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Roman history (l8th Century): *
He was famous for the quality & irony of his prose, use of primary sources & criticism of organised religion. It covers the period 98-1590 AD, the Roman Empire, early Christianity, the Roman State Church, history of Europe, and the decline of the Empire in the East and West. Gibbon made heavy use of primary sources (unusual in the 18th Century), a methodology which became a model for later historians. He has been called the first modern historian owing to this approach. In the 20th century his work remains a very readable introduction. Gibbon implicates Christianity in the fall of the Western Empire although the eastern half of the Empire, (which was even more Christian) continued for a thousand years afterwards. Gibbon did not consider the Eastern Empire much of a success! His criticism of Christianity reflects Enlightenment values; his ideas on the decline of Roman martial vigour has been interpreted as a warning to the growing British Empire.
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Alexander (his death): *
Alexander had no obvious or legitimate heir, his son Alexander IV was born after his death. Accounts of his last words vary. Alexander IV ruled as an infant for a brief time. Dissension & rivalry quickly set in. The satrapies handed out by Perdiccas (Alexander’s bodyguard & possible nominee) at the Partition of Babylon became power bases for the generals. After his assassination in 321 BC, Macedonian unity collapsed & 40 years of war ensured between "The Successors" (Diadochi). Finally 4 stable power blocks emerged: Ptolemaic Egypt, Seleucid Mesopotamia & Central Asia, Attalid Anatolia, and Antigonid Macedon. The Hellenistic world was born.
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social & economic interpretation (biological cast): *
Herbert Spencer (1820-1903) was the key figure in popularising Social Darwinism in England. He developed an all-embracing conception of evolution as the progressive development of the physical world, biological organisms, the human mind, and human culture and societies. Famous for coining the expression "survival of the fittest", in the Principles of Biology (1864), after reading Darwin's Origin of Species. He made Social Darwinism popular late 19th & early 20th centuries; this theory posits that individuals, groups & peoples are subject to the same Darwinian laws of natural selection as plants and animals & is often used to justify political conservatism, imperialism, and racism and to discourage state intervention & reform. In Germany the biologist & philosopher Haeckel (1834-1919) promoted and popularised Darwin's work. He was not a sociologist or historian; none of his publications touched such issues however his philosophical writings did have some impact. The new discipline of Sociology also embraced ideas of evolution (which seem to point to an acceptance of Darwin’s theories). Most notable were Durkheim & Weber, authors Spengler might have read. Durkheim (1858-1917) was French sociologist, commonly cited as the principal architect of modern social science (with Weber). Employed a socio-evolutionary approach, describing the evolution of societies from mechanical solidarity to organic solidarity; he saw the population density and growth as key factors in the evolution of the societies & advent of modernity. As the number of people in a given area increase, so too the number of interactions, and the society becomes more complex. His major sociological works include The Division of Labour in Society (1893); in 1895, he published The Rules of Sociological Method. Weber (1864-1920) was German sociologist, philosopher & political economist whose ideas profoundly influenced social theory & research. Famous for The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism (1905); he also published studies of Confucianism & Taoism and Indian religions (1915, 1916). He proposed a socio-evolutionary model of religious change, arguing that societies evolved from magic to polytheism, then to pantheism, monotheism and finally, ethical monotheism. These changes occurred with growing economic stability, allowing professionalization & the evolution of more sophisticated priesthoods. As societies grew more complex & encompassed different groups, a hierarchy of gods developed; as power became more centralised, the concept of a single, universal God became more popular and desirable.