Chapter Summary

The Roman Empire underwent a major transition as it lost the ability to maintain peace within its borders. The empire fragmented into three culturally distinct parts in which language, religion, and loyalties separated people. In the west, Germanic invaders established new kingdoms, converted to Christianity and blended their own culture with that of Romans now living under their rule. In the east, the Roman empire persisted for approximately another thousand years, but Byzantium was centered upon Constantinople and began to develop different characteristics with time. The language changed to Greek, while Slavic tribes in the north and Latins in the west influenced the development of a new empire. Finally, in the desert of Arabia, a prophet founded a new religion, which would soon spread rapidly, conquering the eastern and western shores of the Mediterranean and most of the Iberian peninsula. These three civilizations coexisted uneasily, and their differences and conflicts would destroy Roman unity and shape Europe's future.

Chapter Outline

1. The Making of the Western Kingdoms, ca. 376 - 750
   The arrival of Germanic peoples transformed the Roman empire and new kingdoms emerged, in which the church played an increasingly important role.
   1. Life in a German Clan and Family
      1. Roman sources
      2. Marriage patterns
   2. Germanic Clothing and Food
      1. Agriculture and diet
   3. Heroic Society
      1. Warrior bands
   4. Infiltrating the Roman Empire, 376 - 476
      1. The Huns
      2. Federate Treaties
      3. Arian Christianity
      4. Loss of Provinces
   5. Did Rome "Fall"?
      1. Transformation not "fall"
      2. Germans transformed
   6. The Growing Power of the Popes
      1. Petrine Doctrine
      2. Gregory the Great
   7. Monasteries: Peaceful Havens
      1. Benedict of Nursia
      2. Irish Christianity
      3. Conversion of Britain
   8. Rise and Fall of a Frankish Dynasty, ca. 485 - 750
      1. Christian Merovingians
      2. Decline of Merovingians
   9. Accomplishments and Destruction in Italy, ca. 490 - 750
      1. Fostering learning
      2. Fall of Ostrogoths
   10. The Visigoths in Spain, 418 - 711
       1. Visigothic weaknesses
2. The Byzantine Empire, ca. 400 - 1000
   As the invasions of the Germanic peoples transformed the western part of the empire, the east distanced itself from the west, which led to its transformation into a distinct empire, now called Byzantium.
                  1. A separate empire
   1. Justinian and Theodora, r. 527 - 565
      1. Nika Riot
      2. Rebuilding the city
      3. Legal codification
      4. Reconquering the west
   2. Constantinople: The Vibrant City in the East
      1. Lucrative industries
      2. Chariot races
   3. Military Might and Diplomatic Dealings
      1. Provincial organization
      2. The army
      3. Diplomacy
   4. Breaking Away from the West
      1. Religious Controversy
      2. Iconoclasm
   5. Converting the Slavs, 560 - ca. 1000
      1. Cyril and Methodius
      2. Conversion of Russia
      3. "Golden age"
3. Islam, 600 - 1000
   The new religion preached by Muhammad spread quickly and led to the creation of an expanding empire in which Hellenistic learning was preserved as new cultural forms emerged.
   1. The Prophet
      1. The Qur'an
   2. The Religion
      1. Faith
      2. Public rituals
   3. The Spread of Islam
      1. Hijra
      2. Battle of Tours
      3. Reasons for success
   4. Creating an Islamic Unity
      1. Unifying elements
   5. The Gracious Life
      1. Women
      2. Daily life
   6. Forces of Disunity
      1. Shi'ite Muslims
      2. Umayyad caliphate
      3. 'Abbasid caliphate
   7. Heirs to Hellenistic Learning
      1. Medicine
      2. Mathematics
      3. Literature
   8. Islam and the West

The Chapter in Perspective

      After the sixth century, the Roman Empire underwent a dramatic transformation, changing the Mediterranean world dramatically. In the west, Germanic tribes came to rule. Romans and Germanic peoples intermingled and the latter converted to Christianity. In the east, the empire persisted, but in a new form, the Byzantine Empire. The eastern church facilitated the spread of Christianity among peoples north of Constantinople. In the south, a new religion, Islam, was rapidly spread by conquering armies. Although Muslims worshipped the same god as Christians and Jews, they worshipped in a different way. As they conquered new lands and spread their religion, a new synthesis of cultures arose. This new culture within the territory of the old Roman Empire brought suffering and religious tensions, but it also facilitated an intellectual rejuvenation. The west and Byzantium remained Christian, but learned from Muslim philosophers, scientists, and poets. The interactions among these three great cultures would profoundly affect the history of the West.

1. Compare the spread of Islam with the spread of Christianity. What did the two processes share? How did they differ? Do you think that Islam will continue to spread at the same rate?
2. Which of the Western kingdoms do you expect to emerge first as the most powerful? Why?*
3. Over what territory and which issues do you expect the three great powers to clash? Why?*