ancient geek

history blog// vindhya

[vintage-addict]

Hevajra Mandala

This artifact was created during the late 12th century in Cambodian (Angkor empire). The deity Hevajra is the chief deity of the Tantric Buddhist path to enligtenemnt.

This artifact stood out to me because of the excellent craftsmanship it displays. The statue is sculpted very beautifully and the finer details make it aesthetically pleasing. The color of the sculpture makes it standout from the other artifacts of the time. The color could have possibly been used to represent the cosmic elements/the tantric school of Buddhism.

[vintage-addict]

The Mongols (class notes)

1100-1400 CE

• One of the latest civilizations to appear in terms of our class content

• They were nomadic; after they establish themselves--> they have a pretty short run (300 yrs)

Key themes

How do historians know what they know?

• the ongoing limitations of sources by outsider about 'barbarians'

• We have the ongoing issue of outsider perspective

Background: The Mongols

• They were pastoral nomads before unification (pre Genghiz Khan)

• Tribal identity (organised based on their tribe); no real cultural ties, only shaped by blood and marriage (before gk)

• Relatively egalitarian society (lack of social class -economic division; closer to gender equality as compared to other societies)

• Dependent on trade (textiles, metal work)--> trade with northern china

• Shamanism (religion)--> not organised and institutionalised; it is a form of animism (nature--tap into the power they have and channel the benefit into their tribe, they do this through people called shaman i.e.priest, use altered states of consciousness); they don't sit around and talk to rock lmaooo -- works similar to oracle bones (ancient china) lol

-they have some personalised deities as well

Unification: Genghis Khan

• Early life: kind off rough

-born Temujin (1162 CE ish)

-Father's assassination

-Mother leaves the tribe for subsistence/survival, to avoid acts of revenge

• Vision for Mongol identity (in his 20s)- kind of unclear as to why?

-pictures how powerful he mongols can be together

-after joining the tribe back he uses- anda (Blood Brother alliance) --> not genetic, not like marriage but created a bond as strong as family; created them with own tribe first and then those outside (previous enemies to) in this way he created a network

-hence, creates a strong diversified military (every single unity consists of members from multiple tribes)

-charismatic personality

• Motivations for conquest

-temperature drop and grass shortage (around 1200)--> can't feed their herd, so essentially life is Ibn danger, this may have pushed them to seek other territories

-threat of decried trade with Chinese neighbours (could be an unsatisfactory relationship)

-Gengish Khan's appointment by Tenggeri (mongol sky god)- he was the shaman for his tribe, he could have received a message from god (could have been made up in retrospective)

Reasons for Mongol Success

• Not entirely credit to them

• Decline of empires held them to succeed; period of political chaos \

• They had really good military skills

• They adopted the military technologies of the people they conquered, hence more adaptable and successful

• Incorporation of conquered people; not beauraucrats

• Movement of citizens (killed Administrators)

• Radically Religiously tolerant society; they believe their gods are tied to a specific place they can't move, leave religion alone or some of them convert

Death of Genghis Khan (1227 CE)

• Legendary burial

-40 virgins and 40 horses

-no tomb burial culture at the time- sky burial; didn't find his tomb lmao

-this is important for us to know his influence and importance, considered an epic legendary heroic person

How the mongols viewed him?

-no tomb burials culture

-16 million male descendants?! (Specific white chromosome is in Asia for males)

The Four Khanates (1260 CE)

• Disintegrates into 4 parts after the death of Genghis khan's Son

-Golden Horde: mostly nomadic

-Ilkhanate

-Chagdhai Khanate

-Empire of the great Genghis Khan

Mongols come into contact with Islamic and Christian kingdoms

Fear of Mongols in Islamic and Christian kingdoms develops

Interactions w/ mongols

• Pope innocent IV and the Franciscans

-sends Friar Giovanni da Pianh del Carpini (1245)

• King Loui IX of France

-Willian of Rubruck (1253)

They try to get them to convert to Christianity or to convince them that trade is a better option

• Mongol interactions/conquests of Islamic kingdoms

Discussion

1. Who is the author of this text?

2. What part of the Mongol's territory did the authority interact with?

3. What is the author's bias/perspective?

4. Despite that bias/perspective what does the source tell us about the following elements of Mongol life

[vintage-addict]

Stories of Human Origins  (class notes)

Stories of Human Origins (13 billion BP to 3500 BCE) BCE/CE vs. BC/AD  - BC/AD is Christian time telling, not easy to figure out for people who aren’t Christian -BP: before present 

Century designations 

-i.e. second century BCE or third century CE c.=circa (around) eg: c.1500BCE

Origin stories of The Modern World 

-science as authority -humans were a part, but not center of the society -physically--> what are we made of? -Questions of how? (not why)

Creation myths (origin stories of the ancient world)

-observation of the natural world  -couple with belief in supernatural -reasonable, intuitive, explanation of natural events, human existence, and human purpose  3 creation myths  1. The seperation of Heaven and Earth (Maori) 2. Marduk creates the world from the spoils of the battle (babylonia) 3.Two brothers and their grandmothers (Seneca) Scientific--> big bang theory

Homo Sapiens and Pre-historic life

- prehistory = before written sources - archeology  -genetics -earth science  -anthropology  Human Sapiens  - 200,000 years BP in Africa  -common ancestor with other primates (including apes) -co-existence with other hominid species  -neandethrals (and others?) until c.30,000 BP -common lifestyle- nomadic life & forager societies  Forager societies  - part of, not in control, of environment  -subsistence living (hunt and gather-and process) -gendered division of labor  -perpetual migration -not precisely peaceful  Transition to Agricultural and Pastoral Societies - gradual transition to settlements (c.12000BP)-possibly driven by women (not bc of any discrimination)-subsistence agriculture-domestication of animals (c.11000-7000 BP)

[vintage-addict]

The travels of Ibn Batuta

"There are other endowments for supplying wedding outfits to girls whose families are unable to provide them, and others for the freeing of prisoners."

"He did so, and the man went with him to the custodian, where the slave showed the broken pieces and received a sum sufficient to buy a similar dish."

Importance:

A significant amount of influence of Islam is eveident in the places that Ibn Batuta had travelled to; one of them being Damascus. The above extract is about Ibn Batuta's stay in Damascus.

According to his writings, the people of Damascus were very caring and generous towards everyone; there was no discrimination amongst people. This could be due to religious influence of Islam; as we have learnt from John Green's crash course that Islam stresses on the importance of taking care of those less fortunate than one self, freeing people from bondage and treating people kindly. The quotes above offer further evidence that the culture of Damascus was highly influenced by Islamic preachings; the act of the custodian helping the slave from falling in trouble with his master shows that people took care of those less fortunate than themselves. Hye above extarct also indicates that women were treated well and cared for. The people of Damascus also helped those unable to take the pilgrimage to Mecca, this shows the deep influence Islam had on their culture and lifestyle.

[vintage-addict]

The First Life of St.Francis (Thomas of Celano)

"Then with great fervor of spirit and joy of mind he began to preach repentance to all, with simple words but largeness of heart edifying his hearers. For his word was like a blazing fire piercing through the inmost heart, and it filled the minds of all with wonder."

Importance:

After reading the text, I believe that the author, 'Thomas of Celano' thinks highly of Francis. He admires Francis and looks up to him. The language of this text is pretty formal and official probably because the the text was written under the orders of the Pope. It was most likely written to influence people and make them look up to Francis with reverence as he was canonized around the same time. Franics was canonized pretty early after his death, this biography was probably written to convince people that it was the right thing because Francis is portrayed in high regard; it seems like the author was worshipping him.

Reference: http://www.indiana.edu/~dmdhist/francis.htm

[vintage-addict]

Letter to the newly Baptized (Clement of Alexandria)

“Take care never to speak what you have not weighed and pondered beforehand; nor interject your own words on the spur of the moment and in the midst of another’s; for you must listen and converse in turns, with set times for speech and silence.” “ Let everything you do be done for God, both deeds and words; and refer all that is yours to Christ;.... And often by day communicate your thoughts to men, but most of all to God night as well as by day; for let not much sleep prevail to keep you from your prayers and hymns to God, since long sleep is a rival of death.”

Importance: Since the author, Clement was writing this text after a series of mass trials and executions of Christians in Rome, he could have been briefly answering the question of ‘how shall we live during chaotic times?” Clement emphasizes on the themes of wisdom and faith.  He encourages the newly converted Christians to pray regularly (may have been viewed as a means of communication between god and his followers) and to maintain absolute faith in God; he sees God as the supreme being. He could have possibly viewed prayer to God as a solution to the problems Christians were facing at that time in Rome.  Clement also highlights the importance of having wisdom; he asks his readers to have rational thinking. He tells them to think before performing any particular action and to use one’s knowledge only when necessary. 

[vintage-addict]

Bhagavad Gita (Vyasa)

Arjuna: “I do not see that any good can come from killing our relations in battle. Krishna, I have no desire for victory, or for a kingdom or pleasures. Of what use is a kingdom or pleasure or even life, if those for whose sake we desire these things- teachers, fathers, sons, grandfathers, uncles, in laws, grandsons, and others with family ties- are engaging in this battle, renouncing their wealth and their lives?”  Krishna: “Those whose minds are swept away by the pursuit of power and pleasure are incapable of following the supreme goal and will not attain samadhi.”

Importance: Since this text was written approximately during the Mauryan empire, the same time during which Buddhism originated and was largely promoted by king Ashoka, there could be some influences of Buddhism in the Bhagavad Gita. The above quotes embody some of the principles of Buddhism like: abstaining from violence and giving up on the pursuit of material desires in order to attain relief from samsara. This text could also be further evidence that Buddhism originated from Hinduism, because it talks about their common beliefs (as discussed in the lecture).  An interesting point of speculation that I noticed is that, Arjuna’s worries could be a representation of Ashoka after the battle of Kallinga, when he decided to steer away from wars after seeing the loss of lives of so many men and the damage it caused to the families of the kingdom. 

[vintage-addict]

The Daodejing (Laozi)

“ just realize where you come from:    this is the essence of wisdom ” “ if you want to be given everything   give up everything “

Importance: I believe that this text answers the question we have been posing from time to time in our discussions, “how then shall we live?” (to a certain extent).  The above extract possibly answers this question by advising us to always remember our roots and go back to them for answers. This is quite similar to the confucian school of thought.  I think the above quote helps to capture the essence of Daosim to an extent; the author stresses on the themes of desire and sacrifice. He talks about giving up one thing in order to gain another; this could possibly mean that all our desires come with a price. Something that I found really cool in this text is that the key to gaining all that we wish is to gain the ability to give up all desires; because once we give up on our desires there is nothing there nothing left for us to crave. 

[vintage-addict]

Letter to Menoeceus (Epicurus) & The Enchirdion (Epictetus)

Letter to Menoeceus

“For no man can ever find the time unsuitable or too late to study the health of his soul.” “For there can be nothing terrible in living for man who rightly comprehends that there is nothing terrible in ceasing to live.” 

The Enchirdion (Epictetus)

“The things in our control are by nature free, unrestrained, unhindered; but those not in our control are weak, slavish, restrained, belonging to others.” “Sickness is a hindrance to the body, but not to your ability to choose.”

Importance: The purpose of these two text could be to teach people the path to lead a happy and peaceful life, free of unnecessary woes.  Keeping in mind that these texts were written during a politically and economically stable period, where people had time to experiment and schools were being established (as we discussed in the lecture), the possible audience of these texts could be scholars and students. 

The common theme of these two texts are the body and death, but their approach to this context is different. Epicurean philosophy believes that the soul is similar to the body and dies after we cease to live; whereas Stoicism believes that the soul is different from the body and its performance shouldn’t be hindered because of an injury to the body.  Epicurus emphasizes that our soul dies too when we cease to live, hence we need not worry about afterlife so we don’t have to worry about it while we are alive; he also encourages his readers to conquer the fear of death to lead a happy life.  Whereas, Epictetus focuses more on the elements we can and cannot control; his philosophy is being able to let go of things we cannot control (one of them being death), to lead a happy and quality life.  Ref: https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/epicurus/

[vintage-addict]

Lysistrata

“LAMPITO As for mine, if he ever does return from service, he’s no sooner home than he takes down his shield again and flies back to the wars”

“ LYSISTRARA Oh, wanton,vicious sex! the poets have done well to make tragedies upon us; we are good for nothing then but love and lewdness! But you, my dear, you from hardy Sparta, if you join me, all may yet be well; help me, second me, I beg you.” 

“LYSISTRATA Come, quick, Lampito, and let us bind ourselves by an inviolable oath. LAMPITO Recite the terms; we will swear to them.” 

Importance:

Since this play was written during the time of the Peloponnesian War, one of its purpose’s could have been to show that the war was unnecessary and wasteful.  The text shows the way women were viewed  in the ancient Greek society; they were highly objectified and were seen as sexual tools. The text also indicates that sex was a powerful tool to women; they used it to their advantage to control the men.  Another interesting point that I have noticed in this text is that, the women were united and strong, they set aside their personal wishes to fight for peace and the common good unlike the men (although this play is a satire, I think it helps us in the understanding of the women in the ancient greek society). 

Ref: https://www.cummingsstudyguides.net/Lysistrata.html#Setting

[vintage-addict]

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Quote: “ Two-thirds of him is god, one-third of him is human.  The Great Goddess (Aruru) designed (?) the model for his body, she prepared his form ... ... beautiful, handsomest of men, ... perfect ... He walks around in the enclosure of Uruk, Like a wild bull he makes himself mighty, head raised (over others). There is no rival who can raise his weapon against him.”

“ Gilgamesh does not leave a son to his father, day and night he arrogantly (?)... “

“ Is Gilgamesh the shepherd of Uruk-haven, is he the shepherd ... bold, eminent, knowing, and wise! Gilgamesh does not leave a girl to her mother (?) The daughter of the warriors, the bride of the young man, the gods of the heavens implored the Lord of Uruk (Anu)”

Importance- After reading the above extracts, I think one of the purposes of this story is to give an unbiased account of Gilgamesh’s life because the creators were keen on letting its listeners know all sides of the story. They not only praised Gilgamesh’s strength and achievements but also called him out oppressing his men and sleeping with all the brides in the kingdom before the night of their wedding. Since originally the story was an oral tradition, a large portion of its audience could have been the common public (we discussed in the last lecture that most common people were illiterate). It is also likely that the creators of the epic could have been the common people themselves as a cry for help to the gods.  The deities worshipped in the above extract represent nature/forces of the nature. This indicates that the people of the Mesopotamian civilization could have worshipped the nature rather than following a specific religion.  References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mesopotamian_deities

[vintage-addict]

Birth of Hatshepsut

Quote: “Hatshepsut is thus the name of this your daughter whom I have laid in your body, according to the speech of your mouth. She will exercise the splendid kingship in the whole land. My glory will belong to her, she will rule the two lands (Egypt)... I will surround her everyday with my protection in common with the god of the respective day.” 

Importance: Assuming that the story of Hatshepsut’s birth is true, the above extract is important because it legitimizes her claim to the throne. One of the reasons for the lack of any opposition to Hatshepsut’s claim to the throne and her prosperous reign could be due to the protection she received from Amun. According to the extract, Hatshepsut was sent to rule Egypt by the high god Amun, this fulfills the belief Egyptians have about their rulers being equivalent to god.