For World History to 1500

This would not have possible without you.

Thank you

I'd like to think that there's some kind of afterlife where tons of important leaders could meet after they died.

There would be no communication barriers. They could talk about how they led their empires and cities, and even how they died!

Let's see what happens when we throw four, very different men into this afterlife!

This is Darius I. He was the fourth king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. He was the kind of guy that really wanted people to know how powerful he was. During his reign, he had at least two large palace cities (Persepolis and Susa) built, along with rather large public works, such as roads and canals.

The second to arrive here was Pericles, an Athenian statesman. He became a leader during the Peloponnesian War. When the war was finally over, he started a building program. It focused on the construction of Acropolis. This thing was awesome! It was even topped off with a golden statue of Athena.

The newest guest in this afterlife was the first emperor of China, and a very extravagant man. His name is Qin Shihuangdi. He was, what many might call, a megalomaniac...completely obsessed with his own power! Everything this guy built was over the top. He built things to commemorate himself, but also began work on the Great Wall of China and the Grand Canal.

Shihuangdi had something to say...

He went off on a tangent about his immaculate death, though it was mostly a description of the incredible Mausoleum he was buried in. Within the mound, were thousands of life-size terracotta soldiers, as well as bronze chariots, weapons, and terracotta horses. It sounded extraordinary...but excessive.

Darius wasn't overly pleased with Shihuangdi's little speech. I'm still not certain he wasn't jealous of Qin! He was a big fan of people being aware of his power after all.

"A eunuch guarded my tomb for seven whole years before I died, and my entire auto-biography was engraved on it!" This was Darius' pitiful attempt at one-upping the Chinese Emperor.