The persian wars are often considered to have been crucial to the course of Western history.Why? They were also crucial for the development of Athens. How did the persian War affect Athens in decades that followed?
Persian wars were considered to be crucial in western history because they brought change, in that, a peace treaty was signed. It was agreed that Persians should withdraw from Herat, apologize to British, sign a commercial treaty and slave trade in the Persian Gulf was suppressed. British decided not to replace prime minister to the Imam of Muscat. Opponents of the Shah were not sheltered in the embassy. British troop returned to India where they were useful in dealing with Indian Mutiny. Afghanistan took control of Herat in 1863. In decades that followed, Persian war affected development of Athens in that people were appointed to rule the states, citizens to serve in the Persian army. Athens was punished for the role it played in destruction of Sardis. This brought the end of Athenian involvement in Ionian revolt. Greeks enmity led to the Peloponnesian War between Sparta and Athens.
Did Julius Caesar embrody a conscious attempt to overthrow the roman republic or did his acctions merely represent the logical continuation of a trend begun earlier in the Roman Revolution?
Julius Caesar applied a conscious attempt to overthrow the Roman Republic. He did not follow his contemporaries though he was the first one to do this. To influence voting in assemblies, he used gangs. Associating with the prosecution of Catilinarian Conspiracy increased his reputation. With his tender age, he was ambitious despite limited resources. A lot of money was used in buying influence, giving public games that helped them to forget what had happened earlier. Apart from being popular, he discovered that he was broke. The time he was joining military career he was deeply in debt. After he was given command of the forces in Gaul, he entered knowing that action plan is vital to reduce the debts. In his opinion, he believed that people can be easily influenced if they are motivated by rewards and this will help in gaining control over them.
How do you account for the fact that people in northern Europe seemed to be more concerned about daily devotion and the state of their relationship to god than those in the south? What were the political, intellectual, and artistic concerns of the italian renaissance?
People in the northern Europe seemed to be more concerned about their daily devotion and the state of their relationship to god than those in the south because pope was relocated to Avignon under pressure from King Philip the Fair. The south was dominated by Arabs and Normans who were ancient ruins. In the south, there was little law and order and the states were loosely administered. The north was more prosperous than the south and the crusades had built lasting trade links to the northern Europe. The main trade routes from the east passed through north and this enhanced spread of gospel in northern Europe. The political concern of Italian Renaissance was that it affected only a small part of the northern Italy this is because three quarters were rural peasants. Educated and literate group participated in Renaissance though majorities were semi-skilled workers and the unemployed. Guild members also had significant effect in Renaissance as well as large class of artisans though in Europe the artisans were in the lower class. Apart from all this inequality was very high.
In the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries, the monarchs of western europe were able to create vastly more powerful and centralized administrations, while those of central and eastern europe were not. How do you account for this difference?
Monarchs of Western Europe were able to create vastly more powerful and centralized administrations than those of central and Eastern Europe simply because it has abundance of navigable rivers, coastlines, and harbors which foster the revival of trade and the rise of towns, a money economy and a class which strongly opposed the feudal structure. The middle class provided money and valuable allies so that they could form professional bureaucracies with staff who were both efficient and loyal. They were also able to raise armies to limit the noble powers. Strong middle class provide the impetus for development in the Western especially the emergency of industrial revolution and democracy.
References
Arnaldo, M. (1994).The Roman Revolution. New York, University of California Press.
Baron, H. (2001). The Crisis of the Early Italian Renaissance. Princeton, Princeton University Press.
Jeroen, D. (2006). Mystifying the Monarch. New York, Amsterdam University Press.
Ronald, S. (2002). The Roman Revolution. London, Oxford University Press.