Ronin3k

Bushidō

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Tue, 31 Jul 2007 16:24:00 +0000

(武士道, Bushidō?), meaning "Way of the Warrior", is a Japanese code of conduct and a way of life, loosely analogous to the European concept of chivalry. It orginates from the samurai moral code and stresses frugality, loyalty, mastery of martial arts, and honor to the death. Bushidō developed between the 11th to 14th centuries as set forth by numerous translated documents dating from the 12th to 16th centuries (as mentioned below). However, some dependable sources also state the document might have been formulated in the 17th century.

According to the Japanese dictionary Shogakukan Kokugo Daijiten, "Bushidō is defined as a unique philosophy (ronri) that spread through the warrior class from the Muromachi (chusei) period." Nitobe Inazō, in his book Bushidō: The Soul of Japan, described it in this way. "...Bushidō, then, is the code of moral principles which the samurai were required or instructed to observe... More frequently it is a code unuttered and unwritten... It was an organic growth of decades and centuries of military career."

Under the Tokugawa Shogunate, Bushidō became formalized into Japanese Feudal Law.[1] Honor codes are still used today.

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 08:28:00 +0000

While the methods and weapons used by such groups may be new, their spiritual heritage…stretches back at least to the days of the murderous Persian (Persia is now known as Iran) Hasan ibn-al-Sabbah1 [~1034-1124].i [Sayyidna Hasan bin Sabbah or Hasan ben-Shaybah or Hassan Ben Sabbat or] Al-Hasan b. Al-Sabbah, commonly known as Hasan-i-Sabbah, First Grand Master of the Order of Assassins,…came from obscure origins. He was born of lower middle class parents at Rayy, an old city a few kilometers to the south of modern Teheran. Hassan Ben Sabbah was…a dedicated member of the Ishmaili sect, which venerated the Imams, religious leaders descended from Ali,ii the Prophet Mohammad’s son-in-law. The Ishmailis had broken away from the larger Muslim Shia sect owing to differences over the accession of an Imam.

From a high mountain fortress, ibn-al-Sabbah directed a ruthless campaign against the overlords of other sects in Persia, Iraq, and Syria. Northwest [sic] of Qazwin, atop the Elburz Mountains, on a lonely ridge 6,000 feet above the sea,…stood the castle of Alamut (eagle’s nest). Commanding a royal view of the valley below, accessible only by a single, almost vertical pathway, the remote fortress was an ideal hideout and headquarters. [In 1090,] Hasan siezed [sic] the fortress of Alamut, iii [and] the castle henceforth received the name of the Abode of Fortune. The position of Alamut…caused its prince to receive the title of Sheikh al Jebal (i.e. Sheikh, or Prince of the Mountains); and the double sense of the word Sheikh, which means both prince and old man, has occasioned the historians of the Crusades, and the celebrated Marco Polo, to call him the “Old Man of the Mountain.”

His feared organization’s sinister name came from its member’s ritual use of the drug hashish, and the popular Arabic name for hashish smokers, hashshashin, [ hashshashin, hashsäshïn, hashishin, hashishiyyin, ashishin, hashishyum, hashisyun, hashishim, hashishiyya, heyssessini, haisasins, hashisham, hashshishoun, haschishin, hashishinn, haschischin, hashschin, hashisheen, hasheesheen, hashashin, hashshishin, aschishin, assassis, accini, axasin, assacis or assassini] is the root of our word, assassin. (The crusaders,iv soldier-Christians who battled the Muslims for control of the Holy Land, used the word assassin to mean political murder.)

For the immediate attainment of their objects, the order was less in need of heads than arms; and did not employ pens, but daggers, whose points were everywhere, while their hilts were in the hand of the grand-master. With poisonv and dagger as their means of dealing death to carefully selected victims, the Assassins — the fedavi, [fedawis, fidais, fida’is, fedais, fedayeens, fedaree] or “devoted ones” , vi — struck terror wherever they appeared.From A.D. 1090 to about 1256 the Assassins…unsettle everyone who opposed them. Emirs, governors of cities, commanders of fortresses, and even religious dignitaries all took to wearing a coat of chain mail at all times.

Hassan Ben Sabbah conditioned and organized a band of fearless political killers such as had never been seen before. His method of indoctrination was unique.vii He constructed a secret garden and furnished it with all the delights promised in the Koran…to the faithful when they reached paradise. The chosen were drugged, one or two at a time, and taken to this garden by night. When they woke up in the morning viii they were surrounded by beautiful and scantily clad houris [in Muslim belief, women who live with the blessed in paradise] who would minister to their every need and desire. After being allowed to savor this false — but pleasant and sensual — paradise for a day or so, they were again drugged before being taken back to awaken in their own squalid hovel or cave dwelling. To them, it was as if it had been a vivid dream. Ben Sabbah then sent for them, told them Allah had given them a preview of paradise, and surprised them by telling them exactly what each had been up to while in the secret garden. So successful was he in this method of conditioning and indoctrination that it was said he once astounded a visiting emir whom he wanted to impress with his power by sending for one of his men and ordering him to kill himself — which he immediately did.

When an Assassin was sent out by Ibn-al-Sabbah to carry out some violent death, the Assassin was just as dedicated. So convinced were the Assassins that they would be rewarded in paradise that they never hesitated to fulfill their missions of murder, even though this often meant their victims’ bodyguards would kill them immediately afterward.

Hasan and the grand masters who ruled the order after him wielded great political power until the coming of the Mongols. The Mongols [led by Hulagu Khan] destroyed the Nizari base in Alamut in 1256,ix but the Nizari sect has survived to this day. Scattered in many countries of Asia, Africa and the West, the Ismailis currently acknowledge the Aga Khan as their 49th imam.

Orgin of Kung fu

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Tue, 24 Jul 2007 07:47:00 +0000

Legend of Bodhidharma As Buddhism kung fu also have its origin in India. The origin of kung fu begins with the legend of an Indian monk named Bodhidharma Sardili (also known as Ta Mo in Chinese ).He travelled from India to China around 500 A.D. It is said that he visited Shaolin monks in the Hunan Province. While there, Bodhidharma awed the resident Chinese monks with his mastery of meditation. The secret was physical discipline which Bodhidharma saw lacking in the monks. He trained them in exercises designed to strengthen the body and thus their endurance. According to legend, Bodhidharma had attained such a level of control that he was able to bore a hole through a wall simply by staring at it for a number of years in meditation. These series of exercises the monks used evolved into kung fu. This is why Bodhidharma is credited with spreading Zen Buddhism to China and forming the for modern kung fu

According to Ch'an and zen legends, Bodhidharma is the Indian monk and missionary who brought Ch'an to China. Legend portrays him as a south Indian prince who left the household life and, upon attaining enlightenment (bodhi), became the 28th in a series of patriarchs through which the Buddha's original enlightenment experience had been transmitted directly without the mediation of ‘words and scriptures’. Upon bringing Ch'an to China, he became the first Chinese patriarch, and all subsequent Chinese Ch'an and Japanese Zen masters trace their master-disciple lineages back to him.

According to the legend, Bodhidharma arrived in Canton via the sea route in 526, and was invited to the court of Emperor Wu, founder of the Liang dynasty in the south. Expecting the master's praise of his temple-building and lavish support of the Saṃgha, the emperor received instead enigmatic responses and a brusque discounting of his activities. Bodhidharma then left for the north, reportedly crossing the Yangtze River on a reed, and arrived at the Shao-lin Temple. Finding the resident clergy weak and prone to the depredations of local bandits, he taught them exercises and self-defence, from which evolved the famous Shao-lin style of martial arts. He then sequestered himself in a cave for nine years and sat gazing at the wall. Once, enraged at his drowsiness, he ripped off his eyelids and threw them down to the ground, where they sprouted as tea plants. In addition, his legs are said to have withered away because of his constant sitting. (This is the origin of the Daruma doll, a Japanese toy shaped like an egg with a weighted bottom that springs upright again when knocked over. Its wide-open eyes and lack of legs derive from these stories of Bodhidharma.) Hui-k'o, the man who would become his disciple and the second patriarch, came to him to study during this period, but was unable to get Bodhidharma's attention. The latter looked up and received him only after the former cut off his arm and offered it. When Bodhidharma died at the age of 160, he was buried at the Shao-lin Temple, but the same day one of the temple's monks who was out travelling met him heading west holding up one of his sandals. When the monk returned, he recounted the story, whereupon the other clergy opened the tomb, and found only a single sandal inside.

Much of the above legend clearly is based on later stories, many of which serve to make polemical points in defence of the Ch'an school as it strove for acceptance and self-definition. However, there is no compelling reason to doubt the historicity of Bodhidharma himself. Numerous early records speak approvingly of him (or someone by that name) as wise and compassionate, and there exists a work purported to be of his composition called The Two Entrances and Four Practices. These witnesses confirm that he came from the west, that he was well practised in meditation, and that he had a disciple named Hui-k'o. The Two Entrances and Four Practices gives his teaching on meditation and wisdom in terms that echo later Ch'an practice. However, far from being an iconoclastic and mysterious figure who rejects ‘words and letters’, these early sources present him as a master of a particular scripture, the Laṇkāvatāra Sūtra, and remark on his willingness to speak quite plainly and openly about his understanding of the teachings. All earlier sources report that he himself claimed to be over 150 years old, and one says that the time and circumstances of his death were unknown.

Tōdō Takatora

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 08:44:00 +0000

(藤堂高虎, Tōdō Takatora?) (1556-1630) was a Japanese Daimyo or Lord following the Azuchi-Momoyama period of the 16th century. He rose from a foot soldier, ashigaru, to become a Daimyo. During his lifetime he changed his feudal master seven times and worked for 10 people, but in the end he rendered loyalty to Tokugawa Ieyasu, who had become his last master. [1][2]

He was promoted rapidly under Hashiba Hidenaga, the younger brother of Toyotomi Hideyoshi, and he participated in the invasions of Korea as a commander of Toyotomi's fleet. His fiefdom at that time was Iyo-Uwajima. During the Edo period, the wealth of each fiefdom was measured as a volume of rice production in koku. Iyo-Uwajima was assessed at 70,000 koku.[1][2]

At the Battle of Sekigahara in 1600, although he was one of Toyotomi's main generals, he sided with Tokugawa Ieyasu. After war he was given a larger fiefdom, Iyo-Imabari, assessed at 200,000 koku. Later in life he was made lord of Iga and Ise, a domain of 320,000 koku.

Todo Takatora is also famous for excelling in castle design. He is said to have involved in building as much as 20 castles.[1][2]

Tomoe Gozen - Female

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:49:00 +0000

(巴御前, Tomoe Gozen?) (1161?–1184?) was one of the few examples of a true female warrior samurai in all of Japanese history. She was a samurai during the time of the Genpei War (1180–1185). Her name is pronounced /to.mo.e/.

Most knowledge about Tomoe Gozen comes from tales and legends. Depending on the source, Tomoe Gozen was either the wife, concubine (mistress), or female attendant of prominent daimyo Minamoto no Yoshinaka. Many women of the time knew how to use the naginata to defend their home, and there are tales of female ashigaru, but Tomoe Gozen was a high-level samurai, skilled in riding, archery and kenjutsu. She was said to have been fearless and possessing great skill in combat. Fiercely brave and tirelessly loyal to Yoshinaka, she was one of his senior captains during the war, leading his troops, and accompanying him to every battle. She was well respected by men and fought bravely alongside them. In the Heike Monogatari (Tale of the Heike), Tomoe is described:

Tomoe was especially beautiful, with white skin, long hair, and charming features. She was also a remarkably strong archer, and as a swordswoman she was a warrior worth a thousand, ready to confront a demon or a god, mounted or on foot. She handled unbroken horses with superb skill; she rode unscathed down perilous descents. Whenever a battle was imminent, Yoshinaka sent her out as his first captain, equipped with strong armor, an oversized sword, and a mighty bow; and she performed more deeds of valor than any of his other warriors.

—Tale of the Heike, McCullough, page 291.

After defeating the Heike and driving them into the western provinces, Yoshinaka took Kyoto and desired to be the leader of the Minamoto clan. His cousin Minamoto no Yoritomo was prompted to crush Yoshinaka, and sent his brothers Minamoto no Yoshitsune and Minamoto no Noriyori to kill him. Yoshinaka fought Yoritomo's forces at the Battle of Awazu on February 21, 1184, where it has been said that Tomoe Gozen took at least one head of the enemy. Although Yoshinaka's troops fought bravely, they were outnumbered and overwhelmed. When Yoshinaka was defeated there, with only a few of his soldiers standing, he told Tomoe Gozen to flee instead of facing death by Yoritomo.

There are varied accounts of what followed. One is that she stayed by his side, fought and died. Another says that she was seen fleeing the field with either the head of Yoshinaka or of an enemy samurai. Afterwards there is even more uncertainty. Some say that she cast herself into the ocean with the head, while others say that after surviving the battle she gave up the sword and became a nun. These different stories are what give the story of Tomoe Gozen its intrigue.

Since her time, Tomoe Gozen has cast a spell of mystery over the Japanese people. Because she was so unusual, some believed she was the reincarnation of a river goddess.

Miyamoto Musashi

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Thu, 19 Jul 2007 08:25:00 +0000

Musashi, Miyamoto (1584-1645)
was an invincible samurai from Japan's Edo period and was probably the greatest swordsman to ever live. His approach to fighting was characterised as being philosphical but pragmatic, with no regard for aesthetics.

Much of Miyamoto Musashi's past is shrouded in mystery and his legend has been built up even in his own lifetime and then further still in modern times as dozens of movies have been made about him. This legend can be summarised thus: He fought his first duel age thirteen. Over his lifetime he won over sixty duels, some of them against multiple enemies, and fought successfully in three major military campaigns, including the defense of Osaka. However, given his mythological status it is impossible to say how true any of this is.

Musashi spent many years as a loner studying Buddhism and gaining mastery of the sword. His is also said to have been an accomplished artist, sculptor and calligrapher as well as having skills in architectural and garden design.

Alexander the Great

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 09:33:00 +0000

(Greek: Μέγας Aλέξανδρος, Megas Alexandros; July 20, 356 BC – June 10, 323 BC), also known as Alexander III, was an Ancient Greek king of Macedon (336–323 BC). He was one of the most successful military commanders in history, and was undefeated in battle. By his death, he conquered most of the world known to the ancient Greeks.

Following the unification of the multiple city-states of ancient Greece under the rule of his father, Philip II of Macedon (a labour Alexander had to repeat twice because the southern Greeks rebelled after Philip's death), Alexander conquered the Persian Empire, including Anatolia, Syria, Phoenicia, Judea, Gaza, Egypt, Bactria and Mesopotamia and extended the boundaries of his own empire as far as the borders of Punjab. Before his death, Alexander had already made plans to also turn west and conquer Europe. He also wanted to continue his march eastwards in order to find the end of the world, since his boyhood tutor Aristotle told him tales about where the land ends and the Great Outer Sea begins. Alexander integrated foreigners into his army, leading some scholars to credit him with a "policy of fusion." He encouraged marriage between his army and foreigners, and practiced it himself. After twelve years of constant military campaigning, Alexander died, possibly of malaria, West Nile virus, typhoid, viral encephalitis or the consequences of heavy drinking.

His conquests ushered in centuries of Greek settlement and cultural influence over distant areas, a period known as the Hellenistic Age, a combination of Greek and Middle Eastern culture. Alexander himself lived on in the history and myth of both Greek and non-Greek cultures. After his death (and even during his life) his exploits inspired a literary tradition in which he appears as a legendary hero in the tradition of Achilles.

300 Spartans

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 16:26:00 +0000

In the Battle of Thermopylae of 480 BC, an alliance of Greek city-states fought the invading Persian Empire at the pass of Thermopylae in central Greece. Vastly outnumbered, the Greeks held back the Persians for three days in one of history's most famous last stands. A small force led by King Leonidas of Sparta blocked the only road through which the massive army of Xerxes I of Persia (Xerxes the Great) could pass. After three days of battle, a local resident named Ephialtes betrayed the Greeks by revealing a mountain path that led behind the Greek lines. Dismissing the rest of the army, King Leonidas stayed behind with 300 Spartans and 700 Thespian volunteers. The Persians succeeded in taking the pass but sustained heavy losses, extremely disproportionate to those of the Greeks. The fierce resistance of the Spartan-led army offered Athens the invaluable time to prepare for a decisive naval battle that would come to determine the outcome of the war.[3] The subsequent Greek victory at the Battle of Salamis left much of the Persian Empire's navy destroyed and Xerxes was forced to retreat back to Asia, leaving his army in Greece under Mardonius, who was to meet the Greeks in battle one last time. The Spartans assembled at full strength and led a pan-Greek army that defeated the Persians decisively at the Battle of Plataea, ending the Greco-Persian War and with it the expansion of the Persian Empire into Europe.

The performance of the defenders at the battle of Thermopylae is often used as an example of the advantages of training, equipment, and good use of terrain to maximize an army's potential, and has become a symbol of courage against overwhelming odds. Even more, both ancient and modern writers used the Battle of Thermopylae as an example of the superior power of a well trained army defending native soil.

There is also a large political significance of the Battle of Thermopylae, in that it was the first defining moment in which the disunified Greek city states came together to form a significant alliance. It also possibly signified the beginning of the end for the Persian empire - drawing strength from the Battle, the Greeks began forming assaults against the Persian Empire, as a national body rather than small city states.

47 Ronin

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Mon, 16 Jul 2007 07:19:00 +0000

The tale of the Forty-Seven Ronin, also known as the Forty-Seven Samurai, the Akō vendetta, the Akō Wandering Samurai (赤穂浪士, Akō rōshi?), or the Genroku Akō Incident (元禄赤穂事件, Genroku akō jiken?), is a prototypical Japanese story. Described by one noted Japan scholar as the country's "national legend" [2], it recounts the most famous case involving the samurai code of honor, Bushidō.

The story tells of a group of samurai who were left leaderless (became ronin) after their daimyo-master was forced to commit seppuku (ritual suicide) for assaulting a court official named Kira Yoshinaka, whose title was kōzuké-no-suké).The ronin avenged their master's honor after patiently waiting and planning for over a year to kill Kira. In turn, the ronin were themselves forced to commit seppuku — as they had known they would be — for committing the crime of murder. With little embellishment, this true story was popularized in Japanese culture as emblematic of the loyalty, sacrifice, persistence and honor which all good people should preserve in their daily lives. The popularity of the almost mythical tale was only enhanced by rapid modernization during the Meiji era of Japanese history, when many people in Japan longed for a return to their cultural roots.

While sources do differ as to some of the details, the version given below was carefully assembled from a large range of historical sources, including some still-extant eye-witness accounts of various portions of the saga. The sequence of events and the characters in this historical narrative were presented to a wide, popular readership in the West with the 1871 publication of A.B. Mitford's Tales of Old Japan.

Fictionalized accounts of these events are known as Chūshingura. The story was popularized in numerous plays including bunraku and kabuki; because of the censorship laws of the shogunate in the Genroku era which forbade portrayal of current events, the names were changed. While the version given by the playwrights may have come to be accepted as historical fact by some, the Chushingura was written some 50 years after the fact; and numerous historical records about the actual events which pre-date the Chushingura survive. The bakufu's censorship laws had relaxed somewhat 75 years later, when Japanologist Isaac Titsingh first recorded the story of the 47 ronin as one of the significant events of the Genroku era.
Contents

Shaka

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 17:31:00 +0000

sometimes spelled Tshaka, Tchaka or Chaka; ca. 1787 – ca. 22 September 1828) was a Zulu leader.He is widely credited with transforming the Zulu tribe from a small clan into the beginnings of a nation that held sway over the large portion of Southern Africa between the Phongolo and Mzimkhulu rivers. His military prowess and destructiveness have been widely credited. One Encyclopædia Britannica article (Macropaedia Article "Shaka" 1974 ed) asserts that he was something of a military genius for his reforms and innovations. Other writers take a more limited view of his achievements. Nevertheless, his statesmanship and vigour in assimilating some neighbours and ruling by proxy marks him as one of the greatest Zulu chieftains.

At his death, Shaka ruled over 250,000 people and could muster more than 50,000 warriors, whose iron discipline equaled that of the Roman legions in their prime. His 10-year-long kingship had resulted in more than 2 million deaths by warfare alone, not counting the deaths during mass tribal migrations to escape his armies.[1]

Shaka was probably the first son of the chieftain Senzangakhona and Nandi, a daughter of Bhebhe, the past chief of the Elangeni tribe, born near present-day Melmoth, KwaZulu-Natal Province. He was conceived out of wedlock somewhere between 1781 and 1787. Some accounts state that he was disowned by his father and chased into exile. Others maintain that his parents married normally. Shaka almost certainly spent his childhood in his father's settlements, is recorded as having been initiated there and inducted into an ibutho or 'age-group regiment'. In his early days, Shaka served as a warrior under the sway of local chieftain Dingiswayo and the Mthethwa, to whom the Zulu were then paying tribute.

Dingiswayo called up the emDlatsheni iNtanga (age-group), of which Shaka was part, and incorporated it in the iziCwe regiment. Shaka served as a Mthethwa warrior for perhaps as long as ten years, and distinguished himself with his courage, though he did not, as legend has it, rise to great position. Dingiswayo, having himself been exiled after a failed attempt to oust his father, had, along with a number of other groups in the region (including Mabhudu, Dlamini, Mkhize, Qwabe, and Ndwandwe, many probably responding to slaving pressures from southern Mozambique) helped develop new ideas of military and social organisation, in particular the ibutho, sometimes translated as 'regiment'; it was rather an age-based labour gang which included some better-refined military activities, but by no means exclusively. Most battles before this time were to settle disputes, and while the appearance of the impi (fighting unit) dramatically changed warfare at times, it largely remained a matter of seasonal raiding, political pressures rather than outright slaughter. Of particular importance here is the relationship which Shaka and Dingiswayo had.

On the death of Senzangakona, Dingiswayo aided Shaka to defeat his brother and assume leadership in around 1812. Shaka began to refine the ibutho system further, used by Dingiswayo and others, and with Mthethwa's support over the next several years forged alliances with his smaller neighbours, mostly to counter the growing threat from Ndwandwe raiding from the north. The initial Zulu manoeuvres were defensive and offensive, and mostly Shaka preferred to intervene or pressure diplomatically, aided by just a few judicious assassinations. His changes to local society built on existing structures, and were as much social and propagandistic as they were military; there were a number of battles, as the Zulu sources make clear.

Later Dingiswayo was murdered by Zwide, a powerful chief of the Ndwandwe (Nxumalo) clan. Shaka took it upon himself to avenge Dingiswayo's blood. At some point Zwide barely escaped Shaka, though the exact details are not known. In that encounter Zwide's mother, a Sangoma (Zulu word for a seer, more than it is a traditional doctor. This person can consult the spirits of the dead, cast spells, bewitch, heal and many others) was killed by Shaka. Shaka chose a particularly gruesome revenge on Zwide's mother, locking her in a house and placing jackals or hyenas inside. They devoured her and, in the morning, Shaka burned the house to the ground. Despite carrying out this revenge, Shaka was still eager to kill Zwide. It was not until around 1825 that the two great military men would meet, near Phongola, in what would be their final meeting. Phongola is near the present day border of KwaZulu-Natal, a province in South Africa. The victory went to Shaka, however he sustained heavy casualties and lost his head military commander - Umgobhozi Ovela Entabeni.

Hannibal

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 17:50:00 +0000

the son of Hamilcar Barca 247 BC – ca. 183 BC was a Carthaginian military commander and tactician, later also working in other professions, who is popularly credited as one of the finest commanders in history. He lived during a period of tension in the Mediterranean, when Rome (then the Roman Republic) established its supremacy over other great powers such as Carthage , Macedon, Syracuse and the Seleucid empire. He is one of the best-known Carthaginian commanders. His most famous achievement was at the outbreak of the Second Punic War, when he marched an army, which included war elephants, from Iberia over the Pyrenees and the Alps into northern Italy.

During his invasion of Italy, he defeated the Romans in a series of battles, including those at Trebia, Trasimene and Cannae. After the Battle of Cannae, Capua, then the second largest city in the Roman Republic, defected from Rome and joined Hannibal. Hannibal lacked the siege equipment necessary to attack the heavily defended city of Rome.[6] He maintained an army in Italy for more than a decade afterward, never losing a major engagement, but he was never able to push the war through to a conclusion. During that period, the Roman armies regrouped. A Roman counter-invasion of Africa forced him to return to Carthage, where he was defeated in the Battle of Zama. The defeat forced the Carthaginian Senate to send him into exile. During this exile, he lived at the Seleucid court, where he acted as military advisor to Antiochus III in his war against Rome. Defeated in a naval battle, Hannibal fled again, this time to the Bithynian court.

Hannibal is universally ranked as one of the greatest military commanders and tacticians in history. Military historian Theodore Ayrault Dodge once famously called Hannibal the "father of strategy",[7] because his greatest enemy, Rome, came to adopt elements of his military tactics in its own strategic arsenal. This praise has earned him a strong reputation in the modern world and he was regarded as a "gifted strategist" by men like Napoleon Bonaparte and the Duke of Wellington. His life has been the basis for a number of films and documentaries.

Sun Tzu

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 00:17:00 +0000

(Chinese: 孫子; Pinyin: Sūn Zǐ; c. 544 BC – 496 BC) was the author of The Art of War, an immensely influential ancient Chinese book on military strategy. He is also one of the earliest realists in international relations theory.

The name Sun Tzu ("Master Sun") is an honorific title bestowed upon Sun Wu (孫武; Sūn Wǔ), the author's name. The character wu, meaning "military", is the same as the character in wu shu, or martial art. Sun Wu also has a courtesy name, Chang Qing (長卿; Cháng Qīng).

The only surviving source on the life of Sun Tzu is the biography written in the 2nd century BC by the historian Sima Qian, who describes him as a general who lived in the state of Wu in the 6th century BC, and therefore a contemporary of one of the great Chinese thinkers of ancient times—Confucius. According to tradition, Sun Tzu was a member of the shi. The shi were landless Chinese aristocrats who were descendants of nobility who lost their dukedoms during the territorial consolidation of the Spring and Autumn Period. Unlike most shi, who were traveling academics, Sun Tzu worked as a mercenary (similar to a modern military consultant). According to tradition, King Helü of Wu hired Sun Tzu as a general approximately 512 BC after finishing his military treatise, the Sun Tzu (named after the author as was common in China prior to the Qin era). After his hiring, the kingdom of Wu, previously considered a semi-barbaric state, went on to become the most powerful state of the period by conquering Chu, one of the most powerful states in the Spring and Autumn Period. Sun Tzu, always wanting a peaceful and quiet life, suddenly disappeared when King Helu finally conquered Chu. Therefore his date of death remained unknown.

In Chinese Sun Tzu (the original book title) is now commonly called Sunzi bingfa (also transliterated as Sun-tzu ping fa or Sun-tse ping fa). Sunzi is a modern transliteration of Sun Tzu. Bing Fa can be translated as "principal for using forces"[1], "military methods", "army procedures", or "martial arts". Around 298 B.C., the historian Zhuang Zi, writing in the state of Zhao, recorded that Sun Tzu’s theory had been incorporated into the martial arts techniques of both offense and defense and of both armed and unarmed combat. His Bing Fa was the philosophical basis of what we now know as the Asian martial arts. Amiot's AD 1722 translation of Sun Tzu into French (the first time it had been translated into a European language) entitled Art Militaire des Chinois is likely to have influenced translations into the English often titled The Art of War.

The historicity of Sun Tzu is discussed extensively in the introduction to Lionel Giles' 1910 translation of The Art of War available as a Project Gutenberg online text. In Giles' introduction to his translation, he expands on the doubt and confusion which has surrounded the historicity of Sun Tzu.

In 1972 a set of bamboo engraved texts were discovered in a grave near Linyi in Shandong.[2] These have helped to confirm parts of the text which were already known and have also added new sections.[3] This version has been dated to between 134–118 BC,[4] and so rules out older theories that parts of the text had been written much later.

Sun Bin, also known as Sun the Mutilated, allegedly a crippled descendent of Sun Tzu, also wrote a text known as the Art of War. A more accurate title might be the Art of Warfare since this was more directly concerned with the practical matters of warfare, rather than military strategy.[5] At least one translator has used the title The Lost Art of War, referring to the long period of time during which Sun Bin's book was lost. There is, however, no commonality between the content or writing style in Sun Bin and Sun Tzu.

The Art of War has been one of the most popular combat collections in history. Ancient Chinese long viewed this book as one of the entrance test materials, and it is one of the most important collections of books in the Chinese literature. It is said that Mao Zedong and Joseph Stalin both read this book while in war.

Spartacus

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:20:00 +0000

(ca. 120 BC[1] – ca. 70 BC, at the end of the Third Servile War), according to Roman historians, was a gladiator-slave who became the alleged leader of an unsuccessful slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the Third Servile War, and the historical accounts that survive of the war are sketchy and often contradictory. Spartacus' struggle, often perceived as the struggle of an oppressed people fighting for their freedom against a large powerful State, has found new meaning for modern writers since the 19th century. The figure of Spartacus, and his rebellion, has become an inspiration to many modern literary and political writers, who have made the character of Spartacus an ancient/modern folk hero.

Genghis Khan

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 17:39:00 +0000

Lived (1162–August 18, 1227) was a Mongol Khan (ruler; posthumously Khagan, emperor^[]). Born with the name Temüüjin (Mongolian: Тэмүүжин) into the Borjigin clan, he became one of the most significant and successful military leaders in history. He united the Mongol tribes and founded the Mongol Empire, (1206 – 1368), the largest contiguous empire in world history.

Genghis Khan is an iconic and beloved figure in Mongolia, where he is seen as the father of the Mongol Nation. On the other hand, his system of warfare is responsible for the death of many people and destruction of properties, for instance the ruthless annihilation of any form of resistance. As a result of this, in many areas of southwestern Asia, Middle East and Europe, he is seen as a ruthless and bloodthirsty conqueror.

Before becoming a Khan, Temüüjin united many of the nomadic tribes of north East Asia and Central Asia under a new social identity as the "Mongols." Starting with the invasion of Western Xia and Jin Dynasty in northern China and consolidating through numerous conquests including the Khwarezmid Empire in Persia, Mongol rule across the Eurasian landmass radically altered the demography and geopolitics of these areas. The Mongol Empire ended up ruling, or at least briefly conquering, large parts of modern day China, Mongolia, Russia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, North Korea, South Korea, and Kuwait.

Genghis Khan died in 1227 for reasons that remain unclear. His sons and grandsons controlled the empire after his death and the empire grew and endured for over 150 years.

What is a ronin.

noreply@blogger.com (Ronin3K) — Wed, 11 Jul 2007 07:37:00 +0000

A rōnin (浪人, rōnin) was a masterless samurai during the feudal period (1185–1868) of Japan. A samurai became masterless from the ruin or fall of his master, or after the loss of his master's favor or privilege. Since a rōnin did not serve any lord, he was no longer a samurai, as the noun samurai came from the verb saburau which was the Japanese for "to serve".

Etymology

The word rōnin literally means "drifting person". The term originated in the Nara and Heian periods, when it originally referred to serfs who had fled or deserted their master's land. It is also a term used for samurai who had lost their masters in wars

Status

According to the Bushido Shoshinshu (the Code of the Samurai), a ronin was supposed to commit oibara seppuku (also "hara kiri" – ritual suicide) upon the loss of his master.One who chose to not honor the code was "on his own" and was meant to suffer great shame. The undesirability of ronin status was mainly a discrimination imposed by other samurai and by the daimyo (the feudal lords).

A ronin was given equal respect to master-sponsored samurai by the general population and were actually preferred by Zen masters, artists, philosophers over their more obedient and faceless samurai counterparts. As thoroughly bound men, most samurai resented the personal freedom enjoyed by wandering ronin. Ronin were the epitome of self-determination; independent men who dictated their own path in life, answering only to themselves and making decisions as they saw fit.

Rōnin might be hired as yōjimbō (bodyguards or mercenary fighters) by villagers, merchants, or others in need of protection.

During the Edo period, with the shogunate's rigid class system and laws, the number of ronin greatly increased. Confiscation of fiefs during the rule of the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu resulted in an especially large increase. During previous ages, samurai were easily able to move between masters and even between occupations, and marry between classes. However, during the Edo period, samurai were restricted from doing so, and were above all forbidden to become employed by another master without their previous master's permission. Also, low-level samurai, often poor and without choice, were forced to quit or escape their master.

History

In the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, when warriors held lands that they occupied, a ronin was a warrior who had lost his lands. During these periods, as small-scale wars frequently occurred throughout Japan, the daimyo needed to augment their armies, so ronin had opportunities to serve new masters. Also, some ronin joined in bands, engaging in robbery and uprisings.

Especially in the Sengoku period, daimyo needed additional fighting men, and even if one's master had perished, a ronin was able to serve a new lord. In contrast to the later Edo period, the bond between the lord and the samurai was loose, and some samurai who were dissatisfied with their treatment left their masters and sought new lords. Many warriors served a succession of masters, and some even became daimyo. As an example, Tōdō Takatora served ten lords. Additionally, the division of the population into classes had not yet taken place, so it was possible to change one's occupation from warrior to merchant or farmer, or the reverse. Saitō Dōsan was one merchant who rose through the warrior ranks to become a daimyo.

As Toyotomi Hideyoshi unified progressively larger parts of the country, daimyo found it unnecessary to recruit new soldiers. Next, the Battle of Sekigahara resulted in the confiscation or reduction of the fiefs of large numbers of daimyo on the losing side; in consequence, many samurai became ronin. As many as a hundred thousand ronin joined forces with Toyotomi Hideyori and fought at the Siege of Osaka. In the ensuing years of peace, there was less need to maintain expensive standing armies, and many surviving ronin turned to farming or became townspeople. A few, such as Yamada Nagamasa, sought adventure overseas as mercenaries. Still, the majority lived in poverty as ronin. Under the third Tokugawa shogun Iemitsu, their number approached half a million.

Initially, the shogunate viewed them as dangerous, and banished them from the cities or restricted the quarters where they could live. They also prohibited serving new masters. As ronin found themselves with fewer and fewer options, they joined in the Keian Uprising. This forced the shogunate to rethink its policy. It relaxed restrictions on daimyo inheritance, resulting in fewer confiscations of fiefs; and it permitted ronin to join new masters.

Among the most famous ronin are Miyamoto Musashi, the famed swordsman, and the Forty-seven Ronin.

Not having the status or power of employed samurai, ronin were often disreputable, and the group was a target of humiliation or satire. It was undesirable to be a ronin, as it meant being without a stipend.

As an indication of the humiliation felt by samurai who became ronin, Lord Redesdale recorded that a ronin killed himself at the graves of the Forty-Seven Ronin. He left a note saying that he had tried to enter the service of the daimyo of the Chōshū Domain, but was refused. Wanting to serve no other master, and hating being a ronin, he had decided to kill himself.

On the other hand, the famous 18th century writer Kyokutei Bakin renounced his allegiance to Matsudaira Nobunari, in whose service Bakin's samurai father had spent his life. Bakin became voluntarily a ronin, and eventually spent his time writing books (many of theIn the Kamakura and Muromachi periods, when warriors held lands that they occupied, a ronin was a warrior who had lost his lands. During these periods, as small-scale wars frequently occurred throughout Japan, the daimyo needed to augment their armies, so ronin had opportunities to serve new masters. Also, some ronin joined in bands, engaging in robbery and uprisings.

Among the most famous ronin are Miyamoto Musashi, the famed swordsman, and the Forty-seven Ronin.