If only to satisfy the need to be more obscure than yer classmates, I always thought the defeat of Henry the Quarrelsome of Bavaria by Otto II in 976 was an underappreciated turning point.
Besides, I think ‘Henry the Quarrelsome’ is one hell of a weary epithet to have to wear throughout the entire future of recorded history.
Dr. Watson
“The time is not come for impartial history. If the truth were told just now it would not be credited.”
– Gen. Robert E. Lee
If you’re willing to go back to the Roman Empire, how about Caesar’s assassins? In their effort to destroy what they thought was an impending monarchy, they ended up paving the way for one- nice bit of irony, that. Or Constantine- was he a truly devout Christian who hoped to spread the Word, or a scheming politician who saw this new religion as a way of consolidating his power? Or take a look at Roman attitude towards the barbarians at their proverbial gates- early on in the life of the Republic/Empire, barbarians were treated with a mixture or extreme hatred/fear/disdain, but by the end of the Empire, the Goths and Germans were considered not only an important part, but possibly a savior of the Empire.
Yeah, yeah, I’m fixated on things Roman. Deal with it.
Yer welcome to the words BigRory, but I have a quick question, if I may –
Just who in the name of Ptolemy Soter decided to draw the line on ‘Ancient Civilizations’ at the 14th Century? I mean, Pre-Renaissance is ‘Ancient’? Yer making me feel really old here.
And besides, I thought anything that happened before 1968 was considered to be little more than propagandist pamphleteering designed to prop up the usurping European white male power structure. Rach air muin, if ya can’t even trust the damned teachers to be revisionist anymore, who can ya trust?
Dr. Watson
“One must be chary of words because they turn into cages.” – Viola Spolin
If you need a biography type thing, you may want to do something on Nero or Caligula. They were Roman emperors and both were pretty messed up in the head. Caligula, if I remember history right, made his horse a general.
When are you going to realize being normal isn’t necessarily a good thing?
I can sell you a paper on your choice of two topics Colonizarion of the Pacific Islands (the Lapita Cultural Complex) or Mohenjo-Daro and Harappa (Indus Valley civilization).
How 'bout the take over of China by the Golden Horde (aka: Ghengis Khan) or Marco Polo’s trip to China? How 'bout a paper on the African cultures pre-Renaissance? Nabateans, Ethiopians, etc?
“Sherlock Holmes once said that once you have eliminated the
impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be
the answer. I, however, do not like to eliminate the impossible.
The impossible often has a kind of integrity to it that the merely improbable lacks.”
– Douglas Adams’s Dirk Gently, Holistic Detective
For pretty easily researchable but interesting topics,
how about Akenhaten and the Amarna period of the New Kingdom Egypt?
Catharist heresy in southern France
Knights Templar
The czech reformation under Jan Huss
Or, the consolidation of China and the early dynasties? The building of the Wall (walls, really) as it related to the peasants and the aristocracy, and to the empire at large.
The Battle of Hastings was fun if you don’t want to go back to BC; that was 1066, just a wink before the Renaissance.
I like the Mayan empire idea, too. Or the Incans, or Anasazis, or any of the pre-Columbian ‘new world’ civilizations. How about the mythology of the Tierra del Fuegans?
How about the Moroccans and Spanish, chronicling their cultural intersections? Lots of fascinating stuff to be found out about the influence of Jews in that region.
Or what about Muhammad and the roots of Islam, and its effects on later events (led to the Crusades, etc)?
Or Erik the Red and Viking explorations?
I am so jealous of you - I would love to have a project to do instead of a job. Researching is way more fun than working, trust me.