My overall impression of the class

My overall impressions of the class was that this year was my favorite year being in your class Mr. Lockwood. I have learned so much in your class, though it may seem I haven't, I really have. I definitely understood a lot more this year then some of the past years. All the different civilizations and ways of life we learned about really kept me very interested. I really appreciated how you went through all the chapters with us and also how once in a while you had given us what was going to be on the quiz.

History class this year, I think really was beneficial to me cause everything we learned made sense and I learned so much. The topics were very interesting and I think the overall outcome of this year was for the most part very organized and educational. I liked how we read the book together and how we had discussions about it. Also how we watched movies to give us even more information on the subject was also very helpful too. Some of my favorite movies were about the gladiators and Pompeii. Both kept me really interested and I really enjoyed watching them.

Something I think that could be improved or fixed was the quiz and test dates. They were set for a certain date but then when that day, we didn't end up taking it. It was kinda frustrating studying for the quizzes and tests and then not taking it that same day and having to restudy it again. Other than this everything went smoothly. I found that towards the middle of the year that my quiz and tests scores were a lot better when you told us what was gonna be on it. From you doing this I now feel like I know what to expect on the quizzes and tests.

As for the blogs I think these were very helpful as well, they gave us another source to the topic we were on. Concerning the blogs I would say that maybe we could have them every other week instead of each week. But I do prefer doing these over a huge report every semester. I also think that maybe if we couldn't have them every other week, then perhaps they could be due on Sunday at like 2:00 pm. But other then that I have enjoyed doing the blogs.

This year was overall very productive and educational. I'm definitely looking forward to next year and In hope it is just as good. I would say my overall impression of this class was that it was an awesome year. I'm looking forward to another great year being in your class. The material we learned this year wasn't just history to me, I really enjoyed learning about it.

Islam and Christianity

Islam and Christianity both are considered monotheistic religions because both believe in one God. Both Islam and Christianity recognize that there God as the Creator of the world. Another similarity is that God is omnipotent and immanent within His creation yet he is transcendent. Christianity and Islam believe in many of the same things, but they do have differences within each one. The main difference between Islam and Christianity is that Muhammad isn't considered divine but Jesus is. Within Islam, Jesus is considered a prophet but not the son of God. They believe that Muhammad was the last prophet or messenger of God. Another main difference is that Muslims see no separation between their religion and political authority but Christianity sees this situation completely different. (Discussion/Movie notes)

Christianity believes that there is only one true God and that people are to worship him only. This is the same within Islam. It is said that both believe that Jesus died on the cross but that the Muslims don't believe he rose from the dead. Within that situation, the people of Islam believed that Allah tricked them and put another man in his place. Christians believe in the Bible and the Muslims believe in the Koran. Christianity believes that God gave and presented his word in the Bible. Islam however, believes that Allah has given his eternal, uncreated Koran or Quran to the Muslim people.

Christianity and Islam both, believe that Satan exists, as well as evil spirits and that they are known as enemies to mankind. Another main difference is that Islam does not believe in the trinity but Christianity does. The Islamic people believe Jesus and Muhammad both were a Prophet and a servant of God but that Muhammad was the last Prophet sent by God to guide the people. Prayer was one of the most important things to Christians and Muslims. They believe prayer is a way of communicating with God and how God hears our prayers and sometimes grants what we ask of him. Something I found quite interesting was that not only does Christianity believe in faith without works is dead but so does Islam. My question is how could two religions who believe in the same God, have totally different ways of life? The majority of rituals and beliefs within each religion are quite different from each other. The main theological differences between Christianity and Islam were that both had different beliefs within the religion, different views of God, and different views of Creation. (bookrags)

The people of Islam believe that when we die we will go to barzakh, an interim afterlife, where we will wait until Judgment Day. But Christians believe that when we die, we are immediately judged and sent to Heaven or Hell, this is based on whether we excepted Christ or not. As I already had said, that Christians believe in the trinity, the Muslims believe in indivisible. It is mandatory for Muslims to face Mecca and prayer five times every day but as for Christians we have no such obligation of this.

From doing this blog I have learned that there is far more similarties between Islam and Christianity but at the same time there are many differences. Though there are a few similarities between Islam and Christianity, Muslims do not believe in that Jesus was the son of God, though they believe him to have been a prophet, they are missing the main purpose of who he is. F Muslims do not hold to any assurance of salvation and therefore they do not feel that it is necessary for Jesus to pay for their sins. Instead Muslims believe that every man must pay for his or her own sins; and that for Jesus to be punished for our sins would be unjust. Christians however, believe that man had no ability to pay for his sins alone because without God's grace we cannot be saved.
Movie/ Discussion notes
Bookrags: online book:http://www.bookrags.com/essay-2004/5/11/18575/1149

The Muslim conquest of Byzantium

Byzantium is the name for both the state and the culture of the Eastern Roman Empire during the middle ages. The Byzantium Empire's capital city was Constantinople. The Byzantine civilization did once constitute a major world culture. Constantinople, had been founded as the capital of Rome by the Emperor Constantine.

Almost all of Byzantine energy would be focused on Islam during the next few centuries to come. The Muslims very quickly conquered Byzantine territory in Syria and Egypt mainly because of disaffected populations of Christians and Jews who had been persecuted for such a long time. They easily conquered all the Persian territories, but they could never all together conquer the heart of Byzantium itself. In 670, the Muslims attempted this conquest with a huge fleet, but failed. Then in 717, they tried again with a land and sea operation against the city.

By the end of Muhammad's time, the Muslims were raiding into Byzantine territory in Syria and were beginning to conquer the Persian territories. The first conquests took place under the caliph Abu Bakr. The very first conquest took place in 633-634. The general Yazid defeated the Byzantine commander Sergios at Gaza and from here on the Muslims took over places within the Byzantine Empire. It is important to know that when we speak about the fall of the Byzantine Empire, that we understand that the western side fell not the eastern. The 2nd great civilization was that of the rise of Islam and the Islamic civilization which was religious and had developed from the teachings of the prophet Muhammad. The Muslims quite quickly then moved to Egypt and defeated the Egyptians there and took it over.

The spread of Islam began to grow after the death of Muhammad in 632. The Islamic conquest of Persia led to the end of the Sassanid Empire and the later led to the decline of the Zoroastrian religion. The achievements of the Persian civilizations were not completely lost, but were absorbed basically by the new Islamic religion. Islam was a religion that spread like a wildfire through out the known world. The new growing religion began to pull in many followers who then became very dedicated to their new faith. The religion Islam spread into one of the world's greatest empires, which was the Byzantine Empire. Byzantium was known was a Roman city that was basically made up of Christians and Jews. I believe why Byzantium fell was because the Islamic religion was so powerful and the fact that the empire had already began to weaken, made it easier for any outside force to attack it. ( Movie/ Discussion notes)

Syria was conquered by Muslim forces. Jerusalem falls to invading Muslim forces. And later in Egypt, Islam also spread. This goes to show us that Islam was a very dangerous religion. Since it was such a new growing religion it catch people eye. The Muslims when they moved in to attack a different area would give the people like the Christians or jews a choice to convert or pay a tax. Many chose to just pay a tax, but as the money roled in, new problems arose. The problems were that everybody wanted their own share of the money and this led to more problems. Finally in 714, the French stopped The muslims . (Online book)

Movie/ Discussion)
Online source: http://atheism.about.com/library/FAQs/christian/blchron_xian_crusades01.htm

The two main sects of Islam

The Muslim world is divided into two main sects the: Shite and Sunni. Though both follow the same belief, they differ by two points, one is the succession to the Prophet Muhammad, and the other is religious authority in Islam after him. Most of the Muslims belong to the Sunni. The biggest difference between the two is the Caliph of each one.

The Shi'ites split with the Sunni over the issue of the successor to Muhammad. The split occurred after the assassination of the fourth caliph in 661. Shi'ites believe that the successor to Muhammad should have been Ali, his son in law. They believe that they alone are right in their understanding of Islam. They call themselves al-Muminun, or the "true believers."They do not believe in the six correct books but instead have five of their own. Shiites are huge in Iran, where they have deposed the Shah and installed the Ayatollah Khomeini. They have also enforced Islamic law as the rule of the government.

The Islamic religion has many sects and branches. But the largest one is the Sunni. The Sunnis Muslims believe that after Muhammad's death when the confusion ensued from not having a person to head the community, led to the election of Abu Bakr, the Prophet's father-in-law, who became the first Caliph. The Sunni and Shiites did slit but even within the Sunni there is problems. There are some liberal and more secular movements in Sunni Islam that say that Shari'a is interpreted on a basis. They reject any religious edict by religious Muslim authority figures. The Sunni is the dominant form of Islam, captivating over 90% of Muslims worldwide then and today. The Sunni and Shi’a both believe in the oneness of God, the revelations of Mohammad, and resurrection of the day or judgment. But other then that, they totally believe in opposite ways of life. Shi’a believe the leadership of Islam must come from descendants of Mohammad, and grant their spiritual leaders,more power than Sunni sects.

The difference between those both sects is that within Islam initially stemmed not from spiritual differences, but political ones. The word Sunni comes from a Arabic word meaning "one who follows the traditions of the Prophet." The Sunni Muslims focus a lot on the Prophet Muhammad and the Shiites focus less on the Prophet. The word "Shia" in Arabic means a group or supportive party of people. I think that if both sects hadn't split then we may have not been here today. The Sunni Islam is also referred as Sunnism. They represent the branch of Islam that accepted the caliphate of Abu Bakr due to him being chosen by Shurah. Shurah is the first distinguishing factor of Sunni Islam. (Bookrags)

Muhammad died in 632, then Abu Bakr, who was a close companion of the Prophet, became his successor, or caliph. Muslims agree that the most able of the Prophet's followers should be his caliphs. Their followers would come to be known as the orthodox branch of Islam or later on the Sunnis. Sunnis accept the first four Caliphs, which included Ali, who were the rightful followers of Muhammad. But the Shiites believe imams are descendants of the Prophet. This is another way each sect differs from each other. (Source)
Online book: Bookrags: http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Sunni_Islam
Online book/ source:http://middleeast.about.com/od/religionsectarianism/a/me070907sunnis.htm

The 5 pillars of Islam

There are over a billion people who believe in Islam. One out of every five people believe in it. The whole Islamic religion focuses on on the Kabba in Mecca. Mecca is the birth place of Islam. The five pillars of the Islamic religion are the Shahadah, Salah, Zakah, Sawm, and the Hajj. The five pillars of Islam are formal acts of worship to the god Allah. The Muslims don't believe that Jesus was the last prophet, they believe Muhammad was. These five pillars are exercises of the faith. ( Islam

The first pillar of Islam is Shahadah which means the declaration of faith that there is one god and that Muhammad was the last messenger of the god Allah. It is the Muslim faith in there one and only god Allah. The Shahadah says in Arabic, "La ilaha ill'Allah, Muhammad rasul Allah", which means that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger. The first pillar is the worship of Allah alone.

The second pillar of Islam is Salah. This pillar required a true Muslim to pray five times a day facing Mecca. The person bows, kneels, and then places his or her head on the ground. Before they begin to pray one must purify there body with water or sand. The prayer usually starts like this, "Praise be to God, Lord of the Universe!, The compassionate, the Merciful, King of the Day of Judgment!. You alone we worship, and to you alone we turn for help. Guide us to the straight path, The path of those whom You have favored, Not of those who have incurred Your wrath, Nor of those who have gone astray".

The third pillar of Islam is Zakah which was that a Muslim was to give to the poor and give regularly to charity. One of the most important principles of Islam is that all things belong to God. The word zakat means "purification." This pillar says that you must give a average amount of money to those who are poor and to charity. Though if someone could not give money, it was considered okay. Zakah helped keep money flowing within the society.

The fourth pillar of Islam was Sawm or fasting. Every year in the month of Ramada-n, all Muslims fast from dawn until sundown, fasting from food, drink, and sexual relations with people. If those who were sick, on a journey, elderly or women who were pregnant were permitted to break the fast and make up the number of days later in the year when they were healthy or able. This fasting time was not only for purification but it was also there health.

The fifth pillar was the Hajj which was the pilgrimage to Mecca or in other words the trip to Mecca. To go to Mecca you must be a Muslim, for it was the holy time to worship Allah. Usually Muslims who traveled to Mecca went in a group of people. Muslims have been going to Mecca for many years now and each one is required to go there at least on or twice in his or her lifetime. The journey made to Mecca is mandatory for all who are able to go. Without going to Mecca, Muslims do not fulfill all the five pillars.

Movie notes: Islam people, culture, and conflict
Online book: http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Hajj

How Rome fell and Gibbons explanations

There were many reasons to why the Roman empire fell. The most common one that is known is that the fall of Rome was because of Christianity. The reason why so many blame Christianity as the fall of Rome is because the religion caused the Roman citizens to become Pacifists which made it more difficult to defend the empire against attacks. Crime started to break out in the streets, especially violence which made the bigger cities in Rome unsafe which weakened the empire. Another reason why Rome fell was their public health. The Colosseum was a place where entertainment and games were held but from the blood and death, disease spread. Those that lived on the streets were more vulnerable to get the disease because of the widespread of diseases that swept through the streets. Another reason that caused Rome to fall was the difficulty of choosing another emperor. During a 100 year period, Rome had about 37 emperors and 25 of them were removed by assassination. This caused the overall weakness of the empire.

It didn't take the Goths and Germans very long to realize that Rome was becoming weak. They also realized that he new emperors were weak and so they knew then was the time to attack. Many Roman generals saw this and began to revolt. The Visigoths marched into Rome and took over the city. They sacked the city and took what they wanted. Anyone who crossed them, they killed. The results of this made the Romans wonder how could this happen to us and they began to wonder if the gods were angry with them. The Visigoths didn't stay in Rome for very long instead they moved on toward Italy.

The late economic collapse resulted in hyper-inflation. And from this various problems aroused from from the raising of taxation. The emperors lived luxuries lives and from this it resulted in that the government had no money. When the emperors wanted something they increased taxation. Gibbon said that the only reason why Rome fell was because of Christianity corrupting it. He said it weakened the bonds that held the Roman Empire together. But what Gibbon failed to realize was that there were many causes that weakened the empire which then led to the fall of Rome. I don't agree with Gibbon's explanation because wouldn't Christianity help the Roman society and wouldn't it benefit to it. When the empire fell, bad things came of it, the sacking of Rome, the destruction of art, the withering of great cities, the design of the system of roads, and much more. But because of the fall of Rome, it led to the abolition of slavery in Europe.

The date that most historians believe to be the day Rome fell was on September 4 476. Some historians believe that Rome could have survived if the circumstances were different. But it is said that Rome brought the decline among themselves. Edward Gibbon wrote," If a man were called upon to fix the period in the history of the world when the condition of the human race was most happy and prosperous, he would, without hesitation, name that which elapsed from the death of Domitian to the accession of Commodus." Yes this was a time where the Romans prospered and had great stability but still in the end it led to the fall of it. Rome had many reason to why it fell, so by Gibbon only giving one explanation to why it fell doesn't give us the complete look of what happened. (Bookrags)

Another reason to why Rome fell was because of the unity that was lost between the Romans. Every Roman wanted power and wanted to be remembered after they died. Half the time the Roman army would be fighting against each other to gain power rather then defending the empire. Rome came to a point when it was spending so much that they couldn't even afford it. This led to economic problems. This sounds so familiar to our society today, buying so much that we can't afford. It is said that our society today is following in the foot steps of Rome. All these things weakened the empire to the point in which it fell. The reason to why I believe Gibbon thought Christianity was the main reason to why Rome fell was because the church was spending so much of Rome's money. And he believed that it made the Romans stop caring about each other and it put Rome in a position of confusion. He thought that the money spent on the church could be used for the empire instead. (Barnett 77 & 79)

Online book: "Bookrags" http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Decline_of_the_Roman_Empire
Barnett, Mary. "Gods and Myths of the Romans": The Archaeology and Mythology of Ancient Peoples. Smithmark Publishers. New York, 1996

Thank you again Mr. Lockwood for allowing me to turn this in late. I saw you already graded it but I wasn't finished but now I am.

The purpose of Roman roads

It was often said that all roads to lead to Rome and they once did. The building of the Roman roads was one of the greatest engineering accomplishments during that time. The roads were originally built as a path for the soldiers but they also were used for the people of Rome. The ancient Roman roads were also used to transport trade since though they were excellent at sea transportation. The Roman roads were built in a straight path even over steep hills. The surface of the road was made of large slabs of hard stone, rested on a bed of smaller stones and cemented down about 3 ft thick. The Roman roads were usually hard and rough and many people usually walked or road on horses. The Romans build one of the first roads ever made.

The Roman roads was a system of highways that led to Rome with its most distant provinces. The roads were not built only once, they had to be rebuilt several times. The main purpose was for the military but they were used for many other things. The roads went in many different directions in Italy. The importance of the roads were that it brought a new way of transportation. Since the Romans loved exotic things, the roads made it an easier and faster way to travel. Cement was very important to the Romans, it provided many ways of building things, like the roads.

The engineers of Ancient Rome built a network of roads in the ancient world, that are still known today. About 50,000 miles of roads expanded the Roman Empire which spreaded its legions, culture and caused a major influence throughout the world. The more people that came to Rome caused the expansion of land, which then lead to roads being built. The Romans had one tool that made the roads easier to travel on, that was cement. The cement they laid down on the roads kept down the mud and made it possible for people to travel during the rainy season. The roads provided not only a way of trading but communication. The Romans were able to go and visit friends and family in different cities.

The Roman roads were vital to the Roman society because without them, it made it more complicated for the military to travel. The Roman roads were built in many different areas and they led to several different places within the Roman Empire. The roads were a major investment for Rome which helped built the Roman society. The first road ever built was the Via Appia, that was started by Appius Claudius Caecus in 312 BC. The Via Appia ran southwest out of Rome. The Generals were expected to provide the money to build the roads or had to use the money out of their own pockets. The heaviest traveled roads went from inland to local ports in the cities and from ports to Rome in Italy. These roads were the ones that had to be rebuilt over time because of people traveling on them so much.

The Roman roads were called long highways. And these highways were very important in maintaining the stability and expansion of the empire. Without the roads, the Roman Empire would have suffered and would have been less powerful. The Roman roads were designed to organize resistance against the Empire and the roads had about 372 links for traveling. The Roman roads were essential for the growth and survival of the Roman empire. Before their was roads people wouldn't be able to travel when it was raining because the dirt road would be muddy. But when the roads were made it made it so much easier to travel. The Roman roads brought great power to the Roman Empire. (Book rags) and (Adkins)

Adkins, Lesly and Roy A. Adkins. "Handbook to the Life in Ancient Rome." New York. 1994.
Online Book: http://www.bookrags.com/wiki/Roman_road