Batu Khan's New Writeups

Plataea (place)

2004-06-22T16:02:38Z

Plataea was the last battle to be fought in Greece during the Second Persian War. It was fought on the isle of Attica between the combined forces of the Spartans, Athenians and allies, against the mighty Persian forces of Xerxes in 479 BC. It is an interesting battle, not in the daring or uniqueness of it, but in that it was the battle that almost lost the war for the Greeks. Had luck not been on their side, Greece could have become yet another province of the mighty Persian Empire.

Hitherto, Great King Xerxes I of Persia had managed to conquer much of northern Greece and the islands of the Aegean, as his father, Darius I, had. Things were different this time around, however, and far more in Xerxes' favour. The Persian force was almost twice what Darius' was, and not only that, but large portions of southern Greece had medized,¹ such as Argos and Thebes. The Persians had been halted at Thermopylae, and defeated at Salamis, but the Persian war path was far…

Marathon (place)

2004-06-12T16:46:19Z

Marathon was a wide open plain in classical Greece, on the isle of Attica, that still remains much the same today. It is a very famous site that was the host for the great Battle of Marathon, where the brave Greek polises (city states) stood their ground against Darius of Persia and defeated his overwhelming forces in 490 BC. Beyond a doubt the most crucial engagement in the First Persian War, and one of the most amazing battles of the classical period, it still stands as a testament to the bravery and military brilliance of the Ancient Greeks.

Over the last century, the nation of Persia had blossomed from its meager beginnings in the Fertile Crescent (Mesopotamia) into the largest empire known to man at this date. This expansion began with Cyrus in 559 BC, when he conquered his neighbours, Medea and continued outwards. By the time Darius was the Great King of Persia, their empire was bound by Ionia (Asia Minor) and Egypt/Ethiopia in the west,…

Burgundy (place)

2004-06-09T15:00:52Z

The history of Burgundy stems all the way back to before the Carolingian Empire. Before Charlemagne expanded across middle Europe, the Burgund Kings had resided over the Kingdom of Burgundy. After being absorbed into Charlemagne's empire, and with it's dissolution in 814 CE, middle Europe had fallen into three kingdoms. The strongest of these were the East Kingdom, which comprised of the duchies and counties of Germany that would soon become the Holy Roman Empire, and the West Kingdom, which comprised of the duchies and counties that would eventually become France. The Middle Kingdom, situated between the two, was the richest and largest, comprising of the Low Lands (Netherlands), border states of both future French and Holy Roman Empire territory, and the entirety of Italy, excluding the southernmost tip, still held by the Byzantines. Its weakness lied in being spread over such a large distance, being wedged between the other two kingdoms, and in its chaotic states. The Middle Kingdom was…

feudalism (idea)

2004-06-03T12:01:36Z

Feudalism is not a simplistic topic, by any means. It is very easy to be confused over, and there are many misconceptions. To complicate matters even further, there is absolutely no simple definition for it. Feudalism, basically, is a conglomarate of various social, economic and governmental aspects. It must be noted, however, that while Feudalism was an aspect of society and economy, it was not in fact a system of either. Feudalism was, in all shapes and forms, a system of government.

That being said, Feudalism is not a homogenous government, such as Monarchy is. It is not, therefore, easily defineable. The only way to define it is to describe its history.

Origins:

Feudalism did not, in fact, derive from any Roman system. In antiquity, feudalism is a very rare concept. However, it is believed that forms of Feudalism did exist in Ancient Egypt¹, as well as in Aztec society. It has also existed in Japan and in Russia, however, the most common form, and…