Final Post: Letter to My Future Self

Dear Future Me,
I am writing this letter you assuming you are around my parents age(40-50ish years old). Wow a lot has happened in the last 12 weeks. At the beginning of 2020 I remember hearing about this sickness going around in another part of the would. I thought to myself, "That couldn't reach us, right?" Wrong. On Friday March 15th, 2020 we were told we were going to be starting online school for the next two weeks. I guess in the back of my mind I knew that we were never really going back, only no one wanted to admit it. What I can't believe is how bad we let it get. I wonder did we ever get COVID? Did another strand break out a few years later that was even worse? I know its a bad thing, but my mind usually skips to the worst thing that could happen. When did we go back to normal, or really, did we ever go back to normal? I have just spent two and a half months adjusting to online school. I have to tell you, it was not easy. Everybody kept saying these are unprecedented times, like that was supposed to make everything better. As time went on I got super stress about school, and it started feeling like a chore. Then, I let myself relax a bit more. I started to wake up a little later, and enjoy the time off. I do miss driving to school with my dad and answering the College of Knowledge on 101.9 every morning. Did we ever do that again, I sure hope so. I thinks what unsettles me the most is that I have no idea when things are going back to normal, and honestly things don't seem to be getting any better. I think I miss dance the most. Are we still dancing? Dance is probably one of the only things that had eased my mind right now. I plan on do a lot of dance classes this summer to keep me busy. As of right now(June 4, 2020) I am planning to go to my aunt's house next week in West Virginia and then I have online driver eds for the next two weeks after that. To wrap up our summer we are planning on going to OBX in August. Knock on wood that we can go, we are renting a big house with 4 other families, so hopefully it was fun. My freshman year had definitely been an exciting one. Don't forget we got pertussis(whooping cough), we got the flu(B), and we did some pretty fun dance things(MDA+IDN) and volunteer work(Wheelchair basketball). I have a few questions. What did we go to college for? What was your favorite high school memory? Do we have children yet? What about our parents, how are they? Where is Sebastian(My brother)? How was college? Do we still wear masks everywhere? Are they teaching about the year 2020 in school yet? I hope you enjoyed your high school experience, I know I loved freshman year, even throughout all the worse parts. If you aren't in tears right, who are you?! Anyway, know that 15 year old me is thinking of you almost everyday.
Much love,
Izzy

Blog Day Fifty-Six: What a Happened After JC?

Today for class we were asked to take notes on the final part of Chi Cago's Study Guide for Rome. Here are my notes.

The Aftermath of JC's Assassination

• JC's heir is his adopted son Octavian
• Octavian takes over at age 18 and starts The Second Triumvirate
• Mark Antony (experienced general)
• Lepidus (powerful politician)
• The second Triumvirate is a doomed group
• Octavian forces Lepidus to retire
• Octavian and Mark Antony become rivals
• Mark Antony teams up with Cleopatra of Egypt
• Militarily
• Personally
• Politically
• Economically
• Octavian defeats them at the Battle of Actium
• Octavian is the unchallenged ruler of Rome
• Given the honorific name "Augustus"
• "Exalted One"
• Given the title "imperator"
• Supreme military commander
• where we get the word "Emperor"
• Rome is now an empire, not a republic
• Octavian ruled for 40 years ( 27 BC- AD 14)
• He began a stable era of peace known as Pax Romana
• Pax Romana lasted 207 years (27 BC- AD 180)
• Octavian Augustus had many accomplishes before he died of natural causes
• Expanded Roman Empire further into Africa
• Set up civil service to run the Gov/ empire
• Building a network of roads
• Collecting taxes
• Establishing postal service
• Administering the grain supply
• Building aqueducts and buildings
• Setting up police department
• Running a fire-fighting organization
• Octavian Augustus' Death lead to the age of Emperors
• Some were good
• Some were bad
• Some were crazy
• Tiberius ruled from AD 14- AD 37
• Excellent general, reluctant emperor
• The death of his son caused him to exile himself from Rome
• Left his prefects in charge
• Died at age 77
• Caligula ruled from AD 37- AD 41 (4 years)
• Won a power struggle after Tiberius' death
• Known for his cruelty, extravagance, and perversity
• He was an insane tyrant
• He was assassinated by a group of praetorian guards, Senators, and the imperial court
• The assassinators were trying to reestablish the Republic
• It didn't work
• Claudius ruled from AD 41- AD 54
• Suffered from many infirmities possibly because of cerebral palsy
• A limp
• Stammering
• Shaking
• Slobbering
• Took over because he was the last adult male in the family
• He ruled well
• Built roads, aqueducts, and canals
• Started the conquest of Britain
• Died by poisoning 
• His wife's plan (She wanted her son Nero to rise to power)
• Nero ruled from 54- 68
• emphasized the arts
• Huge fire happened in 64
• He wanted to rebuild Rome
• Make it more majestic
• He overspent by a lot
• Had to raid temples for money
• Historians do not like him very much

Those were my notes for what happened after JC's death. Have a great weekend everyone!

Blog Day Fifty-Five: JC's Rise and Fall

I will be taking my Rome test on June 2nd from 8:00-8:50 because I am in Honors 202. Today's blog will consist of my notes on the rise and fall of Julius Caesar.

Julius Caesar' Rise and Fall

• Kept Plebeians from revolting by giving them bread and circuses
• Bread was free grain from the state
• circuses was the Colosseum and Circus Maximus
• Government did this to keep plebeians alive, as well as keep them distracted and docile 
• Soldiers(who were plebs) loyalty was only to their military leaders, not Rome or the Republic
• Tiberius Gracchus recognized the power of the plebeians aka the soldiers
• military generals would lead their soldiers and conquer a land, then give plots of the land to the soldiers in return for their loyalty 
• Julius Caesar was the best at this strategy 
• Lived 100-44 BCE)
• highly successful general
• He conquered the huge territory of Gaul
• JC could also play politics
• He tried to always please the common folk
• He had high class friends
• Pompey( a general who conquered Syria and Palestine)
• Crassus( the richest man in Rome, and in all history)
• These three men made up the first Triumvirate
• Triumvirate(Rule of three men)
• Pompey couldn't understand how JC was conquering and gaining so much power
• He crossed the Rubicon
• crossing to the point of no return
• Caesar seized power
• Serves as consul for 1 year
• Then appoints himself governor of Gaul
• Pompey is jealous
• becomes JC's rival
• Caesar and Pompey's armies clash in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt(Caesar winning all)
• Caesar is named dictator of Rome 
• at first for only 6 months
• the for life
• Caesar makes many reforms
• Gave citizens in provinces citizenship
• Expanded the Senate
• by adding his friends
• Created jobs for the poor
• through public works projects
• Increased soldiers pay
• Started colonies where those without land could own land
• Sic semper tyrannis!
• translates to: Thus always to tyrants!
• JC's Assassination
• Why?
• Senators were threatened by JC's rise in power
• How?
• Got JC to the Senate and stabbed him 23 times( so everyone was involved)
• Who?
• Brutus, Caesar's friend
• (Et tu, Brute?)
• Senators were never punished
• Octavian was named as JC's sole heir
• End of the Republic

Happy Wednesday everyone!

Blog Day Fifty-Four: My Rome Essay Choice

For my test essay on Rome, I choose to write about the first option, option A. I will be comparing and contrasting the ancient Roman government with the modern-day United States government. Happy Memorial day weekend everyone!

Blog Day Fifty-Three: The Roman Empire Notes

Today for class we were asked to take noted on the Roman Empire. Here are mine:

The Roman Empire
Terms and Names
Civil War- conflict between groups within the same country.
Julius Caesar- A military leader who took over control of Rome and met a horrible death after being stabbed by a close friend of his.
Triumvirate- A group of three rulers.
Augustus- Name meaning "exalted one" Ocativian takes on this new name as the new, sole leader of Rome.
Pax Romana- meaning "Roman Peace," a time were Rome had peace and prosperity
Notes

• Rome getting more land/countries = an unsteady Republic
• this was not good for the lower class citizens
• Gap between rich and poor grew wider
• Slaves made up 1/3 of the Roman population
• Slaves were captured from different wars
• Slaves work on plantations owned by rich Roman landowners
• Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus were tribunes fighting for the poor people of Rome
• Proposed reforms to limit sizes of plantations and to give land to the poor
• Tiberius explain that the people who fought for Rome were being mistreated, while the rich get to live luxuriously
• Many senators felt threatened by the men
• Tiberius died in 133 BC 
• Gaius died in 121 BC
• Roman military fell apart
• Soldiers made allegiances to only the commander
• Commander would pay soldiers with land for their allegiance
• These new soldiers replace the citizen soldiers, who fought for the Republic
• Now military leaders had enough power to take over individually
• Caesar, a military leader; Crassus, a wealthy Roman; and Pompey, a popular general take over as leaders of Rome
• Caesar was the main leader, as consul of Rome, but the two other men ruled with him for ten years
• Caesar only serve one year as consul, per tradition
• Appointed himself as governor of Gaul for 8 years 
• Eventually conquer all of Gaul
• Had won his men loyalty because he shared in the hardships of war
• Success in war = Caesar becoming popular in Rome
• Pompey, who feared Caesar's popularity, ordered Caesar back to Rome in 50 BC
• Caesar refused and took his men to battle against Pompey 
• Caesar and his troops fought and won in Greece, Asia, Spain, and Egypt
• Caesar returned to Rome and was named dictator for life in 44 BC 
• Caesar made many reforms with his power
• Granted Roman citizenship to many people in the provinces
• Added friends from Italy and other regions to the senate
• Helped the poor by creating jobs
• Started colonies so people without land could own property
• increased pay for soldiers
• Many people feared Caesar's power
• Caesar was stabbed to death on March 15, 44 BC by Marcus Brutus and Gaius Cassius
• Following the death, civil war broke out and the Republic crumbed
• Caesar's adopted son, Octavian; Mark Antony, an experience general; and Lepidus, and politician formed the 2nd triumvirate for ten years
• The mens loyalty to each other did not last
• Octavian forced Lepidus to retired
• Mark Antony and Octavian became enemies
• Mark Antony left for Cleopatra
• Octavian fought against Mark Antony and won
• Later Antony and Cleopatra commit suicide
• Octavian restores some parts of the Republic s new leader of Rome
• Octavian takes on new name "Augustus" meaning "exalted one"
• Augustus is now the sole leader of Rome
• Pax Romana occured for 207 years
• Rome thrived with almost 1 million people living in the city itself
• Augustus didi great things for Rome and its citizens
• When he died the stability in Rome continued because of the effectiveness
• 90% of Romans were involved in farming
• Rome had a huge trading network with roads stretching to Russia and Persia
• Gravitas- a person who held values of strength, discipline, and loyalty, displayed in many Roman citizens
• Slaves were stilled used for anything their masters saw fit, and were mainly used on plantations
• The Roman government and religion were linked
• The worship of the emperor was important and apart of the official religion
• The difference between the rich and poor was still great
• Some upper class citizens lived extravagantly
• Lower class citizens sometimes barely lived off of rations of grian
• Rome held games and entertainment to distract Roman citizens and control them
• Christianity also emerged during this time, but early members were persecuted for their beliefs

Happy Tuesday everyone!

Blog Day Fifty-Two: The Punic Wars

Today we were asked to write about the Punic Wars. These wars lasted, in total, for more than 100 years. Obviously, the war was not continuous throughout this time, but the first war started in 264 BCE and the last war ended in 146 BCE. The Punic wars were fought between Rome and Carthage. The first Punic War was fought by the navy for control of the perfectly placed island of Sicily. This war lasted from 264-241 BCE and the eventually victor was Rome. The second Punic War was started by Hannibal who was a Carthaginian general. Hannibal's goal was to attack and capture Rome. He planned to do this by attacking Rome from the north and traveling over Iberia (Spain) and the Alps to reach Rome. For 15 years, Carthage held control over the peninsula but was never able to seize Rome. This second war was fought from 218-201 BCE. The third Punic War was started by Rome who wanted to permanently get rid of Carthage's constant threat. This war lasted from 149-146 BCE. Scipio, Tiberius Gracchus, and other Roman leaders attack Carthage ruthlessly. Carthage was burned for 17 days and everything in the city was destroyed. Those Carthaginian citizens who survive, about 50,000 of them, were sold into slavery by the Romans. Personally, I do not think this was the best thing for Rome to do, but I can't change history. All of those slaves poured into Italy along with Greek slaves. By the end of the second century there was about 1 million slaves in Italy. The rest of Carthage's territories were annexed into Roman rule and became the Roman province of Africa. The Punic Wars finally ended, with Rome as it's sole victor, in the end.
Have a great weekend everyone!

Blog Day Fifty-One: A Darzy Family and Rome's Gov. vs. US Gov.

Today we were asked to write about slides 9-12 and 13-22 on the study guide. Here are my thoughts/notes.
Slides 9-12
All I can say is wow. This family is crazy and I don't blame Rome for expelling them. What happened was Tarquin's grandfather died and his widow choose Servius Tullius to rule the throne. Servius Tullius had two daughters who married two different men. One of the daughters, Tullia, kills her husband and her sister because she wanted to marry Tarquin, who was married to Tullia's sister. Then Tullia convinces Tarquin to overthrow her father, Servius Tullius, for the throne of Rome. Tarquin does just that and then assassinates Servius Tullius. When Tullia asks Tarquin for a proper burial for her father, Tarquin refuses and any senator that disagreed with him was also assassinated. Then Tarquin has a son named Sextus. While he was drunk with his friends, Sextus tries to force himself on a matron named Lucretia. Lucretia refuses, but then Sextus threatens to kill her and say that he found her with a slave, so Lucretia gives into the blackmail. Then Lucretia tells her family about it and commits suicide. Tarquin tried to cover up what happened, but the citizens of Rome did not let that happen. The citizens expelled the whole family and from then on made sure Rome was never lead under a single family again. Like I said, crazy.
Slides 13-22
The US government and Rome's republic are similar, but not totally the same. But, Let's start at the beginning. After the monarchy didn't work out, Rome was ruled by two consuls who held a term for one year. They were always patricians, who traced their descendant from famous ancestors(paters) which is how they got their importance. The consuls duties were dealing justice, commanding the army, and making laws. One consuls could veto the others law, reducing the individual power of each consul.  In the 5th century BCE, the plebians(people) challenged the patricians. The Plebs made up 98% of Rome's population. Why did the Patricians dominate, one may ask? Well, the Plebs served in the army, and therefore could not hold office. The Plebs were also threatened with debt slavery and had no legal rights in Rome at the time. Since they had no legal rights, they were victim of discriminatory decisions in the judicial office. Technically, Rome had no written law, only unwritten customs that patricians interpreted to their needs. The plebeians eventually realized this and refused to work in the army until a few things happen. They wanted the laws written down (The Law of the Twelve Tables), wanted the laws displayed in public (happened in 450 BCE), and had Tribunes elected (tribal leaders for the plebeians). Since Rome needed its army, all of these conditions were met. Then SPQR- Senatus Populusque Romanum, which means any decree or decision was made by "the Roman Senate and People" in Rome. With that, Rome had a whole new type of government, a republic. The Republic was made from democracy( people's assembly and the tribunes), aristocracy (The Senate, which was approximately 300 people), and monarchy (the consuls). Both the US government and the Roman Republic had three branches; executive, legislative, and judicial. the main differences between the executive branch was that the US has one leader who serves for four year terms and Rome had two leaders for served for one year terms. The main difference between the legislative branch was that the US has the Senate (Made of 100 people) and the House of Representative, whereas Rome had the Senate (made of 300 people) and assemblies. The main difference between the judicial branch is the US has Supreme Court members who serve for life, where Rome had praetors who served one year terms. Finally, the differences between the laws is that the US has the Bill of RIghts, where Rome had the Twelve Tables.

Wow, that was a lot of information. Happy Monday everyone!