The discovery of iron in the empire of Ghana changed the course of its history in more than one way. First of all, the discovery of iron allowed many farming tools to be further developed, such as plows, hoes, and many more. This meant larger surpluses of edible food for humans, and feed for livestock. WIth more food for the livestock, the amount of livestock themselves began to grow in numbers. With bigger herds and more food, the empire began to expand. Herders were able to trade their livestock for valuable salt and gold, and some of their crops as well. The trade also helped Ghana expand.

Another use for iron was for weapons. Spears and swords were made superiorly to the wood, stone, or bone ones of other tribes. Ghana began to develop a military and began to conquer its neighboring tribes of Africa.

I think that the most difficult region to live in, out of the desert, sahel, savanna  or rain forest  is the desert. Even though the desert has a lot of salt, a valuable resource at that time, there are many hardships that equalize that fact, and more left over for the desert to qualify as the hardest place to live. One reason why the desert is so hard to live in is the lack of water. Some water is transported in, through canals, and wells are dug, too, but many people still go without what is scientifically considered a normal amount of water. Some people can't afford water from canals, or don't get enough from it, and base their lives around finding enough drinking water to live. For example, some people move to where the rain has formed a temporary basin of water, called a toba, and leave when it dries up.

Another reason the desert would be really hard to live in is the sand. Sand is hard to move through and can dangerously slow travel without camels. In an extreme enough case, sand can cause open sores by getting stuck in clothes and rubbing against skin. Another danger of sand is sandstorms. Sandstorms can last for hours and can hinder visibility, strip a person of their skin, or even suffocate someone.

Although there were manny reasons for the rapid travel of Islam through the area around it, I think that the main one was the fact that Mecca, a major Muslim city, was a huge center of trade. This meant that traders could easily travel known paths to far away cities and spread their ideas. On some historical documents, it is shown that traders reached other lands and regions from 60 to up to 120 years before the Muslim army did. In some places like China and India, traders often met with people on the Silk Road, but the military force of the Islamic Empire never made it that far. Traders also afforded a benign, or even friendly reputation. Since it is human nature to distrust new ideas that challenge old ones, foreign citizens were much more likely to believe traders that brought them their daily necessities, than soldiers who had killed their friends. Without the traders who spread Islam in their path, it is likely that Islam wouldn't have become the world spread thing it is today.

Before I begin, I want to say that since I am not a Muslim, my opinions may be off, and I invite any Muslims out there to openly dispute them, and if the argument seems fair or correct, I will change my post. Out of the Five Pillars of Islam, saying "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet," praying five times a day, giving to the poor and needy, fasting during Ramadan, and making the hajj, a journey to Mecca to visit the Kaaba, I think that the hardest is making the hajj. Saying "There is no god but God and Muhammad is his prophet" is just an act of faith, if one is a true believer, that would be no problem; praying five times a day would also not be a problem, you would simply have to let your teacher or boss know, and excused yourself at the designated times. As for giving to the poor and needy, I am pretty sure that the poor and needy themselves are excused from this pillar, and for people that can spare the money, it would just take a certain frame of mind. The same is true for Ramadan, if you keep yourself occupied, and you're used to it, than it would not seem that hard, because of the meals before and after the sun rises or sets. But the hajj seems harder. If one is living far away from northeastern Africa, southeastern Europe, or southwestern Asia, the hajj is a long and costly trip to make. This was especially true in older times, where journeying was much slower and infinitely more dangerous.

Muhammad was born into a rich family, and grew up to be a manager of the caravan for his future wife. He was a kind man, and put others before himself. When he was forty, he began preaching messages and started the religion Islam. Because Muhammad was a rich man himself, and one of his messages was that the rich should help the poor in a monetary form as well as physical help. That made poor people and more selfless rich people follow Muhammad. The reason that some rich people didn't follow Muhammad is that he said that when people joined the Islamic faith, they would become part of a great community, where rich and poor were equal. Most rich people didn't want to be equal with the poor people that they looked down upon, and so they took a while to become Muslims. But once Muhammad's campain really picked up its pace, and the people of Mecca surrendered to Muhammad and his followers, almost every Arab in Arabia was a Muslim.

Circumstance hates me. It's true. Believe what you will. But the opportunity of a lifetime, couldn't have come at a worse one. My village is busy, but it's boring. The same thing happens every day here, over and over, which is why my uncle's trading caravan is an excellent opportunity to do something different. But something different has already happened. Sickness. My whole village has just been struck with it, like an evil curse. Most of the men died, and the city itself will too, if we don't find some people to manage the trading posts. My father and I are some of the only men left to do any sort of work and I am extremely important to village life with our decimated number of workers. My uncle is leaving today. I'll have to decide before sunset. I really don't know how to decide. An opportunity like this almost never comes around, and probably won't again, but my village can't spare anyone. 

I'm leaving. Circumstance has changed its mind about me after all. Right before I was about to decline my uncle's offer, ten score men, women, and children rode into our village. Theirs had been destroyed by a flood and they were looking for shelter. They nearly filled our empty huts, and there are more than enough workers to go around once again. My uncle and I leave at sunset. I'm looking forward to a month of roaming the desert on camel.

During the simulation of Traders and Invaders, I was rather happy with my role of the Vandal tribe of Barbarians, but if I had to pick something else I would have like to have been an emperor that fled to Constantinople. The reason that I would have liked to have been an emperor is that while the Barbarians had enough power to overthrow Rome, they did not have enough power to attack Constantinople, and so the Byzantine Empire lasted until 1453 A.D.

The reason that I did not want to be a province, is that the Barbarian had more that enough power to overthrow multiple provinces, and many provinces did not last long. The provinces also had to convince the Romans to protect them in exchange for goods, and by that point, the Romans left them to die.

The book that I am currently reading is the original Gulliver's Travels, but I just started it and have not read more than one chapter, so I will blog about the book I just finished, Wizard's Holiday. Wizard's Holiday is the seventh book in the Young Wizard's series by Diane Duane. In the book, Nita Callahan is looking forward to her two weeks of spring break. Instead she comes home and finds the fridge completely empty. In the middle of starting a wizardry to give her access to her friend Kit's fridge, she is interrupted by her sister's senitent computer Spot. Spot is hiding, and he knows what Nita and her dad are about to find out. Darine, Nita's sister, has signed up for a cultural exchange, halfway across the galaxy. Darine is soon banned from leaving the Solar System, and Nita and Kit are sent away to the perfect world of Alaau. While Nita and Kit are away, the other end of the cultural exchange comes to Nita's house. Sker'het, a giant millipede, Fillif, a senitent tree, and Roshaun, a humanoid king from a half burnt planet far away across the galaxy.

9/11. A big event. One that changed the modern day American world. When 9/11 happened, I was just one and a half years old, too small to understand the horrors of what was going on. My mom just sat in front of the television all day, waiting to see what exactly had happened, who had perished, and who had survived. This awful event still effects us today. For example, airport security is much more strict than it has ever been before. There are millions of checkpoints, and scanners, and detectors to go through. It is now necessary to go to the airport hours before one's flight leaves. Also, the lives lost in the horrible tragedy, from the victims that perished, to the rescue workers that were killed in action, have been, and continue to be, grieved for by their friends and family. But when horrible event like 9/11 happen, America always moves on, becomes stronger and better.

 The presidential election is a big deal. It comes around every four years, and decides the main figure of our country. Many people vote for Republicans, and many vote for Democrats. In this up coming election, I care about it in itself, but not the outcome. Barack Obama has been a great president, and I think Mitt Romney can do just as great of a job. The presidential election is extremely important, but, to me, the outcome doesn't matter. I think both candidates will be able to assume the role of president with out much opposition and will do their best to protect our nation.