Free Essays on Old Tokyo

Throughout the pages of Old Tokyo, Keiko Imai Packard attempts to recreate the history of this great city between the years of 1855 and 1923. Using her grandmother’s tales as an influence, she uses her writing as a way to describe the culture and social attitudes of the time rather than give the reader only a list of dates and historical facts. She describes Edo/Tokyo’s history as ever evolving. The culture started from scratch multiple times throughout its history for various reasons including: developing political structures, changes in economic goals, and natural disasters. However, can this novel be used as historical documentation? While reading it several issues came to mind that made me ponder the validity of the book. In terms of historical text, Old Tokyo by Keiko Imai Packard should not be used as a primary source due to lack of documentation throughout the novel and obvious bias on behalf of the author and other contributing sources. However it can still be u sed it combination with other historical works as it does give helpful insight into the lives of everyday people in the city of Tokyo. The biggest problem I found while reading was the lack of documentation. By scanning Packard’s acknowledgement and preface, the reader is well aware of the different types of information that she used. She was obviously influenced by the stories that her grandmother used to tell her as a young child. â€Å"I was so interested in her manners and traditional habits that I often asked her to talk about her past. Her views of Tokyo were so different from mine, and this contrast instilled in me a lifelong fascination with the city she knew† (Packard, viii). However since her grandmother’s death she was left with just memories. In the acknowledgements she lists her different sources including a ninety-two year old man and her editor. Packard also has a bibliography at the back of the novel to list all of the books and articles that we... Free Essays on Old Tokyo Free Essays on Old Tokyo Throughout the pages of Old Tokyo, Keiko Imai Packard attempts to recreate the history of this great city between the years of 1855 and 1923. Using her grandmother’s tales as an influence, she uses her writing as a way to describe the culture and social attitudes of the time rather than give the reader only a list of dates and historical facts. She describes Edo/Tokyo’s history as ever evolving. The culture started from scratch multiple times throughout its history for various reasons including: developing political structures, changes in economic goals, and natural disasters. However, can this novel be used as historical documentation? While reading it several issues came to mind that made me ponder the validity of the book. In terms of historical text, Old Tokyo by Keiko Imai Packard should not be used as a primary source due to lack of documentation throughout the novel and obvious bias on behalf of the author and other contributing sources. However it can still be u sed it combination with other historical works as it does give helpful insight into the lives of everyday people in the city of Tokyo. The biggest problem I found while reading was the lack of documentation. By scanning Packard’s acknowledgement and preface, the reader is well aware of the different types of information that she used. She was obviously influenced by the stories that her grandmother used to tell her as a young child. â€Å"I was so interested in her manners and traditional habits that I often asked her to talk about her past. Her views of Tokyo were so different from mine, and this contrast instilled in me a lifelong fascination with the city she knew† (Packard, viii). However since her grandmother’s death she was left with just memories. In the acknowledgements she lists her different sources including a ninety-two year old man and her editor. Packard also has a bibliography at the back of the novel to list all of the books and articles that we...

The Persian Achaemenid Dynasty

The Persian Achaemenid Dynasty The Achaemenids were the ruling dynasty of Cyrus the Great and his family over the Persian empire, (550-330 BC). The first of the Persian Empire Achaemenids was Cyrus the Great (aka Cyrus II), who wrested control of the area from its Median ruler, Astyages. Its last ruler was Darius III, who lost the empire to Alexander the Great. By the time of Alexander, the Persian Empire had become the largest empire so far in history, stretching from the Indus River in the East to Libya and Egypt, from the Aral Sea to the northern coast of the Aegean Sea and the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. The Achaemenids Cyrus I (ruled at Anshan)Cambyses I, Cyrus son (ruled at Anshan) Achaemenid Empire Kings Cyrus II (the Great) [550-530 BC] (ruled from Pasargadae)Cambyses II [530-522 BC]Bardiya [522 BC] (possibly, a pretender)Darius I [522-486 BC] (ruled from Persepolis)Xerxes I (the Great) [486-465 BC]Artaxerxes I [465-424 BC]Xerxes II [424-423 BC]Darius II (Ochus) [423-404 BC]Artaxerxes II (Arsaces) [404-359 BC]Artaxerxes III (Ochus) [359-338 BC]Artaxerxes IV (Arses) [338-336 BC]Darius III [336-330 BC) The vast region conquered by Cyrus II and his descendants could not, obviously, be controlled from Cyrus administrative capital at Ecbatana or Darius center at Susa, and so each region had a regional governor/protector called a satrap (responsible to and representatives of the great king), rather than a sub-king, even if the satraps were often princes wielding kingly power. Cyrus and his son Cambyses started expanding the empire and the developing an effective administrative system, but Darius I the Great perfected it. Darius boasted of his accomplishments through multi-lingual inscriptions on a limestone cliffside at Mount Behistun, in western Iran. Architectural styles common throughout the Achaemenid empire included distinctive columned buildings called apadanas, extensive rock carvings and stone reliefs, climbing staircases and the earliest version of the Persian Garden, divided into four quadrants. Luxury items identified as Achaemenid in flavor were jewelry with polychrome inlay, animal-headed bracelets and carinated bowls of gold and silver. The Royal Road The Royal Road was a major intercontinental thoroughfare probably built by the Achaemenids to allow access to their conquered cities. The road ran from Susa to Sardis and thence to the Mediterranean coast at Ephesus. Intact sections of the road are cobble pavements atop a low embankment from 5-7 meters in width and, in places, faced with a curbing of dressed stone. Achaemenid Languages Because the Achaemenid empire was so extensive, many languages were required for the administration. Several inscriptions, such as the Behistun Inscription, were repeated in several languages. The image on this page is of a trilingual inscription on a pillar in Palace P of Pasargadae, to Cyrus II, probably added during the reign of Darius II. The primary languages used by the Achaemenids included Old Persian (what the rulers spoke), Elamite (that of the original peoples of central Iraq) and Akkadian (the ancient language of the Assyrians and Babylonians). Old Persian had its own script, developed by the Achaemenid rulers and based partly on cuneiform wedges, while Elamite and Akkadian were typically written in cuneiform. Egyptian inscriptions are also known to a lesser degree, and one translation of the Behistun inscription has been found in Aramaic. Updated by  N.S. Gill Sources Aminzadeh B, and Samani F. 2006. Identifying the boundaries of the historical site of Persepolis using remote sensing. Remote Sensing of Environment 102(1-2):52-62. Curtis JE, and Tallis N. 2005. Forgotten Empire: The World of Ancient Persia. University of California Press, Berkeley. Dutz WF and Matheson SA. 2001. Persepolis. Yassavoli Publications, Tehran. Encyclopedia Iranica Hanfmann GMA and Mierse WE. (eds) 1983. Sardis from Prehistoric to Roman Times: Results of the Archaeological Exploration of Sardis 1958-1975. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Sumner, WM. 1986 Achaemenid Settlement in the Persepolis Plain. American Journal of Archaeology 90(1):3-31.