Transcript Brief Introduction to European Culture---

Middle Ages
--AD 350–1450 Church/state as one—
1.Why is the beginning of the Middle
Ages described as transformations
of the Roman world? AD 350-600
2.What were historical backgrounds
of the birth of Christianity?
The image of God as against the
supreme power of the emperor is a
symbol of order, equality and love.
Diocletian
As emperor
of Rome
from 284 to
305,
Diocletian
expanded
the
boundaries
of the
empire. In
order to
improve
imperial
control over
Roman
territories,
he
appointed a
co-emperor
to rule the
eastern half
of the
empire.
Constantine
the Great was
the first
emperor of
Rome to
convert to
Christianity.
During his
reign,
Christians,
previously
persecuted,
gained
freedom of
worship. He
gave huge
estates and
other gifts to
the Christian
church. He
established a
capital in the
eastern
provinces,
naming it
Constantinople
(now İstanbul,
Turkey).
Medieval
Reliquary
During the
Middle Ages,
the bones and
other remains
of saints were
frequently
venerated as
relics. Artists
would often
create elaborate
boxes, called
reliquaries, to
contain these
sacred remains.
The four leading Fathers of the Western church—Saints Jerome, Gregory the
Great, Ambrose, and Augustine—are depicted, left to right, in Madonna and
Child Enthroned,
The Koran
The revelations of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, were recorded
in verse form in the 7th century in a text that came to be known as
the Koran. The copy of the Koran shown here dates from the late 8th
or early 9th century.
Mecca, Saudi Arabia
The al-Haram Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, holds the holiest shrine of Islam, the
Kaaba. As the birthplace of Islam’s founder, the Prophet Muhammad, Mecca is
considered a holy city. It is a pilgrimage point for Muslims worldwide, who are
expected to visit the city at least once if they are able to do so.
Medina, Saudi Arabia
Medina, in western Saudi Arabia, is a sacred city that only Muslims
are permitted to enter. The Prophet Muhammad took refuge in
Medina after fleeing Mecca in 622 ad, and the city’s numerous
mosques remain a destination for large numbers of Muslims on their
annual pilgrimage.
Spread of Islam
In the 7th and 8th centuries the religion of Islam spread through conversion
and military conquest throughout the Middle East and North Africa. By 733,
just 100 years after the death of Muhammad, the founder of Islam, an
ordered Islamic state stretched from India in the east to Spain in the west.
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire evolved from the Roman Empire’s
eastern territories after the Roman Empire’s western
regions fell in the 5th century. Initial harmony between
the church and state fortified the early empire (4th-6th
centuries). The Crusades taxed the territories during the
11th century, precipitating a decline. Constantinople, the
capital, fell in 1453 to the Ottoman Turks, who conquered
the last remnants of the Byzantine Empire a few years
later.
Merovingian Castle
Altes Schloss (Old Castle), in Meersburg, is the oldest inhabited
castle in Germany. Meersburg was founded in 628 by the Merovingian
king Dagobert, who is believed to have laid the cornerstone for the
castle.
3.What were historical backgrounds
of the birth of the Byzantine, Islam
and the west? (one-God belief)
a. The Roman Empire grew too large
to control by one emperor and to
resist the Persians and Germans;
b. The emperor assimilated Germans.
c. Its western half came to fragment
into smaller and weaker kingdoms.
4.What were their particular features?
Trade center; centralized power;
thriving trade; centralized power;
poor: cities depopulated and land
unproductive; fragmented power;
5.What were their common features?
One God, rural means, local power.
6. Why do we say that Merovingian
kings & queens laid the foundations
for the formation of later Europe?
A. These Germanic Franks controlled
the West and divided the kingdoms
and fought among themselves.
B. They adopted Roman institutions,
allied with Christian churches.