Download Early Europe until 1453

Early Europe until
1453
2000 years in a day!!!!!!!!!
I. Rome (500bc–500ad)(ish)
• Roman Republic (500bc – 0) (ish)
– Republic < Caesar < Senators < 2nd
Triumvirate < Octavian
– Octavian ----> Augustus (1st emperor)
• Roman Empire (0 – 500ad)
– Early emperors
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Built up Rome
Expanded Empire (strengthened army)
Stabilized government
Pax Romana
– Darker times (200-300ad)
• Economic/military problems
• No clear succession
– Later Imperial period (delaying the inevitable)
• Diocletian
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Divided the Empire in two (East and West)
Divided the Emperor in four (two for each)
Strengthened the borders
Fought economic problems
Attempted to solve succession problem (…but)
• Constantine
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Came to power through civil war
Legalized Christianity and converted
Moved capital from Rome to Byzantium
Eastern Empire would survive
– The Fall of Rome
• Huns  pushed German tribes into Rome
• 410 – Rome sacked by Visigoths led by Alaric
• 476 – last Western Emperor deposed by
Odoacer (German)
II. The East (Part 1)
• The City
– Byzantium became Eastern Roman capital
(Constantine)
– Built up like Rome (forum, temples, etc.)
– After fall of the West, becomes center of
Eastern (Byzantine) Empire
– Name changed to Constantinople
• Religion
– Eastern Orthodox
– Patriarch  head of church gov’t.
– Emperor  head of gov’t., leader/symbol
of church
– Developed independently from Roman
Christianity
• Justinian
– Code of Laws (Roman)
– Tried to recapture West
– Hagia Sophia
III. Islam
• 622 – Muslim calendar begins with
Muhammad’s Hijrah to Medina
• New, monotheistic religion sweeps
through the Arabian peninsula
• Islam will quickly expand to all parts of
the Middle East, Northern Africa, Spain,
and Southeast Europe
• Battle of Tours
(732) - Charles
Martel stops
spread of Islam
into Western
Europe
•Byzantine Empire
resists spread of
Islam into Eastern
Europe
IV. The East (Part 2)
• Byzantines decline
– Inefficient government
– Attacks from without (especially Turks)
– 1071 – lost battle at Manzikert to Seljuk
Turks
• Asked for help against Muslims from Western
Christians
• 1095 – First Crusade begins
• The City (again)
– 1204 – sacked by Crusaders from the West
(4th Crusade)
– 1261 – Byzantines finally retake the city
– 1453 – Mehmet the Conqueror takes
Constantinople
V. The West
• German Kingdoms take over
– Anglo-Saxons
– Franks
• Clovis becomes first German king to convert to
Christianity
• Merovingians prosper in Roman Gaul (France)
• Lay groundwork for Carolingians
• Carolingian Renaissance
– Pippin the short becomes King of the
Franks
– His son, Charles, expands the kingdom
• Renamed “the Great” (Charlemagne)
• Supported learning
– Built schools
– Revived Roman ideas
• 800 – crowned Emperor of the Romans
• Kingdom becomes Holy Roman Empire
• Feudalism
– System based on land ownership
– Large landowners (Lords) divide their land
among loyal men (vassals)
– Vassals at lower levels known as knights
(military troops)
– Land was worked by commoners (serfs
and free peasants)
– System provided security and food in
exchange for loyalty and work
• High Middle Ages
– Life organized around small farms
(manorialism)
• Manor house surrounded by fields, peasant
homes, and basic services
• People rarely left the manor or surrounding
area
• Most felt connected to their manner as opposed
to any idea of “country” or “nation”
– Urban life renewed as towns begin to reemerge
• Many towns had walls for protection
– English: borough, German: burg
– Town dwellers known as burghers or bourgeoisie
• Northern towns centered on manufacturing
(guilds)
• Italian towns centered on trade
– East-west trade
– City-states formed
• Regaining the past
– First universities formed (11th-13thC)
– Scholasticism
• Blend Classical reason with Christian Faith
• St. Thomas Aquinas
• Based in monasteries and cathedral schools
• Rise of States
– England
• William the Conqueror – 1066 (French)
• Magna Carta – 1215
– King John forced to cede power to nobles
– Edward I - Parliament formed 75 years later
– France
• Capetians centralized rule by maintaining their
line
• France develops into most centralized state in
Europe
• Hundred Years War
– Since William (1066), English King had
held title to large chunk of France
– End of Capetian dynasty creates
opportunity for English king to press his
claim
– War ensues
– After much struggle, France is finally
victorious (Joan d’Arc)
• Church vs. State
– Papal supremacy
• As Christ Vicar, Pope is ultimate authority on
earth
• Claim weakened by political struggles, land
ownership
– Temporal supremacy
• As protector of the Church, Holy Roman
Emperor believed he had ultimate authority
• Investiture controversy weakened both parties