Europe’s Early Middle Ages and Feudalism

Greeks, Romans fall to Huns, Goths and Vandals- 5^th century

Pain: civs break down

STRUGGLE:

3 estates

Manorial system

Charlemagne and Holy Roman Empire

Monks/ monasteries preserve knowledge/ civilizations till 12^th century

Invasion of Muslim Moors in Spain stopped by Charles the Hammer in 732 (Cordoba)

Warfare:

Christians vs. Muslims

England vs. France

France vs. Germany

Christians vs. Barbarians (aka Mongols)

Pope vs. anyone who didn’t like him

* Europe was NOT very civilized at the time—disgusting torture methods (iron maiden, etc)

RISE OF THE FRANKS

Merovingians

Became royalty b/c they claimed to be in Jesus’ lineage

Franks under Clovis- 1^st Germanic tribe to accept Christianity (496)

Carolingians

Pepin’s son Charles Martel (the Hammerer) mayor from 714-741

732- Charles defeats Muslims at Battle of Tours in Gaul; stopped advance

in West

Son was Pepin le Bref (theShort)

Ruled jointly w/ bro

747- Pipin’s brother withdrew to monastery

Married Berthe au Grand Pied (Big Foot)

Son was Charlemagne

Ruled 768-814

Pope Leo III crowned him Perator Romanorum (Emperor of

Romans) on Xmas 800 AD (Through this Europe consolidated

Power for 1^st time)

His right: promoted education, religion, built schools

Rise of Feudalism

Empire crumbled after his death b/c his kids were also immoral/illiterate

After disintegration, power lapsed into hands of landowners who’d been forces to

submit to Charles

Landowners had armies/ resources

Three estates:

1. Priests

2. Nobles

3. Peasants

*No middle class

*No movement from one place to another b/c of danger

No trade

No change—static

*Manor- place of residency for “big dog”

Byzantium

Capital- Constantinople (falls in 1453 CE)

Threatened by several empires: Islam, Abyssids, Persians

*Represent wealth and power

Ruin of Constantinople

Blues vs. Green (532 under Justinian)

Rival teams compete

Fans had different religious and political views

Justinian supported Blues

Fight between fans- riots ruin Constantinople

Justinian Code (528 CE)

Condensed from Roman Laws (down to 4652 laws)

Changes:

Rights- women, slaves, children (Theodora’s influence)

“eye for eye” penalties

Adopted for many legal systems

Justinian Reconstruction

Increased defense of city

3 walls mote

Wall on harbor

Improvements

Water system Street lights

Sewer system baths

Fire department theatres

Churches palaces

Caesoropapism- rule politically and religiously (Islamic rulers *caliphs * also absolute)

Byzantine Economy and Society

Constantinople- largest city (Europe)

Dependent- small landholders, free peasants

Theme system- reward soldiers; land grants (divide into military rule)

Decline- Free Peasantry

Large landholdings increase

Reduce tax revenues

Reduce military recruits

Decrease power

Manufacturing/Trade (almost word for word same as Islamic)

Trade routes—technology

Location—crafts, industry expand

Tax revenues from Silk Road

Banking develops

Tensions~ East and West Christianity

Ritual disputes

Theological disputes

Schism

1054- Patriarch of Constantinople and Pope of Rome excommunicate each other

East- Orthodox

West- Roman Catholic

Africa

Geography

3 Prime Regions:

North- Sahara Desert

Middle- rainforest

Southern- grasslands

Great Rift Valley- oldest human remains found: “Lucy” (1/2 billion years

old?) by Leakey

Second largest continent

10% of world’s population

2 1/2 times size of the US

Nile: 4100 miles total

Congo River Basin

7.5% of continent

10 countries

26 miles long

*Resources importantes: oil, gold, cocoa, peanut, coffee,

sisal, diamond

Civilizations: 100-1450(ish) AD

Kush, Axsum, Egypt; good boundaries

“The Horn”—Ghana, Mali, Songhay, Timbuktu

Islam civilization- N. Africa

Bantu and Great Zimbabwe

Kush

Southern Egypt- conquered during Egypts weak periods (some Pharoahs were

Kush)

S ancient Egypt

Modern day Sudan

One of earliest around Nile

Kerma (2600 BC)- one of first civs

671 BC- Assyrians invade—Kush independent again

Move to Meroe- use Red Sea instead of Nile

Decline- debatable

Kush and Nubians are the same

Trade- gold with Egypt and Axsum

Egyptian art, pyramids, iron

Axum

From Kush and Arabs

Trade with India

2^nd century CE- conquered Ethiopia

Terrace farming (expands amount of land used to farm)

Polytheistic derived from Arab religions

Ezana- believer in Axumite religion- converted to Christianity

Declared Axum Christian- 1^st in world (4^th century)

5^th century- own language: ge’ze

Lost tribe of Israel?

Ethipia- longest consecutive Christian state in world

Islam

N Africa 7 years after Muhammad’s death

Byzantine force

Strategic to have both N Africa and ME

Christians initially accepted them: ally vs. Byzantine Emperor

People had to convert

Mali

2^nd great Sahelian

750- became center of culture trade in N. Africa

Ruling families converted to Islam

Trade- gold

Location: upper Niger River

Founder- Soundjana (magician, influential in African culture)

Cultivation- cotton

Madrasas- Islamic Universities

Timbuktu- major Islamic center of Sub-Saharan Africa

Songhai

Important when Mali collapsed

Sonni Ali (1462-1492 rule)

Conquered Timbuktu, Mali

Trade gold and salt, fight for county

Askia Muhammad Tourec (1492-1528) continues Ali’s expansion

Centralized gov’t, bureaucracy

Standardized weights, measures, currencies

Largest empire in African history

97% of people followed traditional religions

Decline- too much land to control, people rebel

Morocco rebels: takes control of gold mines

Defeat Songhay- 1591

1612- falls to anarchy

Timbuktu

Largest city in W. Africa

Central trading region for Horn/ anything S of Sahara

Great Zimbabwe

No written language/ oral traditions

Present day Zimbabwe

Religious center

Nwari: creator of life, sustainor

Disappeared- lost civilization

Ghana

S of Sahara

Muslim Empire brought trade from Med. Economy in 7^th and 8^th centuries

Brought Islam

Holy war- Muslims convert and kill

Empire decline

Mantamussu

Bantu

Spread iron making through Sub-Saharan Africa

Migrate south all over

*Sundiata- Lion King

*Coptic (don’t believe in Trinity) Christians in Ethiopia

*Ethiopia also older continually Christian state in world

*Tuaregs

*Salt and gold trade (Berbers) through Timbuktu

Latin American (South American) Civilizations

Inca- South America

Maya- Yucatan

Aztecs- Mexico City

Things Ya Gotta Know!!

Aztecs:

Location- Mexico City

Best time period: 1100 (existed 200-1520)

Class system- emperor

Terrace farming

Most war-like of South American tribes

Calendar

Economic- trade/ farm

Irrigation system

Inca

Peru, Chile

Class system

No writing system

Farmers: potato, pepper, corn

Road system, bridges *****

Calendar

Maya

Same as others, but BEST CALENDAR

More China

Ch’in (221-206 BCE)—China’s 1^st empire

Centralized Chinese gov’t

Legalist gov’t—way of life, philosophical

** built majority of Great Wall of China

Advantages:

Brought order

Better agriculture

Unified money and measurement systems

Canal systems

(both help with trade)

Disadvantages

Brutal

Censored what they didn’t agree with

Killed old scholars (about 450 Confucian) for disagreeing w/ legalist ways

Broke when emperor died (105 BC)

Han (206 BCE- 220 AD)

Invented paper (105 BC)

Buddhism introduced to China

Emperor Wudi

Started public schools

Colonized Manchuria, Korea, and Vietnam

Civil Service System

Bureaucrats

Confucian scholar

220AD- 530AD—China falls apart

*Classical era

Confucian-based society

Imperial China: Qin to Ming Dynasties

*Era of division years- Sui-Tang

Times of trouble:

Warlords divide form central gov’t (feudal states)

Non- Chinese religion shows up

Loss of imperial centralization

Loss of dominance of scholar- gentry in favor of militarized gov’t

Sui Dynasty (580’s-618 AD)

Land equalization system- land distribution

Unified coinage

Grand Canal- connects Hwoang Ho, Yangtze, and Pac Ocean to capital

Army of pro soldiers

*People are overworked, overtaxed, and angry

*Almost reoccurrence of Chi’in

Tang (618-907 AD)

Imperial examination system perfected

Liberal attitude towards all religions

Spread Buddhism

Golden Age of foreign relations- Japan, Korea, Persia

Increased boundaries and size of China

Heavy dependence on Militarism

*were organized!

Technologies

Printing- moveable print gunpowder

Porcelain mechanical clocks

More cosmopolitan culture

Reestablished safety of Silk Road ****

Tea comes <- Southwest Asia

Empress Wu Zetian (624- 705 AD) ***

¡Only female empress who ruled alone!

New irrigation systems

Buddhism is favored state of religion—financed building of temples

Appointed cruel/ sadistic ministers to seek out enemies

Foot bonding

3 years old- break toes

Way to oppress women- slaves couldn’t run

Also sign of beauty- custom for upper class

DECLINE

Land systems, canal, irrigation systems break down

Nomadic attacks

751- loss to Arabs @ Talas

Xuangzang- Empress Wu’s grandson

Northern Sung (960-1126)

Southern Sung (1126- 1279)

Splintered by:

Heavy dependence on growth of civilian gov’t at expense of military

Invasion of MONGOLS

Song/Sung Dynasty (960- 1279)

Creation of urban, merchant, middle class

Increased emphasis on education and cheaper availability of printed books

Magnetic compass- makes great sea power

More Islam- quick review

Founder- Muhammad Ibn (son of) Adballah

Born- 571 AD in Mecca, Arabia

Descendent of Abraham

“Prophet, messenger”

Holy Book- Quran, derived from word “read”

Arabian Peninsula

Nomads

Mecca= biggest city

Christians, Jews

Trading cities (due to Silk Road)

Ummayah Dynasty (661-750)

Spread- W. Europe blocked in France by Charles Martial, 732

Arabinization of Empire

Abbassides (750- 1258)

Capital- Baghdad

Lighted streets, public baths, libraries, hospitals everywhere

RIVALS:

Persians and Samanid dynasty

Egyptians and Shi’ite caliphate ruled by Fatimid family (909-1171)

Rise and Fall (almost same as Rome)

Controlled territory from Spain to India

Trouble governing large space and constant threat of attack in ME

Crusades

Islam Spreads to N. Africa

Berber States- desert nomads/ great warriors—Morocco, Tunisia

Used to conquer Mali and Ghana (gold, iron, slave trade)

Islamic power helps united states and give set of trade routes

Timbuktu and Mansa Musa (1312-1337) are most powerful of area kingdoms

Islam and Turks

Called Mamluks

Warriors on horseback

Converted to Islam- 1200

Seljuk Turks- captured Baghdad, eventually most of Asia minor

Fought against European Crusaders

* Saladin (1137- 1193)

Greatest Muslim general Seljuk Warrior

Conquer Byzantine, Central Asia, Baghdad, Arabian Peninsula

Seljuks create new empire—Ottoman Empire

Muslims of time period

Dedicated to quest5 for knowledge and scientific innovation in multi-ethnic and

multi faith society

Induced later European renaissance

Tolerant, inclusive, and knowledgeable- advocate Islamic

Faith was the culture that helped feed knowledge growth

Initially, massive translation of Greek and Indian writings

Preserved all literary and scientific works and transmitted them to Europe

Medicine and Pharmacy

Hospitals- mobile hospitals for emergencies, patient records

Surgery- Opium and Hashish for Anesthesia

Autopsy- students training (anatomy)

Mathematicians

Invent 0, algebra, p (actually from India, according to past notes…)

Astronomy

Movement, path, locations of planets and stars

Earth is round, rotates around sun

Literature

“Arabian Nights”, “Travels” by Ibn Batuta

Trade Routes

Europe

N Europe trade w/ N Europe (Vikings)

Hanseatic League

Italy- Italian city-states compete for trade w/ Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Timbuktu and

Byzantine Empire and Hanseatic League—crossroads for anything into/ out of

Europe

Middle East

Itself- Egypt- Ethiopia- China (crossroads)

Muslims controlled and linked Spain to N. Africa to Arabian Peninsula to N.

India (trade slaves)

Russia and Central Asia

Volga River south to Caspian Sea

China

Porcelain

Silk Road to Middle East and trading w/ Japan

India

Spice

Africa

gold