William the conqueror

In the second half of the eleventh century England was conquered by a Norman Duke, William by name, one of the most powerful feudal lords of France. Under the pretext of having rightful claims to the English throne, William landed on the southern shores of England in September 1066. The well-armed Norman knights met the Anglo-Saxon troops gathered by Harold, their king, at Hastings on October 14,1066. The battle raged with varying fortune all day, but finally the Anglo-Saxons gave way. King Harold was killed and the Normans won the battle. Some time later, London was forced to open its gates to the conquerors.

William became King of England and was called William the Conqueror. He named himself the "lawful heir" of the English king and promised to grant the old rights and customs to the Anglo-Saxon nobility. But this was, in fact, only a pretext to pacify the local population which fell under the foreign yoke. The real intentions of William the Conqueror became clear when he began confiscating the lands of the English barons and replacing the Saxon nobility by Norman nobles and knights who be­came the ruling group. The confiscation of lands and their distribution among the Norman nobility completed the establishment of the feudal sys­tem in England.

Land grants in reward for military service was a characteristic feature of feudalism. In France and Germany these land grants led to the weakening of royal authority, since the great landowners could use their military forces against the king. In England this danger also existed, but in a smaller degree. William granted large estates to his followers, but he was careful to scatter them in manors over the country in a way which made it difficult for the great landowners to concentrate their knights for rebellion against the king.

The Norman kings ruled with the help of a governing body and called Curia Regis (the King's Court). It made laws, imposed and levied taxes, and tried disputes, but the king was always present and his word was decisive. In just the same way each baron ruled his vassals, each knightly holder of a manor - his villeins.

Generally speaking, the native population was treated very cruelly by the conquerors. Even the Anglo-Saxon nobles felt oppressed. It is not suprising, therefore, that many, both of the upper and the lower classes of Anglo-Saxon society, fled and often hid themselves in the forests or else­where to escape the oppression of the Normans. Sometimes they started a fight against the foreign oppressors, but were often caught and put to death (executed).

Alexander the great

Alexander marched on to Egypt where the Persian Governor sur­rendered without a struggle. At Memphis the young king was proclaimed Pharaoh. Then he went out into the desert to the shrine of Amman. Ac­cording to the legend, when Alexander entered the temple, the God spoke to him and called him son. The Egyptians had always believed that their kings were divine. Alexander knew that he could rule the people more eas­ily if he accepted the religious system of the country. And he did so.

After the death of Darius (330 В. С.) Alexander became Master of the Persian Empire. He decided to conquer other lands, and led his men on through mountains, across deserts, through sand and snow until he entered India.

In order to please the Persians Alexander adopted Persian dress and some Persian customs. He gave orders that all who came to him on business should bow and kiss his feet. For the Persians this ceremony seemed quite normal, but the Greeks refused to fulfil the orders. Once during a feast Alexander put to death several of his officers who refused to kiss his feet. One of them was a close friend of Alexander and had saved his life in combat. The execution of the officers had a negative effect in the army. On the next day the soldiers staged a mutiny and demanded going home. Alexander got furious and dismissed the whole army. Some time later Alexander fell ill and soon died. Without his leadership the army fell into disorder, and the Empire was divided among his generals.

Alexander ascended the throne and became King of Macedonia af­ter the death of his father Philip II. Alexander was known to be energetic and brave, but very cruel. He was remarkably talented and brilliantly edu­cated.

Having conquered Greece Philip began to prepare for a campaign against Persia. The Greeks and the Macedonians wanted to capture the great treasures possessed by the Persian kings, as well as their fertile lands and a great number of slaves. During the preparations for the campaign Philip II was killed. Alexander completed the preparations and led his army which consisted of the Macedonians and the Greeks into Asia Minor. Two battles were fought as a result of which the Persians were defeated and Asia Minor captured. Alexander proceeded southwards along the Mediterra­nean coast. He exterminated or sold into slavery the population of every city that he conquered. Most of the coastal cities were eager to free them­selves from the oppression of the Persian king, and they willingly recognized Alexander's rule. He captured Egypt without any fighting and was pro­claimed a god.

The Macedonian army entered Central Asia, but they were able to capture only a small part of the territory because of the strong resistance of the local population. Alexander proceeded further to conquer India. He dreamed of conquering the entire world, but in 325 В. С he was compelled to give up his plans: his troops grew tired of endless and difficult wars and refused to fight.

As a result of the Macedonian victories a huge empire was formed, stretching from Greece to the river Indus. But in 323 В. С sudden death came to Alexander, and the empire actually disintegrated; it was cut into several small kingdoms.