Magna Carta

I ran into King John today, and got the pleasure of asking him a couple of questions. Here's how that went:


Me: Hey there, John! Mind if I ask you a couple questions?
King John: I go by King John, thanks. 
Me: Sorry, King John. Anyway, please tell me a little bit about yourself and what you've done!
King John: I'm a son of Henry II. Now, I didn't have the easiest reign, and that's an understatement. I fought with Pope Innocent II, King Philip II of France, and even my own people!

King John

Me: Well, what happened with each of these people?
King John: I lost some land to King Philip II. Now, I had a little scuffle with the pope as well. And let me tell you, he's not the kind of guy you want to get into a scuffle with. We fought over selecting a new archbishop of Canterbury. When I rejected his guy, he got kind of mad at me and stopped all church services in England. This wasn't a good thing, so I had to give in to his demands. And then the nobles I also had an issue with. They got mad at me for too many taxes. But I mean, can you really blame me? I needed money! So what if it was their life's savings? Anyway, in 1215, they tracked me down and forced me to sign the Magna Carta. 
Me: What's that? 
King John: It's this piece of paper that said that recognized that the nobles had certain rights. Over time, this would go for all English citizens. It also recognized rights of the Church, and normal citizens. It gave people some legal rights, and formed what everyone's now calling 'due process of the law'. Some other principles were things like no person can be held in prison without first being charged of a crime, and it protected folks from arbitrary arrest. I, as a king, was not above the law. Parliament came to be later, which was a council that I had to run things through. They had the power of the purse. 
Me: That's not a bad thing, right?
King John: Whatever.
Me: Okay, well, thanks for your time! It was nice talking with you!


King John was not a good king of England, but many good things came out of his reign, such as the Magna Carta. It would forever change the English government. King John died in 1216.

Battle of Tours

I was walking down the street when I ran into Charles Martel! Who would have thought I'd run into "The Hammer" at the market? I got a brief interview in with him though, and here's how it went:


Me: Hey Charles! Do you have time for a couple questions?
Charles: Sure, go right ahead!

Battle of Tours Map

Me: Tell me a little bit about yourself and what you've done.
Charles: Well, I was quite stressed when I heard of these Muslim invasions across Europe. These guys were led by a man by the name of Abd-er Rahman were really rolling. It freaked me out, so I got my rally on, and raised an army of warriors. We were called the Francs. Now, these folks weren't exactly trained, but I did what I could in the time I had. We were truly dedicated to winning this battle.
Me: So how did it go? What happened?
Charles: This actual battle took place in 732. They were mounted, and we were not. However, we had the advantage of terrain. We also had the power of willpower. The battle really ended when we captured and killed their leader. Once that happened, they lost steam and retreated.
Me: What was the effect of this battle?
Charles: I am basically the saver of Christianity. If my Francs and I didn't win this battle, Islam would have spread throughout France, and potentially could have taken over completely. So, if you see a Christian in the future, you tell them that they have me to thank.


Charles "The Hammer" Martel earned his nickname for his courageous win at the Battle of Tours. He died in 741. 

William the Conqueror

Today, I met William the Conqueror! Luckily, I got the chance to ask him a couple of questions. Here's how that went:


Me: Wow! William, it's so wonderful to meet you! Mind if I ask a few questions?
William: No, not at all. Shoot.
Me: Tell me a little bit about yourself first!
William: I was born in 1028. Now, I was the Duke of Normandy. Being a descendant of the Vikings, people say I was cruel and tough. I can't say I disagree with them. Anyway, my relative King Edward of England died without an heir. He promised me the throne, so I took him up on that promise. Unfortunately, some people didn't believe me. Some clown named Harold thought he had the right to the throne, and was named king by a bunch of nobles. Ridiculous. 

William the Conqueror 

Me: So what happened?
William: I got the pope on my side, and I raised an army.  So I sailed across the English Channel to get to England. Then, at the Battle of Hastings, I defeated Harold. Then, I became the rightful king of England on Christmas Day of 1066.
Me: What were some of the things that you did?
William: I just wanted to have a wonderful reign. I set up fiefs with my Norman lords, and the Church. You gotta pay back your friends. Of course, I kept a lot of it for myself though. I made all of my vassels swear loyalty to me. Not keen on rebellion. Now, I also wanted to keep tabs on what was going on in my kingdom. So I made something called the Domesday Book, which I created in 1086. It was a census of pretty much everything you can think of: castles, fields, livestock, even fences! This helped me build an efficient and fair system of tax collections. I bet that my successors will create a royal exchequer to collect taxes and fines. All because of me. Basically, I was important because I created the first census, as well as a more unified kingdom for England. I also made a fair tax system form!
Me: Thanks for the story! 


William the Conqueror died in 1087, but his long-lasting impacts on the world can be seen today. The Executive Branch reflects some of what he did, using ranks (governor, mayor, president, etc).  

Rome Sacked/falls to Barbarians

So I met a pretty interesting guy today... the name of this guy was Alaric. He was a, barbarian, to put it simply. Here's how it went:


Me: Hello, Alaric, is it? Mind if I ask a few questions?
Alaric: Nope.
Me: First, can you tell me a little bit about yourself?
Alaric: Yup. I was born, eh, around 370. I'm not too sure. But when I came to lead my fellow Visigoths, we started to dislike the whole Roman Empire thing. My motivations were profit, career, power, and food. So myself as well as my fellow Barbarians overran Italy, and rolled into Rome.

Visigoths Sack Rome

Me: Oh, wow! You were setting your sights pretty high! How did you do it?
Alaric: In 410, we surrounded Rome. We were going for the siege, so we starved them. They still seemed to be having a decent time with their chariot races and all, but they finally couldn't take it. They even reverted to cannibalism. Even I think that's gross. Anyway, soon, they opened the city gates and we rolled in. There wasn't any food though. How annoying. But I just moved on elsewhere. No big deal.
Me: What was the impact of your siege?
Alaric: Well, from what I hear, Rome, "The Mother of the World", was absolutely destroyed. The emperors weren't faring so well; there was absolute chaos. It became diseased, and they actually started calling fellow barbarians in to serve as defenders as they fell farther and farther. Now, rebellion ensued because of the Roman cruelty and disdain for us. After this, Rome lost its magic. Completely. More barbaric groups stormed into Rome, and their culture declined drastically.
Me: What do you mean by that?
Alaric: They fell into the Dark Ages.
Me: Ouch. You really accomplished some... great things. Thank you for your time!


The general Alaric died in 410. However, the Visigoths are what started Rome's fall. After these events occurred, Rome was never quite the same. They set back Rome's wonderful culture; art, architecture, science, math, and more were all halted.

Constantine the Great

Well, today was an awesome day. I got to meet with the emperor, Constantine! It was pretty amazing. Here's how it went:


Me: Hey there, Constantine! It's nice to see you! Can I ask a few questions?
Constantine: Sure, I think I have a little time. I'm a busy guy.
Me: Tell me a little bit about you and what you've done!

Constantine's vision

Constantine: Well, I ascended to the throne after Diocletian booked it. That was in 312. Now, I wasn't always a Christian guy. One day, I had a vision of a cross. I decided that if I won my current battle at the Milvian Bridge, I would convert. Of course, I won. So I became a Christian, and my whole empire followed me. I was of course, was one of the best emperors this world has ever seen.
Me: So you must have had quite the impact on the world!
Constantine: You bet I did! For starters, I established a new capital; I named it after myself (Constantinople). Not trying to brag or anything, but it was a pretty fantastic city. It turned our empire into a powerhouse. It had a prime position, being on the coast, and we had wonderful defenses. I also made huge advances for the Christian religion; a lot of people converted when I did. I'll bet in the future, that's going to mean something.
Me: I agree. Well, thank you for your time!


Constantine's capital city of Constantinople would be successful for the eastern empire until 1453. Constantine himself died in 337, but his legacy would live on. He was one of the reasons why Christianity's popularity began to increase.

Julius Caesar/Fall of Roman Republic

 I just got back from interviewing my man Julius Caesar. Here's how it went:


Me: Hello, Julius! It's nice to finally meet you. Do you have time for a couple of questions?
Julius: Sure.
Me: Well, would you mind telling me a little bit about yourself?
Julius: I was born 100 BCE. Now, let's not talk about my childhood. All that happened was some stuff with pirates and marriages. Not anything substantial. That's not when I got things done.

Julius Caesar Statue

Me: When did you get things done?

Julius: I was a war guy, in my day. I was a soldier. I was a conqueror. Now, I got kind of mad, I'll admit. My power as governor of Gaul was taken back by the Senate. Maybe I overreacted a little bit. Regardless, I did something that is pretty neat. I crossed the Rubicon river with my army. This was not heard of back then! But when I want something to happen, it does. Anyway, I got that bridge done pretty fast. As in, less than a month fast. I rolled right in, and defeated Pompey for the control of Rome! That was around 48 BCE.

Me: Oh, wow! What happened next?

Julius: They still didn't want me to become dictator. Ridiculous. Anyway, I then forced the Senate to make me dictator! I just wanted absolute power. Not that big of a request, in my opinion.

Me: So what were your impacts on this world?

Julius: Well, for starters, I destroyed the Roman Republic, and turned it into an empire. All of the credit goes to me there. Now, I also got my calender going; they call it the Julian Calender. I have a feeling that very good things will come from this.
Me: I hope so! Thanks for your time.


Julius Caesar was too power-hungry, and was assainated by Senate members in 44 BCE. However, the Roman Empire would come back.

Alexander the Great

Alexander the Great

Wow. Today, I ran into Alexander the Great in the middle of nowhere. Luckily, he had some time to spare, so I got a couple questions in. Here's how it went:


Me: Wow! Alexander, it's wonderful to meet you!
Alexander: I know. It is.
Me:  Okay... well, tell me a little about yourself and your accomplishments!
Alexander: I was born in 356 BCE. Now, my dad was pretty intense. He took down Greece. The sad thing is, he got killed. Please, save me your condolences. I was taught by Aristotle, so it's not like I'm an idiot. Anyway, I got the power of being the King of Macedon. I got an idea of rolling into the Persian Empire and taking it down. So I did. I hated them with a passion; there was a long lasting feud between myself and their ruler.
Me: Was that difficult, taking them down?
Alexander: Well, it certainly wasn't easy. I started my conquest of Persia in 334 BCE. Now, I knew that I needed a plan, and a good one, at that. So, what I did was lure them out to where I had the advantage of environment, so then I had the upper hand. After they were out of my way, I felt much much better. By the end of my time, I had gone everywhere, far and near. I took over Egypt, and I also reached India in 327 BCE. I was pretty popular in Egypt, I must say.
Me: What were the effects of your conquests? 
Alexander: I started the first world economy. Without me, you'd still be living in your little town in the dark, not knowing what else is out there! This was also the first time the West spread its culture. Basically, we started to mix and blend a bit more. They say that I am the creator of the hellenistic culture, which is the mixing of all of the cultures together, like Greek, Egyptian, Syrian, and all of the other places that I rolled into. I'm sure, say, in 2010, there's going to be even more blending of the cultures.
I also had cities popping up wherever you look; of course, I liked to take a little of everyone's culture and throw it in. My cities were successful, complete with economic powerhouses that consisted of trade, art, architecture, and agriculture. We also made some advances in the science field. Women had more rights.
Me: Wow! You've accomplished so much! You must feel pretty good when you look at your reflection.
Alexander: You bet I do.
Me: Well, nice meeting you and thank you for your time!


Alexander the Great viewed himself as a god. Unfortunately, he passed away in 323 BCE at Babylon. He had a huge impact on the West, and we can still see the effects today.