" Those who belonged to the faith believed that they would be resurrected after death and judged on their lifelong deeds. Zoroastrianism existed in Iran by the time Medes and Persians were established. They both treated it and received it as a long-established faith, with its doctrines and observances already defined and a canon of works in the Avestan tongue. There is no evidence that the literature was written down at this

The French in particular, as they are to this day considered to be one of the greatest losers of the war (and the most important battle field of the war) were in desperate need of men to reconstruct the country. Therefore, the immigration policies changed and allowed for an increase in the labor force flow. More precisely, "due to a perceived demographic insufficiency and labor market needs, the French government

Religions and Development It is popularly believed that countries, where religion has major influence in governance, tend to develop slower than those where religious beliefs are not a main influence or consideration. This statement uses the cases of poor and traditionally colonized Christian countries in Southeast Asia, like the Philippines; Russia; and the African countries to support the claim. The four major monotheistic religions in the world all tend to bar changes

Shia-Sunni Split Many religions have different denominations and Islam is not an exception in this regard. The two primary denominations of Islam are Sunni Islam and Shia Islam. The majority of Muslims across the globe are Sunni, estimated to be roughly 85% to 90% of the Muslim population. The remaining smaller number of Muslims, say about 15%, are Shia. Further demarcations indicate that most Shias belong to the tradition known as

Architecture through the Ages Mesopotamia Construction in ancient times is second only to agriculture-it reaches back as far as the Stone Age and possibly further (Jackson 4). Before the existence of master builders in design and construction the Code of Hammurabi (1795-1750 B.C.) referred to design and construction as a simple process (Beard, Loulakis and Wundrum (13). Hammurabi was the ruler of Babylon, the world's first metropolis and he codified his

Pope Urban II and the First Crusade Pope Urban II and his influence in developing and promoting the First Crusade in the 11th century Christianity during the Middle Ages has been characterized by numerous conflicts that focus on the struggle for religious and political dominance, particularly in Europe and other Western societies. Of particular interest in the study of the history of the Christian religion are the events that surround European civilization