Workers toiling in the hot sun at a time before the birth of Jesus Christ. Building what would become the world’s largest pyramid. A pyramid being built for religious reasons. A pyramid which would be used for sacred burials…
Over time archeologists explored this great pyramid. And they learned about chambers and altars in this pyramid. And they found paintings on the walls. And they found human remains. All of this and more – in the world’s largest pyramid…
If you guessed that the above description is about the Great Pyramid of Giza, then this is understandable. This is the world’s most famous pyramid, and it is also the world’s TALLEST pyramid. However, believe it or not, it is not the world’s LARGEST pyramid.
‘Tallest’ of course refers to the height of a pyramid. The term ‘Largest’ refers to the volume of a pyramid, which is calculated by taking 1/3 of the product of the height and the area of the base. The pyramid being referred to above is larger in volume than the Great Pyramid of Giza – twice as large!
Two other facts of interest before we get to details about this pyramid:
Not only is this pyramid the world’s largest pyramid, it is actually the largest monument of any type ever built anywhere in the world!
When a world famous explorer reached the site of this pyramid a few hundred years ago, he and his entire army completely missed seeing this and were never even aware of this pyramid – despite it being right in front of them!
The pyramid being referred to is the Great Pyramid of Cholula – an Aztec temple in southern Mexico. Work on this pyramid started in the third century B. C., and this temple was initially dedicated to their god Quetzalcoatl. This pyramid was built via consecutive phases over time through the ninth century A. D.
Artist’s Rendition of the Great Pyramid of Cholula
With regards to its size, its height is 217 feet (66 meters), and its base is 1480 by 1480 square feet (450 by 450 square meters). This gives it a volume of 157 million cubic feet (4.45 million cubic meters). The Great Pyramid of Giza is much taller with a height of 455 feet (139 meters), but the sides are smaller at 756 feet (230 meters) per side. This gives it a volume of 88.2 million cubic feet (2.5 million cubic meters).
The pyramid was built with adobe (baked mud) and was built in six consecutive layers over time. Cholula itself was a fairly wealthy city and was a major center of trade. Eventually, the pyramid was abandoned around the eighth century A.D.
The explorer mentioned above is Hernan Cortes, who arrived in Cholula in October, 1519. But by this time, the pyramid was completely covered with grass, soil, and trees, such that it looked like a mountain. It is believed that this growth was due to the usage of adobe bricks for the construction of this pyramid. Due to this growth, Cortes and his men were never aware that they were at this pyramid. They even climbed to the top and built a church at the top, without ever knowing about this pyramid!
Temple built upon the Great Pyramid of Cholula
The pyramid remained hidden and forgotten until archeologists discovered this pyramid in 1910 while building a mental asylum. It is now a popular tourist site, and five miles of tunnels have been dug to enable tourists to walk through parts of this pyramid. It was decided not to extensively excavate this pyramid, so research is primarily being done via non-invasive methods (e.g., remote sensing).
Partially excavated side of the Great Pyramid of Cholula
This is the story of the largest pyramid in the world. It was lost to history for centuries, and even though rediscovered over 100 years ago, it is not very well known outside of Mexico. But it is truly an amazing achievement, and hopefully the Great Pyramid of Cholula will gain more recognition and popularity in the future.
We tend to remember the largest empires at their times (e.g., the Roman Empire, the British Empire, etc.) which, while important, often then overshadow other great contemporary empires and kingdoms.
The Mongolian Empire (1206-1370) was the largest contiguous land empire in history. But what was the second largest empire or kingdom at that time? Here are some of its characteristics:
Its cities were important trading cities and centers of wealth, culture, and learning
One of its cities became an important cultural and learning center for the world at that time
Great libraries and universities were built
These libraries and universities were important meeting places for poets, scholars, and artists, of that time
The challenge of ruling various diverse ethnic groups was handled by running the empire as a federation instead of as an absolute monarchy
This empire declared and enforced prohibitions on the maltreatment of prisoners and slaves
And…one of their leaders was the richest person in history – EVER!
(and, by the way, they might have even reached the Americas before Columbus…)
While one might think that this kingdom was in Europe…it turns out that this kingdom was in…Africa. In fact, it was larger than any European kingdom at that time.
The Mali Empire was founded around 1235 when a ruler named Sundiata Keita united the local tribes and overthrew the Sosso king (known as the ‘Sorcerer King’). The empire grew around its capital Niani, and the empire was strategically located between the West African gold mines and the powerful Niger River. The empire grew to cover an area from Lake Chad to the Atlantic Ocean – a distance of almost 2000 miles – which covered significant parts of present day Mali, Mauritania, Senegal, and Guinea. At its height the emperor ruled 400 cities and 20 million people, and Mali had army of 100,000 men along with 10,000 cavalry.
Its economy grew via its gold and salt mines and is control over the gold and salt trade. Its most famous city was Timbuktu, one of the great cities of the world at that time. Learning was a key focus and the Sankore Madrasah university was built during this time in Timbuktu. Other great cities were Djenne and Gao. In these cities studies in religion, mathematics, music, law, and literature, flourished. Their society had castes, with farmers at the top because they provided food. Islam was the main religion, although people also still practiced local traditions and beliefs.
The Mali Empire also had some very interesting leaders. One such leader was Abubakari II. Even though he was the king of a great empire, he only had one interest – to cross the Atlantic ocean. He was so focused on this, he sent an expedition of 200 ships across the Atlantic. Only one returned, and the captain described how in the open sea they had reached a river with a powerful current and, while all other ships went forward, he decided to return.
If 199 out of 200 ships don’t return, most people would give up on the idea of trying this again. But not Abubakari II. He was now even more fascinated with crossing the Atlantic and he sent a new expedition of – 2000 ships! And he also decided to give up his kingdom to lead this expedition! What happened? Well – they never returned, so no one knows. The strong majority view in history is that they didn’t survive, but there is a fringe minority view which believes that they reached the coast of Brazil at a place called Recife…
Mansa Musa
The other such leader was Abubakari II’s successor Mansa Musa. Saying that he was wealthy would be a vast understatement. He is best known for his lavish pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324. He took 60,000 people with him and 100 camels each carrying 300 pounds of gold. During his travels he both spent and gave away large amounts of gold – so much so that in Egypt it caused inflation to occur! Upon his return to Mali, he funded a large number of stunning developments throughout the empire. A recent study of the 25 richest people in world history noted that he was the richest person in history EVER!
The Mail Empire declined in the early 1400s due to weak leaders and increasing attacks from neighboring kingdoms. While the Mali Empire no longer exists, it continues to be remembered as being a great empire in world history.
Ignaz Semmelweis – someone we should all remember because his idea has helped save numerous lives. Unfortunately, he was ahead of his times, and went insane trying to convince people about his idea.
Semmelweis was born in 1818 and died in 1865 – roughly a contemporary of Abraham Lincoln. He was born in Hungary, started to study law in Vienna, but then switched to medicine a year later and became a doctor.
So far, nothing out of the ordinary. But he came up with an idea in 1847 that would save lives – lots of lives. At that time, the mortality rate associated with puerperal fever (infection following childbirth) was up to 30%. After implementing his idea, this was reduced to 1%-2%!
Now – without even knowing the idea – one would think that the scientific community would be very interested in his idea. And with the incredible success that he achieved, one would think that they would be quite supportive of his idea also. Furthermore, his idea did not only apply specifically to puerperal fever, but could also be applied to many other medical areas to further reduce infections and infection-related deaths – thus, his idea should have been celebrated and well-accepted.
Unfortunately, this was not the case. He was ridiculed and insulted – so much so that he was dismissed from his job, and, due to constant harassment, had to leave Vienna and move to Budapest. He had trouble finding another job due to the opposition to his idea.
Semmelweis was convinced about his idea, and spent most of the rest of his life trying to convince others about this. He became frustrated and angry about the lack of support for his idea, and he started writing letters attacking his critics. His friends, including his wife, felt that he was going insane.
Starting in 1861, he had various nervous problems, was often very depressed, and became absentminded. He only talked about his idea, and angrily labeled those who disagreed with him as ‘murderers’. His public behvaiour soon became abnormal and embarassing, and he started drinking heavily.
Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra
On July 30th, 1865, Ferdinand Ritter von Hebra, contacted Semmelweis to visit one of Hebra’s new institutes. Von Hebra, a physician who had discovered the cause of scabies, had been an early supporter of Semmelweis’s theory. However, on this date, the ‘new institute’ which they visited was…an insane asylum. Semmelweis realized what was happening and he tried to leave, but it was too late. The guards captured him, took him away, and beat him severely. He was confined to the insane asylum and he died on August 13th, only 14 days later, most likely due to the beating from the guards.
And now to his idea – the idea that he believed in so passionately, that his contemporaries all ridiculed him for, and that eventually took his life, was that incidents of infection and fever could be significantly reduced by…washing one’s hands appropriately (preferably with a chlorinated lime solution) before providing medical care.
That’s it. Something that we take for granted as a truth now, did not find acceptance during his time, and drove him to insanity. A tragic end for someone whose idea has helped save so many lives.
But the truth of his idea was eventually recognized, and his legacy is strong. There are hospitals named after him in Vienna and Budapest. His picture has appeared on an Austrian coin. And he is universally recognized as an important pioneer of antiseptic procedures.
Side note: There is a term known as the “Semmelweis Reflex” – this term, based on Semmelweis’s life, is a metaphor for “the reflex-like tendency to reject new evidence or new knowledge because it contradicts established norms, beliefs or paradigms.”
Strange as it may sound, there is a city where, in the late 1940s and early 1950s, people would first look down before talking with anyone. And in the second or two that they were looking down, they would decide whether or not to talk with the person.
The town is Herzogenaurach in Bavaria, Germany. And to understand the above behavior, we need to first go back to July, 1924. This is when two brothers decided to work together on their business of making and selling shoes. One brother, Adolf Dassler, had already started the business in their family kitchen, and the other brother, Rudolf Dassler, joined the business once he returned from World War I.
Their business was successful, and in 1936, Jesse Owens wore their shoes when he won four gold medals in the Olympics. Business boomed, and soon they were selling 200,000 pairs of shoes a year.
So far, so good. But then an unusual incident occurred during an Allied bomb attack in 1943. Rudolf and his family were in a bomb shelter, when Adolf and his family showed up at the same bomb shelter. Now for the possible misunderstanding. Rudolf stated “The dirty bastards are back again”, and he later claimed he was referring to the Allies. Adolf was convinced that he was referring to Adolf and his family. Soon afterwards, Rudolf was picked up by the Allies, and was accused of being a member of the Waffen-SS, and Rudolf was convinced that Adolf had turned him in.
The brothers split their business in 1947 and formed two separate companies. The townspeople of Herzogenaurach were also split equally between the two, and this is the reason for the unusual behavior described above and the name of ‘The Town of Bent Necks’. They would first look down to see which shoes someone was wearing, and this would determine which side someone was on.
Even the two soccer teams in the town split with each wearing shoes from one of the brothers. Restaurants, bakeries, and other establishments were aligned with one company or the other. If you walked into the restaurant supporting one company, but worked at the other company, then you wouldn’t be served.
The brothers never reconciled. They were eventually buried in the same cemetery, but they were buried as far apart from each other as possible.
And the companies? Their headquarters are still in Herzogenaurach, and are only a twenty minute walk from each other. These companies are:
* Adolf’s company was named by combining his nickname of ‘Adi’ with the first three letters of his last name ‘Das’: Adidas
* Rudolf’s company was named by combining the first two letters of his first name with the first two letters of his last name: Ruda. In 1948, he renamed the company to the German word for ‘cougar’, which is the animal that appeared on their logo – this word is: Puma
[Who was really the first president of the United States? Which president spoke English as a second language? Which president was a Quaker who donated his entire salary to charity? And many more interesting trivia topics…]
So far I have hardly written any history blog posts about lesser known facts about American history. I have found it challenging to write such posts because U S history is quite well known all around the world, and thus there aren’t too many lesser known topics to write about. I believe this is due to various factors including parts of U S history being taught in many school curriculums worldwide, and numerous Hollywood films which portray very interesting but not well known events in U S history.
Thus, I’ve decided to take a different approach here. Most people are familiar with US presidents, but there is some interesting presidential trivia that many are not familiar with. In this post, I’ll share 20 such facts:
Seal of the President of the United States
While we all know George Washington was the first US President, there are some people (descendants and a few historians) who claim that John Hanson was really the first president because he was the first president under the Articles of Confederation (this has led others to argue for other names including Peyton Randolph, first president of the Continental Congress, and John Hancock, president of the Continental Congress when independence was declared).
Thee out of the first five US presidents died on July 4th, the same date as the adoption of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
Two presidents have both had the middle initial ‘S’…without any meaning to the initial. These presidents are Ulysses S. Grant (someone had filled in ‘S’ on a form assuming he would use ‘Simpson’, his mother’s maiden name, but this was not the case – but the ‘S’ stayed…) and Harry S. Truman (both grandfathers had a name starting with ‘S’, so ‘S’ was used as his middle initial without a meaning)
Thomas Jefferson was in debt, and to get out of debt he sold his book collection, which consisted of 6000 books, to the U. S. Congress. This became the start of the Library of Congress.
Martin van Buren was the first president to be born as a citizen of the US (earlier presidents were born as British subjects).
Thomas Jefferson wrote his own epitaph for his tombstone, where he listed his major accomplishments in his life. This list includes being the author of the Declaration of Independence and the Statuette of Virginia for Religious Freedom, and that he was the founder of the University of Virginia. However, this list does not include being President of the United States.
Andrew Jackson, the only president to have been a prisoner of war, was involved in various gun duals. In one such dual, he was shot in the chest first, but he actually remained standing and shot and killed his opponent. The bullet could not be removed, and stayed in his chest.
When William Henry Harrison asked his future wife’s father if he could marry his daughter, her father refused.William and Anna then eloped and got married in secret.
Many people believe that the popular ‘Baby Ruth’ candy bar was named after the famous baseball player Babe Ruth. It was actually named after Grover Cleveland’s daughter Ruth.
Rather than fight in the Civil War, Grover Cleveland paid George Brinski, a Polish immigrant, $150 to fight in his place (hiring a substitute was not uncommon at that time, and was allowed by law).
James Garfield could write with both hands. He knew Latin and Greek,and he would sometimes show off and write with both hands at the same time – each in a different language!
There were three presidents in the year 1881: Rutherford B. Hayes, James Garfield, and Chester Alan Arthur.
Martin van Buren was the only president to speak English as a second language. He grew up in a Dutch-speaking community in Kinderhook, New York, and thus his native language was Dutch.
Andrew Johnson was initially a tailor, and he made his own clothes. He even sewed some of his own clothes while president! When he was a tailor he would pay someone to read to him while he sewed, and after he was married, his wife would read to him.
Dwight David Eisenhower was born as David Dwight Eisenhower. However, his mother soon reversed his first two names to avoid having two ‘David’s in the family (his father’s name was ‘David’)
Ulysses Grant’s real name was Hiram Ulysses Grant, but he was embarrassed by the initials (H.U.G), so he ended up using Ulysses S. Grant for the rest of his life.
Until age 22, Gerald Ford’s name was his birth name of Leslie Lynch King Jr.
The capital of Liberia is called Monrovia after President James Monroe, who was a strong supporter of the establishment of the colony that became Monrovia.
While many people know that Lincoln made Thanksgiving a national holiday, it is not as well known that he did not make it a holiday on the fourth Thursday of November. In 1863 he made it a holiday on the last Thursday of November, and it remained this way until 1941, when Franklin Delano Roosevelt changed this to being the fourth Thursday in November.
Herbert Hoover, the first Quaker president (Richard Nixon was the only other Quaker president), did not accept his salary as president. Instead he donated it to charity, making him one of two US Presidents to do so (the other being John Kennedy)
Let’s set the scene: a place where open-minded and creative people gather and live to pursue both the sciences and the arts. The environment is welcoming and people from other lands also move here. A synergy develops, ideas sprout, and these people come up with amazing innovations and ideas. There is usually a sponsor who helps fund all of these activities. This doesn’t happen that often in history, but when it does, it becomes a spark that ignites both the present times and countless future generations with new works of science and art.
In the Western world, the first thought of many when reading the above is Florence, considered to be the birthplace of the Renaissance, with the Medici family and other wealthy families providing sponsorship to artists and scientists.
In our modern times, perhaps Silicon Valley in California has some of these characteristics, with venture capitalists now as sponsors.
But, if we dig back further in history – back a 1000 years ago or so – we will find a place and a gathering of people known as the: House of Wisdom. This was both a physical place, and also a group of amazing scientists and thinkers. Some characteristics about the place:
Very open minded and liberal
People from various religions congregated there
People from many fferent countries came there to study
Was a library, a research center, and a translation institute
And some astonishing features:
Their library had the world’s largest collection of books at that time – yes, the world’s largest!
Fields studied included humanities, math, astronomy, medicine, chemistry, geography, zoology, and cartography
Their love of knowledge and learning was so much, that one time they settled a war via…a book!
Their scientists were not confined to a world of theory, they were actively engaged in society and contributed as engineers and architects on various projects
They sent people to other countries to obtain knowledge and books
Many original scientific achievements
Preserved many ancient texts via their translation activities
There are even some common English, Spanish, and Portuguese words named after one of the members of the House of Wisdom
Where was this? Take a guess… (do not scroll down until you have taken a guess… :-))
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Before answering, I’ll provide a clue. Often when we think of this time period of around 1000 years ago, we tend to think of the Middle Ages or the Medieval Period. More specifically, this period would be a subset of the Middle Ages known as the Early Middle Ages or the “Dark Ages”, so named because of the “relative scarcity of literary and cultural output during this time”.
But this is the exact opositte of what I’ve just described! The answer to this apparent paradox is that these terms are all relative – a time period that is the “Dark Ages” for one culture could be something else for another culture. And the time period that I am referring to is actually known as the “Golden Age” in the context of what I am describing. Now try guessing again…
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The answer is Bagdhad. Yes, the same Bagdhad that has been in the news over the past few years for very different reasons.
Bagdhad was where the House of Wisdom was located, and this time period (8th century through mid-1200s) is known as the “Islamic Golden Age”. The initial sponsor of the House of Wisdom was Caliph Harun al-Rashid, but it was his son al-Ma’mun (ruled 813 to 833) who really drove the establishment and growth of the House of Wisdom. In fact, al-Ma’um himself was actively involved in various research activities also.
To further elaborate on some of the above points:
The House of Wisdom attracted brilliant scholars from the Arab world, Persia, India, and other countries
Scientists there were from various religions including Islam and Christiantiy
The amount of translation that they completed is amazing, including having translated the works of various authors across different countries such as Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, Hippocrates, Euclid, Aryabhata, Sushruta, Charaka, and Brahmagupta. It is commonly said that they preserved the ancient knowledge of the Greeks and Romans, which was then later retransmitted back to European scholars
The book that settled a war was Ptolemy’s Almagest (about Greek astronomy), and it settled a war between the Abbasids (who ruled Baghdad) and the Byzantine Empire
While there were many contributors to the House of Wisdom, here are some of the key innovators along with their contributions:
Al-Jazari: (Arab or Persian or Kurdish): engineer and mathematician who designed over 100 advanced mechanical devices along with instructions on how to construct them, including the world’s first automatic doors (driven by hydropower). The Encyclopedia Britannica notes that Leonardo da Vinci may have been influenced by Al-Jazari
Al-Jahiz (Arab): wrote over 200 books on subjects ranging from zoology to poetry to grammar. One of the first Arab writers to propose an overhaul of Arabic grammar, which was eventually implemented.
Sind ibn Ali (India): astronomer, mathematician, and engineer. He translated the Zij al-Sindhind (astronomical tables from India), and at the House of Wisdom he (along with a colleague) calculated the diameter of the Earth. He also introduced decimal point notation into Arabic numerals.
Banu Musa – three brothers whose 20 books include a book on automatic machines and a key book on geometry later used by European scholars
Thabit ibn Qurra (Iraqi): in astronomy reformed the Ptolemaic system, and founded the field of statics in mechanics
Hunayn ibn Ishaq (Assyrian): known as the “Sheikh of translators”. Fluent in Arabic, Syrian, Greek, and Persian. There was a very strong interest in studying Greek science in the House of Wisdom, and thus they needed to translated ancient Greek books. Ishaq became the main translator, and translated 116 such works. He wrote original works on religion, philosophy, and medicine. Wrote a book on ophthalmology considered to be the first ever systematic treatment of this field.
Al-Kindia (Arab): known as the “Philospher of the Arabs” for his studies in this field and for his promotion of Greek philosophy in the Arab world. Wrote hundreds of original books on topics as varied as philosophy, psychology, math, astronomy, astrology, and medicine. He was a pioneer in the field of cryptoanalysis and came up with several new ciphers.
Al-Farabi (Persian): philosopher who contributed in so many areas (logic, math, music, philosophy, physics, and psychology) that he was called “The Second Teacher” (at that time, Aristotle was referred to as “The First Teacher”)
Al-Khwarizmi (Persian): mathematician, astronomer, and geographer. Al-Khwarizmi contributed the first systematic solution of linear and quadratic equations in Arabic, revised Ptolemy’s geography, and wrote original works on astronomy and astrology. Latin translations of his work introduced Indian numerals to Europe. His contributions to math are considered so important in the Western world, that the Spanish and Portuguese words for ‘digit’ are named after him (guarimo and agarismo respectively). In fact, a word that anyone involved with computer programming knows – algorithm – comes from his last name! And an even more common word comes from the title of his book “Al-Kitāb al-mukhtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wa-l-muqābala” – the word is algebra! His contributions are so widely acknowledged, that there is even a crater on the moon named in honor of him.
The House of Wisdom ended on February 12th, 1258 during the Mongol invasion known as the Siege of Baghdad which was led by Hulegu (grandson of Genghis Khan). He killed the last Caliph, despite the Caliph’s surrender to spare both Baghdad and the House of Wisdom’s cultural heritage.
And what happened to the books from the world’s largest library? They were all thrown into the Tigris River such that the water in the river turned black for days due to the ink being washed away from these priceless treasures.
The legacy of the House of Wisdom is that for over 400 years it was one of the most innovative places in the world, and even now it stands out as one of history’s most unique places of research, openness, inquiry, scientific contribution, and innovation.
Pavlopetri is a city in Greece. It is a uinque city that is located near Laconia, which is at the southern end of the Peloponnese. Laconia is a regional unit in Greece, and its capital is Sparta. Yes, the famous Sparta. In fact, the English word ‘laconic’, which means a short, concise, or terse, statement, comes from the fact that the Spartans were known to speak this way.
Map showing the location of Pavlopetri
But I digress – let’s get back to Pavlopetri. It is a nice city, not too different from other cities around the world. Here is a picture:
Pavlopetri, Greece
Nice large independent houses and good-size townhouses. Open courtyards. Well-maintained roads. Beautiful gardens. Large public buildings. Religious builidings. An efficient water management system. Various professions including domestic and international trade, arts and crafts, writers, farmers, ship builders, the military, accountants, business people, public officials, and the production of olive oil, wines, and perfumes.
Sounds nice – it was…because Pavlopetri no longer exists. Change the present tense to the past tense in the previous description, and you’ll understand how the people of Pavlopetri once lived. The picture above is a computer-generated image of how Pavlopetri would have looked at, and it was made based upon the archaeological ruins of Pavlopetri.
How old was Pavlopetri? The name means “Paul’s and Peter’s”, and given that these are the names of Christian saints, this implies some level of antiquity. I also mentioned Sparta above, so one might think this dates back to the Classical period in Greek history – around the fifth and fourth centuries BC.
But it is older. Until recently, archaeologists believed that this city was 3800 years old – going back to around 1800 BC – which is quite old. But it is even older. Recently ceramic was discovered in the ruins which date back almost 5000 years – to 2800 BC!
This makes Pavlopetri amongst the oldest cities in the world. But it is not the oldest – there are others that are older, going as far back as 4000 BC, perhaps even 6000 BC, and maybe even older (here is one reference to some of the oldest cities in the world).
Then what makes Pavlopetri so unique? Let me describe how to find it. Go to the location shown in the above map and look around. You won’t see Pavlopetri. Now walk towards the beach…onto the beach…and towards the water. When you reach the water, swim for a little while, and then dive down three to four meters (nine to twelve feet) – and there you will see Pavlopetri. Yes, Pavlopetri is unique because it is the world’s oldest city that is…underwater!
Around 1000 BC Pavlopetri was submerged underwater due to earthquakes. It remained underwater all this time, with locals discussing legends related to this underwater city. In 1967, archaeologist Nicholas Fleming and his team of archaeologists from Cambridge discovered and mapped Pavlopetri. So far they have discovered an area of 100000 square meters (over 24 acres)!. In the areas mapped so far, there are fifteen intact buildings from when Pavlopetri was a thriving city. Here are some amazing pictures of this underwater city:
While Pavlopetri is the oldest submerged city in the world, there are other such cities. To protect these historical, archaeological, architectural, and cultural, treasures, the United Nations in 2001 adopted the UNESCO Convention on the Protection of the Underwater Cultural Heritage, and Pavlopetri is protected by this convention.
And – just when you think we’ve explored every place on our planet, think about this: less than 1% of the ocean floors in the world have been explored – so who knows what other amazing finds might also be lying untouched submerged beneath our oceans and seas?
Hey kids – today’s blog post is for – you! And if you like it, feel free to forward to other kids. It’s about a superhero, so hopefully you’ll like it – especially when you find out that this is a true story!
I’ve noticed some things about superheroes. Sometimes they are from another planet, and this is what gives them their special superpowers. I’ve also noticed that there is a scenario which we sometimes read about or see in superhero stories. You know – the scene where the country is under threat – perhaps from a monster that is attacking the western side of the country. And then another similar monster, this one perhaps even stronger than the first one, starts attacking in the east. The president of the country has to decide where to send the security forces to, and where to send the superhero to. He ends up sending members of the army and police to the lesser of the threats, and the superhero to the more dangerous one, and the security forces end up struggling with the monster that they are fighting, while the superhero defeats the monster that he or she is fighting.
Now kids – believe it or not – the scene that you just read about…this actually occurred in real life! Yes, there is a true historical incident similar to this scenario – and in this story, which actually occurred in history, there is a real-life superhero!
Before I get to the part about the monsters, the superhero, and this person’s superpowers, I’d like to first let you know about where and when this occurred. This was during the summer of 1947 – yes, a while back, but still in somewhat recent history. And this occurred in India. At that time India was ruled by the British and the person from England who ran the country was known as the ‘viceroy’. The viceroy at that time was Lord Mountbatten.
India was to become a free country on August 15th, 1947, but – as part of the agreement for freedom – the country was to be split into two – India and Pakistan. Pakistan itself later split into Pakistan and Bangladesh. The creation of modern day Pakistan involved splitting a state called ‘Punjab’, and the creation of modern day Bangladesh involved the splitting of a state called ‘Bengal’. And, unfortunately, during the time leading up to independence, there started to be something called ‘communal riots’ and ‘communal fighting’. The word ‘communal’ means ‘related to a community’, and communal riots are when two communities fight with each other. In this case, the fighting was based on religion.
Now back to our superhero story. Let’s start with the monsters. These monsters were called…HATE. This monster initially appeared in Punjab. Communities that had lived side by side for thousands of years started fighting with each other due to this monster called HATE. From the smallest villages to the largest cities, HATE caused a madness to take over the land, and there was fighting and destruction everywhere. HATE even managed to appear in the smallest incidents – there is a documented case where one farm animal wandered from his farm to his neighbor’s farm…and this led to rioting where 19 people died.
Yes, the monster of HATE had taken over the hearts of many. Lord Mountbatten knew that if Punjab was not brought under control, then there would be thousands, perhaps millions of deaths and refugees. He needed to decide what to do. He decided to send all of his available security forces to Punjab – 55,000 police personnel. Yes, 55,000! The Punjab was very big – in modern terms the former undivided Punjab would have a population of 160 million, making it the sixth largest country in the world if one doesn’t include India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh, in this comparison (only China, the United States of America, Indonesia, Brazil, and Nigeria, would be bigger). But in a normal situation, this extra influx of 55,000 security personnel would have helped calm the situation.
But this was not a normal situation. And HATE was not a normal monster. Kids – remember this part – HATE, when fought with HATE…grows stronger! This kept happening in Punjab, and unfortunately these additional security forces were not able to contain HATE. In the end, over a million people were killed in the tragic violence, and history’s largest mass migration of people occurred – 12.5 million refugees.
Kids – I know your thinking, “OK – this is somewhat interesting – but what about the real-life superhero story?!” Please be patient – I’m almost there.
Now let’s switch to Bengal. Even though Bengal was also being partitioned, the situation was still fairly calm there. Bengal was even bigger than Punjab – in modern terms the former undivided Bengal would have a population of 241 million – making this the third largest country in the world. Yes, you read this right – third! I’m excluding India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh in this comparison – only China and the United States of America would be bigger. Thus, if another HATE monster showed up here, it would be disastrous.
And this is what happened. A second HATE monster appeared that summer in Calcutta, the capital of Bengal. It had appeared a year earlier in this city (a separate story which I won’t get into right now), but at the start of the summer of 1947, overall the situation appeared manageable in Calcutta. However, as the summer progressed, and as it neared the end of July, there were signs that the second HATE monster was arriving in Calcutta.
Lord Mountbatten knew that he needed to keep the calm in Calcutta at all costs. But he had already sent all of his available forces to Punjab. What to do now?
Now kids – we’re finally getting to our superhero and his superpowers. He was not young, strong, and muscular, as one often sees superheroes in comics and movies. His age…77 years old. His height…five feet four inches (1.63 meters). His weight…100 pounds (45 kilograms). His full name was Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, commonly known as Mahatma (which means “Great Soul”) Gandhi.
Mountbatten decided to call the superhero I have been referring to and to ask him to go to Calcutta. Gandhi had other plans for India’s day of independence on August 15th, and thus could not go. However, after they discussed, Gandhi agreed to go to Calcutta.
OK – you kids might be wondering about the superpower part. I’ll explain this. Just like Superman’s superpowers were due to his being born on a different planet, Gandhi also came from a different planet. But unlike Krypton, Gandhi’s ‘planet’ was a virtual planet – a planet of the mind…and of the heart. A planet of those who had transcended our petty differences, ascended to the heights of concern for one’s fellow human beings, and obtained spiritual enlightenment. And it was a planet we could all reach, but few manage to do so.
And his superpowers? There was only one – the power of LOVE. He believed in fighting HATE with LOVE. He has been doing this throughout his life, and was about to do this again.
Back to Bengal. August 13th. Gandhi’s car pulls up in the center of the city where he will be staying. A crowd gathers. An angry crowded. Yelling and screaming at him. HATRED in their hearts. There are mobs in Calcutta all ready to kill each other, and there is HATRED everywhere. The crowd greets his car…someone throws a bottle which hits his car…others are throwing stones…
He does not return HATE with HATE. His door slowly opens. He slowly steps out, and raises one of his hands indicating peace. He starts walking towards the angry crowd…alone.
“You wish to do me ill,” he states, “and so I am coming to you.” He continues walking. He is using his power of LOVE to fight HATRED.
The crowd freezes…stunned. Someone yells, “They have attacked our families, slaughtered our communities…is it your family they cut to pieces?” HATRED in his angry voice.
Gandhi responded with LOVE, “Yes…it was my family; because your family is my family. Violence will not solve any problems.”
Someone else yells, “We want an eye for an eye!”. More HATRED.
Gandhi shows more of his superpower of LOVE when he responds, “An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.” He continues walking and reaches the house where he will be staying.
Word spreads quickly about his presence there. His message of LOVE spreads quickly. Just like HATE grew on itself…LOVE also showed the power to grow on itself. The next day on August 14th he held his regular evening prayer session. Ten thousand people showed up. He was starting to have an impact. He pleaded with the people of Calcutta, “If Calcutta can return to reason and brotherhood, then, perhaps, all India may be saved. Otherwise, if the flames of communal strife envelop the whole country, how can our newborn freedom survive?”
Kids – you can read the details on your own about how he fought HATE with LOVE in Calcutta at this time. I’ll just summarize the end result. On midnight of August 14th, when India received independence, Lahore, the capital of Punjab, the city called the “Paris of the East”, was in flames. So much so, that the new Prime Minister Nehru, would later recall to his sister about his famous independence speech that he gave, “I was hardly aware of what I was saying. The words came welling up, but my mind could only conceive the awful picture of Lahore in flames.”
And what about Calcutta? What miracle had occurred there in the two days since Gandhi’s arrival? His message of LOVE had spread like wildfire, and groups from different communities, who had been ready to kill each other, marched together for peace, gangs threw down their weapons at his feet and begged for his forgiveness, those ready to kill others from different communities now took solemn pledges to protect the other community, and people from all communities shook hands, exchanged sweets, and celebrated joyously together. His superpower had worked, and this single man accomplished what an army of 55,000 could not.
Today, October 2nd, is celebrated as the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi. This is just one of the many, many miraculous incidents in his life where he demonstrated the power of LOVE over HATE. This story seems hard to believe, but it is true – and there are many more like this. So many so, that Albert Einstein once said, “Generations to come, it may well be, will scarce believe that such a man as this one ever in flesh and blood walked upon this Earth.” I’d suggest that you kids read a biography on Mahatma Gandhi to learn more about this amazing person.
I would normally end here, but I wanted to share another thought with you kids. You may wonder if there are others from that planet I mentioned. Yes, there have not been too many, but there have been others from that planet who have also walked amongst us. They always do what Gandhi said about his own life – to live out the following thought: “My life is my message”. And this planet is a planet we can all aspire to and any of us can reach…and these individuals inspire us to try to reach this level of enlightenment.
And, since you kids like certain types of music, I wanted to end with a rock song about another person from this same planet, but whose lyrics also apply to Gandhi. This song is about Dr. Martin Luther King, Junior, who also fought HATE with LOVE. He responded to HATE with both words and actions of LOVE, and was able to change the hearts and minds of a nation. Just sit back and listen to the soulful and inspiring vocals of Bono, the energetic guitar of the Edge, Adam Clayton’s thunderous bass, and Larry Mullen Junior’s perfect percussion, as U2 sings, “Pride – In the Name of Love”. While written for Dr. King, these lyrics can apply also to Mahatma Gandhi and all other similar ‘great souls’ – let’s all aspire to learn from them, and to emulate them to improve our own lives and the lives of others.
One historian noted that there were four great powers of his time in the third century AD: China, Rome, Persia, and…Aksum. While almost everyone is familiar with the first three, the Kingdom of Aksum is not as well known. I’ll share a few facts about Aksum, and then ask you a question:
Was a long-lasting empire: from 100 AD to 940 AD
Grew wealthy due to being a major trading link between Rome and India
Had its own written language called ‘Ge’ez’
Had a distinctive architectural style, including making the largest known construction of this style
Imported silver, gold, olive oil, and wine
Exported luxury goods of glass crystal, brass, copper – and also frankincense and myrrh
Had a ‘pyramid’ structure society with kings at the top, then lower status nobles, then farmers, and finally ordinary workers
Had large palaces and funeral tombs
Had a strong military with modern weapons and horses, and conquered nearby kingdoms
Build and operated ships, and had their own navy
Had a high literacy rate
Accomplished in pottery making, ivory carving, glassware production, and metalwork.
Issued their own gold coinage at a time when few other kingdoms in the world could do so
Coinage
Now the question: which continent was Aksum on? If you don’t know, then take a guess before continuing…
I’ll count to ten to give you time…please do not scroll down until you’ve at least made a guess! 🙂
One…
Two…
Three…
Four…
Five…
Six…
Seven…
Eight…
Nine…
…and Ten!
The answer is…
…Africa.
Map of the Kingdom of Aksum
Besides Egypt, for some reason schools around the world (at least outside of Africa) do not teach about some of the other great kingdoms of Africa, and we rarely hear about these in the materials we read, shows that we watch, and movies that we see. There were several great kingdoms in Africa, and Aksum was one of them. It was located primarily in the area that is now Ethiopia and Eritrea. It grew wealthy via trade through the Red Sea.
Trade
Some additional notes of interest about Aksum are:
The architectural style referred to above is the ‘obelisk’. Hundreds of obelisks were constructed, including the Great Stele, which at 33 meters is said to be the largest known obelisk.
They were the first native African kingdom to issue their own coins. Interestingly, their coins included writing in Greek due to their usage in the critical Greco-Roman trade of that time
It is said to be the home of the Queen of Sheeba
It is said to be the home of the Ark of the Convenant (contains the tablets with the original Ten Commandments of Moses), which is kept here protected by Coptic monks (the Ark was smuggled here by Menelek, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheeba)
The empire covered modern day Ethiopia, Eritrea, western Yemen, southern Saudi Arabia, northern Sudan, southern Egypt, and Djibouti – an area of 1.25 million square kilometers!
In the fourth century AD, the emperor Ezana converted to Christianity, making Aksum the first known major empire to convert to Christianity and the first state in history to use the image of the cross on its coins.
Aksum provided shelter to a group of Muslims in the seventh century AD fleeing persecution – this is known in Islamic history as the First Hijra.
The architectural style referred to above is the ‘obelisk’. Hundreds of obelisks were constructed, including the Great Stele, which at 33 meters is said to be the largest known obelisk.
The Great Stele
Aksum eventually declined for various reasons, including changing trade routes which no longer involved Aksum and severe environmental degradation.
Unfortunately often our understanding and views of a country like Ehtiopia are through some of the modern news that we’ve seen over the years concerning challenges facing the country and the people of Ethiopia. But Ethiopia also has a glorious past, which includes the amazing kingdom of Aksum.
Jacob Youphes was born in Riga, the capital of Latvia, in 1831. He was a tailor, and at age 23 he moved to the New York. In 1858 he married Annie Parksher, originally from Germany, and over time they had six children. In 1869, at the age of 38, he moved to Reno, Nevada, and opened a tailor shop. He worked as a tailor, and also as a supervisor of those who made clothes, for the rest of his life. He died in San Francisco in 1908.
During his lifetime, Jacob made various inventions and applied for several patents. One of these inventions has changed the world. You own it. And, most of you – if not all – would list this amongst your favorite clothing possessions.
Now let’s switch to what was happening in history around the time that Jacob opened his tailor shop in Reno. Around that time the US was developing in the East and in the far West (primarily California). To get between the two was a long and challenging journey. There was a movement to get the government to build a railroad connecting the East with California. In 1862, President Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Act. This was during the middle of the Civil War, so the Union also had an interest in building this to make sure that California would be linked with the Union.
The railroad was built starting from both ends, and, on May 10th, 1869, it was time to drive in the last spike to connect both ends and to complete the railroad. The person who did this was Leland Stanford, and the spike was known as the golden spike. His last name probably sounds familiar – yes, Leland Stanford later founded Stanford University, and the actual golden spike is on display at Stanford.
The railroad was known as the First Transcontinental Railroad, and both its historical and engineering significance should not be underestimated. It is considered to be one of the great engineering achievements of the 19th century. With regards to history, it united the country, enabled fast connectivity across the US, spurred development throughout the US, and was a key factor in the incredibly rapid growth of the US as world power over the next 50 years.
Now back to Jacob. Most of his customers were railway workers, and he made specialized items for them such as tents and wagon covers. But they also wanted good and solid clothing because of the type of work that they were doing. Jacob had an idea, and he decided to partner with a friend to develop this idea.
His friend’s name was Loeb. Loeb was born in 1829 in Bavaria. When his father passed away in 1845 due to tuberculosis, he and several family members migrated to New York. In 1853 he moved to San Francisco and started a store selling primarily clothing and fabric items. He did fairly well, became well-settled in San Francisco, and was active in social and charitable activities in the city.
Jacob was Loeb’s customer – Jacob bought fabric from Loeb. In 1872 Jacob had an idea which involved taking some fabric that he bought regularly from Loeb, doing some work with this fabric, and ending up with a new type of clothing. Jacob was looking for a business partner and Loeb agreed. Together they pursued the idea, and they received a patent on May 20th, 1873. The first version of their produce they called ‘XX’ – and you probably own this.
After arriving in America, Jacob changed his last name to ‘Davis’, so history remembers him as Jacob Davis. There is a plaque outside the location of his tailor shop in Reno remembering him. It was because of the construction of the railroad that his customers wanted stronger clothes, and in order to come up with stronger clothes, Jacob Davis got the idea of using copper rivets to strengthen the fabric that he purchased from Loeb. The name of the fabric that he purchased from Loeb was called denim. Loeb’s last name was Strauss. After arriving in the US, Loeb changed his first name to…’Levi’.
Yes, Loeb was also known as Levi Strauss, and he and Jacob Davis together invented the denim blue jean. And their first ‘XX’ version, which was their first best-selling product, later changed its name to ‘501’ – the world-famous Levi’s 501 denim blue jeans!
Throughout history autocratic leaders have sometimes tried to impose common clothing requirements on their people. They may have succeeded temporarily, but over time they have all failed. Loeb and Jacob, on the other hand, through the democracy of the marketplace, have succeeded for the first time in history…and they have done so at a global level.
If you go to any major city on this plant (and this also implies to many not-so-major cities), and you walk into any mall in any of these cities, there is a high chance that the most common clothing that you will see is blue jeans. In fact, almost everyone will be wearing jeans. Actually, everywhere you go – offices, clubs, restaurants, vacations, sporting events, etc., – you’ll see people wearing jeans. And they wear them in all types of situations – from wearing them with a t-shirt for a casual look to wearing them with a nice collared shirt and sport coat for a more semi-formal/business look. People also often have a favorite pair(s) of jeans that they like wearing – thus showing the attachment that people have with their jeans. Yes, Loeb and Jacob changed the world – they gave us our first truly ‘global uniform’. And this is the true story of how blue jeans were invented.
Glimpses of History 