Attila and Attila the Hun

Learning about Rome this weekend with Mr. Dundov was pretty rad to say the least. What I liked the most is probably a bit different than everyone else though. I loved learning a little bit about Attila the Hun, because one of my favorite bands is named Attila.

Just yesterday I was at Ace of Spades to see a whole bunch of bands and in that mix of bands is one of my favorites, Attila. This weekend we learned how Attila the Hun was one of the many reasons why the Roman Empire fell. I just love that I learned this knowledge before seeing them yesterday, because it gave me an insight into the meaning behind their name. Trust me, the name of their band totally fits, because their music is very brutal.

Attila the Hun is the man who ruled the Hun Empire. He was feared all across the land, crossed the Danube twice, and took over the Balkans. Attila wasn’t defeated until TheBattle of the Catalaunian Plains.

-Jake Brazier

 Caesar and his Military: Is it to much POWER?

            In Mr. Dundov’s seminar last Saturday, I found out that the Romans believed in taking over a city and forcing the people to work with them by using propaganda and telling them that they can get anything they want. Rome first started with there own country to take over. The reason why Rome was successful to take over other cities and countries was because their military have been training at a young age and some other states would use poor and homeless people to fight for there counties freedom. When Rome took over Italy they build Colosseums to show that they took over that city or country. Rome built Colosseums in the Middle East and states around Rome. Rome also made roads in cities that they took over for they can transport goods easily and have an advantage on the other people they were fighting. The Romans’ roads were mostly made out of stone and rocks and were mostly bumping. You probably thinking, “Rome was a great place to live in?” Well, it was until 300 B.C., let’s go back in time and see what really happen.

            Back in 300 B.C., there was one person that tried to take over Rome by using elephants. This person name was Hannibal from the city of Carthage; he was the closes of defeating the Roman Empire until his elephants had no water or food and died of starvation. During that time there was other fights going on and it was against the first triumvirates. The triumvirates were Julius Caesar, Posey, and Crassus. These three friends started fighting because Posey had threaten Caesar that when he come back to Rome he will be arrested. When Caesar heard of the threat, he was laughing and thought that it was funny that his friend was going to fight him just because the power of the government was getting to his head.

            When Caesar came back to Rome in 49 B.C., Posey got scared and ran off to another city and hided there until he know that it was safe for him to come back to Rome. By Caesar coming back, Caesar made the republican government into an Empire. The republican government was first split up into two consulus (rulers); Senate (Patricians) and Tribal Assembly (Plebeians). After Caesar changing the government into Empire, he started to take over cities north of him. Until he got to a city name Alassim which was ran by Versengatrix. He was the closes one to defeat the Romans and gave Caesar the best fight of his life, but one brilliant idea Caesar used that gave him the title as the best general in the world.

            Caesar brilliant idea was that Caesar will build a wall around the city of Alassim but will only put a little walkway on the edge of the wall. When Versengatrix saw this he sends some of his troops to get help from other cities north of him. When Caesar saw this happen, Caesar built some traps and another wall around the wall that he originally built. This blocked the troops on the outside of the walls. Versengatrix citizens were getting hungry and had limited of food. So, Versengatrix put out the women and there children because he thought that the Romans was going to get them and the women and the children was eating up the food and they needed to save as much food they can to survive.

            When Versengatrix saw that Caesar wasn’t taking the women and the children, he brought them back into Alassim. 13 months later, Versengatrix gave up and Caesar became the best general in the world until the Romans stabbed him 23 times because he started to get to greedy with the power and treated the citizens bad.

            Caesar was a general that only believed in the work of his government. After a fight and a threat from his friends, Caesar started to become overpowered with the leadership he got assigned to. If Caesar would have changed the way he ran the government, he probably wouldn’t have been killed in a hurtful way. They always say that good things have to come to an end but this good thing only made Rome worse and had other cities and countries fighting against them. Do you think that Rome is better with Caesar or with the republican government? Nobody knows now and it will never be found out unless you were there to see it happen in real life. 

-Roynell Anderson

When, If Ever, Is It Okay To Stab Someone 23 Times?

         The Roman History seminar on Saturday with Mr. Dundov was a great refresher to knowledge I was already familiar with. Although most of the information was repetitive it was still a wonderful experience. Mr. Dundov was great! He was very interactive and kept all of us engaged.

          Mr. Dundov talked about many topics during the seminar but the one that caught my attention the most was the history of Julius Caesar. Julius Caesar (100-44 B.C.) spread the Roman Republic across Europe through a series of battles and conquest before declaring himself dictator for life. He is often remembered as one of the greatest military minds in history. By 44 B.C. the Roman Senate felt that Caesar possessed too much of the power in Rome and stabbed him 23 times on the floor of the Roman Senate building. The Senate assassinated Caesar because they felt that he would destroy the Roman Republic. The Senate thought that the death of Caesar would bring about the restoration of the Roman Republic but they were wrong.

Photo credit to: Orrinwoodwardblog.com

            Caesar is famously known for laying the foundation for the Roman Empire but I argue that the death of the Roman Republic came long before Caesar because Rome has a rich history of powerful and controlling generals. Why did Rome have such powerful generals? Because Rome focused primarily on conquest and military expansion which gave it the traits of being imperial, so it’s ridiculous to say that the Rome was a republic until Augustus became Rome’s first official emperor because by that time Rome had been an empire for 200 years. The idea of so much power in the hands of one man is what destroyed the Roman Republic.

            Saturday’s seminar excited me for the upcoming seminars to come and I can’t wait to immerse myself in more knowledge and information. 

               -DeRael Edwards

Roman Influence

             At the Roman seminar on Saturday I learned so many interesting things. The most interesting thing I learned was that entertainment today was influenced by Ancient Rome.
             The Colosseum is a well-known structure in Rome and was used for entertainment. Men battled vicious animals and faced death. The Colosseum had over hundreds of trap doors. These trap doors held animals, such as lions, which would pop up and end someone’s life. There was no telling when an animal would appear and how the fight would end.
             Many people came to the Colosseum to watch violence. I thought only the wealthy came but many lower class Romans came too. What was interesting about the lower class coming was their reason. The day to day life of a Roman was very stressful. They had to worry about how they would feed and provide for their family. To let out all their stress they would come to the Colosseum. Watching others suffer was their entertainment. The lower class would collect what little money they had and go to the stadium. Watching the violence and people die was their way of relaxing.
             Many of the events at the Colosseum generally resulted in death. The attraction to violent pass times and sporting events is still alive and well today. Take for instance the popular sport of boxing. This brutal and bloody sport is loved worldwide. The legendary boxing champion Muhammed Ali is still a well-known celebrity and held in high regard. The popularity of boxing seems very similar to the popularity of the fights held at the Roman Colosseum. The winners of both fights were the one who displayed the most brutality.
             Saturday’s seminar taught me that the world that we live in today was influenced by Ancient Rome.
 -Haven

Photo Credit: Google Images

Power is Persuasion

       This is my second year being apart of the Roman History Seminar with Mr. Dundov so going into the class I felt I had a pretty good understanding of what was discussed. Last year I remember I walked away feeling like I had learned some interesting things I hadn't known, as though I was walking from my World History class sophomore year, with an array of dates, names and events memorized. Nothing really stood out or made me think deeper about what I knew about Rome; just more textbook work. But this year was different in the fact that I now recognized a common theme in the building of and in some of the low points and even the fall of the empire: Power. Power in fear, information, religion, in numbers, and also the acquiring of power itself. The Roman Empire was so influential in history and lasted as long as it did because it was rich and powerful. But it also destroyed itself from the way in which power was abused and distributed.

       A key example of power in the building of Rome is found within the vastness of the Empire itself. Conquering and incorporating people of varying culture, region, language, and character allowed for an enriching wealth in numbers and resources for the empire. The fear used in offering people the comfort of waving the Roman flag and the protection of the military and government, but also a threat in denying and therefore leaving yourself privy to the inevitable annihilation, plundering, and destruction that would come to you

for not being apart of Rome. But how do you connect an empire so vastly spread across a continent and even a sea? Geographically, Rome was connected by roads and paths built for trade and moving the military from place to place, allowing for faster and more efficient movement for battle. The easier distribution of goods meant healthy trade and exchanging of resources between people of all regions, falling into a sense of one nation though the people may be so different. But just as the people and their goods are so diverse and different, so will their cultures and religions. Uniting the Roman Empire under one religion was decreed by Emperor Constantine, establishing a power for control by way of religion, and further unifying the people by a commonality. The Church went up and down over the course of history in abuse of power and the process of cleaning up their image. Christianity broke off into varying denominations as a direct effect of neglectful power of the church when people were granted pardons of their sins by the church, basically allowing people to buy their tickets into heaven. Threat and fear is what caused for Christianity to spread; word of mouth or either people who decided to believe what was said or just accepted what was put on them by the government.
       Power, if handled selfishly and by one person, can be extremely destructive. Caesar found himself with all the power and though he was supreme in his ruling, he was alone and then paranoid in his position, which made him irrational. What came of him was 23 stab wounds inflicted by his inferiors and those who really were supposed to have his back. With great power means someone is sacrificed, often the weak and innocent in order for power to be maintained. This is seen through times of compromise in war. For example, Caesar was attempting to starve out a city lead by a venerable general that would not join Rome. By building multiple walls around the city, the opposing military leader was supposed to think of the greater good of the city and  surrender, but for the sake of pride allowed for many women and children to be the sacrifice for the sake of holding power just a little longer. Ultimately he surrendered and was taken back to Rome to be publicly executed, but the sole fact of the amount of power that was within his hands and the power Caesar apposed made this stalemate an example of what power can do when nothing is as important anymore as the position of power one may have.
       These powerful and lasting events in history is what makes Rome so rich. Not just for the power it once possessed, but what came of these events and accomplishments to shape the history and influence it had on the rest of the world. The Roman Empire expressed a lasting impression on history the United States has not even begun to touch the surface of accomplishing. As of now, only being a 300 year old country, may never be realized in the instability we face already. This year's class gave me a much more expanded view on how to look at Roman History and understanding what was the strength and simultaneous weakness of what Rome. 
Simone Sheppard

Romans were the first Trendsetters!

This past Saturday we had another seminar it was on Roman history, and it was also the deadline for our timelines. I had stayed up a little long than I usually do to put my finishing touches on my timeline, just to make sure everything was creative and above par. When I showed up to the class the seminar instructor Mr Dundov looked very energized and ready to teach, myself on the other hand was tired form the previous night. I was impressed by the different methods other applicants used to create their timelines, they all looked good and were very creative. We kicked off the seminar by talking about the surroundings of Rome and how soon their neighbors would become building blocks of their empire. After that Mr Dunov pretty much walked us down our timelines with a few extra fact of his own. He explained how the Romans invented things that we still see and use today and present day society. A few things that he mentioned were roads, sewage systems, aqueducts, and arches. We have adapted many things from the Romans to fashion or even to our government structure. They were trendsetters, it just so happens that there trends never died. 

  (Google images)

 This past Saturday we had another seminar it was on Roman history, and it was also the deadline for our timelines. I had stayed up a little long than I usually do to put my finishing touches on my timeline, just to make sure everything was creative and above par. When I showed up to Mr Dundov's class he looked very energized and ready to teach, myself on the other hand was kind of tired for the previous night. I was impressed by the different methods other applicants used to create their timelines, they all looked good and were very creative. We kicked off the seminar by talking about the surroundings of Rome and how soon their neighbors would become building blocks of their empire. After that Mr Dunov pretty much walked us down our timelines with a few extra fact of his own. He explained how the Romans invented things that we still see and use today and present day society. A few things that he mentioned were roads, sewage systems, aqueducts, and arches. We have adapted many things from the Romans to fashion or even to our government structure. They were trendsetters, it just so happens that there trends never died. 

(Google Images)

-Malik Lee

History of the Little Things

Though I haven't slept for some days now, the history of Rome still runs through my mind fresh. From Rome's entertainment down to their government system, Rome has given us as a country a lot to endure. Rome can't take all the credit though; they have adopted and borrowed many things from other civilizations such as the Etruscans. Of course Rome has their own things they abide by such as their government of the Roman Republic. They created the 12 tables, the first laws providing political and social rights. Influenced or not, the past has caught up to our future and little things like entertainment, architecture, and politics is major to our everyday lives even though it is easily overlooked. The little things are what make our era today.

Our seminar teacher this week mentioned that little things such as roads and entertainment that is still used today were created by Romans. To me I feel that our society is grateful. Without roads or streets or highways how would any of us know our way to our destinations? When first made, roads started out as rocks and gravel to smooth out the land, this was called The Appian Way, the first road created. Though it was slippery when wet, it prevented grass from growing through it and was permanent and long lasting for transportation, goods, trade and especially military. Today we incorporate roads to our everyday lives as streets made out of asphalt.

Entertainment is also an important thing in our lives, but also a little thing. Currently we watch boxing, wrestling, and UFC. Believe it or not it consists of violence and sometimes tragic losses. Romans were considered ruthless and barbaric because they were thrilled by the violence of their entertainment. Instead of a boring television screen, The Colloseum was the main place where people wanted to be. It was in person who made it real and if the person were in front row, then it would be like 3D. The battle between man versus man or man versus animal to the death gave people something interesting to see, so people actually paid money to see such things just like we pay five dollars for a morning action movie at the theaters. The excitement was their entertainment and we incorporate that type of entertainment today.

Though life has developed and changed a bit over many years, the past is in our present and future. The little things in life make a big difference because roads and entertainment are a big deal. Without roads there would be people stranded and without entertainment there would be boredom. Life is filled with beautiful things and thanks to Rome; the little things became beautiful because little things matter.  

-- Meryssa Mayshack

 

The Appian Way (Google.com/Images) 

 

The Colosseum (Google.com/Images)