Chapter 734 The Throne in the Courtyard

The Middle Ages was a period of great trade expansion, and the Iberian Peninsula was an important crossroads of the Mediterranean world.

Between the 8th and 12th centuries, the Iberian slave trade was dominated by Christian merchants who shipped Christian and pagan slaves to the Middle East and North Africa.

From the 13th century onwards, the process was reversed and the slave trade came under Christian control. The Crusaders expanded the church's power over the lands of the people, enslaving the people at war. Jerusalem was captured in 1187, and the Christian conquest extended to Iberia***, Toledo in 1061, Cordoba in 1236, Valencia in 1238, and Seville in 1248.

Slavery is undoubtedly a dark page in human history. The 1st to 2nd centuries AD was the period of the Roman Empire’s prosperity. , the political situation was turbulent, and the slave owners were extravagant and extravagant, living a licentious life. Their residence is often an ornate building. Among them, there is a corridor for exercising before bathing, and there are interconnected heating rooms with different temperatures. Every time you enter a heating room, the temperature will increase once.

This way of bathing is now known as the Turkish bath. When entering the bathroom, most of them bring a rich food box containing kebabs, kidneys, yogurt, hazelnuts and other food and dried fruits. After bathing, old and new friends gather together to chat while eating and drinking. This "bathroom dinner" often lasts nine hours, and after taking a bath, you have to apply fragrant ointment all over your body to prevent freezing in winter and shade in summer.

In order to show off the luxury of the empire, the emperor often held grand events under the guise of various festivals and anniversaries. In AD 106, Emperor Tulamo commemorated his victory in Dacia with 123 consecutive days of festive entertainment.

In the 4th century AD, a great bureaucrat held a funfair celebration for his son, and spent 2,000 pounds of gold in 7 days. The extravagance and corruption in the palace is even more fearless, and there are hundreds of beauticians alone.

At the same time, the burden on the people is increasing day by day, and the slaves have no human rights. For slave owners, a slave is an animal, an item, and a slave is called a "talking tool", which can be traded and bought at will, and even killed at will.

The slaves of the Roman Empire mainly came from prisoners of war, and these prisoners of war came from various sources. Some of them would become serfs, and some would be sent to the Colosseum as gladiators.

Armed with short swords, shields, or other weapons, they wrestle with each other, to the applause of the audience. Similar entertainment was popular in the Roman Empire about 2,000 years ago.

During the period of the Roman Republic, gladiatorial competitions were mostly privately funded, while during the Empire period, gladiatorial competitions were mainly held under the patronage of the royal family or the government.

Those performers who fought animals in the arena were called "bestiarii" (bestiarii). In the eyes of the Romans, gladiators and gladiators belonged to two completely different professions. Hunting shows and gladiatorial competitions are also two different kinds of entertainment.

In a day of entertainment in the arena, the hunting show usually begins, followed by the public execution of the condemned, and the finale is the gladiatorial match.

The only lesson humanity has learned from history is never to learn it, public executions are entertainment, but some people thought it was a deterrent until a sane writer like Charles Dickens reminded the world that the gallows should not be placed in a crowded place place.

The nobles were all beheaded, and the nobles during the French Revolution enjoyed this kind of "courtesy".

Generally speaking, gladiators had a slightly higher social status than other slaves, and there is evidence that noblewomen of the time adored these arena warriors quite a bit.

Although they are slaves, they have a strong physique, which is not comparable to those aristocratic men in the Senate who are good at eloquence but waste too much time on female slaves.

There are many criteria for a woman to choose a man, but a gladiator with superb fighting skills undoubtedly fascinates many people. Gladiators were trained in "Gladiator Schools" similar to military training camps, and they had to undergo very rigorous exercise and undergo a strict diet control, only eating high-calorie foods.

The bloody and cruel fights caused great mental pressure on the gladiators, and many of them finally chose to commit suicide instead of dying in the arena.

In fact, they may not necessarily look down on those noble ladies who ran to their prisons late at night, but that would allow them to relax for a while, but this kind of life is not a long-term solution after all. About 73 BC, an ancient Roman Throne Spartacus gladiator led the slave uprising against the rule of the Roman Republic together with the Gauls Cres, Enomay and Ganix. This man was called Spartacus, and the uprising he led was called Spartacus. Dax uprising.

The Senate appointed Crassus, the great slave owner, to lead the army to suppress the rebel army. Many fugitive slaves and farmers came to join him. In the autumn of 72 BC, the Spartacus army assembled on the Brutia Peninsula in Italy. The pirate ships crossed the Strait of Messina, but the pirates did not keep their promises and did not provide ships. The Roman Senate transferred the troops of Pompey and Luculus from Spain and Thrace to reinforce Crassus. Under the siege of the Roman army , 60,000 rebels died in battle, and Spartacus also died in the battle.

Spartacus is a Thracian in the northeast of the Balkan Peninsula, not a Spartan. The Spartans formed a unique political system. The entire society lived a militarized life. Education is military training. In order to prevent the division of the rich and the poor among the Spartans, the Spartans were not allowed to engage in industry and commerce, and instead of using gold and silver as currency, they used cheap iron coins. Spartans were not allowed to engage in other livelihoods except military affairs. The Spartans advocated the spirit of force, and the entire Spartan society was like a large military camp with strict management. When a Spartan baby was born, it was carried to the elders for examination. If the elders thought he was unhealthy, he was thrown into the abandoned baby yard in the wilderness; , which proves that his constitution is not strong, let him die, because he cannot grow into a good fighter. The boy was raised by his parents until he was 7 years old. Parents have paid attention to cultivating the habit of not crying, not picky eaters, not being noisy, not afraid of the dark, and not afraid of loneliness since childhood. Boys after the age of 7 are organized into a team to live a collective military life. They demanded absolute obedience to their leaders and increased courage, physical strength and cruelty. They practiced running, discus throwing, boxing, fencing and fighting. In order to train children's obedience and patience, they are whipped once a year when they worship God on festivals. They knelt in front of the temple, and the hot whips rained down, but they were not allowed to beg for mercy, shout, or even make a sound.

The 300 Spartans who fought the Persians at Thermopylae were trained in this way from childhood.

The terrain of Hot Spring Pass is dangerous, with mountains that cannot be climbed to the west, and swamps to the sea in the east, with only a narrow road in the middle.

Relying on the advantages of the terrain and the excellent quality of the Spartans, the Persian army finally captured Thermopylae at the cost of losing tens of thousands of troops.

While the Hippo army was fighting at Thermopylae, the navies of the two sides also fought fiercely on the water near the Gulf of Salamis. The Greek navy severely damaged the Persian navy, and Xerxes finally had to withdraw his troops and return to Persia.

The Hippo-Persian War ended with the signing of a peace treaty between the two sides, and Persia recognized the independence of the Greek city-states in Asia Minor. This war was a duel between Persia, the kingship in Asia, and Greece, which swore to defend the freedom and independence of the city-states. Therefore, some Western scholars hailed it as a battle to defend the Western democratic system.

The "people" here refers to Roman citizens, excluding slaves. Compared with ancient Rome, large-scale slavery has disappeared in the Western Han Dynasty, and the landlords and nobles of the Western Han Dynasty cannot kill slaves at will. This is illegal. Western Han Dynasty Wang Mang, the last power minister, advocated the elimination of slavery. However, the serf system has been resurrected in China. In the Tang Dynasty, many Turks and Khitans were captured and became serfs. In the Song Dynasty, slavery was abolished, and the Yuan Dynasty revived. In the Ming Dynasty, there were still A small number of slaves were restored to slavery in the Qing Dynasty. This is clearly written in the Qing Dynasty. Slavery is common among nomadic peoples, and slavery is also recognized in the scriptures of the Saracens.

Originally, Christians were against slavery, but the huge profits made by the slave trade were irresistible. Even in the 19th century, the slave trade still existed in the United States. In order to gain freedom, the slaves even participated in the Civil War. Driven by desire, all laws and Morality can be trampled on. Merchants are greedy for wealth, and emperors are greedy for conquest. The fear brought to Europeans by the whip of God, the sword of Allah, and Genghis Khan is beyond words. The scene of galloping horses is like an earthquake. horrible.

In 447 A.D., a strong earthquake in Greece destroyed the fortifications on the border of the Eastern Empire, including the rupture of the walls of Constantinople. Attila took this opportunity to attack the strong earthquake in Greece in 447 A.D., which destroyed the border of the Eastern Empire. Attila took the opportunity to lead the Huns to launch an invasion. In order to resist Attila, Theodosius II sent a field army north to defend against the enemy and fought against Attila in today's Romania. Although he failed, Attila He paid a heavy price to stop his invasion at Thermopylae.

The Antioch earthquake in 526 AD destroyed Antioch, one of the three most famous giant cities in the Eastern Mediterranean. The rampant bandits killed an estimated 250,000 in total.

The reconstruction of Antioch was one of Justinian’s achievements. The Syrian earthquake in 551 destroyed the city of Beirut, the legal education center of the Roman Empire. After that, the legal education center of the Roman Empire was transferred to Constantinople.

The Germanic people in the Middle Ages did not all use divinely appointed rulings, they also used barbarian codes and Justinian codes, but Attila, who was educated in Western Rome, did not take the law to heart.

Shortly after his death, his empire collapsed, and he only destroyed and occupied, never thought of building.

At that time, the Romans compared Attila to a devil. Roman historians described Attila as a hideous dwarf with broad shoulders, a big head, a flat nose, and a few mustaches.

After Attila's death, the European Christian Church described Attila as a murderous devil who left no survivors wherever he went and was extremely ferocious. According to Venetian legends, the reason why there are so few people on Torcello Island is because Attica came.

There is a weathered stone chair in front of the oldest church in Venice. According to legend, this stone seat is the throne of Attila, the Hun king. Attila placed the throne in front of the cathedral as a symbol of power, showing respect for God. Loyal, but in fact this is really just wishful thinking of the Venetians.

For Orientals, the emperor is the son of heaven, which is bigger, "God" or "Heaven"?

The anointed died, and the stories he left behind were recited by people. Gradually, the Romans changed their living habits, from frequent bathing to not loving bathing.

The Christian way of life led the pleasure-loving Roman nobles to build a "new Rome" - Constantinople, making preparations for the future division of East and West Rome.

Attila's invasion not only accelerated the decline of Eastern Rome and the demise of Western Rome, but also objectively promoted the disintegration of European classical slavery.

Secondly, the Huns invaded Europe and promoted the great migration of the Germanic people, breaking the original political structure.

In 410, the Germanic Visigoths, led by their leader Alaric, entered Italy and besieged Rome. With the cooperation of the slaves in the city, they opened the city gate and plundered away.

After the Vandals established the Vandal-Alan Kingdom in 439 AD, the Alan Kingdom had a powerful navy and kept attacking the Western Roman Empire by sea. They attacked the city of Rome again in 455 AD, and the city of Rome suffered devastating damage. There were still 7,000 people left in the city of Rome after the disaster. The emperor of the Western Roman Empire was killed.

In 476 AD, Odoacer, a Germanic mercenary leader, deposed the last emperor of Western Rome, Romulus Augustus, and Western Rome fell.

According to legend, the history of Venice began in AD 453, when farmers and fishermen in this place avoided the nomads and turned to this small island in the Adriatic Sea. The fertile alluvial soil, the stones obtained locally, and the boats made of wood adjacent to the inland, in the mud and on the water, the ancestors built Venice.

At that time, Venice was still a barren land, without even a church. Attila would come here, sit on a stone chair, and meditate on his loyalty to God?

The Western Romans spent so much time and energy that they failed to teach the wolf what loyalty is, let alone a God whom they have never met. How many people are still loyal to God?

"How is it? Are there evil spirits on it?" Monica asked expectantly.

Pomona looked at Severus and Alessandro, who were staring at the stone seat.

"This is not Attila's chair," asked Pomona. "Who put it here?"

"It's the governor sent by Constantinople, I forgot who it is?"

"Why did he send a stone chair?"

Monica shrugged.

"What is the emperor's chair made of?" Severus asked Alessandro.

"Gold?" asked Alessandro.

"What materials were used to record the Ten Commandments of Moses?"

"Stones," said Alessandro.

"That's a nice chair." Severus touched it. "Too bad it doesn't belong to me."

"Who do you think it belongs to?" Alessandro asked.

"Let's have a picnic today," Severus said. "Have you brought food?"

"I booked a Michelin restaurant!" Monica said disappointedly.

In order to save money, many tourists will choose self-catering apartments, so that they can buy vegetables in cheap vegetable markets, and then cook their own meals and eat them at scenic spots.

There is a rule in Venice that picnics are not allowed in places with heavy traffic. How to solve this problem?

It's also illegal to sit on bridges, so use the benches proficiently rather than settle by the sidewalk.

There were few tourists in the Church of Our Lady of Ankang, and their picnic was in the morning, and the police didn't wake up. Of course, no one came to arrest them. Slytherin was good at law, and he was also good at taking advantage of legal loopholes. Severus liked this place for picnics.

"Let's walk around a little longer," said Pomona. "Perhaps there will be other places of interest."

"I doubt it." He said, looking at the chair, with some reluctance.

Power is to men what blood is to vampires.

There is an old proverb in Europe, a king, a rich businessman, and a bishop asked the soldiers to kill two other people, and then rewarded him. At first, many people thought that the bishop died first, but he didn’t seem to die very quickly. thorough.

In 1630, when the Black Death swept across Venice again, this city, which once valued art and trade more than faith, spent fifty years overcoming countless difficulties to complete the agreement with Maria, and built a magnificent church.

They were like the old widow who gave only two denarii, and the risen Messiah praised her, who gave more than all.

Even if the rich man donates a mountain of gold, as long as his capital does not change, he can earn it back. The old widow invested all her capital in it.

In the second Mediterranean war, after paying so much, the cunning Venetians also confronted the Genoese head-on.

If a girl takes too much advantage of a boy but doesn't give him back, he will lose his mind.

If you don't like it, you can clearly reject it. This is what an honest person should do.

Lily was a good girl, and Severus had a good eye, they just missed it.

"Let's go." Pomona gave an order, and pulled his hand away from the stone chair that was weathered by the wind and sun.

Perhaps it will be the Venetian version of the sword in the stone, perhaps it will become a normal stone, after all it is almost not recognizable as a throne.