aastha srivastava

(link to the original source)

This artefact was created in Cambodia, around 1150 - 1250 CE. It’s a sculpture of Buddha, who is sheltered by, and sitting on, a snake-like being, known as the Muchalinda. (naga translates to snake). 

The reading, “On The Tartars”, has Ibn Al-Athir stating:

“For even Antichrist will spare such as follow him, though he destroy those who oppose him, but these Tatars spared none, slaying women and men and children, ripping open pregnant women and killing unborn babes.”

This shows the Mongols as unbelievably cruel and torturous. If anyone were to read Ibn Al-Athir’s account, it would seem as the Mongols are the worst people to exist. After all, they are worse than the Antichrist himself, which is saying a lot.

However, reading “The Account of The Mongols”, William of Rubruck has a lot of positive language that is used to describe the Mongols. They are described as systematic people, with a place for everyone in society (the Master, the Mistress, the men, the women). Reading William’s account, one would assume that the Mongols are just another group of people with their own ways of doing things. 

I felt that Sura 4 from the Quran had a lot of emphasis on the treatment of women and children, which is a contrast to all of the texts we’ve read so far. The text preaches messages such as:

"4.15 And (as for) the ones of your women who come up with the obscenity, (i.e., illegal sexual intercourse; abomination) so, call four of you to witness against them. Then in case they (bear) witness, then retain them (The pronoun is the feminine plural) in the homes until death takes them up, (i.e., they die) or Allah sets for them a way.”

“4.16 And (as for) the two of you who come up with (an obscenity), then hurt them both. Yet, in case they (both) repent and act righteously, then veer away from them (both); surely Allah has been Superbly Relenting, Ever-Merciful.”

We’ve read various texts that encourage one to be more aware of their surroundings, and to strive to treat people around us well. However, it was (usually) assumed that the people that were included in the narrative were men. However, the Quran specifically mentions and focuses on women. It also hints at more equity than the other texts. In the previous texts, the women were blamed for any adultery solely, even though it takes two hands to clap. However, while the Quran mentions punishing women for adultery or any other sins, it does not allow for false accusations as witnesses are required, and also mentions that if men are at fault then they should be punished too. 

I feel what stood out to me the most was the difference in tone that Tacitus and Herodotus took in describing Germans and Persians, respectively. Herodotus had a condescending tone (or ambiguous at times) when he compared Greece to Persia, and implied that Greece was better than Persia in many ways.

However, in Chapter 7, Tacitus states

"In the choice of kings they are determined by the splendour of their race, in that of generals by their bravery. Neither is the power of their kings unbounded or arbitrary” 

One of the most interesting aspects of this reading was the role and dynamics of women in society. 

Early in the reading it’s stated:

"But neither gods nor men sheltered her or her babes from the king’s cruelty”

This quote is a clear indication of the lack of power women had in society. Even though the Vestal used a god to defend her pregnancy, she was punished. This goes to show that even the “god’s will” (because we don’t know if it’s true or not) is not taken seriously, because it was (specifically) said by a woman. 

In the reading, 

the Carter/Palihawadana translation states: “If, with perception polluted, one speaks or acts, / Thence suffering follows / As a wheel the draught ox’s foot.” while 

the Easwaran translation states: “Those whose minds are shaped by selfish thoughts cause misery when they speak or act. Sorrows roll over them as the wheels of a cart roll over the tracks of the bullock that draws it.”

In my opinion, Easwaran’s translation is biased (not positively or negatively, though. Just biased.) due to his own perception of Buddha’s teachings. While the academic (and hence, more neutral) translation of his teachings simply indicates polluted perception, Easwaran goes a step further to interpret that polluted perception is the same as selfish thoughts. However, a polluted perception could be an indicator of much more than selfish thoughts - it could mean having too much pride, anger, or ego (Chinese Buddhist Encyclopedia). 

The reading states: 

“1.16 The Master said: “I am not bothered by the fact that I am unknown. I am bothered when I do not know others.””

“12:16 The Master said: “The noble man develops people's good points, not their bad points. The inferior man does the opposite.”“

(sorry if this went a little over the limit! If it did, please ignore the 2nd point :) )

The reading states

"They hold it unlawful to talk of anything which it is unlawful to do. The most disgraceful thing in the world, they think, is to tell a lie; the next worst, to owe a debt: because, among other reasons, the debtor is obliged to tell lies.”

According to my interpretation, Herodotus implies that Persians think the worst thing ever is to lie, which is confusing to me. Herodotus is definitely comparing Persians and Greeks throughout the text, and in the Ancient Greek society, crimes such as poisoning and assassination existed (Hays, 2008). Does this indicate that Herodotus is insulting the Persian society by saying they didn’t care about the killing of humans and other severe crimes as long as they tried to keep their personal conscience clear, or is he praising the society for having such minimal crimes that the worst thing they could do was lie? Personally, I lean more towards the former but that’s because I’m unsure about the level of objectivity Herodotus kept (despite an obvious, subconscious bias).

Another minor point I wanted to add:

"Their sons are carefully instructed from their fifth to their twentieth year, in three things alone---to ride, to draw the bow, and to speak the truth. Until their fifth year they are not allowed to come into the sight of their father, but pass their lives with the women. This is done that, if the child die young, the father may not be afflicted by its loss.”

It’s amusing that while men were assumed to be the stronger ones in society, there were kept hidden from the emotional burden and pain. I know that men were considered stronger in terms of physical strength but were they considered... weaker emotionally?

The reading states

"the Lord came to Abram in a vision, “Do not be afraid, Abram, I am your shield; your reward shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord God, what will you give me”?

This line really stood out to me because I had been subconsciously been getting used to the idea of obedience/lack of questioning from the followers towards their Gods. However, in this reading, Abram/Abraham does not hesitate in questioning in what his God, Yahweh, can do for him in exchange for his devotion. This is probably the first few instances that we’ve read in which we can see that the Gods need ordinary citizens to “exist” (not literally, but rather being a part of society), as opposed to citizens relying on Gods for better conditions. An interesting glance as to what the world of Polytheism was like in the Ancient World. 

The reading states

“”My lord, how great is your glory. […]” [Thus she spoke,] after the majesty of this god had done with her all which he wished.” as well as

“The queen who accordingly immediately became pregnant and now suffers the birth pains was delivered in the presence of the god Amun and goddess of the birth place Mesekhnet with the assistance of many spirits and divine nurses.”

I think an interesting issue that the reading points to is the issue of a woman’s self-worth — seeing that Queen lahmes felt honoured for her body to be used “as [Amun] wished”. Despite her body being used by someone else for their own means, there was no indication of shame, but this could also be due to the fact that Amun was highly respected rather than women being treated unequal.