Byzantium, Islam, and the Latin West: The Foundations of Medieval Europe, 550 -750 The West CHAPTER 7
Byzantium: The Survival of the Roman Empire • After the death of Justinian, the Byzantine empire began to shrink • Byzantium lost territory in the Balkans, Italy and North Africa • Defeat of Persian king Chosroes II, in 628, left both Byzantium and the Persians too exhausted to resist the rise of Islamic armies • 740: Battle of Akroinon slowed the Islamic advance, but the Byzantines could not regain their lost possessions
Imperial Administration and Military System • Emperor stood at center of Byzantine society and at the head of a hierarchical bureaucracy • Color of clothing indicated status in bureaucracy • Economy shriveled as empire shrank • Four themes (military districts), each with a separate army and administration • By 750, themes possessed considerable independence
The Church and Religious Life • Unity of religious identity as Orthodox Christians • Church hierarchy headed by the Patriarch of Constantinople • Classical learning abandoned in favor of Christian education • Iconoclasm Controversy (ca. 726 -842) - fueled divisions between Latin and Orthodox Christianity
Arabs Before Islam • Tribal people with a shared language, but diverse forms of community • No formal government • Code of honor led to cyclical feuding • Military strength due to use of camels • Wealth from trade in luxury items: incense, silk, gold and ivory
The Recitation of Muhammad • The Qu’ran (“recitation”) records Muhammad’s revelations • Hijra (622): migration from Mecca to Medina, starting date of Muslim calendar • By 632, most of Arabia was unified under Islam: a single community and identity • Islam (“submission”) rested on five basic principles: the Pillars of Islam
The Islamic Community After Muhammad • Evolution of the caliphate: an Islamic form of government • Formation of Shi’ite sect, from conflict over succession • Wars of Apostasy reunited Arabia under control of the caliphate • By 651, Islamic armies had seized Egypt and Syria from Byzantium and conquered the Persian Empire
The Umayyad Caliphate • Divided the world into the “House of Islam” and the “House of War” • Expanded west, across North Africa into Spain, and east, to India and Central Asia • Umayyad caliphs established a hereditary monarchy and a centralized administration • Arabic provided a common, unifying language for the Umayyad empire
Society and Culture in the Umayyad Caliphate • Cities remained important centers, but were transformed physically and culturally • Mosques formed the chief public space and the spiritual and political heart of the city • Only Muslims could be full participants in community • Other monotheistic religions were tolerated, but had lower status • Arab trading routes extended into Africa and as far east as Indonesia and the Philippines
Germanic Kingdoms on Roman Foundations • Anglo-Saxon kingdoms in England: Mercia, Wessex and Northumbria • Frankish Kingdom: modern France and Germany • Visigothic Kingdom: Spain • Kingdom of the Lombards: Italy • The pope (Bishop of Rome) established political independence
Administration and Law in Germanic Kingdoms • Roman infrastructure and administrative systems survived in western Europe, except in England • Germanic kings became source of all law and head of administration • Adoption of Germanic law unified ruling minority and Roman majority, as one people under one law • Women’s property rights, from Roman Law, were maintained in the new systems
Society and Community in the Germanic Kingdoms • Hierarchical society based on networks of loyalty and kinship • Evolution of clan leaders into a landed aristocracy • Social status defined by wergild • Evolution of ethnic identities, based on a shared history, culture, kinship and monarchy
The Spread of Catholic Christianity • Acceptance of Catholic Christianity by Germanic monarchs led to religious unity in western Europe • Missionaries from Ireland Rome worked to convert nonbelievers and polytheists • Pope Gregory the Great (r. 590 -604) hoped to forge a Christian society, following the collapse of Roman government
Monastic Intellectual Life • Monasteries replaced cities as the centers of intellectual life • The work of monks preserved classical learning and knowledge of Latin • Missionaries transported this literary heritage across Latin Christendom • Monastic schools taught reading and writing to boys (and some girls)
Jews in a Christian World • European monarchs generally protected Jewish populations • Legal discrimination and violent persecution of Jews did occur • The papacy sought the peaceful conversion of all Jews
Three Cultural Realms • Division of the old Roman Empire into three distinct cultural and linguistic realms: – Byzantium: Orthodox Christianity and Greek language – Umayyad Caliphate: Islam and Arabic language – Latin Christendom: Catholic Christianity and Latin language
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