1.

The Formation of Feudalism

I, Factors contributing to the fall of the Western Roman Empire

A, Political factors:
- military interference in politics
- civil wars, unrest
- moving the capital to Constantinople, division of the empire
B, Social factors:
- lack of interest in public affairs
- devaluation of Roman citizenship
- disloyalty, corruption
- social contrasts between rich and poor
- sack of cities by barbarians
C, Economic factors:
- poor harvests
- disruption of trade – less and less gold and silver – inflation
- tax burden
- craftsmen, traders lost their jobs and moved to the country – return to self-sufficiency
D, Military factors:
- barbarian threat
- lack of funds for defence
- lack of soldiers – barbarian mercenaries in Roman armies
- decline of patriotism and loyalty among soldiers
- pressure from Huns, invasion by Germanic tribes,
- sack of Rome

II, The roots of the feudal system

In the formation of feudalism 3 factors played important roles:
1. the Roman Empire
2. the barbarians
3. Christianity
1. The Roman Empire
In the western half of the Roman Empire simplification and unification of society took place in
the 4th and 5th centuries. Similarly to later feudal society there were only two basic social layers:
landowners who owned the land but did not work on it and tenants (coloni) who worked on the land
but did not own it.
2. The barbarians
The barbarians gradually settled down in the Roman Empire and Rome acknowledged the power of
Germanic leaders. The Romans and the barbarians made contracts; in return for military service the
Germanic tribes were granted land together with coloni. (It was the forerunner of fief.) After 476
they became lords of the lands and came to be called kings of the territory. The new order was
formed basically in Gaul and the German territories.

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The layers of barbarian society provided a model for later feudal society.
- big landowners with a large retinue
- small and middle landowners with land in their property
- free peasants who bore the burden of military service as well
- tenant farmers
- slaves employed as servants
3. Christianity
Christian monks were the only people in the Dark Ages (following the fall of the Western Roman
Empire) who could read and write; they kept literacy alive. Christian missionaries, who were
monks themselves, undertook to spread Christianity among the barbarians. The most famous and
most successful was St. Patrick of Ireland.

III, Feudalism
The feudal system came into being on the dual basis of antiquity and barbarism with the
transmission of Christianity. The disintegrating Roman slave-holding society and the disintegrating
Germanic clan society mingled to form something new. Feudalism was a form of society and
government based on the ownership of land and relationship of lord and vassal. Feudal relation
was based on granting lands and on the agreement between a lord and a vassal.
The ownership of land could be transferred in 2 ways:
1, By offering the land to a greater landlord, king or to the Church (commendatio) a freeman
could become either a vassal or a serf. The vassal owed military service and in return
received protection and military equipment. The early form of serfdom meant that the
freeman not only lost his land but also his freedom and for a proportion of the crop and
certain services like socage, presents received protection from the landlord.
2, A king or mighty lord could also grant lands to the members of his retinue either as a
beneficium – not inheritable piece of land received for loyalty or earlier services as a
present – or as a fief – inheritable piece of land granted by the lord for military service. It
was given as a token of loyalty so the vassal had to swear an oath of loyalty called the
feudal vow or homage.
Doing the homage was a public ceremony. Kneeling, bareheaded and without his sword the vassal
placed his hands in the hands of the lord and took a vow of loyalty in this humble position. Then the
lord raised him up and kissed him, presented the vassal with a stick or clod of earth symbolizing the
transfer of ownership of the land.

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The system of offering and granting land developed because of the decline of a strong central
government instead of which local authorities came into being as there was need for self-defence
against attacks.

IV, Feudal hierarchy

In theory, feudal society was like a pyramid. At the bottom were many knights, each with a small
fief. Sometimes ambitious vassals collected fiefs from different landlords. Above them were many
lords, who held larger fiefs. They belonged to the retinue of royal vassals, who were the vassals of
the king, the greatest feudal lord. However, even kings could be vassals of e.g. the pope or emperor.
Nevertheless, the king was the greatest landlord and to gather an army the king gave lands to royal
vassals, who subdivided their fiefs among their vassals thus becoming lords at the same time.
- The lord gave land and protection and received military service, feudal vow and loyalty, aid
and advice (auxilium and concilium) from his vassal. Financial aid could be asked three times:
when the lord’s eldest son was knighted, when his eldest daughter got married or the lord was
captured and ransom had to be paid.
- The vassal received land and protection for all his services. The lord could travel to the vassal’s
fief and had to be housed, wined and dined. If the vassal had no male heir in the family to
inherit the land, royal fiefs were returned to the king.
The feudal pyramid implied only vertical subordination. The vassals of royal vassals were directly
subordinated to them; they had no obligations to the king. Feudal hierarchy thus was a direct
relationship that restricted the king’s power: ‘My vassal’s vassal is not my vassal.’

V, New groups of feudal society

Knights
Knights were professional cavalrymen who lived in feudal dependency; they had to do military
service in return for the land/equipment. There were changes in the army: heavily armed
cavalrymen needed expensive equipment (armour, weapons, horse), which made military service a
privilege and not obligation. Germanic freemen, who earlier all were warriors either ascended into
the upper class of knights or descended into the lower class of serfs. Knights were also
differentiated on the basis of their wealth:
1. Those who could afford expensive equipment but did not have enough land to ‘afford’
vassals of their own.
2. Those who received a fief just enough to maintain their position as a warrior.

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 3. Those who were maintained directly by the lord who provided them with armour, horse
and food and they often lived in the lord’s castle.
Churchmen
By far the most important institution left behind the Roman Empire was the Christian Church,
which helped the establishment of the new civilization. All over Western Europe its bishops
became leaders of local authorities and the pope, the bishop of Rome became the political leader of
the Papacy and the spiritual leader of western Christendom, which gradually separated form the
east.
- Pope Gregory I (the Great) immensely increased the power of the popes, with it he established
the Papacy as an independent political unit. He governed Rome as the mayor of the city raising
armies against the Lombards and sending out missionaries to spread Christianity among the
pagans.
- Papal diplomacy helped Christian kingdoms to emerge from barbarian Europe. The Papacy
gradually civilized the peoples from among whom were to emerge the first Europeans.
Secular clergy, the clergy of parishes dealt with Christian communities of cities and villages.
Regular clergy members, the clergy of monastic orders gave up their private possessions and lived
according to the rules of poverty, chastity and obedience. Men were called monks and lived in a
monastery or abbey, women were called nuns and lived in a convent or nunnery.
- The Benedictine Order, the first monastic order was founded by St. Benedict in Monte Casino in
Italy (529). Benedict’s sister, Scholastica founded a similar community for women.
- Monks and nuns lived according to their basic principles: ‘Pray and Work’ (Ora et labora). In
monastic orders work meant teaching, maintaining libraries, copying books, healing as well as
the use and spread of new tools and methods in agriculture. Through the work of monks, at least
a part of Rome’s intellectual heritage was preserved.
Serfs
Originally they did not represent a single class, it was made of descendants of Germanic freemen as
well as Roman tenant farmers (coloni) and liberated slaves (libertini). However, most of the earlier
warriors could not bear the double burden of fighting and working the land.
- Serfs did not own just use the land for a proportion of the crop (their position was similar to
that of coloni in this respect), that’s why feudal ownership was dual ownership. Besides a
proportion of the crop, they owed the landlord socage (labour service) and gifts.
- They worked on the lord’s land as well as on the plot of land assigned by the village community
called mark in Germanic languages.

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- They were under the jurisdiction of the lord and they were bound to the soil, (their position was
similar to that of libertini in this respect).

VI, Feudal economy

There were significant changes in agriculture. From the 4th century economy was concentrated on
agriculture because of the recession in economy that resulted in self-sufficiency.
The basic layer of production was serfdom and new units of production appeared:
- The manor was an estate from which a lord’s family gained their livelihood cultivated by serfs
as a socage service. Its centre was the castle (different from today’s castles) – a wooden tower
on a hill surrounded by a wall or ditches. Manors were managed by stewards – in the absence of
the lord they had full rights in the manor.
- The mark was the village community of Germanic origin. The land was the property of the
village. They divided fields, each family received a strip of land and had to grow the crops
determined by the mark.
New systems of production spread in the western part of Europe:
- In Southern Europe, where the autumn was dry, two-field system was used. One field was
planted, the other was ploughed but not planted; it was left fallow. The fields were rotated every
year.
- To the north of Southern Europe two novel systems appeared: one was the pasture ground
system - fields were cultivated until they exhausted (7-30 years) and then turned into a pasture.
By the 9th-10th centuries (as people had fewer fields to cultivate) three-field system appeared in
Western Europe. The land was divided into three parts: a spring field, an autumn field and a
fallow and they were rotated every year.
Crafts saw a great recession, artisans moved to villages and concentrated on the production of tools
and weapons.
Trade declined– internal trade almost disappeared because of the return to self-sufficiency. Money
was not in use for a time. On the other hand, foreign trade – contact between further regions –
survived, Arabs and Jews maintained contacts with Asia.

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 2. Feudalism in Western Europe – The New Idea of Empire: the Franks

I, Political changes in Western Europe

a, Personal ties replaced citizenship:
The Barbarians overran Europe and introduced their social and political model. The society was
based on personal relations, family ties, not on government or law. Soldiers, warriors were ready to
fight and die for the leader they knew but did not feel the need to obey a king they did not know. As
a result, it was difficult to form a government over a larger territory.
b, The focus of civilization changed:
Although the first wave of the migrations was over and the Germanic peoples found their final place
of settlement, the borders of kingdoms changed constantly, so it was impossible to define the
borders exactly.
There was a shift away from the Mediterranean basin, the centre of classical civilization. The focus
of civilization moved to new regions:
- Future France and Germany were in the making, which became the new centre of western
civilization / western Christendom.
- To the south lay the region of the new Mediterranean culture: Catalonia, Provance, the Papacy
in Italy.
- The periphery in the west included Spain and England with its semi-barbaric neighbours of
Celtic culture: Ireland, Wales, Scotland
- Scandinavian peoples settled in the north, they would start a new wave of migration: the
Viking invasion.
- To the east Slav Christendom and Byzantium were culturally apart from the west. They would
provide a Christian cushion, which protected the west from the eastern nomads and the Islam.

II, The Franks under the Merovingians

The Franks were united under one kinship of the Franks, the Merovingians. Led by their first king,
Clovis (481-511) (the later form of this name is Louis) they conquered much of Gaul. Clovis (15
when became king) was the founder of the Merovingian dynasty (the long-haired kings – long hair

6
was the symbol of power and authority). He underwent a battlefield conversion just like
Constantine, which gave him the support of the pope.
- Having expanded his power over a large territory in today’s France, he founded a new capital on
an island in the River Seine: Paris (its inhabitants were Christian and known as Parisii).
- He introduced a new administration dividing the kingdom into counties with counts governing
them, which meant the beginning of the feudal system in France. However, 2/3 of the land was
in his hand, which means it was a patrimonial kingdom (= a form of government in the early
Middle Ages, the economic basis of which was the fact that the majority of land was in the
king’s hand and the king was supported by the Church and his strong military retinue).
Nonetheless, later the kingdom was divided by the successors of the Merovingians, which often
resulted in anarchy (the aristocracy had greater power than the king). The Merovingian royal line
impoverished because of the large-scale granting of land was overshadowed by the Frankish
aristocracy, who inherited the powerful offices and gained ‘immunitas’ (immunity). Immunity
meant that the aristocracy gained royal prerogatives:
- They had their own powerful military retinue.
- They levied and collected taxes.
- They minted money.
- They practised jurisdiction just like a king.

III, The Franks under the Carolingians

During the reign of Clovis’ successors, the most influential and powerful person was not the king
any more but an official: major domo (mayor of the castle).
- Formally the major domo was in charge of the royal household and estates, but in fact he was
the power behind the king, he ruled in the king’s name.
- He received land from the king, inherited offices, gained immunity = royal prerogatives: the
major domo was allowed to collect taxes, mint money, have a military retinue and practise
jurisdiction.

In 714 Charles the Martell (= Hammer) became major domo, thus he practically became king. In
732 he defeated the Arabs at Poitiers – saving Europe from the Arab conquest. He also expanded
the empire to the North, South and East, his victories were largely due to the military reforms he
carried out; the backbone of his army was the heavily armed cavalry.

Pepin the Short (754-768)

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Charles the Martell passed a huge kingdom to his son, Pepin the Short. He inherited the office of
major domo from his father, but was elected king by the aristocracy. He wanted to secure his
position against the powerless king and wrote to the pope (Stephen II) asking for his blessing for
seizing the throne.
- Thus, in 754 Pepin became king by the grace of God, the first ever to be anointed by the pope.
Actually, Pepin and the pope needed each other’s assistance; only the pope could give
legitimacy to Pepin’s reign and only a strong king could protect the pope from the Lombards.
- When Stephen II asked for Pepin’s help to fight the Lombards, he defeated them and he donated
a piece of land in central Italy to the pope thus forming the Papal States. (Actually, Pepin made
the donation inreturn for the anointment.) An informal but unstable alliance was formed
between the Frankish Kingdom and the Papal States; both wanted to control the other one.
- Deposing the last Merovingian king with the consent of the pope, Pepin founded a dynasty that
was named after Pepin’s son (Charles the Great) and he became the first Carolingian.

IV, Charlemagne (768-814)

Carolus Magnus or Charles the Great was great indeed, 6 feet 4 inches and he was a great
sportsman (hunting, horse riding, swimming). His name is used in several languages to denote a
king (kral, király). Charlemagne was the king of the Franks for 46 years (longer than Augustus had
been emperor of the Roman Empire); his reign was as a glorious time of the Frankish Kingdom as
Augustus’ reign had been for Rome.
a, Foreign policy:
Charlemagne’s main aim was to renew the Roman Empire. To achieve this, he expanded his empire
in the south:
- He helped the pope defeat the Lombards, took over Northern Italy.
- He crossed the Pyrenees, marched into Spain but his attempt failed. Nonetheless, he pushed the
frontier of western Christendom until the River Ebro. The legend of a heroic Frankish leader is
recorded in the Song of Roland, an outstanding epic of the early Middle Ages.
in the east:
- He conquered Pannonia against the Avars.
- It took him 30 years to subjugate and Christen the Saxons of Germany by force.
The borders of the new empire were: the Atlantic Ocean in the west, the Northern Sea in the north,
the Danube and the Elbe in the east, the Pyrenees and the River Ebro in the south. By the year 800,
the Frankish Kingdom included all of France, the northern part of Spain, all of German Saxony
and 2/3 of Italy belonged to his kingdom as well.

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b, Charlemagne’s coronation:
In 800 Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne emperor in Rome on Christmas Day (after Charles
helped him put down a revolt.) Probably the king and the pope had different motifs for the
coronation.
- The title of emperor gave Charlemagne a new prestige as it meant he was ruler of not only the
Franks but also of all people in the western Christendom.
- On the other hand, with the coronation the popes’ power to name an emperor was established.
Whatever was the motif, the coronation was to have long-term consequences.
- The coronation added to the growing split between the Church of Constantinople and the
Church of Rome; the two Christian empires – a Roman Catholic in the west and a Greek
Orthodox in the east.
- A new idea of empire arose – the popes gave the crown and the title ‘Roman Emperor’ to one
European king or another.
- In the hands of powerful kings the title could be a tool in the later investiture struggle.

c, Home affairs
The king needed powerful nobles to rule the kingdom (but at the same time their power had to be
limited). That’s why Charles reorganised the kingdom: he divided it into counties and marks.
Counties Marks
- ruled by a count lands on the frontiers
who was responsible for (e.g. Austria = Ostmark)
the loyalty of the county governed by a marquis
- they were also controlled by royal officials
called missi dominici
So Charlemagne not only granted large fiefs to gain vassals but also reformed local government to
control his vassals. The missi domici (= royal officials – usually a bishop and a count – sent by the
king to check the work of local officials) had to check the king’s vassals (dukes, counts, marquis),
administration and report irregularities.
To control the empire there was an imperial assembly every two years to discuss imperial matters.
Charlemagne called together the chief men of his empire – dukes, counts, marquis as well as missi
domici – to discuss the most important matters.

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d, Culture - Carolingian Renaissance
It meant the revival of learning. Charles’ court in Aachen was the centre of culture in the early
Middle Ages.
- Alcuin, an English teacher reformed education in his palace school; on his order monasteries
and cathedrals were expected to open schools.
- There was precious copying work in the monasteries. To substitute Roman capital letters a new
writing was developed by monks: Carolingian miniscule. (It was very close to modern letters.)

V, Disintegration of the Empire

Charlemagne’s successors did not possess his qualities. In 840 a civil war was started between his 3
sons. In 843 in Verdun the Treaty of Verdun was signed, which settled the map of Europe for the
future. The empire was divided into three parts:
1, the central territory of Charlemagne’s empire – from central Italy to the North Sea – as well as
the title of the emperor was given to Lothar I (hence the name of a southern region in France –
Lotharingia),
2, the eastern part – the future Germany – was passed to Louis (the German),
3, the western part – the would-be France – was given to Charles (the Bald).

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 3. The Viking Age

I, Europe after the Treaty of Verdun

In the 9th-10th centuries Europe was plundered by new invaders.
West: during the reign of powerless Carolingian kings, central authority broke down.
South: Muslim pirates seized Sicily and raided Italy (sacked Rome in 846).
East: raids of Magyars threatened Germany, Italy.
North: the most dreaded attackers, the Vikings struck Europe.

II, The Vikings (Northmen or Norsemen)

From 800 until 1000 Vikings raided from Ireland to Russia. (A new prayer became part of the daily
worship ‘Save us, O, God from the fury of the Northmen!’) The Northmen were different pagan
tribes from Scandinavia, they were skilled seafarers. Their name, Viking, originally meant ‘pirate’.
Their warships, called longboat, were the technological marvel of the age (long, lean, light ships
which could hold up to 300 warriors). These ships could also be used on shallow rivers, creeks thus
they could plunder settlements far from the seacoast as well. Their habit was to raid and sack
monasteries as they knew that they could find precious metal and food in great abundance there.
- Not every Viking tribe dealt with piracy and plundering, though. The Norwegians colonised
territories up in the north. Eric the Red (982) sailed from Iceland and discovered Greenland.
Leif Ericson (Eric the Red’s son) sailed from Greenland to Newfoundland (Canada), they
called it Vinland. It means that Europeans reached America before Columbus.
- The Danes were responsible for most of the piracy. They often attacked coastal territories of
France (Normandy), Scotland, Ireland and England. In 886 Alfred the Great halted them there.
- They also settled down as east as Russia, where they were called Varagians. They were involved
in trade with Baltic peoples and took part in the formation of the Slavic state in Russia.

III, The end of the Viking Age

By 1000 the Viking age ended. Its reasons:
1, Europeans worked out the way to respond quickly to raids and small-scale invasions (the same
situation was seen with the Magyars).
2, Vikings gradually adopted Christianity, the raid on monasteries was finished.
3, A period of warm climate came so the Vikings had prosperous settlements even in Scandinavia,
on Greenland and Iceland and there was no urgent need to plunder.

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IV, Peoples of the British Isles
Celts – dominated Western Europe until the Roman conquest, then they withdrew to the fringes of
the British Isles. The Scots, the Welsh and the Irish are the descendants of the Celts.
- The mythical stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table had some historical
basis. Arthur was a Romanised Briton successfully fighting against the Anglo-Saxons. Maybe he
was not a king, only a military leader.
Angles – Germanic tribes invading Britain in the 5 th-6th centuries. They settled down in
Northumbria, Mercia and East Anglia.
Saxons – Germanic tribes invading Britain together with Saxons and settled down in Sussex, Essex
and Wessex.
Jutes – Germanic people related to the Angles and Saxons. Originally they occupied the Danish
peninsula, later they established the Kingdom of Kent.

V, Feudalism in England
From time to time one English kingdom or another became strong enough to have some power over
the rest but not for long. It was Alfred the Great, King of Wessex, who could unite Angles, Saxons
and Jutes against the invading Danes in the 9 th century. He was the national hero who could defend
faith and England against pagan invaders. They made an agreement (Danelaw) that forced the
Danes to remain in the north-eastern part of England. He established a new system of defence –
shire, i.e. county. He also undertook the task of promoting learning – writing, copying and
translating books. (Venerable Bede – Ecclesiastical History of the English Nation, Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle)
In the 11th century a new Danish invasion made England part of the Great Danish Empire
established by Canute the Great (1016-1035).

VI, The Norman Conquest

1066 marks a turning point in English history. Edward the Confessor, king of England died in 1066
leaving no heir, thus William the Duke of Normandy stated his right to be king. He had to face the
army of Harold Godwinson at Hastings. ‘William the Conqueror’ defeated the last Anglo-Saxon
pretender and was crowned in London. The Norman Conquest changed the character of English
feudalism; William I introduced centralized feudalism, nobles were required to take an oath of
allegiance and he disrupted Anglo-Saxon holdings to his own vassals. Even the vocabulary was
changed; Saxon words were replaced by French ones.

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 4. The Byzantine Empire

I, The Eastern Roman Empire survived

The Byzantine Empire was established in 395 by Theodosius and one of his two sons, among whom
he divided the Roman Empire, became the first emperor: Arcadius. After the fall of the Western
Roman Empire the Byzantine Empire kept the Roman heritage. The empire existed up until 1453
(the raid of Turks).
The geographical location of Byzantium was advantageous. The capital of the Eastern Roman
Empire was situated on the Bosporus, which is one of the straits controlling shipping routes
between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea. (Actually the city lies on the Sea of Marmara that
connects the Aegean and the Black Seas.) It had a spacious harbour called the Golden Horn: ‘horn’
because of its shape and ‘golden’ because of the wealth coming from trade.
Byzantine emperors retained strong centralised power.
- They had absolute power with unrestricted authority to rule; the emperors were the actual head
of state in Byzantium. The basis of the emperor’s power was the fact that the majority of land
was in his hand and his support was the well-trained imperial bureaucracy and the mercenary
army.
- Religion was closely linked to politics. The eastern empire refused to accept the Bishop of
Rome as the sole leader of the Christian faith. The Byzantine emperor was taken as a divine
personality; he acted not only as the political but also as the religious leader – i.e. head of
church.

II, Justinian (527-565)

Justinian was an able ruler under whose reign Byzantium flourished, two of his three ambitious
projects were of lasting value though one proved to be a waste of men and money. Justinian’s
ambitious aims were the following:
1, to restore the Roman Empire by conquering Roman lands to the west,
2, to comply and simplify laws of the empire,
3, to start a huge building programme in Constantinople.

1, Reconquest:
The able emperor had an able general: Belisarius. He fought successfully against the barbarian
tribes in North Africa, Italy and Spain.

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- He broke down the Vandal kingdom in North Africa, conquered Carthage and restored ‘Africa
province’ of the Roman Empire.
- The war against the Ostrogoths in Italy took more time (18 years) but finally he defeated the
Ostrogoths and took Rome, which was in ruins.
- The final conquest was Spain; Belisarius was victorious over the Visigoths as well.
However, after Justinian’s death all the conquered territories quickly passed to the barbarians.
2, Code of law:
By his order a new Body of Civil Rights – Corpus Juris Civilis – was complied by a team of
Greek and Latin legal scholars. Through Justinian’s legal reforms, which became the basis for
European law, Europe came to know the Roman law. The effect of Justinian’s code of laws lasted
for 900 years.
3, Building programme:
Justinian undertook a city building programme larger than that of any Roman emperor. As a result,
Constantinople was the wonder of its age. Famous sights of Constantinople:
a, marketplace (Mesê) = Middle Way
In Constantinople merchants were selling luxurious items from Russia, England, Africa and Asia;
silkworms were smuggled from China, so the secret of silk making was taken from China.
b, The Imperial Palace was a huge building full of gold. Some 20,000 people were in the service of
the emperor.
c, Hagia Sophia was the greatest monument of Byzantine Christianity, which is now a Muslim
mosque. Its giant dome is an amazing example of Roman/Byzantine engineering.
d, The University: it was the storehouse of Greek culture; scribes copied and preserved all Greek
works (otherwise they could not have survived). Earlier the arts of writing could be studied both in
Latin and Greek but Latin fell out of use. Even the empire came to be called the Byzantine Empire
named after the original Greek town on Constantinople’s site. Education was widespread among
men and women alike. (There were writers, philosophers and at least one doctor among women.)
e, The Hippodrome was an extravagant public place, the most important sports events were held
there, altogether 60,000 people could be seated.

III, The crisis of the Byzantine Empire

After Justinian’s death the Byzantine Empire was characterised by riots, religious quarrels and
foreign dangers; it was a period of crisis. A plague swept through the empire, while Lombards
moved to Italy, Avars invaded the Balkan Peninsula, Persians threatened the Greeks and the armies
of Arabs from the Arabian desert threatened the survival of the Byzantine Empire

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- In the mid-600’s the Arabian invasion reached the Byzantine Empire; Arab victories swept
away huge parts of the empire: Egypt, North Africa, Syria and Armenia were lost. Although Leo
III, Byzantine emperor managed to stop the Muslims under Constantinople, only Greece and
Asia Minor remained to the Byzantines.
- The Arabs threatened to take Constantinople itself; year by year, their warships besieged the
city. What saved the Byzantines was a terrifying weapon no one else possessed – ‘Greek fire’.
It was a mixture of explosive chemicals that burned even on the surface of water.
- An ideological controversy – conflict over icons – further weakened the Byzantine Empire.
Several emperors tried to stop the use of icons, for they charged people with praying to the icons
as if worshipping idols. It resulted in bloody fights between those who wanted to keep the icons
and the iconoclasts. The pope was against the iconoclasts and the Byzantine emperor and
excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople.

III, The split of church

By 1054 the tension between Rome and Constantinople, the two centres of Christianity led to the
split of church. As the political break turned into a fierce religious dispute, the pope and the
patriarch excommunicated each other. Rome became the centre of Roman Catholic Church
(catholic means ‘universal’) and Constantinople was the centre of Eastern Orthodox Church
(orthodox means ‘correct belief’).
There were basic controversies between the Roman Catholic Church and the Greek Orthodox
Church:
Rome Constantinople
- service was held in Latin - service was held in local languages
- priests could not marry - priests were allowed to marry
- pope was taken as an independent - the patriarch (bishop of Const.)
head of church accepted the authority of the emperor
- the pope accepted icons and those - in Const. some smashed icons
who kept icons (iconoclasts) and only after the pope’s reaction
did the patriarch accept icons and claimed
iconoclasts heretics

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 5. Arab Conquests and the Islam

I, Geography
The Arabian Peninsula, where a new monotheistic religion was born, is almost entirely deserted. It
stretches along the Red Sea, which separates Asia from Africa. Its inhabitants, called Bedouins,
were nomadic tribes. Their economy being based on livestock farming, they were always on the
move in search of water and pastures for their animals near oases.
- Bedouins routinely raided one another’s camps and caravans. However, certain times were
considered holy for making pilgrimage to a sacred shrine in Mecca, war was stopped then.
- The largest towns were Mecca and Medina growing rich from trade. Besides traders, a huge
number of pilgrims visited Mecca every year, as it was an important religious centre.
- A shrine in Mecca called ‘Kaaba’ (cube) was the home of the most sacred stones of the Arabs –
the Black Stone of Kaaba. Besides the Black Stone, the Kaaba contained idols representing
hundreds of gods, including one deity called Allah. The Bedouins worshipped many gods and
spirits or jinns, who were thought to reside in stones and other natural objects.

II, The Islam

The formation of Islam was connected to Mohammed. He was born in Mecca, in a minor branch of
a wealthy family. He was greatly interested in religion and during his business trips to Syria he may
have come into contact with Byzantine Christians, who acquainted him with their monotheistic
religion. When he was 40, his life was changed overnight by a vision. As he was meditating in a
cave just outside Mecca, the Archangel Gabriel appeared to him with messages from Allah (Allah is
the Arabic word for God). Mohammed started teaching monotheism in Mecca with little success,
some of his followers were even stoned in the streets.
- So in 622 he fled from Mecca to Medina. The escape is known as the Hegira (=flight), which
was a turning point both in Mohammed’s life and Islam, therefore 622 is the first year of the
Islamic era.
- Islam is a strictly monotheistic religion; the central teaching is that there is only one God who
created the universe. The word Islam means “surrender” or “submission” to the will of God.
According to the creed of Islam ‘There is no God but Allah and Mohammed is his prophet’.
Islam says all Muslims are equal before God regardless of ethnic or national background.
In Medina Mohammed became a political and military leader as well as the religious leader. Within
10 years almost all Bedouins accepted the new religion and became Mohammedans (or Muslims).
Soon the Mohammedans defeated the Meccans and the prophet entered Mecca in triumph (630).

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Two years later, by the time the prophet died, the new religion had been firmly established in
Arabia.
- The sacred places for Muslims in Mecca were the Kaaba and the Dome of the Rock.
Mohammed destroyed the idols in the Kaaba, allowing only the Black Stone to remain. The
Dome of the Rock was erected on the site where the prophet was believed to rise into Paradise
after his death.

III, Koran – the holy book of Islam

The teachings of Islam are gathered in the holy book called Koran (= timeless words of God). It
was written in Arabic and only the Arabic version was considered to be the true version. Only
Arabic could be used in worship. Because of this rule, the Arabic language spread widely in the
Middle East and North Africa. Wherever Islamic conquerors carried the Koran, Arabic became the
language of scholars and poets.
The Koran established customs, morals and laws for the Muslims.
- Friday afternoon was set for communal worship and prayer when Muslim men gathered in the
mosque where one led the common prayer but not a priest. Unlike many other religions, Islam
lacked a formal priesthood. As in Islamic society men and women led very separate lives,
Muslim women couldn’t pray in the part of the mosque where men prayed.
- As Islamic law forbids the artistic representation of God, prophets and human beings,
mosques were decorated with fine oriental patterns and the Koran was decorated with beautiful
calligraphy. Muslims believe in prophets e.g. Abraham, Moses, Jesus, i.e. the important figures
of other monotheistic religions – the Jewish religion and Christianity.
- Believers were and still are forbidden to eat pork, ham and to drink wine and other intoxicating
beverages.
- Islamic men could and still can marry 4 wives provided that they could/can support them.
Marriage with non-believers was forbidden though.
- Muslims believe in the Day of Judgement, when true believers will be welcomed into Paradise,
described by the Koran as a fabulous garden.
- It was the obligation of Muslims to spread the ‘true faith’ even by force; it is the teaching of
Jihad (i.e. the holy war against those who do not believe promised as the immediate entry to
paradise).

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IV, The creed of Islam
The rules of Islam regulated the life of Mohammedans, as Mohammed’s teachings set forth strict
guidelines for right living. Every believer was expected to carry out five duties, which were known
as the ‘Five pillars of Islam’.
1, Faith – true believers had to show full commitment to the teachings of Islam and make a
statement of faith: ‘I testify there is no god but Allah and Mohammed is His Prophet.’
2, Prayer – Muslims were required to pray five times a day, facing the holy city of Mecca.
Before reciting a formal prayer laying flat on a prayer rug, they purified themselves ritually;
removed their shoes and washed their hands and feet. If there was not enough water, they used sand.
Muezzins called the Muslims to prayer each time from the minarets. According to Islam, individuals
have direct relationship to God; prayers represent a direct link between the worshipper and God.
3, Alms (zakat) –A key principle of Islam is that everything belongs to God. That’s why
Mohammed strictly ordered his followers to give a portion of their wealth to the needy. So each
year Muslims calculate their zakat (About 2.5% is given to charity.)
4, Fasting – Every year in the holy month of Ramadam, all Muslims fast from sunrise until
sunset, abstaining from food, drink and sexual relations. This is a method of purification and
reflection of sensitivity to the sufferings of the poor. Only after sunset could families joyfully sit
together for a meal.
5, Pilgrimage (the Hajj) – The pilgrimage to Mecca is the most significant manifestation of
Islamic faith. The obligation must be performed at least once in a lifetime, for many Muslims it
involved a long, tiring and often dangerous journey through deserts, mountains and seas.

V, Islam conquest
The new religion could unite the Arabic tribes fighting each other as it aimed at spreading Islam
with wars of conquest. Arabia was united under Mohammed and in the 7 th century his
successors, the caliphs (= successors to the prophet) started Islamic expansion in every
direction. In a century’s time, Muslim Arabs conquered Mesopotamia, Persia, Palestine,
Syria, Northwest India, Egypt, North Africa and the Iberian Peninsula (711). In 732,
exactly 100 years after Mohammed’s death, Muslim armies from Spain crossed the Pyrenees
into France. However, they were defeated at the Battle of Poitiers by the Frankish leader,
Charles Martel.
Several factors help explain the blinding speed with which Muslim Arabs conquered this huge
territory and spread their faith from India to Spain.

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 1. Jihad – the Koran taught that wars fought for God were just.
2. The Arabian Peninsula was badly overpopulated in the 600’s. Arab armies were full with
warriors eager to move to more bountiful lands. As new converts accepted Islam, they
swelled its armies still more.
3. Arab tribes faced little resistance in Persia and the Byzantine Empire, which exhausted in
the struggle against each other. On the other hand, in Western Europe the new method of
defence based on the feudal system was proved to be successful against the Muslim
conquerors.
Results of the conquests:
- The Arabs were tolerant rulers. They offered the subjects three options: convert to Islam, pay a
reasonable tax or die.
- Originally, Muslim society had been a huge community of believers. Mohammed had taught
that all Muslims were equal in the eyes of God. However, as Arab armies conquered new lands,
people who were not Arabs began to accept Islam. Therefore, Islamic society came to have two
classes: an upper class of Arab Muslims and a second class of non-Arab Muslims.
- Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians ranked below both Muslim groups. They paid a tax to avoid
converting to Islam.
- The building of an empire changed Islamic society. No longer was everyone under Muslim rule
an Arab or even a believer in Islam. As time went by, the lands under Islamic rule became less a
community of believers and more like other empires of history with a natural circle of lifespan;
a golden age was to be followed by decay and fall.

VI, The decay of the Islamic empire

- Expansion was stopped by the strengthening Byzantine Empire and Western European
kingdoms. The unity of the empire came to an end: the Caliphate of Cordoba and North African
territories became independent, separated from Arabia.
- Furthermore, over the years religious differences split Islam into two main wings: Shi’ites and
Sunni (orthodox) Muslims.
- Political life became more violent; one dynasty of caliphs replaced the other through rebellion
and assassination.
Once the Persians supported a rebel, in return for it, the new caliph moved the capital to Baghdad,
closer to the heart of Persia on the River Tigris. Baghdad became as a splendid capital of Muslim
civilization as Constantinople of Byzantine Christians. The Islamic Empire had its brief but brilliant

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golden age under the rule of this dynasty, the Abbasids. The empire reached the height of its power
and prosperity under its greatest ruler, Harun al-Rashid.
- Then the conquered peoples rebelled against conquerors. Barbarian Seljuk Turks serving in the
Islamic army attacked Baghdad, conquered Persia, Syria, Mesopotamia and Asia Minor. Just as
Rome fell to its barbarian allies, Baghdad fell to the Seljuk Turks. Soon Turks replaced Arabs as
the ruling class.
The empire had once been ruled by caliphs (the successors of the prophet). They had both religious
and political power. They owned all the lands, had absolute power. They granted lands, which could
not be inherited. No feudal hierarchy and serfdom came into being. Slaves retained their part in
production. After the Turkish conquest caliphs remained religious leaders and sultans became the
political leaders.

VI, Islamic culture

The height of the Islamic empire and the golden age of Islamic arts and sciences were under Harun
al-Rashid (786-809). The cultural transmitting role of the empire was of great significance. Like
Hellenistic civilization, Islamic culture was enriched by many groups creating a rich blend of
cultures; not only Arabs but also Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians played a large part in the
empire’s intellectual achievements. Yet the Islamic faith and the Arabic language held the empire
together. Arabic became the language of scholarship.
Sciences were influenced by Greek sources – huge libraries were set up and Greek works were
translated.
- The first chemical laboratories were established by Arab alchemists who tried to turn ordinary
metals into gold.
- Medicine was advanced in the Islamic Empire. Avicenna wrote a guide to doctors that was in
use for six centuries. Arabic doctors also excelled in the preparation of medicine.
- The Arabs used the astrolabe first, which was the instrument to find one’s position on earth
using the position of stars.
- A field of mathematics, algebra (Arabic word: al-jabr) originated in Arabic science. The
Muslims adapted the number system invented by the Hindus of India. They used sets of ten and
a symbol for zero. Neither the Greeks nor the Romans had a zero in their number system
without which higher mathematics was impossible. This number system was introduced in
Europe with Arabic transmission; therefore we speak about Arabic numerals.

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Literature:
- Poetry was considered to be the greatest art, poems of war and love were popular among Arabs.
- Story telling had its influence felt even in Europe. The Arabian Nights is a collection of
folktales that includes the tale of ‘Aladdin’s Magic Lamp’, ‘Sinbad the Sailor’ and ‘Ali Baba
and the Forty Thieves’.
Architecture:
- Throughout their empire the Muslims built beautiful mosques. The Dome of the Rock in
Jerusalem, the caliph’s palace with the Green Dome (throne room) in Baghdad and the
Alhambra in Granada may be the finest examples of Arab architecture.

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 6. Feudalism in Eastern Europe – Slavic Peoples

I, Slavic peoples
The Slavic peoples migrated to Europe from the plains of Asia. They had three great groups:
Eastern Slavs, Southern Slavs and Western Slavs. While the Arabs threatened Constantinople from
the south, the Slavs struck from the north (AD 700-800). Around 850-900 Byzantine missionaries,
St Cyril and St Methodius started to persuade the Slavs to take up Christianity. They introduced the
Cyrillic alphabet for Slavic languages.

II, Eastern Slavs - The Russian Kingdom

Eastern Slavic communities developed in Kiev (on the River Dnieper) and Novgorod (southeast of
the Baltic Sea). Their origins are recorded in the Primary Chronicle – dating back to the Varagian
leader Rurik, the first Russian Prince. In 989 Vladimir the Great, Grand Duke of Kiev was
converted to Byzantine Christianity and it became official religion of the kingdom. Yaroslav the
Wise was the greatest ruler of early Russia in the Kievan period.

III, Southern Slavs

A, Bulgarians – First Bulgarian Empire
The origins of Bulgarians are rather obscure, they settled down on the Balkans in the 7 th century.
Simeon (893- 927), the first tzar took Christianity from Byzantium but tried to be independent of
the city. His attempt to take Byzatium failed and in 1018 Byzantium occupied the kingdom thus
ending the first Bulgarian Empire.

B, Croatians
They took Christianity from Rome and gained support from the pope against the patriarch and the
Byzantine Empire.

IV, Western Slavs

A, Moravians
Settled down in the valley of the River Morava. In the 9th century Mojmir invited Cyril and
Methodius thus accepting Byzantine influence. They invented Glagolite writing for the Moravians.
The height of the empire was reached under Svatopluk, who turned to Rome and changed religious
connections. After his death, Franks and Magyars swept away the Moravian Empire.

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B, Bohemians
After the fall of the Moravians, Boleslav I (935- 964) united the Slavs of the Czech basin. He
belonged to the Přemysl dynasty. They turned to Rome but they were controlled by the German
bishop of Mainz.

C, Poles
The Slavic peoples along the Vistula were united by Miesko. He belonged to the Norman dynasty of
Piast. He turned to Rome in 966 and his son, Boleslav, established an episcopate independent of the
German-Roman Emperor belonging only to Rome. In 1025 he was crowned thus becoming an
independent king.

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