#WHE

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Harriet Tubman: Visionary American Hero

Harriet Tubman (circa 1822-1913) was a former slave, abolitionist, women's rights activist, and famous conductor on the Underground Railroad. She served as a cook, nurse, scout, and spy for the Union Army during the American Civil War and, in her later years, established the Harriet Tubman Home for the Aged in Auburn and Fleming, New York, now a National Historic Site.

Born as a slave in Maryland, Tubman escaped in 1849, making her way to Philadelphia and freedom. She then returned to Maryland to free her family and became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, working with fellow abolitionists William Still (1819-1902), Passmore Williamson (1822-1895), Frederick Douglass (1818-1895), William Lloyd Garrison (1805-1879), John Brown (1800-1859), and many others in assisting freedom seekers (fugitive slaves) in their flight from slavery.

She supported armed resistance to the "peculiar institution" and helped John Brown plan his assault on the arsenal at Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859, which they hoped would encourage a large-scale slave revolt. The raid failed, and Brown was executed, but Tubman continued her advocacy for military action against slaveholders, helping to recruit Black soldiers and serving as guide and scout on the Combahee River Raid (Raid on Combahee Ferry) in 1863, which freed over 750 slaves.

After the Civil War, Tubman advocated for women's rights and civil rights from her home in Auburn, New York, established her Home for the Aged, and freely donated to any cause that advocated for equal rights for all. She died of pneumonia in 1913 and was buried with semi-military honors at Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn. In the present day, she is remembered as a great American advocate for freedom and justice for all.

Early Life, Injury, & Family

According to writers Jean Marie Wiesen and Rita Daniels, Tubman's maternal grandmother, known as Modesty, was "an Ashanti maiden…born in Ghana, on the Gold Coast of Africa" and was "among the hundreds of West Africans captured from her village in the late 1700s" (14). Tubman's mother, Harriet ("Rit") Green, married Ben Ross circa 1808 and had nine children, including Araminta ("Minty") Ross (born circa 1822), who would become Harriet Tubman.

The family was separated as Rit was owned by the Brodess family while Ben was a slave of the Thompsons. Since any children born of an enslaved woman were enslaved by her owners, all the children came to be the property of Mary Pattison Brodess and her son Edward. Edward further separated the family by hiring them out to different locations and, at one point, selling two of Tubman's sisters.

When Tubman was six years old, she was hired out to a woman as a nursemaid and, whenever the infant woke and cried, Tubman was whipped. She took to wearing layers of clothing as protection, which may have helped, but still carried the scars of those whippings for the rest of her life.

In 1835, when Tubman was around 13, she was sent on an errand, along with the plantation's cook, to a local store for a few provisions. Tubman later recalled that she was ashamed of how her hair looked, even covered with a shawl, and waited outside the shop while the cook went in. An overseer, chasing a fugitive slave, asked Tubman to help stop him, and she refused. The overseer then hurled a 2-pound weight at the fleeing slave but missed, striking Tubman in the head. Scholar Kate Clifford Larson writes:

The last thing she remembered was the overseer "raising up his arm to throw an iron weight at one of the slaves and that was the last I knew." She remembered vividly how the weight "broke my skull and cut a piece of that shawl clean off and drove it into my head. They carried me to the house all bleeding and fainting. I had no bed, no place to lie down on at all, and they lay me on the seat of the loom, and I stayed there all that day and next."

(42)

Tubman was sent back to the fields the next day, working "with the blood and sweat rolling down my face till I couldn't see" (Larson, 42) but was finally allowed to be treated by her mother, an herbalist healer, who nursed her back to health. According to Larson, this injury resulted in temporal lobe epilepsy, characterized by sleeping spells in which she would experience visions she understood as sent by God. She would remain in these states until she suddenly woke or "persistent shaking by her fellow slaves brought her back to reality, though she protested that she hadn't been asleep at all" (Larson, 43-44).

These visions would continue throughout her life and, she claimed, often told her where to go, when, and how to find those who would offer help to freedom seekers. She claimed to have seen John Brown in her visions, for example, years before she met him.

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⇒ Harriet Tubman: Visionary American Hero

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D-Day Invasion

D-Day, June 6, 1944, marked a pivotal moment in history as Allied forces launched a massive assault on German-occupied Western Europe. The operation, known as Operation Overlord, involved a coordinated attack by U.S., British, and Canadian troops on five beaches in Normandy, France. This day is widely regarded as a turning point in World War II, with about 135,000 soldiers landing in a single day.

Key Facts

Date and Location: The invasion took place on June 6, 1944, on the beaches of Normandy, France.

Allied Forces: Primarily U.S., British, and Canadian troops were involved.

Scale of the Invasion: Approximately 135,000 soldiers landed on D-Day.

Naval and Air Support: The operation was backed by extensive naval and air support.

Historical Context

D-Day occurred during World War II, a global conflict that involved most of the world's nations, including the Axis powers (Germany, Italy, Japan) and the Allied powers (the U.S., the U.K., and the Soviet Union). The invasion was a significant step in the Allied campaign to liberate Western Europe from German occupation.

Historical Significance

D-Day had profound historical significance, marking a crucial shift in momentum that ultimately led to the defeat of Nazi Germany. The successful landing and subsequent push into Europe paved the way for the liberation of Western Europe and played a key role in ending World War II.

Learn More: D-Day

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The Stolypin Reforms: Tsar Nicholas II's Attempt to Stave off Revolution

Pyotr Stolypin (1862-1911) was a Russian politician who served as prime minister to Tsar Nicholas II (reign 1894-1917). Stolypin ruthlessly quashed anti-Tsarist rebellions after the Russian Revolution of 1905 but was also responsible for economic, social, and land reforms during his tenure from 1906 to 1911. The Stolypin reforms helped modernise Russia's backward agriculture and education sectors. The reforms were only partially successful and failed to prevent the Russian Revolution of 1917.

Revolution

Tsar Nicholas II had reigned over the Russian Empire since 1894, but his absolute rule faced a major challenge with the January revolution of 1905, when workers, peasants, and elements of the military all called for political, social, and economic changes and a new representative system of government. The economic slump of 1901 to 1905 and Russia's loss in the Russo-Japanese War (1904-5) added to the woes of those who called for change and further dented the tsar's prestige. On 9 January, a demonstration at the Winter Palace was fired upon, leading to the incident becoming known as Bloody Sunday of 1905. A general strike followed in St. Petersburg. On 4 February, the tsar's uncle, Grand Duke Sergei, governor-general of Moscow, was assassinated. Peasant revolts followed. In June, sailors of the battleship Potemkin staged a mutiny at Odessa. More strikes followed in October. The result of the Russian Revolution in 1905 was that the tsar was obliged to offer a more constitutional approach to governance, which he presented in his October Manifesto.

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⇒ The Stolypin Reforms: Tsar Nicholas II's Attempt to Stave off Revolution

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Revolutionary Wars Sparked

The French Revolutionary Wars, spanning from 1792 to 1802, were a pivotal series of conflicts that sprang from the tumultuous French Revolution. These wars involved France battling several European powers, including Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, and Great Britain. The outcome was a resounding French victory, which catapulted Napoleon Bonaparte to power. One of the most surprising aspects of these wars was their transformation from defensive battles to campaigns of conquest, leading to French control over significant parts of Europe.

Key Facts

Duration: 1792-1802

Main Opponents: Austria, Prussia, Russia, Spain, Great Britain

Outcome: French victory, rise of Napoleon

Notable Conquests: Low Countries, northern Italy, Rhineland

Treaty Ending the Wars: Treaty of Amiens, 1802

Historical Context

The French Revolutionary Wars were fueled by the revolutionary ideals of liberty, equality, and fraternity. However, they soon became driven by Napoleon's ambition for expansion.

Historical Significance

These wars not only secured Napoleon's position but also set the stage for the Napoleonic Wars, which followed soon after. The conflicts marked a significant shift in European politics and power dynamics, leading to a period of French dominance under Napoleon.

Learn More: French Revolutionary Wars

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RMS Lusitania

RMS Lusitania was a British transatlantic liner infamously sunk by a German U-boat on 7 May 1915 during the First World War (1914-18). Struck off the coast of southern Ireland, the ship sank in less than 20 minutes, and nearly 1,200 passengers lost their lives. The attack on the unarmed vessel sailing from New York to Liverpool caused such a furore in Britain and the United States that Germany subsequently limited its submarine attacks on merchant vessels. The wreck of the Lusitania was explored and mapped by Robert D. Ballard in 1993.

Design

The RMS (Royal Mail Ship) Lusitania, named after the Iberian province of ancient Rome, was a Cunard liner designed for transatlantic voyages. The sleek design was created by the naval architect Leonard Peskett, whose brief was to make the ship faster than anything else afloat. Built at the John Brown Shipyard on the River Clyde in Scotland, the massive riveted steel hull was launched on 7 June 1906. The ship was fitted out as the most luxurious liner afloat, enabling Cunard to attract the maximum number of travellers in the lucrative transatlantic market. Looking to the future, the design of the ship deliberately permitted an easy conversion to an armed merchant cruiser if required. Indeed, the liner's construction had been partially funded by the British Admiralty, and the ship was officially registered with that body as an armed auxiliary cruiser.

The Lusitania displaced 44,767 tonnes and was 240 metres (787 ft) in length – 1912's RMS Titanic was only 29 metres (95 ft) longer. The ship's four funnels stood at a height of over 47 metres (155 ft). Power for the four screw propellers came from four direct-acting Parsons steam turbines, which gave 76,000 hp (57 MW). 5,000 tons of coal were required for every Atlantic crossing. The cruising speed was 50 km/h (30 mph) with a top speed of 25 knots, making it faster than any other liner with the exception of its sister ship, RMS Mauretania (launched in 1906).

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⇒ RMS Lusitania

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Book of Kells

The Book of Kells (c. 800) is an illuminated manuscript of the four gospels of the Christian New Testament, currently housed at Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland. The work is the most famous of the medieval illuminated manuscripts for the intricacy, detail, and majesty of the illustrations. It is thought the book was created as a showpiece for the altar, not for daily use, because more attention was obviously given to the artwork than the text.

The beauty of the lettering, portraits of the evangelists, and other images, often framed by intricate Celtic knotwork motifs, has been praised by writers through the centuries. Scholar Thomas Cahill notes that, “as late as the twelfth century, Geraldus Cambrensis was forced to conclude that the Book of Kells was “the work of an angel, not of a man” owing to its majestic illustrations and that, in the present day, the letters illustrating the Chi-Rho (the monogram of Christ) are regarded as “more presences than letters” on the page for their beauty (165). Unlike other illuminated manuscripts, where text was written and illustration and illumination added afterwards, the creators of the Book of Kells focused on the impression the work would have visually and so the artwork was the focus of the piece.

Origin & Purpose

The Book of Kells was produced by monks of St. Columba's order of Iona, Scotland, but exactly where it was made is disputed. Theories regarding composition range from its creation on the island of Iona to Kells, Ireland, to Lindisfarne, Britain. It was most likely created, at least in part, at Iona and then brought to Kells to keep it safe from Viking raiders who first struck Iona in 795, shortly after their raid on Lindisfarne Priory in Britain.

A Viking raid in 806 killed 68 monks at Iona and led to the survivors abandoning the abbey in favor of another or their order at Kells. It is likely that the Book of Kells traveled with them at this time and may have been completed in Ireland. The oft-repeated claim that it was made or first owned by St. Columba (521-597) is untenable as the book was created no earlier than c. 800, but there is no doubt it was produced by later members of his order.

The work is commonly regarded as the greatest illuminated manuscript of any era owing to the beauty of the artwork and this, no doubt, had to do with the purpose it was made for. Scholars have concluded that the book was created for use during the celebration of the mass but most likely was not read from so much as shown to the congregation.

This theory is supported by the fact that the text is often carelessly written, contains a number of errors, and at points certainly seems an afterthought to the illustrations on the page. The priests who would have used the book most likely already had the biblical passages memorized and so would recite them while holding the book, having no need to read from the text.

Scholar Christopher de Hamel notes how, in the present day, “books are very visible in churches” but that in the Middle Ages this would not have been the case (186). De Hamel describes the rough outline of a medieval church service:

There were no pews (people usually stood or sat on the floor), and there would probably have been no books on view. The priest read the Mass in Latin from a manuscript placed on the altar and the choir chanted their part of the daily office from a volume visible only to them. Members of the congregation were not expected to join in the singing; some might have brought their Books of Hours to help ease themselves into a suitable frame of mind, but the services were conducted by the priests. (186)

The Book of Kells is thought to have been the manuscript on the altar which may have been first used in services on Iona and then certainly was at the abbey of Kells. The brightly-colored illustrations and illumination would have made it an exceptionally impressive piece to a congregation, adding a visual emphasis to the words the priest recited while being shown to the people; much in the way one today would read a picture book to a small child.

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Ancient Celtic Sculpture

The sculpture of the ancient Celts between 700 BCE and 400 CE is nothing if not varied as artists across Europe developed their own ideas and borrowed what interested them from neighbouring cultures. Early Celtic stone and wood sculptures focus on the human form, especially heads. Such works usually represent gods and heroic warrior figures but are often abstract with typical facial features being lentoid eyes, a bulbous nose, and swept-back hair. Animals, both real and imagined, were another favourite subject, especially in miniature form in metal to adorn all manner of objects such as cauldrons, chariots, helmet crests, and jugs. Vegetal designs and swirling complex lines added extra decoration to objects and became a feature that stayed with Celtic art as it developed through the medieval period. Celtic art, in general, has enjoyed a tremendous revival from the 19th century CE up to the present day and many of the motifs which are so quintessentially 'Celtic' have their origins in the artworks produced 2,000 years ago.

Themes

The ancient peoples who spoke the Celtic language occupied territories from Iberia to Bohemia through the 1st millennium BCE and several centuries into the 1st millennium CE. The Celts in any particular area of western and central Europe had no concept they were part of a wider culture with similar approaches to religion and culture. Then, like many other long-lasting cultures, the sculpture of the Celts evolved over time, receiving influences from the cultures in the Near East and the Greeks, Etruscans, Scythians, Thracians and Romans, and, of course, from other Celts. Any treatment of ancient Celtic art is obliged, therefore, to be a general one. A further difficulty is that the Celts left very few written records and so we have no commentaries from the creators themselves on what inspired their art, what their art was intended to represent, or how it was to be used. We must judge Celtic art largely by examining only the art objects themselves and the contexts in which they have been rediscovered.

Despite these problems of definition and study, there are certainly some common themes which are expressed in Celtic sculpture wherever pieces have been found. Further, Celtic art is not restricted to prestige items but is found everywhere from large figure sculptures in stone to the humblest of clothing pins; even such highly functional items as wine flagons and fire-dogs (used to roast meat on) were embellished with ornate heads of animals.

Three subjects stand out as being of particular interest to ancient Celtic sculptors: Gods, warriors, and animals. Sculptures are rarely life-size, but this may be because examples have simply not survived. In addition, it is the head which seems to have captured the Celtic imagination most of all. Heads were considered the containers of the soul and so were especially important in Celtic religion and warfare (where they were collected as trophies). It is not surprising, then, to see the head dominate Celtic sculpture. Human heads, and many of the animals in Celtic art, are typically stylized, they often have swept-back hair, a bulbous nose, and lentoid eyes. Over time, the Celtic love of heads in sculpture seems to have diminished and been replaced by other forms but they are, nevertheless, still seen in engraved areas of other objects where they are surrounded by a camouflage of foliage and linear motifs, often, too, rendered in a highly abstract manner but visible to the trained eye.

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Europe Transformed

In the span of just 35 years, from 1914 to 1949, Europe underwent a profound transformation. The era was marked by World War I, the collapse of empires, and the rise of powerful ideologies like fascism and communism. This period, which culminated in World War II and the subsequent rebuilding of Europe, reshaped the continent's borders and political structures, laying the groundwork for the modern Europe we know today. One surprising aspect is how these events, driven by both war and ideological shifts, created the foundation for contemporary Europe's political landscape.

Key Facts

First World War (1914-1918): Led to the collapse of empires such as the Austro-Hungarian and German Empires.

Between the Wars: Saw the rise of fascist Italy under Mussolini and Nazi Germany under Hitler.

Second World War (1939-1945): Involved a global conflict with far-reaching consequences, including the formation of the United Nations.

Post-War Era (1945-1949): Began with the division of Europe into Eastern and Western blocs during the Cold War.

Historical Context

The period between 1914 and 1949 was pivotal for Europe as it transitioned from a continent dominated by traditional empires to one where new ideologies held sway. The aftermath of World War I created a power vacuum that allowed fascist and communist regimes to flourish.

Historical Significance

The events of this era set the stage for modern Europe by establishing the political and geographical structures that still influence the continent today. The formation of the European Union, for instance, was partly a response to the devastating effects of conflict in this period, as nations sought to promote peace through cooperation.

Learn More: Europe 1914–1949: History Maps of the World Wars

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The Indus Valley Civilization was a cultural and political entity which flourished in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent between c. 7000 - c. 600 BCE. Its modern name derives from its location in the valley of the Indus River, but it is also commonly referred to as the Indus-Sarasvati Civilization and the Harrapan Civilization. These latter designations come from the Sarasvati River mentioned in Vedic sources, which flowed adjacent to the Indus River, and the ancient city of Harappa in the region, the first one found in the modern era. None of these names derive from any ancient texts because, although scholars generally believe the people of this civilization developed a writing system (known as Indus Script or Harappan Script) it has not yet been deciphered. All three designations are modern constructs, and nothing is definitively known of the origin, development, decline, and fall of the civilization. Even so, modern archaeology has established a probable chronology and periodization: Pre-Harappan – c. 7000 - c. 5500 BCE Early Harappan – c. 5500 - 2800 BCE Mature Harappan – c. 2800 - c. 1900 BCE Late Harappan – c. 1900 - c. 1500 BCE Post Harappan – c. 1500 - c. 600 BCE The Indus Valley Civilization is now often compared with the far more famous cultures of Egypt and Mesopotamia, but this is a fairly recent development. The discovery of Harappa in 1829 CE was the first indication that any such civilization existed in India, and by that time, Egyptian hieroglyphics had been deciphered, Egyptian and Mesopotamian sites excavated, and cuneiform would soon be translated by the scholar George Smith (l. 1840-1876 CE). Archaeological excavations of the Indus Valley Civilization, therefore, had a significantly late start comparatively, and it is now thought that many of the accomplishments and “firsts” attributed to Egypt and Mesopotamia may actually belong to the people of the Indus Valley Civilization. The two best-known excavated cities of this culture are Harappa and Mohenjo-daro (located in modern-day Pakistan), both of which are thought to have once had populations of between 40,000-50,000 people, which is stunning when one realizes that most ancient cities had on average 10,000 people living in them. The total population of the civilization is thought to have been upward of 5 million, and its territory stretched over 900 miles (1,500 km) along the banks of the Indus River and then in all directions outward. Indus Valley Civilization sites have been found near the border of Nepal, in Afghanistan, on the coasts of India, and around Delhi, to name only a few locations. Between c. 1900 - c. 1500 BCE, the civilization began to decline for unknown reasons. In the early 20th century CE, this was thought to have been caused by an invasion of light-skinned peoples from the north known as Aryans who conquered a dark-skinned people defined by Western scholars as Dravidians. This claim, known as the Aryan Invasion Theory, has been discredited. The Aryans – whose ethnicity is associated with the Iranian Persians – are now believed to have migrated to the region peacefully and blended their culture with that of the indigenous people while the term Dravidian is understood now to refer to anyone, of any ethnicity, who speaks one of the Dravidian languages. Why the Indus Valley Civilization declined and fell is unknown, but scholars believe it may have had to do with climate change, the drying up of the Sarasvati River, an alteration in the path of the monsoon which watered crops, overpopulation of the cities, a decline in trade with Egypt and Mesopotamia, or a combination of any of the above. In the present day, excavations continue at many of the sites found thus far and some future find may provide more information on the history and decline of the culture.

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Abbeys were a striking feature of medieval urban and rural landscapes. Their layout and architecture reflected their purpose as cut-off monastic retreats which, conversely, also served and inspired their local communities. Although evolving over the centuries, many features of abbeys became standard, such as the main church, cloister, chapter house, refectory, library, calefectory, and dormitories.

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Ur

Ur was a city in the region of Sumer, southern Mesopotamia, and its ruins lie in what is modern-day Tell el-Muqayyar, Iraq. According to biblical tradition, the city is named after the man who founded the first settlement there, Ur, though this has been challenged. The city is famous for its biblical associations and as an ancient trade center.

The city's other biblical link is to the patriarch Abraham who left Ur to settle in the land of Canaan. This claim has also been contested by scholars who believe that Abraham's home was further north in Mesopotamia in a place called Ura, near the city of Harran, and that the writers of the biblical narrative in the Book of Genesis confused the two.

Whatever its biblical connections may have been, Ur was a significant port city on the Persian Gulf which began, most likely, as a small village in the Ubaid Period of Mesopotamian history (5000-4100 BCE) and was an established city by 3800 BCE continually inhabited until 450 BCE. Ur's biblical associations have made it famous in the modern-day but it was a significant urban center long before the biblical narratives were written and highly respected in its time.

The Early Period & Excavation

The site became famous in 1922 when Sir Leonard Wooley excavated the ruins and discovered what he called The Great Death Pit (an elaborate grave complex), the Royal Tombs, and, more significantly to him, claimed to have found evidence of the Great Flood described in the Book of Genesis (this claim was later discredited but continues to find supporters). In its time, Ur was a city of enormous size, scope, and opulence which drew its vast wealth from its position on the Persian Gulf and the trade this allowed with countries as far away as India. The present site of the ruins of Ur are much further inland than they were at the time when the city flourished owing to silting of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

From the beginning, Ur was an important trade center owing to its location at a pivotal point where the Tigris and Euphrates run into the Persian Gulf. Archaeological excavations have substantiated that, early on, Ur possessed great wealth and the citizens enjoyed a level of comfort unknown in other Mesopotamian cities.

As with other great urban complexes in the region, the city began as a small village which was most likely led by a priest or priest-king. The king of the First Dynasty, Mesannepadda, is only known through the Sumerian King List and from inscriptions on artifacts found in the graves of Ur.

The Second Dynasty is known to have had four kings but about them, their accomplishments, or the history during this time, nothing is known. The early Mesopotamian writers did not consider it worthwhile to record the deeds of mortals and preferred to link human achievements to the work and will of the gods. Ancient hero-kings such as Gilgamesh of Uruk or those who performed amazing feats such as Etana were worthy of record but mortal kings were not afforded that same level of concern regarding the details of their reigns.

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Assyrian Empire

Imagine an empire that once stretched across what is now Iraq, Turkey, and even into Egypt. This was the Neo-Assyrian Empire, a powerful and sophisticated state in the ancient Near East. Assyria's beginnings trace back to the city of Ashur in Mesopotamia, a hub for wealthy merchants. The region was named after the god Ashur, reflecting the deep connection between the city's name and its divine patronage.

Key Facts

Location: The empire encompassed Mesopotamia (modern-day Iraq), Asia Minor (modern Turkey), and parts of Egypt.

Language: Initially spoke Akkadian, later adopting Aramaic for its simplicity.

Periods: The empire is divided into three main periods: Old Kingdom, Middle Empire, and the Late Empire (Neo-Assyrian Empire).

Legacy: Still has descendants living in Iran and northern Iraq today.

Historical Context

The Assyrian Empire is significant within the ancient Mesopotamian world. It started modestly at Ashur but grew into one of history's greatest empires, known for its extensive military and bureaucratic achievements.

Historical Significance

The Neo-Assyrian Empire's military strategies and administrative systems allowed it to dominate a vast territory for centuries. Its legacy continues with modern-day Assyrians still living in regions that were once part of the empire, reflecting the enduring impact of this ancient civilization.

Learn More: Assyria

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Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528 CE) was a German Renaissance artist who is considered one of the greatest painters and engravers in history. A native of Nuremberg, Dürer was famous in his own lifetime at home and abroad for his oil paintings, altarpieces, drawings, and engraved prints, as well as for his numerous treatises on art theory. A superb draughtsman with an uncanny eye for detail, Dürer's style blended trends in Italian and Northern European art to push Renaissance art ever further along the road to natural realism.

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The Legend of Sargon of Akkad

The Legend of Sargon of Akkad (c. 2300 BCE) is an Akkadian work from Mesopotamia understood as the autobiography of Sargon of Akkad (Sargon the Great, r. 2334-2279 BCE), founder of the Akkadian Empire. The earliest copy is dated to the 7th century BCE and was found in the ruins of the Library of Ashurbanipal in the 19th century.

The text, most likely composed c. 2300 BCE, and also known as The Birth Legend of Sargon, describes the king's humble origins and rise to power with the help of the goddess Ishtar and concludes with a challenge to future kings to go where he has gone and do as he has done. Sargon was the founder of the first multinational empire in the world whose reign became legendary, inspiring many tales about him, but very little is known of his life apart from works such as The Legend of Sargon of Akkad and the literary piece Sargon and Ur-Zababa.

Both pieces today are sometimes classified as belonging to the genre of Mesopotamian naru literature – the world's first historical fiction – in which a famous figure, usually a king, is featured as the main character in a fictional work. This genre appeared around the 2nd millennium BCE and was quite popular, as evidenced by the number of copies found of naru works.

The purpose of naru literature was not to deceive an audience but to impress upon them some important religious or cultural value. In the case of The Legend of Sargon of Akkad, however, the naru genre seems to have been used to establish Sargon as a 'man of the people' who, beginning life as an orphan with nothing, forged his own destiny and established an empire.

The Legend & Naru Literature

Sargon of Akkad was keenly aware of his times and the people he would rule over. He seems to have understood, early on, that the common people resented the nobility and, while he was clearly a brilliant military leader, it was the story he told of his youth and rise to power that exerted a powerful influence over the Sumerians he sought to conquer.

Instead of representing himself as a man chosen by the gods to rule, he presented a more modest image of himself as an orphan set adrift in life who was taken in by a kind gardener and granted the love of the goddess Inanna/Ishtar. According to The Legend of Sargon of Akkad, he was born the illegitimate son of a "changeling", which could refer to a temple priestess of Ishtar (whose clergy were androgynous) and never knew his father.

His mother could not reveal her pregnancy or keep the child, and so she placed him in a basket which she then set adrift on the Euphrates River. She had sealed the basket with tar, and the water carried him safely to where he was later found by a man named Akki, a gardener for Ur-Zababa, the king of the Sumerian city of Kish. In creating this legend, Sargon carefully distanced himself from the kings of the past (who claimed divine right) and aligned himself with the common people of the region rather than the ruling elite.

The Legend, as noted, is considered by some scholars today as belonging to the genre of Mesopotamian naru literature, but it is unknown whether it would have been understood that way in its time. Scholar O. R. Gurney defines the genre and its origin:

A naru was an engraved stele, on which a king would record the events of his reign; the characteristic features of such an inscription are a formal self-introduction of the writer by his name and titles, a narrative in the first person, and an epilogue usually consisting of curses upon any person who might in the future deface the monument and blessings upon those who should honour it. The so-called "naru literature" consists of a small group of apocryphal naru-inscriptions, composed probably in the early second millennium B.C., but in the name of famous kings of a bygone age. A well-known example is the Legend of Sargon of Akkad. In these works, the form of the naru is retained, but the matter is legendary or even fictitious. (93)

The extant copy, made long after Sargon's death, conveys the story Sargon would have presented regarding his birth, upbringing, and reign. Naru pieces such as The Legend of Cutha or The Curse of Agade use a well-known historical figure (in both these cases Naram-Sin, Sargon's grandson) to make a point concerning the proper relationship between a human being (especially a king) and the gods. Other naru literature, such as The Great Revolt and The Legend of Sargon of Akkad, tell a tale of a great king's military victory or origin. In Sargon's case, it would have been to his benefit, as an aspiring conqueror and empire builder, to claim for himself a humble birth and modest upbringing.

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Jezebel

Jezebel (d. c. 842 BCE) was the Phoenician Princess of Sidon who married Ahab, King of Israel (r. c. 871 - c. 852 BCE) according to the biblical books of I and II Kings, where she is portrayed unfavorably as a conniving harlot who corrupts Israel and flaunts the commandments of God.

Her story is only known through the Bible (though recent archaeological evidence has confirmed her historicity) where she is depicted as the evil antagonist of Elijah, the prophet of the god Yahweh. The contests between Jezebel and Elijah are related as a battle for the religious future of the people of Israel as Jezebel encourages the native Canaanite polytheism and Elijah fights for the monotheistic vision of a single, all-powerful male god.

In the end, Elijah wins this battle as Jezebel is assassinated by her own guards, thrown from a palace window to the street below where she is eaten by dogs. Her death, the biblical authors note, was prophesied earlier by Elijah and is shown to have come to pass precisely according to his words and, so, in accord with the will of Elijah's god.

Her name has become synonymous with the concept of the evil seductress owing to the interpretation of some of her actions (such as putting on make-up in order to, allegedly, seduce her adversary Jehu, who is anointed by Elijah's successor, Elisha, to destroy her) and calling a woman a “jezebel” is to label her as sexually promiscuous and lacking in morals.

Recent scholarship, however, has tried to reverse this association and Jezebel is increasingly recognized as a strong woman who refused to abide by what she saw as the oppressive nature of her husband's religious culture and tried to change it.

Jezebel's Changing Reputation

The story as given in I and II Kings presents Jezebel as an evil influence from the moment of her arrival in Israel who corrupts her husband, the court, and the people by trying to impose her “godless” beliefs on the Chosen People of the one true god. I Kings 16: 30-33 presents King Ahab as a wicked king seduced by the corrupting influence of his new wife and is an audience's introduction to the story:

Ahab, son of Omri, did more evil in the eyes of the Lord than any of those before him. He not only , but he also married Jezebel, daughter of Ethbaal, king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him. He set up an altar for Baal in the temple of Baal that he built in Samaria. Ahab also made an Asherah pole and did more to arouse the anger of the Lord, the God of Israel, than did all the kings of Israel before him.

Traditionally, the story of Jezebel is one of a corrupting influence on a king who had already shown himself a poor representative of his kingdom's religious culture. The biblical account assumes a reader's knowledge that Jezebel, coming from Sidon, would have worshipped the god Baal and his consort Astarte along with many other deities and also assumes one would know that the polytheism of the Sidonians was comparable to that of the Canaanites prior to the rise of Israel and monotheism in their land. Since monotheism and the kingdom of Israel are presented in a positive light, Jezebel, Sidon, and Ahab are cast negatively.

It could be that the biblical narrative depicts events, more or less, accurately but this view is challenged by modern-day scholarship which increasingly leans toward a new interpretation of the clash between Jezebel and Elijah as demonstrating the conflict between polytheism and monotheism in the region during the 9th century BCE. In this interpretation, Jezebel is understood as a princess, the daughter of a king and priest, trying to maintain her cultural heritage in a foreign land against a religion she could not accept. The historian and biblical scholar Janet Howe Gaines comments:

For more than two thousand years, Jezebel has been saddled with a reputation as the bad girl of the Bible, the wickedest of women. This ancient queen has been denounced as a murderer, prostitute and enemy of God, and her name has been adopted for lingerie lines and World War II missiles alike. But just how depraved was Jezebel? In recent years, scholars have tried to reclaim the shadowy female figures whose tales are often only partially told in the Bible. (1)

Although she has been associated with seduction, depravity, and harlotry for centuries, a more accurate understanding of Jezebel emerges as one considers the possibility she was simply a woman who refused to submit to the religious beliefs and practices of her husband and his culture. The recent scholarship, which has led to a better understanding of the civilization of Phoenicia, the role of women, and the struggle of the adherents of the Hebrew god Yahweh for dominance over the older faith of the Canaanites, suggests a different, and more favorable, picture of Jezebel than the traditional understanding of her. The scholarly trend now is to consider the likely possibility she was a woman ahead of her time married into a culture whose religious class saw her as a formidable threat.

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Electrical Telegraph

The Electrical Telegraph was invented in 1837 by William Fothergill Cook (1806-1879) and Charles Wheatstone (1802-1875) in England with parallel innovations being made by Samuel Morse (1791-1872) in the United States. The telegraph, once wires and undersea cables had connected countries and continents, transformed communications so that messages could be sent and received anywhere in just minutes.

Telegraph Pioneers

The idea of sending signals from one distant place to another has been in use since antiquity, notably with towers using fire beacons. Ships have long used a system of flags (semaphore) to communicate beyond shouting distance. These methods, though, were limited to only very important communications, for more mundane messages people had to use horse-riding messengers that could take several days or even weeks to reach their intended recipient.

The Italian Alexander Volta (1745-1827) invented the electric battery in 1800, necessary for a telegraph machine to be operated anywhere. Then the Danish physicist Hans Christian Ørsted (1777-1851) created the first electromagnet in 1825. Ørsted's discovery that an electrical current flowing in a conductor can create a magnetic field – which he noted when observing the effect on a magnetic compass on his desk – was crucial to the telegraph machine since this was the answer to the problem of how to make electrical impulses visible in the form of a moving needle. The French physicist André-Marie Ampère (1775-1836) worked to create a theory that explained the relationship between an electrical current and magnetism. The first electric motor was developed by the Englishman Michael Faraday (1791-1867) in 1821. With all of these scientific discoveries put together, inventors now had the theoretical means to send electrical impulses through a wire and then see the effect at the other end. The trick was just how to create a working machine capable of sending and receiving these impulses over long distances and a code by which such impulses could be transformed into words.

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