Top 10 Events in History to 1500

[N. Sane]

I'm finishing up a History of Civilization course that I took an incomplete in last semester. For the final exam, I have to write an in-class essay on an event that we studied in class that I would pick to be in the Top 10 Historical Events to 1500, and justify my choice.

I've been pondering this for the better part of a week. How would you narrow it down to just 10? And you had to choose just 10 events, up through 1500 C.E., which ones would make the cut and why?

For the record, I'm still trying to figure out mine. I'm thinking of writing about William the Conqueror's invasion of Britain in 1066; even if I don't write on that one, I think it's a biggie. Or perhaps Alexander the Great's attempts at world domination.

[Duke]

I know we tend to frown on helping out with assignments here, but...

Gotta have the invention of moveable type in there. We are still experiencing the effects of it.

[The Devil's Grandmother]

Invention of Chimneys.

You might read A World Lit Only by Fire or Cathedral, Forge and Waterwheel, if you have time.

[N. Sane]

I didn't mean this to sound like I'm asking for help with an assignment. I'm absolutely not doing that. I was just curious as to what you wonderful Dopers would list as your top 10.

Thanks for the opportunity to clarify.

[BarnOwl]

How about the dawning of democracy in ancient Greece?

At amazon.com you can get a 2-video set on the subject...

The Greeks: Crucible of Civilization

...for less than $20 (plus S&H).

Check the blurb and you'll see the Greeks invented politics and democracy.

[jk1245]

My standard answer to this type of question is always "The Development of Agriculture" simply because it made all other things possible by allowing a small number of people to handle food production needs and let everyone else focus on other things. These "other things" became science, art, religion, etc etc.

Course, I don't know if that's something you covered in your class or not, but anyway.

[gobear]

Ordinarily, I'd snarl at the OP to do his own damn homework, but this seems like a fun topic. One can skip the obvious choices, like the invention of writing, the domenstication of the dog, the adoption of agriculture, and other events that were important but not nailed down to a specific date.

Just going in chronological order:

1. The battle of Salamis, 480 BCE. This epic sea battle saved the Greek city states from conquest and assimilation by the Persian Empire, which would have snuffed out the Greek notion of democracy and popular sovereignty.

2. The battle of the Teutoburg Forest, 9 CE. The German tribes wiped out three Roman legions and prevented Roman conquest and colonization of Germany.

3. Constantine defeats Maxentius at the Milvian Bridge, 312 CE. This event a) reunifies a divided Roman empire and b) convinces Constantine to eventually adopt Christianity as the state religion.

4. The birth of Islam. 7th century CE

5. The Battle of Tours, 732 CE. Charles Martel soundly defeats the Spanish Muslim army outside the city walls of Tours, France, preventing furthe Muslim expansion into Europe.

6. The battle of Manzikert, 1071 CE. This disastrous loss by the Byzantines to the Turks was the beginning of the end for the Byzantine Empire and signalled the eventual loss of the Christian East to the Muslims.

7. The signing of Magna Charta, 1215 CE. The forced limitation of royal power in England marks the birth of the notion that the rights of the nobility, and later the rights of the common people, should be protected against royal abuse. The idea of limited government directly influences the founding of American democracy.

8. The Black Death. 1348-1353 CE. It wiped out a third of Europe's population, setting off several important social trends and heralding the advent of the Renaissance.

9. The dismantling of the Chinese Treasure Fleet, 1424. The eunuch admiral Cheng Ho made seven voyages of exploration around Asia, bestowing presents on the peoples he met. If the Ming-era Chinese had followed his lead, Magellan would have been greeted by a Chinese maritime empire to dwarf any in Europe.

10. The invention of the printing press by Johann Gutenberg, 1440, CE. This leads to the democratization of knowledge.

[Saintly Loser]

I like Gobear's list. But a couple of alternate events:

The Battle of Hattin (1187?). Saladin defeats the European crusaders and they never again dominate Jerusalem and the rest of the Middle East. Saladin, if I remember right, was born in what is now Tikrit. If the battle had gone the other way, another native son of Tikrit might never have come to power, and the newspapers would be a lot cheerier to read today.

The invention of type is up there, for sure, but what about the invention of writing? Invented in perhaps four places on the Earth, although I'm not sure when.

Martin Luther's posting of his 95 (number?) theses on the cathedral door.

[JohnBckWLD]

...The Battle of Hattin (1187?). Saladin defeats the European crusaders and they never again dominate Jerusalem and the rest of the Middle East. Saladin, if I remember right, was born in what is now Tikrit. If the battle had gone the other way, another native son of Tikrit might never have come to power, and the newspapers would be a lot cheerier to read today...I think that was during the 3rd Crusade. The Crusades in general, (the 1st & 3rd more specifically) have had a very direct impact on today's geo-political climate.

[N. Sane]

gobear said, Ordinarily, I'd snarl at the OP to do his own damn homework

OP here: I don't want help with my homework!!!! :) I just think it's an interesting topic and wondered what other people would list as the top 10. That's all. I'm perfectly capable of doing my own damn homework, thankyouverymuch.

[gobear]

gobear said,

OP here: I don't want help with my homework!!!! :) I just think it's an interesting topic and wondered what other people would list as the top 10. That's all. I'm perfectly capable of doing my own damn homework, thankyouverymuch.

Then why did you post in your OP

For the final exam, I have to write an in-class essay on an event that we studied in class that I would pick to be in the Top 10 Historical Events to 1500, and justify my choice.

I've been pondering this for the better part of a week. How would you narrow it down to just 10? And you had to choose just 10 events, up through 1500 C.E., which ones would make the cut and why?

To quote Samuel L. Jackson in Jackie Brown, "My ass might be dumb, but I ain't no dumbass." Just be grateful for the help this time.

[MaxTheVool]

A couple of very obvious ones:

-Circa 30-100 AD: the creation of Christianity
-1492: Columbus sails the ocean blue

I forget which year it was, but at some point the Golden Horde of mongols, one of the greatest fighting forces ever assembled, was sweeping westward and was on route to basically crush all of western Europe, but the chief Mongol (may have been Ghenghis, or I may be getting my Mongols confused) died, so all the Mongols trundled all the way back to Mongolia to deal with the dead-chief-Mongol protocol, and never came back west with quite the same furor and military skill.

[Munch]

Then why did you post in your OP
Upon closer inspection, you may notice that the question the OP raised to the SDMB is very different from the question posed to the OP by the professor.

[gobear]

Upon closer inspection, you may notice that the question the OP raised to the SDMB is very different from the question posed to the OP by the professor.


For the final exam, I have to write an in-class essay on an event that we studied in class that I would pick to be in the Top 10 Historical Events to 1500, and justify my choice.

To paraphrase, the OP was assigned to pick one event that he studied in class that he would pick to in the Top 10 pre-1500.

The OP's question to the Dopers:

I've been pondering this for the better part of a week. How would you narrow it down to just 10? And you had to choose just 10 events, up through 1500 C.E., which ones would make the cut and why?

The two are not as dissimilar as you think, but since he's not specifically asking for essay-writing tips, I'll cede the point.

[N. Sane]

SHE! SHE! I'm a she! :D

I worded my OP badly. I admit that. But I really just want to know what other people think.

slinking off in shame :o

[BarnOwl]

SHE! SHE! I'm a she! :D

I worded my OP badly. I admit that. But I really just want to know what other people think.

slinking off in shame :o

No need to slink away or even apologize.

I for one didn't think you were looking for homework help. You mentioned at the start of your thread that you had to pick an event from those discussed in class. You even told us what you were considering as your topic.

The carpers aside, I enjoyed the posts that you generated. And for what it's worth, I think "Moveable Type" is s dynamite idea. Steal it! :cool:

[Munch]

I actually would shy away from moveable type. Guttenberg was selected as the most influencial person of the last millenium on the Discovery Channel's special a few years ago, and it may be too obvious of a choice. I'd go with something pre 1000 C.E.

[panache45]

It depends how you're defining "event." I would include things that could be called "developments" or "accomplishments," such as:

The taming of fire.

The invention of the wheel.

The development of philosophy in Ancient Greece (specifically Aristotle).

Domestication of farm animals.

The rebirth of reason and the arts in the Renaissance.

The discovery/invention of music.

Language, both oral and written.

The development of mathematics and astronomy.

[NoClueBoy]

I like gobear's list, but I would've put the birth of Christianity (early 1st century CE - some would say 33 CE) as pretty significant all by it's ownsies. Without that religion alredy being around, Constantine couldn't have decreed it the state religion. And, it's had some significant impact around the globe, we can agree.

But, I hesitate to bump anything out...


BTW, #9 on that list is fascinating. I'm finding some stuff online about it, any books?

[Ilsa_Lund]

Rather than the birth of Christianity, why not the birth of Christ?

[NoClueBoy]

Because the birth of Christianity can actually be verified by secular souces.


Yes, I'm a Christian.

[NoClueBoy]

Because the birth of Christianity can actually be verified by secular souces.


Yes, I'm a Christian.



More or less.

(To both)

[London_Calling]

I always like the one about glass; not the invention of glass per se but the point when we learned not only that it could be used to help people see (short/long-sighted) but how to manufacture tailored options.

That meant that all those guys whose eyesight was failing just as they became expert (working in poor light, age, etc) could continue – craftmanship, and the ability to create at a whole new level, opened up every area of technology like nothing before.

[dalej42]

I think the unification of China under Qin Shi Huang-di. Plenty of information here, http://www.roc-taiwan.org.uk/taiwan/5-gp/zzz/history/1stunification.htm,. China is important in any study of history and will probably prove to be even more important in the future.

[JohnT]

I'm finishing up a History of Civilization course that I took an incomplete in last semester. For the final exam, I have to write an in-class essay on an event that we studied in class that I would pick to be in the Top 10 Historical Events to 1500, and justify my choice.

I've been pondering this for the better part of a week. How would you narrow it down to just 10? And you had to choose just 10 events, up through 1500 C.E., which ones would make the cut and why?

For the record, I'm still trying to figure out mine. I'm thinking of writing about William the Conqueror's invasion of Britain in 1066; even if I don't write on that one, I think it's a biggie. Or perhaps Alexander the Great's attempts at world domination.

LMM, Martin Luther nailed the 95 theses to the door in 1517, past the period in question.

[JohnT]

And as to why I quoted the OP to respond to LMM I have no idea...

[Blown & Injected]

Cracking into the 4's in the quarter mile. 500 HP daily drivers.
OK OK, lets just make it mass transportation

[MsRobyn]

I'm taking the second half of that world civilization course, but I'll gladly chip in.


The development of agriculture. Gotta feed people, y'know.
The development of cities
The discovery and development of a) numbers and b) geometry. Useful for building buildings and all
The discovery of spoken and written language
Columbus' voyages and the Columbian Exchange.
Of course, the development of the printing press
The birth and rise of the Abrahamic religions
The Roman empire, and especially the fall, because that gave birth to most of Western European culture
Improvements in navigational skills and tools in China and Portugal.



That's all I can really think of right now. I've deliberately not included military campaigns. I don't believe in the concept of inevitability because it can't be assumed that had battle x gone a different way, that consequence y would happen, especially for events that happened so long ago.

Robin

[Little Nemo]

The assassination of Julius Caesar: ironically, it was historically important because it cleared the way for his nephew Octavian. If Julius Caesar had lived, he would probably have founded a empire that would have lasted a hundred years or so. But his nephew founded on that lasted 1500 years.

[gobear]

I'm taking the second half of that world civilization course, but I'll gladly chip in.


The development of agriculture. Gotta feed people, y'know.
The development of cities
The discovery and development of a) numbers and b) geometry. Useful for building buildings and all
The discovery of spoken and written language
Columbus' voyages and the Columbian Exchange.
Of course, the development of the printing press
The birth and rise of the Abrahamic religions
The Roman empire, and especially the fall, because that gave birth to most of Western European culture
Improvements in navigational skills and tools in China and Portugal.


Yeah, but most of that list is vague (what year did we did we invent agriculture?) as well being so important and vital to the development of civilization that it sort of spoils the fun of picking specific dates and events.

[quote]
I like gobear's list, but I would've put the birth of Christianity (early 1st century CE - some would say 33 CE) as pretty significant all by it's ownsies. Without that religion alredy being around, Constantine couldn't have decreed it the state religion. And, it's had some significant impact around the globe, we can agree.

Yes, but the reason I included the birth of Islam and not the birth of Christianity was that Islam became an important multinational faith almost immediately after its initial founding, whereas Christianity was an underground cult for the first 3 centuries of its existence. IMO, it was Constantine's adoption of the faith that enabled it to break into the big time. I could also, I guess, have substituted St. Paul's evangelism, because without his tireless spreading of Christianity throughout the Empire, Christianity would not have been as influential as it is.

[Grey]

I don't think these have been mentioned yet

Rubicon crossing in 49 BC lead to the fall of the Roman Republic and the emergence of the Empire.

Fall of Constantinopal in 1453 AD

Reconquista in 1492