For those who don’t know the embalming is the funeral science and art of preserving the body and help forestall decomposition. It is one of the earliest surgical procedures and funeral traditions in the history of the humankind. Nobody really knows who invented this process in the ancient past. Of course, we are aware of the mummification in ancient Egypt which in turn served as a catalyst of the art of embalming. We know that ancient Incas and China in the times of the Han dynasty also believed in the preservation of the body after death and developed their methods of embalming too.
Perhaps, the earliest attempt of embalming and mummification is the mummy known to the specialists as “Ginger”. This body found in the deserts of Egypt is positively dated to 3300 BC which means that it is older than other famous mummies of pharaohs discovered in the pyramids. Ginger is currently on display in the British Museum, but it is not very well-known to the general public.
The reason lies in the fact that Ginger’s burial still remains rather enigmatic. At first specialists thought that the preservation of Ginger occured unintentionally as it happened in the later discovery of Otzi the Iceman. However, they changed their mind later, as they found pottery and other artifacts in his grave and on the burial site. Ginger was ideally preserved lying in fetal position which also points out that there were stones on the grave that prevented the body from being eaten by jackals and other scavengers.
On May 11 we will be celebrating Mother’s Day in the US. In some ways it is our own unique holiday. This holiday is one of the most popular and commercially successful US holidays. It is the most popular day of the year to dine out at a restaurant in America. And it still remains heavily marketed concept.
But originally this holiday was intended as a call to unite women against the war in 19th century. A social activist Julia Ward Howe horrified by casualties of the American Civil War wrote the Mother’s Day Proclamation in 1870. Her call for peace and disarmament failed and did not get formal recognition at first. Only many years later some states started celebrating Mother’s Day and, eventually, Woodrow Wilson made it into a national holiday in 1914.
However, the idea of the holiday was loosely imported from the old British holiday that has the identical name. The original Mother’s Day started in England somewhere in the sixteenth century. At first it was not viewed as a holiday but more as a Christian practice of visiting one’s mother church annually. Then it grew into a day when mothers had a chance to reunite with their children. It was especially important for young working women and apprentices who were allowed by their masters to visit their families.
Nowadays, in Britain this holiday partially lost its religious meaning. On Mother’s Day people celebrate and give thanks for mothers. The holiday falls on the fourth Sunday of Lent which exactly three weeks before Easter Sunday.
Elvis Presley funeral took place in 1977. Thousands of Elvis’s fans participated in funeral services. They lined the streets to see an open casket. Funeral pictures appeared on the cover of National Enquirer making it the fastest selling issue of that publication. Presley was buried next to his mother at Forest Hill Cemetery, Memphis. Later, there were several attempts to still his remains, so he and his mother were reburied at Graceland.
Over thirty years passed but the persistent rumor that the rock star did not die still consume imagination of people, creating some kind of national phenomenon and unusual funeral tradition. Although the idea that the Presley is alive and kicking and live in hiding for so many years seem bizarre, to say the least, it does not go away even in XXI century.
If he were alive, Elvis would be in his seventies and would most likely be amazed at all the stories about him circling the country . Rumors and gossip reached the new heights by adding all possible conspiracy theories - from an empty casket to extraterrestrial involvement. An army of impersonators seem to spread these stories around for publicity and advertising reasons. It is a sure bet that any tv program or show about Las Vegas will have Presley’s song or a short tune in it.
I wish there would be simple answer, why people just don’t let Elvis rest in peace. His former fans - baby boomers, have already retired or in the process of retiring. I don’t think that they are the ones who perpetuate the stories about undead Elvis Presley. Generations of talented musicians that came after him, respect the “king”, but don’t spread the rumors either. Except, maybe, the guy from Oasis who claimed in 2007 that he was drowning but Elvis Presley saved him.
I believe there is only one Museum of Funeral Customs in the world. It is located in Springfield, Illinois, near Oak Ridge Cemetery, the site of Abraham Lincoln’s tomb. Our team of web analysts, came to visit the museum along with the rest of the staff. The museum contained exhibits dealing with American funerary and mourning customs and various related collections. Basically, it provides resources to scholars for researching funeral customs, hosts tours and special events.
We were amazed to find all kinds of funeral paraphernalia from various cultures and times. Personally, I liked rare books collection on embalming dating as early as the 16th century. We saw at the museum recreated 19th century middle class American home funeral setting, recreated embalming room from Jazz generation of the 1920s. There were exhibits of embalming equipment and instruments, examples of postmortem photography and even the scale models of Lincoln’s tomb and funeral train.
Naturally, there is humor in everything, even death. We found confirmation of this when we visited museum’s gift shop. It did not make much sense to us that this shop was selling plain polo shirts or sweatshirts. But my co-workers and I purchased plenty of hilarious stuff, like milk chocolate coffins, wooden and silver casket key rings, casket-shaped paper weights. One of our guys still wears at work the t-shirt with a morbid sign that says “Everybody’s Gotta Go Sometime…”
During the Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), China officially became a Confucian state and prospered domestically: agriculture, handicrafts and commerce flourished, and the population reached over 55 million people. It lasted over four hundred years and it is one of the greatest periods in the history of China. In the 1st century BC China made numerous attempts to consolidate a road to the Western world and India, both through direct and diplomatic relations with the countries located further west. This is when Silk Road network of routes came into existence.
Chinese army regularly policed the trade route against nomadic bandit forces. In the 1st century AD China even sent an army of seventy thousand soldiers and light cavalry troops to secure the trade routes far west across central Asia to the doorstep of Europe. It even set up base on the shores of the Caspian Sea to cooperate with Parthia. China subsequently sent numerous embassies, around ten every year, to other countries reaching as far as Syria.
Around 36 BC Chinese forces encountered and clashed with Roman soldiers in Sogdiana for the first time in the recorded history. These Roman legionaries may have been either irregular warriors or a part of Mark Antony’s army invading Parthia. Chinese got out of this battle victorious, thanks to their crossbows, whose bolts and darts seem easily to have penetrated Roman shields and armor.
In spite of this within several years an intense trade between China and Rome soon followed, probably with Parthians as middlemen. Famous Chinese silk became in fashion among Romans, who thought that it was obtained from the trees. This obsession with silk went so far that its importation caused a huge outflow of gold out of Rome. There is evidence that the The Senate issued, in vain, several edicts to prohibit the wearing of silk, on economic and moral grounds. Senate proclaimed that silk clothes were decadent and immoral.
Alexander the Great and his Macedon generals had great impact in the development and extension of the Silk Road network of routes. Their campaigns are thought to be the first major step in opening the big connection between the East and the West. Alexander’s empire extended from Greece to Central Asia. In Fergana Valley, which is located in modern Tajikistan, he founded the famous city Alexandria Eschate which later became the major point of northern Silk Road.
After his death Alexander’s general Ptolemy and his descendants got Egypt and became first Greek pharaohs. Egypt heavily depended on trade, it had large sea ports on Red Sea and established routes to the Middle East and India and to the South, reaching East Africa.
As for Greek kingdoms in Central Asia, they lasted for the next three hundred years. They were trying to continue the expansion to Sogdiana and India and set up new Greco-Indian kingdoms there. Ancient historians noted not once that Greek kingdoms led their expeditions to China and Chinese Turkestan around 200 BC, which constitutes the first verified by documents contact between China and the West.
There are even more mysteries that surround the origin of the Silk Road network. Nobody could clearly explain one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the twentieth century - so called Tarim mummies. The number of mummies were found deep in China, they date from 1800 BC to AD 200. And all found corpses exhibit Caucasoid physical type. Many of discovered mummies were found in amazingly great condition. They have their hair physically intact, ranging in color from blond to red to deep brown, and generally long, curly and braided. And what is even more amazing - their costumes indicate a common origin with Indo-European neolithic clothing techniques.
Another mystery that supports the theories of early human contacts between East and West were several discoveries of Chinese silk remnants. These remnants have been found in Ancient Egypt from 1070 BC and later.
I mentioned in the previous entry ancient Scythians. It seems that they brought from the West and introduced in China the most valuable metal of all - gold. This probably happened around eight century BC. It seems that the impact was deep because Chinese jade carvers began to use gold to make imitation Scythian designs of the steppes. They easily adopted the Scythian style animal art like descriptions of animals locked in combat. Scientists also found in China imitations of Scythian rectangular belt plaques made of gold and bronze with alternate versions in jade and steatite.
Everybody heard about famous Silk Road - a series of trade routes that were vital to cultural interaction connecting East and West Asia. Silk Road linked traders, merchants, pilgrims, monks, soldiers, nomads from China to the Mediterranean Sea during various periods of time. Overall, the serious of routes extended over five thousand miles on land and sea.
Historians are really puzzled and still can not establish for sure, how the Silk Road network began. Originally, the historians point of view was that the Silk Road was initiated by Chinese Han Dynasty around 114 BC. As the years rolled by, new evidence was discovered which pointed out that Silk Road existed centuries earlier before that date. For example, it turned out that ancient Scythians, nomads who Hungarian plain to China participated in Assyrian invasion on Egypt in 7 century BC. Their distinctive arrowheads were found even in the south of Egypt. Scientists also learned that ancient Scythians encouraged long distance travel of merchants as a source of income through the enforced payment of tariffs. So, they, obviously, played an important role in the development of the Silk Road.
But that was not all. Exactly at the same time historians learned about the existence of another autonomous routes of the Silk Road network. This sub network was called Persian Royal Road and extended to almost two thousand miles. Its origin was dated to the fifth century BC. This road was maintained and protected by the ancient Persian rulers and it even had postal stations and relays at regular intervals!
Royal couriers had at their disposal fresh horse and riders at each relay. They could carry messages the entire distance in nine days, though normal travelers covered the same distance within three months. Persian Royal Road subnetwork included the routes to India and Central Asia. In fact, Persian rulers encouraged regular contact between India, Mesopotamia and the Mediterranean. Even in the Biblical Book of Esther, there are accounts of dispatches being sent to provinces as far out as India.
The Capet dynasty was one of the longest ruling families in Europe. So, when Philip IV, the Fair, died, there was no trouble on the horizon either. After all, Philip had three grown up sons Louis, Philip and Charles, who were supposed to continue the Capet dynasty for many years in future. Philip the Fair also had a daughter Isabella married to the king of England Edward II.
But everything went awry after all three sons died one after another, after ruling for a very short period of time. What was even worse: neither of these French kings was able to provide a single surviving male heir to the throne.
Still, it seemed that the dynasty would not end. The strongest claim to the throne belonged to Isabella’s son, king of England Edward III. However, the French interpretation of medieval Salic law only recognized the male line. French nobility demanded the throne be passed through the male descendants of late Charles of Valois. It was also evident, that no Frenchman would accept an English King as his ruler.
That is why the kingdom of France went to Philip, son of Charles of Valois, who was the closest male heir and grandson of Philip III. The new Philip VI got the ironic nickname Fortunate. It was due to the fact, that without the sudden deaths of three Capet kings he would not have a single chance to become the ruler of France. But, since his father was the brother of the late Philip the Fair, he was therefore a nephew of Philip IV and the cousin of Louis X, Philip V and Charles IV.
Edward III was furious that his claim to the throne was rejected. He tried all kinds of diplomacy, intrigues and negotiations to achieve his goal, but everything failed. The only remaining solutions for him remained remained the use of force. These were the key events that led to the bloody Hundred Years War between England and France.
If you watched a move about 300 brave Spartans, you know that king Leonidas was one of the most important figures in Greco-Persian wars. But there was also another equally or even more important statesman whose name is is rarely mentioned due to certain reasons that need to be explained.
I am talking about famous Themistocles from Athens. It was him who persuaded Athenians to build a powerful fleet and it is thanks to him that Greek ships defeated the much larger Persian navy and forced king Xerxes I of Persia to retreat. The naval battle of Salamis took place in 480 BC and was the turning point of the campaign, leading to eventual Persian defeat.
After the war Themistocles showed himself as a brilliant statesman again and again by making his native Athens the finest trade place in Greece. But then his life took a really tragic turn. He was accused by his fellowmen of arrogance and taking bribes. That led to the exile of Themistocles from Athens to Argos. Yet, his troubles did not end there. Soon Spartans accused Themistocles of treasonable intrigues with Persia. Subsequently he was proclaimed a traitor in Athens and all his property was confiscated.
As a bitter irony, Themistocles could only find shelter at his enemy whom he fought for so many years. Artaxerxes I, successor of Xerxes I, offered him asylum and took Themistocles under his protection. Artaxerxes even made Themistocles a governor of the province of Magnesia in Asia Minor. He probably was well received in Magnesia and showed his talents there too, because Magnesians worshiped Themistocles as a god.
From what we know, Themistocles died of illness n Magnesia , when he was sixty five. He was probably a broken-hearted man, because there were persistent rumors that his death was not of natural causes but that he committed suicide by taking poison.
