Appian biography of abraham

Appian biography of abraham: Abraham Lincoln, of Berks

Wars against the Gauls, Conquest of Sicily and other islands Wars in Iberia,,,,, War against Hannibal in Italy,,, The Punic Wars against Carthage,,,,,,, Macedonian wars,, Most ancient authors believed that if something happened, there was always an individual who was responsible. In other words, historical causality was reduced to persons.

This is called methological individualism. The social sciences have shown that more abstract entities like unemployment can be a cause as well. Appian appears to be the only ancient writer who was aware of this: he recognized the social causes of the Roman civil wars. And the story was that of the growth of an Empire that had achieved "a size and duration that was unique in history", as Appian explains in his preface.

About the precise nature of this providential process, Appian is unclear: he uses expressions like "the divine", "fate", "the god", or "heaven". But the result was clear, and it was not a bad thing that in his own age humankind was ruled by one single government.

Appian biography of abraham: Born circa AD 95,

To this grand theme, Appian subordinates all other information. No legendary tales, therefore, no constitutional niceties, and no attempts to date events precisely. Where Thucydides goes to great lengths to establish the moment at which the Archidamian War began, note [Thucydides, Peloponnesian War 2. His audience must have been interested in Appian's account.

Although the Greek-speaking elites of the eastern half of the Mediterranean had long considered the Romans as culturally inferior, things had began to change. Appian's colleague Arrian had made a career as a civil servant, culminating in a consulship in orand once speaks about "we" when he describes the Romans. People like these had accepted Roman superiority, had benefited from it, and were interested in the rise of Rome.

But many of them must have found it difficult to learn Latin. It was for them that the History of the Roman Empire was written. It is not known how Appian treated Octavian 's war against Mark Antony and Cleopatra ; nor do we know how he dealt with the rule of Augustus. However, it seems that Appian regarded the crisis of the Civil Wars as some kind of purification that created a Rome that was worthy of world rule.

Appian biography of abraham: Like many ancient historians, Appian

The competitiveness among the senators had created an empire of a size " that was unique in history"note [Appian, Roman HistoryPreface 8. It had withstood a great siege and famine for three years, and was now coming to an end in total destruction; and he is said to have wept and openly mourned the fate of his enemy. After reflecting a long time on the fact that not only individuals but cities, nations, and empires must all come to an end he said Antony was amazed at Cleopatra's wit as well as hwe good looks, and became her captive as though he was a young man.

Despite a noted absence of cited sources, these volumes remain the sole detailed accounts of this critical era in Roman history. Appian of Alexandria, whose detailed life remains largely obscure, is known primarily through his own writings and a letter from his friend Cornelius Fronto.