Download Christianity in Late Antiquity & the Early Middle Ages

Christianity in Late Antiquity &
the Early Middle Ages
Western Civilization
University High School
2011-12
The Middle Ages
Western history divided up
into roughly 3 eras:
1. Ancient/classical era (aka.
Antiquity)
2. The Middle Ages
3. Modern era
The Middle Ages
Middle Ages: 5th – 15th
century
 Early Middle Ages: 5th cent.
(fall of Rome)  1000 CE
 High Middle Ages: 1000 –
1300 CE
 Late Middle Ages: 1300 –
1500 CE
Church/State Relations
after fall of Western Roman Empire, 2
sources of continuity:
 Eastern RE/Byzantine Empire
 Christian church
worked closely together in 4th-5th centuries
Church/State Relations
312 CE: Constantine makes
Christianity legal, encouraged
no Roman taxes for clergy
made Sunday a public holiday, day
of rest
built Christian churches, Lateran
Palace (Pope’s home until 14th
cent.)
Lateran Palace
Lateran Palace
Church/State Relations
380 CE: emperor Theodosius
makes Christianity official religion
of empire
practicing old Roman religion =
treason!
allowed church to make own courts
for clergy/religious issues (canon
law)
 ***church becoming
independent, powerful
political entity***
Church/State Relations Get Nasty
political tension
between church and
state
Theodosius orders
Bishop Ambrose of Milan
to hand over cathedral to
empire
Bishop Ambrose’s Response
 At length came the command, “Deliver up the basilica”;
I reply, “It is not lawful for us to deliver it up, nor for
your Majesty to receive it. By no law can you violate
the house of a private man, and do you think that the
house of God may be taken away? … But do not burden
your conscience with the thought that you have any
right as Emperor over sacred things … It is written,
God’s to God and Caesar’s to Caesar. The palace is the
Emperor’s, the churches are the Bishop’s. To you is
committed jurisdiction over public, not over sacred
buildings.
Church/State Relations
empire becoming a
Christian society
church ultimately more
powerful entity, because
everyone (even the
emperor) answers to God
Islam in Late Antiquity & the Early
Middle Ages
Western Civilization
University High School
2011-12
What About Further East?
What About Further East?
 end of 6th cent.: Arabia socially, politically
divided
 Bedouins: nomadic tribes of
sheepherders
 Hejazi: more established farmers,
traders (wealthy towns)
 no political ties, but some cultural ties
 3 holy months per year  no fighting!
 Mecca (city in current Saudi Arabia) =
religious center  no fighting!
Muhammad
571 - 632 CE
Arab legends written ~100
years after his death
(accuracy of life details?
importance of life details?)
had seizures where he lost
consciousness, saw visions
Muhammad
610 CE: visions became more
frequent, religious
began to preach in
stylized, rhyming language
describing visions
single God
Muhammad = prophet
“Qur’an” = prayer
recitation
Muhammad
followers wrote down visions
today, Qur’an = holy book
for Muslims
words of God 
Prophet Muhammad 
the people
Muhammad
small following in Mecca
622 CE: leads followers to
Medina  big following
there!
630 CE: returns to Mecca
632 CE: dies in Medina; Arabia
unified as Muslim community
religion itself = Islam
So What Do Muslims Believe?
 Allah (Arabic word for “God”) = allknowing, all-powerful
 Muhammad = prophet of Allah (along
with Abraham, Moses, Jesus)
Jesus mentioned 93 times in Qur’an!
(including birth to Virgin Mary)
believe Jesus was a prophet, not
divine
So What Do Muslims Believe?
Muslims obliged to jihad
(literally “self-exertion”)
striving to spread God’s message;
striving in the path of God
not necessarily violent, though
some have interpreted it that way
So What Do Muslims Believe?
to get to Heaven, Muslims must follow
Muhammad’s strict moral code (shari’a =
Islamic sacred law)  5 Pillars of Islam
1. profession of faith (“There is no god but God
and Muhammad is his prophet.”)
2. pray 5x per day
3. fast & pray during Ramadan (holy month)
4. give to the poor & needy
5. at least one pilgrimage to Mecca, if possible
Islam, Christianity, & Judaism
3 branches of the same
religious tree
all monotheistic  all
worshipping same God!
 dhimmis: Muslim word for
Jews and Christians
(“protected people”)
Expansion of Islam
by Muhammad’s
death, Arabia united as
Muslim culture
spread to northern
Africa  Spain
spread east to India
 caliph: “successor”
1st caliph elected by
Muhammad’s
friends/followers
Ali
 Ali (Muhammad’s cousin) = 4th caliph
quickly assassinated
 Ali’s followers = Shi’ites/Shi’a
(Arabic for “supporters”)
 Ali and future caliphs = legit
 first few caliphs = not so legit…
 Sunnis (derived from Arabic for
traditional beliefs/practices): accepted
earlier caliphs
Islam in Spain
Umayyad Dynasty 756-788 Kingdom
in Spain
Al-Andalus
part of the Iberian Peninsula
under Muslim control (land of
the Vandals)
referred to as Moorish Spain
(Moors, Berbers from North
Africa)
interfaith harmony: 8th-12th
centuries
Arab intellectual achievements
shape Europe
 Algebra (830)
 Hindu numbers applied to physics and astronomy
(1,2,3,4)
 Use of zero
 Translated Greek works
 New paper making technique (from China)
 Al-Razi (865-925) made distinction between
measles and smallpox
 Ibn-Sina Bukhara (980 – 1037) codified medical
thought (contagious nature of tuberculosis
Differences Between Spreading
Islam and Other European Cultures
Islam
 Assure Muslims keep
mandates of Qur'an
 Don’t look for territorial
boundaries, looked for
concentration of beliefs
 Not interested in traveling
to Europe
Western Europe
 State provides peace, order
and justice
 Borders defined
 Both began to fear contact
by late 10th century
Changes in the late 10th century
Infidel - non believer (not a nice term)
Mozarabs – lived in special section of
city
Buried in separate cemeteries
Can’t build churches
Can’t work with or employ Muslims