Magnetic resonance imaging Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Magnetic resonance imaging - Assignment Example 2001). MRI is used to measure tissue perfusion through the use of different techniques such as arterial sin labelling (ASL) and dynamic susceptibility contrasting imaging (DSC-MRI). DSC is based on injected contrast agent use that changes the blood’s magnetic susceptibility, thus, producing a MR signal continually measured throughout the bolus passage (Petrella & Provenzale 2000). ASL, on the other hand, is whereby before the arterial blood enters into the tissue to be assessed, it is magnetically tagged, and consequently, the labelling amount is measured and compared to a blank recording achieved without spin labelling. Currently, MRI is a powerful tool in a clinical setting for evaluation of brain anatomy, which is achieved via a number of metabolic or functional assessments. MRI perfusion is a technique used to measure cerebral perfusion non-invasively via several hemodynamic measurements assessments including cerebral blood flow, cerebral blood, volume, and meant transit t ime. This technique plays an important role in the diagnosis and treatment cerebrovascular disease patients, as well as patients with other brain disorders (Petrella & Provenzale 2000). ... Exogenous Tracers Exogenous is a model of MR perfusion, which assumes that the tracer does not diffuse into the outer cellular space because it is constrained in the intravascular compartment. In this model imaging can either be performed dynamically or in a steady state. Dynamic imaging utilizes transient fluctuations in local magnetic field of the tissues in the surrounding that are induced by paramagnetic tracer bolus passing through the capillary network of the organ. The local magnetic field changes can be measured as signal fluctuations on MR imaging. Accurate measurements are enabled by Ultrafast imaging methods such as spiral MR and echoplanar imaging, which measures differing signal changes that occur rapidly (Ostergaard, et al. 1996). Data from the signal-time course is then changed to relative tracer tissue data from the concentration-time course. This results in tracer concentration-time curve that can be evaluated to establish different parameters of hemodynamic tissues such as blood flow, transit time, tissue blood volume and bolus arrival time. The hemodynamic parameters mentioned above are influenced by features of the bolus injection such as the injection rate, contrast agent paramagnetic properties, the amount of injected contrast material among others. Furthermore, these parameters rely on variables inside the subject under imaging, which are cardiac output and vascular volume of total-body (Buxton, et al. 1996). Therefore, it is not possible to compare the parameters between varied subjects, and at different times they may even cause variation on examination of the same subject. Nevertheless, there is an internal standard of reference,

Family Bond Essay Example for Free

Family Bond Essay The family system is the most conspicuous bond in the social scheme of things. This bond ties people to each other with invisible strings of love and care, each one bonded to all others in his/her entirety. The family that consists of the elder’s brothers, sisters and children are all bound to each other no matter how far away they may be from each other physically. The family is the inspiration of each individual member and, above all, it is the objective for which each individual member lives and works. The encouragement from the family helps one to achieve marathon goals, and it is the family only that, at time forces a person to adopt the wrong path. Thus the family is of so much importance to every member that, its bonds are in reality responsible for whatever each member achieves or loses. The family is as if the backbone on which the bodies of the individuals in it stand. It is the family that acts as a booster for each one in it and, it is the same family that at times becomes a stumbling block in the growth of an individual in it. This is because the bonds of love are too great to be set apart and as we often hear that love is blind. It is this same blind love of the family that may at times prove to be a hindrance to growth For example, a child in the family may be brilliant in studies but the extreme and blind love of the parents wants to see him as the next Sachin Tendulkar. They, in trying to fulfill their ambition may try to impose their desire on the child and he, in the bargain loses track of studies. At the same time since he has no inclination for cricket, he does not manage to achieve anything in that sphere also. Thus, due to the unquestioned love and bond of the family, the child loses out on both fronts. He is unable to become Sachin Tendulkar and neither has he been able to keep pace with his studies. In this way, the bonds of the family prove to be disastrous also. At the same time, with the backing and support of the family, a child can work wonders as, it is here he gets all the encouragement and back up support. Besides being a support for the children of a family it has often been heard that, b ehind every successful man, there is a woman. This again goes to show how much the backing of a good co-operative wife helps the man also to grow in his career. Thus it is seen that the family bonds play a very prominent part in making or breaking each member of the family. It is from broken homes that, drug addicts, juvenile criminals are also created, so much is the importance of the bonds of a family. So much for parents and children in a family. Even grandparents have an intrinsic role to play in the growth of the individuals. If the children play and have fun with grandparents, they develop a liking for elders, and they learn to respect elders. Once they see their parents behaving well with the grandparents they also learn how to behave with elders. This presence of elders in a family makes the bonds still more pleasant and more lasting. Like everything else, bonds of a family also have their advantages and disadvantages. However, the disadvantages are so minuscule that, the prominent advantages overpower them and the essence of family life and its bonds appear to be just worth it. Where there is a family to fall back upon, even hard times of misfortune, it becomes easier to bear and this is just what family bonds is all about. These bonds are so strong that, no power can break them or destroy them. It is however great luck to get the fortune of a fully blooming family with all its bonds in place.

Personal Narrative - Bicycle Crash Essay -- Personal Narrative

Personal Narrative- Bicycle Crash I used to bike often with my friend Juan in my hometown of Aguascalientes, Mexico. In the narrow streets, a heavy flow of traffic make biking treacherous. Certain streets have traffic signs saying, "CEDA EL PASO A UN VEHICULO" which means "Let one vehicle go through at a time." I biked on the right side of the street and my friend Juan biked on the left side. On our trip to buy tamales Juan and I were supposed to cross an intersection with a "CEDA EL PASO A UN VEHICULO" sign. As we approached the intersection, I gleamed my chance to cross at the same time as the car in front of me. Since Juan and I were racing to cross the intersection, I sped up to reach the red vehicle. As I crossed the intersection I failed to see an approaching blue car on my ...

Oppressiveness of Society Exposed in Emily Jane Brontes Wuthering Heights :: Emily Jane Brontes Wuthering Heights

Oppressiveness of Society Exposed in Emily Jane Bronte's Wuthering Heights Wuthering Heights, the creation of Emily Jane Bronte, depicts not a fantasy realm nor the depths of hell. Rather, the novels focuses on two main characters' battle with the restrictions of Victorian Society. Societal pressures and restrictive cultural confines exile Catherine Earnshaw and Heathcliff from the world and then from each other. The story commences in the desolate moors of Yorkshire, home of the estate Wuthering Heights. True to its setting, the novel develops Catherine and Heathcliff as mischievous children who wander the isolated bogs, separating themselves from the activities of Wuthering Heights. Catherine^s childhood exile stems from her lack of compliance with the rules concerning the conduct of a Victorian lady. As a child, her father was too ill to reprimand the free spirited child, ^who was too mischievous and wayward for a favourite.^(33). Therefore, Catherine grew up among nature and lacked the sophistication of high society. Catherine removed herself from society and, "had ways with her such as I never saw a child take up before; she put all of us past our patience fifty times and oftener in a day;...we had not a minute^s security that she wouldn^t be in mischief. Her spirits were always at high-water mark, her tongue always going--singing, laughing, and plaguing everyone who would not do the same. A wild, wicked slip she was--"(37). Catherine further disregarded social standards and remained friends with Heathcliff despite his degradation by Hindley, her brother. ^Miss Cathy and he [Heathcliff] were now very thick;^(33) and she found her sole enjoyment in his companionship. Catherine grew up beside Heathcliff, ^in the fields. They both promised to grow up as rude as savages; the young master [Hindley] being entirely negligent how they behaved,^(40-41). During her formative years Catherine^s conduct did not reflect that of a young Lady, ^and one of their chief amusements [was] to run away to the moors in the morning and remain there all day,^(41). Thus, Catherine^s behavior developed and rejected the ideals of an oppressive, over-bearing society, which in turn created an isolation from the institutionalized world. The two existed on their private island unchecked until Catherine suffers an injury from the Linton^s bulldog. Forced to remain at Thrushcross Grange, the Linton^s home, after her injury, isolates Catherine from Heathcliff and her former world of reckless freedom. Living amongst the elegance of the Lintons transforms Catherine from a coarse youth into a delicate lady. However, sublimation into Victorian society does not fit her

Despite Atwood’s portrayal of Gilead as soulless and destructive she has nevertheless succeeded in giving the reader a sense of optimism

‘The Handmaid's Tale' is set in the futuristic republic of Gilead. Everybody has somebody controlling what they do and only a minority have control over other people. In the first chapter alone we learn of the system of control within the Handmaids' residence. There are the angels, who are responsible for the Aunts, who have responsibility for the handmaids, i. e. the narrator. This system has the sole purpose, reproduction: â€Å"we are for breeding purposes†¦ There is supposed to be nothing entertaining about us, no room is to be permitted for the flowering of secret lusts†¦ We are two-legged wombs, that's all: sacred vessels, ambulatory chalices. † The narrator of takes on a role based on the Biblical story of Jacob's wives; when they failed to conceive, he fathered children by their handmaids. In a world in which the fertility of both sexes has dropped dramatically, it is the role for which young women who have demonstrated their ability to bear children are destined, rather to the chagrin of the Wives who have to house them. For this regime to function effectively it is important that a high level of control is exerted and more essentially, that the people within the regime understand there purpose. They are not there to build relationships, they are there for reproduction and any other aspect of life is irrelevant. Ironically the regime is developed for sex yet any attributes you would normally apply to a sexual relationship have been removed. There is no conversation, no intimacy, no pleasure or appreciation of yourself or your partner; in fact there is no relationship with your partner or anyone else. Physical contact must be kept to what is necessary and the act of sex itself is simply necessary for reproduction. For the regime to work there can be no feelings. To prevent feelings developing within people towards others Gilead works to remove anything that makes the person unique, this is why the regime has been described as â€Å"soulless† as by taking away peoples' personalities you are practically taking away their soul. This is similar to the system in Aldous Huxley's â€Å"Brave New World† where the concept of love has been destroyed. The idea of falling in love with someone has been made almost impossible, as there is no opportunity for this to happen, everybody been made as soulless as possible. There must be no character, individuality or expression of self to avoid people getting into any form of relationship. The women are literally branded with numbers a code that ties them to the regime. They are made to wear uniforms (in describing the uniforms Atwood appears to me making a link to the similarity to the German and Canadian prisoners of war uniforms from World War Two) and are renamed in attempt to completely depersonalise them. They are treated as cattle, as a group with no thought of their own. This leaves the reader questioning their interpretation of the narrator, we sometimes see her as an individual taking minor rebellion against the regime, and yet at other times we see her as one of many that are all in the same helpless situation. The high level of control they hold over their people enhances Gilead's destructive manner. Even the narrator's name â€Å"Offred† has been composed by the regime. The novel explains this unusual noun as being a word â€Å"that is composed of the possessive preposition and the first name of the name of the gentlemen in question. † However most readers pick up on the play on the word â€Å"offered† she is offered around the gentlemen in society. No individual or group is strong enough to overthrow the regime and this is the focal point of the regime's strength. They can enforce and law no matter how unjust because there is no one strong enough to oppose it. However at no point is the reader led to believe that the narrator has given up hope and that there is no purpose for her anymore. This is of a conscious effort by Atwood to create a positive perspective of the situation through her narrative technique, imagery and by surrounding the character with situations where they could potentially rebel. The harsh regime of Gilead is emphasised by Atwood offering the reader a comparison of the narrator's current situation and her previous one, it has been suggested that this is Atwood supporting the theory that fear causes regression, not progression. These comparisons are possible because of the flashback technique that occurs throughout the novel. For example, Offred contrasts the way she used to think about her body to the way she thinks about it now: ‘I used to thin of my body as an instrument, of pleasure, or a means of transportation, or an implement for the accomplish of my will †¦ now the flesh arranges itself differently. I'm a cloud, congealed around a central object, the shape of a pear, which is hard and more real than I am and glows red within its translucent wrapping. Where as in the story, Offred uses the flashbacks as a way of escaping, a more practical level Atwood uses them to reveal to the reader the reasons behind the current situation and how the novel possibly relates to our lives. One critic commented, â€Å"1the essential element of a cautionary tale is recognition†. The reader is very aware that Offred once lived a life similar to their own, this heightens their compassion towards the handmaid's and in some ways the novel acts as a warning, for what could potentially occur in our own future. By allowing us to see Offred's past and compare it with the life she has been forced to live now it is obvious how much destruction the regime has caused. For the novel to progress it is essential Atwood creates optimism, because Offred herself has to say positive in order to cope with the situations, she cannot give up therefore Atwood cannot let the reader think she has given up. Minor acts of rebellion are ways of showing the reader that the system has flaws, there is a gap and if Offered works hard enough she can get through the gaps in the system. For example, no communication is meant to happen between the handmaids and yet Offred and Moira find a way of talking through a hole in the wall, which poses as a hole in the system. However, Atwood creates the feeling of empowerment and hope through these rebellions but she never goes as far as to say there definitely is hope. It is possible that Offred is aware than any act of rebellion is simply a coping tactic and the regime will not fall, she will leave eventually and the regime will go on unshaken. Offred's relationship with the commander acts as â€Å"something else to think about†, as the reader we do not dwell on the state of the society as we are now concerned with the relationship Offred is forming, of course this is due to the narrative style of the novel, we are guided towards thinking about Offred and the commander because that is what Offred is thinking about and we are reading her thoughts, in the form of a dialogue to her audience. However it is ambiguous as the whether the commander forms an attachment with many of his handmaids, so Offred's relationship with Nick is far more pivotal to her story as it is as close as she could have to the sort of relationship she could have formed before the regime, the sort that she had with her husband Luke. The risk she eventually takes with him we know could be the end of her but at the time it's a chance for a better standard of life, of course again this could be perceived as Offred falling under the control of Gilead's regime by going out of her way to have a child and conforming to their rules. Gilead's destructive power is emphasised by showing the extremes it will force people to go to, to succumb to their demands. An essential part to the regime is the fact that everyone is a victim; everybody has had to sacrifice something and give up part of their old life. Even those that still have a small amount of control have given up more than they have gained. Serena Joy is portrayed as a malicious character by Offred, yet she has lost her relationship with her husband, she has no contact with anyone and has to live in a regime that has her husband sleeping with many different women. Atwood uses process and reconstruction when writing and the reader is often reminded that â€Å"truth† is only a matter of the teller's perspective. If the reader is never sure of the true details then they are allowed to picture the worst possible situations, and the best. Time shifts and short scenes add to the ambiguity of the story and the reader may question how factually based the story actually is and how true to life Offred's description of other characters are. Moira is a classic example, it could be she was never as strong or rebellious as Offred claimed she was, she was maybe a role model for Offred and her character was exaggerated because Offred need her role model to be strong. However it is not only the reader that is unsure of the truth, Offred has very little facts at her disposal. The only time the handmaid's are educated is when they are listening to the Bible being read or watching the â€Å"news. † In the same way the Ministry of Truth created the news in George Orwell's â€Å"1984† there is suggestion the news the handmaids are shown is fabricated. By acknowledging this fact Offred has rebelled against the regime. However she also accepts that â€Å"any news is better than none† and she simply has to believe the news because there is nothing else to go by. It is the only source of knowledge. Gilead's controls are so tight she is forced to believe what she hears. This too is similar to â€Å"1984† and the concept created by George Orwell of doublethink which is to acknowledge two conflicting truths at once. Offred accepts the news is probably false and yet she also believes it is true because she has to. This is similar to the relationship between the reader and the narrator; we accept that what here cannot be entirely true yet we have to believe it. Offred herself does not know what has happened to her daughter or her husband therefore she is able to cling on to the hope that they are alive, as it has not been confirmed otherwise. The reader does the same with Offred's existence at the end of the novel, we hope she is alive and the ambiguity of the ending allows us to do so. Quite often in the novel Atwood creates a sense of hope later to take it away again, or create optimism with an underlying tone of doubt. When Offred discovers the note in the cupboard â€Å"nolite te bastardes carborundorum† she is filled with hope, reading it as a message left for her by the last person that lived here, she is reading which she is not allowed to do as language has been abolished and this all adds to the positive feeling of going against the regime. However Offred then builds up the message to by more significant than it is and is let down when the commander translates it as â€Å"don't let the bastards grind you down. At the end, we discover that Offred's story was not founding the form of a manuscript but as a recording on a cassette player. This is confusing for the reader as the strict structure of the regime would not have made it possible to have access to a cassette player. One suggestion is that Offred did escape and managed to record her story at a later point. However even if Offred had been writing this would have been a constant form of rebellion, as language had been abolished. It has been suggested that Offred's storytelling is an act of resistance to Gilead, just as her tale itself is an act of resistance to masculinist fiction conventions, including that archetypal patriarchal text, the Old Testament. In many ways the historical notes are more essential to the meaning of the novel than Offred's story. On a positive note, the historical notes assure the reader that the regime of Gilead was overthrown and society returned to normal, Offred's story has been found in the form of cassette recordings, this suggests she did escaped and managed to get her writing on to tape. However, Offred's story is found but it is not heard or understood. Male historians have tried to impose their perception of it on to it and created a title for it. The regime has apparently not changed their sexist attitudes, history has taught them nothing. The professors are abusing Offred as Gilead did by removing her authority from the telling of her own story, they seem more worried at the fact there is nothing more about the Commander and his true identity. Ironically he does just what Offred predicts would happen to the story of the Handmaid's â€Å"from the point of view of future history, we'll be invisible. The modern day historians have depersonailised her just as much as the regime did by taking away her voice and forcing reader is brought into a second vision of the future and is forced to judge what they have just read. Atwood's historical notes satirise American society as it stands today, where as Gilead is based on an international range of models, which include not only historical examples but contemporary political carnage in Iran, Latin America and more recently Iraq and Afghanistan. Denay Nunavit† (deny none of it) seems to be Atwood's message out of the past to the future, giving the reader a sense of shared moral responsibility for our own futures. This is effective as the pre Gilead society is very similar to our own society today. The novel was first published in 1986 â€Å"the age of the R – strain syphilis and Aids epidemic† Aids had just being brought to the publics attention and there was a massive campaign to prevent it's spread. A second reason we are given for the need of a society such as Gilead was â€Å"various nuclear power plant accidents†¦ hemical and biological warfare, stock piles and toxic waste disposal sites† all readers will recognise these issues and can map them on to real life incidents such as Chernobyl. Similarly to â€Å"1984,† Atwood's novel seems to be an extension of real fears her audience would have had. This was noted by one reader who commented that: â€Å"what is especially meaningful is the fact that the book was published in the 80's, long before many of the concepts were as relevant as they are now. 2 Ironically once the regime has been abolished there is no longer the optimistic tone in Atwood's writing, suggesting that even though Gilead was destructive, the intention of the society was good and there was room for hope, however we can now see that life after Gilead reverted to pre Gilead ways and there has been no progression, development of understanding a nd this is a far more negative situation to be faced because it suggests man will never learn.

Dates for Major Events in Ancient History

Dates for Major Events in Ancient History The major events in ancient history listed in the table below are those  happenings in the world that led to or gravely impacted the rise and decline of the great Mediterranean civilizations of Greece and Rome. Many of the dates cited below are only approximate or traditional. This is particularly true of the events before the rise of Greece and Rome, but the early years of Greece and Rome are also approximations. 4th Millennium BCE 3500:  The first cities are built  by the  Sumerians  at Tell Brak, Uruk, and Hamoukar in Mesopotamias Fertile Crescent.   3000: Cuneiform writing is developed in Uruk  as a way to track commercial trade and taxes.  Ã‚   3rd Millennium BCE 2900: The first defensive walls are built in Mesopotamia.   2686–2160: The first pharaoh Djoser unites upper and lower Egypt for the first time, establishing the Old Kingdom.   2560: The Egyptian architect Imhotep finishes the  Great Pyramid of Cheops on the Giza Plateau. 2nd Millennium BCE 1900–1600: The Minoan culture on the Greek island of Crete becomes a powerhouse of the international shipping trade. 1795–1750:  Hammurabi, who wrote the first legal code, conquers  Mesopotamia, the land between the  Tigris  and Euphrates Rivers. 1650: The Middle Kingdom of Egypt falls apart and Lower Egypt is ruled by the Asiatic Hyksos; the Kushite kingdom rules Upper Egypt. 1600:  The Minoan culture is replaced by the  Mycenaean civilization  of mainland Greece, thought to be the Trojan civilization recorded by Homer. 1550–1069: Ahmose drives out the Hyksos and establishes the New Kingdom dynastic period in Egypt. 1350–1334: Akhenaten introduces (briefly) monotheism in Egypt.   1200: Fall of Troy (if there was a Trojan War). 1st Millennium BCE 995: The Judean King David captures Jerusalem.   8th Century BCE 780–560: Greeks send settlers to create colonies in Asia Minor. 776: Legendary start of the Ancient Olympics. 753: Legendary founding of Rome. 7th Century BCE   621: Greek lawgiver Draco establishes a written but harsh code of laws to punish trivial and serious crimes in Athens.   612: The Babylonians and  Medes  burn the Persian capital of Nineveh,  marking the end of the Assyrian Empire. 6th Century BCE 594:  The Greek philosopher Solon becomes archon (chief magistrate) in Greece and attempts to legislate reforms  with a new code of laws for Athens.   588: Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar conquers Jerusalem and brings the Judean king and thousands of citizens of Judea back to Babylon with him. 585: Greek philosopher  Thales  of Miletus successfully predicts a solar eclipse on May 28. 550: Cyrus the Great establishes the Achaemenid dynasty of the Persian Empire. 550: Greek colonies include almost all of the Black Sea area, but begin to find it difficult to survive so far from Athens and make diplomatic compromises with the Persian Empire. 546–538: Cyrus and the Medes defeat Croesus and capture  Lydia.   538: Cyrus allows the Jews in Babylon to return home. 525:  Egypt falls to the Persians and becomes a satrapy under Cyruss son Cambyses.   509: Traditional date for the founding of the Roman Republic. 508: Athenian lawgiver Cleisthenes reforms the constitution of ancient Athens, setting it on a democratic footing. 509: Rome signs a friendship treaty with Carthage. 5th Century BCE 499: After paying tribute and arms to the Persian Empire for several decades, Greek city-states revolt against Persian rule. 492–449: The Persian king Darius the Great invades Greece, kicking off the Persian Wars.   490: Greeks win against the Persians in Battle of Marathon. 480: Xerxes overcomes the Spartans at Thermopylae; at Salamis, the combined Greek navy wins that battle. 479: Battle of Plataea is won by the Greeks, effectively ending the second Persian invasion. 483: Indian philosopher Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (563–483) dies and his followers begin to organize a religious movement based on his teachings. 479: Chinese philosopher Confucius (551–479) dies, and his disciples carry on. 461–429: Greek statesman Pericles (494–429) leads a period of economic growth and cultural flourishing, also known as the Golden Age of Greece.   449: Persia and Athens sign the Peace of Callias, officially ending the Persian Wars. 431–404: The Peloponnesian War pits Athens against Sparta.  Ã‚   430–426: The Plague of Athens kills an estimated 300,000 people, among them Pericles. 4th Century BCE 371: Sparta is defeated at the battle at Leuctra.   346: Philip II of Macedon (382–336) forces Athens to accept the Peace of Philocrates, a peace treaty marking the end of Greek independence. 336: Philips son Alexander the Great (356–323) rules Macedonia. 334: Alexander fights and wins against the Persians at the Battle of Granicus in Anatolia. 333: Macedonian forces under Alexander defeat  the Persians at the Battle of Issus. 332: Alexander conquers Egypt, founds Alexandria, and installs a Greek government but leaves the next year. 331: At the Battle of Gaugamela, Alexander defeats the Persian king Darius III. 326: Alexander reaches the limit of his expansion, winning the Battle of the Hydaspes in the northern Punjab region of what is today Pakistan. 324: The Mauryan empire  in India is founded by Chandragupta Maurya, the first ruler  to unite most of the Indian subcontinent. 323: Alexander dies, and his empire falls apart as his generals, the diadochi, battle one another for supremacy. 305: The first Greek pharaoh of Egypt, Ptolemy I, takes over the reins and establishes the Ptolemaic dynasty. 3rd Century BCE 265–241: The First Punic War between Rome and Carthage is waged with no decisive winner.   240: Greek mathematician Eratosthenes (276–194) measures the Earths circumference. 221–206:  Qin Shi Huang  (259–210) unites China for the first time, beginning the Qin Dynasty; construction on the Great Wall begins. 218–201: The Second Punic War begins in Carthage, this time led by the Phoenician leader Hannibal (247–183) and a force supported by elephants; he loses to the Romans and later commits suicide.   215–148: The Macedonian Wars lead to Romes control of Greece. 206: The Han Dynasty rules in China, led by  Liu Bang (Emperor Gao), who uses the Silk Road to make trade connections as far as the Mediterranean. 2nd Century BCE 149–146: The Third Punic War is waged, and at the end, according to legend, the Romans salt the land so Carthaginians can no longer live there.   135: The first Servile War is conducted when the slaves of Sicily revolt against Rome. 133–123: The Gracchi brothers attempt to reform Romes social and political structure to help the lower classes.   1st Century BCE 91–88: The Social War (or Marsic War) begins,  a rebellion waged by Italians who want Roman citizenship. 88–63: The Mithridatic Wars are fought by Rome against the Pontic empire  and its allies. 60: Roman leaders  Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar form the 1st Triumvirate.   55: Julius  Caesar invades Britain. 49: Caesar crosses the Rubicon, precipitating the Roman Civil War. 44: On the Ides of March (March 15), Caesar is assassinated. 43: The 2nd Triumvirate, that of Marc Antony, Octavian, and M Aemillius Lepidus, is established.   31: At the Battle of Actium, Antony and the last Ptolemaic pharaoh Cleopatra VII are defeated and soon after Augustus (Octavian) becomes the first emperor of Rome. 1st Century CE 9: German tribes destroy 3 Roman legions under P. Quinctilius Varnus in the Teutoberg Forest. 33: Judean philosopher Jesus (3 BCE–33 CE)  is executed by Rome and his followers continue. 64: Rome burns while Nero (supposedly) fiddles.   79: Mount Vesuvius erupts burying the Roman cities of Pompeii and Herculaneum. 2nd Century CE 122: Roman soldiers begin building Hadrians Wall, a defensive structure that will eventually stretch 70 miles across Northern England and marks the northern limit of the empire in Great Britain. 3rd Century CE 212: The  Edict of Caracalla extends Roman citizenship to all free inhabitants of the Empire. 284–305: The Roman Emperor Diocletian divides the Roman empire into four administrative units known as the Roman Tetrarchy, and afterward there was usually more than one imperial head of Rome. 4th Century CE 313: Decree of Milan legalizes Christianity in the Roman Empire. 324: Constantine the Great establishes his capital at Byzantium (Constantinople). 378: Emperor Valens is killed by the Visigoths at the Battle at Adrianople. 5th Century CE 410: Rome is sacked by the Visigoths. 426: Augustine writes City of God, in support of Christianity in Rome. 451: Attila the Hun (406–453) faces the Visigoths and Romans together in the Battle of Chalons. He then invades Italy but is convinced to withdraw by Pope Leo I.   453: Attila the Hun dies.   455: Vandals sack Rome. 476: Arguably, the western Roman Empire ends when Emperor Romulus Augustulus is removed from office.

The Life of Martin Luther essays

The Life of Martin Luther essays Martin Luther lived in a period that had a wide spread desire for reformation of the Christan Churhc and played the role in the development of Protestantism. Luther was born at Eislebenin Saxony. Since his father was a miner, it was a great distress on him to send Martin to school and then to the University of Erfurt. That is where he earned his masters degree at the young age of twenty-one(Erikson, 39). Although his father wished him to study law, Martin, after being terribly frightened in a thunderstorm, vowed to become a Friar. He entered the monastery of the Augustinian friars at Erfurt and was ordained a priest(Erikson, 167). He eventually earned a doctorate of theology. He grew disburbed by the growing abouve of indulgences. The cetrificate granted by the people in return for the payment of a fee to the church. It stated that the sould of a dead relative or a friend of the purchaser would have his time in purgatory reduced by many years or cancelled together. Also the person had to by an indulgence. This would allow them to receive their earthly penance, since no one knows that Gods ultimate punishment will be. The Catholic Church faith now has a doctrine to back the three principles of indulgences(Neil 18) (Underwood 345). the principles of indulgences first one that God mericful, but he also just. Next, Chrust and hte saints, through their inifnite virtue, established a treasury of merits on which the church, through its special relationship with Christ and the saints, can draw. Third, the Church has the authority to grant sinners the spiritual benefits of those meirts(Underwood, 345). Luther idea spread began writing the Ninty-five Theses or arguments against indulgences. That he began posting them on the Wittenberg where he preached. He wanted the public to know that he was debating against important issue. The Theses stated the simple folk believe...