Middle Ages
From the Simple English Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia that anyone can change
The Middle Ages are a time period in European history. They started around the year 476 CE when the Western Roman Empire ended, and continued until around the time Christopher Columbus discovered the New World in 1492. The 'Middle Ages' are called this because it is the time between the fall of Imperial Rome and the beginning of the Renaissance (which began in different times in different countries). This period of time is also known as the Medieval Age, the Dark Ages (Because of the fall of education) or the Age of Faith (because of the rise of Christianity). To be exact, the term "Dark Ages" refer only to very early period, from 476 to 800 (coronation of Charlemagne).
Across Europe, the fall of the Roman Empire, after the invasions of different barbarian tribes, devastated towns and cities and their inhabitants. The Dark Ages are given this name because during this period of time Europe was in disarray, and it wasn't fun to live there. Much of the knowledge that the Romans used (science, technology, medicine, and literature) was lost. The Dark Ages period was marked by mass migrations, wars and plagues. Fortunately it was not long and lasted only some 300 years. Emperor Charlemagne was crowned in 800, and he promoted order, education and civilization. Europe began slowly regain what was lost during those centuries.
During the Middle Ages, Europe changed as the remains of a great empire (the Western Roman Empire) slowly became independent countries (England, France (The Franks), Germany (Germania), Hungary, Spain, Portugal, Poland, and Russia.
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[change] Byzantium: The other side of Rome
Meanwhile the remains of Eastern Rome had become the Byzantine Empire, which had been established by Roman emperor Constantine in 330, and likewise had a capital city named Constantinople. The Byzantine empire controlled Southern Spain, Northern Africa and Asia Minor, but its lands were slowly eaten away against enemies like the Arabs, the Turks and the Franks. Due to geographic and man-made defenses the city of Constantinople was extremely difficult to attack. But, the Byzantines were eventually destroyed by the Ottoman Turks, who seized Constantinople in 1453. These Arabs had trouble pronouncing "Constantinople" in their own tongue and so corrupted the pronunciation, calling the city by its present day name, Istanbul.
[change] Christianity and Early Europe
During the Dark Ages period almost all sciences and technologies faded, and the only true unifying force came from the Catholic church. It is at this point in history that Europeans began to send missionaries to 'barbarian' tribes in an effort to seek converts. Also at this point the Roman Catholic church reached its zenith (around 1095) with the first of many Crusades against Islamic forces occupying the holy city of Jerusalem.
The Christian church formerly split between the Roman Catholics in the West and the Greek Orthodox in the East around 1200; a split related to the Eastern/Western Roman split in the 5th century.
[change] The Crusades
The Roman Catholic church was Europe's main unifying force in the Middle Ages; and the Papacy reached the height of its power in 1095. The first crusade was an attempt to reclaim the holy city of Jerusalem from the Muslim Seljuk Turks. Pope Innocent III was the first to call for a unification of European forces. There were a total of eight major crusades in the Middle Ages, many of which involved driving back Muslim forces or reclaiming cities such as Jerusalem and Damietta, some involved things as trivial as trade routes and personal grudges. The last crusade ended in 1291, bringing an end to nearly two hundred years of warfare.
[change] The Vikings and European Exploration
Around 800 AD a vicious new threat appeared from Scandinavia in the form of Vikings, who invaded, pillaged, and plundered vast areas of Europe for almost 200 years. The Viking raids ended in the 11th century as Vikings became Christians, and they began to settle and become more docile. At the same time the Scandinavian countries became unified kingdoms.
Leif Erikson is thought to be the first explorer ever to reach the Americas, around the year 1000. This new world seemed to have little to offer, and drastic weather changes seem to have killed off the small colony left behind in North America. Early exploration such as this usually happened because countries wanted to find new, faster, trade routes to other countries.
In fact, Columbus had originally set out to discover a faster route to India, under the assumption that there was only ocean separating Spain from the Indians. Even after he landed in the Americas he thought he had reached India, incorrectly calling the locals 'Indians'. This label continues to remain with today's Native Americans more than 300 years later.
[change] Islam and its Golden Age
Islam was founded in the early 7th century by the prophet Mohammed. Followers of Islam believe that the Qur'an (Koran) was God's ultimate revelation to mankind and that Mohammed was the last prophet while Jesus was a lesser prophet and not divine. According to Islam, the Qur'an was first given to Mohammed in the cave of Hira, near Mecca. Like Christianity and Judaism Islam is a religion that assents to only one supreme deity, also tracing its roots to Abraham. Islam spread quickly along the major trade routes of the old world, finding appeal with traders and travellers. All followers of Islam are charged to follow its five tenets, known as the Five Pillars.
- The Five pillars of Islam
- The Testimony of Faith (Shahadah) - the declaration that there is none worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His last messenger.
- Ritual Prayer (Salat) - establishing of the five daily Prayers.
- Obligatory (religious) almsgiving (Zakat) - which is generally 2.5% of the total savings for a rich man working in trade or industry, and 10% or 20% of the annual produce for agriculturists. This money or produce is distributed among the poor.
- Siyam, Fasting.
- The Pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj) - this is done during the month of Zul Hijjah, and is compulsory once in a lifetime for one who has the ability to do it. If the Muslim is in ill health or in debt, he or she is not required to perform Hajj.
The Islamic religion was split almost immediately after the death of Mohammed in 632; between the Sunni Muslims and the Shi'a. The Sunni religion is the majority (roughly 85% of Muslims belong to this sect), whereas most Shi'a live in modern day Iran. The Sunni-Shi'a split has been compared to the Roman-Eastern Orthodox split of the Christian church much later in 1054.
During the Early Middle Ages, Muslims achieved what is remembered as a golden age of knowledge. During these times of strife in Europe Muslims gathered the ancient texts of the great empires (Rome, Greece, Egypt) and attempted to re-integrate that knowledge. Muslims during this time invented algebra. Muslims are also credited with saving vast historic records such as the works of Aristotle, later brought back to Europe during the crusades, translated from Arabic. Europe remained inferior to the East in terms of knowledge in the sciences until the Crusades in the early 13th century. The Golden Age of Islam ended with the Turkoman invasions in the 11th century. Turkomans were uncivilized nomads.
[change] High Middle Ages
The period from 800 AD to 1300 AD is called the High Middle Ages. It is also called the Age of Chivalry, since that was the period of the knights. During this period the knowledge which was lost after the fall of the Western Rome was slowly regained and re-assumed. Kings united their countries and the petty wars and squabbles between the nobles were ended. The High Middle Ages is often called as the "Age of Faith", because the religion has the strongest influence on people's lives.
During this period the feudal nobility was the most important force in most countries. Kings were just the "first nobles". During this period magnificent castles and large churches called cathedrals were built. Many of those survive and are used even today.
The most important Medieval inventions were glass, horsecollar, wheeled plough, mass smelting of iron, and printing press. Advances in mathematics were made, and notable new institutions, such as banks, universities, insurance companies and corporations, were founded. The oldest corporation in the world, Stora Enso, was founded in the 13th century.
[change] Asian Trade and the Black Plague
During the Middle Ages trade between countries become much more vast, mostly through the Middle Eastern / Asian trade route known as the Silk Road. Arabs served as the middle men in international trade. Trade in this time was based on how valuable the item was. The items that were higher value, and low weight, travelled the farthest (gold, silk, etc...), and items that were heavier and worth less would travel mostly short distances (food, for example, would mostly travel only within a few villages).
During the high Middle Ages, wealth began to return and consumers began to again demand luxuries. Silk, Porcelain, Spices, Incense, gold and gems, all travelled thousands of miles across vast stretches of deserts, mountains and plains. Glass was in turn imported from Europe to East.
Trade was greatly interrupted several times during the Crusades (1094-1291) due to the aggression between Muslims and Europeans, and because of Mongolian Invasions, and later because of the Black Plague. It is thought that the Mongols brought the Plague with them from Asia, and devastated the world population from 1348-1351. Almost a third of the worlds population was killed by the plague at this time, although the Americas were completely spared from the disease.
[change] Buddhism in the Middle Ages
Buddhism is a non-theistic religion (in other words, there is no god) that is based on philosophy. It originally began in India but is almost entirely gone from that area now. Muslim invaders drove out this system of beliefs, more or less forcing Buddhism to flee East (where it eventually took strong roots in China).
[change] The Mongolian Empire and Chinese Exploration
During the Middle Ages the Mongols created the worlds largest empire, controlling much of Asia, Middle East, and what is today far eastern Europe. Mongolia was so large and powerful that its strength lead to the Pax Mongolica, similar to the Roman Pax Romana. In other words, the Mongol empire was so powerful that it created a period of time that saw no war; only a great deal of international trade and diplomacy along the Silk Road.
The famous Mongol leader, Ghengis Khan built an empire that was so large it eventually collapsed under its own size (much like Rome did) around the time of Khans death in 1227. The former Mongol empire was split four ways, leaving the Chinese to become the dominant power in the Far East once again. The Chinese eventually regained control of northern China under the Yuan Dynasty.
Around 1405, A Chinese mariner named Zheng He sought to explore the world. His fleet of 300 'treasure ships' explored vast areas of the Eastern world, and were many times larger than anything the Europeans had built. (A Zheng He Treasure ship was wider than Columbus' ship 'Santa Maria' was long). Unfortunately for Zheng, his voyages were ended before he had a chance to discover the Americas.
[change] Late Middle Ages
Late Middle Ages were the last two centuries of the Middle Ages, from 1300 to 1492. During this period the gun revolutionzed the warfare and feudal nobility declined. States founded standing armies and enforced unified laws, unified money and national identity. Technology, economy and science developed. Cities were founded and existing cities grew larger and richer. France and England fought Hundred Years War. Russia regained its independence off the Mongols just like the Chinese, and Russia became the most important state in Eastern Europe.
In the 15th century, the Ottoman Turks conquered the Byzantine Empire. That event cut off the Silk Road, and the Europeans had to find new trade routes. In turn, the Muslims were driven off Spain. This event triggered the period called the Great Expeditions.
