World History
- Magna Carta Tops British Day Poll
What is the best time to celebrate Britishness? According to a poll by the BBC, it is June 15th. This is the day that the Magna Carta imposed on King John in 1215 by rebel barons limited the power of the King and gave ordinary people rights under common...
- The Magna Carta; 800th Year Anniversary
This year marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta,and that means new resources for those of who teach the document. BBC Magazine reviews a new book about the Magna Carta. The review does a terrific job of summarizing the importance of the...
- 18 Tedtalks For World History Classrooms
Tom Wujec discusses the 13th-century astrolabe in this 9 minute Ted Talk. It is one of 18 Ted Talk videos that Kentucky teacher, Angela Hamblen Cunningham put together on her blog which you can find here. Some of these include: David Christian: The History...
- Rabbi Herschel Schacter Is Dead At 95; Cried To The Jews Of Buchenwald: ?you Are Free?
Here's an fascinating obituary about the one of the first Jews in the recently liberated Buchenwald concentration camp. On April 9, 1944, Rabbi Herschel Schacter, attached to the Third Army?s VIII Corps, commandeered a...
- The Cyrus Cylinder--2600 Year Old Icon Comes To Us
The Cyrus Cylinder describes, in cuneiform, how King Cyrus of Persia defeats the Babylonian King (with the aid of Marduk, the God), Nabonidus. The cuneiform cylinder is housed at the British Museum but will soon tour five major museums, including the...
World History
The Cyrus Cylinder: Symbol of Religious Tolerance
British Museum director, Neil MacGregor, argues that the the Babylonian cylinder, discovered in 1879, stands with the American Constitution and the Magna Carta as one of the great documents of religious tolerance.
In this twenty minute Ted Talk, MacGregor relates the story of the cylinder. Written in Akkadian script, it says that after Cyrus conquered most of the Middle East, he released the Jews and all the other people in captivity and allowed them to return to their countries and recover their gods.
MacGregor notes that the god, Marduke, told Cyrus to free the Jews. The Hebrew Bible relates a similar story, but in this story, Jehovah, God of the Israelites, not Marduke, calls on Cyrus to release the Jews.
It's fascinating story and shows how one document can relate so much history.
You can find other posts about the different religions on my religions blog here.
You can find other posts about the different religions on my religions blog here.
- Magna Carta Tops British Day Poll
What is the best time to celebrate Britishness? According to a poll by the BBC, it is June 15th. This is the day that the Magna Carta imposed on King John in 1215 by rebel barons limited the power of the King and gave ordinary people rights under common...
- The Magna Carta; 800th Year Anniversary
This year marks the 800th anniversary of the Magna Carta,and that means new resources for those of who teach the document. BBC Magazine reviews a new book about the Magna Carta. The review does a terrific job of summarizing the importance of the...
- 18 Tedtalks For World History Classrooms
Tom Wujec discusses the 13th-century astrolabe in this 9 minute Ted Talk. It is one of 18 Ted Talk videos that Kentucky teacher, Angela Hamblen Cunningham put together on her blog which you can find here. Some of these include: David Christian: The History...
- Rabbi Herschel Schacter Is Dead At 95; Cried To The Jews Of Buchenwald: ?you Are Free?
Here's an fascinating obituary about the one of the first Jews in the recently liberated Buchenwald concentration camp. On April 9, 1944, Rabbi Herschel Schacter, attached to the Third Army?s VIII Corps, commandeered a...
- The Cyrus Cylinder--2600 Year Old Icon Comes To Us
The Cyrus Cylinder describes, in cuneiform, how King Cyrus of Persia defeats the Babylonian King (with the aid of Marduk, the God), Nabonidus. The cuneiform cylinder is housed at the British Museum but will soon tour five major museums, including the...