Tag: war

The Influence of Genghis Khan Throughout Asia and Europe During the 13th Century

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Mongolian Khagan, which means “Khan Of Khans” or “king of kings” within Mongol Khel, the Mongolian language, perhaps more commonly translated as “emperor”, Temüjin Borjigi who is more well renowned for his title than his name, a title which is often mistaken for his name, Genghis Khan (pronounced “jeng-giss” with “jeng” sounding like “Jenga” and “giss” sounding like “kiss” with a hard “s”) killed over 40,000,000 (40 million) people during his reign as the Mongolia Khagan. This staggering death toll was the result of widespread military campaigns launched across Asia and Eastern Europe, in which entire cities were systematically destroyed. These conquests led to the formation of the Mongol Empire, the largest contiguous land empire in history. Borjigi’s various strategies (e.g. psychological warfare, mass executions, scorched Earth tactic for villages encountered etc.) helped reshape the geopolitical landscape of the east and west during the 13th century, turning Mongolia into the centralized power of the period. Despite this brutality, Borjigi’s legacy also included positive benefits (e.g. advancements in trade, advancements in communication, advancements in governance etc.), systems which went on to direct future empires. Borjigi’s advancements included the promotion of the Silk Road trade network, the creation of a postal relay system reaching across vast distances of territory, and the implementation of merit based leadership over blood ties, ideas which fostered connectivity and administrative efficiency throughout the empire. Additionally, Borjigi unified multiple warring tribes and enforced legislation which highlighted and punished corruption when exposed. Borjigi’s empire was not solely predicated upon conquest however, as his ideas also helped maintain control, structure, and cohesion within its vision for a constantly expanding empire, something extremely difficult to successfully accomplish. The way the Borjigin dynasty governed, most especially its methods of organizing logistics, enforcing legislation, and leading people, continues to echo within the frameworks of modern governments during the modern day via foundational principles which continue to shape how states manage infrastructure, enforce law and order, and mobilize populations. From the codification of legal frameworks to the strategic coordination of supply chains and communication networks, the Borjigin dynasty laid legacy groundwork capable of transcending its period of use and relevance. Because of this, Borjigin not only drew up and rearranged world borders, he changed how empires think and act as they expand outward

The Reason Europeans Began Consuming Coffee During the 16th Century

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Coffee was initially referred to as a drink only consumed by the devil and frowned upon until Pope Clement VIII tried it and changed his opinion which changed Rome, Italy’s stance. Coffee was seen as the devil’s drink because it was the drink of the Muslim and therefore by default the infidels with whom Christians had been at war for centuries. Pope Clement VIII famously stated that coffee was so delicious that Christians should cheat the devil by baptizing the beverage

The Reason Women Were Forced Into Caretaking Roles Throughout History

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In early hunter gatherer societies, women played a crucial role in providing sustenance within their communities. Women were responsible to gather fruits, nuts, and roots, developing extensive knowledge of plant life, seasonal patterns, and medicinal herbs as these are all necessary skill sets for foraging. As societies expanded in order to sustain their growing populations, women became less and less relevant as they were viewed as unfit for agricultural work or to participate within battles and wars, and because of these factors and because virtually all societies shifted toward agriculture, women gradually lost their ability to gather and became increasingly dependent upon the wealth and provisions of their husbands. The rise of warfare in expanding civilizations meant that warriors who were almost exclusively male gained access to even more control over resources and decision making within society. This forced women into the role of caretakers. With agriculture came the concept of land ownership, which was almost exclusively controlled by men, further solidifying male dominance of society. As permanent settlements formed, men took control of agricultural work, domestic trade, and governance, whilst women were confined to domestic responsibilities due to generations of marginalization and conditioning. Over the coming centuries, religious, cultural, and legal systems reinforced these divisions, ensuring that women remained economically and socially subordinate in perpetuity

The Annual War Campaign of the Assyrian Civilization

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The Assyrians were masters of war, as war underpinned their society, economy, and civilization. The Assyrians would collectively gather each year to attack and plunder any neighboring states unlucky enough to be within striking distance. This tradition was viewed by the Assyrians as a time of harvest, with vegetables being replaced with the plunders and spoils of war. The Assyrians are known to have impaled their enemies, amputate their enemies, burn their enemies alive, flay their enemies alive, disfigure enemies, engage in mass blinding of vision, as well as mass deportation

The Etymology of “Seal Team 6”

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When former U.S. Naval Commander Richard Marcinko developed the concept of the U.S. Navy Component of the Joint Special Operations Command Seal Team 6, it was only himself and another person he had recruited personally. The specific intent of this decision was designed to cause enemy combatants to become confounded as to where the 4 additional members of the 6 person team were located after a mission had successfully been accomplished or discovered, failed, and aborted (e.g. enemy combatant discovering evidence of tampering with equipment therefore reviewing security footage etc.). This purposeful misdirection of information has proven to be an incredibly beneficial strategic tactic for the U.S. military as the psychology of war at its core is primarily the withholding of true information and the spread of false propaganda

The Correlation Between International Conflict and the White Supremacist Movement

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Throughout U.S. history, there has always remained a correlation between the aftermath of conflict and vigilante and revolutionary violence connected to the White Supremacist movement. Surges of Ku Klux Klan membership align more closely with veterans of combat and the aftermath of war than they do with anti-immigration, populism, economic hardship, or any of the other political factors experts have traditionally relied upon to explain sudden spikes of membership affiliation. White supremacist activity always have a direct link to post war periods, including notable individuals such as George Lincoln Rockwell who was a World War II veteran and founder of the American Nazi Party, Richard Butler who was also a World War II veteran and founder of the Aryan Nations, Louis Beam who was a Vietnam War veteran and Grand Dragon of the Klux Klux Klan, and Timothy McVeigh who was a Gulf War Veteran and responsible for the Oklahoma City bombing of 1995

The 12 Gods and Goddesses of Ancient Greece

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The Ancient Greeks believed in 12 gods and goddesses who were understood to reside upon Mount Olympus. These deities included Zeus (pronounced “zoose”) the king of the gods, Hera (pronounced “hare-ah”) the wife of Zeus and goddess of marriage and childbirth, Apollo (pronounced “ah-pol-oh”) the son of Zeus, sun god, and god of music and healing, Artemis (pronounced “art-em-is”) the daughter of Zeus, twin sister of Apollo, and the goddess of the moon and hunting, Aphrodite (pronounced “af-row-dye-tee”) the daughter of Zeus and goddess of love and sexual desire, Ares (pronounced “air-eez”) the son of Zeus, god of war and battle, and lover of Aphrodite, Poseidon (pronounced “po-sai-den”) the brother of Zeus and god of the sea, storms, and earthquakes, Demeter (pronounced “de-me-tur”) a lover of Zeus and the goddess of agriculture and fertility, Athena (pronounced “ah-tee-nah”) the daughter of Zeus and goddess of wisdom and war, Hephaestus (pronounced “heh-fai-sch-tus”) the son of Zeus and god of fire and art, Hermes (pronounced “hur-meez”) the son of Zeus, god of commerce and travel, as well as being a personal messenger for his father, and finally Hestia (pronounced “hess-tee-yah”) the sister of Zeus and goddess of the home and family

Ancient Druid Power and Influence Upon Society

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The Ancient Druids had tools used for predicting the future with one example being the divination spoons, a small set of golden leaf shaped items which were concave with a small hole upon one of the leaflets. Blood would be blown into this hole using a small tube and the breath of a Druid so that its final patterns could be used to predict the outcome of certain events. This is important because these interpretations were completely subjective (e.g. if a Druid wanted to go to war, many people could potentially die dependent upon how they read these natural signs as prophecies). Manipulation of these results and their prophetic message would be undetectable by common people as only the Druids knew how to read the signs which they were looking for. This opens the door for corruption and/or the tampering of results and their message. The Druids remained so powerful that even Celtic monarchs revered and respected their authority. Despite this enormous influence, apart from divination spoons, definitive and conclusive evidence of Druid prophetic tools have never been found

Pablo Picasso’s Politically Charged Guernica Painting

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On April 26, 1937, Guernica, Spain was severely bombed due to civil conflict brought on by World War II. The Basque town of Guernica was openly hostile towards General Francisco Franco’s ideologies, and because of this, Franco unleashed a 3.5 hour bombing raid upon this defenseless city, with help from German allies. In total, 1650 people were killed, 900 injured, and most of the township was destroyed, an event which sparked international outrage. Pablo Picasso created a piece of artwork as sentiment towards anti-war and anti-violence entitled “Guernica”. Picasso understood that artwork and politics rarely go together hand in hand and so he created not a piece of aircraft and bombs but rather of horses and swords, as he was determined not to create artwork which could be used as propaganda in the future. The bull depicted within the painting is designed to represent Franco and his military powers and the suffering horses and weeping woman symbolize the people of Spain. Picasso’s Guernica work became a timeless masterpiece and a copy of it is on display at the United Nations world headquarters in New York City, United States of America. The Guernica painting was covered briefly with a veil during 2003 when U.S. General Colin Powell announced the United States’ decision to invade Iraq. The Guernica image was seen as incendiary commentary and therefore intolerable during this chaotic period. The Guernica painting has become a symbol of protest to violence, war, and military regimes, not just for every country in the world, but of the 20th century and beyond

The Meaning of Comets and Asteroids Throughout History and the Fallacy of Patterns

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Comets and asteroids meant different things to different cultures throughout history. To the Masai of East Africa they meant famine, to the Zulu of South Africa they meant war, to the Ighat* of West Africa they meant disease, to the Jaga of Sier* they meant smallpox, and to their neighbors the Luba, they foretold the death of a leader. The Chinese tracked and cataloged comets and asteroids starting in 1400 B.C. In Chinese mythology, a 3 tailed comet or asteroid meant calamity for the state, and a 4 tailed comet or asteroid signaled an epidemic was coming. The human being ability to recognize patterns can be a double edged sword as it can lead us to believe a pattern exists when really there is no correlation between the before scenario and after event. This phenomena is referred to as “post hoc ergo propter hoc” which is Latin for “after this, therefore because of this”. Post hoc ergo propter hoc explains a logical fallacy which states “since event Y followed event X, event Y must have been caused by event X.” This theory of thought is often shortened to simply “post hoc fallacy”. An example of this incorrect theory of thought would be “the rooster crows immediately before sunrise; therefore the rooster causes the sun to rise”. Oddly enough, the reason roosters crow at sunrise is because they actually believe they are prompting the sun to rise into the sky due to their limited brain capacity and ability to utilize logic and/or reason

*spelling may be slightly inaccurate for the indigenous people listed