Jeanette 1

Alexander Jeanette

Jennifer Bratyanski

History 111-88

December 11, 2017

Final Exam Essay 1

Generally, the major religions of human history exhibit strong, recurring similarities. While

obviously not exact, patterns can typically be observed in the rise of history’s most powerful and

widespread religions. They often rise from areas with hot climates, often during times of

political duress, and tend to be monotheistic. These religions tend to spread quickly after

inception, whether by consented conversion or force. After some time, the religious canon and

its texts are consolidated, and the prior culture is integrated.

In the case of Islam, it rose out of the Arabian desert, seemingly under Abd al-Malik of the

Umayyad dynasty. Arabia, at the time, had been left largely uncontrolled by Persian and Roman

Empires due to their own ongoing conflict. Islamic canon claims that during this time, Islam was

founded, but faced initial persecution from the more traditional elements and followers of the

pagan religions. Eventually, Islam took hold of Arabia and spread as it was adopted by the

Umayyad dynasty. Under the Umayyads, the Arabic Empire grew, before changing hands to the

Abbasid dynasty. Under the Abbasids, numerous Syrian and Persian texts were translated into

Arabic, and Islamic canon was compiled into the Quran, chronicling Biblical narratives and

God’s word, and the Sunna, chronicling Muhammad’s life.

 Jeanette 2

Christianity was founded in the Roman province of Judea, during a time of high political

tension between the Roman rulers of the area and their Jewish subjects. Christianity did not

expand with the same ease that Islam faced, as it was often persecuted by Roman and Jewish

rulers. Christianity, in spite of its circumstance, expanded to roughly ten percent of the Roman

populace, encouraging Emperor Constantine I to reduce persecution and issue the Nicene Creed.

The Nicene Creed provided a common doctrine for Christians, and later lead to Christianity

being made the state religion of Rome, under Emperor Theodosius I. The Roman Catholic

Church established their Christian canon, though this would be often disputed. Christianity

under the Romans did not embrace past cultures as other religions did, and thus did not take well

to integration.

Buddhism came about in India, during a time period wrought with competition amongst

warrior republics and kingdoms for wealth and power, as well as a heightened disparity in wealth

between the upper and lower classes. Due to these trends, a countermovement began in

asceticism, encouraging such extreme practices as fasting until death. Buddhism developed

seemingly in reaction to both the societal trends and the extremist ascetic group, Siddhartha

Gautama in his teachings of “The Middle Way.” While Buddhism did not spread particularly

well in India due to the consolidation of Vedic and Brahmanic traditions into Hinduism,

Buddhism nonetheless expanded rapidly across much of Asia, into China, Tibet, Japan, Korea,

and Vietnam. Despite Gautama’s wishes, Buddhism quickly formed organizations, and

compiled the Pali Canon, which became Buddhism’s foundational collection of texts, formed up

of the Tripitaka, the Vinaya, the Sutras, and the Abhidhamma.

 Jeanette 3

Final Exam Essay 2

The Aztec empire was born from a rebellion against the reigning city-state in the Mexican

basin. Through conquest, the Aztecs built a great empire spanning much of the area of what is

now known as Mexico. The Aztec military used a hierarchy system that helped soldiers train, as

well as encourage them to work for promotions. Their culture and beliefs had been built around

the idea of human sacrifice to the gods, and as such, it often gave them justification to make war

and enslave those of other civilizations. However, in their warlike ways, the Aztec empire had

created many enemies. When the Spanish conquistadors arrived, they exploited the Aztec

people’s superstitions, and enlisted the assistance of the Aztecs’ enemies, using these tools to

conquer the Aztec empire. Like the Habsburgs, the Aztecs largely fell due to the overwhelming

amount of enemies that they had.

The Mali were a group of tribal peoples under the ancient, steadily deteriorating rule of

ancient Ghana. The tribes united and conquered ancient Ghana, forming an empire of their own.

Like the Aztecs, the Mali empire faced rivals of roughly equivalent capability and technology,

winning through superior strategy. The Mali empire made use of large armies, primarily on

horseback, to use surprise attacks to conquer. As the empire expanded, it depended on tributes

from vassal states, as well as taxation on its strong trade and gold production. Eventually, Mali’s

rivals adapted and learned to counter the Mali’s military tactics, taking Mali territory and

liberating subjugated provinces. Weak rulers, military losses, and worsening drought eventually

brought Mali down to a mere kingdom.

The Habsburg empire rose, not through war, but through politics. The Aztec, Mali, and

Spanish empires reached their heights through rampant conquest and subjugation of other

countries and people, but the Habsburgs seized power through the marriage of Philip I of the
 Jeanette 4

Habsburgs to Joanna of Castille. The Habsburg empire spanned much of Europe, including

Spain, Flanders, Burgundy, Naples, Sicily, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire of the German

Nation. Further, the Habsburgs laid claim to the Spanish empire’s American colonies. While its

creation was a peaceful one, the Habsburg empire was quickly wrought with war, facing threats

from France, the Ottoman empire, and the increasing Protestant powers in Europe. Unlike the

other empires mentioned, the Habsburg empire failed to last even a century. Under such duress,

the Habsburgs faced numerous losses, eventually leading to its separation into a western territory

comprised of Spain, Naples, the Netherlands, and the Americas, and an eastern territory

comprised of Austria, Bohemia, the Holy Roman Empire, and what remained of Hungary.

However, this separation was by choice. Unlike the Mali and Aztec empires, the Habsburg

empire ended willingly.

Spain, recently after the division of the Habsburgs, faced conflict with both the English to

their north and the Ottomans to their south. The Spanish were ambitious, though, and looked to

take new lands in the Americas, which had only recently been discovered. The Spanish

expanded into the Americas quite a bit earlier than the other European countries, and put much

more focus into these efforts. The Spanish, out of a desire for gold and territory, invaded Native

American nations with impunity. A Spanish force, headed by Hernan Cortes, conquered the

Aztecs by exploiting their superstition and multitude of enemies. Another Spanish force, headed

by Francisco Pizarro, conquered the Incas by exploiting their devastation from smallpox and

ensuing civil wars. Unlike the Aztecs and Mali, the Spanish did not so much expand through

brute force as they did exploitation, plotting and using their advanced weaponry to take the

Americas. While the Spanish colonies would eventually rebel or be granted freedom from the

Spanish empire, Spain still lives, unlike the Mali, Aztecs, and the Habsburgs.