MARCH History CAT: 501-1000, Exploration & Conquest

(Compliments to Wikipedia for my evening's history lesson)

6th Century highlights:
Eastern Roman Empire begins to expand under the emperor Justinian, who eventually recaptures North Africa from the Vandals.

Irish colonists and invaders, the Scots, begin migrating to Caledonia (later known as Scotland).

Byzantines obtain silkworm eggs and begin silkworm cultivation.

Backgammon is invented.
 

7th Century highlights:
The Muslim conquests begin with the unification of Arabia by Mohammad starting in 622. Persia, Syria, Palestine, Armenia, Egypt, and North Africa are conquered.

The Byzantine Empire continues suffering setbacks during the rapid expansion of the Arab Empire.

The first Chinese paper money is issued.

The Quran is documented.
 

8th Century highlights:
The westward expansion of the Arab Empire is famously halted at the Siege of Constantinople by the Byzantine Empire and the Battle of Tours by the Franks. The tide of Arab conquest comes to an end in the middle of the 8th century.

The European triangular harp is invented.

Late in the century the Vikings, seafaring peoples from Scandinavia, begin raiding the coasts of Europe and the Mediterranean.
 

9th Century highlights:
Viking incursions continue into the British Isles.

Buddhism is banned in China.

Gunpowder is invented in China.

Mayan civilization is at its peak.
 

10th Century highlights:
Erik the Red founds Greenland.

The Bulgarians destroy the Byzantine army in the Battle of Anchialus, one of the bloodiest battles in the Middle Ages.

Viking groups settle in northern France.

Reindeer and bears become extinct in Britain. (I never would've guessed reindeer ever were in Britain!)
 

A few notable people from 501-1000:
King Arthur
Beowulf
Mohammad
Charlemagne
Erik the Red

And now for the books!

Personally I’m much more interested in the Exploration & Conquest aspect of this CAT and I’m likely to read something about Lewis and Clark. Here are some titles I pulled from my library that would fit:

Journey to the Center of the Earth
King Solomon’s Mines
Annihilation (for you Tournament of Books followers)
Endurance: Shackleton’s Incredible Voyage
Blood and Thunder: The Epic Story of Kit Carson and the Conquest of the American West

By no means an exclusive list. Thank goodness people have already started posting on the Wiki with some other titles.

Speaking of, here’s the Wiki link to record all of your finds,
http://www.librarything.com/wiki/index.php/2015_HistoryCAT#March

Remember to have fun!

I'm planning on Brendan by Frederick Buechner, which I think will hit both the theme and the time period.

At the moment, and admittedly my planning has sucked so far this year, with me wanting to stray off with different books, I'm planning The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. First of his Saxon Chronicles.

I've got Seamus Heaney's Beowulf for the timeline and Samurai William for the exploration side.

I'm leaning towards reading The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. Other options would be Pope Joan but that doesn't fit the theme.

I will be rereading portions of Framing the Early Middle Ages but inspired by aliciamay's intro I will add Mohammed and Charlemagne.

I have been reading a series about Vikings by Robert Low called The Oathsworn. Originally billed as a trilogy, I think there are now five books in the series. I will be reading book #4, The Prow Beast.

I will be tackling the Exploration and Conquest theme with Into the Silence, by Wade Davis, which is about George Mallory's attempts to climb Everest.

Backgammon! I love backgammon. I played that game for hours and hours as a child with my dad. I had no idea that the game's roots go back so far in time.

... now I need to see if I have a book to read for this Cat.

I didn't really have anything on the TBR already that fit, so after a bit of searching on WorldCat, I decided to read Europe After Rome: A New Cultural History 500-1000. I often judge books by their covers, but this is the first time I've chosen one based on it's subtitle.

I don't think any of my exploration options fit the time frame. I had hoped to be able to get both time frame and theme each month, but it's harder than I thought it might be (while also trying to stick with my 600ish tbr!)

Anyway, a few I have that fit the theme are:
- King Leopold's Ghost / Adam Hochschild (also AlphaKIT)
- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage / Alfred Lansing
- In the Kingdom of Ice / Hampton Sides (also AlphaKIT)

>9 rabbitprincess: I have a weird fixation with Everest, so I'm very interested to hear what you think of Into the Silence (I haven't read it...yet).

I may be going a bit overboard with the theme/era next month. I started out with just Brendan by Frederick Buechner on my list. I've already peeked at the historical note to see what sources Buechner used. One is the Navigatio Sancti Brendani, and I discovered that the Penguin Classics The Age of Bede includes a translation of this work. My library has that one, too. Buechner also mentions The Brendan Voyage, and while I was checking to see if the public library had a copy, I also discovered Land to the West and children's book Brendan the Navigator. I've placed holds on all of them. I'll count at least one of these for the BingoDog square "book on a subject you're unfamiliar with".

>14 cbl_tn:, this sounds very interesting. I nice collective read on a new subject.

Finished Women in the Viking age. I thought this was well done, even if the final verdict was that we don't really know a lot. It fit both period and theme.

Finished The Last Kingdom by Bernard Cornwell. I enjoyed it.

Starting Absolution By Murder, the first in a virtual boxed set of Sister Fidelma murder mysteries by Peter Tremayne, set in the 7th century AD.

I just finished The Prow Beast by Robert Low, a rollicking adventure story about Vikings.

COMPLETED Absolution by Murder and A Shroud for the Archbishop by Peter Tremayne.

Finished The Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. Not at all what I was expecting, including the fact that it read very quickly and easily!

>21 sjmccreary: Now you should watch the movie, The 13th Warrior, starring Antonio Banderas!

>22 mamzel:. There's a movie? I'll definitely look for it.

Make a nice tub of popcorn, turn off your phone, and enjoy!

Starting Suffer Little Children by Peter Tremayne, set in 7th Century AD Ireland.

I finished Sword Song by Bernard Cornwell which is book 4 in the Saxon Chronicles series which takes place in 9th century England. This fits both theme and time.

Fits the theme...

King Leopold's Ghost: A Story of Greed, Terror, and Heroism in Colonial Africa / Adam Hochschild
4 stars

In the late 19th century and early 20th century King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Congo as a Belgian colony. But really, he ruled it for himself, not for Belgium. The greedy man was desperate for a colony, something bigger than his own small country. When he colonized the Congo, he wanted everything he could get, initially from the ivory, then later from the wild rubber trees. He enslaved the Congolese, who were treated terribly. However, Leopold was charming and was able to hide much of what was going on there from the rest of the world. Bit by bit, a few Europeans and Americans could see what was happening while they were there, and brought that information to the rest of the world.

Wow, to compare to wider-known atrocities, I thought there were shades of both American slavery and Nazi Germany in Leopold's Congo. It was quite horrifying. I will admit to finding the start a bit slow, as it was more about Leopold and the politics of finding an African colony that he could rule. I occasionally lost interest there. But, it got more interesting as time went on and other people were finding out what was happening. It was originally written in 1998, but my ebook had a 2005 update.

Fits time and theme-- Gentlemen of the Road by Michael Chabon
I was delighted to find this book as a choice to read about historical setting of circa AD 950. Its a fictional tale of ‘Jews with swords’ as the author wanted to call the book. It is set in the middle east. Two partners, a black Jewish man from Abyssinia and a pale, blond, thin Jew from Francia travel the roads ending up in adventures not of their seeking. (Black and White). The story does touch on exploration and conquests. There is the overthrow of the Khazar Empire and the young prince looking for revenge and to reclaim the throne and the invasion by Northmen in long boats. It was fun and quick read.

Fits time and theme: Sword song by Rosemary Sutcliff
A young boy's adventures in the Norse settlements and landtakes in the North of the British isles. I learned all manner of ancient words, such as skraeling.

COMPLETED Suffer Little Children and The Subtle Serpent.

Starting The Spider's Web.

All part of Peter Tremayne's Sister Fidelma series set in 7th century AD Ireland.

COMPLETED The Spider's Web by Peter Tremayne

I meant to post here that I read The Travels of Marco Polo. The parts where he talks about the Mongols were the most interesting. It misses the time period by only 120 years.

I just finished Foundation : The history of England vol 1. One could argue that it fits both period and theme.

I read Fatal Journey: the Final Expedition of Henry Hudson -- a Tale of Mutiny and Murder in the Arctic by Peter C. Mancall, which I purchased for last year's Arctic GeoCAT, but read a book about Antarctica instead. This book fits this month's theme of exploration. More explanation is in my thread.

My goal was The Long Ships by Frans Bengtsson, but it shan't be finished by tonight. So, I'm adding it into April's reading, and have filled in this slot with a childrens' book: Viking Longship by Mick Manning.

I'm going to count God's Crucible by David Levering Lewis for this month. The sub title of the book is Islam and the Making of Europe: 570-1215. Even though it does carry into April's time period, the majority of the book fits here; it was a 17 part audio edition and I don't think we hit into the 1000s until half way through part 16.