Byzantine Empire & Western Europe 500-1500

Medieval Europe

European Christendom

500s to 1500s

Byzantine Empire

Byzantine Empire – Eastern Europe & Eastern Mediterranean

The eastern part of the Roman Empire remained with Roman politics and Greek culture.

Its military, culture, and commerce remained strong after the fall of the Western part of the Roman Empire.

By the 1000s ce, the Byzantine Empire was losing territory to the Islamic Turks & weak states in Western Europe were forming.

Western Europe Centralized government broke down and trade was disrupted

Cities populations declined and population centers shifted to rural areas.

Literacy declined

Christianity remained a major unifying force

CRUSADES