An Essay Analysis of Cilician Armenian History
(1125)Essay I:
The emergence of Cilician Armenian kingdom was generated by the continual clashes between the Seljuk Turks and the Byzantine Empire during the middle of the 11th century. During this time, the continual struggle by the Byzantines to regain Greater Armenia defined the territorial development of Cilicia as a stronghold for Armenians during the late 11th century. The Rubenid Dynasty represents the founding of the Cilician Armenian kingdom as a revolt against the Byzantine Empire, which presented the military and political power of Ruben’s leadership that defined a complex “balance of power” that eventually won the Armenians a homeland, yet not without the necessity of diplomacy
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Through their intelligence network, the Mongols came to know well the internal and external preoccupations of the region. They knew that Cilician Armenia was a small Christian state that was in conflict with surrounding hostile Muslim sultanates and that the Armenians needed an alliance with those who were more powerful.
Initially, this agreement was extremely beneficial for maintain the short-term safety of the Armenian Cilician kingdom, yet this fragile alliance was only as valid as the power of the Mongolian military could uphold. During this historical period, the preservation of the Armenian Cilician kingdom relied heavily on the military of the Mongols, which made it extremely vulnerable without its own military forces.
The Hetum Dynasty marked a crucial point in the change in the way that the “balance of power” was negotiated to prevent the Seljuk Turks from invading their homeland. This period of Armenian Cilician history marks another example of the shift of political alliances to more powerful military forces, such as the Mongols, which made it possible get protection from their arch enemies, the Seljuks. Hetum I’s leadership is an important example of this short-term diplomacy that had become a tradition since the early days of the Ruben Dynasty as a means of protecting the
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Of course, the center of the Mongol empire was thousands of miles away, which left the Armenian Cilician kingdom extremely vulnerable should a lapse of military assistance not come from the Mongols to Cilicia. This form of diplomacy defines the delicate “balance of power” that made the Armenian Cilician kingdom extremely vulnerable to the Seljuks, but more importantly the rising power of the Egyptian Mamluks that was forming under the Ayyubid
An Assyrian Emperor’s Resume: Ferocious Conquests a Specialty, written by an unknown author, offers evidence about the Assyrian Society around the time of 875 BCE, under the rule of Emperor Ashur-Nasir-Pal II, including insight in to the Assyrian society as well as what they valued and thought was important, however we cannot believe that this source is one hundred percent accurate.
...s misused their common material interest to overcome the political fault diving them, while giving up political unity they had conserved a combined cultural and commercial empire. The connection that the Mongol Empire relied on was the quick and constant motion of people, goods, and information around the empire.
The most important constituent to the Mongols success was ‘a ruthless use of two psychological weapons, loyalty and fear’ (Gascoigne 2010). Ghengis Khan, the Mongol leader from 1206-1227, was merciless and made a guileful contrast in his treatment of nomadic kinsfolk and settled people of cities. For instance, a warrior of a rival tribe who bravely fights against Ghengis Khan and loses will be r...
Another idea for why the Mongols began there conquests has to do with Ghengis Khan again. Maybe he felt he had to prove something to himself or to the gods. He lost his father when he was only nine years old. The thought of being such a great leader would maybe have given Ghengis Khan the belief that he was pleasing his father. These thoughts could have given Ghengis Khan the strength and will power to try to bring the tribes together to begin there conquests.
The Mongols were a group of nomadic people who were known for not only their ferocity in battle but also their tolerance of other cultures. Over the course of their many empires, the Mongols conquered lands from as far as the Korean peninsula to the Islamic civilizations of the Middle East. The movement of the Mongol people into these areas was met with mixed opinions, as members of some societies respected the braveness of the Mongols while others saw them as destructive. According to Ala-ad-Din Ata-Malik Juvaini, 15th century Korean scholars, and Rashid al-Din, the Mongols were a group of tolerant people who attempted to eradicate injustice and corruptness (1,3,4). However, members of other societies viewed the Mongols as coldhearted and merciless because of the damage they dealt in the conquest of Russian cities and the taxes they forced upon their conquered societies (1,2). Nonetheless, some scholars and historians recognized the Mongols power and braveness, but were indifferent with their views of the Mongol civilization.
Firstly, they were taught and trained from a very young age. All men over the age of fourteen were expected to undertake military duty (DOC B). By training their soldiers so young, by the time they were ready to fight, they were amazingly fast and strong which helped to conquer other lands. Second, the Mongols were very well organized which helped with communication. Organization flourished under Genghis Khan, the leader of the Mongols, control because he instituted new rules. For example, “Genghis Khan ordained that the army should be organized in such a way that over ten men should be organized in such a way that over ten men should beset one man and he is what we call a captain of ten” (DOC C). By instituting standardized methods and rules of battle to create organization, they were able to work together, as one, as a team. Everybody was on the same page, and nobody left people behind and fled. This organization united them and brought them to move like each other, learn from one another. Lastly, the Mongols were always prepared, another characteristic that added to why they were able to conquer so much land. When soldiers are prepared, they can be confident and brave. The Mongol army needed that advantage. So soldiers were equipped for travel. They were expected to carry cooking pots, dried meat, a water bottle, files for sharpening arrows, a needle ad thread and other
The Armenians are a group of people that originated from tribes in the Armenian highlands around 10,00 B.C (1). In the 4th century they developed into a separate culture related to their religion which was christianity (1). Later on he Armenian civilization was controlled by the Ottoman Empire (1). The Empire consisted of many cultures and ethnic groups, but the Armenians were somewhat at the bottom of the social class. Because of the social minority, they were assigned to millets, or small communities based on religion and political views. (2) Within these millets, there were sets of rules and regulations that normally did not interfere with the big picture (1). Other ethnic groups in the Empire shared the same religion (Muslim) as the leaders of the Empire, who were Turkish. This promoted their social rank or status with the leaders. The Armenians had it differently. They were treated with less respect, and this started problems within the Empire.
The Mongol and Spanish Empires had some similarities when considering their road to successful empire building. Trade was very important for both the Mongols and Spanish Empires. Because geography restricted access to resources, trade was the ideal mechanism to overt that problem. Both empires flourished because of trade networks that they created. The Mongols and Spanish Empires relied heavily on trade in order to gain access to resources that they did not have in their own locations. The Mongol Empire valued and encouraged trade because of their lack of resources. The Silk Roads were the primary trade network that was linked to the Mongol Empire. Trade was important to the Mongols because they were able tax it. Secure trade routes were a result of the Mongols which allowed for cities to flourish and prosper with the spre...
Ethnic Armenians have resided in the Middle Eastern region of the world since approximately 3500 BC. Armenians lived and still live in many Middle Eastern countries such as Armenia, Turkey, Syria, Iran, Azerbaijan, and the republic of Georgia. Armenians have their own language and alphabet and have a very unique culture, which has set them apart from other countries and ethnic groups. In 300 AD, there was not a single nation who had Christianity as their national religion. “Following the advent of Christianity, Armenia became the very first nation to accept it as the state religion.” Armenian pride in their culture and way of life never wavered, even throughout being conquered by different nations. Armenian lands were taken over by many different nations on several different occasions, but they finally ended up in the Ottoman Empire in the 1500s, when ...
Located in the province of Xianjing, the Uyghurs are isolated by massive mountains, deserts, Communist China, and extreme poverty. The Uyghurs are of Turkic origin, and were one of the 9 original tribes. One of these tribes, the Ottomans, sacked Constantinople in 1459, starting the rein of the Sultans for 400 years. The superpower carved a massive empire, from its roots in Turkey, to spread from the Russian steppes to the Alps to India, and stamping their name on history in blood. European history in the 1400‘s, 1500‘s, and 1600‘s centered on the Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire and the Arabic people carved two massive empires in an extremely short time. They crushed the medieval christian kingdoms around Jerusalem, and quickly started attacking Christian kingdoms in Spain, Greece, and the Balkans. These conflicts between Muslims and Christians have been the longest and bloodiest in the history of the world, and still persist today. These Ottomans are, understandably, the most wel...
The Mongols were a tough, strong, and a fierce Asian group of people. Their reign
"Persian Fire: The First World Empire and the Battle for the West." Publishers Weekly 20 Mar. 2006
When led by Genghis Khan the Mongols were the most feared nation at the time, and for good reason. Genghis Khan was able to unite all the different Mongol tribes, something unheard of at that time and use them as a united force to defeat anyone who dared oppose them. Whether the enemy hid in the city of confronted the Mongols the battles ended the same. No one could stop the genius military tactics of the Khan and his second in command, Subutai. Travelling was easy, light, and effective. They lived off of the land and their horses that provided them with milk. With unmatched hunting and fighting skills, led by those unmatched in tactical skills this army was one truly meant to be feared. This is why people view Genghis Khan and his reign as the greatest military conquest in history.
. Armenians are patriarchal in nature, and typically have the man of the household serve as the breadwinner. Mothers are usually seen as caring and nurturing, while fathers are typically viewed more as authoritative and disciplinarian (Bakalian, 1993). While men are seen as the breadwinners and are usually the sole decision makers, women are traditionally expected to be wives and mothers, and are responsible for maintaining and transmitting family traditions (Minnassian, 2010). Armenians are generally considered a collectivistic culture, with strong family values at their cornerstone. Due to a longstanding history of oppression, as a collective, Armenians tend to be weary of others and are usually suspicious when seeking services. As an extension
Much like that of the Byzantines before them, the Ottoman Empire served as a link between Europe and Asia, and greatly benefited from the profits of the exchange that was perennially flowing over these geographic boundaries; this era came to be known as the Golden Age of the Ottoman Empire. Although there can be many identifications and definitions for the means by which the Ottoman Empire was able to exert such a powerful degree of influence, military right, and cultural dynamism. It will be the purpose of this analysis to discuss and analyze the means by which a continual process of centralization can ultimately be understood as one defining force, that allowed the Ottoman Empire to thrive throughout this period of the “Golden Age.”