the Middle EUROPE Ages “Third Wave Civilizations” · 2013-12-17 · the Middle East House of...
Transcript of the Middle EUROPE Ages “Third Wave Civilizations” · 2013-12-17 · the Middle East House of...
In Focus: Byzantium and the Middle Ages“Third Wave Civilizations”
POST-CLASSICAL EUROPE
Reconciliation of 1964
Represents the path of European Civilization since the fall of Rome
BYZANTINE CIVILIZATION: MODERN CONTEXT
Rome had become too large to govern from a singular administrative district
City formed in 330
Geographic advantages?
ORIGINS OF BYZANTIUM
The Greek and Roman Character of Byzantium
Greek in language and culture
Roman in organization and politics
ROMAIOI
With the collapse of Rome West the empire continued to the East.
Rome’s collapse in 476…but occurred over centuries.
Rome part 2…and 3?
ROME EAST
Byzantium consisted of: Egypt
Greece
Syria (Assyria)
Anatolia
A HODGE PODGE OF ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS
CaesaropapismReflection of Caliphates
in regionGoals and objectivesThe empire was the
source of all authority Surrounded by an
elaborate bureaucracy and military organization to carry out his wishes
BYZANTIUM BY THEME: POLITICS
Byzantine urbanization ‘eis ten polin’
The blue-green factions and the Nika Revolts.
30,000 dead
THE PERIL OF AUTOCRACY
“unnecessarily complex”
Byzantine government and bureaucracy
A NEW WORD…BYZANTINE
BYZANTIUM: GEOGRAPHY
Cultural Bridge
Neighbors
Rise of Islam
Benefits of geography
A PEARL OF GEOGRAPHY
Church and state
Orthodox Christianity and its influence on Byzantine life
Opposition to Latin Christianity
BYZANTINE CULTURE: THE CHURCH
Iconoclasm
Pope v. Patriarch
Political differences
Monasticism
Great Schism 1054
CrusadesFourth Crusade
BYZANTINE ORTHODOXY VERSUS LATIN CHRISTIANITY
Characteristic of most “Third Wave” civilizations—Byzantium was very active in interacting with the outside world
Conflicts: Persia
Islamic Empires
Trade Regional
Trans-regional (Silk Roads)
BYZANTIUM AND THE WORLD
Transmission of Greek learning to the Middle EastHouse of Wisdom
Restoration of Greek past to the European world
BYZANTINE CULTURAL INFLUENCE
Kiev and the spread of Orthodoxy
Conversion of the Rus and the impact of the conversion.
The Third Rome
BYZANTINE RELIGIOUS INFLUENCES
WESTERN EUROPE AFTER THE FALL OF
ROME
POST CLASSICAL EUROPE
A Case Study
CHARACTERISTICS OF EARLY M.E
Hard-won political order, restored out of disruption caused by the fall of the Roman Empire, centuries of destructive invasions, and dramatic depopulation. This order was based on a highly decentralized but flexible system that vested political, military, and judicial authority in local and regional rulers.
A long, slow process of economic recovery based first on increased agricultural production within the rural manorial system to be followed by gradually increasing trade, industry, and commerce and the eventual reurbanization of Europe.
The cultural unity provided by the Christian church based in Rome. During this period Roman Christianity provided the impetus for cultural continuity and unity in western Europe. The office of the papacy and the monastic movement were two powerful institutions that helped to preserve Roman traditions and develop and consolidate a uniquely European culture.
CHARACTERISTICS OF HIGH M.E
The consolidation and expansion of regional states. These powerful states sometimes were organized by local rulers and based on lord-retainer relationships, as in France. Other times they were direct conquests, as with the Norman invasion of England. At other times, they were supported or encouraged by the Roman church, like the Holy Roman Empire.
Economic revitalization. With renewed agricultural surplus, the population expanded and Europe began to reurbanize. Cities grew, and with them grew business, industry, trade, and educational institutions. Long-distance trade networks reappeared, especially in the Mediterranean and Baltic and North Sea regions.
Continued presence of the Roman Catholic Christianity in virtually all aspects of high medieval life. Through both traditional church institutions and the mass appeal of popular religious practices, the church prospered during this period. The Roman church's influence was felt in education, philosophy, literature, conquest, and travel
POLITICS
Largely decentralized, employing Feudalism.
Regional centralization, in persons like Alfred the
Great, Charles the Great, and Otto I.
POLITICAL SIDENOTE…
The conflict between Church and State. The only PC state in which secular and religious control clashed.
DEMOGRAPHICS
Between 200 and 600 Medieval Europe’s population plummeted, only to slowly increase.
This trend in the Post-Classical World is unique.
ECONOMICS
Manorialism
Agriculture-the “plow story”
Agriculture-slow to evolve
Cross cultural trade—very slow to evolve
Disruption of commerce by invasions
Little to no cross cultural interaction.
Unique to the Post-Classical World.
SOCIAL CLASS
Peasantry/Manorialism—bound to land, social mobility very limited.
Class system of Feudalism.
Lords—Vassals—Clergy—Knights—Peasants, social diversity limited as specialization is limited.
Urbanization slow to evolve
Similar to India in that class mobility was rigid.
RELIGION
Intense cooperation between Franks and Papacy to develop control over Europe
Conversion of Clovis
Charlemagne spread the faith
Monastic orders and rules lead to Monastic expansion—St. Benedict and St. Scholastica
Unique in the PC World with some similarities to India and China
GEOGRAPHY
Invasions from three directions. Crusades
Vikings from the North, Magyars the
East, and the Muslims from Spain
and the South.
Similar to China and India