Michael Baizerman Author

  I have uploaded the first part of my new article, The Fall of New Rome, https://www.academia.edu/127661416/The_Fall_of_New_Rome_Part_1 The paper discusses why the Fourth Crusade (1203-1204) chose Venice as its embarkation point. It also explores the factors that led to the signing of the Treaty of Venice in 1201 and examines the significant gap between the intentions expressed in the pact and the actual execution of those plans.  I have designed two additional parts that will be uploaded later.   In addition, I have retrieved an updated version of Chapter Two of "The Enchanting Encounter with the East." https://www.academia.edu/127881027/How_to_measure_the_Earths_circumference  This article compares the estimations of the Earth's circumference made by Greek, Arab, and European scholars, setting the "mean" value of ancient measurements to facilitate their conversion to modern equivalents. This paper has drawn the interest of many scholars, some of whom partici...

I have completed the second chapter of my book. This section tells about different approaches to the issue of estimating the Earth's circumference. You can read the first page where I explain how I picked up the medium for the estimation.   If the earth is a globe, its circumference can be roughly determined. The two giants of the ancient world endeavored to carry out this tremendous task. Both of them estimated the angle of elevation of heavenly bodies above the horizon at distant points presumably located on the same meridian in order to reach the measure of one degree. They also assessed the distance between these spots by converting travel days on land (1) or at sea (2) into an accepted standard of length. The fact that each of these estimations held versions proves that the scholars were not happy with their initial scores and, being confronted with sound criticism, had to improve their performance. The degree of uncertainty only grows if we take into account the in...