Roman Empire Essay Example for Free

Roman Empire Essay Between 100 CE and 600 CE, the Roman empire underwent a change politically as the empire collapsed due to chaos inside it’s empire. Culturally, influence of Christianity grew. The Eastern Roman empire, Byzantines, proved to keep a continuity of the empire. The most dramatic change that the Roman Empire had was its collapse in the late classical period. Han China and Gupta India, also struggled with a collapse in their own empires at the same time. In the year 100 CE, the Mediterranean, and majority of Europe, was in the middle of the Pax Romana. In 180 CE, Rome’s decline was viewed as a decline because of a faulty leadership and outside invasions, this was due to, lack of strong leadership. This caused Rome’s collapse to speed up. Other factors blocked it’s ability to prosper, but without effective leadership, they could not grow as an empire. As the size of the Roman Empire and its trading grew, taxes on the peasants became more difficult to overcome for the lower class. Free peasants usually fled the intimidating taxes by selling their land and becoming workers for other things. From this it led to Germanic soldiers guarding the frontiers of the empire. This caused the final injury to the empire. Germanics spread plagues which lead to population decreasing. In 476, Rome was attacked, and the Roman Empire was ended. The downfall of this is due to, in 100CE Rome had started to fall and by 476CE fell because of plagues and political changes . Another important change to the Roman Empire during the late classical period was the growing of Christianity. The spreading of religion in the Roman Empire was similar to the spread of Buddhism in China while the Han dynasty was falling. In 100 CE,many Romans still stayed in their original religion , even though these years are after the death of Jesus. Christianity attracted poor Romans because of its teachings of class not determining your fate. This led to, Emperor Constantine converting to Christianity. From this one can infer that Christianity then spread more easily. Christianity grew to be very common. After Rome fell, the organization of the Christian church usually provided help for people in a time of political problems. This led to Christianity gaining more converters.

Comparing Tolstoy’s novel, The Death of Ivan Ilyich and the Russian Sta

Comparing Tolstoy’s novel, The Death of Ivan Ilyich and the Russian State In Leo Tolstoy’s novel The Death of Ivan Ilyich, the title character’s life changes in several important ways during the course of the story. First, his relationships with the people in his life change. Secondly, he engages in different â€Å"forms of diversion† as his life goes through different stages. Thirdly, his attitude towards wealth and possessions changes near the end of his life. In addition, we also see a gradual realization and acceptance of death. One could draw interesting parallels between the progression of Ivan Ilyich’s character and the Russian state and leadership in the latter part of the Imperial period. The changes in Ivan’s relationships with other people are seen best with his friends and family. Through most of the story, we see that he chooses friends based on social standing. He even applies this to his family, as illustrated near the beginning. His younger brother, having only obtained an appointment in the Railway Division, is labeled a failure by his family and avoided at all costs. Ivan Ilyich’s relationship with his wife is also of particular interest. He seems fairly happy while a newlywed, but becomes quite annoyed with his wife for creating â€Å"distasteful and ill-mannered scenes† (Tolstoy 56; ch. 2) around the time of her pregnancy. At first he tries to ignore her by carrying on with his former social life, but eventually finds that his work is the only excuse that can get him away from her. He goes on avoiding his wife with varying success until the onset of his illness, being confined more and more to his home. During this last st age of his life, he purposely starts arguments with his family, ... ...was unable to control it any longer. The Duma which he had created instantiated a new provisional government and Nicholas finally abdicated the throne. As has been demonstrated, character changes in Tolstoy’s The Death of Ivan Ilyich find parallels in Russian power specifically through its rulers’ foreign and domestic policies. Though never expressly implied, one can assume that the author, having been quite politically involved, considered such things while writing his novella. We must not put biting social and political satire past a man who, among other things, was involved in the mass emigration of oppressed Russian Jews to the United States and Canada (Riasanovsky 397). Works Cited Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. A History of Russia. 6th ed. New York: Oxford, 2000. Tolstoy, Leo. The Death of Ivan Ilyich. Bantam Classic ed. New York: Bantam, 1981.

Rizal and the World at the Time

Jose Mercado â€Å"Rizal† lived in a time that had quite the background. Globally, slaves were getting freed, powers were rising, powers were declining. Locally, it was more oppression and religious brainwashing than progression. How could these events influence Rizal? Of course, being an individual of high intellect, how could he not? You have to imagine what Rizal could see and learn around him at that time. He was one of the few who were that of a well-to-do family.This meant that he could attend school and receive education. He read books when he wanted, he learned history and philosophy, and many others that when combined with a brilliant mind, could see things more objectively without being clouded by passion. If he could take an objective stand on situations and yet as reflected in his works, be passionate about them, then that means that his passion is backed up by something objective. The whole world was entering a time that respected the rights of the human being.Sla ves were being freed and because of this, a lot of human rights laws were being made. At the same time, the world’s powers were expanding and decreasing at the same time. Locally, news of oppression spread. These things give you a good idea why Rizal took his stand against the rebellion as he did. The oppression around him was definitely not acceptable in the eyes of Rizal because human rights were being spread around the world by the intellectuals of North America and backed up by the actions of Russia.But Rizal knew that the Philippines definitely cannot hold itself as a country yet. He’s a smart guy and with that he probably looked up the history of war and what was needed to have strength as a country. If one were to look at the circumstances of the country with just the country in your sights, you would have taken the route of a Katipunero and decided to wage war against the oppressors. Rizal didn’t. Why?This is because he had the circumstances of the whole world to back up his ideals. He was influenced by the events globally and not just locally. He was an intellectual who was influenced by the works during and before his time. He thought of the welfare of the country in the long run and not just the shortest way out. It’s too bad he had to die as he did. He definitely would have come up with a revolution that would have put the Philippines in a better state than it is now.

What Are the Causes of Colored Snow

You may have heard that snow can be found in other colors besides white. Its true! Red snow, green snow, and brown snow are relatively common. Really, snow can occur in just about any color. Heres a look at some common causes of colored snow. Watermelon Snow or Snow Algae The most common cause of colored snow is the growth of algae. One type of algae, Chlamydomonas nivalis, is associated with a red or green snow that may be called watermelon snow. Watermelon snow is common in the alpine regions worldwide, in the polar regions or at altitudes of 10,000 to 12,000 feet (3,000–3,600 m). This snow may be green or red and has a sweet scent reminiscent of a watermelon. The cold-thriving algae contains photosynthetic chlorophyll, which is green, but also has a secondary red carotenoid pigment, astaxanthin, which protects the algae from ultraviolet light and absorbs energy to melt snow and provide the algae with liquid water. Other Colors of Algae Snow In addition to green and red, algae may color snow blue, yellow, or brown. Snow that has been colored by algae acquires its color after it has fallen. Red, Orange and Brown Snow While watermelon snow and other algae snow falls white and becomes colored as the algae grows on it, you may see snow that falls red, orange or brown due the the presence of dust, sand, or pollutants in the air. One famous example of this is the orange and yellow snow that fell over Siberia in 2007. Gray and Black Snow Gray or black snow can result from precipitation through soot or petroleum-based contaminants. The snow may be oily and smelly. This type of snow tends to be seen early in the snowfall of a heavily polluted area or one which has experienced a recent spill or accident. Any chemical in the air may become incorporated into snow, causing it to become colored. Yellow Snow If you see yellow snow, chances are it is caused by urine. Other causes of yellow snow could be leaching of plant pigments (e.g., from fallen leaves) up into the snow or the growth of yellow-colored algae. Blue Snow Snow usually appears white because each snowflake has many light-reflective surfaces. However, snow is made from water. Large amounts of frozen water really are pale blue, so a lot of snow, particularly in a shadowed location, will show this blue color.