History Commons^™

Life At The Meridian: The Subjectivity Of Ethics In The Works Of Albert Camus And Friedrich Nietzsche, Clancy E. Robledo

Seaver College Research And Scholarly Achievement Symposium

This paper endeavors to respond to the questions: can ethics can be unbound from its traditional rootedness in religious systems? If so, what contributions did Nietzsche make to liberate value from the shackles of Western morality? To what degree is Camus one of the “new philosophers” Nietzsche calls for in On the Genealogy of Morals?

In an attempt to demonstrate that ethics can and do exist vividly in the realm of the non-religious, this paper will begin by illustrating the metaphysical door Nietzsche opens through his use of aphorisms in Thus Spoke Zarathustra and his investigation of the history …

A Period Of Transition: Early Islamic And Umayyad Coinage, Anna Tiner

Featured Research

A study of four coins from 620 to 680 AD provides a meager yet insightful glimpse into the coinage minted by Islamic rulers during their conquest over the Holy Land and the transition of rule from the Byzantine Empire to the Islamic Caliphate. With the help of an innovative technology called Reflective Transference Image (RTI), on loan from USC, I created high-resolution images that can be adjusted with respect to light and reflectivity. Creating RTI images of the coins administers a deeper alternate perspective giving light to aspects of the coin that cannot be seen by the naked eye. Using …

Atatürk's Balancing Act: The Role Of Secularism In Turkey, Patrick G. Rear

Global Tides

The intersection of religion and politics in the form of a civil religion has been present since time immemorial. This paper looks specifically to the relationship between Turkey’s development of a secular civil religion after gaining independence and the advancing of women’s rights and democratic values. In examining the intersections of state and religion in a secular Islamic society, it draws parallels to the French civil religion as it came to be following the French Revolution. Though Atatürk and other secularists were strong forces in developing the civil religion, the paper also examines liberal democratic and conservative Islamic groups in …

Herod The Great's Message Through Year 3 Coin, Elizabeth Chau

Featured Research

King Herod the Great was a half Jewish client king who struggled with appeasing Roman rulers and yet avoiding conflict with the Jews. In the investigation of a coin from year 3 of King Herod’s reign I have found that Herod was aware of Jewish customs and respected their customs through the lack of Pagan symbols. Additionally, the Greek lettering and the symbolism on the coin illustrates Herod’s Hellenistic reign. In my observations of the coin King Herod’s Hellenistic reign was characterized by his great value of power and yet respect of Jewish culture while at the same time pleasing …

Ancient Marcus Aurelius Coin, Tawni Gurney, Andrew Hirsch

Featured Research

Upon glancing at coins, people generally overlook their historical aspect of the coins and simply look at their monetary value. In our seminar class, however, we were interested in so much more than money when it came to studying our particular coin. We wanted to know what this particular coin could tell us about the history of the time when it was minted. We deciphered what was on the coin and researched the significance of each aspect. We also studied similar coins to confirm our interpretations. We compared the writings on the coins and the images themselves. Additionally, we photographed …

Judea Captured, Jessica Baity, Jimmy Yang

Featured Research

This coin is a part of the “Judea Captured” collection minted in Caesarea. Through thorough imaging and the decoding of Greek inscriptions we believe that we can prove the significance of the coin in correlation to the First Jewish War in battle against the Romans. We believe that it celebrates the victory of the Romans during the First Jewish War (66 – 69 AD) , under the Emperor Vespasian (68 – 79 AD). But the question does arise about the significance of certain symbols; especially the palm tree and crown made of palm leaves and how they relate to the …

Coinage During The Bar Kochba Rebellion, Jonathan Allen, Robbie Robles

Featured Research

This is a coin that Jews used during the Bar Kochba Rebellion, The dates of the
Bar Kochba are from 132-135 A.D. The rebellion was started in response to the
rule of Emperor Hadrian, who was insensitive to Jewish Traditions and started
banning Jewish religious practices. In response, Jews began minting their own
coins to honor their religious rituals and the leaders of the rebellion.

Late Hasmonean Coinage: A Snapshot Of Alexander Jannaeus's Rule, Timothy Schaefer, Christopher Huang

Featured Research

Like other late Hasmonean rulers, Alexander walked the line between outright Hellenization and traditional Judaism. He did this to please other powerful rulers while keeping his power over his domestic people. We can see this clash of Hebrew and Greek influences in his coinage.

The Use Of Propaganda On An Augustan Denarius, Jens Ibsen, Melissa Miller

Featured Research

This coin is a silver denarius minted in Lugdunum (now Lyon), most likely under the reign of Augustus, the first emperor of Rome. There are factors which point to a possibility of the coin being a restitution issue minted under either Trajan or Hadrian, such as its pristine condition, which implies a lack of use, and the similarity of symbols employed on this denarius and denarii of Trajan’s era. The coin is a prime example of Augustus’ use of propaganda inserted into Roman daily life to sell the idea of empire to a Roman people who ardently defended a long-standing …

History Through A Coin: Valerian, Dido, And The Founding Of Carthage, Jack Miller, Brittany Piwowar

Featured Research

The coin dating from 270 AD depicts on its obverse side the Roman Emperor Valerian, the first Emperor to be captured as a prisoner of war. On the reverse side is a unique scene of the goddess Dido sacrificing at the Temple of Hercules before setting off to found Carthage from Tyre, the city in which the coin was minted. Like all individually minted coins, this piece is very unique and may be a re-strike of a previously issued coin.

Scholarship, Pepperdine University, And The Legacy Of Churches Of Christ, Richard T. Hughes, Thomas H. Olbricht

Center for Faith and Learning Publications

We hope that this small book will help Pepperdine faculty and staff members understand more about the specific Christian tradition to which Pepperdine is related-the Churches of Christ-and how that tradition can fruitfully interact with and even sustain the task of Christian higher education in the context of this institution.