Monday, March 31, 2014

Bernhard Knipperdolling


          Bernhard Knipperdolling was born in 1495. He became the leader of Anabaptists in the city Münster of Westphalia, Germany. He may have been a very successful clothing merchant; however, he wasn't widely known until the year 1527. After an Anabaptist movement, the bishop and city council lost their influence and pushed Bernhard Knipperdolling to the place as mayor. Through this, he met and became a loyal supporter of Jan van Leyden, who later married Knipperdolling's daughter. Jan van Leyden eventually appointed 12 elders, who took over the government. Knipperdolling lost place as mayor, but carried on his loyalty towards Leyden. While being loyal, he also attempted to establish a sectarian government. He objected to violence, not wanting bloodshed to invite outside groups. Only the opposition would be expelled, and any ungodly people must be re-baptized. Knipperdolling trained his people to defend themselves, but when the time came, they couldn't do it. He was most known for the position he took within leading the rebellion. The rebellion didn't end well, resulting in Knipperdolling and Leyden being publicly tortured on January 22, 1536.
 
 
Krahn, Cornelius. "Knipperdolling, Bernt (ca. 1490-1536)." Global Anabaptist Mennonite Encyclopedia Online. 1957. Web. 21 Jan 2014. http://gameo.org/index.php?title=Knipperdolling,_Bernt_(ca._1490-1536)&oldid=105597.

Tuesday, March 25, 2014

Historical Significance of the Early Renaissance


(Above) da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, architect, inventor, and mathematician.


 

Medici is a wealthy family that took control of the Florentine Government.




Gutenberg was a german goldsmith that invented the Gutenberg press, along with the Gutenberg bible. 




Brunelleschi: An architect inspired by Rome buildings; designed the church of San Lorenzo.





Alessandro di Mariano di Vanni Filipepi, better known as Sandro Botticelli, was an Italian painter of the Early Renaissance. 




Michelangelo was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, poet, and engineer. 




(The symbol of Lutheranism shown above) Lutheranism is a religious belief founded by Martin Luther in Europe.



Martin Luther was a German Monk, Catholic priest, professor of theology and a seminal figure of a Christianity movement.



Desiderius Erasmus was a Dutch Renaissance humanist, Catholic priest, social critic, teacher and theologian. He was also a classical scholar who wrote in a style of pure Latin.




The society of Jesus was a Congregation of the Catholic Church for male Christians. The members themselves were known as Jesuits.


 

Huldrych Zwingli was a leader of the Reformation in Switzerland.



(Above shows Anabaptism) Anabaptism is a Christian Theological tradition developed during the reformation in the sixteenth century.


  

Jan Hus (AKA John Hus) was a Czech priest, philosopher, reformer, and master at Charles University in Prague.



William Tyndale was an English scholar who is well known for translating the New Testament in the Bible into English language.




The Münster Rebellion was an attempt by radical Anabaptists to establish a communal sectarian government in the German city of Münster.


Wednesday, March 5, 2014

Sacrifice by the Aztecs



  • Who practiced sacrifice? The Aztec people believed that by showing many different types sacrifice, they could please the Gods. Some of the sacrifices they practiced started from other groups of people, but was taken by the Aztec people to new levels. 
  • What sacrifice did they do? The Aztecs sacrificed animals as gifts for the Gods, along with people. During battle, they would capture the warriors, wound them, and take them back to their temple. Here, they would take care of them, giving them beautiful women, great food, and clean them up. In the end, it was to get them ready for sacrifice. Many people were sacrificed during the Aztecs time, an estimate of 20,000 a year. 
  • When did they commit sacrifices? The Aztecs would perform sacrifices whenever they believed that the Gods needed  nourishment. Along with that, they would capture warriors and gods from other tribes to sacrifice because that was just part of their religion. 
  • Where did sacrifices take place? They committed rituals on special temples created for sacred events, such as sacrifices. Some temples were found in Tenochtitlán, Mexico. 
  • Why did they go through killing their resources and people just for sacrifice? Sacrifice of any form was to "fuel the Gods." They wanted the Gods to be happy with them, so that good forms of events and luck would come to stay with their people. 
  • How did they practice this? The Aztec people would get a prisoner, or someone they thought was worthy enough to please the gods, and hold them on a table. From there, they would cut them open (sometimes found to be from throat to stomach) and take out their heart. Holding it up to the sun as it was still beating was how they gave it to the Gods. 



Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Rise of the Mongols


Check to make sure your three images are relevant and specifically referenced/explained within the coinciding paragraph.
Carefully reread (aloud) your three paragraphs to check for the following and edit for improvement as needed:
  • All word usage makes sense.
  • All spelling is correct.
  • Punctuation is present where needed and used correctly
  • Each paragraph contains a minimum of five complete sentence.
  • Each paragraph includes a topic sentence relevant to Mongol geography, leadership, and/or technology
  • Each paragraph includes a relevant concluding sentence that recaps points made, asks new questions, or makes connections to the next paragraph.


Geography (How did Steppe culture, resources, and subsistence strategies help the Mongols conquer? How did the Mongol nomadic lifestyle differ from agricultural people they conquered? What new places and peoples did they conquer, and when and how did this happen? Why were they able to conquer their empire, and/or why didn't they get farther? How did Steppe culture influence leadership or technology used by Mongols?)

Leadership (Who were important individual Mongol khans and generals, and what did they do? How did they lead and maintain order and loyalty? What inspired the Mongol conquests? Why did people follow the Khans? What tactics or strategies did the Mongols use? How did they use their weapons and special abilities effectively? What specific examples of strong leadership can you cite?)

Technology (What transportation, weapons, armor, siege technology, etc. were used by the Mongols to conquer their empire? How did Mongol technology differ from their enemies? How was Mongol technology combined with strategy and tactics?)

          The Mongols were a nomadic tribe, living within the Steppe. The land may have been thought to be very helpful to them because of how vast it was; however, it was very rugged with deserts and mountains all around its border. The land was not fertile enough for good planting, which put animals as their main source. Meat, milk, and blood kept them alive. Growing up in a harsh place allowed them to grow accustomed to bad climates, and become fierce, resilient warriors. Looking at the agricultural people they conquered, the Mongols had an advantage over them. Agricultural people planted food to survive, along with living in one place. Growing up in an environment with no harsh experiences, they didn't have a high chance of survival in the first place against the Mongols. Throughout their journey, the Mongols used the environment to their advantage. Many different tribes came into contact with the Mongols (because the Mongols always moved around) and the end result was never good for the opponent group. Many places were conquered by the Mongolian warriors. The first place was in 1209 against the Tanguts, who had a chinese style dynasty called the Xia. The reason for this dispute was trade on the silk road. The second conquer was also a dispute between trade against the Jin dynasty in 1215. Many more conquests happened between the Mongols and Russia, Hungary, Poland, and more. Their tactics and training always led them to a victory. When Genghis Khan got sick (might have been natural causes) and passed away, his son Ögödei was chosen to take his place to accomplish the task of conquering the world. In the end, the environment they lived in and the lifestyle they obtained allowed them to go far in the conquest world.  



      Important Mongol Khans are Genghis Khan (Temujin), Ögödei, and Jamuca. Genghis Kahn was born with the sign that he would grown up to rule as a Khan; the sign being a blood clot in the palm of his hand. Throughout his childhood, he endured many forms of pain. His father was poisoned by an enemy tribe, and from that point, he was sure to get them back. Jamuca was Genghis's blood brother. They made an oath to always be friends by cutting their hands to allow blood to come out, then shake hands to combine. They didn't know it at the time, but they would eventually split up due to the title of Khan. An important general, which happened to be Genghis Kahn's, was named Subotai. Subotai helped Genghis Kahn expand their land and defeat different tribes.
 

       Technology the Mongols had included animals, arrows, saddles, and silk. Mongolian people used animals as transportation, food, and protection; horses being their main source. They believed in horses immensely. Horses provided them with a way to get to many different places in a short time, and allowed attacking other tribes easier due to their speed and agility. If they were on a long trip, little slits would be cut on one of the horses veins to provide them with blood to drink. Then they would sew it back up, or put something on it to prevent infection and continuous bleeding. In war tactics, horses and oxen were used to weaken the enemy's army before the actual battle began. At the young age of 3, horsemanship and training with the bow and arrow began. With this practice, they would eventually be excellent calvary men and succeed in shooting arrows from horseback. The bow they developed was made from sinew and horn, making it eligible to shoot over 350 yards. Attacking on horseback was hard enough on their enemies, and adding the skill of shooting arrows gave the Mongols an immediate advantage against the foot soldiers. Many of their conquering benefitted from them having these advantages. Another item in their technology was the saddle they used. It held a saddle bag that they filled with food they had, and the stirrups allowed the Mongol warrior to stand up, turn around in many different ways, and provided a way to become more fierce. However, that didn't always stop them from getting hit by an enemy. The Mongols began to wear silk underneath their armor, which allowed them to pull out the bow more easily, stopping it before it gets too severe. Many Mongol soldiers survived due to this technique. Overall, the technology the Mongols possessed along with the techniques they used brought them higher above all their enemies.