Document 1 and 2 By: Nikila Baradi, Tisya Shah and Julia Paolillo Introduction The cities that were important during the medieval times are still important today: Paris, Rome, Constantinople (Istanbul), Jerusalem Access of water allowed settlements to grow because they became centers of trade. Some land and water features protected settlements from weather and invasions (ex. calm harbor and elevation). Mountain passes and oases offered conveniences for travelling The Medieval World was a thousand years long and spanned from the fall of the Roman empire in 476 to the fall of the Byzantine empire in 1453. The Middle Ages was a barbaric period The early part of the Medieval Ages is known as the Dark Ages because Western Europe culture and wealth …show more content…
In 306 Diocletian stepped down and a a civil war broke out. A new emperor took hold, emperor Constantine. He favored Christianity, made churches, relocated his capital to the Greek city of Byzantium and renamed the city Constantinople.A changing Population Barbaric tribes came to Rome. It became hard to govern the growing population. The road, aqueducts, buildings crumbled, so the government officials raised taxes. Then, the population of Rome decreased Christianity population started to grow in the fourth century. Over time, Rome became a center of religion Germanic tribes steadily gained control of the Rome empire. Disputes strained the relationship between the eastern and western halves. Odoacer, a Germanic warrior in the Roman army, took out the emperor Romulus Augustus Theodoric killed Odoacer in 493. There was relative peace well into the sixth century, but Rome's time as a major power was over Round arches characterize the Romanesque style.The Soninke Empire of West Africa emerged in the late fifth
Constantine’s departure from Rome took with him the political seat of power. With the removal of the political head a power vacuum was created. The body that remained in Rome was that of the Christian church, feeble though it may have been. Rome’s identity was so deeply rooted in the pagan tradition that despite his best efforts Constantine was unable to convert it entirely. The former capital was still home to a powerful group of aristocrats which held on firmly to the roots of paganism. Gradually, with the support of the imperial court and the city’s urban masses, the church was able to gain a foothold in the fifth century (Krautheimer 33).
Constantinople was established as the new capital of the Roman Empire in A.D. 330 by Constantine on the Bosporus Strait. Constantinople, or the city of Constantine, was strategically placed on the Bosporus Strait for trade and defense purposes that would later allow for cultural diffusion. As a result of replacing Rome, Constantinople was under immense Roman influence. Their culture as well as architecture was based on Rome’s. Constantinople was occupied with buildings modeled after those in Rome. Along with being the new capital of the Roman Empire and under Roman influence, Constantinople was the center of Roman region. Constantine made Christianity legal and emperor Theodosius made Christianity the empire’s official religion. By moving the capital from Rome to Constantinople, Constantine moved the center of Rome’s religion to Constantinople. But this was Constantinople before the political and religious changes that could have caused the decline of Constantinople if it wasn’t for the influential continuities.
In “Document A: Textbook Passage #1’’ it explains that the early Middle Ages of Europe were dark. It says that they were undergoing in many crucial factors that would help the civilization be successful. An example of this is in the last part of the text when it says, “Europe suffered a decline in commerce and manufacturing, in education, in literature and the arts, and in almost all that makes possible a high civilization. Cities grew smaller and in some cases practically disappeared, and western Europe became a region of poverty-stricken farming communities, each virtually isolated from the rest of the world.” says Roehm, A., Buske, M., Webster, H. & Wesley, E,. (1954). The Record of Mankind. Heath and Company. This explains the specific
The collapse of the Roman Empire marked the beginning of the Middle Ages that lasted
In the third century AD, the Roman Empire was thrown into chaos through several civil wars due to a lust for power; many people were only interested in how influential they were, rather than acting for the benefit of the country. Since the Roman Empire was constantly expanding and becoming more powerful, Diocletian, the emperor at the time, deemed it to be too big to be ruled by only one emperor. The Empire was split into two parts, the Eastern Roman Empire and the Western Roman Empire. The Western Roman Empire didn’t last long; it fell during the 5th century AD when it was conquered by the barbarians. The Eastern Empire lasted a thousand years before it finally fell at the hands of the Turkish.
Rulers of the High Middle Ages overcame challenges to their power and began the process of recentralization by removing power from other nobles and the Church and by increasing their own power. These changes were not liked by the people that the rulers were taking power from, but that did not stop rulers from continuing to pilfer power from others. Rulers of the High Middle Ages did anything they could to increase their power and decrease that of their opposition, such as requiring their vassals to declare loyalty to the king and by declaring themselves a higher power than church officials and their nobles.
As the Roman Empire weakened and eventually collapsed, most of Europe was plunged into the time period known as the Middle Ages. Rome’s internal weaknesses intensified to the point where they could no longer sustain military control, and they fell to invasions from Germanic tribes. These peoples were described by Rome as barbaric and uncivilized, and destruction quickly intruded into the lives of the citizens of the former powerful empire as thieves and robbers soon took control of the former Roman roads making travel a dangerous and life threatening venture. The previous routes for travel and trade which had increased growth and prosperity were now useless, as goods and items could not be transported which resulted in great deprivation.
Every time period is defined by certain events, certain aspects of that period’s culture, and certain people. The Middle Ages are not an exception. The Middle Ages lasted from about AD 350 to about 1450. At the beginning of the Middle Ages, the western half of the Roman Empire began to fragment into smaller, weaker kingdoms. By the end of the Middle Ages, many modern European states had taken shape. During this time, the precursors of many modern institutions, such as universities and bodies of representative government, were created. Throughout this incredible time period many great works of art, changes in religion, and horrible diseases shaped history. The Middle Ages are remembered for the impact of Christianity, the fantastic architecture, and the horrible diseases that spread throughout Europe.
The Medieval Times for Europe, from the 400 AD till 1400 AD, are often labeled as “The Dark Ages”. This time period has begun after a turning point known as Fall of Rome. It caused Rome to divide into two well-known civilizations: Medieval Europe, Islam, and The Byzantine Empire. Also, Medieval Europe led to a well known utopian period of “rebirth” identified as the Renaissance. The time period between 400 CE and 1400 CE wasn’t a “Dark Age” for Europe because of progress in academic success, blossom in architecture, and religious unity along with government. It wasn’t a cultural decay or decline because of the legendary time period it led to.
The Middle Ages also known as the Medieval Periods in Europe, generally lasting from 400 C.E to 1400 C.E is oftenly seen as a time of major cultural decay for Europe. This belief is commonplace so much that the time period is frequently labeled as the “Dark Age”, which originates from the idea that after the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 C.E all sense of culture and sophistication was lost in Europe. However, contrary to popular belief, the Middle Ages were not a time of total cultural decline as some advancements in economy, education, and architecture were made.
Architecture is one important aspect of Byzantine culture. One of the most famous Byzantine architectural achievements is the Hagia Sophia, which is located in modern-day Istanbul. The basic design of the cathedral has a dome over a square base, which required a new innovation. At the time, it was kn...
In the year 476 A.D., Rome officially fell as the greatest and most thriving empire at the time. The time period following this downfall was called the Middle Ages, more infamously recalled as the Dark Ages; but were these years truly as dark as historians say? These medieval times lasted for approximately one thousand years, could such a long time period have been all that dreadful? The answer will soon become clear. The Middle Ages deserved to have the alias of the Dark Ages because there were several severe illnesses, the monarchs were cruel, and the crusades brought the death of many.
The Roman Empire is known as one of the most powerful and influential empires the world has ever seen. At it’s height, this Empire had peace, economic prosperity and was expanding. Roman cities contributed to a fair amount of this success because they contributed to many advances during Pax Romana and united the empire. After the fall of the Empire, Christianity survived because although the empire separated into many kingdoms they were still being influenced by the religion.
In order for the Romans to invade and conquer other provinces, they had to spend heavily on their legions. The Roman armies and supply lines became over-stretched resulting in thousands of soldiers being recruited and deployed from Rome into other territories as invaders or defenders. They also depended on soldiers to defend the borders of the lands they had conquered from barbarian attacks which resulted in the increased manufacturing of weapons and more money being spent on soldiers. High military spending left the Romans with very limited resources for other essential government projects such as the building of more public houses and the development of roads and aqueducts as well as leading to inflation. The over-expenditure on the military led the citizens of Rome to refuse the policies and laws enforced by the government and riots were commonplace in Rome during its last century.... ...
The earlier designs of medieval architecture had features like pointed arches in the nave, window and doorways, small clusters of columns, pillars, small windows and thick walls. This was during the Romanesque period and a lot of the early Romanesque architecture had influence from the byzantine period, which was the previous time period of architecture.