Suber1

Janice Suber
Professor McDonald
History 134
Portfolio Reflection
One common theme that I think influenced an individual from the ancient world to act in
what they believed to be a responsible manner which contributed to the betterment of society is
the theme of Religion/Morals & Traditions. In our survey of the ancient world we read of
multiple occasions where someone became convinced, for one reason or another, that they held
spiritual insight that would change the world for better. Whether their insight came from some
sort of divine inspiration, influence, or observation; individuals frequently used religion, morals,
and tradition to justify their actions. Two significant examples of these types of actions are the
spread of Islam and Christianity.
The influence of Islam and Christianity shaped the social and political landscape of the
ancient world. Wars, crusades, social uprisings, and revolutions have resulted from the attempt to
spread these two faiths. Islam in the east and Christianity in the west, is just a rough outline of
the landscape, but the reality is that the geography of the ancient world was quite different than
that we know today. Prior to the rise of monotheistic religions, there were many polytheistic
religions practiced, and there was a greater acceptance of the diversity of faith.

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In many cases the rise of these monotheistic religions threatened the status quo of the
existing society from a social, political, and economic standpoint. Leaders of these societies were
faced with the decision to either fight or to embrace the changes sweeping their lands. In most
cases they chose to do both; first they fight, then they resist, and eventually they saw the strategic
advantages in embracing the change. Although, this was not always due to a shift in their beliefs,
they saw the power of the movement; many were simply motivated by a desire to maintain their
position, but in some cases even this eventually lead to a shift in not just the society but in the
leaders as well.
Jesus message was particularly resonant to the poor and downtrodden and pretty radical
in its anti-authoritarian stance. He said it was easier for a camel to get through the eye of a needle
than for a rich man to get to heaven. He said the meek were blessed, that the last would be first
and the first would be last. All of which was kind of threatening to the powers that be, who
accordingly had him arrested, tried, and then executed in the normal manner of killing rebels at
that time, crucifixion. Also, just to put this question to bed, the Romans crucified Jesus because
he was a threat to their authority.1
Early Christianity was met with great resistance but Jesus of Nazareth believed that his
message was the salvation of mankind. He believed that his message would contribute to the
betterment of society, he believed that it was his responsibility to spread his teachings, and many
others believed in his cause. He was executed by Romans officials in an effort to stop the spread
of the movement we now know as Christianity.

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Although Jesus had died, his message had not. Word of his teachings spread to Jewish
communities across the empire. This was helped by energetic apostles, such as Paul and by the
modern communications of the Roman Empire.2
Over time, the Christian church and faith grew more organized. In 313 AD, the Emperor
Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which accepted Christianity: 10 years later, it had become
the official religion of the Roman Empire.2
Islam, founded by Muhammad who through divine inspiration received a message that
would lead him down a path which would eventually transform the world. Islam is the largest
religion in the world today. It transformed the Arabic landscape from one of many faiths into one
unified under the monotheistic umbrella of Islam. Even though customs vary from culture to
culture; in every place where Islam is practiced the faithful turn towards the Kaba in Mecca to
pray five times a day.
Into this environment at Mecca was born a man who would change completely
the religious, political, and social organization of his people.4
So in less than 200 years Islam went from not existing to being the religious and
political organizing principal of one of the largest empires in the world. And that story begins in
the 7th century CE when the angel Gabriel appeared to Muhammad, a 40-ish guy who made his
living as a caravan trader, and told him to begin reciting the word of God. Initially, this freaked
Muhammad out, as, you know, it would; but then his wife and a couple other people encouraged
him, and slowly he came to accept the mantle of prophet.3

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Muhammad's meditations many times produced nearly total mental and physical
exhaustion. During one such solitary meditation, Muhammad heard a call that was to alter the
history of the world.4
Alas, we cannot end our discussion with the mention of the grandfather of all
monotheistic religions Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism introduced the following concepts; good
and evil, an afterlife with a heaven and hell, and the duality of the human spirit. These concepts
would go on to influence the religions of Judaism, Islam, and Christianity. It was founded by
Zoroaster, he went against the polytheistic tradition of his society because of the divine
inspiration he received in the form of a vision from God, and the religion he founded went on to
become one of the largest religions of the world during its time.5
Zoroaster was a Persian prophet and philosopher, and the founder of the religion
Zoroasterianism. He believed and preached that only one god was worthy of the worship of
the people, and that other malevolent gods were evil spirits and belonged to the enemies of the
true god. The local people and other religious leaders at the time did not take to Zoroaster's
ideas--especially his classification of their gods as evil spirits.After twelve years of preaching,
he left his village and travelled to the kingdom of Bactria in modern-day Iran where rulers of the
country decided to adopt Zoroasterianism as the official religion of the country after they heard
Zoroaster's reasoning and arguments. From this point, Zoroasterianism spread across the Persian
empire, and for a time was one of the world's largest religions. He is said to have been murdered
on an altar by an invading army in Balkh, the spiritual center of Zoroasterianism and Zoroaster's
home city, which can be found in modern-day Afghanistan.5

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Jesus, Muhammad, and Zoroaster each an individual with an idea that they believed
would change the world for the better. Each of their ideas were religious in nature, these ideas
challenged the pre-existing traditions and introduced new moral concepts. All of these
individuals were met with social and political resistance. In some cases wars were fought, in
others revolutions of thought lead to social uprising, but in each case their religion would come
to be adopted by the governments and cultures in which they lived. These men had visions which
they believed would change the world; they were right. I think that what I have learned from the
actions of my ancient ancestors is that an idea has the power to change the world. It is something
I have read about throughout my education and witnessed in my life, but it is usually something I
reflect upon in hindsight. But the individuals whose ideas go on to change the world lived very
much in the philosophical present. They didnt wait for the world to change, they had faith in
their beliefs, and lived in actionable pursuit of the realization of their ideals. Their choices
enabled them to contribute to the betterment of the world beyond the boundaries of time and
geographic location. I can apply these lessons from the history of my ancient ancestors to my
own role in contributing to and acting responsibly for the betterment of society.

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Bibliography
1. Green, John, narr. Christianity from Judaism to Constantine. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
<https://bbaddins.schoolcraft.edu/addins/HIST134/transcripts/M10ChristianityJudaismC
onstantinetrans.html>.
This source is from our learning module and provided information on early Christianity.
2. Callahan, Dr. Allen, Karen King, Judith Hallett, Keith Bradley, and Karl Galinsky. "Early
Christians." The Roman Empire: in the First Century. The Roman Empire. Early
Christians. Ed. Ann Logan. PBS, n.d. Web. 28 Apr. 2016.
<http://www.pbs.org/empires/romans/empire/christians.html>.
This source is from our learning module and provided and over of early Christianity in
the Roman Empire.
3. Green, John, narr. Islam, the Quran, and the Five Pillars: . Web. 21 Apr. 2016.
<https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TpcbfxtdoI8#aid=P8jxIIaFpyA>.
This source is from our learning module and provides contextual overview of Islam.
4. Stearns, Peter N. "Islam From The Beginning To 1300." World History Project. N.p.,
1992. Web. 28 Apr. 2016. <http://history-world.org/islam2.htm>.
This source is from our learning module it provides and extensive overview of Islam.
5. Zoroaster Biography. 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2016.
<https://bbaddins.schoolcraft.edu/addins/HIST134/transcripts/M6ZoroasterBiographytran
s.html>.
This source is from the learning module on Persia; its a brief biography of Zoroaster.