Colton+S

Hello, welcome to my page. I hope to have a great time in AP World with you this year! Was Troy Real?

According to the Greek poet Homer, Troy was a great and powerful fortress located somewhere along the Black Sea in Northwestern (modern day) Turkey. // As legend goes, Homer lived off of Browned Butter and Mizathra Pasta while he was composing the Illiad. //  || According to the Iliad, Prince Paris of Troy steals the amazingly beautiful Helen from her husband King Melanus. This causes Greek forces led by Achilles, Ajax, Odysseus, and many other heroes to lay siege to Troy, which was led by Hector. Supposedly this war lasted for 10 years, ending only when the Greeks cleverly offered the Trojan Horse as a “surrender gift” for the Trojans. This gift actually contained Greek soldiers, who opened the gates and allowed Troy to be sacked. === Although it is generally thought that Troy existed, there is no concrete evidence. In fact, the only evidence that Helen, Odysseus, Achilles, etc… existed was due to epic poems written by a blind man. A story written for entertainment is usually not historically accurate. However in 1871 a German adventurer named Heinrich Schliemann excavated what was thought to be the ruins of Troy. These ruins showed signs of struggle including many skeletons with sword cuts, arrow and spear heads, and destroyed buildings. However these ruins were not nearly as vast or grandiose as depicted by Homer, meaning this all could be coincidence. ===
 * __ What is Troy? __**
 * Fun Fact:
 * __ The Story __**
 * __ The Facts __**

[[image:http://foursquarelessone.com/troy-ruins.jpg width="450" height="300" caption="Some of the ruins that could possibly be Troy"]]
=__**Primary** **Source**__=

What is this?
This is a bronze coin circulated in the Roman empire bearing the head of Constantius II who ruled the empire from 337-361 AD. It is fairly weathered and not necessarily unique, Roman currency is a common architectural find. However it is not the physical attributes or rarity of this coin that makes it significant, but more its location of discovery. This coin was found in Karghalik, a desert city/oasis of the Xinjiang region in **Western China!**

How did it get there?
Rome held vast territories that desired protection and public works. This maintenance of the Empire was made possible through income gained by trade. Rome traded with many civilizations such as England, Guptas (India), Han Dynasty (China), N Africa, and the Middle East. Commonly imported items included spices, wine, dyes, grain, silk, preservatives, tin, gold, etc. The "Silk Road" was a widely used trading route connecting Han China and Gupta India to the Mediterranean civilizations, allowing safe and abundant trade. It is possible that this coin was carried by a Roman Merchant and exchanged for goods in China.

I knew that the Roman Empire relied upon trade heavily. I also knew that China was one of their main trading partners. However I had always assumed that goods were traded using a bartering system, no currency involved. However as this coin proves, Roman trade economics were so widespread and influential that other cultures felt confident using their money. Trust was placed in the fact that these coins could be exchanged most places, and would always be worth something, so long as the Empire survived. It would be the same as the dollar being universally adopted. With all of this dependence on the Romans, it is not surprising that when Rome fell, many other civilizations became once again isolated.‍‍ The roads and seas were no longer guarded and enforced, so goods could not be transported over long distances. All in all, this coin is an extremely interesting artifact‍‍.
 * My take on it?**

Why would the Chinese trade for a Roman coin, what use does a Roman coin have in the Han Empire of China? ~Mojan Farid per. 6 = = =__** Primary Source 2 **__= = = = = == "There are apothecaries' shops, where prepared medicines, liquids, ointments, and plasters are sold; barbers' shops, where they wash and shave the head; and restaurateurs, that furnish food and drink at a certain price."- Hernando Cortes ==



**What is this?**
This is a quote from the famous adventurer and conqueror of multiple American civilizations, Hernando Cortes. This quote was written by Cortes in a journal entry regarding the impressive Aztec city of Tenochtitlan, circa 1519 CE.

**What does this mean?**
When reading this quote, it is fairly easy to imagine the shock of the Spaniards. Europeans of the time seemed to believe themselves to be the most "civilized" peoples on the planet. Little did they know that an equally sophisticated society with a developed economy and culture was just hidden within Central America. The Aztec Empire is shown to be economically developed and quite wealthy by this quote.The Aztec practice of constant war and brutal human sacrifice offered a skewed view of their true cultural identity. The Conquistadors no doubt expected to come upon a dirty, poorly developed town and not the amazing canals and temples of Tenochtitlan. In summary, the Spaniards were completely amazed that they found a society that in many ways was equally or more advanced then their homeland.

**My take on it.**
I can imagine the shock of the Spanish conquerors upon realizing the wonders of this new land. However what I don't understand is why they found it necessary to plunder these civilizations. In my mind, it would be more beneficial to gain knowledge and trade relations from an advanced civilization rather than simply killing all inhabitants and burning their cities. It would be interesting to see what the world would be like had those civilizations endured.

=**The School of Athens**= 1. This is Euclid of Alexandria (guy in the red with the stick). He was essentially the father of modern geometry (Euclidean Geometry), and is known to have produced many vital theorems of mathematics. His book "The Elements" outlines the basis of geometry. Euclid also wrote works o n perspective, conic sections, spherical geometry, number theory and rigor. I picked him because it seemed that he influenced our world greatly even today, also I figured no one else would choose Euclid due to most peoples' vehement hatred of math.

2.Euclid must have played a huge role in the renaissance. During the Renaissance, a main focus was the revival of classic Greek and Roman documents, outlining advances (rediscoveries) in art, science, math, music, architecture, etc. Euclid was the father of a large portion of modern math, and his teachings were surely used in many ways. For example, Renaissance architects could use geometric principles developed by Euclid to construct more sturdy or elaborate structures. Also Euclidean geometry allowed astronomers such as Galileo to more accurately map stars.

3.

This is a stone carving of Hammurabi, the early Babylonian king. Hammurabi deserves to be included in "The School of Athens", as his ideas that law should be written, known by the governed, and equal would be copied across the world. This rather unorthodox practice of writing law down allowed for a more ordered and fair society to develop, while other civilizations were more or less in anarchy. Hammurabi was an intellectual with truly radical ideas that shaped the world drastically. He absolutely deserves to be placed among other great thinkers and immortalized in painting.

= **__Unit 3 Primary Source__** =

__**What is this?**__
This is a Portuguese "Caravel. A caravel is a small, highly maneuverable sailing ship developed in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. It was designed to have it's sails in a way that allowed it to sail into the wind, a feat no other ship of the time could accomplish. Caravels were frequently used by the Portuguese for exploration and trade voyages during the 15th and 16th centuries in the age of discovery.

**__ Why is it important to world __ history? **
The caravel was extremely fast relative to other ships of the time period. This allowed the Portuguese to make exploration journeys with great efficiency, leading to the colonization of areas like Brazil and West Africa. The caravel was also relatively small and shallow-hulled, which allowed it to sail up rivers and navigate reef barriers, further increasing it's exploratory uses. As testament to this exploratory usefulness, Columbus had two caravels in his party (the Pinta and the Nina). It gave the Portuguese an advantage originally, and eventually was adopted by other countries as a vessel to facilitate exploration. In this way, the caravel was a key factor in the age of colonization and exploration, and assisted in the shaping of history.