Category Social Sciences

Ancient Civilizations

 

 

 

Where were the first cities?

                     The first known cities grew up in the Middle East, as much as 10,000 years ago. These ancient cities were built from stone and mud bricks. One city was destroyed to provide building materials for the next city on the same site, making it confusing to try to reconstruct them. Other ancient cities were built in present-day Turkey and China.

 

 

 

 

 

Who were the Sumerians?

                  The Sumerians developed the first known civilization, in 3500BC.They lived in Mesopotamia, a region between the Euphrates and Tigris rivers in what is now modern Iraq. The Sumerians built large and elaborate cities, developed tax systems and government, and produced irrigation systems to water their crops.

                  Excavations of one major city, called Ur, showed signs of a great flood, which is thought to have been the Flood described in the Bible. The Sumerian civilization lasted for about 1,000 years.

Pictures Credit: Google

 

Why was the Great Wall of China built?

    The Great Wall of China was built in the Third Century B.C. to keep out the raiding Tartars of Mongolia. It is 20 to 30 feet high and 15 to 25 feet wide at the top, with towers 60 feet high every few hundred yards.

   The wall stretches from Shamhaikwan on the yellow Sea to the borders of Kansu and Sinkiang in the west, crossing high mountains and deep valleys. Probably over 500,000 workers were employed to build it. Even today, the wall is in a wonderful state of preservation.

    This marvelous structure is constructed of brick and stones. The sides have battlements-parapets with openings or embrasures through which weapons could be discharged.

   All large cities of China were provided with similar walls, and the gates were closed at night to give the citizens protection against surprise attack. For China has been envied by her neighbors throughout history. Many times these neighbors have invaded the country, seized the capital and begun a new dynasty.

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When was the Colosseum built?

          The great Flavian Amphitheatre, or Colosseum, was built between A.D. 69 and 81 by the Emperors Vespasian and Titus on the site of an artificial lake in the grounds of Nero’s palace, the Golden House. The name Colosseum was bestowed on it, because of its colossal size, sometime after the 8th century.

         In its full magnificence the Colosseum must have been one of the most imposing buildings in the Roman Empire, a gigantic oval measuring 620 feet by 513 feet with a height of 160 feet. Round the actual arena-287 feet by 180 feet-tiers of marble seats provided accommodation for 50,000 spectators.

          The building was constructed to the house gigantic spectacles organized by the authorities for the entertainment-and distraction-of the public. It became a scene of much bloodshed. Here were staged gladiatorial combats (fights to the death between men) and contests between wild beasts or between men and animals. And here, too, many of the early Christians met martyrdom with a courage that helped greatly to spread their faith.

        The highest tiers of seats and the fourth storey were rebuilt in the 3rd century, and the building was seriously damaged by lightning and earthquakes during Roman times and the middle ages. For hundreds of years this symbol of Roman power was used as a quarry. But even today its ruins form one of the most famous buildings in the world.

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Where did Montezuma die?

          Montezuma was an emperor of the 16th Century ruling over the Aztec empire from one of the greatest capitals in the world at that time- Tenochtitlan in what is now Mexico.

          “It was like an enchantment… on account of the great towers and temples rising from the water… things never heard of, nor seen, nor even dreamed.” So wrote the Spanish chronicler Bernal Diaz of the city of some 200, 000 people. Montezuma’s capital was on an island in Lake Texococo which had been enlarged by a system of drain-age canals, and was joined to the shore by causeways.

          Across these causeways Hernan Cortes in 1519 led a force of 400 Spaniards, to be greeted by Montezuma as a god. The Spaniards were shown over the shrine-topped pyramids where human sacrifices were made to the Aztecs’ stern war god, Huitzilopochtli.

        “The figure… had a very broad face and monstrous and terrible eyes, and the whole of his body was covered with precious stones, and gold and pearls. There were some braziers and in them were burning the hearts of three Indians they had sacrificed that day. Diaz wrote, describing the scene he witnessed with Cortes. The Aztecs held the Spaniards in awe, but suspicion took over and they realized that Cortes was no god. In this atmosphere, Cortes took Montezuma as a hostage. Hostilities flared, and Montezuma was injured and died.

        In the NocheTriste or Night of Sadness which followed, the Spaniards were all but annihilated by the Aztecs. Cortes and some of his men escaped. A year later they captured Tenochtitlan and razed it to the ground. The Spaniards built a town upon the ruins. It is still the capital of a nation-Mexico City.

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Why do clouds have different shapes?

               Clouds vary in shape according to their height and temperature, and they contain minute drops of water or ice particles or a combination of both. And, of course, their forma­tion is greatly affected by wind changes.

               There are basically three groups of clouds: high clouds between 17,000 and, 45,000 feet (cirrus, cirro-cumulus’ and cirro-stratus); middle clouds between 7,000 and 23,000 feet (alto-cumulus, alto­stratus and nimbo-stratus); and low clouds up to 7,000 feet (strato­cumulus, stratus, cumulus and cumulo-nimbus. Their height and temperature decide how much pressure is exerted on them by the atmosphere.

               Finally, the shapes of clouds differ according to the time of day. Towards evening Clouds tend to thin out, rise a little and flatten out.

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What is the date line?

        The Date Line (usually called the International Date Line), is a north-south line through the Paci­fic Ocean where, according to international agreement, the date changes. East of  the Line it is one day earlier than it is to the west.

        The line is necessary because the earth is divided, longitudinally, into 24 one-hour time zones (15° longitude each) which make one full day on the earth. Since the earth rotates eastwards, the time on the clock progresses westward, round the world. Thus, 12 o’clock noon arrives in London (0° longitude) five hours before it does in Washington, D.C. (75° west of London) and eight hours before it does at San Francisco (120° west of London). When it is noon in London it is midnight 180° to the west.

           On either side of the 180th meridian the time is the same. But you would lose a day if you crossed it from the east and gain one if you travelled across it from the west.

           The Date Line has some varia­tions from the 180th meridian to allow for land areas or islands. The line bulges eastwards through Bering Strait to Take in eastern Siberia and then westward to include the Aleutian Islands with Alaska. South of the equator bulges east again to allow various island groups to have the same day as New Zealand.

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