Nick Ciesielski

HIST 134

Professor Thomson

30 May 2017

Reflection

The use of religion and traditions and morals has long been a way for individuals to self-

govern and structure their lives in a more positive and productive way. By keeping the Divine

faith, I am made a partaker of the light of truth: guided by the light of truth, I advance in the

knowledge of the Divine faith.i Since the beginning of time, leaders have adopted ways to

improve their respective empire. Often times it is the development and utilization of a new

technology, or a new government system. Throughout the modules we have covered over this

semester, there was one factor that enacted change in a different way other than government

reform or a new technology. The role of religion, traditions and morals.

Going back to ancient Rome, we see a leader who used religion to become a better leader.

His name was Augustus, heir of caser, and emperor of Rome from twenty seven BC to AD

fourteen. While an already established leader, the overcoming of religion and acknowledgment

of Romes traditional values prompted Augustus to adopt religion to improve the condition of his

country. The story went like this; one night Augustus saw a comet pass over Rome, which he

named Caesars comet (today is known as Halleys Comet)ii He claimed that this was Julius

Caesars spirit passing into heaven. With Caesar now being a god, Augustus was now the son of

a god. He vowed to bring Rome back to its traditional values and spark its past glory. From this

point on, he maintained a modest lifestyle. He led by example. He rebuilt eighty two temples to
the gods that had been fading and needed repair. He brought Rome back to a better time through

the use of religion and traditional moral values.

Another example of a leader who used religion and traditions for the betterment of

society was Asoka, the third emperor of Indias Mauryan dynasty. He was a fierce military

leader, but after the war in Kalinga, Asoka wanted change for himself and his empire. Asoka

was the first monarch to adopt Buddhism. Upon his adoption of this new peaceful religion, he

became new leader who operated with compassion instead of bloodshed. In his spread of

Buddhism, he built shrines and monasteries to Buddha all throughout his empire. He also sent

missionaries to other countries such as Greece and Egypt to spread the positive Buddhist

message. His empire, along with himself as a person, saw remarkable prosperity after his

adoption of Buddhism.

The next leader who was changed for the better because of religion was Constantine the

great. While this assignment dictates each example must be from different empires, I feel as if

that another example from the Roman Empire can be used as they were such different empires at

their respective times in history and was literally called New Rome upon Constantine rule.

Constantine was the first emperor to convert to Christianity. After his conversion, he became a

much better ruler and the empire became more prosperous. He made Sunday an official holy day.

He gave money and land to churches so more people could worship Christ and made churches

tax exempt. However he didnt force Christianity on anyone, and allowed people to practice the

religion of their choice. The population of his empire appreciated this aspect of the

compassionate leader.

Another leader who was affected in a positive way with the introduction of religion and

morals is Cyrus the great of the Persian Empire. Cyrus adopted Zoroastrianism, a monotheistic
pre-Islamic religion of ancient Persia founded by Zoroaster in the 6th century BC. The positive

actions this brought about in Cyrus was the creation of the cylinder which is thought to be the

first set of known human rightsiii. While Cyrus was a Zoroastrianist, he allowed people to

practice whatever religion they wanted because Zoroastrianism was for the betterment of the

people. Through Zoroastrianism, Cyrus taught the people of the Persian Empire the path of

good thoughts, good words, and good deeds, and to follow the path of Asha, the path of

righteousness and ideal truth.

Understanding how religion and the traditions allowed leaders to affect the world in a better way

has made me think of ways I could better my life by using them too. Today religion is either

blown way out of proportion or not respected enough to the point where I feel as though many

dont understand why people practice it. The same goes for morals and traditions. It starts with

the younger generation. As a whole we dont respect traditions and recognize the importance of

having morals. I make it a point to have a strong moral code. I treat others with respect, hold

doors open for people, dont drink or do drugs, things of that nature. Everyone is so consumed in

themselves these days that they dont respect others or help each other. In ancient times, whether

leaders used religion, or installment of traditions and morals, it was for the betterment of the

society. If more people acted like that today, consider what is better for everyone, society would

appreciate the role of religion and traditions and be a better place to live.
 Annotated Bibliography
I. Carr, K.E. "Constantine's Conversion." Constantine's Conversion - Christian History -

Quatr.us. N.p., 01 Oct. 2016. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

It was from this source that I got the information about Constantines conversion and how

it influenced the Roman/Byzantine Empire. Info such as how he gave out land and money

to churches. Was crucial in support of the fourth paragraph.

II. "Constantine the Great Quotes." Iz Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.
From this source I have the quote that is in the intro paragraph about religion, said by

Constantine.
III. "Cyrus the Great and Religious Tolerance." Tavaana. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.
This source allowed me to understand the role that Zoroastrianism had amongst Cyrus the

greats empire. Most of paragraph 5 was using information from this source.
IV. "Emperor Ashoka and Spread of Buddhism." Kamat's Potpourri. N.p., 17 Apr. 2000. Web.

30 Apr. 2017.
With the third paragraph being about Asoka and how Buddhism played a big part in the

betterment of his empire, this source was very informational regarding how he adopted it

and how it spread once it experienced success.

V. Fife, Steven. "Augustus' Political, Social, & Moral Reforms." Ancient History

Encyclopedia. N.p., 8 Jan. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

This source was huge because Augustus was covered but not to the extent necessary to

write about, so the additional information was much needed to have a decent second body

paragraph.
VI. Randelia, Friya. "Zoroastrianism: Cyrus the Great and His Cylinder." ZAGNY. N.p., 09

Oct. 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

Like the previous source used for Cyrus the Great, it was huge in that Zoroastrianism is a

bit of a hard to reach religion in terms of relating to the subject. However I found some

examples from this source that I used to further my point in the essay.
i I."Constantine the Great Quotes." Iz Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

ii IV.Fife, Steven. "Augustus' Political, Social, & Moral Reforms." Ancient History Encyclopedia. N.p.,
8 Jan. 2012. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.

iii III."Cyrus the Great and Religious Tolerance." Tavaana. N.p., n.d. Web. 30 Apr. 2017.