Byzantium, Islam, and the Latin West: The Foundations of Medieval Europe, 550-750
The WestThe 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 and 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