The Rise and Fall of the Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine empire saw itself as the continuation of the Roman empire.Professor Jiang argues that Constantinople and Rome had opposing cultural systems. Rome was a pagan Latin republic, and Constant...
24 Touko 1h 5min
The Useful Fiction of the Holy Roman Empire
Voltaire once wrote: "The Holy Roman Empire was in no way holy, nor Roman, nor an empire.”Professor argues that Voltaire was right, and the Holy Roman Empire was a useful fiction created to legitimize...
24 Touko 1h 4min
The Viking Legacy
We have understood Western civilization to be composed of four major traditions -- that of the Greeks, Romans, Jews, and Christians.In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argue...
24 Touko 1h 11min
Memory of the Norse
What was the Viking worldview? What was their value system? Why did they venture out into the world? Unfortunately, the Vikings maintained an oral tradition, most of which was lost after they converte...
24 Touko 1h 11min
The Golden Age of Islam
The Abbasid Caliphate was considered the Golden Age of Islam. Before the Mongolian conquest, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad was the global center of learning and literacy. Muslim scientists and mathem...
24 Touko 1h 18min
Twilight of the Middle Kingdom
Why did China stop being creative after the Song dynasty (960-1279 CE)? In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explains that it's because the Ming and Qing dynasties achieved a...
24 Touko 1h 8min
Genghis Khan, World Shatterer
Genghis Khan is considered the world's greatest conquerer. Why was he so successful?In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin argues that Genghis Khan had the same characteristics...
24 Touko 1h 9min
Church and Empire
What were the Crusades? Why did they start? Why did they end?In this talk to his Chinese high school students, Jiang Xueqin explores the history of Europe's late middle ages. He shows that while the R...
24 Touko 1h 9min
