In December 1770 Ludwig van Beethoven was born in Bonn at Bonngasse 20 and baptized with the name of his famous grandfather - a successful musician from Flemish Belgium - and he was given this name in hopes to surpass his famous ancestor. Recognizing he had a prodigy his hands, Ludwigs father Johan van Beethoven tried to present his talented son at his first show at the age of 7. His father pushed him hard and would wake him in the middle of the night to practice his music. By the age of 16 Beethoven was employed as court organist in Bonn by the brother of Emperor Josef of Vienna. The same year he visited Vienna, met Mozart and returned home shortly before his mother died. His father become an alcoholic and forced to retire from his job in service of the Court. Ludwig was forced into adulthood, making real money and had to take care of his two younger brothers. In 1792 at the age of 21 Beethoven arrives in Vienna - the cultural capital - a city overflowing with music in hopes to expand his future. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart had died just the year before and the great composer Haydn was ageing - destiny had prepared a place for Beethoven. Music is everywhere - and in less than a year he creates a big name for himself. Beethoven catches the attention of the famous composer Haydn who is amazed at the young talent who arrived from Bonn and begins studying with him.

One of the most important things for Beethoven was making contact with the aristocrats - who hosted concerts in their palaces on a weekly basis. They would meet regularly and host the best musicians of the town. He would seek sponsors who would let him make music the way he wanted rather than what was expected of him. Aristocratic patrons such as Joseph Franz von Lobkowitz around the same age as Beethoven would seek fun in their palaces and inviting a wild child like Beethoven made life exciting. These patrons were critical for Beethovens finances. However by his mid 20s Beethoven noticed his hearing was disappearing. He had to site closer and closer to the stage to hear the notes and music. This began with the high frequency notes such as piccolos, flutes and top of the violin while maintaining the lower frequencies. This would distort what he was hearing. He became isolated from conversations and began avoiding people. Losing hearing, the one important element of his senses was the cruelest form of torture. This is when he wrote his famous Moonlight Sonata as the music reflected his own mortality. The ideas came faster to him than he could digest them - he changed the course of music. He stood between 2 generations - one foot firmly ground in Mozart / enlightenment and Goethe. His other part was a member of romanticism - he transformed music from enlightenment into romanticism.

The future French Revolutionary Jean-Paul Marat left home at the age of 16 to train in medicine and would eventually settle in Newcastle upon Tyne where he gained a reputation as being a highly efficient doctor who also had an interest in political writings. He moved back France 6 years later and his medical skills earned him the patronage of the aristocracy. He used his new found wealth to found a scientific laboratory where he began studies on fire, heat, light and electricity - he was even visited by Benjamin Franklin. Despite his new status and success, he began so spend a lot of time discussing and writing about social injustice.

As Louis XVI struggled to maintain power in the late 1780s by assembling the Estates-General for the first time in 175 years, Marat decided to end his research and medical profession to focus entirely on his passion for politics. He began writing on the topics of social, economic and religious reforms - this manifested itself in numerous vicious attacks on those he proclaimed were enemies of the people. His newspaper called for extreme violence against the upper class and government provoking statements such as five or six hundred heads cut off would have assured your repose, freedom and happiness. After reaching fame, He was elected to the National Convention in 1792 where he actively supported the death of the deposed King in a trial.

The Crusader States (also known as Outremer) were created after the First Crusade (1095-1102) as a way to keep hold of territorial gains by Christian armies in the Middle East. Crusader castles were built all over Outremer to serve not only as defensive structures, but also as administrative and economic centers designed to last for many years to come. The four small Outremer states were the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the County of Edessa, the Country of Tripoli and the Principality of Antioch. This analysis focuses on the former Phoenician and later Roman colony of Sidon / Saida which remained in Arab hands until 1110 when King Baldwin I of Jerusalem and King Sigured I of Norway captured it. The city was then re-captured by the masterful Saladin in 1187, only to be re-taken by German Crusaders in 1197. It remained a key Crusader stronghold until the Saracen invasion of 1249 when it was destroyed - this series of exchanges presented the backdrop for the ill-fated 7th Crusade.

The 7th Crusade was led by Louis IX of France from 1248 to 1254. Jerusalem had recently fallen and there was no popular enthusiasm at the time for a new crsusade, as Europe was involved in many internal conflicts. Bela IV of Hungary was rebuilding his kingdom from ashes after the devastating Mongol invasion of Europe. Henry III of England was struggling at home and Haakon IV of Norway was in the midst of a civil war. Louis IX was almost alone in declaring a new crusade to the east and in 1248 sailed from Aigues-Mortes and Marseilles with an army of 15,000. They sailed for Cyprus but Louis decided to focus first on attacking Egypt. While marching towards Cairo, Louis' main force was attacked by Mameluk Baibars and defeated. In 1250 while attempting to return to a safer location, Louis himself was captured and taken prisoner after his army was annihilated. He was ransomed for 800,000 bezants after which he fled to Acre, one of the safest crusader strongholds in Outremer. The French King re-enforced local defenses and moved north to Sidon.