Chapter 4 Eurasion Empires

Chapter 4 is all about the different empires such as the Persian Empire, the Greeks, the Roman Empire, Chinese Empires, and the Indian Empire.

The empires that surprised me the most were the Persian and Greek Empires. These empires surprised me because they had the most unfair battle in the history of wars. This took place in 490-479 B.C.E. The thing that intrigued me the most was the fact that the Greeks only fought with 300 men and the Persians with thousands or warriors. The Greeks were left with 300 men after all the rest retreated, and the Persians had a full army. Surprisingly, the Greek did a GREAT job holding off the Persian army, and were close to victory until their secret strategy was given away. It was a great success for the Greeks, and they fought till the very end, knowing that they would die, yet the battle continued until every single man was dead.

In my point of view, I thought it was the bravest thing to do on behalf of the Greeks. Although they knew they were going to lose, they still fought with heart, passion, intensity, and determination to get as far possible as they can. Personally, I don't think I would ever be able to do what these men did. They were committed and died for their leader Leonidas. Setting up yourself for failure is one thing, and dying for with 300 people is another thing. I think that it is amazing on both sides for the battle that they put up. The constant fight and commitment that each side had was commendable. The series of wars went on for years at a time, all different battles, and all of the same intensity as the rest. It takes real heart to do what the Greeks did, with that, no other army in our history, has pulled a stunt like that, and been successful with it.

Overall, the sacrifice with all the battles of the Greco-Persian wars was huge. Unfortunately, fighting was the only option for these two empires, but the battles will always be remembered through out the centuries to come. It shows us a great example of how warriors are supposed to fight and what you need to have what it takes to complete such stunts.

Chapter 3 First Civilizations Cities, States, and Unequal Societies

I find it very interesting how even the first civilizations had hierarchies of class. Hierarchies of class have played a huge roll in society not only back then but now as well. The social classes enjoyed everything from wealth in land or salaries, avoided physical labor, had the finest of everything, and occupied the top positions in political, military, and religious life. They were seen differently by clothing they owned, houses they lived in, and which types of burial they had. Some of the classes were artisans of all kinds, lower-level officials, soldiers and police, servants, and mostly farmers.

These ideas of classes and hierarchies have evolved over time, some places more than others. For example, a particular place that still emphasizes hierarchies is India. Its one of the strongest places there are when it comes to social classes. The peasants marry the peasants and the rich upper class marries the rich upper class. It happens even in my own home. My parents are always telling me who to marry, in which caste they are, or a particular religion. In the caste system, name and rank is all that matters to them, but in my point of view I think its unfair and ridiculous.

 In my opinion, I think the idea about hierarchies of class is ignorant. I believe that everyone no matter if you are born in a peasant family or a rich family, should be treated equally. I think that they deserves the same opportunities as anyone else along with the same treatment as anyone else. Being put into categories based on your last name, religion, or class does no justice to anyone. It only creates a sense of hate, distrust, and tension among all the people in their nation. In order to have a unified country, you need to have everyone be on the same level. You cant single people out because that does not bring about the best in people. Even today in our nation, people who are rich think they are better than the middle class, and football players think they are better than nerd, and hollywood actors think they are better than fans. All these categories that we have created as a nation is wrong. It does not help,  but divides people. If we can let go of categorizing people, we could some day become one as a nation, rather than a numerous amount of groups.