HUMANITY: The Iron, transforming Empires. # 3 [+ DRAWINGS]

oscarcc89 (71)in #history • 7 years ago

In the Nile Delta, in Egypt, 1200 BC, the great civilizations of mankind fall one by one. A new enemy appeared on the horizon of the Mediterranean that the Egyptians called "Peoples of the Sea".

Hungry and violent in blood, they sweep everything in their path. Its origin remains a mystery today.

A witness wrote:
"They arrived on boats, burned our houses and brought evil to our people."

A thousand years after the era of the Pyramids, even the mighty Egypt faces destruction.

Egypt and Palestine were invaded, the Hittite kingdom was wiped off the map and virtually all Mycenaean cities disappeared.

Chaos rules, trade is exhausted, bronze supplies and the blood of civilization disappear. Humanity faces the collapse of thousands of years of progress, but on an island to the east of the Mediterranean a group of pioneer blacksmiths discover a key to our future.

What they discover will arm new people, empower new ideas, move humanity to the other side of the world transforming the planet. Facing the ruin, the blacksmiths find red and oxidized stones throughout the island, which contain the most important material in history, the Iron.

Born into the heart of an explosion of the Supernova star, iron formed the molten core of Earth. It is bigger than the moon and hotter than the sun, without it there would be no atmosphere, magnetic fields or life. It is the fourth most common mineral of the terrestrial crust.

To forge the iron you need a powerful fuel, coal (wood burned in the furnaces).

Now in the plains of Greece the iron passes into a new era of wars, soldiers prepare to defend their small kingdom, Sparta.

A society dedicated to war, and with the richest iron mines of Greece. Its leader Pausanias a prince of Sparta, that acted like commander in chief. They were pressured by the superpower of that time, Persia.

Sparta only measures 8,000 km2 and the Persian Empire more than 2.5 million, the battle they face will shape the history of mankind.

Pausanias keeps Sparta united, prepares his soldiers for a final battle and defends Greece.

In Sparta since the age of 7 the boys are trained to be warriors, at 18 years enters the Spartan Army, the most fearsome and disciplined force of the earth.

The Spartans had the best weapons of the day. Spears and iron swords.

But Sparta can not fight alone against Persia. In Greece, the rival of Sparta was Athenas, also small and vulnerable, a city of merchants and peasants, but in front of a powerful enemy.

Athenas must decide whether to accept that Persia governs them or ally itself to its rival. The decision will determine the future of the Western world ... and the history of all of us.

The small city of Athenas faces a decision, surrender to the Persian Empire or fight for their freedom. The Emperor of Persia Xerxes offers the people of Athens to surrender, the cost would be their freedom.

Athena's men gathered on a rocky hill, among them was Sophanes. An ordinary citizen who will become a military legend.

The political decisions in Athenas are not taken by the kings, if not by their armed citizens, men like Sófanes. A new political system, a legacy that still exists today, Democracy.

A surrender of black stone, a quarrel of white stone. If you voted "white", you promised to risk your life fighting, if you vote "black" you are safe, but you will be ruled by a stranger.

An Athenian citizen writes the decision of the people:
"Such is our love for freedom, that we will never surrender"

August 479 BC, near the coast of Greece. The eternal rivals leave their differences to fight against a powerful enemy, the Persians, 100,000 soldiers recruited throughout the ancient world, and on the other side are the patriot Greeks.

The commander of the Persians Mardonio, believes that overcoming them in number will be the key to a Persian victory.

The future of Western civilization will be decided in Greece. The Greek allies halted the advance of 100,000 Persians for a week. The Greeks lined up again to face their enemy, are tired, exposed and outnumbered 3 to 1.

The Spartan leader Pausanias and the Sophanes milfians are preparing to get up for the last time, the Greeks show their secret weapon a new tactic that will transform wars, the Falange.

The Falange was made up of soldiers working together and very close to protect themselves, and to produce enough force to push the enemy. They united all the shields and separated enough to handle the swords and spears. The Falange is a "human tank".

The Greeks crushed the Persians, the soldiers scattered. The Persian commander tries to order his troops but pays the price.

Pausanias will be remembered as the Spartan commander who won the war, and Sophos as the bravest Athenian of all.

With the help of iron weapons the power of the people has resisted tyranny. A generation after the war the Athenians voted to commemorate the victory with a monument, the Parthenon.

It took them 15 years to build it. A temple for Athena the goddess of wisdom who will become the symbol of Democracy.

In the West iron helps cities fight for freedom, and 8,000 km to the East is a key piece in the construction of the most enduring Empire in the world ...

To be continued…

Do not miss my next Post where I will bring you more drawings and above all more history of humanity, I delayed uploading the post because I dedicated more in the details of the drawings. I hope you liked it.