Cold and miserable, nearly all of China under the Qin Empire is crowding the streets. Two days ago, on September 10, Emperor Qin Shihuangdi was reported dead after ironically attempting to become immortal. The great emperor had attempted to become immortal through taking, what he believed, were magical pills which would grant him eternal life. These pills created by the emperor’s alchemist are now confirmed to have contained mercury, a now known poisonous liquid to the human body. As the unfortunate people of China prepare for their once beloved emperors burial, we here at Eastern Empire Magazine have decided to write this article about the life of former Chinese Emperor, Qin Shihuangdi. Back in 246 BC, an ambitious 13 year old boy known as Ying Zhen was crowned King of Qin and emperor of China. By the year 221 BC, Ying had defeated all warring states in China and officially unified it as an Empire. After this great achievement, Ying Zhen decided to rename himself, so he chose the title Qin Shihuangdi, which translates to “First August and Divine Emperor of Qin.” Each word had a meaning: the word first, as in the first in a long line of successors, August and Divine because he believed he was the equivalent of a god, and Emperor to separate himself from his predecessors who were only dukes and kings.

Before his death, however, Qin Shihuangdi did something very unusual which hasn’t been seen before by any world leader. The Chinese emperor spent over 30 years and 700,000 men recreating his royal empire, court, and army out of clay, bronze, and wood. The whole project was done underground and when officials were asked why Qin ordered this, they replied with the simple answer of, “Qin wanted to take everything he has now into the next life.” The location of the underground site still remains unknown. Although Qin Shihuangdi requested he be buried under a mound of dirt representing a mountain, so that he would become part of the Chinese landscape. An official stated that the emperor will instead be buried with his secret underground empire for better protection. Our hearts at Eastern Empire Magazine go out to all those in China mourning the death of Qin Shihuangdi, a man who truly shaped our world.

Qin divided his Empire into 36 sections and appointed a commander to each section; the commanders were rewarded based off of skill and that alone. Qin Shihuangdi ruled his people under the philosophy of legalism, in which all people are believed to be corrupt and are in need of law enforcement to be kept in place. Qin also standardized many customs, such as weight units, coinage (Banliang coin), and Chinese written characters. These standardizations made ruling the empire a lot easier to control, they also made China a lot more efficient. Qin Shihuangdi saw himself as a divine ruler of not just China, but the whole world. Shihuangdi was also obsessed with immortality; he believed that ruling the world forever was possible. The Chinese emperor had attempted to take many potions, drugs, and magical herbs throughout his time of rule which, he believed were the key to immortality. What most likely lead to Qin’s death was a rush to an answer for immortality due to the fact that there were three failed assassination attempts on him between the years 227 BC and

218 BC.

REVOLUTIONARY CHINESE EMPOROR

accidently commits suicide

Photo credits go to foGlobe.com

By Ahmed Al-Khawaja

WHERE LEGENDS

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Welcome to Legends of the Ages, we have a special interview with one of the world’s most influential men in the world. We here at Easter Empire Magazine

were able to arrange a one on one conversation between our lead writer, Ahmed Al-Khawaja, and the great, Alexander III of Macedon.

My first question is a pretty basic one. Despite being such a big name in the world, there’s still quite a few people who don’t know you exist. Can you give us a summary of who you are and where you come from?

“Well, my name is Alexander III of Macedon, I was born in Pella, Macedonia on July 20, 356 BCE and am currently the king of Macedonia. My father was known as Philip II of Macedon, he was the king up until his murder, I was 19 at the time and immediately took over. “

“I’m currently the ruler of the Macedonian Empire which includes Greece(The land my father wished his whole life to conquer) and Persia.”

Alexander, you currently control the largest empire in the world right now, to achieve such an accomplishment is no easy task. Tell us a little about your acquired education.

“My father was obsessed with war, he wasn’t insane, he was ambitious. Philip wanted to bring glory to Macedonia, which he did. However, my father’s accomplishments did come at a price, his strive for glory meant that he had no time to spend with me, my sister, and my mother. So for advice on life and advanced education, he hired the “best” tutors he could find.”

“The first tutor I had was a man named Leonidas. The tutor taught me a little about math, horsemanship, and archery. Leonidas was by no means a bad teacher, but he didn’t last long as he referred to me as “too ambitious” before he quit. It was probably the best thing for me considering our rough relationship. From 343 to 340 BC my father hired a man that was more to me than just a tutor, he was my idol. This man’s name is Aristotle, from which I learned about philosophy, poetry, drama, science, and politics. Aristotle taught me and some of my friends at the Temple of the Nymphs at Meiza. He is the reason I am the great man you see before you.”

My last question for you, Alexander. Recently defeating and claiming Persia, what are your views of former Persian king, Darius III?

“I have to admit, Darius is single handedly the greatest opponent I have ever come across. But there is a reason he is dead and I’m alive with the title “Alexander the Great”. Darius relied too much on his heritage and not his own skills. The man believed that just because he had a great army and came from a long line of successful rulers, nobody would ever defeat him. His arrogance was the cause of his downfall, not me. I was just able to take advantage of Darius by defeating him mentally, and physically.”

Word around Rome has been spreading, and it’s

been spreading pretty fast! Is it possible that

Marc Antony has been seeing Cleopatra? A

number of officials who have requested to remain

anonymous, have confirmed our speculation of

the two being together. When approached about

the incident, Marc Antony denied all the

accusations and stated “Cleopatra is only visiting

for business related enquires.”

Looks like the royal Egyptian just can’t keep herself from loving a

Roman! For those of you living under a rock, back in 47 BC Cleopatra

was in a relationship with Julius Caesar and even gave birth to his son,

Caesarion. Before his death in 44 BC, however, Julius Caesar always

claimed the child was not his own, but his justifications were just never

compelling. “This love story is just too good to be true. Two close

friends loving the same woman! Yeah, right, what’s next the Earth is a

globe?” said one Roman as he expressed his opinion on the whole story.

Don’t think this isn’t bizarre enough? Roman officials have also stated

that Cleopatra might even be pregnant. To top it all off, our sources say

that doctors believe Cleopatra will be giving birth to twins! Yeah, you

read that right, twins! Rome truly is, the most interesting place in the

world.

Letter To The EditorBy Ahmed Al-Khawaja

Dear Editor:

There has been a sudden increase in believers of this new forming religion known as “Christianity.” The thought of it disgusts me; the idea of one god ruling alone is unimaginable! How could anyone have such status? Not even Zeus could possess this much power, and now these filthy scoundrels take up land in my country, insult my gods, and think they will get away with it! What is even more surprising is that this “Jesus” character has been dead for a couple of years, and for what you may ask, for preaching his religious views! Is his reason for execution not sign enough the man was mentally ill?

I am a proud Roman man, married with two kids, and a strong believer in the Roman Gods. The followers of Christianity have claimed that their religion only brings peace, however, multiple times my children have come home from school crying that Christian followers would bang the windows of their classrooms, screaming they will suffer eternal hell if they don’t convert. These are kids their striking fear into!

Something needs to be done about these Christians! They insult our gods and strike fear into the hearts of our youth. We Romans never back down to fights and take pride in our beliefs. The time to fight back has come, these “peace seekers” will either convert to the religion, or taste the bitterness of death!

Sincerely,

Villius Cassius

THE SLIPPERY SOLUTION

Water, an essential key to life, something we can’t live without. The importance is unimaginable and we will do anything to get our daily drink. The process is not easy, but since the engineering of the Roman Aqueducts, a revolutionary invention, we can now run clean water underground through hundreds of miles to our cities. This is truly the most advanced system of plumbing and demonstrates how we can overcome grand challenges.

No man should be denied leave of attaching himself to the rites of the Christians, or to whatever other religion his mind directed him, that thus the supreme Divinity, to

whose worship we freely devote ourselves, might continue to vouchsafe His favor and beneficence to us…

- Constantine I

No more beating around the bush, it is time we discuss the true significance of one of the most influential acts ever, the Conversion of Constantine I. The former Roman Emperor, did not rule quite too long, however, this man made one decision that has greatly affected our world now and for years to come. Only thirty one years (306 to 337), even less if you count in the wars Constantine spent fighting for dominance, this man did not accomplish much as a ruler through power, but instead through culture.

Constantine, just in case you’ve been living under a rock and didn’t know, was the first Roman Emperor to not only legalizes the practicing of Christianity, but he also converted to it! This is the first time a Roman Emperor converts to any other religion from the ancient worshipping of Roman Gods. You may think this one leader converting to the religion may have been insignificant, but that is where you’re wrong.

Constantine was the ruler of the Roman Empire, the most grand, influential, and advanced civilization in the world at its time. The total area of land the empire controlled during its time was unimaginable. What he said and did influenced millions upon millions of people, so when someone as powerful as Constantine legalizes and begins following the religion, why do people only then see Christianity as the truth? The reason I ask this question is because it truly displays our understanding of this world and what truly influences our decisions towards religion.

Let’s start with the origins. Christianity was founded by a man from Nazareth known as Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ preached his beliefs in the name of God, the father of Jesus Christ in Christianity, and the same God worshipped in Judaism. The man, unfortunately for him, wasn’t very popular with the Jewish community and was seen to them as a bastard. Jesus is eventually crucified under the authorization of Pontius Pilate. Although Jesus Christ did not have many followers during his time alive, the men who followed were successful in writing down his teachings in one book, known as the bible now. Through the bible Jesus’ teachings prevailed and Christianity is now one of the fastest growing religions.

The Constantine Conversion

Despite its presence across the empire, the following of Christianity was punishable by death in the Roman Empire up until the Edict of Milan was signed. Before Constantine, many people would give their lives attempting to convert Romans to their beliefs, but very little succeeded, for the Romans completely hated Christianity. However, once a Roman Emperor takes faith in it, the religion is suddenly not despised and many Romans even begin converting to it! Why is it though, that it is not what the religion holds, but who holds the religion that persuades people to convert? This is very normal, we as humans have a natural instinct to buy into peer pressure. But what concerns me is that people seamlessly convert religions and don’t even acknowledge how they are messing with their belief of afterlife!

It truly is amazing how the human mind works, we think we have all the answers but yet here we are changing our own way of lives because one man decided he believed in Christianity. The whole incident with Constantine also brings light to another important matter, are we just mindless sheep following whatever those in power say? Because if that is the case people might as well worship them for they only worship who their superiors tell them to. The answers are infinite, but your time is not. Think carefully about your decisions.

Constantine’s Conversion Imagined by Rubens.

Dear Confucius, I am in need of some advice on love. It all started last week when I first arrived in Sparta. I was on duty as a guard for my generals while they met with Spartan leaders. On my break, one day, I went for a walk around the city-state (which was very dull compared to the beauty of Athens’s superior architecture), and I couldn’t help but notice the most gorgeous woman in the world working at the nearby hospital. If only you could see her Confucius, she had silky brown hair, beautiful green eyes, and an extremely fit body. I asked around about this woman and was told she is a very kind, independent, generous, and intelligent individual. There is, however, one small problem. You see, Confucius, Spartan woman are tough, a lot tougher than the men, and to make it worse, Spartan woman refuse to even look at Athenian men. My tour in Sparta ends next week, I need advice urgently. How can I get myself into a position where I can talk to her alone? An Athenian Soldier

Dear Soldier, If you want a pretty nurse, you have to be patient.

Dear Confucius, My name is Valentina, and I am a troubled Roman woman who is having a mid-life crisis. You see, ever since I was a young child I was a little different compared to my peers. I always thought of equality and that women deserve more respect than they get. Obviously, Roman women are not shunned down as much as other civilizations do. This, however, does not change the fact that women are just as smart and independent as men. My question, Confucius, is how do I confront the Roman senate about this situation? I would really appreciate the input of an open minded man on this situation. Valentina Dear Valentina, I am so pleased that you have asked me for advice on this situation. There aren’t many women in this world who see themselves as more than objects for men. Knowing there is a woman out there that recognizes her own independence and intelligence overwhelms me with joy. Now, let me give you my advice on how to deal with situation, and the reality of it. What you must know, Valentina, is that your dream of equality will most likely not come true in our lifetime, maybe not even for another 1000 years. So as I stand right now, I believe you should remain under the rule of men and not try to fight it. There is nothing wrong with having ambition, but the way things are today men just prove to be more capable than women and there is no denying it. Otherwise, women leaders would’ve already been throughout history, naturally proving your idea of equality. I hate to put this way but there is no denying the truth. If you still decide to campaign for equality, good luck, because it won’t be easy.

Biography of the Week Name: Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus Augustus

Birth: July, 100 B.C.E

Death: 44 B.C.E

Birth Place: Rome, Italy

Place of Death: Rome, Italy

Julius Caesar did not come from much, his father died when he was 16, and the city of Rome was very corrupt while he was young. Early on, Caesar marries Cornelia, the daughter of a noble and afterwards joins the military where he served until the death of the dictator, Sulla.

After the death of Sulla Caesar left the military and went into politics. In Rome Caesar teamed up with a man named Pompey and they both reached the top of the government. The two ended up warring for top spot in which Caesar wins and becomes ruler.

During his reign, Caesar expands the Roman Empire making it the most powerful in the world, and at the same time tremendously boosted the economy.

Many nobles grew worried of all the love Caesar was getting as for he would take absolute power of the empire. This results in the murder of Caesar and the death of a genius mind.

WEEKLY CROSSWORD

CITATIONS

Article for Emperor Shi Huangdi-

http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/themes/leaders

_and_rulers/qin_shihuangdi/life_and_legacy.aspx

Confucius Image-

http://www.visualadjectives.com/blog/civilization-

hebrew-and-confucian/

Coliseum Image-

http://ancientrome.ru/art/artworken/img.htm?id=1744

Jesus-

http://wallpaper4god.com/en/suffering/

Spartan Image-

http://www.mrwallpaper.com/spartan-warrior-

wallpaper/

Black Background-

http://www.3dwallz.com/metallic-wallpaper.html

Qin ShiHuangdi Painting-

http://foglobe.com/qin-shi-huang.html

Roman Coliseum AD-

http://www.upphotos.net/gladiator-movie-gladiator.html

Alexander The Great Bio-

http://www.biography.com/people/alexander-the-great-

9180468

Cleopatra-

http://www.biography.com/people/groups/marc-

antony-and-cleopatra

Julius Caesar Image-

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:0092_-_Wien_-

_Kunsthistorisches_Museum_-

_Gaius_Julius_Caesar.jpg

Julius Caesar Biography-

http://www.biography.com/people/julius-caesar-9192504

Acupuncture-

http://balfourhealing.com/?p=420