What or who I am

                       ACTIVITY :  "WHAT / WHO AM I?" 2º ESO

PURPOSE : the purpose of the activity is the pupils guess a historical person, event, etcetera,...  through their questions and our answers. We will select one of them and he must ask you to find the correct solution. At least, he must ask three questions before his answer.

We can help them if it´s possible.

1. THEODOSIUS I  (347 –  395)

- He was Roman Emperor from AD 379 to AD 395.

- He was born in Coca, modern Spain.

- He divided the Roman Empire in the year 395.

- His youngest son Honorius was the emperor of the Western Roman Emperor

- His other son, Arcadius, was the emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.

2. JUSTINIAN  I (482 – 565)

- He was the emperor of the Byzantine Empire during 38 years.

- He was called the Great in spite of he was never on a field of battle.

- He lived in Constantinople with her wife, the empress Theodora.

- During her reign some of the territories of the former Western Roman Empire were reconquered.

- He had to face a popular rebellion against him.

3. HAGIA SOPHIA

- It was a Greek Orthodox Christian patriarchal basilica (church), later an imperial mosque, and now a museum in Istanbul (historically Constantinople).

-  From the date of its construction in 537 AD, and until 1453, it served as a Cathedral.

- Emperor Justinian ordered the construction of this building.

- Famous in particular for its massive dome, it is considered the epitome of Byzantine architecture and is said to have "changed the history of architecture".

- The original cupola collapsed entirely after the quake of 558; in 563 a new dome was built.

- In 1453, Constantinople was conquered by the Ottoman Empire and Hagia Sophia was converted into a mosque.

-  It remained a mosque until 1931, when it was closed to the public for four years. It was re-opened in 1935 as a museum by the Republic of Turkey.

4. PIPPIN THE SHORT (714 – 768)

- He was the son of the Frankish prince Charles Martel.

-  Succeeding his father as the Mayor of the Palace in 741 and he proclaimed King of the Franks ten years later.

- He was called the Short because of his stature (one metre and thirty-seven centimeters).

- Pippin also intervened in favour of the Papacy in Italy. He was able to secure several cities, which he then gave to the Pope as part of the Donation of Pepin. This formed the legal basis for the Papal States in the Middle Ages.

- Pepin died in 768 and was succeeded by his son Charlemagne.  Although unquestionably one of the most powerful and successful rulers of his time, Pepin's reign is largely overshadowed by that of his more famous son.

5. CHARLEMAGNE OR CHARLES THE GREAT (742 – 814)

- His grandfather was Charles Martel and his father, Pippin the Short.

- He was King of the Franks in 768 and he was crowned Emperor of the Romans by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day in 800.

- The expanded Frankish state which Charlemagne founded was called the Carolingian Empire (in his honour).

- He knew neither to read nor to write.

- The capital of his empire was Aachen (modern Germany) and he ordered to built a palace there.

- He suffered great leg pains because a long illness.

6. AACHEN

- Aachen, in Germany, was the capital of the Carolingian Empire.

- Charles the Great built his palace there.

- Aachen was easy to reach because it was on the River Rhine and had a Roman road.

- Charles the Great was buried there.

- Its name in Spanish is Aquisgran.  

7. MUHAMMAD   (570 – 632)

- Muhammad was the founder of Islam

- He was an orphan and he was raised by his grandfather.  

- He was a merchant from Mecca. He learned about two monotheistic religions,Judaism and Christianity.

- Muhammad heard the call of God (the Archangel Gabriel) and preached a new religion, Islam, in the name of Allah, the only God.

- At first, he was considered a danger to society. So, he moved to Medina in 622 (the Hegira).

- Finally, he formed a powerful army and conquered Mecca. From there, Islam spread throughout Arabia.

8. MECCA

- This city is in the Arabian peninsula.

- Mecca is the holy city for Muslims.

- The Kaaba, the most sacred site in Islam where the Black Stone is kept, is in Mecca.

- Muhammad , the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca.

- One of the Five Pillars of Islam requires every Muslim who is able to do so to perform the pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their lifetime.

9. KORAN

- The Koran is the sacred book of the Muslims.

- The Koran contains Allah´s words to Muhammad and the prophet´s teachings.

- It has 114 chapters called "suras", written in Arabic.

- The Koran contains the five obligations of all Muslim believers, which are called the pillars of Islam.