Middle Ages

TheMiddle Ageswere a period of about 1000 years inEuropeanhistorythat started around the year 476CE,when theWestern Roman Empireended.Some historians prefer 337, whenConstantine the Greatbecame a Christian. The Middle Ages continued until around the time thatChristopher Columbusarrived in theNew Worldin 1492. Sometimes, 1453 is used instead for the end since theByzantine Empirefell that year. The period is called the "Middle Ages" because it took place between the fall of Rome and the rise ofearly modern Europe,and it is often separated into theEarly Middle Ages,theHigh Middle Ages,and theLate Middle Ages.

People also use other names like the "Medieval Age” to describe the Middle Ages. Another term is “the Age of Faith” becauseChristianityandIslamthen became much more popular. The early Middle Ages have also been called the “Dark Ages” because past scholars wrongly believed that there was very little culture, good literature, art or progress during the period.

Very few people in the Middle Ages could read and so there are not many records from the period. Historians, therefore, do not know as much about the Middle Ages as about other times.

During the Middle Ages, many people’s lives were short, difficult andpoor.The fall of the Western Roman Empire and theinvasions of barbariantribes devastatedEurope.The Romans had made progress in science, technology,engineering,medicineandliterature,but during the Middle Ages, much of their knowledge was lost. There were massmigrations,warsandplagues.For around 300 years, there was continuous violence. Then, the development offeudalismdecreased some of the violence.

In 800,CharlemagnebecameEmperor of the Romans.He promoted order,education,andcivilization.Slowly, Europe began to regain what it had lost. Still, the Late Middle Ages were a difficult time. Wars and thebubonic plaguekilled millions of people in Europe andAsia.

Europe changed a lot during the Middle Ages. Independent unifiednation-statesformed across the old Western Roman Empire. The new nations includedEngland,Scotland,Hungary,Spain,Portugal,Poland,Lithuania,Denmark,NorwayandFrance(the last which evolved from the realm of theFranks).

Eastern Roman Empire

The Siege of Constantinople is shown in a 15th-century manuscript (Chronique de Charles VII)

In 330 AD,Roman EmperorConstantinecreated the Eastern Roman Empire (later called theByzantine Empire). He made its capital cityConstantinople(nowIstanbul). The Byzantine Empire controlledAsia MinorandNorthern Africaand briefly southernSpainand southernItaly.However, its lands were slowly eaten away by enemies like theOttomansand theFranks.

The Byzantine Empire survived the fall of the Western Roman Empire and lasted until 1453. Constantinople was a walled city on apeninsula,which made it difficult for invaders to take over. Finally, that year, the Ottoman Empire captured Constantinople and called itIstanbul.That was the end of the Byzantine Empire.

Thefall of Constantinopleto the Ottoman Turks is sometimes called the end of the Middle Ages.

Islamic Golden Age

TheIslamicprophetMuhammadfounded Islam in the early7th century.Soon after his death in 632, Islam split into two main branches: theSunniMuslims and theShi'a.Most Muslims (about 85%) are now Sunni. Shi'a live mostly inIranandIraq.The Sunni-Shi'a split has been compared to the laterEast-West Schismof 1054 or theProtestant Reformationwithin theWestern Christianitystarting in 1517.

After Muhammad’s death,ArabMuslimsbegan to take overmany Christian territories and convert them to Islam. Over time, they took control of what is nowIraq,Syria,Egypt,North AfricaandSpain.(Franceand other European countries stayed under Christian rule.) Eventually, the MuslimOttomans Empireconquered parts ofEastern Europetoo. Many Muslim states held of vast areas of land, which made themsuperpowersof the Middle Ages. Islam spread along the major trade routes of theOld World.Many traders and travelers becameMuslim.

The Middle Ages were agolden ageof knowledge in Muslim territories. Europe was struggling greatly, but theIslamic worldwas making great progress in thearts,agriculture,economics,industry,law,literature,navigation,philosophy,sciencesandtechnology.Many MuslimcaliphsandSultansgathered the ancient texts of great classical empires. (For example, the caliphs ofAndalusia,based inCordoba,gathered ancient Roman texts, and the AnatolianSeljukSultans gathered ancient Greek texts.). During theIslamic Golden Age,Al-Khwarizmi,aPersianMuslim mathematician, helped to developalgebra.

The Golden Age of Islam ended with theMongolinvasions in the mid-13th century.

Asian Trade and the Bubonic Plague

During the Middle Ages, trade between countries became much more common. Most trade ran along theSilk Road,a trade route that connected Europe to theMiddle EastandEast Asia.Arab traders brought things back and forth between Europe and East Asia along the Silk Road.

Items that were light, easy to carry and valuable traveled the furthest distances. During the High Middle Ages, wealth began to return, and consumers began to demand luxuries again. Traders broughtsilk,porcelain,spices,incense,goldandgemsthousands of miles across deserts, mountains and plains to reach Europe. They also brought glass from Europe to Asia.

Not all items traveled along the entire Silk Road. Traders carrying heavier or less valuable items would travel shorter distances. Food, for example, would usually travel only within a fewvillages.

Trade was greatly interrupted several times during theCrusades(1095-1291), Mongol invasions, wars between Muslims and Christians and theBlack Plague.Histories think the Mongols brought the plague with them from Asia. The disease devastated the world population from 1347 to 1351 and killed almost a third of the world's population although theAmericaswere not affected.

Buddhism

Buddhismis a non-theistic religion; its followers do not believe in a god. It is based on philosophy and began in India. However, Muslim invaders drove Buddhism out of India, which forced it to flee east. There are very few Buddhists in India today, but Buddhism eventually took up strong roots inChina.

The Mongolian Empire and Chinese Exploration

During the Middle Ages, the Mongols created the world's largest-ever contiguous empire. Under the leadership ofGenghis Khan,the Mongols took over territories in much of Asia, theMiddle East,and farEastern Europe.Because the Mongol Empire was so large and powerful, there was little war within the empire. This is now called thePax Mongolica(Latinfor “Mongolian peace” ). Like the earlierPax Romana( "Roman Peace" ), thePax Mongolicawas a time of relative peace and stability. That made it possible for trade, technologies and ideas to travel safely throughoutEurasia.International tradeanddiplomacyalong the Silk Road expanded greatly.

Around the time of his death in 1227, Genghis Khan’s empire had gotten too large to survive. It collapsed under its own size likeAlexander the Great's had inAncient Greece.The former Mongol Empire was split four ways, which allowed the Chinese to become the dominant power in theFar Eastonce again. Later, under theYuan dynasty,the Chinese also retook control of northern China.

Painting ofDoniaandJelckama,Frisiansfighting for the freedom of their people. The painting is called "Dapperheid van Grote Pier",which means" Bravery of Greate Pyr ".

Around 1405, a Chineseadmiral,Zheng He,went to explore the world. His fleet of 300 treasure ships explored great areas of the Eastern world. The ships were many times larger than anything the Europeans had built. A Zheng He treasure ship was wider than Columbus' shipSanta Mariawas long.

Late Middle Ages

The Late Middle Ages were the last two centuries of the Middle Ages, from around 1291, when the Crusades ended, to 1492, when Columbus traveled to the New World. Thegunwas invented, and changed the way thatwarswere fought.Aristocracyand feudalism became less important.

Before the Late Middle Ages, armies were formed only when there was a war, but states began to foundstanding armies,which are permanent. Technology, economy and science developed. New cities were founded, and existing cities grew larger and richer.

During the late Middle Ages, France and England fought theHundred Years' War.China regained its independence from the Mongol Empire. The Grand Duchy ofMoscow,which became the most important state in Eastern Europe, also became independent from the Mongols and later became called “Russia.”

In 1453, the Ottoman Empire conquered the Byzantine Empire. That cut off the Silk Road and so Europeans had to find newtrade routes.That triggered theAge of Discoveryduring theRenaissance.In turn, the Christian states drove the Muslims out of Spain.

Other websites

• Student resourcesArchived2016-03-05 at theWayback Machine
• History - Middle Ages Articles, Video, Pictures and Facts
• Middle Ages-Citizendium
• Middle Ages- Vikidia