Monday
Religion
Government and religion were linked
Many of the gods came from some aspect of the Greek Gods
Among the most important Roman gods and goddesses: Jupiter, Juno, Minerva, Neptune, Venus
Worship of the emperor also became part of the official religion of Rome
The Rise of Christianity
Roman gods were very impersonal and was practiced with very little emotion
Rome took over the Jewish land of Israel around 63 BCE which introduced Christianity to the Roman Empire
Christianity broke off from Judaism and was based on the life and teaching of Jesus as well as his death and resurrection
As Jesus traveled around preaching, many people starting following him
Why Was Christianity Attractive to People?
Embraced all people-men and women, enslaved persons, the poor, and nobles
Gave hope to the powerless
Appealed to those who were repelled by the extravagances of imperial Rome
Offered a personal relationship with a loving God
Promised eternal life after death
Paul, and apostle, stressed that Jesus was the son of God who died for people’s sins
An apostle was a Christian teacher or missionary
He sleo declared that Christianity should welcome all converts, Jew or Gentile (non-Jew)
Rome’s Reaction
Rome persecuted Christians as they did not worship the Roman gods
Many were crucified, burned or killed by wild animals in arenas
Roman Emperor Constantine named Christianity one of the Roman Empires religions in 313 AD after winning a battle where he believed the Christian God intervened
In 380 AD, Roman Emperor Theodosius made Christianity the empire’s official religion
Early Christian Issues
As time went on, there were growing disagreements between Christians in regards to beliefs
The New Testament was added to the Hebrew Old Testament to make the Christian bible which helped unify Christians
Included the four Gospels as well as the Epistles of Paul among other documents
The Nicene Creed
In 325 AD, Constantine further unified the teachings of Christianity
In Nicea, Church leaders wrote the Nicene Creed, which defined the basic beliefs of the Church
The Fall of the Roman Empire
Historians generally agree that the end of the reign of the emperor Marcus Aurelius marked the end of two centuries of peace and prosperity and the Roman Empire
Three Main Causes for the Fall of Rome
Internal problems and conflicts
Separation of the Roman Empire into East and West
Outside invasions
Diocletian Splits the Empire
Diocletian was a strong ruler that brought law and order back to the Empire
He believed that the empire had grown too large and too complex for one ruler
He divided the empire into two
Greek-speaking East- Byzantine Empire
Latin-speaking West
He took the eastern half for himself and appointed a co-ruler for the West
Constantine
Constantine took control of the western part of the Roman Empire in 312 AD and also took control of the Eastern part in 324 AD
United the empire during his reign and moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium changing the name of the city to Constantinople
Huge walls were built around Constantinople to protect it from barbarians
After his death the empire was split in two again
Today the city is known as Istanbul
The Byzantine Empire would last until 1453 when the Ottoman Turks took the area over
Tuesday
Germanic Invasions
Seen as barbarians
Germanic tribes moved into the Roman Empire due to the Huns moving into their territory around 370 AD
The Germanic tribes attacked and took over areas all throughout the empire and eventually sacked Rome itself in 410 AD
The Huns
In 370 AD, the Huns moved into Europe from Central Asia and battled the Germanic tribes
In 444 AD under Attila the Huns invaded both parts of the Roman Empire
The Huns attacked over 70 cities
Couldn't get past walls of Constantinople
Invaded Rome in 452 AD but failed
Attila the Hun died in 453 AD and so did the Hun’s power
Fall of the Western Roman Empire
Political
Political office seen as burden not reward
Military interference in politics
Division of empire
Moving of capital to Byzantium
Social
Decline in interest in public affairs
Low confidence in empire
Disloyalty lack of patriotism corruption
Contrast between rich and poor
Decline in population due to disease and food shortage
Economic
Poor harvests
Disruption of trade
No more war plunder
Gold and silver drain
Inflation
Crushing tax burden
Military
Threat from northern European tribes
Low funds for defense
The Last Roman Emperor and the End
The last Western Roman emperor was Romulus Augustulus, a 14 year old
He was ousted by German forces in 476 AD and Rome fell
The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine) continued and flourished until the Ottoman Turks took them over in 1453
After Rome fell, Europe fell into the Dark Ages from around 500-1500 AD
Wednesday
The Middle Ages lasted roughly 500 AD-15000 AD
The term medieval simply means “of or relating to the Middle Ages”
The Dark Ages
Magyars and Viking raided western European church monasteries and destroyed many of these centers of learning
Europe was thrown backwards in time where science, culture, and learning were not focused on as much as they had been with Ancient Rome and Greece
What happened to Europe after the fall of the Roman Empire?
In the East, the Byzantine Empire became a center for trade and Greco-Roman culture
In the West, Europe grew weak and fell into the Middle Ages from 500 to 1500
When Germanic barbarian tribes conquered Rome, Europe was plagued by constant warfare
Warfare disrupted trade, destroyed Europe's cities and forced people to rural areas
Learning declined few people could read or write
Greco-Roman culture was forgotten
Europe lost a common language; Latin mixed with local languages to form Spanish, French, Italian
The Invasions and fall of the Roman Empire caused the following problems in Europe:
Disruption of Trade
Centralized Roman authority broke down with it went the protection of trade
Without Roman power and protection, roads and trade routes were no longer safe
Without trade and commerce, the economy tanked
Money became scarce
Downfall of Cities
With the disruption of trade, cities were no longer the vital economic centers they once were
With the breakdown of central Roman authority, cities were no longer needed as center of government
People moved to the countryside
London, Paris, Rome, Florence, Milan, among others were still around
Population Shifts
With the cities no longer the important places they once were, people started migrating to the country
This was so they could have food
Decline of Learning
The Germanic “barbarians” could not read or write
The Germanic languages started becoming important, but they lacked a writing system
Important info was all in Latin or Greek
The Science and philosophy of ancients Greece/Rome got ignored/lost as the Germanic people didn’t have much use for it
Church leaders were the only people that remained educated
Loss of a common Language
Loss of Latin language and formed into a different languages like spanish and french and Portuguese
As the Roman Empire was divided among the differed Germanic tribes, the Latin language started evolving differently in the different regions
These dialects became the Romance languages
The changes came partly from the separation among the people
Decline of Infrastructure
All the great public works fell into disrepair: the aqueducts, the public baths, libraries, arenas
The Germanic leaders didn’t see the need to maintain them or spend money to do so
It didn’t help that these things were mainly located in cities, which people were leaving
Germanic Tribes
Unlike the Roman Empire, the Germanic tribes focused on family ties and personal loyalty to unify society
Every Germanic chief led a band of warriors who had pledged their loyalty to him
In peacetime these followers lived in their lord’s hall and were provided food, weapons, and treasure by their chief
Extreme loyalty
In battle, warriors fought to the death at their lord’s side and considered it a disgrace to outlive him
Germanic warriors felt no obligation to obey a king they did not even know that lived far away
The Germanic stress on personal ties made it impossible to establish orderly government for large territories
The church
The Roman Catholic Church was the one centralized institution that remained from the Roman Empire
It was also the only literate one
Since literacy was necessary for the practice of the religion, the clergy was able to read
Provided some stability in the chaos of the Dark Ages
Thursday
The Spread of Christianity in medieval Europe
Colvis brought Christianity to the Germanic Franks in Goal (modern day France)
His wife was Christian and during a battle which the Franks were losing, Clovis prayed to the Christian God and ended up winning the battle
Clovis and his warriors all converted from paganism to Christianity after that
Started to unify France
Pope Gregory I (the great)
Pope from 590 to 604 AD
Expanded the Pope’s role to not just spiritual but also secular (worldly, non-religious)
Became increasingly involved in government
Gregory used church revenues to raise armies, repair roads, and help the poor
He also negotiated peace treaties with invades such as the Lombards
Popes vs. Kings
The idea of churchly kingdom ruled by a pope, would be a central theme of the Middle Ages
The Franks
Charles martel “The Hammer”
Ruling like the king
He expanded France
Martel’s main accomplishment was at the Battle of Tours in 732 where he defeated the Muslims
Pepin the Short
He became the 1st king of The Carolingian Empire
He asked the Pope who he thought should be king
People also voted for him to be King
Unified France into The Carolingian Empire
Charlemagne (Charles the Great)
Proceeded to conquer the east and south, taking on Germanic tribes in Europe and Muslim forces in spain
Came to the aid of Pope Leo III
Pope Leo III crowned him Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
Lasted a long time
Most of Europe
France, Germany, part of Italy
Called it this because put the Pope from Rome in power
Pope is the one who crowned the emperor
Treaty of Verdun
Split the empire into three kingdoms
The empire lost power and a new form of governing and landholding can about feudalism
Friday
Feudalism
Was the political, social and economic system of Europe during the Middle Ages Feudalism began in Europe as a way to offer protection to people
It is based on land and in return, loyalty
Land-owning lords offer land (fief) to knights in exchange for their loyalty and promise to protect the lord’s land
Parceling Out the Land
The king took 20%
The church took 25%
NOBLES/LORDS/BARONS took 50% of the land
Knights took 5% of the land
The serfs worked the land
Lords and kings built castles to protect their territory from outside invasions
Moat
Murder hole
Bent entrance Spiral staircase Arrowslits talus
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