Western Civilization

Chapter 8Early Medieval Civilization

600 - 900

Muslim Civilization

• Originated among nomads of Arabian Desert• Arab world divided into tribes led by chiefs named

Sheiks• Nomads or Bedouins were poor and depended on

grazing of their animals, chiefly camels• Tribal raids common• Rigid lifestyles and customs• Practiced polytheism and worshipped nature gods

• Mecca became a flourishing, cosmopolitan city along a trade route, a Haram

• Bedouins usually went to Mecca annually to worship at the Kaaba that contained a black stone that was said to be from the Garden of Eden

• Questions arose about the value of tradition when Bedouins encountered such a worldly city; change was the result

Kaaba

Muhammad

• Was seen as a religious prophet• United the Arab world• Born in Mecca in 570 A.D. and was soon an orphan• Raised by relatives who worked in trade• Learned of other places and other religions

through trade contacts• Became a business manager for a wealthy widow

at age 20

• Muhammad later married her• Became introspective in his 30s– Began to meditate in the arid mountains outside

of the city– At age 40 he had a vision that said he was to be

the messenger of God– From God’s revelations to him came the religion of

Islam – Within a year he began preaching

• Stressed the unity of God – Allah• Stressed the evils of worshipping false gods• There was to be a judgment day• Muhammad was told that he was the last and

greatest of God’s prophets• All revelations were written down in their holy

book called the Qur’an (Koran)

Qur’an

• Humans were to worship using prayers of praise, seldom with prayers asking for things

• The Qur’an was to be their guide for both their secular and religious lives

• There was a beautiful and exotic afterlife for those who followed the Qur’an and suffering for those who didn’t

• Islam was the name given to the faith; it means submission to God

• Followers would be called Muslims• Muhammad brought the Arab world a

religious vision that was not only new to the Arabs but that also gave them a historic mission to spread the true religion as revealed by Allah (God)

• Besides articles of faith, there were duties required of all believers

5 Pillars of Islam

• There is only one God, Allah, and Muhammad is his messenger

• Pray 5 times daily facing Mecca• Give of your wealth to the poor (zakat or

tithe)• Fast during the month of Ramadan• If possible, once in a lifetime make a

pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj

• There were also strict rules regarding diet and other things:– No pork– No drinking or gambling– Demanded honesty and fair play– Have respect for others

There was no church, no clergy, no sacraments, no images, and no statues

• Muhammad ran into trouble with the people of Mecca when he said that those who worshipped more than just Allah were damned

• His followers were ostracized and persecuted• In the meantime, Medina asked Muhammad

and his followers to come there to mediate some dispute

• On 24 September 622, Muhammad and his followers sneaked out of Mecca under the cover of darkness and went to Medina

• This journey is known as the Hejira and marked the beginning of the Islamic movement

• He organized his followers from Mecca and Medina into a community that went beyond tribe or clan, called an Umma

• Muhammad was the holy man and his family was now his Umma

• When his control of Medina was certain, he went back to Mecca with 10,000 warriors and captured the city with very little bloodshed

• Mecca was then considered the most sacred city• Islam began to spread throughout the Arab world

making the Umma a supertribe open to all who accepted Allah and Muhammad as his prophet

• Women remained subordinate to men; they could be equal in heaven but not before

• Men could have up to 4 wives and could divorce them at will

• Women were usually kept separate from men• In public women had to wear a veil that

covered most of her face; only the eyes were uncovered

• Islam did forbid female infanticide• Brides received a dowry from their husbands• Marriage was more of a partnership than a

sale• Women did have inheritance and property

rights• They also had protection from mistreatment

in marriage

Spread of Islam

• Islam was spread through raiding and warfare; all done in the name of Allah

• Holy wars were called jihads • When Muslims took a town, the people had a

choice – convert to Islam or pay a tax• Muhammad died in 632 leaving no clear

successor and no direction concerning its leadership

• Abu Bakr (632-634) was the 4th convert to Islam and Muhammad closest friend to whom he gave the title of Caliph; he became Muhammad’s successor

• He died in 634 and a new successor was named• Umar (634-644) was the next caliph and had

many problems with followers who wished to go their own way; launched a war of reconversion spreading Islam beyond the Arab world

• Uthman (644-656) was the next leader of Islam and was killed

• Ali (656-661) is thought to have had a hand in the death of Uthman– claimed authority to lead based on blood because he

was Muhammad’s son-in-law and nephew– He was assassinated– His followers formed a dissident religious/political

group called Shi’ites claiming a blood connection to Muhammad

• Muhammad• Caliphs• Omayyads• Abbasids• Rival Caliphs in Spain, N. Africa, Syria, & India• Abbasids with help of Turkish mercenaries

who made Abbasids their puppets

Omayyads

• Center of power was in Damascus• Imperialists• Had a central court, bureaucracy, efficient tax

system, and strong army• 632 – 750, Muslim world was dominated by

Arabs• Resentment grew from non-Arab Muslims• This led to the overthrow of Omayyads in 750

Abbasid Power

• Took power after Umayyads• Family of Persian origins• Their rise to power marked the end of Arab

domination in Muslim world• Moved the capital to Baghdad • By 9th century Abbasid power declined• Rivals caliphs arose in Spain, N. Africa, Syria, & India• Abbasids regained power with help from Turkish

mercenaries and became the puppets of the Turks

Economics

• The wealth of the Muslim Empire exceeded that of the Byzantine Empire and the Germanic West

• Trade was extremely important; trade routes throughout the empire and south through Africa

• Wealth defined social class• There was mobility in society

Social Order

• Mobility• Non-Muslims were tolerated but thought to

be inferior and were taxed• Restrictions placed on women– Secluded from social life– Had to submit to the will of their husbands

• Polygamy for men was legal• Men could divorce easily• Slaves had few rights• Behavior regulated by Qur’an and unified the

Muslim world• Theologians, lawyers, and Philosophers

reflected on their religion from their various perspectives

• The result was an orthodox faith much more complex than the original message of Muhammad, however, rooted in his teachings

• Adherents of the orthodox faith were called Sunnis

• Shi’ites were those who insisted that the true religion was preserved by Muhammad’s blood descendants

• All Muslims learned Arabic; the Qur’an was not translated into other languages

• Muslims studied Greek philosophy and reconciled it with the Qur’an; this preserved Hellenistic culture

• They took scientific information from the Greeks, Indians, Persians, Mesopotamians, and Egyptians and added to it

• Mathematics – we use their numerical system with zero based on the Indian; combined Indian and Greek concepts to create algebra

• Medicine – studied disease, dissected bodies, and experimented with drugs

• Science – made advances in geography and physics

• Poetry – used imagery and technical skill (Omar Khayyam)

• Art – built mosques with minarets for individual prayer, palaces, tapestries, fabrics, leatherwork, paintings

Byzantine Empire

• Suffered outside attacks from 6th to 10th centuries

• Persians, Bulgars, Muslims, and Slavs attacked at different times

• 622 – 629 Emperor Heraclius recovered almost all the territory that had been lost

• When Arabs kept pressing in, Heraclius couldn’t hold onto it

• Arabs took large portions of the Byzantine Empire

• By 700, the new boundaries of the Byzantine Empire took shape: the eastern Balkans and Western Anatolia (lost in 717)

• They almost lost Constantinople, but Leo III and the “Greek Fire” made capture impossible

• Leo then ruled until 741• After his reign, succeeding emperors worked

to fend off other attacks• There were external and also internal

problems• In 867, a rough soldier named Basil I (r. 867-

886) seized the throne, set up a Macedonian dynasty, and preserved the state

Internal Changes

• Emperor did not always have strict control over all aspects of religion

• An example of this is the monastery– From 6th century onward, there were many

monasteries in the empire– In 11th century, there were 300 just in Constantinople– Monasteries were often wealthy and powerful– They possessed what they called miracle working

religious images called icons

Religious Icons

• These icons gave monasteries a power the emperor did not have

• People venerated these icons• This led to the Iconoclastic Controversy that

lasted from 726-843• Leo III, the Isaurian issued an imperial decree

forbidding this idolatry• He then ordered the destruction of all images of

Christ, the saints, prophets, & others

• Representations of all sorts, including mosaics in Hagia Sophia were destroyed as well as the religious art work of Justinian’s reign ( except for what was in Italy and on Mt. Sinai)

• The Iconoclasts, image destroyers, mutilated, blinded, tortured, and sometimes executed those who tried to protect sacred images

• Iconodules were those who protected, defended the icons

• Outwardly, it was a religious issue based on the biblical commandment forbidding graven images

• But it was really a conflict between Church and State

• The monastic movement had achieved much wealth, power, and the respect of their followers

• This was upsetting to the Emperors

• A later empress, Theodora, allowed the images once again in 843

• These images once again regained their importance with the faithful

Struggles in Spain

• Visigoths ruled in Spain until 507 when defeated by Clovis, a Frank

• Afterwards, there were rebellions and more invasions by the Franks, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, and Muslims

• Muslims invaded Spain in 711 and took much of the Iberian Peninsula– They ruled from Cordoba– Christians moved to the mountains called Asturias and

attacked Muslims from there from 9th to 15th centuries

Italy

• Had several Germanic groups, but the Byzantines and Muslims claimed various parts

• Popes created their own state in the center• Lombards eventually took over much of Italy• 744 Charlemagne, a Frank, defeated the

Lombards and took the Lombard crown for himself

• He then guaranteed the land in the center of Italy for the Popes

• The popes protected the people of central Italy

• They justified their land there because of the Donation of Constantine– In the 320s, Constantine supposedly gave the

pope the authority to rule Rome and the whole West

Britain

• Was abandoned by the Romans• Was influenced by the Anglo-Saxons• 600, an Anglo-Saxon kingdom was established• It converted to Christianity• Celts, the original inhabitants, invaded in the

first century but were confined to western areas of Cornwall and Wales and to the north in Scotland

• Catholicism also reached the Celts• The best known story involves Patrick, son of a

Roman official, who was captured and enslaved by pirates, taken to Ireland, freed, and eventually became a priest who took Christianity to Ireland

Carolingian Empire

• Clovis and the Franks created the most effective of the early Germanic Kingdoms

• In 7th century, some problems of rule emerged, but a Frankish family called Carolingian assembled talent and resources and took the lead

• The greatest of their leaders was Charlemagne

Charlemagne

Reign of Charlemagne 768 - 814

• Charlemagne was the first great western European secular ruler

• He was courageous, joyful, intelligent, had military prowess, and was devoted to family and Church

• He was a successful military war lord– Defeated Lombard king in Italy & assumed the title King

of the Lombards– Attacked Saxons in N.E. France– Fought Avars, Slavs, & Muslims

• He never appeared to take land out of greed, but rather he was overpowering the “barbarians” and the “infidels”

• He was saving his fellow Christians from the invading hoards

• He appeared as the “strong right arm of God”• He gained great booty and used it to gain

allegiance from his warriors

• Charlemagne also tried to improve the quality of government– He considered the public well-being and the

responsibility of the ruler– Greatly influenced by Christianity– Strove for right order, harmony, and justice– Wanted to direct his realm toward realizing God’s

commands– Commanded his subjects to do good and avoid evil

• Charlemagne claimed authority to command his subjects on all matters

• He maintained a court made up of nobles and clergy

• He was supported by royal lands, booty, tolls on trade, profits from coining money, and fines

• He also had the county-count system– 300 counties– 300 counts

• Administered justice• Mustered men and supplies for the military• Kept order

Counts were rewarded for service by being given land.There were special envoys to travel to counties and find out

what was going on in them. They also delivered proclamations from the King

• Loyalty was extremely important to having a unified realm; it meant order

• Land grants were given to those who served the King– Given to the military– Given to the clergy who influenced parishoners

Religious Reform

• Charlemagne was obsessed with religious reform• He supported missionaries who helped to spread

Christianity• He strengthened Church organization by re-

establishing the authority of bishops over subordinate parish priests

• He imposed higher moral and educational standards on those who joined the clergy

• He established the tithe, a 10% tax on income to support the Church

• He tried to establish uniform doctrines and rituals

• He relied on guidance from the pope

• All these achievements and reforms helped to elevate Charlemagne to Emperor– In 799 Pope Leo III was charged with misconduct– In 800 Charlemagne went to Rome to prove the

pope innocent and restore him to full authority– On Christmas Day 800, Pope Leo III placed a crown

on Charlemagne’s head during mass and crowned him “Augustus crowned by God”; he was emperor of the Romans

• Charlemagne ruled for 14 years as Emperor• In 813, he crowned his son Louis as emperor

Carolingian Renaissance

• Renaissance means rebirth• Championed by Charlemagne• This is considered his most lasting

achievement• He felt both religious and political life would

improve if leaders were better educated• He made a connection between learning and

the quality of life

• He began the Palace School in the 780s– Served the children of the royal family, great

nobles, youths destined to serve the court or the Church

– The program was designed and run by Alcuin of York, an English monk• Alcuin saw education as preparation for understanding

the literature of the Bible, Church Fathers, saints’ lives, and the liturgy

• Alcuin’s program centered on the 7 liberal arts divided into 2 groups– Trivium: grammar, rhetoric, and logic– Quadrivium: arithmetic, geometry, astronomy,

and music

They needed better textbooks and more copies of them, so monks made copies of books.

• They tried to spread education to monasteries and Church run schools

• After Charlemagne’s death, the school system declined

• Accomplishments from this educational system:– A simplified, flexible, version of Latin developed– Re-establishment of learning and the literature of

ancient Rome and the early Church

– Copied texts were placed in libraries– An interest grew in art; mosaics, frescoes, manuscripts,

ivory carvings, metalwork, and jewelry

They blended the traditions of the classical, Byzantine, Germanic, and Celtic. Art was used to deepen religious piety

Carolingians also rebuilt bridges and ports to help tradeFrankish Kingdom collapsed in late 9th to 10th centuries. The

Kingdom was divided after Charlemagne’s death in 814