Three civilisations

1. UNIT 1. THE MIDDLE AGES:
THE THREE CIVILISATIONS
BYZANTINE CIVILISATION
GERMANIC KINGDOMS
ISLAMIC CIVILISATION

2. MIDDLE AGES: DEFINITION
• The Middle Ages is the historical period that
lasted from the fall of the Roman Empire (476)
to the 15th century (1492 or 1453).
– The event that marked the end of this age was the
discovery of America in 1492.
– Other historians believe that the end of this
period is in 1453, when the Byzantine Empire
disappeared.

3. Important event:
THE DIVISION OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
• The eastern half was inherited by
Arcadius, who established the
capital in Constantinople (present-
day Istanbul).
– This city had been built over the
Greek city of Byzantium. Therefore,
the Eastern Roman Empire was
known by the name of the Byzantine
Empire (UNTIL 1453).
• The western half of the Empire
was inherited by Honorius, who
kept the capital in Rome.
– The Western Roman Empire
continued to suffer pressure
from Germanic tribes.
– In 476, the tribes conquered the
West Roman Empire and established
their own kingdoms in the territory.
Emperor Theodosius divided the Roman empire (after his death) in 395.
ARCADIUS
HONORIUS
BYIZANTINE EMPIRE
GERMANIC KINGDOMS

4. THREE CIVILISATIONS:
The period of three important civilisations
1. Byzantine civilization
2. Western Christian civilization
3. Islamic Civilization
After the end of the Roman Empire, three civilisations occupied
the area of the former Empire during the Middle Ages.

5. 1. BYZANTINE EMPIRE (476-1453)
• The period of greatest splendour of the Byzantine Empire took
place during the reign of Emperor Justinian I (527-565).
Justinian wanted to
reconquer the territory of
the Roman Empire.
He managed to occupy the
entire Italian Peninsula
and some isolated areas in
the south of the Iberian
Peninsula and North of
Africa.

6. • After the death of Justinian, the Empire underwent a period
of crisis, as it began to lose territories, until the Ottoman Turks
(Mehmed II) occupied the capital in 1453. This marked the
end of the Byzantine Empire.

7. MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTICS
• Political organisation.
– The empire was led by an emperor, also called Basileus.
• Exercised absolute power: political power (he managed the administration
and the army) and religious power (intervened in the matters of the Church).
– There was a highly organised administration and legislation
system based on Roman law. An example, the set of laws of
Justinian I: Corpus Iuris Civilis (Compilation of laws to give
uniformity to the right).
– The territorial administration was organized into provinces
(themes) controlled by strategos (military leaders).
• The economy.
– The main economic activities: agriculture, craft activity in cities and
trade.
– Constantinople became an important intermediary in routes carrying
products from the East and West. For instance, silk route.

8. Society
• Hierarchical society.
– Most important people:
• Emperor and his family, Aristocracy (owners of
large piece of lands with important charges in the
government) and high positions in the Church.
– Middle level of society:
• Clergy, civil servants, traders and free peasants.
– Lowest level:
• Servants, slaves and beggars.

9. Culture.
• Hellenistic culture had a very
important role.
– This meant that the Latin was
replaced by Greek as the
official language of the
Empire.
– The most important tradition
was Christianity, so Byzantine
art was mainly religious.
– The main buildings were
churches decorated with
paintings and mosaics with
religious themes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SLtGmWkShXI Hagia SofiaSanta Sofía:

10. IMPORTANT:
Oriental Schism (1054)
• The Christian Church gained great influence
in the Byzantine Empire.
• Its main representative, the patriarch of
Constantinople, was chosen by the emperor,
causing tensions with the head of the
Western Church, who was the Pope of Rome.
• This fact led the Byzantine Church to split
from Rome.
• This separation, known as the Oriental
Schism, took place in 1054 and marked the
start of the Orthodox Christian Church.
Patriarch of
Constantinople

11. 2. GERMANIC KINGDOMS
The fall of the Western Roman Empire.
• When Odoacer deposed the last emperor of Rome, Romulus
Augustus, in 476 the western half of the empire disappeared and a
series of kingdoms was formed in its place.
• Some of the most important Germanic kingdoms were:
The Burgundians.
The Ostrogoths.
The Franks
The Visigoths
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5pWLP_Eebk

12. CHARACTERISTICS OF THE GERMANIC KINGDOMS
• They were monarchies.
• A majority Romanised population was dominated by
a minority Germanic population.
• Some features of Roman culture were imposed:
– This was the case with the language, Latin, which
remained.
– Likewise, Christianity spread among the Germanic tribes.
• The basis of the economy was agriculture practised
by peasants and slaves on large estates that belonged
to an aristocratic minority.
– Meanwhile, cities and trade almost completely
disappeared.

13. TWO IMPORTANT GERMANIC KINGDOMS
• FRANKISH KINGDOM (Carolingian Empire).
• THE VISIGOTH KINGDOM OF TOLEDO.

14. THE FRANKISH KINGDOM AND
THE CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE
• One of the most important Germanic kingdoms was the Frankish
Kingdom and one of the most important dynasties, Carolingian
dynasty, took the French throne in 751.
• The most important figure of the Carolingian dynasty
was CHARLEMAGNE (742-814), who was crowned king in 771.
• Charlemagne defended Christianity. He
promised to convert pagan peoples like
the Saxons to Christianity and defend
the Pope, who needed to establish a
strong power base against Islam and the
Byzantine Empire.
• As a result of these relationships,
Charlemagne was crowned
emperor by the Pope in 800.

15. CAROLINGIAN EMPIRE
• Charlemagne conquered
many territories.
• The capital: in Aachen
(Aquisgrán).
• The territory of the Empire
was organised into (p.17 book):
– Counties (condados), led by
counts named by the king.
– Marches (marcas), in the
border areas, led by a military
commander, the marquis.

16. Administration
• Officials like the chamberlain led the administration in the name of the
emperor.
• Missi dominici (palace inspectors): ensured that the counts and
marquises complied with the capitularies and did not govern
independently.
• Extensive laws (capitularies) were passed throughout the Empire.
Culture
In the monastery school
students learnt:
• Trivium:
• Grammar
• Rhetoric
• Logic.
• Quadrivium:
• arithmetic,
• astronomy,
• geometry
• music.

17. The division of the Carolingian Empire.
• After the death of Charlemagne in 814, emperor lose power.
• All its territory is for his son, Ludovico Pio; then, for his sons.
• In fact, Charlemagne’s grandsons therefore divided up the
Empire in the Treaty of Verdun in 843.

18. GERMANIC TRIBES ON THE IBERIAN PENISULA (409-711)
• The Germanic tribes reached the Iberian Peninsula in 409. These
peoples were the Suebi, Vandals and Alans.
• In 418 the Romans signed a treaty with another Germanic tribe as
an ally of Rome: the Visigoths. This pact stipulated that the
Visigoths had to reduce the influence of the other Germanic tribes
in the area in exchange for being allowed to settle in certain
Hispanic territories.
• In fact, the Visigoths expelled
the Vandals and Alans from
Hispania.
• The Suebi resisted and formed
a kingdom in the northwestern
part of the peninsula, until
Leovigildo occupied this
kingdom in 585.

19. • After the fall of Rome in 476,
the Visigoths formed
the kingdom that covered
Gaul and Hispania.
• Its capital was Tolosa, known
today as Toulouse in France.
• However, they were
defeated (derrotados) by the
Franks (Clodoveo, Frankish king) in
507, abandoning almost all
of Gaul and forming a
kingdom in Spain.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=282&v=Ns9c58qZ2CcVideo:

20. THE VISIGOTH KINGDOM OF TOLEDO
• This Kingdom controlled almost all the Iberian Peninsula until
711 (Muslim conquest)
• The capital is located in Toledo with King Leovigildo (572–586).
• The political system established by the Visigoths was
an elective monarchy.
• The Visigoths had their own system of laws. However, in the 7th
century, King Recesvinto issued (emitió) the Visigoth Code
or Liber Iudiciorum, making it the only law (legal unification).
• “Que esté permitida la unión
matrimonial tanto de un godo
como una romana, como de un
romano con una goda”.

21. Main Royal Institutions
• Assembly of free man: responsible for electing kings.
• Aulia Regia: made up of nobles and bishops, helped the King
in the government.
• Territorial administration based on dukes.
Religion
• When they reached the peninsula, the Visigoths were Arian
Christians (Arianism was a religious movement condemned by
the Catholic Church).
• In 589, King Recaredo converted to Catholicism and with it
came the conversion of all his people.
Se conoce como arrianismo al conjunto de doctrinas
fundada por Arrio (256-336 d.C) que se caracterizan por
negar la misma condición divina entre Jesús y Dios.

22. Society
 The dominant group was the warrior nobility. They owned latifundios, which
was the name given to large farms dedicated to agriculture and livestock
rearing.
 Peasants, serfs and slaves were the largest group. They usually worked the
land of the nobles.
Economy
 The Visigothic economy changed from Roman times. Cities declined, which
benefited the countryside (ruralisation), resulting in fewer commercial and
craft activities. Agricultural activity and livestock, especially sheep, the most
important economic activities.
Culture
Visigothic jewellery, such
as votive crowns (coronas
votivas) and architecture,
such as some small
churches. San Juan de Baños (Palencia)

23. 3. ISLAMIC CIVILISATION
• This religion has its origin in
the Arabian Peninsula (7th century).
• This place was occupied by tribes that
were polytheistic whose sacred city
was Mecca.
• Muhammad (was born in Mecca in
around 570), after a period of
meditation, claimed to have received
the call of Allah.
• From that moment, he
began preaching about a new
monotheistic religion (Islam) which
means ‘submission to Allah’. His
followers were called Muslims, which
means ‘those who submit (to Allah).
Origins Islamic civilisation = origins the religion that gives it its name: Islam.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=18&v=0miqtrFHBbUOrigins Islam:

24. The 5 pillars of Islam:
– Proclaiming faith in Allah:
• “there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet”.
– Giving charity to the poor.
– Fasting during the day in the month of Ramadan.
– Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in their life.
– Praying five times a day facing Mecca.
Curiosity
Muhammad believed that there were two types
of people: pagans, on whom Islam should be
imposed, and the people of the Book (Christians
and Jews), who should be treated well.

25. THE EXPANSION OF ISLAM
• Muhammad’s preaching was not well accepted in his city, Mecca (he
opposed polytheism). Therefore, Muhammad was expelled from Mecca
in 622. This date is known as the Hegira.
• After this, the prophet and his followers took refuge in the city of Medina.
The process of the expansion of Islam began. Eight years after the Hegira
(630), Muhammad returned triumphantly to Mecca. After this time,
Muslims rapidly gained territory.

26. POLITICAL ORGANISATION
• After Muhammad’s death (632), the great empire that
was formed was known as a caliphate, because it was
led by a caliph.
• Caliph was the highest political and religious authority.
• The caliph governed, aided by the following officials:
– Vizier (or minister) was in charge of the central
administration: Visir
– Valis (or Emir) were the governors of the provinces of the
empire: Valíes
– Diwan (or royal treasurer) was responsible for collecting
taxes.
– Cadi administered justice according to the rules of the
Koran.

27. SOCIETY
Different religious groups
1. Groups of Muslims could be distinguished:
• An aristocratic minority occupied the highest positions (family of caliphs or
emirs).
• An intermediate group consisted of traders and smallholders (owners of
small plot of lad = pequeño agricultor).
• Most of the population was made up of craftsmen and farmers (They had
to pay high taxes).
• There were also slaves, although their situation was less harsh (severe) than in
Rome and the Germanic kingdoms.
2. Jews and Christians had their own laws.
• They could follow their religion, but paid special taxes in return

28. ECONOMY
• Agriculture is one of the most important economic activities,
due to the creation of irrigation systems, such as ditches and
water wheels to supply water.
• Trade was also important, due to the location of the Islamic
civilization between Africa, Europe and the Far East. For
commercial transactions, merchants used hard currency, such
as the gold dinar and silver dirham.

29. ISLAMIC CITY
• There was a fortified palace, the
alcazar, in which the ruler resided.
• Cities also contained mosques
(mezquitas), which were the
buildings used for Islamic worship.
• As cities grew, suburbs (arrabales)
appeared: group of houses located
outside the city walls, usually
designed for the lower classes.
Cities were walled with and irregular structure and narrow streets.
• The city-centre: market or souk (zoco), a square where people traded
goods. The muhtasib (almotacén) was in charge of inspecting and
regulating the souk.

30. CULTURE
• Islam was involved in significant cultural activity during the
Middle Ages. This was based on Islamisation (spreading the
religion) and Arabisation (spreading use of the Arabic
language).
• Cultural splendour of Islam:
– Development of sciences: mathematics, astronomy, medicine and
geography.
– Philosophical knowledge, with thinkers like Averroes and Avicenna.
• Averroes (was born in Cordoba, 1126): was a philosopher, thinker, doctor and jurist
who is considered one of the most important philosophers for both the Muslim
world and Europe, since he translated hundreds of works of Aristotle
– Literature: love poetry and collections of stories, including One
Thousand and One Nights.

31. AL-ANDALUS
• Tariq landed in Gibraltar in 711 and
defeated the Visigoths in the Battle
of Guadalete (711). Visigoth King Rodrigo
died.
• Tariq then decided to call Musa, the
governor of North Africa, to complete
the conquest of the Visigothic
Kingdom, without king.
• Muslim expansion took place rapidly.
In just eight years they dominated
most of the Iberian Peninsula, except
for the mountainous areas of the
north. In fact, they were defeated in
Covadonga in 722.
Is the term we use to refer the Iberian Peninsula occupied by the
Muslims during the Middle Ages (from 711 to 1492).
The Muslims tried to continue their conquest of Europe, but
were defeated by the Franks in Poitiers (732).

32. SOCIETY
 The most powerful groups: Muslims.
– Muslims descendant of Arab and Syrian conquerors
were at the top of social pyramid.
– Berbers.
– Muladis: Those who convert to Islam.
 Jews and Christians (Christians are known as mozarabs).
They could practice their own religion in exchange for paid
taxes.
 Slaves.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ahP-c_EVS8