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Western Civilization
Chapter 8
Early Medieval Civilization
600 - 900
Muslim Civilization
• Originated among nomads of Arabian Desert
• Arab world divided into tribes led by chiefs
named Sheiks
• Nomads or Bedouins were poor and depended
on grazing of their animals, chiefly camels
• Tribal raids common
• Rigid lifestyles and customs
• Practiced polytheism and worshipped nature
gods
• Mecca became a flourishing, cosmopolitan
city along a trade route, a Haram
• Bedouins usually went to Mecca annually to
worship at the Kaaba that contained a black
stone that was said to be from the Garden of
Eden
• Questions arose about the value of tradition
when Bedouins encountered such a worldly
city; change was the result
Kaaba
Muhammad
• Was seen as a religious prophet
• United the Arab world
• Born in Mecca in 570 A.D. and was soon an
orphan
• Raised by relatives who worked in trade
• Learned of other places and other religions
through trade contacts
• Became a business manager for a wealthy widow
at age 20
• Muhammad later married her
• Became introspective in his 30s
– Began to meditate in the arid mountains outside
of the city
– At age 40 he had a vision that said he was to be
the messenger of God
– From God’s revelations to him came the religion of
Islam
– Within a year he began preaching
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Stressed the unity of God – Allah
Stressed the evils of worshipping false gods
There was to be a judgment day
Muhammad was told that he was the last and
greatest of God’s prophets
• All revelations were written down in their holy
book called the Qur’an (Koran)
Qur’an
• Humans were to worship using prayers of
praise, seldom with prayers asking for things
• The Qur’an was to be their guide for both
their secular and religious lives
• There was a beautiful and exotic afterlife for
those who followed the Qur’an and suffering
for those who didn’t
• Islam was the name given to the faith; it
means submission to God
• Followers would be called Muslims
• Muhammad brought the Arab world a
religious vision that was not only new to the
Arabs but that also gave them a historic
mission to spread the true religion as revealed
by Allah (God)
• Besides articles of faith, there were duties
required of all believers
5 Pillars of Islam
• There is only one God, Allah, and Muhammad
is his messenger
• Pray 5 times daily facing Mecca
• Give of your wealth to the poor (zakat or
tithe)
• Fast during the month of Ramadan
• If possible, once in a lifetime make a
pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj
• There were also strict rules regarding diet and
other things:
– No pork
– No drinking or gambling
– Demanded honesty and fair play
– Have respect for others
There was no church, no clergy, no sacraments, no
images, and no statues
• Muhammad ran into trouble with the people
of Mecca when he said that those who
worshipped more than just Allah were
damned
• His followers were ostracized and persecuted
• In the meantime, Medina asked Muhammad
and his followers to come there to mediate
some dispute
• On 24 September 622, Muhammad and his
followers sneaked out of Mecca under the
cover of darkness and went to Medina
• This journey is known as the Hejira and
marked the beginning of the Islamic
movement
• He organized his followers from Mecca and
Medina into a community that went beyond
tribe or clan, called an Umma
• Muhammad was the holy man and his family was
now his Umma
• When his control of Medina was certain, he went
back to Mecca with 10,000 warriors and captured
the city with very little bloodshed
• Mecca was then considered the most sacred city
• Islam began to spread throughout the Arab world
making the Umma a supertribe open to all who
accepted Allah and Muhammad as his prophet
• Women remained subordinate to men; they
could be equal in heaven but not before
• Men could have up to 4 wives and could
divorce them at will
• Women were usually kept separate from men
• In public women had to wear a veil that
covered most of her face; only the eyes were
uncovered
• Islam did forbid female infanticide
• Brides received a dowry from their husbands
• Marriage was more of a partnership than a
sale
• Women did have inheritance and property
rights
• They also had protection from mistreatment
in marriage
Spread of Islam
• Islam was spread through raiding and warfare;
all done in the name of Allah
• Holy wars were called jihads
• When Muslims took a town, the people had a
choice – convert to Islam or pay a tax
• Muhammad died in 632 leaving no clear
successor and no direction concerning its
leadership
• Abu Bakr (632-634) was the 4th convert to Islam
and Muhammad closest friend to whom he gave
the title of Caliph; he became Muhammad’s
successor
• He died in 634 and a new successor was named
• Umar (634-644) was the next caliph and had
many problems with followers who wished to go
their own way; launched a war of reconversion
spreading Islam beyond the Arab world
• Uthman (644-656) was the next leader of
Islam and was killed
• Ali (656-661) is thought to have had a hand in
the death of Uthman
– claimed authority to lead based on blood because
he was Muhammad’s son-in-law and nephew
– He was assassinated
– His followers formed a dissident religious/political
group called Shi’ites claiming a blood connection
to Muhammad
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Muhammad
Caliphs
Omayyads
Abbasids
Rival Caliphs in Spain, N. Africa, Syria, & India
Abbasids with help of Turkish mercenaries
who made Abbasids their puppets
Omayyads
• Center of power was in Damascus
• Imperialists
• Had a central court, bureaucracy, efficient tax
system, and strong army
• 632 – 750, Muslim world was dominated by
Arabs
• Resentment grew from non-Arab Muslims
• This led to the overthrow of Omayyads in 750
Abbasid Power
• Took power after Umayyads
• Family of Persian origins
• Their rise to power marked the end of Arab domination
in Muslim world
• Moved the capital to Baghdad
• By 9th century Abbasid power declined
• Rivals caliphs arose in Spain, N. Africa, Syria, & India
• Abbasids regained power with help from Turkish
mercenaries and became the puppets of the Turks
Economics
• The wealth of the Muslim Empire exceeded
that of the Byzantine Empire and the
Germanic West
• Trade was extremely important; trade routes
throughout the empire and south through
Africa
• Wealth defined social class
• There was mobility in society
Social Order
• Mobility
• Non-Muslims were tolerated but thought to
be inferior and were taxed
• Restrictions placed on women
– Secluded from social life
– Had to submit to the will of their husbands
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Polygamy for men was legal
Men could divorce easily
Slaves had few rights
Behavior regulated by Qur’an and unified the
Muslim world
• Theologians, lawyers, and Philosophers
reflected on their religion from their various
perspectives
• The result was an orthodox faith much more
complex than the original message of
Muhammad, however, rooted in his teachings
• Adherents of the orthodox faith were called
Sunnis
• Shi’ites were those who insisted that the true
religion was preserved by Muhammad’s blood
descendants
• All Muslims learned Arabic; the Qur’an was
not translated into other languages
• Muslims studied Greek philosophy and
reconciled it with the Qur’an; this preserved
Hellenistic culture
• They took scientific information from the
Greeks, Indians, Persians, Mesopotamians,
and Egyptians and added to it
• Mathematics – we use their numerical system
with zero based on the Indian; combined
Indian and Greek concepts to create algebra
• Medicine – studied disease, dissected bodies,
and experimented with drugs
• Science – made advances in geography and
physics
• Poetry – used imagery and technical skill
(Omar Khayyam)
• Art – built mosques with minarets for
individual prayer, palaces, tapestries, fabrics,
leatherwork, paintings
Byzantine Empire
• Suffered outside attacks from 6th to 10th
centuries
• Persians, Bulgars, Muslims, and Slavs attacked
at different times
• 622 – 629 Emperor Heraclius recovered
almost all the territory that had been lost
• When Arabs kept pressing in, Heraclius
couldn’t hold onto it
• Arabs took large portions of the Byzantine
Empire
• By 700, the new boundaries of the Byzantine
Empire took shape: the eastern Balkans and
Western Anatolia (lost in 717)
• They almost lost Constantinople, but Leo III
and the “Greek Fire” made capture impossible
• Leo then ruled until 741
• After his reign, succeeding emperors worked
to fend off other attacks
• There were external and also internal
problems
• In 867, a rough soldier named Basil I (r. 867886) seized the throne, set up a Macedonian
dynasty, and preserved the state
Internal Changes
• Emperor did not always have strict control over
all aspects of religion
• An example of this is the monastery
– From 6th century onward, there were many
monasteries in the empire
– In 11th century, there were 300 just in Constantinople
– Monasteries were often wealthy and powerful
– They possessed what they called miracle working
religious images called icons
Religious Icons
• These icons gave monasteries a power the
emperor did not have
• People venerated these icons
• This led to the Iconoclastic Controversy that
lasted from 726-843
• Leo III, the Isaurian issued an imperial decree
forbidding this idolatry
• He then ordered the destruction of all images
of Christ, the saints, prophets, & others
• Representations of all sorts, including mosaics
in Hagia Sophia were destroyed as well as the
religious art work of Justinian’s reign ( except
for what was in Italy and on Mt. Sinai)
• The Iconoclasts, image destroyers, mutilated,
blinded, tortured, and sometimes executed
those who tried to protect sacred images
• Iconodules were those who protected,
defended the icons
• Outwardly, it was a religious issue based on
the biblical commandment forbidding graven
images
• But it was really a conflict between Church
and State
• The monastic movement had achieved much
wealth, power, and the respect of their
followers
• This was upsetting to the Emperors
• A later empress, Theodora, allowed the
images once again in 843
• These images once again regained their
importance with the faithful
Struggles in Spain
• Visigoths ruled in Spain until 507 when defeated
by Clovis, a Frank
• Afterwards, there were rebellions and more
invasions by the Franks, Ostrogoths, Byzantines,
and Muslims
• Muslims invaded Spain in 711 and took much of
the Iberian Peninsula
– They ruled from Cordoba
– Christians moved to the mountains called Asturias and
attacked Muslims from there from 9th to 15th centuries
Italy
• Had several Germanic groups, but the
Byzantines and Muslims claimed various parts
• Popes created their own state in the center
• Lombards eventually took over much of Italy
• 744 Charlemagne, a Frank, defeated the
Lombards and took the Lombard crown for
himself
• He then guaranteed the land in the center of
Italy for the Popes
• The popes protected the people of central
Italy
• They justified their land there because of the
Donation of Constantine
– In the 320s, Constantine supposedly gave the
pope the authority to rule Rome and the whole
West
Britain
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Was abandoned by the Romans
Was influenced by the Anglo-Saxons
600, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom was established
It converted to Christianity
Celts, the original inhabitants, invaded in the
first century but were confined to western
areas of Cornwall and Wales and to the north
in Scotland
• Catholicism also reached the Celts
• The best known story involves Patrick, son of a
Roman official, who was captured and
enslaved by pirates, taken to Ireland, freed,
and eventually became a priest who took
Christianity to Ireland
Carolingian Empire
• Clovis and the Franks created the most
effective of the early Germanic Kingdoms
• In 7th century, some problems of rule
emerged, but a Frankish family called
Carolingian assembled talent and resources
and took the lead
• The greatest of their leaders was
Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Reign of Charlemagne
768 - 814
• Charlemagne was the first great western
European secular ruler
• He was courageous, joyful, intelligent, had
military prowess, and was devoted to family and
Church
• He was a successful military war lord
– Defeated Lombard king in Italy & assumed the title
King of the Lombards
– Attacked Saxons in N.E. France
– Fought Avars, Slavs, & Muslims
• He never appeared to take land out of greed,
but rather he was overpowering the
“barbarians” and the “infidels”
• He was saving his fellow Christians from the
invading hoards
• He appeared as the “strong right arm of God”
• He gained great booty and used it to gain
allegiance from his warriors
• Charlemagne also tried to improve the quality
of government
– He considered the public well-being and the
responsibility of the ruler
– Greatly influenced by Christianity
– Strove for right order, harmony, and justice
– Wanted to direct his realm toward realizing God’s
commands
– Commanded his subjects to do good and avoid
evil
• Charlemagne claimed authority to command
his subjects on all matters
• He maintained a court made up of nobles and
clergy
• He was supported by royal lands, booty, tolls
on trade, profits from coining money, and
fines
• He also had the county-count system
– 300 counties
– 300 counts
• Administered justice
• Mustered men and supplies for the military
• Kept order
Counts were rewarded for service by being given land.
There were special envoys to travel to counties and find out
what was going on in them. They also delivered
proclamations from the King
• Loyalty was extremely important to having a
unified realm; it meant order
• Land grants were given to those who served
the King
– Given to the military
– Given to the clergy who influenced parishoners
Religious Reform
• Charlemagne was obsessed with religious
reform
• He supported missionaries who helped to
spread Christianity
• He strengthened Church organization by reestablishing the authority of bishops over
subordinate parish priests
• He imposed higher moral and educational
standards on those who joined the clergy
• He established the tithe, a 10% tax on income
to support the Church
• He tried to establish uniform doctrines and
rituals
• He relied on guidance from the pope
• All these achievements and reforms helped to
elevate Charlemagne to Emperor
– In 799 Pope Leo III was charged with misconduct
– In 800 Charlemagne went to Rome to prove the
pope innocent and restore him to full authority
– On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III placed a crown
on Charlemagne’s head during mass and crowned
him “Augustus crowned by God”; he was emperor
of the Romans
• Charlemagne ruled for 14 years as Emperor
• In 813, he crowned his son Louis as emperor
Carolingian Renaissance
• Renaissance means rebirth
• Championed by Charlemagne
• This is considered his most lasting
achievement
• He felt both religious and political life would
improve if leaders were better educated
• He made a connection between learning and
the quality of life
• He began the Palace School in the 780s
– Served the children of the royal family, great
nobles, youths destined to serve the court or the
Church
– The program was designed and run by Alcuin of
York, an English monk
• Alcuin saw education as preparation for understanding
the literature of the Bible, Church Fathers, saints’ lives,
and the liturgy
• Alcuin’s program centered on the 7 liberal arts
divided into 2 groups
– Trivium: grammar, rhetoric, and logic
– Quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy,
and music
They needed better textbooks and more copies of
them, so monks made copies of books.
• They tried to spread education to monasteries
and Church run schools
• After Charlemagne’s death, the school system
declined
• Accomplishments from this educational
system:
– A simplified, flexible, version of Latin developed
– Re-establishment of learning and the literature of
ancient Rome and the early Church
– Copied texts were placed in libraries
– An interest grew in art; mosaics, frescoes,
manuscripts, ivory carvings, metalwork, and jewelry
They blended the traditions of the classical, Byzantine,
Germanic, and Celtic. Art was used to deepen
religious piety
Carolingians also rebuilt bridges and ports to help trade
Frankish Kingdom collapsed in late 9th to 10th centuries.
The Kingdom was divided after Charlemagne’s death
in 814