Group A. Q1 Christianity and Islam in Spain
The crusades were religious and politically motivated wars that were dominated the 1096-1291 with the aim of controlling the holy land Jerusalem. In the first crusade, (1096-1102) initiated by pope Urban II was aimed at helping the Christian Byzantine empire which had been invaded by the Muslim Seljuk Turks. In this crusade, the Europeans were able to capture Jerusalem in 1099. This led to the merging of various Muslim faction against the Christians forces which had occupied the holy land. However, in 1291, the Muslims were able to control Jerusalem and parts of the coastal areas, which they controlled up to the 20th century (Schade 234).
These crusading movement were made up of both men and women from various European countries and was part of their life , from religious perception, the church, ,politics and economy. The crusades also found its way into their art because it became incorporated into the different traditions. The crusades became their tradition and part of them. This is because the Christians perceived the crusades as part of their salvation for the participants (Barber, 35). It was pope urban II who called for the capture of the holy land. The main reasons that were given for the crusades was to ensure that Jerusalem and the church were free, to defend the eastern Christians who were suffering with the aim of healing the rift that was developing between the roman and orthodox Christians. Lastly, to marshal, the warring feudal lords and knights for a one potential warfare. In the crusades the church advanced the need for Christians to carry the cross and visit the holy land as a sign for love and devotion to God (Carl, 28).
On the other hand the Christian knights were also taught to be good and to undertake the acts of charity and love. They were required to defend the holy land and protect the Christians when in need as an act of love. To be a soldier for Christ was also an act of total devotion to God. The crusades were successful and were able to accomplish their mission. Similarly, the efforts to establish Christianity in Spain and Eastern Europe compare with the Crusaders’ quest to recover Jerusalem. This is because in 689 AD, the Arabs conquest Melilar and had took the city of Ceuta in 709. By the 711 Islam had dominated whole of North Africa. The Berber tribe has already began to be Islamized despite the fact that majority of them were Christians and Jews. Muslim was already dominant in peninsula but was stopped from entering Europe by the franks in 732. The medieval Spain became a scene of war between the Christians and Muslims (Cline, 27).
The fight against the more in Iberian Peninsula became a Christian war. The Reconquista was only a war to conquer but it later transformed to a war for liberation which Augustinian called just war. The pope and the most influential abbey of Cluny in burgundy justified the anti-Islamic acts of war and encouraged the Christian knights to arm themselves against the Moorish infidels. Pope Alexander II has promised the participants in 1064 which is 30 years before the pope Urbana II called for the first crusade, had called for collective indulgencies against barbastro. After many years of Reconquista, the Christian Spaniards were able to drive out the moors. The Christianity spreading in the eastern Europe was a competition of the Latin roman, the Greek Byzantine and Frankish German in their effort to gain loyalty of the largely Slavic people in Europe (Cline, 29). This is the reason that made Christianity success in Eastern Europe not successful because it involved different rival factions that had accepted Christianity. Therefore, the success on Spain was because it involved inter religious wars that drove the moors out.
Group B: Q1 When China Almost Ruled the World
The middle kingdom presently known as china is the world oldest culture, which is rich in history as it dates back thousands of years. The middle kingdom is translated from the Chinese name Zhonggou. China believed that it was the center of the world and the culture or the historical standpoint. China was divided into many states before it became unified to one emperor. In the period between 600-1600 C: E china almost ruled the world. In this period, china was experiencing very high rate of development. From Tang dynasty, Song and Ming voyage of exploration, which took place 1405-1433 where its ships reached the coast of Africa. It was the Tong dynasty which set pace the development and urbanization of china which was accompanied by the commercialization.
It was the Marco Pol visit to the sophisticated cities in Europe such as Venice that he talked about the organization of the complex Chinese cities. The Chinese population grew during the Tong dynasty, which concentrated in the wheat growing northern China. The agriculture revolution in china ensure that there was sufficient food supply in this era which in combination with the infrastructure helped in the unification of the economy of China (French, 98). The Mongol conquest in china led to the shifting of Chinese capital to Beijing. The Ming voyages in 1368 defeated the Tong dynasty and reasserted the Chinese military and political authority both on land and sea. China by 1492 was the oldest, richest and the largest civilization in the world. Is it commanded both in science and in technology, which was superior to what Europe had. The country had a very strong agrarian economy, which ensured that the people had food than any other part of the world. The Ming dynasty presided over a large and stable centralized emperor. The Chinese almost ruled the world because it had discovered gun powder, compass and printings which were sold to Europe by the Arab traders (Kurlantzick ,28).
The Chinese inventors had something greater than what the Greeks who were regarded as the think tank for Europe has come up with. This implies that if the Chinese did not allow the exchange or ideas and selling of their discoveries, they would have easily conquered Europe. The main factors that undermined the Chinese power is trading their innovation with the Europeans which gave the Europeans immense power. In addition, the Europeans used the compass to conquer the rest of the world while the Chinese were less interested with what was beyond their land (Kurlantzick, 29). If the Chinese has invested in exploration, they would have easily conquered most parts and even discovered America before the Europeans. The Chinese could have benefited from the vast resources in Africa and could have made many nations their protectorate during the scramble for African and other countries. The factors that led to the slag of china were its lack of interest with the rest of the world. The Chinese innovation and artwork became of great interest during the period of enlightenment in Europe 1700s, the European thinkers including Voltaire, physiocrates, Leibniz and Quesnay were so much interested with the Chinese philosophy then. The Chinese emperor was responsible with the general welfare of the people including putting more emphasis on agriculture, need for education, examination to select the bright students to serve in government which was also elements of Confucian which was studied in France by philosophers in the 18th century. History indicates clearly that China way ahead of other countries around the world in terms of their development and civilization. However, the problem is that China did not influence other countries or conquered any, as it’s concentrated on its own welfare. At the same time, the west was able to learn a lot from China and used it to assert influence on other regions of the world.
Works Cited
Johannes Schade. The Encyclopedia of World Religions, Foreign Media Books, 2006.
Koch, Carl .The Catholic Church: Journey, Wisdom, and Mission. Early Middle Ages: St. Mary's Press, 1994.
Eric H. Cline . Jerusalem Besieged - From Ancient Canaan to Modern Israel. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 11-35, 164-200, 235, 338, 2004.
Malcolm Barber. The Crusader States. New Haven: Yale University Press, 86-92. 2012.
Howard W. French. ‘Chinese See a Continent Rich with Possibilities’, International Herald Tribune, 15 June 2007
Joshua Kurlantzick. Charm Offensive: How China’s Soft Power is Transforming the World, New Haven and London: Yale University Press.2007
