Charlemagne

   Charlemagne started out with the name Carolus or Charles. He was the grandson of Charles Martel. At age 26, he became co-ruler in 768 A.D. Then he separated the kingdom with his brother Charloman. Charles became the sole ruler after Charloman died in 771. Charles got the name Charlemagne from winning a lot of battles which gave him the name “Charles the Great” which translates into English, “Charlemagne”! Charlemagne married a Lombard princess. He was crowned with an iron crown since he was king of both France and Italy. Like his father and grandfather, Charlemagne was a spectacular general. His sword Joyeuse and elite bodyguards were very well known throughout the entire country.

   Charlemagne faced the Muslims in a battle. The Muslims did offer a treaty, but meanwhile, the entire rearguard of Charlemagne was attacked and entirely killed, including Charlemagne’s nephew, Roland. The Song of Roland, a French epic poem, was written about this sad, surprise attack. Enraged by this surprise attack, Charlemagne eventually returns and conquers the Muslims.

   Charlemagne even conquered Corsica and Sardinia. He also fought 18 battles in just 30 years against the Saxons. He forced the Saxons to convert to Christianity. He even made a court system and law code for the whole country to follow. When the Saxons tried to revolt against him, four thousand, five hundred Saxon prisoners were ordered to be killed. Charlemagne also conquered the Slavs and Anars. He had lots of other successes in his life and had a really great legacy.

   Justinian was a very powerful and successful ruler in the Eastern Roman Empire. He began his life as a shepherd boy, but he walked to Constantinople at age 16 just to meet his uncle Justin. After the previous emperor died, Justin became emperor which meant Justinian would become the next emperor. He became emperor in 527 A.D. and ruled for 40 years. He became Justinian the Great for his successful accomplishments as emperor. In 537 A.D. a magnificent cathedral named the Hagia Sophia was built by Justinian. He also constructed at least 34 churches! He did this because after praying to God for victory over a battle and winning it, he converted himself to Christianity. He died in 565 A. D.

   After Justinian’s death, the military was too thinly spread and the treasury was running too low on funds so the empire began to decline. Heraclius was the emperor after Justinian. During Heraclius’ reign, the empire was much smaller and weaker by the eighth century. By 800 A.D. it just consisted of Asia Minor and the Balkan Islands. With the loss of size, the empire an was an ordinary European country. It was a Greek state. Christianity was very important to the state. God was supposed to have chosen the emperors and with this claim, they have the ability to rule over the church and state. Even though it was the last of the Roman Empires, it was a strong empire.

My Mentors

   God has given me many teachers in my life. One is my pastor, Pastor White. He has given me a lot of knowledge on how to live my life, why people kill, and a whole lot more. He even leads communion! He is also the grandad of some of my friends. Once, he even baptized me!

   Another one is Mr. Anderson. He is one of my Sunday School teachers. I love him. He is the Dad of some more of my friends. He teaches me about the Bible which makes me want to read more of the Bible. He mostly reads out of Acts and then explains it to us. The lessons usually take one hour, but I like the lessons.

   Sometimes Mr. Burgener takes over for Mr. Anderson. He is also the dad of some more of my friends. I like his lessons as well as Mr. Anderson’s lessons. He is friendly. I love him.

   My parents are also great teachers. I have a lot of knowledge from school thanks to my mom. I also know a lot about discipline and obedience thanks to my dad. They also taught me and are teaching me a lot of other stuff. They love me and I intend to love them by obeying them.

   I love all of these people and they are trying to teach me lessons that will help me in my life when I am older. I need to listen as well as I can to their teaching. If I do not listen, my parents are not to blame, I am because I did not listen to my teachers. I intend to listen and do well.

   The Celts were the most populous group in ancient Europe. The Etruscans also lived in ancient Europe in Italy. The Celts did not leave any written records, so how do we know so much about them? From the Roman writing, actually. Celtic burial grounds are often marked with large megaliths. Megaliths are very large stones. The Celts are even credited for inventing something that we could not live without. Can you guess what that is? It is soap! We could never live without soap. There was a lot of Celtic occupations including Chieftains, bards, druids, peasants, and merchants. The Celts also mined and traded salt They used salt to make food good and to keep food from spoiling.

   The two largest rivers that run through India are called the Indus and Ganges rivers. The Aryans came from Southern Russia and settled in the Indus Valley. Chandragupta Maurya ruled India during the rise to its golden age. The government regulated everything that went on, the nation was divided into districts, and they head a large standing army and spy network. Hinduism and Buddhism were promoted after eleven years of war. Priests, Warriors or Nobles, Merchants, Serfs, and Outcasts are the levels of the Indian Caste System.

   India and Europe do not really have many similarities or differences. They had similar caste systems. India was governed by dynasties while Europe was governed by a chief in each clan.

   Ancient Africa is a really cool country. It has the Sahara Desert (the largest desert in the world) and it has the Nile River. The Nile River is not just the longest river in the world, but it also runs north. No other river in the world can do that!

   The Egyptians lived in Egypt, which is in Africa. They are a really cool civilization. The pyramids were built during the Old Kingdom. The pyramids were burial tombs for Pharaohs (kings) and had a square shaped base, and each wall was shaped like a triangle, and all the walls leaned up against each other, which came to a point at the top. The Egyptians even invented a writing system called Hieroglyphics. Each hieroglyph is a word or a word phrase. During the new kingdom, Egypt had its golden age. After Alexander the Great ruled Egypt, a family called the Ptolemies ruled Egypt for almost 300 years! Cleopatra VII was the last ruler of the Ptolemies.

   There were other tribes in Africa like the Egyptians. Some of these civilizations are called Nubia and Axum. Nubia was built south of Egypt on the Nile River and had a society based on trade. Azum was built near the horn of Africa along the Eastern coast of Africa.

   It would be really cool to be an archeologist and study the pyramids and see what life was like. I even wish I could read and write hieroglyphs. I even wish one of my friends could read and write hieroglyphs so we could write secret messages to each other.