Transcript Middle Ages PPT

Unit 2-A, B, C & 3 – A, B
The Rise of Europe, the Middle Ages, and the Byzantine Empire
Who will control Europe, after the fall of the Roman Empire, and will it be
• the Franks or France?
• the Angles/Saxons or England?
• the Roman Church from Germany (the Huns from Germany) to Italy also known as the “Holy
Roman Empire” or the Roman Catholic Church created by the Great Schism from the old Western
Roman Empire?
• the Byzantine Empire from Eastern Europe to Constantinople, to the Vikings of Russia and the
effects on the Balkans (where WWI started) or the new Eastern Roman Empire also known as the
Eastern Orthodox Church and then Russian Orthodoxy created by the Great Schism?
• the Rise of Islam from the Middle East and India? (This will be covered in a separate unit as part of
Unit 3C and tied into readings and a Paideia seminar comparing/contrasting the rise of the
Germanic Barbarian Invasions of Rome to the War on Terrorism in the present day.)
Early Middle Ages
Seeds of World War I hundreds of years before it happens
leading to World War II and possibly the rise of the
European Union (EU)?
The Three Reich's
1st – Holy Roman Empire after the Fall of Rome that we will study in Unit 2 & 3.
2nd – German Reunification under Otto Von Bismarck to revive the Holy Roman
Empire that we will study in Unit 9.
3rd – Hitler’s Rise to Power to bring back German Greatness that we will study in Unit
10 & 11.
4th? – The Rise of the European Union (EU) that we will not study because it is part of
current events.
Europe declined
during the early
Middle Ages, for
several reasons.
1. The unifying force
of the Roman
empire was gone.
2. The region was
invaded repeatedly.
3. Trade and classical
learning decreased.
After the fall of Rome, Germanic tribes carved
Western Europe into small kingdoms.
These tribes included the Vandals, the Saxons, the
Goths, and the Franks.
Unlike the Romans, the Germanic tribes lived in
small communities with no written laws.
In 486, the Frankish king Clovis conquered Gaul,
modern-day France. He converted to Christianity
and won the support of the pope in Rome.
http://glencoe.mheducation.com/sites/dl/free/0078799813/195011/map10.html
Starting in the
600s, Muslims
built an empire in
the Mediterranean
region.
Muslim armies
conquered Spain and
crossed into France.
Charles Martel led
Frankish warriors in
the battle of Tours
to push them back.
Martel’s grandson
Charlemagne
briefly united
Western Europe.
•
He fought Muslims,
Saxons, Avars, Slavs,
and Lombards.
•
He aided the pope in
Rome. In return, the
pope crowned
Charlemagne Emperor
of the Romans.
•
Charlemagne was a
skilled leader who
brought scholars to
his court and revived
Latin learning.
When Pope
Leo crowned
Charlemagne
Emperor of
the Romans,
the idea
of a united
Christian
empire was
revived.
Charlemagne
spread
Christianity
to conquered
people
throughout
his kingdom
and set
up a strong,
efficient
government.
However, the
pope’s action
angered the
emperor of the
eastern Roman
Empire in
Constantinople
and deepened
the split between
east and west.
After Charlemagne died, his empire was divided
into three. His heirs faced waves of invasions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cTTaVnZyG2g
Even after their
defeat at Tours,
Muslim forces
posed a threat.
Around 900, the
Magyars overran
Eastern Europe.
•
Muslim armies
conquered Sicily in
the late 800s.
•
Muslim attacks
subsided after 900.
•
They went on to
plunder parts of
Western Europe.
•
After 50 years, the
Magyars were
pushed back into
Hungary.
Charlemagne’s
empire broke
apart even more
when the Vikings
began raiding
European coastal
and river towns.
•
These Scandinavian
people were expert
sailors.
•
They opened trade
routes linking
northern Europe to
the Mediterranean.
•
Vikings settled in
England, Ireland,
and parts of France
and Russia.
Feudalism and the Manor Economy
Under the feudal arrangement, both lords and vassals
had obligations to each other.
Obligations of the lord
• Protect the vassal
• Grant the vassal
a fief, or estate
Obligations of the vassal
• Pledge loyalty to the lord
• Provide the lord with
forty days of military
service per year
• Provide money payments
and advice
Society was very
structured. Every
individual had a
place in the social
pyramid. (copy)
Monarch
Powerful lords
such as dukes
and counts
Vassals (The same
man could be vassal to
one lord and lord to
another vassal.)
Peasants
Warfare was a way of
life in the feudal age.
Warfare often involved
trying to seize a castle.
These fortresses housed
lords and knights and
gave refuge to peasants
in time of war.
Castles were fortified
with high walls, towers,
and water-filled moats.
At a young age, nobles began
training to become knights.
Boys as young
as seven went
to the castle of
their father’s
lord to learn
to ride
and fight.
When
training was
done, the young
man was made
a knight in
a public
ceremony.
Knights wore
armor and fought
with swords, axes,
or lances. They
also engaged
in mock battles
called
tournaments.
Noblewomen
took over the
duties of the
lord when he
went off to war.
•
The “lady of the manor”
supervised vassals and
managed the household.
•
Some noblewomen, such as
Eleanor of Aquitaine, played a
role in politics.
•
Women’s rights of inheritance
were restricted, but some did
inherit fiefs.
•
Wives were expected to bear
many children.
In the later Middle Ages, knights adopted a code of ideal conduct
called chivalry.
• It required them to be brave, loyal, and true to their word,
as well as to fight fairly and protect the weak.
• In theory, chivalry put women on a pedestal. Troubadours
sang about brave knights and their devotion to their loves.
The manor was the heart of feudal life.
It included a village or two
and surrounding lands. The
manor system worked by
mutual obligation.
Most of the population were
serfs, who were bound to
the land.
Most manors were self-sufficient, producing everything
the people there needed.
Manors included fields, a
mill, a church, peasant huts,
and the lord’s manor house.
Most serfs never traveled
farther than
a few miles away
during their entire lives.
Life was harsh and short for peasants.
•
Everyone worked long hours, and few lived past age thirtyfive. They ate a simple diet of bread and vegetables and
slept in huts with their livestock.
•
Peasants had a week off at Christmas and Easter. They
celebrated by dancing and playing rough sports.
Medieval Christianity
How did the church play a vital role
in medieval life?
The Christian Church and its teaching were
central to medieval life. The Church became the
most powerful force in Europe.
Religion shaped everyday life and exerted
great economic and political influence.
In the early Middle
Ages, missionaries
spread Christianity
throughout
Western Europe.
In the 400s, St.
Patrick converted
Ireland.
In 597, the pope
sent Augustine to
Britain to convert
the Anglo-Saxons.
By the late
Middle Ages,
Western Europe
was a Christian
civilization.
•
Everyday life was
shaped by Church
rituals.
•
The parish priest
administered the
sacraments, which
people believed
would lead them to
eternal life.
•
Priests explained the
Bible and assisted
the sick and needy.
Church attitudes toward women were two-sided.
Women were viewed
as weak and easily
led to sin.
The Church often
punished women
more harshly than
men for similar
misdeeds.
However, Christians
looked to Mary, the
mother of Jesus, as
an ideal of a pure
and faithful woman.
The Church also
protected women
and fined men who
injured their wives.
Medieval popes claimed papal supremacy, and the
Church had absolute power in religious matters.
The Church developed
its own rules, known
as canon law.
Those who disobeyed
faced penalties such as
excommunication or
the interdict.
The Church was also
a force for peace.
It used its authority
to end fighting among
nobles. Warfare
declined during the
1100s.
The success of the Church caused problems and
corruption. There were several movements for
reform.
New orders of friars
developed. The first
was founded by St.
Francis of Assisi.
He gave up a
comfortable life to
devote himself to
traveling and
preaching.
Jewish communities existed all across Europe
at this time.
•
Since Muslim rulers were tolerant of Jews and
Christians, Spain became a center of Jewish culture.
•
Prejudice against Jews increased by the late 1000s.
Popes issued decrees forbidding Jews to own land or
practice most occupations.
•
Thousands of Jews migrated to eastern Europe.
Medieval Trade and Town Life
An agricultural
revolution
transformed
Europe around
A.D. 1000.
New technology helped
peasants plant more
crops. Iron plows cut
more deeply into heavy
soil. A new kind of
harness allowed horses
to pull plows.
Lords increased
farmland by clearing
forests and draining
swamps.
In addition to these improvements, peasants
began to rotate crops to increase yields.
As a result of increased food supplies,
the population of Europe
tripled between 1000 and 1300.
As the population
grew, warfare
declined, and
people began
to travel.
Trade routes
expanded. At
annual trade
fairs, merchants
exchanged goods
from Asia such as
silk, jewels, and
spices.
The growth of
trade led to the
rise of towns
and cities.
Most trade fairs
closed in winter.
Merchants and
artisans settled in
towns near castles.
These centers of
trade grew into the
first medieval cities.
Merchants who set
up shop in a new
town received a
charter from the
local lord.
New business practices led to a commercial
revolution.
• As people sought capital to invest in new
ventures, banking grew.
• Merchants formed partnerships to pool funds
and share risk. They also developed insurance.
• Over time, most serfs became tenant farmers,
who paid for their land in rent rather than labor.
Medieval cities were very different from the
cities of today.
They were
There was
surrounded
usually a church
by high walls
with a steeple
and had very
that could be
narrow streets.
seen from far
away.
Cities were
overcrowded
and had no
sanitation.
People dumped
waste into the
street.
Royal Power in the High Middle Ages
How did monarchs in England and France
expand royal authority and lay the
foundations for united nation-states?
Medieval monarchs struggled to exert their
authority over nobles and the Church.
As they did so, these kings laid the foundation
for European nation-states.
Three different factions
had power during the
early Middle Ages:
They clashed
repeatedly, trying to
increase their power.
The Church
Between 1000 and 1300, monarchs used
several methods to increase their power.
• They set up systems of royal justice.
• They developed tax systems.
• They built standing armies.
• They strengthened ties with the middle class.
King Edward of England died in 1066 without
an heir. His brother-in-law Harold and William,
Duke of Normandy, both claimed the throne.
William the Conqueror sailed with an army
from France to England and defeated Harold.
The Norman
Conquest led to
a blending of
Norman French
and AngloSaxon cultures.
Henry II
inherited the
throne in 1154.
He broadened
the system of
royal justice.
He sent out royal
justices to enforce
the same laws over
all of England.
The decisions of
royal courts became
the basis of English
common law.
In time, royal
courts replaced
those of nobles or
the Church.
Under Henry II, England also developed
a jury system.
The first juries determined which cases
would be brought to trial. This was the
origin of today’s grand jury system.
Later, another type of jury evolved. Twelve
neighbors of an accused person decided on
the person’s innocence or guilt.
A dispute arose between Henry and the Church.
Henry claimed
the right to try
clergy in royal
courts.
“What cowards I have brought
up in my court. Who will rid me
of this meddlesome priest?”
—Henry II
Thomas Becket,
the archbishop
of Canterbury,
opposed him.
Becket was killed
by Henry’s knights.
Later English kings continued to clash with nobles
and the Church.
King John, the son of Henry II, battled with Pope
Innocent III, who placed all of England under the
interdict.
Barons, angry about taxes, forced King John to
sign the Magna Carta.
Provisions in the Magna Carta formed the basis for
both due process of law and the right of habeus
corpus.
The King also agreed not to raise new taxes without
consulting a Great Council of lords and clergy.
The Great Council evolved into Parliament in the
1200s.
In time, Parliament was made up of two houses: a
House of Lords, made up of nobles and clergy, and a
House of Commons, made up of knights and middleclass citizens.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=66ZcXBUx5IA
All of these
changes meant
that the power
of English kings
was slowly
being limited.
For example,
King Edward I
asked Parliament to
approve money for
war in 1295.
“What touches all
should be approved by all.”
—King Edward I
The American Revolution Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOjKiLDV3v I
The monarchs
in France did
not rule over a
unified kingdom.
Nobles elected
Hugh Capet to the
throne in 987. The
Capetian dynasty
lasted 300 years.
French power grew under Philip Augustus,
who became king in 1179.
Rather than
appointing nobles,
Philip August paid
middle-class people
to fill government
positions.
He gained control
of Normandy and
began to take
over southern
France before he
died in 1223.
Louis IX became king of France in 1226.
• He persecuted non-Christians and led two
Crusades against Muslims in the Holy Land.
• He greatly improved royal government,
expanding the courts and outlawing private wars.
Louis’ grandson
Philip IV extended
royal power and
clashed with the
pope.
“God has set popes over
kings and kingdoms.”
—Pope Boniface VIII
To gain support from the
French, he set up the
Estates General, a body
of representatives from
all three classes of society,
in 1302.
Unlike the English
Parliament, the Estates
General did not have power
over taxation. The monarch
remained supreme.
The French Revolution Explained: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LkF61DeYD24
The Holy Roman Empire and
the Church
How did explosive conflicts between
monarchs and popes affect the balance
of power in Europe?
The Church was very powerful during the Middle
Ages. Monarchs were also powerful, and the two
factions were often in conflict.
The rulers of the Holy Roman Empire in particular
struggled with the Church for many years.
King Otto I of
Germany worked
with the Church.
He appointed bishops
to government posts
and helped the pope
put down a rebellion.
The grateful pope
crowned Otto emperor.
Crown of a Holy Roman emperor
His successors took the
title Holy Roman
emperor. They saw
themselves as heirs to
the emperors of
ancient Rome.
Holy Roman emperors struggled for
control of their lands.
Emperors claimed authority over much of
eastern and central Europe, as well as parts of
France and Italy.
However, the real power was in the hands of
the nobles and Church officials who were the
emperor’s vassals.
Another major power struggle erupted over the
question of who had the power to appoint bishops.
Pope Gregory VII
wanted to make the
church independent
of secular rulers.
Holy Roman
Emperor Henry IV
saw bishops as
royal vassals.
In 1075, Pope Gregory banned lay investiture.
Henry IV angrily denounced the pope’s action.
Gregory excommunicated Henry in 1076.
In 1077, Henry humbled himself before the pope and
was restored to the Church.
Henry later led an army to Rome and forced
the pope into exile.
The issue of
investiture was
finally settled 50
years later with a
treaty called the
Concordat of
Worms.
The treaty declared
that the Church had
the sole power to
appoint bishops.
However, the emperor
had the right to grant
fiefs to the bishops.
In the 1100s, the Holy Roman
emperor Frederick Barbarossa
fought to bring Italy under his
control.
Though Frederick did arrange a
marriage that tied German emperors
to southern Italy, he did not conquer
the region.
Meanwhile, German nobles became
more independent. Ultimately, the
Holy Roman Empire remained a
patchwork of feudal states.
The Church reached the height of its political
power in the 1200s.
Pope Innocent III
took office in
1198 and claimed
supremacy over all
other rulers.
He placed kingdoms
under interdict and
launched a brutal
crusade against heretics
in southern France.
After his death, the
papacy entered a period
of decline.
The Crusades and the Reconquista
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X0zudTQelzI
How did the Crusades change life in
Europe and beyond?
Thousands of Europeans took part in the
Crusades. In these wars, Christians battled
Muslims for control of lands in the Middle East.
The encounters of Europeans in the Middle
East increased the pace of change at home.
By 1050,
Western Europe
was emerging
from a period
of isolation.
Civilizations
elsewhere
were thriving.
• Muslims had built an
advanced society in the
Middle East.
• Muslim conquerors and
traders had spread from
Spain to India.
• India, China, West
Africa, and Central
America had advanced
societies as well.
In the 1050s,
Muslim Turks
invaded the
Byzantine empire.
They extended
their power to
the Holy Land
in Palestine.
Rumors spread that
Turks were harassing
Christian pilgrims.
Hoping to gain power
and heal the schism in
the Church, Pope Urban
II urged bishops and
nobles to fight the Turks.
“God wills it!” roared
the assembly, and the
Crusades began.
Crusaders set off for the Holy Land.
Some were driven by religious zeal, others by a thirst
for adventure. Some hoped to win land and wealth.
Christian knights captured Jerusalem in 1099,
but in 1187, it fell again to the Muslims.
The Crusades did not achieve their goal of
retaking the Holy Land.
During the
Third Crusade,
Europeans
failed to retake
Jerusalem.
During the
Fourth
Crusade, they
fought other
Christians.
By 1291,
Muslim armies
captured
the last
Christian
outpost in the
Holy Land.
Effects of the Crusades
They left a bitter legacy of religious hatred.
European economies expanded as trade increased
and the use of money became more common.
As monarchs raised armies, their power increased.
Europeans developed a wider worldview, and some
set off on a new age of exploration.
The crusading spirit continued in Spain, in a
campaign called the Reconquista.
• The goal was to drive Muslims off the Iberian
peninsula.
• By 1300, Christians controlled the entire region
except Granada.
• Muslim influence continued, however, and shaped
the arts and literature in Christian Spain.
When Ferdinand and Isabella married in 1469,
a unified Spain was formed.
• They made the final push against Muslims in
Granada.
• Granada fell in 1492. The tradition of relative
religious tolerance experienced under the Muslims
was at an end.
Isabella wanted to bring religious unity to Spain.
She ended
tolerance of
non-Christians.
More than 150,000
Jews and Muslims
fled Spain.
She instituted the
Inquisition, which tried
people accused of
heresy. Many who
refused to conform were
burned at the stake.
The Black Death and the Hundred Years’ War
Ted Ed: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ySClB6-OH-Q
Hip Hughes: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arZT7EEr5A8
Crash Course Dark Ages: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QV7CanyzhZg
Crash Course Disease: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1PLBmUVYYeg
How did the combination of plague,
upheaval in the Church, and war affect
Europe in the 1300s and 1400s?
To Europeans in the mid-1300s, it seemed
that the end of the world had arrived. Plague
and war reduced the population and forever
changed Europe.
These upheavals marked the end of the
Middle Ages.
The Black Death, or bubonic plague, began to
rage through Italy in 1347.
• By 1348, the epidemic had reached Spain and
France and spread to the rest of Europe.
• This terrible and
fast-acting illness
killed one in three
people in Europe.
Burying the dead
in mass graves
The Black
Death was
spread by
fleas
carried by
rats. It
followed
trade
routes
from Asia
through
Europe.
The plague led to a breakdown in society.
People
fled from
cities or
hid in
their
homes.
Some turned to
witchcraft. As
people looked
for someone to
blame, Jews
faced new
persecution.
Economies
failed as the
cost of labor
soared and
inflation
broke out.
Social unrest became the norm in Europe for 100 years.
The plague created upheaval in the Church.
• Survivors asked, “Why did God spare some and
kill others?”
• The Church was unable to provide answers or
strong leadership.
• For decades, there was a schism in the Church,
with two or even three popes.
This schism
ended in 1417.
A Church council elected
a compromise candidate
and returned the papacy
to Rome.
Some preachers remained unsatisfied with the
Church. They questioned the morals and lavish
lifestyle of Church leaders.
John Wycliffe in England and Jan Hus in Bohemia
called for reforms. They were persecuted, but their
ideas resurfaced 100 years later.
A long war broke out in 1337.
England and France
had battled for
centuries over
Norman lands in
France.
The Hundred Years’
War was a
continuation of this
struggle. It would
last until 1453.
England and France
battled for control of the
English Channel and
trade in the region.
At first, the English won
battles due in large part
to their use of the new
longbow.
Impact of the 100 Years’ War
French kings expanded their power.
England’s Parliament became more powerful.
English rulers turned their attention to trading
ventures overseas.
Castles and armored knights began to disappear and
monarchs hired soldiers to fight.
Then, French fortunes reversed. Joan of Arc told
Charles VII that God sent her to save France.
• He authorized her to lead an army in 1429, and
she led France to several victories.
• Though she was ultimately burned at the stake,
Joan inspired the French to win the war.
• England lost most of its territory in France.
Joan of Arc Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iaixO6NYMps
The Byzantine Empire
Christianity to Justinian: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TG55ErfdaeY
What made the Byzantine empire rich
and successful for so long, and why
did it finally crumble?
Constantinople sat at a crossroads of land and
sea routes. Its great wealth came from trade
and its military might. As the cities of the
western Roman empire crumbled, Constantinople remained
secure and prosperous.
With its high walls and golden domes, it stood
as the proud capital of the Byzantine empire.
Emperor Constantine made Byzantium the center of the
eastern Roman empire, a “New Rome,” and renamed it
Constantinople.
•
It had an excellent harbor and sat at a crossroads of
trade between Asia and Europe.
•
Constantine expanded the city, adding new defenses and
magnificent buildings.
In time, the eastern empire became known as the Byzantine empire.
A blend of Greek, Roman, and Christian influences, it remained
powerful and wealthy long after the fall of Rome.
Constantinople reached its peak under the Emperor
Justinian, who ruled from 527 to 565.
•
Justinian’s armies retook many lands in North Africa and
southern Europe.
•
The fighting exhausted Justinian’s treasury, and his
successors would eventually lose these lands.
•
Following fire and riots in 532, he rebuilt Constantinople.
Among Justinian’s personal triumphs was the completion of
Hagia Sophia, or “Holy Wisdom.”
Under the Ottomans, the church of Hagia Sophia became a
mosque. It is now a museum.
Justinian’s compilation of
Roman law into the Corpus
Juris Civilis, or “Body of
Civil Law,” was one of his
most lasting legacies.
•
Known as Justinian’s
Code, it became a
handbook on Roman law for
legal scholars.
•
By 1100 European rulers
were modeling their
laws on his code.
Centuries later, modern legal scholars used Justinian’s Code as a
basis for creating international law.
The Byzantine empire had a centralized government and
a strong military.
•
The emperor strictly controlled the prosperous
economy.
•
Byzantine gold coins circulated from China
to England.
•
The powerful military and a well-fortified capital turned
away invaders.
Justinian was an autocrat who ruled with absolute
power.
• Unlike medieval European monarchs, he combined both
spiritual and political power.
• The emperor controlled the church and was seen as Christ’s
co-ruler on earth.
• He was aided by his wife, Empress Theodora,
a ruthless politician and advisor who often ruled
in his absence.
The Byzantine empire from 527 to 1360
Over time, differences developed between the Byzantine
Church and the Church in Rome.
•
The Byzantine emperor appointed the patriarch and rejected
the Roman pope’s authority over his appointment.
•
The Byzantines used Greek as opposed to Latin
in the services.
•
Unlike Roman clergy, Byzantine clergy were permitted to
marry.
Over time these differences grew into a
Great Schism, a split between the two churches.
•
In the 700s, a Byzantine emperor outlawed the use of icons,
holy images of saints or Jesus. This set off a religious battle
with Rome.
•
In 1054 the split hit the breaking point over additional
issues. The pope and the patriarch excommunicated one
another.
The church divided into the Eastern or Greek Orthodox Church and
the Roman Catholic Church.
The Byzantine
empire was in
decline even before
the Great Schism.
•
In Europe local lords grew
in power; the Normans took control
of southern Italy.
•
The Seljuk Turks were threatening
Byzantine trade routes and
territories.
After Crusaders plundered Constantinople in the 1260s, the empire
never recovered.
Constantinople
was in foreign
hands for 57
years. When the
emperor regained
the city, its power
was broken.
•
Venetians took over Byzantine
trade routes
to the East.
•
In 1453, the Ottoman
Turks laid siege to
Constantinople. The emperor died
as the city was taken.
•
Mehmet II renamed the city
Istanbul and made it the capital
of the Ottoman empire.
The Byzantine legacy influenced later cultures.
•
Byzantine art, especially religious icons, influenced Western
styles.
•
Byzantine scholars preserved many Greek and Roman
historical works and took them to the West, where they would
influence the Renaissance.
•
For centuries, Justinian’s Code has influenced European law.
The Rise of Russia
How did geography and the migrations
of different people influence the rise of
Russia?
As Western Europe was developing its distinctive
medieval civilization, Russian culture took a different
path. Connecting Europe and Asia, it became a center of
power in its own right.
One reason Russia developed differently from Western
Europe was its unique geography.
Russia is located on a broad plain with three climatic regions
that have influenced Russian life.
•
Northern forests supplied fur-bearing animals and lumber but
were too cold to farm.
•
Russia’s first civilization grew in a narrow band of fertile land now
part of Ukraine.
•
The southern steppe is a treeless, open grassland from which
nomads invaded.
Rivers connected Russia to the Byzantine empire.
Russia’s first
civilization grew
where Slavic
and Viking
influences met,
in Kiev.
•
Slavic farmers moved into what is now
Russia between 500 and 600.
•
Vikings traded and took tribute along the
rivers to Constantinople.
•
In 862, Rurik, prince of a Viking group
called the Rus, began to rule Novgorod to
the north.
•
After Rurik’s death, the Rus expanded
and made Kiev their capital—hence the
name “Russia.”
Christian missionaries brought Byzantine influences to
Kiev from Constantinople.
• In 863, Cyril and Methodius translated the Bible into Slavic,
creating Cyrillic, a written script still in use today.
• In 957, Princess Olga of Kiev converted to Byzantine
Christianity. Olga’s grandson Vladimir later married the sister of
the Byzantine emperor.
Russia was aligned religiously and culturally with the
Byzantine empire.
•
The Orthodox faith became the
Russian religion.
•
Vladimir’s son Yaroslav the Wise
spread Christianity.
•
Russia adapted Byzantine
art and architecture. The onionshaped domes on Russian
churches show Byzantine
influence.
St. Basil’s Cathedral in Moscow
Between 1236 and 1241, Russia fell to the Mongols.
•
The Golden Horde that invaded Russia was led by Batu,
grandson of Genghis Khan.
•
The invaders looted Kiev and other towns, killing many of
the residents.
•
The Mongols ruled for 150 years.
Fearsome invaders, the Mongol rulers didn’t meddle in local
government as long as tribute was paid. They even tolerated the
Christian Church.
During Mongol rule, the princes of Moscow increased their
power.
•
As Mongol power declined in the fourteenth century, the
princes of Moscow took on a new
role as patriotic defenders of Russia against foreign
invaders.
•
In 1380, they rallied other Russians to defeat the Mongol
Golden Horde in the Battle of Kulikovo.
Although Mongol raiders continued to plunder, their power was
greatly reduced.
The Mongols had a long-term impact on Russia.
•
Mongol leaders provided a model of strong, centralized control
without interference from the clergy or nobility.
•
Russian merchants benefited from safe trade routes between
China and Eastern Europe.
•
The Mongols cut off Russia’s contact with the West just as new
advances were being made there in science and the arts.
Between 1300 and
1584, the power and
territory of the
Russian princes
expanded.
They used their power
as tribute collectors for
the Mongols to subdue
neighboring towns.
Between 1462 and 1505, Ivan the Great united Russia under
his rule.
Ivan conquered
most of
northern Russia
and subdued
local landlords.
He married the
last Byzantine
emperor’s niece
and
saw Russia
as the heir to
Byzantine power.
He adopted the
Byzantine doubleheaded eagle as
his symbol and
took the title tsar,
Russian
for Caesar.
In 1547, Ivan III’s grandson, Ivan IV, was crowned tsar.
He limited the privileges of boyars, wealthy landowners, and gave
land instead to nobles in exchange for their military and other
service.
At a time when the manor system was fading in
Western Europe, he instituted a new policy that made poor farmers
into serfs on nobles’ lands.
Known as Ivan the Terrible, Ivan IV had a vicious
temper, which grew worse over time.
• When he suspected anyone of disloyalty, he had them
slaughtered by agents called oprichniki, who wore black and
rode black horses.
• His policies created a tradition of authoritarian rule, which
continued in Russia well into the twentieth century.
Lord of the Rings: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rfiqMsSERVE
Eastern Europe to 1700
How did geography and ethnic diversity
contribute to the turmoil of Eastern
European history?
The history of Eastern Europe has been marked by
migration, foreign conquest, and war. The region is home to
a diverse mix of peoples who have often battled with each
other and with foreigners.
At the same time, this diverse mix of peoples has greatly
enriched the culture of the region.
Throughout history Eastern Europe has been both a
buffer and a crossroads.
To the north, flat plains
linked Eastern Europe to
Western Europe.
To the south, rivers
linked the rocky Balkan
Peninsula to the
Byzantine and Ottoman
empires.
Eastern Europe, Russia, and the Byzantine
Empire in 1300
Eastern Europe’s
geography contributed
to its diversity, because
many ethnic groups
migrated through the
region.
•
Western Slavs settled in
the present-day Czech
Republic, Poland, and the
Slovak Republic.
•
Southern Slavs and other
groups settled in the
Balkans.
Waves of Vikings, Germanic peoples, Asian Huns, Avars, Bulgars,
Khazars, and Magyars migrated as well.
Eastern Europe was influenced by both Christians and
Muslims.
Byzantine
missionaries
spread Eastern
Orthodox
Christianity in the
Balkans.
German knights
brought Roman
Catholic Christianity
to Poland.
Ottoman invaders
later brought
Islam to the
Balkans.
Jewish migrants left Western Europe
for Eastern Europe.
Thriving Jewish
communities
existed in Muslim
Spain and other
countries.
But they were
blamed for hard
times and natural
disasters such as
the Black Death.
Jews were also
attacked during
the Crusades.
Jewish people were expelled from many lands.
Beginning in 1264, Polish
kings offered tolerance
to the Jews, and many
settled there.
Jewish merchants and
scholars helped Poland
grow.
Migration and Expulsions, 500–1650
During the Middle Ages
many kingdoms and small
states existed in Eastern
Europe.
Some were absorbed by
empires; some merged or
formed alliances.
Others were tied
together by
royal marriages.
Poland and Lithuania forged a large and powerful state
stretching from the Baltic Sea to the Black Sea.
• The two kingdoms united in 1386 when Polish Queen
Jadwiga married Duke Wladyslaw Jagiello of Lithuania.
• Gradually, power shifted from the monarch to a diet, an
elected body of nobles.
• In the diet a single noble could block passage of a law,
making it difficult to take decisive action.
Without a strong central government,
Poland went into decline.
• A final high point came in
1683, when King Jan
Sobieski broke the Ottoman
siege of Vienna.
• In the eighteenth century,
Poland was carved up by
ambitious neighbors.
King Sobieski
The Magyars came from the Asian steppes and settled in
what is now Hungary.
• During the Middle Ages they ruled present-day Hungary,
Slovakia, Croatia, and part of Romania.
• Like the Slavs in Poland, the Magyars adopted Roman
Catholicism.
The Hungarian king
was forced to sign
the
Golden Bull
of 1222.
•
Like King John in England,
the Hungarian king was
forced to recognize the rights
of the nobles.
•
The Golden Bull also strictly
limited the king’s power.
The Ottoman Turks ended Hungarian independence in 1526.
The Serbs set up a kingdom in the Balkans in the 1100s.
•
The peak of Serb power came between 1308 and 1355 with the
reign of Stefan Dusan, who added Albania and Macedonia.
•
Most Serbs practiced Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
The Serbs fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1389.
We end where we began!!!
Who will control Europe, after the fall of the Roman Empire, and will it be
• the Franks or France?
• the Angles/Saxons or England?
• the Roman Church from Germany (the Huns from Germany) to Italy also known as the
“Holy Roman Empire” or the Roman Catholic Church created by the Great Schism from the
old Western Roman Empire?
• the Byzantine Empire from Eastern Europe to Constantinople, to the Vikings of Russia and
the effects on the Balkans (where WWI started) or the new Eastern Roman Empire also
known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and then Russian Orthodoxy created by the Great
Schism?
• the Rise of Islam from the Middle East and India? (This will be covered in a separate unit as
part of Unit 3C and tied into readings and a Paideia seminar comparing/contrasting the rise
of the Germanic Barbarian Invasions of Rome to the War on Terrorism in the present day.)
Did WWI start because of a Sandwich or
were there many factors that caused the
“Great War” dating all the way back to the
Fall of Rome?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_pFCpKtwCkI
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qX0rRUkORAo
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kQpBZU2L2Dg