IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:

UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES

Introduction: The Classical Civilization

Remember what civilization is? Civilization is a large Notebook Activities

group of people who live together in an organized way (a
society) and who develop and control all aspects of human Answer the following questions about the presentation
life. (you don’t need to copy the questions):
There have been many civilizations in history, but
the most important for us is the classical civilization 1. What is, in your opinion, the main difference between
because most aspects of human life during the last two Greek and Roman architecture?
millennia come from then: Agriculture, architecture, art, 2. Describe the extent of the Roman Empire: Which were
communications, engineering, entertainment, language, its limits? Which modern countries were a part of it?
law, literature, navigation, philosophy, politics, religion, 3. Who was the most powerful person in the Roman
science, trade, war, and others. Let’s take a look at it. Empire?
4. What’s the difference between Greek and Roman
The classical civilization belongs to Ancient History mythology and Christianity?
and took place in Greece and Rome from the 8th century
BC to the 5th century AD. It reached the highest level of And about the animated map:
development the world had ever seen until then.
5. Which were the three stages of Roman history?
Greece developed from the 8th century AD to the 2nd 6. What happened to Julius Caesar in 44 BC?
century AD (when it was conquered by the Romans). It 7. Who founded the Empire?
was divided in many independent city-states or poleis 8. Who undertook the last major wars of conquest?
which often fought against each other. The Greeks
invented democracy, which was the political system used
in Athens (although not exactly the same as present-
day democracy). They explained the world in two ways:
mythology and philosophy. Greek mythology was full
of stories about gods and heroes. Philosophy was a way
to find the truth about the world through thinking, and
the most important philosophers were Socrates, Plato
and Aristotle. In art and architecture, the Greeks tried to
imitate nature while searching for beauty and perfection.

Rome conquered Greece and adopted its mythology,

philosophy and art. But they were a different kind
of people, a much more practical one. Romans were
builders: they built a large empire by conquering all the
territoires they could; they built cities, roads, bridges and
aqueducts; and they also built big and luxurious buildings.
There had never been nothing like the Roman Empire, and
there hasn’t been ever since.
The Romans spoke Latin, which is the origin of many
European languages like Spanish. Even English has a lot of
Latin words. They wrote using the Latin alphabet, which is
the same one you are reading now.
In the 4th century AD Romans abandoned their
mythology and adopted Christianity, which is the largest
religion in the world today.
In spite of all its power, the Roman Empire entered a
deep crisis and eventualy disappeared. It was the end of
Ancient History and the start of the Middle Ages.
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:
UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES
1. The Fall of the Western Roman Empire
1. The causes of the fall
The Roman Empire was the most powerful organization
in the world, but in the 5th century it went to pieces. Why
did this happen?
1.1. Internal causes
Political unrest.– The emperors lost their power because
they depended on the army, and the army obeyed anyone
who paid more. Usually, a general bribed the army, got the
emperor assassinated and became emperor himself, but
the same thing happened to him in short time.
Economic and social crisis.– Trade diminished, the
Empire couldn’t collect taxes and people moved out from
the cities to the country.
Christianity.– The Romans abandoned mythology
and adopted Christianity. This brought conflicts between
supporters of different interpretations of Christianity.
All these problems made the Empire too difficult to
maintain and to defend from enemy attacks, that is from
the barbarians.
1.2. External causes: the barbarian invasions
During the 5th century, the Empire was invaded by
several barbarian peoples (‘barbarian’ = ‘stranger’). Some
of them came from the Eurasian Steppe (the famous
Huns of Attila), others were slavic (Avars, Bulgars), but
the majority were Germanics and came from northern
Map 1. Invasions of the Roman Empire.
Europe: Alans, Alemanni, Angles, Burgundians, Franks,
Gepids, Lombards, Ostrogoths, Suebi, Vandals, Visigoths,
and many more.
The Romans kept those Germanic peoples out of the
Empire because they considered them uncivilized and
dangerous.They also used them as slaves. Nevertheless,
when the Germanic peoples got stronger, the Romans
let them live within the borders of the Empire and even
paid them to fight for them. But eventually the Germanic
peoples invaded the Western Empire and became the
masters of the Romans. The tide had turned completely.
2. The fall
In 476, a group of Germanic tribes led by Odoacer
conquered Rome and deposed the last emperor, Romulus
Augustulus. This event is considered the end of the
Western Roman Empire, of the Classical Civilization and
of the Ancient World, as well as the start of the Middle
Ages. Nevertheless, it was not an extreme change because
the Germanic peoples had been living with the Romans
for many years and they were romanized. For instance,
they were Christian and many of them spoke Latin.
Moreover, the Eastern Roman Empire, now called
Byzantine Empire, survived the barbarian invasions and
continued to exist until 1453, when it was conquered by
the Muslims. This means that the Roman Empire existed
through all the Middle Ages.
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:
UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES
2. The Triumph of Christianity
1. The origin of Christianity
Christianity appeared in the early 1st century AD in Judea,
a province of the Roman Empire. In AD 33, a prophet
called Jesus was crucified by the Romans in Jerusalem.
Their disciples (the Apostles) continued his preaching,
and by mid 1st century AD Christianity had spread over
the Empire, including the city of Rome. However, it was
still one of several small religions in the Empire.
At first, Christians were persecuted by the Roman
emperors. This caused the execution of the Apostles Peter
and Paul, who later became saints. Christians in Rome had
to gather secretly in order to worship safely. They also got
buried in underground galleries called catacombs.
Nevertheless, in 313 emperor Constantine legalized
Christianity and later became a Christian himself. In 380,
emperor Theodosius made Christianity the religion of the
Empire, banning other religions.
2. Characteristics of Christianity
2.1. What is Christianity?
Christianity is the largest monotheistic religion in the
world. It is based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ,
who is considered the Saviour of humanity because all
who believe in him will find eternal life and will have
their sins forgiven. Catholic Christians also worship Mary,
Mother of Jesus, and the saints.
2.2. The Bible
Christianity is also based on several texts. The main text
is the Holy Bible, formed by the Old Testament and the
New Testament. The Old Testament speaks of the Creation
and the history of the people of Israel. It belongs also to
Map 2. Spread of Christianity in the Roman Empire.
Dark areas: AD 325. Light areas: AD 600.
Judaism, since it was written before Jesus Christ. This
means Christianity is based on Judaism, although they
are different religions. The New Testament contains
four biographies of Jesus Christ (the Gospels) written by
Apostles.
2.3. The Church
Another characteristic of Christianity is the Church, an
institution intended to spread the teachings of Jesus Christ
and to intermediate between believers and God. There
are several Christian Churches, although the one in the
Roman Empire was the Catholic Church.
2.4. Complexity
Christianity is a very complex religion. In the beginning
there were different interpretations or doctrines,
especially about the nature of Jesus Christ: Was he human,
divine, or both? The Catholic Church finally explained this
through the mystery of Trinity, which means God is one in
three persons: the Father, the Son (Jesus Christ) and the
Holy Ghost. According to this explanation, Jesus Christ
was an incarnation of God. All other explanations were
rejected by the Catholic Church and considered heresy.
3. Christianity in Europe
When the Western Roman Empire fell, the Catholic
Church continued to exist. The Germanic peoples had
converted to Christianity, so they needed the Church in
order to have their sins forgiven and obtain eternal life. As
a consequence, the Catholic Church got very powerful and
influential through all the Middle Ages in Europe and later
in America and other parts of the world.
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:
UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES
3. The Germanic Kingdoms
1. The new kingdoms in the former Western Roman
Empire
After the barbarian invasions, the territory of the Western
Roman Empire was divided into different kingdoms
ruled by different Germanic peoples: Franks in what is
now France and Germany, Visigoths in Spain, Ostrogoths
and then Lombards in Italy, Angles and Saxons in Great
Britain. These kingdoms are the origin of the modern
European countries.
After the substitution of the Roman Empire by the
Germanic kingdoms, civilization suffered a serious
setback. Nevertheless, it was not completely lost because
the Germanic kingdoms adopted several characteristics of
the Roman Empire: language, religion and way of life. As
an example, we will study the Visigothic Kingdom.
2. The Visigothic Kingdom
2.1. The Formation of the Kingdom
The Iberian Peninsula, then known as Hispania, was a part
of the Roman Empire. In the 5th century it was invaded
by the Vandals, the Suebi and the Alans, but then the
Visigoths arrived and gained control of Hispania, making
it their kingdom in the early 6th century.
2.2. Life in the Visigothic Kingdom
Politics.– The Visigothic Kingdom was ruled by a king
who was elected by the warrior nobles. He was advised by
these nobles and by members of the Church. Nevertheless,
the nobles were always figthing each other in order to
Map 3. The Germanic Kingdoms.
become kings themselves. When they succeded, they were
often assassinated. As a consequence, the kings had little
power and there was a lot of political unrest.
Economy.– It was based on farming because the
majority of the population lived in the country and
because trade had little importance. People lived in
villages made of wooden huts. The only stone buildings
were palaces and churches, and they were small and
simple.
Society.– On the top was the king, who in reality had
little power. Below were the nobles, who were the owners
of the land and who really had power, but only in their
territory. At the same level were the clergy (the members
of the Church), who also had land and power. Many of
them came from rich Roman families. The majority of the
free population was also of Roman origin and worked in
farming and crafts. On bottom of society were the slaves.
The Visigoths got mixed with the Roman population
and accepted their way of life in many aspects: They
had the same language (Latin), the same laws (the Liber
Iudiciorum) and the same religion (Catholic Christianity).
The people left the cities and went to live in the country.
Life in general was very very hard.
2.3. The end of the kingdom
In the early 8th century, the Muslims had taken all
northern Africa. They took advantage of the weakness
of the Visigoths, who were then figthing in a civil war,
and invaded Hispania. It was the end of the Visigothic
Kingdom, which had lasted around three centuries.
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:
UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES
4. The Byzantine Empire
1. The formation of the Byzantine Empire
In the 4th century, the emperor Constantine moved the
capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to Byzantium,
a city with a strategic position and which he called
Constantinople (‘city of Constantine’). Later, when the
Empire was divided in two, Constantinople became the
capital of the Eastern Roman Empire.
When the Western Roman Empire fell under the
barbarian invasions, the Eastern Roman Empire
continued. Although it is known today as ‘Byzantine
Empire’, its inhabitants called it Roman Empire and they
called themselves Romans.
2. Justinian I the Great (527-565)
The Byzantine Empire reached its greatest height during
the reign of Justinian I. He tried to reconstruct the
Western Roman Empire, and in order to do so he defeated
the barbarians and reconquered Italy, the south of Spain
and the north of Africa. He reorganized the Roman
law through the Justinian Code. Finally, he promoted
architecture (Hagia Sophia), art and literature. It was also
a time of great prosperity due to farming and trade.
Map 4. The Byzantine Empire in AD 555, during the reign of Justinian I.
3. The Empire after Justinian (565-1453)
3.1. Loss of territories
The territories conquered by Justinian were lost not long
afterwards and the Empire had to endure the attacks
of many enemies, especially the Muslims, who finally
conquered Constantinople in 1453 (a date considered by
many as the end of the Middle Ages).
3.2. Religious crisis
During this long period there were two big religious crisis.
Iconoclasm.– In the 8th and 9th centuries the emperors
banned religious images, causing the destruction of works
of art and also bloodshed.
The East-West Schism.– In the 11th century, the
Byzantine Church separated itself from the Catholic
Church. From then on it was known as the Orthodox
Church.
3.3. The Greek influence
Although the Byzantine Empire had its origin in Rome, in
the 7th century it adopted the Greek language officially.
As a consequence, it became the keeper of ancient Greek
literature, which was greatly unknown in western Europe.
The Greek alphabet used by Byzantine missionaries
developed into the Cyrillic alphabet, which is used in
Orthodox countries today.
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:
UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES
1. The origin of Islam
The Arabian Peninsula had not been a part of the Roman
Empire. It was inhabited by different tribes of shepherds
and traders, some nomadic, some living in cities like
Mecca and Medina, who had a politheistic religion.
In the 7th century, a man called Muhammad became
a prophet who started preaching a new monotheistic
religion. He made no friends this way and had to run
for his life: In 622 he left Mecca and arrived to Medina.
This event is known as the Hegira and marks the start
of the Islamic calendar. In Medina, Muhammad found
the support of many Arab tribes who accepted the new
religion. In 630 he conquered Mecca, and in 632 he died.
2. What is Islam?
Islam is one of the biggest monotheistic religions in the
world. Although it took elements from Judaism and
Christianity, it came up as a new and very successful
religion.
According to Islam, the purpose of life is to worship
God. The word ‘islam’ means ‘submission to God’. The
adherents to Islam are called Muslims.
Islam is based in a sacred book called Quran, which
contains the revelations made by God to Muhammad. It
also explains how Muhammad became a prophet and how
Muslims must live and worship. The contents of the Quran
were revealed by God in Arab, so this is the only valid
language for worshipping.
Muslims have five obligations: (1) the declaration
of faith; (2) praying five times a day in the direction of
Map 5. Expansion of Islam during the Umayyad caliphate (over modern country borders).
Dark brown: 622-632. Light brown: 632-661. Yellow: 661-750.
byzantine
al-andalus
5. Islam
Mecca; (3) alms-giving; (4) fasting during the month of
Ramadhan; and (5) pilgrimage to Mecca.
In Islam, all Muslims were equal and must not pay
taxes. They also considered themselves superior to non-
Muslims. Those are the reasons why Muhammad wasn’t
popular at first among the powerful people in Mecca, but
also why Islam got so successful and expanded so rapidly.
Other reason for this success is that Islam offers a direct
contact with God, not through the Church as in Catholic
Christianity.
3. The expansion of Islam
After the death of Muhammad, Islamic armies conquered
many territories and created a big empire. This expansion
has three periods:
1. Rashidun Caliphate (632-661). After
Muhammad’s death, his friend Abu Bakr was named
caliph, that is the religious and political leader of all
Muslims. In this period, Islam conquered Syria and parts
of the Byzantine Empire and Persia.
2. Umayyad Caliphate (661-750). The Umayyad
dinasty moved the capital from Mecca to Damascus, Syria.
In this period, Islam conquered the north of Africa, part of
the Iberian Peninsula and all of Persia.
3. Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258). The Abbasids
killed the Umayyads, took power and moved the capital
to Baghdad, Persia. But the Islamic Empire got so big that
many territories became independent from the Abbasid
Caliphate. Eventually, it was conquered by the Mongol
Empire.
empire
ia
syr amascus
• D • Baghdad
persia
egypt
ar
• Medina
ab
ia
• Mecca
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:
UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES
6. The Carolingian Empire
1. The origin of the Carolingian Empire
The kingdom of the Franks was divided in the 6th and 7th
centuries into several kingdoms. In 753, Pippin III took
control of two of them, Austrasia and Neustria. He left
them to his two sons, but one of them died. The other one
was Charles, who became king in 768 and got known as
Carolus Magnus (in Latin) or Charlemagne (in French),
meaning Charlemagne the Great. Charlemagne was
an ambitious and capable ruler who became one of the
most important individuals in the history of Europe. He
made three historic contributions: (1) the formation of
an empire which is the origin of present-day France and
Germany; (2) the spread of Christianity in Europe; and
(3) the promotion of Latin culture. All these contributions
were essential to make Europe what it is now.
2. The formation of the Carolingian Empire
Charlemagne made several conquests which unified
most of Europe. He ruled over all present-day France,
Germany, Austria, most Italy and northeastern Spain. In
other words, most of the territories of the Western Roman
Empire.
Charlemagne conquered the northern half of Italy,
including Rome, to protect the pope from his enemies. In
exchange, the pope crowned him as emperor in 800. It
was like if the Western Roman Empire had returned.
Nevertheless, the Carolingian Empire was different
from the Roman Empire because cities were not
important, there was little trade and Charlemagne did
not live in Rome. In the beginning he used to travel a lot,
but later he used to spend most of the time in Aachen,
Germany, where he built an impressive palace.
3. The spread of Christianity
Charlemagne was a fervent Christian who always
supported the Church and used to have clergymen as
counselors and officials. When he conquered Saxony,
a northern Germanic territory, he made sure that
everybody converted to Christianity (otherwise he got
them executed). He also introduced Christianity into
present-day Hungary, a territory which was not a part of
his empire but which he controlled. And he protected the
pope from his enemies, as we have seen.
4. The Carolingian Renaissance
Charlemagne knew that culture (language, literature, arts,
music) had suffered a setback since the fall of the Roman
Empire. He also knew that culture was very important for
an empire, so he promoted it in several ways:
• New schools and new study programs under the
direction of the best teachers from all Europe.
• New language and new script. Charlemagne
wanted everybody in his empire to understand any
kind of document. As a consequence, he ordered
the creation of a new script called carolingian
minuscule, which is the origin of our modern lower-
case letters. He also ordered a new version of the
Latin language, with new vocabulary, known as
Medieval Latin.
• Preservation of Roman works of literature. This was
made by monks, who copied Roman works in new
manuscripts.
5. The end of the Carolingian Empire
When Charlemagne died in 814 he was succeded by his
son, Louis the Pious. After him, the Empire was divided
among his sons, so Charlemagne’s achievements were
partially lost. Europe got divided again, but France
remained united and the Empire continued in Germany
and Austria until the 19th century.
Map 6. The formation of the Carolingian Empire.
Dark: The first Frankish kingdoms.
Light: Conquests by Charlemagne.
White: Territories controlled by Charlemagne.
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:

UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES

7. Historic Vocabulary

Aachen. Aquisgrán. Hegira. Hégira.

army. Ejército. Huns. Hunos.
Alans. Alanos. iconoclasm. Iconoclastia.
Alemanni. Alamanes. Lombards. Lombardos.
Angles. Anglos. Louis the Pious. Luis el Piadoso, Ludovico Pío.
Avars. Ávaros. Middle Ages. Edad Media.
barbarian. Bárbaro. Mecca. La Meca.
Burgundians. Borgoñones. monk. Monje.
Byzantine Empire. Imperio bizantino. monotheistic. Monoteísta.
calipha, caliphate. Califa, califato. Muhammad. Mahoma.
catacomb. Catacumba. muslim. Musulmán.
Charlemagne. Carlomagno. nun. Monja.
Christianity. Cristianismo. Muslim. Musulmán.
clergy, clergyman. Clero (el conjunto de los miembros Pippin. Pipino.
de la Iglesia), clérigo (un miembro de la Iglesia). Odoacer. Odoacro.
to depose. Deponer (quitar a un rey del trono). Ostrogoths. Ostrogodos.
Eurasian Steppe. Estepa euroasiática. political unrest. Inestabilidad política.
Franks. Francos. Quran. El Corán.
Gepids. Gépidos. Saxons. Sajones.
Germanic. Germánico. Suebi. Suevos.
Gospels. Evangelios. Vandals. Vándalos.
heresy. Herejía (creencia cristiana no aceptada por la Visigoths. Visigodos.
Iglesia).
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:

UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES

8. Notebook Activities

Copy the following questions and answer them in your notebook:

1. Why do you think the barbarians invaded the Roman Empire?

2. Look at Map 2. Do you think Christianity spread fast? Why?

3. Summarize the characteristics of Christianity.

4. Why was Christianity important in the Middle Ages?

5. Write a composition comparing the way of life in the Roman Empire and in the Visigothic kingdom.
Use the information in the Introduction and in section 3 of this Unit. Around 80 words.

6. Look at Map 4. Why do you think Constantinople had a strategic position?

7. Who was Justinian I?

8. Investigation at home: Which are the Orthodox countries today?

9. What where the reasons for Islam’s success?

10. Compare maps 1, 4 and 5 and answer: Which empire was bigger: Roman, Byzantine or Islam?

11. What was the caliph?

12. Write a summary of Charlemagne’s historic contributions.

Further possible questions for the exam:

Mention the causes (both internal and external) for the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
Name five Germanic peoples.
Which where the two religious problems of the Byzantine Empire?
Mention the three periods of the expansion of Islam.
Mention three characteristics of Islam.
IES Thiar · Geography & History 2 · 2017-2018 · Name:

UNIT 1. THE START OF THE MIDDLE AGES

9. Fill-In Activities

Answer the following activities in this sheet of paper and include it in your notebook the day of the exam.

13. Look at Map 1, and then draw different-coloured lines describing the advance of each barbarian tribe in the map
below.

Angles Go
ths
Saxons
Franks Huns
Va
nda
ls

Western
Roman Ostrogoths
Empire Vis
igo
ths
Eastern
Roman
Empire

14. Rewrite in your own handwriting the carolingian text below (ſ stands for s and the reversed q stands for per).