East European Studies

The book is neither a grand narrative of European history nor a narrative of specific rulers. It is an attempt to view the Habsburg family as the product of a grounded iconology which the family itself had created for centuries. One can therefore argue that this book is a variation of postmodernist history, a school of thought which synthesizes innovation and hypotheses, common sense and logic. The book is not oriented towards the recreation of important events in the history of the Habsburgs it is oriented towards academic self-efficacy.
 
Summary
In the early 1200s, Count Rudolf I was elected king of Germany. He was entitled to become the Holy Roman emperor. In 1278, Rudolf defeated and killed Ottokar II, the nominal king of Bohemia. Austria and Styria fell under his control. His two sons were granted control over these regions. Over the past centuries, the Habsburgs sought political control over regions in Spain, Italy, and France. In 1453, Friedrich III assumed the throne of the Holy Roman Empire. He firmly believed that Austria was the superior nation among the European family of states. In pursuit of this belief, he declared war against Matthias Corvinus, king of Hungary. He captured the city of Vienna. Maximilian, his immediate successor, married Maria of Burgundy, acquiring additional land for the Habsburg family. His other son, Philip was married to Joan, daughter of Ferdinand II of Aragon and Queen Isabella I of Castile. They had two sons Charles I and Ferdinand I. Charles became the king of Spain in 1516 and Ferdinand ruler of the Austrian kingdom. In 1519, Charles was crowned Charles V, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire. He acquired territories in Italy, France, the Low Countries, and Eastern Europe, and fought the Turks in several campaigns in the Balkans.
   
Charles then abdicated the thrones of Spain and the Holy Roman Empire. His son, Philip II, ruled Spain, Italy, and the Netherlands. Ferdinand I ruled over the German territories. From 1500 to 1700, the Habsburgs were involved in several political intrigues, wars with the Turks, and prevalent religious rebellions. During the War of the Austrian Succession, Maria Theresa, Austrias empress, successfully retained control of Austria and Hungary. At the close of the 18th century, Austrias preeminence was eclipse by Napoleonic France. Napoleon abolished the Holy Roman Empire  the bastion of Habsburg control. Even with the defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo, the Habsburg power was weakening. In 1918, the Allied Powers defeated the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which led to the dissolution of the monarchy.

Ideas and Themes
From the moment of its inception, the Habsburg family sought control over strategic territories in Europe. According to the author, this was not an unconscious choice. The Habsburg family had the capacity for building an enterprise of nations because of their familial lineage and military prowess. From the start, intermarriage with the ruling families of Europe was necessary for strengthening the familys position in Europe. Maximilian, for example, arranged the marriage of his two daughters to the kings of Naples and Scotland. Maintaining a large military force was also necessary to combat the advancing Turks in the Balkans.
   
According to the author, it is impossible to understand the nature of the Habsburg family without reference to the political and economic conditions of the 15th and 16th century. The immense wealth of Eastern European kingdoms attracted the Habsburg. Indeed, if the family was to acquire these sources of wealth, it must be positioned in a state of power  the Holy Roman Empire. Control of the Holy Roman Empire ensured the familys political future in Europe.
Focus in the Study of Eastern Europe
   
The history of the Habsburg is undoubtedly related to the history of Austria. In 1500, Austria was a nominal province of the Holy Roman Empire. During the rule of Ferdinand, Austria became a country under nominal control of the Holy Roman Empire. Successive Holy Roman emperors were also rulers of the Austrian nation. During the reign of Maria Theresa, Austria was a large empire covering territories in Southern Germany, Poland, and Hungary.
   
Austrian nationalism was the product of Napoleonic imperialism. Napoleons attempt to subdue Austria was met with strong opposition from both traditionalists and liberals. Herein, the contradiction of aims began to manifest itself. Although Austria was an authoritarian state, it aimed to create a pan-Eastern European family of nations governed by diplomacy and political cooperation. Slowly, Austria was becoming a modern nation.

Evaluation
The book is indeed a departure from the traditional historical narrative. It presents the Habsburg family as a product of historical events (not of incidents). As such, it is important for the reader to always analyze historical conditions prior to historical entities. Indeed, this macroscopic, individualistic approach to the study of history is both complete and multidimensional. The book though failed to substantiate the claim which states that the Habsburg family was the founder of the Austrian nation. A positive response would mean a departure of the accepted approach. A negative response would be tantamount to historical exaggeration.

The present ruler has lost absolutely the affection of the Russian people, and whatever the future may have in store for the dynasty, the present tsar will never again be safe in the midst of his people.
- The American consul in Odessa

The Revolution in 1905 was an insurrection of the mankind of Russia uttering for a change in their administration. That begun by concerned troupes aperturing the fire on tranquil striders in St. Petersburg on January 9, on the same year, since that date has been called Bloody Sunday. After striving to recover the control of the state for almost a year, establshed peace by making the October Manifesto, an official paper which granted fundamental civil freedom and rights to the Russian individual and gave people a voice in the administration through the referendum of the Duma. Significant improvements in Russia are because of the 1905 Revolution.

On the other hand, the February and October 1917 Revolution was the climax of alenthy period of  suppression and disruption. Since the time of Peter the Great, the czardom progressively bacame an despotic bureaucracy that inflicted that this will be on human force, with wanton ignored for liberty, freedom and humans life. As Western technology was fostered by the czars, Western compassionate conceptions were obtained by a class of litrate Russians. Amidst this progressing intelligentsia, almost all of whom were theoretically humanitarian and egolitarian , there were also those who were govenmentally radicala and rebellious.  The institution bacame a seat of rebellious activity, anarchism, nihilism and after, Marxism were adopted and cultivated.

Both the 1905 Revolution and February and October  1917 Revolutions were strikes for the oppressing social and political system during that time. Fortunately due to this strikes and collisions, people of Russia were given voices and fair humanitarian treatment.

After the fall of the Second Triumvirate with the defeat of Antony in the Battle of Actium, Augustus became the unofficial princeps of the Roman Empire exercising de facto dictatorial powers within the ambit of the constitution of the Republic. Being supreme in the whole of the empire, Augustus instituted various reforms in the military and political fronts. Through these reforms, Augustus implicitly hoped to secure his continued rule over Rome, to glorify Rome as a capital city and to establish a long-lasting peace and stability in the empire, an intention he oftentimes invoke in private and in public. History would show that Caesar Augustus, the first Roman Emperor, was able to achieve both.
   
Augustus power emanates from the fact that he controlled a vast army and therefore his rule was determined by his relationship with the military. To this end, he pursued to professionalize the army by limiting the number of soldiers, opened up career promotions within the organization, and granted veterans pensions in terms of money or property. Through these measures, Augustus was able to create a vastly professional and greatly loyal military force. Aside from that, he implemented a policy of recruiting non-citizens from the provinces into the auxilliary units and enjoined local authorities to establish their own armies. Clearly these policies were aimed to show concern for the provinces as well as to convey political confidence. In addition, he also wished to protect the frontiers. After all these were implemented, the Roman Empire entered into a period of peace and security called the Pax Romana - a very tangible proof of Augustus success with respect to his intent to establish peace and stability within the empire. 
   
In the political field, reforms instituted by Augustus can be primarily interpreted as his way of perpetuating his continued administration of the empire. He reduced the number of Senators from 1000 to 800 and eventually to a mere 600 but, on the other hand, he acknowledged the Senates sovereignty in law and tradition. In this way, Augustus was able to maintain the facade that the Republic is still in effect and at the same time remain in control of the Senate. He likewise implemented various reforms in the civil and fiscal administration of the Roman empire. All these combined provided Rome with a stable political environment, a working bureaucratic system, and replenished public coffers.
   
In conclusion, one can easily see the personal drive of Augustus to secure himself politically and militarily. The many and far-reaching reforms he instituted were primarily directed for the continuance of his rule as the sole princeps of the Roman empire. However, in Augustus favor, he was guided in his reforms by the constitution of the Republic. In addition, the military and political reforms he implemented was able to give Rome and the rest of the empire a period or relative peace, stability and plenty. Having these in mind, it can be confidently stated that the great Caesar Augustus was able to achieve all that he wished to achieve with his political and military reforms.

The Revolution of 1905 is a significant part of the history of Russia. The situation of the country in the years before this revolution was filled with hardships and sufferings because of the mismanagement of the governing body. Even before 1905, several parts of Russia have already begun defying their governments because the harsh conditions and cruel practices brought about by the autocratic rulers caused grave damages to the lives of the people. Peasant leaders from many towns led their people away from their government until it reached a point where the ruling Tsar, along with his local force, could no longer do anything to fully control the situation. The feeling of desperation and injustice that the people who opposed the autocracy practiced in their land was one of the main causes of the very important revolution of 1905.

It was really the difficult conditions that many people were experiencing sparked the idea of revolution. People from the lower classes such as the workers, peasants, middle class professionals, and soldiers experienced maltreatment and injustice. For instance, before the revolution, workers and peasants were deprived of their civil rights and were not given the chance to vote. The hours of work required in factories lasted for almost half a day and for six times a week. The workers are not even well compensated and treated fairly. The wage they earned continued to decline continuously. Moreover, the workers were left out of the  culture, society, and political process,  and this led to a feeling of desperation in most of the population. This agitated ideas of liberalism, equality, and freedom in the hearts of people from different regions and social standings. Hence, the movements of the revolution included  ending the autocracy and establishing a democratically elected legislative assembly responsible for appointing the government. Soldiers, on the other hand, also had their own mutinies, although they were not linked to the movements of the workers and peasants because their rebellion was more directed to their superiors only. The workers, peasants, and even the soldiers were motivated by the idea that through rebellion and protests, they could successfully turn around their positions in life.

As mentioned, the workers and peasants were greatly dissatisfied by their place in the society and wanted to elevate their situation. Thus, the rebellion against the Russian system of governance became more pronounced as the months passed. Different leaders from all regions and sectors of life continued to strengthen the claim of the revolution. However, the labor force and the peasantry lacked the uniting factor to tumble down the government. The movements of the labor force never coincided along the revolts of the peasants. It would have been an easier victory for them and a graver problem for the autocracy  had the two protest movements developed simultaneously in 1905. The revolution was far from being resolved as both the two groups were not able to complete achieve their own goals despite their admirable efforts. The disparity in ideas and reasons of the working class and the peasants were also greatly reflected in their way of fighting or revolting  Workers wanted political change because there was no other way to improve their condition and achieve some degree of human dignity, while intellectuals wanted a transformation of society.

Given the events that were taking place in Russia during this era, the Revolution of 1905 became almost inevitable. The incident of Bloody Sunday, a historical event in Russia wherein hundreds of people from the labor force were killed and wounded, was what really pulled the trigger of the revolution.  Bloody Sunday ignited a series of strikes and protests all over the empire,  and the people who joined the revolution came from all sectors of the society, even professionals and students. The impact of this incident was very massive and the protests paved way for the demands of the people to be heard. Some the demands of these sectors included a limit of eight hours of work, normal wage rates, the transfer of landownership to those who worked on it, freedom of speech, press, association, and worship, the opportunity of free universal primary education for everyone, and the separation of church and state.

Also, the causes of this revolution eventually led to other bigger revolutions. Not all issues were completely resolved at once, and Russia had to face other wars in the following years. In fact, the same sentiments of the people in 1905 caused larger revolutions in 1917. Nevertheless, the Revolution of 1905 was indeed pivotal in changing the course of Russia s history, specifically the social system and governance of the country. According to Ascher, the best conclusion that could be derived from the 1905 Revolution is that  wherever nationalism was already a significant force, it tended to stimulate and intensify hostility toward the autocratic regime. Because of the seeds of nationalism, equality, and freedom that were planted in the hearts of the workers, peasants, and soldiers of Russia, they learned to defend themselves against the assault and injustice of their current authorities.
   
The Revolution of 1905 can most appropriately be described as the beginning of Russian Tsar s succumbing to the demands of his people. It was a turning point in Russian history because the labor force and the peasantry began recognizing their capabilities and rights. Although it was not able to achieve all its goals at once and the struggle continued to rise after a few years, the Revolution of 1905 will always be significant to history because it was a revolt that was caused by sufferings, hardships, and pleas of the people for freedom and fairness in the society.

Narratives passed on by early civilizations reflect much of their own lives and culture. Narratives were documented through word of mouth, drawings, and text. Stories were shared and were devised for entertainment purposes (Dalley, 1989).
    The account of great flood of the early times was given light through different languages, with different characters, and, somehow, the same perspective. The story of the great flood permeates several cultures. It is said that the Bibles version of the story is the most well-known. Other version of it are that of the Sumerian (Eridu Genesis), Babylonian (Epic of Atrahasis, Epic of Gilgame, and Epic of Berissus), Greek (Stories by Ovid, Hyginus, and Apollodorus), and Mayan (Popol Vuh version). Several other cultures around the world have their own version of the great flood. Similar stories have been passed down from generations to generations and across cultures. Flood stories emerge from the Southeast Asia to the Pacific, from Southwest Europe extending to North, Central, and South America (Dundes, 1988). Is there a significant connection between these regions And what are these if there are any Is the biblical, the well-known version, just a modification of the earlier versions
    Scholars have long been studying stories of the great flood and tales of the same sort looking for parallelism and disparities in them. Of the significant similarities in them is the existence of a powerful being who found distastefulness in his land. As an act of retaliation, he set forth flood (or a phenomenon similar to it) that destroyed majority of the race and leaving only a selected few alive. This similarity may present similar beliefs in the mentioned regions. The early people may have believed in a powerful being that brings forth retribution to mankind because of disagreeable behavior they may have done. There also might have been a major flood that occurred thousands of years ago that its story has been passed on and versions of it have been generated. Another similarity between the stories is the creation of a boatark (Deem, 2009). It can be drawn from this that the regions mentioned were near bodies of water and that people in it were familiar with navigation in water. The Hebrews were believed to have inhabited the land near the Euphrates River. This can possibly be a basis for the Hebrew account demonstrating a more accurate design of the vessel. Moreover, it appears that the Hebrew culture revolved around their belief and worship to their God.
    If, indeed, the Hebrew version was just a copy of the earlier account, some deviations made were needless. Unlike other versions of the great flood, the Bibles version was far from being a myth. The powerful beings described by other versions exhibited behaviors same as that of man. The Bibles version, on the other hand, presented a just God who have seen how mankind have become despite of the His grace and kindness to them.
    Investigations on biblical phenomena are still in progress. Bibles reliability as a historical document cannot simply be taken for granted. It contains accounts from different people who came from different eras and their writings are like puzzle pieces from the past that fits together. And these puzzle pieces gives the present generation a picture of what was thousands of years before.

This paper highlights in detail the events and the changes occurring in Soviet Foreign Policy from 1921 -1941. Soviet foreign policy is a function representing not only the pursuit of its international objectives but also its responses to external stimuli. It has changed several times during the era from 1921 to 1941, partly due to ideological basis and partly because of realistic and practical reasons. There had been a gradual shift from revolutionary path to socialism in 1920s in Soviet state and hence a less ideological approach was adopted with the rest of the world. A brief account of the events occurring in Soviet Foreign Policy between19211941 is as follows.
    Instantaneously after the rebellion, the Bolsheviks largely ignored the foreign policy considering that the revolution would flounce Europe. When it becomes obvious that it wont happen, the new leaders of Russia got occupied with civil war. After winning the war they started thinking of improving their relations with their neighbors, looking forward to maintain peace and enhancing investments and trade with them. It was not a trouble-free job as Western Governments were unwilling to be familiar with USSR.
    To conciliate the international attitude, the Bolsheviks down cast their revolutionary style, proceeding towards signing series of international agreements commonly known as United Front. The accord included the Treaty of Rapallo (1922), which re-established an ambassadorial relation with Germany. It further included the Treaty of Berlin (1926), in which Germany and Russia pledged to remain unbiased in the occurrence of any attack from the third power.
    During the closing of 1920, the relations with Germany initiated to turn sour and after some time both the nation started to search elsewhere for new associates. The policy had failed to remove Russias diplomatic seclusion. Stalin, in this regards set the state on another route, renovating Marxist revolutionary movements throughout the world.  This ideological swing reflected the coagulation of the domestic strategy, since Stalin came up with the strategies of central planning and collectivization.
    Socialist groups were instructed to cease all collaboration and help with the leftist group, whom they gave the name Social fascist. The outcome was devastating. The German communalist parties directed its opponents to the Societal Democrats instead of Nazis, permitting the Nazis to develop into the leading party in Germany. In four years Hitler became the leader and socialist party was prohibited.
    Stalin understood his blunder and changed his foreign policy again. He began seeking healthier associations with the Western Nations, in the desire of finishing Russias Diplomatic seclusion. As an outcome, United States, for the first time recognized Russia after Revolution (1933). Furthermore, USSR became the part of League of Nation (1934). Stalin, for the nations benefit signed agreements of alliance with Czechoslovakia and France in 1935. He offered international socialist parties to collaborate and form a Popular Front with the anti-fascist communities in Europe.
Regrettably, Stalins effort to persuade France and Britain into a coalition against Germany failed. Both France and Britain stood with Germany while it took possession of Rhineland, then attack Austria in 1938. When Hitler tried to get hold of Czechoslovakia, Stalin put efforts to get France to defend Czechoslovakia with the help of 1935s Treaty of Russia. However, France was unwilling to break a fight with Germany at that time. On the Munich Conference 1938, Britain and France gave Hitler the hold of the border region of Czechoslovakia.
In 1939, Stalin replaced the Pro-Western Litvinov with Molotov as the Foreign Minister. The Germans react by presenting Russia, large territory of land in Eastern Europe in exchange for Russian impartiality in their upcoming war with Poland.  This was a striking proposal for Stalin as it gave him a chance to assemble his forces and pull himself through the purge of the Britain and the French Army. It also gave him a protection against any upcoming German violence. (Riasanovsky and others. pg 10)
    When France and Britain were incapable of making equally acceptable proposals, Stalin thought that they were not interested in making any agreement with Russia. In 1939, he accepted German proposal and signed a ten year Non-Aggression Pact, the Nazi-Soviet Pact.  The pact contained a secret practice according to which, after getting hold of Poland, it would be divided in Russian and German and includes Finland, Estonia and Bessarabia in Russia.
    On September 1.1939, Germany succeeded in occupying Poland. And right after two weeks of this attack, the Red Army invaded Poland. Russian and German beforehand approved to divide Poland equally among themselves and abolish it as a state. (Riasanovsky and others. pg 4) 1
    Before the ink of the pact and the blood of the lane of Warsaw had dried, Stalin began preparing himself and his country against the attack he figured out, would come. Though, this time, he was without allies. All he could do was to calm Hitler by making him believe that he has no harm from Russia, thus holding the attack on USSR for as long as he could.
    By 1941, Russian foreign policy had split and altered many time. From the kind practicality of United Front to the ideological war against the Social Fascists to the anxious pragmatism of Popular Front to the pessimism of the Nazi-Soviet Pact.  It was this discrepancy which isolated the USSR during the era and which left it defenseless to an attack by its worst enemy, Nazi Germany.
 Riasanovsky and others, A History of Russia.

Cultural and social policies are important aspects that shape and define the life of the people in a community. Since these policies directly affect how people interact, its development is pivotal to any political and economical structure. In the case of the Soviet Union, the cultural and social policies have undergone several changes from the October Revolution to 1991. The collapse of the Communist order in 1991 was attributed to the seventy-five years of widespread enthusiasm for the new and of much disorientation, disappointment, and discontent in the realm of social and cultural life. The privatization of the Russian economy seemed to be the best answer for the economy, nonetheless, a more widespread discontent emerged with the new social classes and the absence of a middle class, which is necessary for a stable market economy.
During the Soviet years, the most affected cultural and social structure was the class system. In most capitalist countries, the economic or the wealth of the person determines the class where they belong. More particularly in Russia, class is divided into the bourgeoisie, the landowners and the peasant class prior to the October Revolution. The October Revolution was highlighted as a political revolution wherein the Bolshevik Party revolt against the government and won the support of the majority of the population, which are under the worker or peasant class. This happened at the face of an intense social, political, cultural and economic crisis that struck every corner of the Russian Empire. As the hatred of the previous dominant class alleviated, the traditional Russian society was leveled out and the landowning gentry class disappeared. The peasants had seized their (landowners) lands and destroyed their homes. The bourgeoisie is also eliminated since the peasant class overthrows their economic control. The Bolsheviks, upon acquiring control and authority, had nationalized finance, industry and trade. The members of the Church were also affected by the leveling of classes. According to Riasanovsky and Steinberg, they were persecuted and almost annihilated. The members of the intelligentsia had also perished since they were in opposition to the new regime.
Peasants or the peasant class, which was the Soviet builders of socialism, were the ones who had mostly suffered and died during the First Five-Year Plan and the Second World War. To create a peasant commune, the government constructed cooperatives and collective farms, which aimed to, changed the beliefs and manners of the peasantry. As a result, the government strived harder to create corrective efforts and remedy the impoverished Russian countryside. Thus, during the Bolsheviks rule the peasants were divided into the kulaks and the rural peasants.  A new class was formed after the five-year plan constituted by the increase in the administrative and technical personneltogether with the already existing party and government bureaucracies. This was known as the privileged group, along with the new intellectuals and military officers.
In December 25, 1991, the Soviet Union collapse into fifteen independent states. Boris Yeltsin was elected as the president of the Russian Federation. Russia embraced a social capitalism form of government and abandoned its desires towards communism due to its relative failure. The privatization of the economy results to intense restratification of Russian society as private business owners and individuals acquired properties and wealth.
In this event, a new class was formed or was named, comprised by the newly emerging capitalists class. They are called nouveau riche or New Russians. They are not merely defined by the wealth they have recently acquired but also by their presumed dishonesty, selfish greed, link with corrupt political privilege and underground crime, showy consumerism, and low cultural level. This view, according to Riasanovsky and Steinberg, were fueled by the cultural past of Russian society. Specifically, the view regarding private entrepreneurship as a criminal act that was coupled with inadequate legal and ethical standards to support businesses. This view could not be avoided since most of the New Russians were typically people with connections or even positions in the government. After the 1998 financial collapse, small businesses proliferated in Russia. Russians who warned enough wages are now identifying themselves as part of the middle-class. On the other hand, there was also a high number of a growing class of dispossessed. This class includes those who are jobless, disabled, refugees from post-Soviet successor states, economic migrants and people living in cities without proper residence permits. Unemployment in Russia after 1991 had started to increase steadily, distressing living conditions such as diet, health, birthrate and life expectancy.
Today, a typical Russian handles multiple jobs to sustain his everyday needs. The number of jobless or unemployed outnumbers those with stable jobs. The gap before the rich and the poor are wider and more evident than before. The difference in power was reflected by the political and economical position in the government. Those who are in the upper stratum of the social ladder are usually members of the government and uses criminal or illegal ways to acquire wealth. Those who are considered to be in the lower class lack proper education and are subjected to the discrimination imposed by the new capitalists economy.

The rise and fall of the Roman Republic may be likened to the scenes of the first three episodes of the Star Wars Trilogy (Episodes 1-3).  If there is one particular common denominator one can notice, they started out as republics but ended up as empires under similar circumstances.  According to the Greek historian and early political analyst Polybius, states that have reached the zenith of their power and prosperity would soon be on a decline brought about by the adverse effects such as ambitiousness, greed and vanity which would bring about its downfall.
    The ancient Roman republic up to the time of the Gracchi brothers, had weathered many crises such as power struggles between the patricians and plebeians and wars outside Romes borders, resulting in Romes gradual expansion.  But the drawback came when slaves were brought in from conquered lands, thereby causing unemployment among the local citizens, thereby renewing the conflict between the plebeians (democracy) and patricians (aristocracy).  The events that took place between of Gracchus and Caesars assassination was characterized by constant power struggles as leaders (consuls and tribunes) clashed with the senate, trying to circumvent if not subvert the checks and balances imbued in the Republics political system. 
   In the end, it was the powerful leaders who prevailed.  The secret to their success lay on at least two factors.  These leaders were military commanders.  The new Roman army made up of volunteers, mostly from the ranks of the proletarii (plebeians) who were rigidly trained and indoctrinated to be loyal to their leaders.  By having loyal soldiers at their disposal, nobody would dare challenge the consuls.  This has served the likes of Julius Caesar very well when he came to power and later Octavian.  On the distaff side would be skillful political maneuverings which in modern terms would be rent-seeking or transactional politics where these leaders would collude (in secrecy) with their allies in the Senate and other interest groups back then to gain further leverage to shut out or marginalize the senate.  The senate, also regarded as an oligarchy, tried to muster what power they had to check the perceived ambitions of the consuls, fearing a return to the monarchy.  They had shown this when they murdered the Gracchi and Julius Caesar on the pretext that they threatened to subvert democracy.  Even among the leaders of the triumvirate, there was also discord.  Originally they were formed to gain leverage over the senate but eventually, they turned on each other.
    It can be seen here that Polybius thesis was validated.  Prosperity, fomented greed for wealth and power among the leaders of Rome and what made it worse was it lacked a strong codified law to augment the check and balance practice of the Republic.  Even with this safeguard, the early politicians found ways to go around the system to gain the upper hand.  Ultimately, it led to the downfall of Rome and the establishment of an Empire which brought relative stability and prosperity until (ironically), the same thing would happen all over again bringing about its downfall as well.

The post-Abbasid period is marked by the revival of the Persian culture in the eastern fringes of the Islamic empire. Since Arabization was never successful in the Entire Persian speaking region of Persia and Khorasan, the region was long politically independent even before the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate, the fall of the caliphate gave the region a chance to resurface the Iranian national identity and Persian culture in the region. The 9th and 10th centuries of Hijra were the time when this cultural revival was at its peak.
    The reawakening of Persian identity led to the movement of revival and continuation of Persian language during that period. Great poets like Ferdowsi played an important role in the revival of the Persian language and soon it became the lingua franca of the entire central Asia, Persia, Khorasan, and even the Indian Subcontinent. Most of the elite who adopted and promoted Persian language were not necessarily of Persian origin, most of them were Turks but they regarded the Persian language and culture as the most the most highly esteemed one. Thus the loss of Arabic influence in the eastern part of Islamic empire in the post-Abbasid period created a vacuum, which was eagerly and willingly filled by the Persian influence and culture in the region.
    This reawakening of the Persian culture and society brought long lasting influence in the entire region, not only in the form of language as most of the languages spoken in the region, particularly in the Indian subcontinent the influence of the post-Abbasid Persian culture has left very strong marks. The language, cuisine, dressing, customs and traditions are all very much inspired by the Muslims in the Indian Subcontinent particularly during the Mughal period. The influence in Central Asia was also long lasting, but was later marginalized or diminished after the Russian occupation of Central Asia. Islam in the eastern half of the Islamic empire also has its own distinct characteristics and is more often marked by Sufism and also known as Persian version of Islam, which is more Sufi oriented than the Arabic Islam now commonly known as Wahabism.
    The above-mentioned facts explicitly depict that the revival of Persian culture and society after the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate brought profound and long lasting influence and changes in the history of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan and Indian Subcontinent, and it is still felt today.

Where people are oppressed there are enough ingredients for a revolt. In most cases, the poor people are often the ones exploited by the rich, who normally take up all the resources of the nation unto themselves. The French Revolution came as a result of this dissatisfaction that had been slowly growing in the common people in view of the kind of leadership that was in place. The country was divided into three estates, which were all represented in the Estate General. The Estate Generals from each Estate had not met together for a long time, but the meeting in the year 1789 which had been called by Louis XVI for each Estate to give their grievances, provided a chance for the third estate to rise to power. This meeting provided an occasion for an expression of all the discontent, mainly from the third estate. The French revolution resulted from the asserted desire by the third class citizens to change the social, political, and economical landscape of the country.

The Social Factors
The organization of the society, as it were, was based on classes. This society was organized into estates. The first estate was comprised of the clergy, mainly the members of the clergy in the Catholic Church the second estate was comprised of the rulers, who also happened to be the nobility while the third estate comprised of the rest. Essential services were offered as privileges to the first two estates while major contributions, including heavy taxation was the responsibility of the poor. At the same time, the persons in the third category had become quite enlightened, and this enlightenment became a great factor in the organization of the revolution. Over the years, the peasants had become unhappy with this kind of oppressive arrangement, sparking the revolution.

The Economic Factors
At the time preceding the revolution, the people in the third estate had become over taxed, while the cost of living had become extremely expensive for them. Literally speaking, people worked for bread. Bread itself had become too expensive that it was impossible for the poor to even afford bread. Famine on the other hand had plagued the nation. Famine had been caused by different factors including crop failure and poor infrastructure which made it difficult to transport food from other countries. These factors provided for the spread of diseases and in some cases starvation. The infrastructure itself did not allow for quick delivery of relief supplies. The financial status of France was also greatly compromised by the constant wars that were started by Louis XV. The excesses of this government coupled with the inefficient management of the resources also contributed to the revolution.

Land, which is one of the most important factors of any meaningful production, was taxed by the Catholic Church, through the taxation imposed on crops. All these factors, coupled with the high level of unemployment contributed to the revolution.

Political Factors
In the political arena, the third estate was not sufficiently represented, yet it formed about ninety seven percent of the population. They third estate felt cheated because they were capable of running the government without the help of the first and the second estates since they formed the majority. King Louis XVI was seen as having failed in many ways to act in the interest of the people. This was especially seen in the way he handled the financial advisors, such as Jacques Turgot who was sacked in 1776, and Necker who resigned in 1781. This was not well received by the people because these two were seen as having been representing the common people. At the same time, there was a resentment that was fueled by the royal absolutism that prevailed in France at the time. Bishops were also seen as having a great part in the political leadership of the people, and this also sparked resentment among the rural clergy, who also happened to

The meeting of the Estate Generals became a point of departure for the French revolution in many ways. It was an event that affirmed the power inherent in the third estate, which had over ninety seven percent of the population. As already indicated, three factors, these are social, political, and economic led to the revolution. The people had been greatly oppressed, and this created dissension. Already at this time people were becoming more enlightened, and naturally it is more difficult to oppress enlightened people. Socially, the organization of the society was based on classes. There was a hierarchy of some sorts, which clearly meant that people were not equal. There were some who claimed supremacy over others. The Church, which naturally should have been at the defense of the people, seemed to be the chief perpetrator of this oppression. It meant also that the society, as it were, was not justifiable. Economically, the people were very poor. There was very little to eat, or even to live with. The imbalance was evident where the kind of life in the courts of the king was one of total lavishness. The need to survive greatly influenced the action of the people. Politically, France was strictly speaking a failed state. There was no way that no integrity in the political dispensation in this country. The massive spending by the military brought the country very close to bankruptcy. All of these factors and most specifically the economic oppression of the people pushed them to act, hence the French revolution.

Question 1.
Formerly the Middle East was referred to as the near east. Even though this region has no clear border outline, it is estimated to be the region between the Oxus and River Nile. Besides, most countries in north of Africa and south west of Asia (only Turkey) are conceived to be in the region. Middle East boasts recording the first form of civilization in the world. The most important factor influencing todays world is the economy of this particular region. Oil is the single most factors that makes this region very attractive and the oil generated within its boundaries is the main driver of the worlds economy (Richards  Waterbury 13).

The economy of Middle East
         Though marked by a series of un-ending wars, the Middle East comprises some of the greatest growing economies in the world like Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia. The corner stone to these great forms of economy in the Middle East is petroleum products from the large oil deposits found in the region. The oil boom was experienced in the mid seventies in the period of the war between the Israelites and the Arab nations. Exportation and oil pricing process in the region is controlled by an eleven member country organization called the organization of petroleum exporting countries (OPEC). This organization has a lot of political affiliation and has the power to hold the exportation of oil to countries with different political opinions from them (Richards  Waterbury 43) . The Middle East supplies over 65 of all the oil in the world. This has greatly influenced the economy of the countries around the Persian Gulf to grow in a very alarming rate. This has come with the opening of other opportunities in the area for instance the United Arab Emirates in particularly Dubai has seen a lot of development for the past decade. Currently Dubai has experienced a stream of investors no other country has ever seen in a very short time. This has quickly transformed the country into a business centre making it one of the most flourishing economies in the world. In overall the discovery of oil products in the region has led to the overall increase of the countries GDP (Richards  Waterbury 52).

           Harmonization of trading relationships, ample revenue projections by the Governments and exercise of power has been witnessed in these Arabic nations. This has also came with the increase in the level of living standards among the citizens of these countries bearing in mind that some of the worlds richest people come from oil producing countries like Saudi Arabia. The repercussions to this have also been felt. Was the war on Iraq due to the blood thirsty for oil That question posed in everybody minds when Bush attacked Saddam Hussein. There is no clear evidence that it was due to oil in the Mesopotamian country but different sources suggested that the war was influenced by unilateral sanctions imposed to the United States by the United Nations on Iraq. The Iraq war is largely about oil (Richards  Waterbury 66).


Q2
The Ottoman Empire and the Middle East
The Republic of Turkey came into being in 1923 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. During the 14th century, the Ottoman Turks were among the most influential and powerful empires to ever capture most of the central Asia. They later on expanded their form of rule to the Middle East and slowly into Europe (Chambers). The goals of the empire were to take control of the Mediterranean area, create a Muslim state and spread religion among its subjects. In order to rise and administer its rule the Ottoman Empire conquered the European system and managed to acquire a very huge territory. By the year 1683, the empire was deteriorating in leadership after it lost Vienna for the second time to the Europeans and that saw the increase in conquest from the European adversaries (Chambers).

Reasons for failure
The thirst for leadership was one among their reasons for failure. The rule of succession and royal families generated to this. Queen mothers after the death of their husbands would not let the royal seat be assumed by another person other than their own children regardless of age. This led to the construction of many palaces. This period was nick named the The sultanate of women (Chambers). Corruption erupted and bribery into office was experienced. In the mid 17th century a family known as the great Koprulu family tried to eradicated corruption in the empire through administering traditional reforms. Admission in the military was also affected by corruption. Incompetence was experienced in their armies and this was a loop-hole to the Europeans. Heavy taxes were imposed to finance their young infantries and secure firearms. The subjects to the empire were not happy with this. Unfavorable trade methods due to poor intellectual know how was very evident in the system. After their defeat by a movement called The Young Turk revolution the Ottoman Empire left ferried their troops from Istanbul, Libya, Balkan, turkey, Iran and Iraq to join the 1st word war on the German side. That was the end of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East never to be heard again in the current times and rule. The Ottoman Empire lasted for 600 years (Chambers).

Q3
The National Movement of the Iranian Resistance
This movement comprised of various Iranian people who were dissatisfied by the religious indoctrination in Iran. It was founded in the early 1980s by Dr. Shapur Bhakhtiar in an attempt to bring to an end the dictatorial rule of Khomeini. The main aim of the movement was to sensitize the Iranians about the religious fanaticism they were involved in and educate them on democracy. Democratic reforms was one of the main agenda of the moderate opposition that was against the dictatorial regime of the Shah. Thus the National Movement of the Iranian Resistance (NMIR) wanted to replace the regime that was power with a democratic government (DeFronzo 23). The movement belief was that by establishing a religion free of Government intervention would bring prosperity in the country and initiate peace within the region and the whole of the Persian Gulf. The activities of the movement were focused in establishing a force that would bring to an end the Islamic republic and get the international community to support its activities.

However the movement was not received well in the country, this was because of the Islamic fanaticism that Khomeini elicited amongst the Iranians and was considered a Grand Imam who could not be opposed. His word was always considered law, for example he ordered the killing of British citizen Salman Rushdie for blasphemy, that order was taken very seriously by the Iranians and to date the author of the Satanic Verses is afraid of his life.  Dr. Shapur Bhakhtiar was assassinated in August 1991 by agents of the Islamic Republic (DeFronzo 62).

The Western Countries especially Britain and the U.S funded to some extent the movement and harbored some of its members. In fact Bhakhtiar was assassinated in France where he had been exiled. The movements power and energy was sapped after the assassination of its leader and though still exists to date it has not had any meaningful Impact (DeFronzo 23).

Winter, also identified as SNOW TIME, happens on one occasion a year, frequently amid autumn and spring. Winters all through Russia are extremely chilly, apart from cool conditions down the black Sea, where the temperatures remain above 80C. Snowstorm face in southern Russia lasts as of 60 to 80 days also as of 260 to 280 days in the remote North. In a year, there are six months full of darkness beyond the Arctic Circle. Temperatures crosswise this section of Russia can get to harshly cold heights. Wintry weathers in Northern as well as middle European Russia might be extremely chilly. Wintry weather in southern European Russia as well as transversely the plains is greatly smaller than in the north, although extremely wintry on the other hand. The temperate effect of the Black Sea creates for gentle wintry weathers crosswise the plains all along its north and northeast shores.
The typical as well as minimum temperatures in Russian sections vary. Within Yakutia, the wintry weather is mainly harsh, with lowly temperatures approximately to -650C (around -750F). Within the European sections of Russia (west to Ural mounts), the standard wintriness temperature infrequently drops below -150C, however has main deviations for instance, the winter 20052006 demonstrated temperature approximately to -300C within Moscow in January, in 1 week. In Russia, this time of the year is known as the Epiphany colds and has been well-known for its small temperatures for many years. Nevertheless, the largest part of the current winters was abnormal temperate in the inner Russia. However, one of the aspects for temperatures is the Continental atmosphere. The additional cause is the topography of Russia it is located to the north as Canada, although amid small open water within to stock up the energy from the sun.
How Winter Has Affected Russian Life
There are some things concerning Russia which cannot be expected for the period of those warm, sunlight months of global summer. There are some things regarding Russia which barely appear with the earliest snowstorm, some things that can only be observed when those first, brittle colorless peels begin to drop. Russia is at its top for the period of the wintry weather and its winter which makes Russia a different world. Moreover fortunate for Russia, wintry weather here is not a short time that is ended sooner than it has yet started, other than no less than four months length. In a number of areas it is shorter, for instance in the Caucasus, while in other areas it is longer, for example in northern Siberia and northern Far East.
All through the other three spells of the year Russia as well as Russians appear like the majority inhabitants in a good number of countries they dress in denims and t-shirts as well as sneakers. Not until that single hallowed time of year begins , not until those dim plus chilly months commence, not until then do they exit all out of style wise and not only demonstrate but also show that they are a different people, with an absolutely dissimilar way of life. Fur-spotting might as well as ought to be well thought-out as an authorized game for foreign persons here.  Everything is either completely prepared out of hair or else has fur decoration or extra types of fur particulars. Men as well as women who esteem themselves very much dress in fur caps double the magnitude of their skulls. This might create a difficulty when getting in as well as out of structures and community transportation given that taking out head dress outside in Russia is measured to get you chilly in five seconds and consequently not an alternative. People who value themselves to a slighter grade dress in fur caps of lesser dimension. The similar canon as well is relevant when it comes to fur coats-the further esteem one has for oneself (or the cash one has in ones pouch, the larger and longer also fluffier is the coat). Nevertheless, each and every single of the above contain a single item in general- they are prepared from actual fur.
Concerning shelter as of the harsh Russian wintry weather, not anything besides functions, this is what a Russian would speak to any person inquiring this. Russians will as well say to you, exactly subsequent to having given explanation about the correct methods to separate your windowpanes as well as someplace you can purchase a silvery chinchilla cover, that with no consuming animal protein plus doubling-up your every day ingestion of fat, there is no means you are going to endure here until March draws closer and the snowfall begins to liquefy. On a fine calendar day I may inform them that I have been a lacto-vegetarian ever since the time of ten plus that I have lived three Russian wintry weathers exclusive of putting on something  any person had to pass away for me to take pleasure in.
In Russia, people are able to consume ice-cream yet in -300C, all the further charming, and all the strange furthermore extremely amazing this is another thing that makes Russian winter the more exceptional. Josefina said that the standard Russian consumes more ice-cream in December than during July.
Wintry weather time of year is a fantastic as well as fascinating term, particularly Russian winter. The snow chips declining from the sky layering the land by a spongy white coverlet, appealing icy molds at window panes make exclusive attraction of this time of the year. North-west Russia has the greatest winter with icy weather conditions, subterranean snowfall, and the paranormal Northern illumination. The North-West Russia in the wintry weather is an absolute ecstasy for skiers as well as snowstorm enthusiasts. On the other hand, skiing ought to be the major doings in the wintry weather. During this period of the calendar, there are activities for everybody living there dog-sleighing, snowfall trips, ice fishing, polar tours are just a number of of entertaining as well as accessible amusements. Wintry weather sports event, celebrations in addition to festivals highlight the charisma of wintry weather.
According to Cheryl Dybas in the Washington Post, he reported that more than 3,000 cases of infectivity originating from Hantaviruses have been accounted up to now in Russian metropolis as well as townships, together with several that are in a small number of hundred miles of Moscow, for instance Voroneczh and Lipetsk. The germs can cause a severe, as well as occasionally lethal, illness acknowledged as Hemorrhagic Fever with Renal Syndrome, (HFRS). For the duration of Russias extra characteristically cold wintry weathers, scientists suppose, HFRS-causing germs become extinct in the constantly negative temperatures. The bugs are spread to human beings when contaminated pests set up housekeeping in the corners as well as crevices of dwellings, shelters, huts and other structures. If the dung left by the pests is troubled, the germs drift up and out of the secretions similar to a steam, contaminating people who inhale the air. Environmentalists approximate that the present populace of rodents in Russia is ten times as high as in preceding years, and that one in three mice is contaminated with an HFRS-causing germ. Signs of contamination more often than not build up one to two weeks subsequent to contact but in odd cases might assume up to 8 weeks. The premature symptoms are headaches, fever, chills as well as vomiting, or a skin complaint or reddishness about the eyes. A good number of sufferers stay alive even though they may be extremely ill for a moment absolute healing can take weeks or months. Nevertheless, a few kinds of HFRS contamination have elevated death rates.
Conclusion
The living conditions and health of Russians has been affected a lot by the winter season. As discussed above, the daily activities of the Russians change when winter comes. The type of clothing, eating habits, and sporting activities as well as the economic activities are adversely affected by the winter weather. The Russians have adopted survival mechanisms to enable them adapt to this chilly weather and over the history they have invented ways of living during this cold season while maintaining their economic activities. Diseases related to the winter climate have also cropped up and these have been escalated by the climate change, especially global warming.

The modern worlds debt to many aspects of the Roman Empire is easy to identify. Modern European languages owe much to Latin, as do modern legal systems, modern literature, philosophical thinking, even the very histories and self-identities of modern nations. Cities in Europe, especially areas to the North and West of Greece and Italy exist today because the Romans built them. Before the Romans, the concept of the city was unknown in these regions (Reader 82). Cities were The influence of Roman cites is is still evident today throughout Europe, North Africa and the Middle East (Reader  82). Notions of belonging to a common world, of universal norms and rights, derive from Rome, at least partly. Systems of governance and concepts of citizenship have been have been inspired by Rome. The way that the Roman Catholic Church is organized and how clergy dress derives from Rome. National notions of having a special mission in the world have found inspiration in Rome. Many European cities still contain remnants of Roman occupation. This begins to shift from Romes cultural to Romes technological legacy. Roman ideas and Roman culture impact modern life so pervasively but what about technology With modern developments in electronics, computers, the micro-chip, radio, television not to mention modern science and medical knowledge, surely the significance of the Roman heritage is a matter of history, not continued relevance Surprisingly, this is not the case. Behind a great deal of contemporary engineering, architecture and building technology including hating, sanitation and plumbing as well as town planning and our understanding of how cities function stands solid Roman ground. Modern technology has an often-unacknowledged debt to the technology that allowed the Roman Empire not only to exist but also to achieve much of what it did. A huge territory was efficiently governed, communication passed from colonial outposts to the center, large armies moved along roads that still exist today. Much of Europes existing system of land communication and transport builds on what Rome left behind. Some roads lasted a thousand years with relatively little maintenance. In discussing Roman technologys significance for the modern world, its architectural and transport related aspects are highlighted. This is set within the wider context of the fact that without Romes legacy, people today might very well see the world differently. In many respects, when we look at the world, we see a reality that has been shaped by Roman ideas, in which Roman technology still forms the basis of much of what makes our function on a day-to- basis. This survey begins with the very idea of the city. Their design, function and communication networks, perhaps their very existence, build on Roman precedents.
Cities as Legacies of Roman Technology
Rome was itself a city. The Roman Empire took the city to the next level surpassing the role they had played in Greece, although Rome openly borrowed both intellectually and technologically from other civilizations generally and from the Greeks especially. Cities, for Romans, symbolized civilization, thus urban living distinguished the civilized from the uncivilized (Reader 83). One Senator put it like this, let the wild beast live in fields and woods men ought to draw together in cities (Reader 83). In building and running their empire, cities were central. It was from these that the empire was governed. Romans imposed their authority on the surrounding provinces from the cities they built (Reader 83). Cities needed to be networked, so long, straight roads connected them. Cities needed water, so aqueducts were built to supply this. Some technologies associated with Roman cities, sewerage, sanitation, heating, were neglected in later times yet still form the basis of such utilities and services today. Basic technology in these areas is still Roman. These urban centers were linked to an extensive network of well-engineered and surfaced roads, along which officials could travel up to 320 km a day on important business (Reader 83). The design of these cities often followed a template of intersecting blocks and streets on a grid system. Evidence of Roman grid-iron style of city planning survives today, says Reader (84). Places of worship, residence, theaters, public baths and other buildings were laid out according to this established pattern. It is easy to see how a modern city such as New York owes a debt to this model.
Plumbing and every day sanitation taken for granted in modern life
Expanding on the legacy of the Roman City, Guy says that, modern plumbing and sewerage systems owe much to Romans, as does Western architecture and language (19). He says that perhaps the most impressive legacy left by Rome were the roads, many of which were not vastly improved until the 19th century and often follow their original Roman course (19). The technology involved in building roads has advanced in terms of equipment used but not that much in design and construction. Some techniques involved in road construction were revived as recently as the nineteenth century. The ditch was dug, then layers of rocks and stone were placed into the ditch with flat stones as a base or foundation. This was topped with layers of rough and smooth concrete to form the surface, or pavement. Finally, a stone layer was added together with trenches for drainage alongside the road.
The Relevancy of Buildings and Architecture
Several features of Roman architecture continue to inform modern buildings. They perfected the semi-circular arch (Guy 2) and invented a new form if very strong concrete and improved the ways bricks were manufactured (Guy 27). Use of concrete as a ubiquitous and relatively inexpensive building material still owes much to Roman technology, although modern concrete and Roman are not identical. Stylistically, Roman architecture has seen revivals during different periods and continues to be popular for some buildings. The dome of the US capitol building is inspired by a Roman design. Domes, with the semi-circular arch, were Roman innovations or improvements. The arch enabled them to span greater distances than previous civilizations had been able to achieve and led to the invention of the dome (Guy 27). Great churches, public buildings, Colleges and many other constructions in the modern world owe their domes to Roman technology. Many aspects of Roman urban life were neglected and technologies forgotten when the empire collapses. Cities began to decline and such infrastructure as public baths, roads, libraries became sources of material to construct other buildings (Jenkyns 45). Even where some remnants of Roman sewerage and sanitation systems remained Medieval cities lacked such systems and were filthy, dangerous place. The Romans had public baths supplied with hot water and made a ritual of bathing. In the Middle Ages, people thought that more than one annual bath was unhealthy. Refuge litter and human excrement made urban space into health hazards. Early Christians rejected most anything Roman, including the value of cleanliness. St. Benedict pronounced that, to those that are well, and especially for the young, bathing shall seldom be permitted (Plumbing and Mechanical). In Rome, the sewer built in ancient times is still in use, Called the Cloaca Maxima, this sewer is one of the largest of the ancient sewers still in use. It was designed to carry off the surface water, and otherwise provide drainage for the entire city, says Plumbing and Mechanical. In comparison, the problem of safe waste disposal was unsolved in 14th century England where the refuse from the kings kitchen ran through the Great Hall in an open channel endangering the health of all who congregated there (Plumbing and Mechanical). Thus, the magazine can categorically state that
its to the plumbing engineers of the Old Roman Empire that the Western world owes its allegiance. The glory of the Roman legions lay not only in the roads they built and the system of law and order they provided. It was their engineering genius and the skill of their craftsmen that enabled them to erect great baths and recreation centers, the water supplied by aqueducts from sources miles away (Plumbing and Mechanical).

When modern men and women realized the need for sanitation and sewerage, it was to the heritage of the Roman legacy that they turned, so that contemporary plumbing and sanitation systems are derived from a re-discovery of Roman technology. Roman achievements in these fields are the basis for modern technology, technology that millions of people utilize every day. It was beause of their superior engineering skills and architectural ideas that the Romans could conquer, influence and rule such a huge empire (Szasz). It was once more the arch that enabled the Romans to build their aqueducts taking sanitation to their colonies, such a system was unheard of in other civilizations but Romans were a very sanitary and hygienic people to whom fresh water was very important (Szasz). Water conveyed by aqueducts was used for the baths and for toilets as well as for drinking. Szasz suggests that the grandeur of public baths has yet to be equaled and stresses the communal nature of bathing in Roman culture, which is hardly the custom today. Baths were public forums were people debated topical issues, where civil life flourished. Sadly, while the institution of the public library survived into modern times, there public discussion is discouraged except at special meetings. Thus, the Romans brought clean water to the towns and cities they conquered using the aqueducts which are still inspiring and influential monuments today (Szasz). We can only speculate whether many modern constructions will retain the same lasting grandeur as that which the Romans built, says Szasz, adding that Rome was not built in a day.

Roads that were originally surveyed and built by Romans still function as major transport networks across vast spaces enabling daily trade, communication, travel and cultural exchange. Even where Romans never trod, the concept of interlinking highways that connect city to city, allowing both the business of life and that of government to take place, owes much to Rome. Much of what we take for granted in the modern world, such as clean water, sanitation and sewage, owes a debt to Rome. When we enter a public building, the chances that some feature of architecture was inspired if not copied from Rome is high. In addition to everyday language that derives from Latin, including computer (computare), auditorium, stadium, school (schola), library (liber), diploma, the use of Roman technology or of Roman inspired technology make the impact of Romes legacy on modern life ubiquitous, Imagine if we did not attend a school where we receive a diploma, study in the Library or watch a football game in a Stadium but used other words for all of these Life would not be the same. Words derived from Latin, including the above are found in all European languages. Hygienic refuse disposal is taken for granted. We take for granted that water will flow from the facet when we turn on a tap. The technology that makes this happen is Roman.

The development of organised, civil societies, as opposed to cultures based entirely on local agriculture, drove early attempts to standardise subunits of the day using such technologies as sundials, water clocks, and sand clocks (Boorstin 26-36). Mechanical alarm clocks were created initially to ensure that early Christians could perform their religious duties at the precisely proper times of day (Aveni 92).  Sea navigation of ever-greater distances demanded greater precision, resulting in critical technological advancements such as clocks based on the regular movement of a pendulum (Boorstin 49-53).  Further developments led to wristwatches, quartz clocks, and most recently, atomic clocks.  With each advance in technology, the day was subdivided into smaller units with greater accuracy.  At the same time it is important to understand that while sundials, clocks, and other devices were developed to keep track of hours, minutes, and seconds, it has also always been important to society to keep track of passing days.  This initially facilitated planning in agriculture, and coordination of long-term and large-scale activities (Steel 10-11).  Units of multiple days such as weeks, months, and years were developed and employed.  Calendars were developed based on the path of the Sun through the seasons, around the path of the Moon, or both.  The growth of villages into towns and cities led to calendars for the coordination of markets and trade, as well as communications and travel.  For instance, early Greek society created its own unique calendar system for both civil and religious purposes (Mikalson ix). Irregularities in the orbits of the moon and the earth, along with ongoing changes among leading religions, led to numerous reforms of the prevailing calendar system.  The Greek calendar and others influenced the Roman calendar, which transitioned into the Julian calendar.  The Julian calendar, in turn, was finally reformed into the Western Gregorian calendar that is in widespread use today (Couderc 186-188). From the critical perspective, the rich, complex history of the understanding and tracking of time continues to affect all aspects of life, on all time scales.  We still rely on nature for our food supply, and nature remains cyclical over time, and thus people continue to have keen interests in the control of standardized time.  As vividly articulated by Allen Bluedorn the possibility that time can explain other phenomena, especially human behaviour, is the scientific raison detre for studying time and caring about it (Bluedorn 6).  Finally and most fundamentally, we remain faced with the finite nature of our own lives.  Our extent of awareness and consciousness of time may have profound implications for how we choose to live our lives.  
TIME LOCATION OF THE SUN
In contemporary context, the simple question do you have the time, reflects a desire to learn the current precise moment of the current day, as denoted by todays timepieces clocks and watches. However, such a question would have been absurd in ancient times.  The time of the day was equally apparent to all, as it was given by the position of the sun in its path across the sky.  Daybreak, sunrise, noon, sunset, and darkness were the planetary events that indicated when to wake, work, eat, and sleep (Landes 1).  For cultures that have no need for precision greater than this, the position of the sun is still the method for telling time.  The central African Konso people divide the day into seven segments over our 9am-8pm interval (11 hours), where each intervals name describes a common activity of that time of day.  For example, 5pm-6pm, or kakalseema, means, when the cattle return home, an event that occurs when sunset approaches (Aveni 90-91). With practice, the daylight portion of the day can successfully be accurately determined to about twelve divisions - approximately equivalent to our hours - with just the arms and naked eyesight (Aveni 91).
TIME SUNDIALS
For greater precision in time telling, time-keeping technologies were born.  The first such technology almost certainly consisted of placing a stick vertically into the ground, and noting the progression of the shadow throughout the day (Aveni 91).  It is not clear when and where the first sundial was invented, but they were used by ancient Greeks, Romans, Druids, and other civilizations of ancient history (Cunynghame 37-38 Landes 14).  They have been in use to some degree ever since indeed wherever and whenever there is sun on the planet, a simple sundial may be utilised to tell the time of day to a reasonable precision.
Two key design elements in a simple horizontal sundial are the style, or the object designed to cast shadows, and the demarcations on the horizontal portion of the sundial that denote sub-parts of the day by the position of the shadow cast by the style.
If the sundial were designed for use at the North Pole, the style could be vertical to the ground. Otherwise, however, a sundial with a vertical style in use at other latitudes gives times, other than noon, differently at different times of the year, resulting from the tilt of the earths axis with respect to its orbital plane (Flood and Lockwood, 24).  Thus, a horizontal sundial that is to be used year-round must have its style parallel to the earths axis, which is to also say it must point (approximately) toward the north star.  This angle corresponds to the latitude of the dial (Cunynghame 35-36).
Secondly, in order for the sundial to denote hours of equal length over the course of the day, unless the sundial is in use at the North Pole, the face of the sundial must have the hours marked on it in at non-equal distances.  This is because the rate of change in the angular motion of the styles shadow over the course of a day depends upon the angle of the ground to the sun, as determined by local latitude.  Thus, a reliable sundial that divides the daylight time into equal hours must accommodate this effect.  One way to envision such a design utilizing 24 positions marking 24 hours on the face of the sundial, which is parallel to the ground, is to model 24 arcs equally dividing a sphere from one pole to the other, at the angle reflecting the latitude of the location of the dial.  The arcs cross the plane of the face of the dial at uneven intervals, corresponding to regularly spaced intervals of time during the day (Cunynghame 35-37).
According to historical and archeological evidence, ancient Greek and Roman sundials, carved from blocks of different kinds of calcareous stone, are easily distinguished from late and modern varieties by their shape and more importantly by their engraved network of hour lines and day curves.  The evidence suggests that Greek and Roman diallers preferred conical and spherical dial faces.  Greek and Roman sundials always marked the twelve seasonal hours of daylight between sunrise and sunset.  Although being mathematically calculated and being of equal length during a given day, seasonal hours length varied during the year, being the shortest at winter solstice and longest at summer solstice (Higgins 345).  The foot of the gnomon could be placed in any convenient position.  From the critical perspective, Greek and Roman sundials were reliable sources of time retrieval. With few exceptions, the day curves trace the path of the gnomon points shadow at solstices and equinoxes (three lines in all), so the accurately engraved Greek and Roman sundial served as a crude calendar (Higgins 345).  Its calendary day curves are divided by eleven hour points and connected by eleven hour lines. The first hour begins at sunrise the last hour ends at sunset.
Historians do know that the notion of seasonal hours has a long history, and they know that classical astronomers used instuments which marked seasonal changes in the position of the sun.  These practices may well have combined to imspire the design of the sundial. Vitrivius list of sundial designs includes the names of their inventors. The more familiar names are those of Hellenistic astronomers and mathematicians Apollonius, Berossos, Eudoxus, and Theodosius (Gibbs 22).  This impressive roster suggests that the sundial developed as a scientific instrument in the 4th and 3rd centuries B.C.  There are several reasons why the successful designer of dials would have to possess the talents of both a mathematician and an astronomer. As astronomer he considers the observable path of the sun on the celestial sphere. As mathematician he contrives to project that path into a shadow receiving surface.  For instance, Ptolemy considers some facts about the celestial sphere, established by Hellenistic astonomers, which were certainly of particular interest to astronomer-diallers in Graeco-Roman antiquity the size of the earth is negligible, compared to the diameter of the apparent surrounding sphere of the suns path, so that the point of gnomon on the surface of the earth mayb be considered as if it is at the ceneter of the earth the horizon halves the universe the longest of the year equals the longest night (in Gibbs 25). Such considerations simplify the problem of projecting a specific part of the path of the sun through a gnomon point onto a shadow receiving surface. Vitruvius and Ptolemy recognised that two important parameters sufficienty determined the suns path observed at any place on earth geographical latitude and obliquity of the ecliptic (Gibbs 26).  Gnomons, shadows and perhaps even primitive sundials helped to establish the value of these parameters necessary for the construction of the dials which survived through centuries.
TIME WATER CLOCKS
Other than their unequal hour lengths, which was not actually considered a drawback in ancient Greece and Rome, the more fundamental factor limiting the usefulness of telling time by the sun with sundials is that the sun is only in the sky about half of the time.  When daylight turns to night, time can be roughly determined by noting the positions of the stars as they rotate about the North Pole over the course of the evening.  Viewing the night sky in order to ascertain the time of nights has its obvious drawbacks as well, as it is impossible on a cloudy night. Even a cloudy day rarely completely obscures the position of the sun in the sky, hinting at the time of day. However, a cloudy night can be pitch-black, and was especially so in ancient times with few man-made sources lighting the darkness.
So as a complement to sundials for telling time during the day, water clocks were initially the preferred technology during the night (Cunynghame 37).  A water clock measures the passage of time by the amount of water that has fallen through a small hole in a container of water. It was found that water would drip through such a small hole at a relatively constant rate, resulting in an instrument that could mark the passage of periods of time by noting the changes in water levels in either the water source tank or in the waters destination vessel.
The first engineering challenge with a water clock is that the rate.that water drips through the hole turns out to depend in part upon the pressure from above.  A full tank causes faster dripping, while a nearly empty tank causes somewhat slower dripping.  One simple solution here was to keep an approximately constant amount of water in the tank (Cunynghame 37-38).  The better solution was to slant the walls of the vessel holding the water such that the height of the water would fall at a constant rate (Boorstin 30).  In order for the water clock to be widely adopted in Rome, where the popular sundial had established variable-length hours depending upon the day of the year, water clocks were eventually successfully developed with variable rates of drip that could be correlated to the approximate length of hours for any day of the year (Cunynghame 39-40).
Other issues with water clocks included the changing viscosity of the water caused by variable temperatures, and the tendency of water to wear bigger any hole that it is designed to drip through.  Solutions to such problems were attempted by using materials other than water (such as sand, oil, or mercury) and by employing the most durable materials available for the water to drip through.  Fire clocks were also devised, where the challenge was to find materials that would burn at standardised rates.  However, the fundamental physical reality was that a device designed for something to drip, or flow, or burn at a constant rate needed considerable human attention and maintenance (Boorstin 35 Cunynghame 45-47).
TIME SAND CLOCKS  THE HOURGLASS
Of all the variations on the water clock mentioned above, one of particular importance was the water clock where sand was utilized instead of water - otherwise recognised as the hourglass. One advantage of sand was that it would flow at temperatures where water would freeze (Boorstin 33).  However, sand is less fluid than water, so it was more difficult to calibrate with other timepieces precisely.  The sandglass also had to be built very large to measure time periods of multiple hours, or small ones had to be manually turned frequently (Boorstin 33-34).
From the historical perspective, the earliest known image of a sandglass is portrayed on Ambrogio Lorenzettis fresco, The Allegory of Good Government, painted on the walls of the council chamber in the Palazzo Pubblico of Siena around 1339 (Shenton, 52). Modern scholars might know more about the early history of sandglasses if it were known when this image was painted.  One way or the other, the sandglass was in use by the middle of the fourteenth century.  However, if the sandglass was in use by the mid-fourteenth century, then when was it actually invented The art of blowing glass developed in Syria in the first century B.C.E (Turner 164). That skill is the most sophisticated one required for the manufacture of a sandglass but, as historians of technology are well aware, even if it is technically possible for an object to be made at a given point in time, that does not necessitate it being actually manufactured then. The earliest probable date for its initial development is sometime in the twelfth century, when developments in navigation, such as the importation of the compass into Western Europe and the development of portolan maps, helped to create a flowering of trade and transportation networks.  The addition of the sandglass to this combination of technologies would have increased navigational flexibility certainly in the later Middle Ages, the sandglasss shipboard use was one of its most important functions. Whether or not it actually developed that early, however, remains a matter of conjecture.
Historians emphasise that one of the major contributions of the sandglass was in sea navigation. While at sea, in order to estimate the ships location, the sailor needed to be able to measure the ships speed of travel.  The standard technique devised was to use a heavy piece of wood that was tied to the end of a rope with knots tied into it at specific regular intervals.  With the other end of the rope safely aboard, the wood was thrown overboard.  As the rope was pulled through a sailors hands into the water, he counted the number of knots that went by while time was measured by a small sandglass, typically measuring half a minute.  The number of knots pulled indicated current speed of travel (Cunynghame 41-43 Boorstin 34).  This is the direct origin of the knot unit of speed, still in use today.
By the middle of the fourteenth century, sandglass was an established technology in use in a number of disparate locations across Western Europe, as is shown by the earliest data testifying to its existence.  While the sandglass was an important tool for sailors early on, it was by no means used exclusively for navigational purposes.  Only one of the early documents refers to sandglasses purchased particularly for shipboard use. In 13345, the clerk of the Kings ship La George, Thomas Stetesham, wrote up receipts documenting payment in Flanders for sixteen glass timekeepers, orologios vitreis, twelve at four and a half gross, and another four for five gross (Turner 152-153).  In the inventories of Charles V of France dating from 1380, a sandglass is described as suitable for use at sea, leaving it unclear whether or not this particular exemplar of it was used that way or not.  The scribes description of the sandglass in Charles Vs inventory as a large timekeeper of the sea, consisting of two large vessels full of sand implies that the sandglass was not widely in use as a household implement at the time, for otherwise the mention would not include this description of its component pieces (Turner 164). Anyone already familiar with the construction of a sandglass at the time would not have needed a description of its manufacture, as is shown by later inventories which describe the degree to which the sandglasss frame was elaborate, but omit any further functional description of the devices construction.
TIME THE VERGE ESCAPEMENT AND MECHANICAL CLOCKS
Sundials, water clocks, and sandglasses, plus other less important variations on these, were inventions that successfully divided the day or night into concrete portions of time, but the devices all had their limitations.  It took the needs of modern European Christians of the fourteenth century to motivate inventors to devise and begin to perfect the earliest mechanical clocks (Boorstin 36).  These earlier mechanical timekeeping devices did not yet have faces and dials, instead they were designed to produce sounds at certain times they were purely alarm clocks.  The times when they were designed to alarm were the Churchs prescribed daily times for prayer and other religious duties (Boorstin 36-37).
The key technology of the first mechanical clocks was the escapement.  An escapement is
nothing more than an arrangement that would regularly interrupt the force of a falling weight. The interruptor was so designed that it would alternately check and then release the force of the weight on the moving machinery of the clock. (Boorstin 38)
The verge escapement design required a weight to fall only a short distance in order for the mechanical clock to keep relatively accurate time for hours.  For the first time, there was technology for dividing any day of the year into 24 equal hours, and the ability to design clocks that could reliably mark any desired hour of each day.
The broadening popularity of the new mechanical clocks reached beyond devout Christian practitioners.  Church towers became clock towers, standardising the hour for entire communities (Boorstin 39).  Furthermore, owning a clock became a status symbol, and the members of the growing elite class of the eleventh to fourteenth centuries measured their status in part by the clocks they owned and operated (Landes 74-75).  Some clocks were designed as large and elaborately engineered machines offering impressive public mechanised entertainment on the hour, every hour, for those fortunate enough to witness it (Boorstin 44-45).  By around 1330, the variable-length hours of the sundial were completely replaced by the fixed-length modern hour as measured by clocks.  A new phrase appeared in reference to the current hour, time of the clock or oclock (Boorstin 39-40).
It was relatively simple for clocks to be designed to mark not just the top of the hour, but shorter intervals such as the half-our or quarter-hour as well.  In another key design advancement, mechanical clocks finally offered a constant visual representation of the present moment in time when they started utilizing the clock dial, which was invented by the Italian doctor and scholar Jacopo de Dondi (1290-1359) in 1344 (Boorstin 45).  The clock dial provided a standardised visualization of the time that could be understood by all, with only the limited amout of literacy necessary to decode the meaning of the hand on the dial.