74
H
istorians call the period
from 500 to 1500 “the
Middle Ages,” seeing it as
a separate era sandwiched between
the ancient world and modern times.
In reality, there was never a clear
break with the ancient world. In the
eastern Mediterranean, the Roman
Empire continued for almost 1,000
years after the fall of Rome, although
it was rebranded by historians as
the Byzantine Empire. The ancient
tradition of a united China ruled by
an emperor was revived in the 6th
century and continued to the Ming
dynasty, albeit with interruptions.
Even in Western Europe, where the
breakdown after the Roman Empire’s
collapse was most evident, Christian
religion survived in Rome as the key
marker for the distinction between
what were considered “civilized”
and “barbarian” societies.The rise of Islam
The dominance of two mutually
hostile monotheistic religions—
Christianity and Islam—was the
most distinctive characteristic of
this period across much of Eurasia.
The founding of Islam in the 7th
century was a transformative event,
and Arab armies inspired by the
faith altered the political landscape:
Muslim rule spread from Spain in
the west to central Asia in the east.
Although a united Islamic
caliphate could not be sustained,
the religion ensured a continuity
of civilization even when power
shifted from the Arabs to other
peoples such as the Turks. The
great cities of the Muslim world
surpassed any in Christendom in
size and sophistication, and Muslim
scholars preserved the science of
the ancient Greeks and built uponit. Islamic civilization remained
dynamic and expansive throughout
the entire medieval period.Western European fortunes
In Western Europe, civilization fell
drastically from the level achieved
under the Roman Empire. Warrior
kings ruled over a thinly spread
population sustained by subsistence
agriculture, and the area remained
prey to non-Christian raiders and
invaders, such as the Vikings and
the Magyars, into the 10th century.
A nostalgia for ancient Rome
led to King Charlemagne being
crowned emperor in 800, but the
Holy Roman Empire, based on
the tradition Charlemagne founded,
failed to unify Western Europe
politically. In the absence of strong
centralized state systems, feudal
relationships held societies together.INTRODUCTION
536
c.610
800
1099
762
793
1120
Frankish king
Charlemagne is crowned
emperor in Rome.
As secular leader of
Christendom, he unites
much of Western Europe.Muhammad announces
that he has received a divine
revelation and founds Islam.
Within 20 years, the religion
will come to dominate the
Arabian peninsula.The Abassid caliph
a l-Mansur’s founding of
Baghdad marks the start
of the Islamic golden
age. The city is a center of
Muslim scholarship.Minamoto Yoritomo
becomes shogun,
establishing a line of
military rulers who
would govern Japan
for 650 years.Viking warriors mount a
brutal raid on a monastery
on the holy island of
Lindisfarne, northern
England—the first of
many Viking raids.The army of the
Eastern Roman
Empire, led by
Belisarius, retakes
Rome, driving out
the Ostrogoths.In Cambodia, work
begins on the vast
Hindu temple Angkor
Wat, which becomes
the world’s largest
religious structure.Christian knights
seize Jerusalem
from the Muslims,
and go on to found
crusader states in
Palestine and Syria.1192
US_074-075_Ch_3_intro.indd 74 15/02/2016 16:41
75
From the 11th century, a revival of
Western European culture, trade,
and urban life gathered pace. The
“Medieval Warm Period” (950–1250),
when Europe experienced above-
average temperatures, improved
yields from agriculture; it was also
a time when great cathedrals and
castles were constructed. But
even when the Christian crusaders
fought their way to Jerusalem at the
heart of the Muslim world, the flow
of civilization was the other way,
with Islamic scholars far advanced
in medicine, philosophy, astronomy,
a nd ge og raphy.Expansion and contraction
By the 13th century, the world’s
population is believed to have risen
to around 400 million—double its
total at the high point of the ancient
empires. A wide-ranging networklinked Europe to China and the
thriving trading kingdoms of Asia,
by land along the Silk Road and by
sea across the Indian Ocean. Cairo
and Venice both became wealthy
cities as focal points at the western
end of this trade.
However, civilized life remained
precarious. The Mongols—nomadic
warriors from the Asian steppes—
seized major cities from the Middle
East to southern China, carrying
out large-scale massacres. Lethal
diseases were also highly prevalent.
Carried along the trade routes in the
mid-14th century, the Black Death
epidemic may have killed a quarter
of the world’s population.Inventions and progress
Technological progress was slow
but cumulatively substantial. As
the world’s most advanced country,China was the ultimate source of
most inventions, from paper and
printing to the magnetic compass
and gunpowder. Even relatively
backward Europe benefited from
improvements in shipbuilding and
metalworking, and the invention
and spread of the plow and the
windmill transformed agriculture.
By the end of the Middle Ages,
Western European kingdoms had
developed from “feudal” states,
based on oaths of loyalty, to more
stable and centralized states, able
to channel their key resources into
the large projects of colonization
and exploration. In the Americas,
meanwhile, civilizations such as
the Aztecs and Incas continued to
evolve independently, untouched by
developments in Eurasia and Africa,
until the Spanish conquistadors
arrived in the 16th century. ■THE MEDIEVAL WORLD
1215
1275
1324 1347 1443
1325 1368 1492
King John of England
signs the Magna Carta,
which asserts that all
individuals, including
the king, are subject
to the law of the land.The Venetian merchant
Marco Polo arrives at the
court of Kublai Khan;
the Mongol ruler will go
on to conquer southern
China four years later.Mansa Musa, the
wealthy ruler of Mali,
makes a high-profile
hajj to Mecca, resulting
in the spread of Islam
in West Africa.The bubonic plague
arrives in Europe,
probably originating in
Asia. Within two years,
it kills over one-third
of Europe’s population.Korean king Sejong
declares the creation
of a new, simpler
alphabet for the
Korean language,
to encourage literacy.The Aztecs found their
capital city Tenochtitlan
in central Mexico.
Meanwhile, the Incas
establish a civilization
in Peru.Hongwu is proclaimed the
first emperor of the Ming
dynasty, having ousted
the Yuan dynasty. Almost
300 years of prosperity
and stability fol low.King Ferdinand and
Queen Isabella of
Spain seize Granada,
ending 800 years of
Muslim rule on the
Iberian peninsula.US_074-075_Ch_3_intro.indd 75 15/02/2016 16:41