Who’s your favorite historical figure?
Who’s your favorite historical figure?George Washington.In American schools, they barely teach about the hero which build a system of governance which brought peace and freedom to the majority of the world. He was the brilliant strategist, despite the fact that he had absolutely no practice leading men, he didn’t even have a full formal education! He even was a brilliant commander, leading his men with abysmal supplies at the least, and when they inevitably started to rebel he quenched it with such rhetoric.“My God! What can this writer have in view, by recommending such measures! Can he be a friend to the army? Can he be a friend to this country? Rather is he not an insidious foe?” Towards the end of his address, Washington reached into his pocket to retrieve a pair of spectacles and in a theatrical gesture remarked that “…I have not only grown gray, but almost blind in service to my country.”Look at the way he was speaking, he was trying to invoke certain feelings against the traitors, the feeling of Nationalism, of sacrifice for the Army, and of moral self-righteousness, not many can do that in an unprepared speech. Especially a man who's going gray.If it was not for this man, the American Revolution would be an obscure failed rebellion called the “American Rebellion” known only by historians. He saved the American Revolution, not once, twice! Once, by the well-known counterstroke by the Delaware River. And the other by 1781, when he attacked the Lord Cornwallis British army in Virginia. which proved to be a major victory.There are great and powerful men like Washington, and then they are powerful men, simply powerful men, like Cesar. Cesars use their skills and military prowess as an excuse to garner more power. And Washington was truly a Washington because George gave the military to Congress, a civilian military, something completely unheard of at the time. This man is the man who rejected the offer to be king. This is a man who stood for his principles.And like all heroes, he was flawed.He had a fierce temper and tended to treat people of which he regarded of a lower class than him snobbishly. He was also a slave owner, although he freed all of his slaves at the death of his wife, although it must be said that all rich people were slave owners at the time.Too quote Aditya Chhabra, Hail George Washington, father of the American Republic!
Who is your least favorite historical figure?
Pope Urban II.Odo of Châtillon, was a relatively unremarkable aristocrat cleric until his elevation to the papacy as Urban II. Urban II’s eleven year reign was tumultuous with competing Popes and other medieval shenanigans, but it is most remembered for one singular act: his call for the prosecution of the First Crusade.Urban II calling for the First CrusadePope Urban II - WikipediaThe reasons that Urban II called for a crusade to liberate Jerusalem were varied and subject to interpretation. In part, it was in response to a call from the Byzantine emperor, Alexios I Komnenos, seeking help defending his kingdom against Muslim invaders. It is doubtful that the emperor’s request would have been heeded, however, had Urban II not sought to achieve political advantage in the power struggle which pervaded Europe and threatened his own position.Investigating the causes of the First Crusade is a worthy endeavor, but the deluge of madness unleashed on the world is a far more significant study. The First Crusade was, as its name suggests, the first of many crusades to “liberate” parts of the Middle East from Muslim control. For 200 years, the Catholic Church continued to call for armed invasions of the Levant in what many people believe to be a naked desire to consolidate their power on the European continent.The reason Pope Urban II is my most disliked historical figure is that had he not called for the First Crusade it is unlikely there would have been even one such crusade much less two centuries worth. One can only imagine how different our current geopolitical situation might be had Urban II not thrust what had previously been a non-essential issue for Christianity into the forefront. One can only imagine the difference in our modern read on history had the Crusaders not laid siege to many great cities which remain divided by the religious and ethic conflicts filling our television news.There is an admitted dose of naïveté in this answer. Christendom and Islam were more than on a collision path having warred for centuries in Iberia and other parts of Europe as Muslim invaders occupied formerly Christian lands. In my view, however, this was a historic turn for the worse as Christendom chose to go on the offensive for goals of dubious value. In the process, those liberators became oppressors.And they became symbols of the evil wrought when realpolitik prevails upon the powerful and zealotry is transformed into policy.
Who is your favorite historical figure and why?
My personal favourite is Hannibal Barca. He was, quite possibly, the single greatest military commander of all time. His tactics and strategies are still taught in military academies to this day. He accomplished a feat (crossing the alps in the dead of winter) many thought impossible, he assembled an army cobbled together from several different nations, with people who spoke different languages, used different tactics and strategies, and formed them into an extremely fearsome fighting force. Conversely, the Romans had the first professional military in the world (ie. soldiers whose entire job was to be soldier, rather than having other jobs), formed from a single nationality, speaking a single language, and trained in the same tactics. And Hannibal butchered them, time and time again.Most famously, he absolutely routed the Romans in the Battle of Cannae, wherein he defeated a force of 80-90,000 Romans with ~half that number, and slaughtered them, killing roughly 60,000 men, while only losing about 1/10th that number. To put that into perspective, the Romans lost more men in a single day, than America lost during the entire Vietnam War. Hannibal was incredible not simply for his tactical genius, but the fact that he did so from the thick of combat. Hannibal is said to have slept where his men slept, ate what they ate, and fought where they fought. To be able to do everything Hannibal did from an ordinary command position, well away from the actual fighting, would be incredible. To be able to do so while fighting, isn't just incredible. It's fucking legendary.
Who is your favourite historical personality?
A great Man From Hitler’s Notorious NAZI Party.Oskar Schindler:- Oskar Schindler (28 April 1908 – 9 October 1974) was a German industrialist and a member of the Nazi Party who is credited with saving the lives of 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust by employing them in his factories in occupied Poland. (Wikipedia)That time all jew were being sent to the concentration camp( where they were killed by toxic gases) but some of the workers who were working in his factory, Schindler denied their party leaders to send them by manipulating and by saying “they are assets for us, and skilled- making things for our army”. This way he kept increasing the number of the jew worker and he increased the list of workers around 1200 as much as he could, he had to pay all of his earnings and precious things to then black market people, who knew he was saving jews, which was a big crime aginst the rule of Nazis. But anyhow he kept them in his factory for a long time. For factories jews worker he was the only way to save their lives. They knew if they were taken out of the factory, they were dead. As time went on, Schindler had to give Nazi officials ever larger bribes and gifts of luxury items obtainable only on the black market to keep his workers safe.Today they are know as “Schindle jews”. And their population is around 6000. Some of Jews who were saved are still alive, and share their stories which are available on YouTube.Also there is a famous movie by steven spielberg named “Schindler’s list”. Which is very difficult to watch for an ordinary person.Goback to that time, and imagine yourself your are the one of factory worker and there was no way to save your life but Schindler.salute him!
Was the cross REALLY a symbol of Tammuz? Question for Jehovah's Witnesses and others?
misskitty Thanks for answering. Most of your answer has been covered. In reference to Wm Vine's statements: In reading Mr. Vine's Expository, he indicates elsewhere his belief that Jesus died on a cross. His comments about Tammuz seem to indicate that he believed that the t with the crossbar lowered, rather than a T, was adopted as the 'cross of Christ'. Thanks to TeeM, we know that it was a t with a lowered crossbar that was associated with Tammuz. But Mr. Vine nor anyone else that I know of has provided any direct evidence to connect Christianity's cross to the cross of Tammuz. I'm not saying such evidence doesn't exist, but I'm not aware of any and I've tried hard to find some. Such evidence would have to be found in the history of the early church, not in pre-Christian pagan history. And it must be found BEFORE the time of Constantine since Christians believed Jesus died on a cross before Constantine's birth. (Letter of Barnabas, Justin Martyr, Felix).
Which is the best book for the preparation of the Civil Services exam in India?
HISTORYModern IndiaNCERT – Class 8th (New) – ‘Our Pasts – III’NCERT-Class 12th ‘Modern India’ (OLD)Tamil Nadu Edition- Class 12thORSpectrum Modern India – Rajiv AhirReference Book: India’s Struggle for Independence – Bipan Chandra; Plassey to Partition by Sekhar BandyopadhyayMedieval IndiaNCERT – Class 7th (New) –‘Our Pasts –II’NCERT – Class 11th ‘Medieval India’ (OLD)- Satish ChandraTamil Nadu Edition-Class 11thAncient IndiaNCERT- Class 11th ‘Ancient India’ (OLD)- R.S. SharmaNCERT- Class 12th ‘Themes in Indian History- Part I’ (NEW)- Chapters 1 to 6Tamil Nadu Edition – Class 11thGEOGRAPHYNCERT Social Science, Class 6th (New) ‘The Earth Our Habitat’NCERT Social Science, Class 7th (New) ‘Our Environment’NCERT Social Science, Class 8th (New) ‘ Resource and Development’NCERT Social Science, Class 9th (New) ‘Contemporary India’NCERT Social Science, Class 10th (New) ‘Contemporary India-Part II’NCERT – Class 11th (New)Fundamentals of Physical GeographyIndia physical environmentNCERT – Class 12th (New)Fundamentals of Human GeographyIndia – People and EconomyAtlas: Orient BlackSwan School Atlas (or) Oxford School AtlasReference Book: Certificate Physical and Indian Geography – Goh Cheng LeongPOLITYNCERT – 6th to 8th (for basic understanding)NCERT- Class 9th to 12th (for understanding more on democracy and federalism)Indian Polity – M LaxmikanthReference Book: Introduction to Indian Constitution – D.D.BasuECONOMICSMacroeconomics- Class 12th , NCERTNCERT 11th – Indian Economic DevelopmentNCERT- Class 9thand 10th (for basics)Indian Economy – Ramesh SinghMrunal.org Economy SectionSriram’s IAS Economics NotesSCIENCE & TECHNOLOGYThe Hindu-Monday Edition (not technical news, only application based science & Tech)NCERT- Class 6th to 10thNCERT – Biology – 11th (Unit IV & V only – read basic concepts not technical details)NCERT Biology – 12th (Chapters 4, 5 and rest from 7 to 16 – all important – read line by line except technical details)NCERT – Biology – 12th (OLD) – Chapter 9 onwardsNCERT – Physics – 11th (Chap 1,5 & 8) and 12th (Chap 15 only)NCERT – Chemistry – 11th (Chap 1 & 14 only) and 12th (Chap 14 & 16 only)ENVIRONMENTNIOS materialNCERT- Geography Books (in 6th to 12th there are lot of chapters on Environment)Shankar IAS NotesCurrent affairsdowntoearth.org.in