series (in progress).

FDR's Fireside Chats

2011-03-19T01:00:00.000-07:00

In his day everyone stopped to listen to the President of the United States give one of his famous "fireside chats" on the Radio. Of course, this was before television had come into use. Rush Limbaugh hadn't been invented yet, either.

Presidential radio addresses do not get the same degree of public attention as they did in Roosevelt's day. Fox News wouldn't allow it.

A couple of years ago the President was a Republican. His radio programs didn't get much attention, either. FDR's ghost wouldn't allow it.

Or maybe I'm giving ascribing too much power to Fox and FDR. Rock hadn't been invented then, either.

France's Wars: Rise of the Franks 500-732

2011-03-18T01:00:00.000-07:00

Did you ever notice that in almost every great war in history, France has been involved in some way? Here’s an example: The Franks conquer the other barbarians and launch a new era.

Summary: Under Clovis, they conquered France. Following him, the Franks were divided amid interminable civil wars and the descent into feudalism. They and France were saved by the rise of the Mayors of the Palace who stopped Arab invasion from Spain.

Background: Learning and civilization declined in this first of the Dark Ages. Clovis’ descendents were unable to maintain their power. The Mayors of the Palace acquired duties equivalent from starting as the king’s butlers, to being, to chief of staff, to prime minister.

When the latest Mayor of the Palace died in 714, his son, Charles Martel took over. He reunited the kingdom with some notable exceptions like Aquitaine in the southwest. He fought off constant raids from the Germanic tribes to the east. But his most consequential war was against France’s and Christian Europe’s greatest enemy: the Muslims from Africa.

In the 600’s the Arabs with their new Muslim religion erupted on the world. They destroyed the empire in Persia. They defeated the Byzantines in Palestine, Syria, and the Asia Minor, being stopped only by the fortifications of Constantinople itself. Conquerors headed west, across Egypt and North Africa. In 711 they entered Europe by the back door and conquered Spain. Next up was France.

Major Players:
. 1) France:
in a Dark Age, its government was regaining control under a strong ruler.

. 2) Other Countries:
Aquitaine: having successfully fought off the Franks, it maintained a rocky independence.

Muslims: chiefly Berbers from North Africa, in control of Spain but divided into two parties the Ma’ddites and the Yemenites. For purposes of the conquest, they were united under

. 3) The Leaders:
Abd ar-Rahman: the governor of the Yemenite party.

Charles Martel: of France, whose office “Mayor of the Palace” made him the modern equivalent of Prime Minister.

Narrative: The Muslims took Narbonne. They turned this into their base of operations for their campaigns against France. Further attacks were stopped by the Aquitaines. They relieved the siege of Toulouse in 721.

In 725 the Muslims returned, capturing Carcassonne and Nimes. They occupied most of Septimania. They continued into Burgundy, destroying Autun.

Meanwhile, back in Spain, rivalries between the Ma’ddites and the Yemenites kept their armies at home. During the years of respite, Charles Martel worked on giving his army a cavalry arm to neutralize the Muslim advantage in that.

The time of respite ended in 732. Abd ar-Rahman invaded Aquitaine and destroyed their army and burned Bordeaux. They invaded the lands of the Franks, taking Poitiers. They now moved on Tours.

On a small hill they spied the Franks’ army under Charles Martel. Its location is unknown but is believed to be between Poitiers and Tours. For 7 days the armies the armies faced one another. I find it difficult to believe that the cavalry of both armies were inactive. Surely, there was much maneuvering for advantage.

Finally, the Muslims attacked. Their army consisted primarily of cavalry; the Franks infantry. The Franks’ lines held. The Muslim cavalry suffered heavy loss.

We know that Martel’s counter-attacks must have been limited at most because the next morning, they found the Arab tents deserted. Had the battle been joined on the Arab side of the field, their withdrawal during the night would not have come as a surprise.

Pictured is Charles Martel at the Battle of Portiers in October, 732.

Aftermath: The Muslims never came back. During this time, amphibious invasions had occupied Provence in the south. In the follow-up, Martel liberated this province. Revolts in North Africa sapped the Muslim armies’ strength, but even during times of power, the recovering strength of the Franks discouraged further attempts at invasion. Until the capture of Constantinople 700 years later (!), further Muslim expansion into Europe would henceforth have to come by sea. In France itself, a sense of shared purpose grew and countered the spreading feudalism of the age.

For Further Reading:

Wikipedia

Previous War

Master List

Next War

Christmas in Sweden

2011-03-17T01:00:00.000-07:00

Time: Christmas Eve, 1700
Place: Scandinavia

What was it like to live in Sweden 300 years ago?

During the summer the average temperature was in the low 60’s. In the winter, it fell to 30 below. The mountain ranges running north up the peninsula were low enough so that some of the warmth from the western currents came to Sweden. We’re here during the Christmas season, so beware those cold winds from the Russian plains to the east!

Inside, people are eating holiday food such as hard rye bread in flatcakes and snacking on rolled bits of herring, salmon, eel. Vegetables and salads are laid before us. People are dressed in their holiday best as seen in the picture and down it with good grog.

They depart to worship at their local Lutheran Church, whose ultimate head is the King. Outside icicles dangle from the conifer trees and snow covers the meadows, fields, and roads.

Then the Jultomte (the house’s gnome or small dwarf), a folk myth from ancient days, brings the presents.

More information: Sweden’s official site.

Babylonia

2011-03-16T01:00:00.000-07:00

Blogging Will Durant’s History of Civilization

No one looking at the site of ancient Babylon today would suspect that these hot and dreary wastes along the Euphrates were once the rich and powerful capital of a civilization that almost created astronomy, added richly to the progress of medicine, established the science of language, prepared the first great codes of law, taught the Greeks the rudiments of mathematics, physics and philosophy, gave the Jews the mythology which they gave to the world, and passed on to the Arabs part of that scientific and architectural lore which they aroused the dormant soul of medieval Europe

.

The story of the flood and of the Garden of Paradise originated from the Sumerians. I’ve got to wonder about the automatic labeling of these stories as “myths”. The Bible is criticized when a story is not told anywhere else – no verification; and it is also criticized when a story is told by others – they just stole someone else’s myth. One cannot have it both ways.

But back to the Babylonians. They did not enjoy the isolation of the Egyptians. It originated by conquest of the Akkadians of the Sumerians; it was destined to be conquered again and yet again. Durant reckons Hammurabi as the greatest of their leaders. Their best legacy was their achievements in commerce and law.

Durant's Brief Outline

From Hammurabi to Nebuchadrezzar
The Toilers
The Law
The Gods of Babylon
Morals
Literature
Artists
Science
Philosophers
Epitaph

- From Book One The Near East, Chapter IX. Babylonia.

I believe that this series is one of the great works of modern history literature. Its material is essential knowledge.