Opinions of Saturday, 15 October 2011

Columnist: The Emperor

The Secret To Building A Great Nation

I have been wandering in and out the doors of history of late. Of course, in pursuit of knowledge. My steps began from the ancient Babylonia Empire, and for a very good reason! According to historians, Babylon was the first empire to be created here on Earth. The empire was situated in central-southern Mesopotamia. Present-day Iraq, to be more exact. Babylon was its capital! The empire was ruled by dynasties. Hammurabi was the empire's first dynasty king! He inherited the power from his father, Sin-Muballit — in 1792 BC. Thus, making him the sixth King of the Babylonia Empire. Hammurabi was known as the lawgiver! He created the Code Of Hammurabi — a new code of Babylonian law. The code of laws was written in Akkadian, the daily language of Babylon. During his reign, the empire was relatively peaceful. At least, the first few decades were. The later decades saw the empire tightening up its defence. Numerous wars were fought! Now, whether by luck, or by fate designed — each one of these wars saw the King victorious. As a result, new territories were won. This resulted in the further expansion of the empire!

In 1750 BC, Hammurabi fell victim to an ailment and died. He was succeeded by his son — Samsu-iluna. Centuries later, the Babylonia Empire fell to the might of the Kassites. Babylon's fall from grace gave rise to the Persian Empire — the Achaemenid Empire. Under Cyrus the Great, the Persians went to conquer the Asia minor and some northern African countries, including Egypt and Libya. At the height of its power, the empire spanned three continents. Namely — Africa, Asia and Europe. The Persian Empire — under its various monarchs — became the greatest empire that world had ever seen. In 334 BC, Alexander the Great invaded Persia. Thus, bringing the reign of the Persians to an end. Cyrus the Great was already dead and gone! Now, in terms of conquest — Alexander was in a league of his own. In fact, he greatness was earned in this. The speed at which his chariots invaded foreign lands was likened to a raging storm! The manner in which he organized his army for war was absolutely impeccable. Also, the ambition — which drove him, knew of no consequence. As consequence, Alexander has become the measure against which most generals compare themselves, even up till now.

Alexander was driven by an innate need to conquer, and conquer he did! By the age of thirty-two, Alexander III of Macedon had the whole world kneeling at his feet. Resistance had been few, and victory had been his for the taking! Evidently, the gods and goddesses of war were on his side. Hence, the victory — which became his possession relatively with ease. For a moment, Alexander was able to unite the kingdoms of the world into one vast empire. On June 11, 323 BC, Alexander died in the palace of Nebuchadnezzar II in Babylon. He was only 32 years of age! His untimely passing saw the ascension of the Roman Empire. This particular empire — together with its Christian dogma, would go on to rule the world! By the way, Christianity has its roots in Egyptian mysticism, not Judaism. I just want to clarify that! That said, no empire makes it to greatness without its people. So, what was it about the people? And, what were they like? I discovered that the people who lived in the aforementioned great empires were highly educated. For instance, the inhabitants of Babylon were very well versed in mathematics, astrology, botany and biology, amongst others.

The Persians were great entrepreneurs, architects and engineers. The Greeks were into philosophy, astrology, poetry, music and sorcery — modern-day science! The Romans inherited bits and pieces of everything. In brief, these people weren't closed-minded. No! Their minds were open to knowledge. They wanted to understand the science of things to further progress! They were worldly, daring, ambitious and had a great sense of organization. All these various attributes contributed to the greatness of their respective empires! Now, we Ghanaians are under the illusion that we’re educated because we can read and write. However, our country depicts otherwise. Mind you, the land of educated people isn't chaotic. It's well organized! Moreover, its people are open-minded, not closed-minded. Its people are into knowledge, not ignorance. Its people are ambitious, not unassuming. Its people are tolerant, not prejudiced. In short, in the land of educated people — everybody is well cared for. The educated mind understands the need for sharing and compassion! So, nobody is made to suffer. There's a sense of responsibility. The secret to building a great nation is education! But, are we Ghanaians educated enough to build a great nation? Obviously not! Look at Ghana, and ask yourself if it’s a land of educated people.

Welcome 2 the New age of Consciousness!

Source: The Emperor