Balkans

An argument could be made that the ‘Holy’ Roman Empire shaped the way the world is now, but the Fall of Rome was inevitable for three reasons which can be seen in the demise of most great empires. Firstly, the Romans expanded their empire too far from their capital, secondly the creation of enemies due to Rome’s lack of leadership resulted in the land being overrun by foreign nations, and lastly, due to the weakening of the Roman legions, corruption and political instability played a role in the…

There have been many debates about how the First World War started in 1914 among historians. A German historian, Fritz Fischer, proposed the most common theory about how the war started by putting the blame completely on Germany. However, historians nowadays tend to overlook this proposal and try to re-apportion the guilt, which is not merely based on either the sole-guilt thesis or the sole- innocence thesis. Four different trends in the historiography have appeared that explain how the war…

some other disciplines” (Stearns, 1). The important of studying history may not seem very crucial at first, but if there is “a shift in political party dominance in the American Congress, a major change in the teenage suicide rate, or a war in the Balkans or the Middle East” (Stearns, 2), then the past must be carefully investigated to locate when these events could have happened. Stearns also claims that history can teach scholars morality by studying the deeds of ancient figures, who were…

The difference between the American’s direct strategy and the peripheral strategy of the British focused on Prime Minster Winston Churchill’s traditional approach through a naval based power and a large army by fighting small peripheral operations to gradually weaken the enemy. The United States with a powerful army felt a stronger direct fighting force of the German Army was the most effective strategy. The United States commanders argued for the invasion of France to end the war in Europe.…

The debate whether World War One was a war instigated by fear or rather a war for motives of gain, has been a debate long fought by historians. Most historians however agree that World War One was caused by the tensions between the European powers and crisis of the balance-of-power system which divided Europe into two armed and completely opposed groups. Furthermore, based on historical evidence and the events leading up to World War One, it can be said that it was a war not only fought due to…

The Ottoman Empire Social, economic, and cultural spheres. 1900-1914. Although the Ottoman Empire had once been a large and prosperous empire, it began its period of decline as early as the seventeenth century. The true period of its collapse started in the eighteenth century, an era which culminated in the empire’s eventual dissolution in 1918. The early twentieth century – the last few decades of the empire’s existence – was a relatively tumultuous time in terms of the social and economic…

smaller countries for resources and power. Not much could be done at the time to fight the tensions. The war tensions had started years before, while the Ottoman Empire was still very weak. The Ottoman Empire noticed how weak they were after losing the Balkan territory. After losing that territory, a large period of industrialization began to advance their technology. Although the Ottoman Empire was weak, their allies, the Central Powers, decided to help them and sustain them even with the lack…

Children squabbling over the last packet of Play-Doh. Presidential candidates debating over the possible ways to create jobs and a fruitful economy in the United States. Sons and daughters instigating a family feud during the loss of a parent over inheritances. What do these everyday situations have in common? Fighting. Since the dawn of recollection, humans have found confrontation to be the simplest way of solving a conflict. From cradle to the grave, contest and struggle are as integral to…

The overall cause of World War I is very debatable; however most historians agree that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife was the most immediate cause. This assassination led to Austria-Hungary declaring war on Serbia. When Russia began to mobilize due to its alliance with Serbia, Germany declared war on Russia. Finally, Great Britain entered the war against Germany a couple days later and then was against Austria-Hungary. The drivers of these…

second oldest known Swastika was found “painted on a Paleolithic cave” over 10,000 years ago (“Historical”). Other examples of the Swastika have been found on Greek, Celtic, and Anglo Saxxon artifacts, the oldest found in Eastern Europe, from the Balkans to the Baltic. The symbol has also been found on the collars of Slav princesses, to ward off evil, and on Greek buildings, to bring good fortune (Campion). Other cultures, such as that of ancient Chinese, have created their own version of the…