Just as empires rise to their pinnacle of power they fall to a new leader. We often see similar techniques and ideas that propel each empire into power and with these similar rises they experience the same fall. Throughout history civilizations expanded through the explanation of religion. Using religion as an explanation, civilizations were able to grow their warfare tactics and as a result their empire. Religion has and will always be a large part of society. From 2000 years before christ to 1200 years after his death religion was abused for its devout followers by their leaders. Greedy leaders seeking world domination masked their plans using religion to encourage and assemble massive armies to fulfill the leaders desires. Pope Urban the …show more content…
In South America the Mayans were the most dominant civilization in modern day Guatemala. The Mayans grew to the height of their rule from 300 - 900 AD. They began and fought wars with smaller civilizations solely for religious purposes. Provoking and fighting wars primarily to imprison their enemy and use them for human sacrifice to appease their gods. Goods were collected as religious offerings throughout the Mayan domain. These Mayan soldiers believed that they needed to provide the Gods with human sacrifices so the crops can grow and prosper. The King of the Mayans truly believed that they needed more people to sacrifice to please their gods so they could have a productive harvest season and live. The Mayans needed to continue to conquer others because they constantly needed sacrifices for their many religious ceremonies. Similarly to the Mayans, the Aztecs dominated massive territories throughout Mesoamerica. The Aztecs began their reign after fall of the Mayans. Religion was the main power in the Aztec empire as religious leaders appointed the King. The Aztecs grew an empire of over a million people who were primarily conquered tribes. The Aztecs empire grew as a result of their agriculture. Successful crop growth fueled the Aztec army who in return conquered more territories. While when the aztecs conquered people they allowed …show more content…
After inheriting the territory of northern China and the mongolian homeland. Kublai was threatened by his own brother who he defeated. He began his expansion east and conquered China. After that he took role as emperor of China and continued west and south. Having conquered all of mongolia and china he sought more. He ruled over Korea but was stopped by in Japan not once but twice. Kublai sent two separate fleets to Japan and they were both sunk by what the Japanese called Kamikaze or the divine wind. The Japanese believed the gods did not want them to be overtaken and that is the reason for the navy’s failed missions. Kublai died before he could invade Japan again. If he had it would have ruined the empire he built even more than he already
The religion and culture of the Aztecs played a role in the way the way they thought and fought. They worshiped the war-god Huitzilopochtli. He was identified with the sun and was called "the Giver of life" and "the Preserver of Life" (xxxix). The religion carried some ridiculous rituals such as human sacrifice along with using magicians and wizards to cast spells. In war conditions, human sacrifice played a big role because the Aztecs would not fight to kill,...
Two of the biggest and greatest civilization in the Americas were the Aztecs and Incas. These two civilization were both said to be conquered by the Spanish, but it wasn’t just the Spanish who conquered them. These two civilizations both fell from a combination of a weak government, lack of technology, new disease introduced by the invaders, and not being prepared for the invaders. For many centuries the Aztec civilization revolved around a ideological, social, and political system in which expansion was the cornerstone. Expansion was the cornerstone of their whole civilization, because their religion requested that a large number of human sacrifices where to be made to the gods.
Although the extent of its influence varied through the years, religion continued to command a central role in European politics, society, culture, and thought, from the late 16th century to the Enlightenment. As illustrated by the examples above, it remained a powerful tool of leaders used it in various capacities and to varying degrees.
They were militaristic people, always ready to wage war on neighboring regions to earn and demand respect. The emperor, being a powerful king, was the one who would declare war. When Aztecs went to war it was to capture prisoners and pay tribute to their gods. Many young Aztec boys believed becoming a warrior was a glorified position and would enlist with great pride. Aztec warriors lived by the sword, and died for it. Capturing a prisoner was part of the initiation of becoming a warrior. The more prisoners the warriors caught, the more they were rewarded with land, and social rank. Similarly, Maya warriors could also move upward in rank and class through service in the military. The difference between the Aztec and the Maya military was that the Aztec military was led by their powerful emperor, whereas each Maya city-state had their own military which was led by a military leader, the halach uinic. The military leader not only controlled the city-states government but also had religious control over them. Maya city-states would fight one other for destruction of rival states, for dominance and to capture prisoners for sacrificing. The capturing of high-ranking officials were considered a priority and sacrificed immediately as supreme offerings to the gods, whereas commoners were forced into slavery, publicly humiliated, and weren 't sacrificed until one was needed. The Aztecs and the Mayas both
Religion gives rise to and is born with the unreasonable and uninviting desire to make man at home in what seems to be very close to an uncaring world. With this being
The rise and fall of civilizations are inevitable. The way in which this occurs, however, can vary greatly from one civilization to the next. Although it can differ, the rise and fall of civilization has some underlying patterns; this being the gain and loss of power. The Roman Empire and Han dynasty both differed and resembled each other in the process of the rise and fall of empires.
The accomplishments and success of civilizations are closely linked to their religious outlook and the role of religion in their governments and society. Throughout history rulers have used the influence of religions to control their populations and provide the justification for their power. A society with a greater degree of separation between religion and government promotes a superior level of liberty and creativity amongst its people. By the time of the decline of the Roman Empire in the west, however, the world had come full circle to a return to theocratic dictatorship.
Religion has always played a major role in the development of human society. This is the main reason why it has so often been used for unjust purposes. The concept of war is in complete opposition to what Islam and Christianity teach their followers. Still, by different means, religion was and is often brought into play to cater for the interests of powerful people.
These three civilizations were focused on their religions, causing some similarities. They all built cities as religious centers. Both the Mayas and the Aztecs worshipped their gods through human sacrifice. The Olmecs were so dedicated to their gods that they transported 50 ton boulders from the mountains to the shore. For the Mayas, even their games were related to their religion. The Aztec society was constantly at war for the sole purpose of making sacrifices to their many gods. Religion dominated the cultures of these Mesoamerican empires.
Religions has been here since the beginning of time and will continue to grown and spread throughout the world by various means. I'm here to argue that the role of religion in ancient civilizations was a way of life.
The Mayan civilization was located in southeastern Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula. One of the first American civilizations, it lasted from about 1000 B.C.-1542 A.D. Their civilization flourished during the Sixth Century. They built many temples and over forty cities. The Mayan population consisted of almost fifteen million people who were all living in one of the many cities. The Mayan people were extremely religious and believed in multiple gods which meant they were polytheistic. Their most commonly worshiped god was the Maize God, or god of corn, as corn was the most grown and most relied on crop. The Mayans grew all of their own food so they needed to have useful farming methods. The one they used most often was the slash and burn method, which involved cutting down trees and burning them to make the soil fertil which was necessary to grow crops. This method worked for many years, but soon started to backfire. The Mayans were ahead of their time, but that did not prevent their mysterious decline which occurred between the years 800 A.D.-900 A.D. Although it is not known exactly why the powerful empire fell, but there are various probable theories. The mysterious decline of the Mayans may have been caused by
The Dark Ages were a time of great loss in regards to the lack of any grand achievement being made in Europe. After the fall of Rome, it was as if European society paused, and resumed during the Renaissance. This was not true for the Mayans, however. While the Europeans were squandering trying to subsist through the fall of the Roman Empire, the Mayans were building great pyramids, making substantial discoveries in astronomy and mathematics, their culture was rich. The Maya stood out for its sophisticated culture and society, which is eventually overshadowed by Europe’s monumental resurgence during the Renaissance period. It’s salient that the Maya never had a time period in which their culture was lost, despite the mysterious abandonment of
Most of the civilizations throughout history have been taken over or replaced by other civilizations due to disunity and chaos. Although an empire might seem prosperous, the decline and fall of empires are sometimes inevitable. Even though an empire might seem invincible, there are many factors that could lead to the sudden decline or fall of an empire. Over many centuries, historians have composed many reasons, such as weak militaries, economic burdens, dynastic successions, and external enemies, which have been known to contribute to the rise and fall of many once successful empires.
As far as mankind’s history can date, religion has had quite an intimate relationship with people. Although maybe it hasn’t always been identified in the same way as we identify religion today, spread across the world we have the remains of pyramids, temples, and even written in ancient texts from centuries ago dedicated to god, to the afterlife, to what lies on the other side. And up to today’s times, religion has grown along with man.
The concern for religion in the United States has been slowly diminishing. This is a threat to American society, because without religion the U.S. must find other ways to establish social cohesion. Social Cohesion is basically getting people to work together or find a way to include everyone into