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161
Marcus Aurelius (121-180)
Was both a Roman Emperor (161-180) and Phiosopher. He is ranked highly in both areas. He was known to be the last of the "five good emperors" this was and era in which "the Roman Empire was governed by absolute power, under the guidance of wisdom and virtue." - Edward Gibbon. Although much of his reign was taken up with wars, Marcus Aurelius also initiated legal reform on behalf of slaves, minors, and widows. -
221
221 b.c. marks the end of the warring states period and the unification of China
The kingdom of Qin (chin) defeated all its competitior kingdoms and unified the empire marking the end of the Warring States period. -
Oct 27, 1200
Origin of Romance in Europe
born a knight in Austria about 1200, Ulrich von Liechtenstein wrote and autbiography of his life. He realized that true love had to be full of obstacles and frustrations in order to be spiritually ennobling. At the age of 12 Ulrich had chosen the love of his life a princess. By 17 he had become a knight and competed in tournaments wearing the lady's colors. For decades Ulrich went to great lenghts to woo his lady and never had success until he campaigned a crusade by then the princess called -
Oct 31, 1200
Origin of Romance in Europe (cont.)
campaigned a crusade in her name. the princess called off the crusade and finally gave in to his desire and allowed him one night with her. The love she offered probably consisted of fondling and kissing but probably not sex. that was the point. His real reward was in the suffering and yearning, after all Ulrich was indeed married with children. The love of the princess should make Ulrich so much more noble and esteemed in his wifes eyes. -
Oct 27, 1217
The epic of Sundiata
Sundiata Keita (1217-1255) founded the Mali Empire. In a culture said to have no system of written notation, stories were told by people know as griots. Sundiata's story is of his father Maghan Konfara and tells of his conversion to Islam and has known to become on of the great epics of West Africa. -
Oct 11, 1276
The strength of the Mongolian Empire
A mounted army created by a nomadic tribe of herders from the grasslands of central Asia. Led by Genghis Khan (born-died) After the conquest of the Song dynasty of China in 1276 the Mongolian Empire conqured 1/3 of the worlds's population whoich was roughly 100,000,000 people at the time -
Oct 24, 1346
The Black Death
As early as 1346, travelers reported millions killed in
China, Central Asia, and the Middle East. In Europe and Egypt, approximately a third of the population perished. This pandemic plague is sometimes called the Black Death, after the discolored wounds it caused. -
Oct 21, 1492
colombus leads first voyage to north america
though not the first european voyager to reach the americas (Leif Ericson) his voyages led to the first lasting european contact with america -
The British East India Trading co.
Founded by Queen Elizabeth I. Originally intended for spice trade in silk, indigo, saltpeter, and tea among other things. In 1670 the company was granted permission to acquire territory, mint its own currency and have war amongst other things with an army of 70,000 strong. It became the first multinational corporation. It is said that by use of The East India Trading Company Britain found India rich and left it poor. -
Discovery of Easter Island
"In just a few centuries, the people of Easter Island wiped out their forest, drove their plants and animals to extinction, and saw their complex society spiral into chaos and cannibalism"- Jared Diamond Overwhelming evidence suggests that the earliest settlers of Easter Island were typical Polynesians derived from Asia. Easter Islands most famous feature is its huge stone statues, more than 200 of which once stood, lining the coast. -
discovery of pompeii
the ancient city of pompeii is a partially buried roman town-city near modern Naples. Pompeii was buried in an eruption of the volcano mount vesuveus in the year 79 AD. it was lost for nearly 1700 years before its accidental discovery in 1749 -
Vikings, the coming of the Northmen
The king in southern Britain got news that three foreign ships had landed at Portland and, assuming them to be traders, he went to welcome them. He was wrong. They were raiders from Scandinavia and he died for his mistake. A few years later, in 793 the raiding began with the attack on the monastery of St. Cuthbert "Never before had such terror appeared in Britain..." -
Eirik's Saga, the settlement of Greenland
Eirek the Red (950-1003) as he was known, came to Iceland with his family in 960 after his father had to flee Norway because of "some killings". In turn, Eirik was exiled from Iceland in 982 after he committed murder in the heat of two quarrels. Exile meant the search for a settlement even further west, leading him to Greenland. Although not the first to see or land in Greenland, Eirik established the first colony there.