Can't Hold a Kingdom That Big - Lack of Army

History of 500-1000 AD

Changes in History - 400-1000 AD
World powers (Rome) dissolved
Can't hold a kingdom that big - lack of army
Spread out kingdom - easy target for angry outsiders (Barbarians)
Beginning of small countries, kingdoms, territories
Some kingdoms and countries are landlocked
Can't expand
Begin to explore
Religious powers taking over
Roman Catholic Church (400 AD)
Muslims (600 AD)
The Byzantium Empire
Justinian I (525-565 AD) – Justinian the Great
He wanted to restore the old empire by military campaigns
General Belisarius waged war against Ostrogoths, Vandals, and Visogoths
Regained North Africa, Italy, Spain
Many architectural achievements
Cathedral of Hagia Sophia ("Holy Wisdom") built in Constantinople
Had a general who fought against the Vandals, Ostrogoths and Visogoths – they won back North Africa, Italy and Spain
Justinian Code – was a mixture of Roman law and Biblical principles - Justice System
Difficulties in the empire (565 – 867 AD)
Threats coming from all sides
Lombards and Normans who invade Italy
Avars, Bulgars, Russian Slavs invade from the north
Heraclius (610-641 AD) – defeated the Avars and the Persians
Divided the empire into themes to provide better defense
Persians coming from the East
Islam forces come from the East and South
Islam expansion – 632-750 AD
They took over northern Africa and the Middle East
Staged 2 attacks on Constantinople but were defeated by the “Greek Fire” (similar to a flame thrower)
Emperor Leo III (717-741 AD)
Left Constantinople to save it from the Arabs
Iconoclastic Controversy (726-863 AD)
“Image Destroyers”
icon – an abstract, simplified image or picture of Christ, Mary, or a saint
by the 8th century people were worshipping these – similar to pagan idols
iconoclastic emperors wanted these images removed from the church – Bible said not to worship graven images
2nd Council of Nicaea (787 AD)
they said the images were okay
this was the fall of the medieval church into anti-Scriptural practices and beliefs
The Macedonian Era (867 – 1057 AD)
Emperor Basil I (867-886 AD)
restored some power back into the empire
drove back the Muslims as far as Syria
added Crete and Cyprus to Italy
Basil II (976 – 1025 AD)
conquered the Bulgars and acquired their land
Almost as powerful as under Justinian
commercial activity and economic prosperity
Barbarians Change the Face of Europe and Asia
Celts, Scots, Picts, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Britons (363-800 AD)
Anglo/Saxons
Jutes, Angles and Saxons invade England
Migrated to the south of the island and they called it Angleland (England)
Saxons were known as poets
Devised poems about war heroes
greatest poem – Beowulf - talks about the warlike, barbaric manners of the Anglo-Saxons
Augustine – a missionary appointed by Pope Gregory in 596 AD – converted England (Anglo-Saxons) to Roman Catholicism
Became the first archbishop of Canterbury most influential church office in England
Britons over run by Angles/Saxons that came from Gaul
Rome withdrew from the Island and left Britons undefended from Picts, Scots, Celts
Britons ask Angles/Saxons to help them fight
Anglo-Saxons take over the land
Britain becomes stable under Alfred the Great and remains stable until the Vikings come
England accepted Romanism around 664
Only had part of the Bible
Many writers influenced the Scriptures
Alfred the Great ruled in England (871-899 AD)
first king of England
known for his love of wisdom and his hunting skills
led the people in battle against the Danes (Vikings)
Made England a nation-state
developed an army and a navy
made the English code of law
the laws were prefaced with the 10 Commandments
promoted learning from books (4 gospels)
Occupied London on the Thames River
when Alfred died the kingdom was turned over to the Danes
the Vikings conquered them
Canute the Dane was made king (994-1035 AD)
Fighting for control over United Kingdom and Ireland
Celts settle Ireland
Picts and Scots settle Scotland
Some Scotts pushed to west and settle Wales
Goths under Alaric (403-410)
Being pushed out of their lands by the Huns
Look to Rome for help
Promised help but don't get it
Alaric begins attack and comes after Rome itself
Can't hold Rome so they leave
Settle in the area of Modern day Spain
Vandals (422 - 450 AD)
Come into Roman Empire looking for booty
They enter into a conflict between 2 Roman emperors who are vying for the kingdom
They are invited into Africa to help one man fight for the empire
Once there told that they were not needed
They unleashed their fury against Rome
Went after Carthage - took it and a Roman fleet
Set out into the Mediterranean and begin attacking the Roman held islands like Sicily
Settled in northern Africa
Gauls (436 AD)
Attacking northern borders of Western Roman Empire
Always a constant force that was ready to attack
Make up what is modern day Germany, Switzerland
Huns (452 AD)
Had been pushing westward
Begin with harassing Eastern Roman Empire
Led by Attila
When invited to take over the Western Roman Empire - turned attention over there
Pope Leo was sent to turn Attila away
Attila leaves - and dies that winter
Pope Leo celebrated as the one who took down the "Scourge of God"
Huns settle in modern day Hungary
Burgundy
Franks Under Clovis (481-511) - (France)
Come out of the Roman empire
Clovis
As Roman Empire Collapses – Franks take control in France, Holland, Germany, Belgium
Clovis became powerful military and political leader
by 498 professed to be a Christian
made a promise to God – if he got a victory – he would be baptized
when he won – baptized into Roman church on Christmas day
military battles became “holy wars”
defeated people could only stay in their land if they accepted Romanism
Roman Church conquered and the influence spread
His descendants became known as the Merovingian kings
Soon known as the do-nothing kings
Pepin the Short became ruler in 741 – his kingship started the Carolingian line of Frankish kings
he gave land he conquered in Italy to the popes to rule over
Charlemagne - ruled from 768-814
Son of Pepin the Short
took on the title of Charlemagne (French for Charles the Great)
over 7 feet tall, large man - very good looking
long reign – great success in battles
claimed to be a Christian
promoted education
Not well educated
Spoke both Latin and Greek
Frankish ruling family later called the Carolingian dynasty
He was a great military leader - copied by some of the greatest military leaders like Napoleon
Great organizer
Didn't ask his men to do anything he wouldn't do - led by example
he led his armies out of France and into Netherlands, Germany and Italy
He was a “Christian” – when conquering non-believing such as Saxons (Germany) and Avars (Hungary) he forced them to become “Christian” and to be baptized
Christmas day in 800 the pope crowned him Holy Roman emperor
Now the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire
Had 4 sons
Louis the Pious - took over as king
Other sons
Lothar
Louis the German
Charles the Bald
Treaty of Verdun (843) splits of the land between these 3 sons
France becomes a kingdom in 843 AD - set the formation of modern France & Germany
Charles Martel (the Hammer)
Last of the good rulers
Bad rulers nicknamed
“the Simple”
“the Fat”
“the Stammerer”
“the Lazy”
In 962 Otto invaded Italy at request of the pope
Was crowned Emperor of the Romans by the Pope
Gave birth to Holy Roman Empire
serious problems between the monarchs and the popes
church and state were frequently at odds and tried to dominate the other
Lombards
Muslims/Moors (600-800)
Another power force sweeping from the Middle East (Saudi Arabia) through Africa
Black Muslims called the Moors
Domination is going to sweep across Africa and into Spain
Going to hold this territory until today
Vikings and Magyars (800's)
Vikings (Norsemen 700-1100 AD)
Homelands were in Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland
Blond-haired, blue-eyed German Barbarians
Violent, pagan people
Skilled seaman
Traveled across Europe into the Mediterranean and North America in their Viking ships
Coming out of the northlands and swooping in by sea
Will ravage all of Europe and into Asia
Founded Dublin (Ireland) in 841 AD
Vikings ruled Russia (Novgorod) in 860 AD
Erik the Red reached Greenland in 982
1000 AD Leif Eriksson lands in N.A. but never established a settlement there
1100 the last Vikings gave up their old gods and converted to Christianity
Will intermix with all the peoples across the continents
Their civilization will be merge and become part of most of European culture
Magyars (800-900)
Came across the Caucasus and Ural Mountians - possibly being driven out of their home lands by the Mongols
Lived in Turkish lands for awhile and picked up some of their ways
7 hordes of Magyars
Lived on horseback much like the Huns
Weapon of choice was the bow and arrow
Traded with the Crimean people
Attacked many cities and towns on the frontiers of Roman civilization
Inflicted much damage on Europe
Settled in the area of Hungary
Mongols (1100)
Were pushing the boundaries and beginning to spread wings
Came out of steppes of Asia
Pushed against the Chinese empire
Were going to expand into an empire even bigger than the Roman Empire under Julius Caesar
Came out of modern day Mongolia and swept through Asia and Europe
Descendants of the Navajo people
Ghengis Khan and Kubla Khan were going to be the two driving forces of these people
Ottoman Turks
Would combine forces with the Muslim/Moors
Would become the Ottoman.Turkish Empire
Settled in Turkey and other parts of the Middle East
Middle East Power
Muslim dominated (700 through today)
Muhammad (570-632 AD)
Islam was born through him
Was an Arab mystic from the city of Mecca
Tried to lead his people with a combined Judaism/Christianity (distorted) into a legalistic religion that looked to him as the ultimate authority
Followers of Islam are known as Muslims
either going to a burning inferno or a sensual paradise
salvation comes from man’s efforts to keep the rules of the Koran (holy book of Islam)
recite prayers 5 times a day
recite the creed (There is no god but Allah and Mohammad is his prophet) – at least 125,000 during your lifetime
almsgiving (giving to the poor)
fast from sunrise to sunset during the holy month of Ramadan
make a pilgrimage to Mecca
under persecution at Mecca, Mohammad, his family, and his followers fled to Medina in 622 AD (hegira – “flight”)
followers grew and began conquering lands (600-700 AD)
overran Middle East and North Africa through a series of jihads (“holy war”)
Middle east domination
Ruled Middle and Africa
Capitals for in
Damascus (Syria)
Baghdad (Iraq)
Cairo (Egypt)
Fierce tribesmen from Asia, Mongols, Turks brought the Arab empire to an end
Asia
China
Hieu-Ti Dynasty (220-633 AD)
T’ang Dynasty (616 – 960 AD)
1st emperor was the greatest
allowed Buddhists and historian Christian missionaries into the country
extended China – largest nation at that time
conquered Turkestan and Korea
invent the moveable printing press
Sung Dynasty (961-1127 AD)
Wang An Shih – leader – socialist reformer
invented the magnetic compass and gun powder
great achievements in printing, painting, and porcelain
Russia
Vast open land – full of displaced people
Scynthians – they settled in cities from 100 BC- 700 AD
Tribal groups formed the Slavs and Avars
these people became the Czechs, Poles, and Hungarians
the beginning of Khazars (700 AD)
they dealt with the Jewish people
Varangians (Russians who lived in Sweden)
descendants of the Vikings
Rurik – founder of the ruling house in Russia – king of Novgorod
Rurik died and his son was too young to rule
Oleg (his guardian) ruled for him
Captured several cities and made Kiev the capital
Conquered the Khazars
They attacked Constantinople because they refused to trade with them
Oleg couldn’t get his boats through the water to Constantinople he took them on land
They put on wheels, put up sails and sailed in to attack
Constantinople gave up – the war ended
Vladimir was the next king
his mother traveled to Constantinople and became a “Christian”
in 998 AD Vladimir became a “Christian” and made his kingdom “Christian”
began to follow the Greek Orthodox Church instead of the Catholic Church
had first stone cathedral built in Russia
Khmer (Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam) 800-1400 AD
Jayavarman – first king (657-681 AD)
Dominated southeast Asia
Highly skilled builders and engineers
The kings were worshipped as gods
We know about them because of Chinese
Became wealthy on growing rice
Warred on the back of elephants
Built their houses on stilts along the riverbanks
Finally captured by the Thai army in 1431
India
Gupta Dynasty 320-535 AD
Golden Age of India
United through a religion – Hindu
rule book that was to be followed
your after-life (reincarnation) depended on how well you keep the rules
Caste system – put people into a certain place
you were bound to the caste – you could never get out
rich people lived in luxury
poor people starved, died of diseases, lived in one-room huts
most people are farmers and had cattle
as Buddhism comes – more rules are added to the Hindu - crime to kill cattle
girls were burdens on the family
needed a dowry (money) in order to get married
girls were married off by the time they are 8
boys went to school for 12 years and then married
entertainment
loved to gamble – with dice
developed – chess
Required 4 players and dice
Became popular in Persia - changed it to 2 players
Muslims took over the game
Christian knights brought the game back to Europe
musicians, acrobats, jugglers, magicians, snake-charmers
no sporting events – it was too hot
Japan – Yamato Clan (400-600 AD)
Descendants of the samurai
meaning – “those who serve”
came from Emishi warriors
they were willing to give their life to serve the king
this mindset came through the ages into the 1900’s
kamikaze mindset – thought it was an honor to die while killing and opponent
fly their plane into another plane and blow them both up
Shinto religion – held by the Japanese
formalized the Shinto religion into Buddhism
Africa
Northern Africa
500-600 under Byzantium
600 AD the Muslims swept through and kept control - Moors
Other Kingdoms
Kush (Cush)
started around 2000 BC
in Bible times this was the land of Nubia (Ethiopia, Sheba)
Today – Sudan
One of the first Christian communities in Africa
Philip
Ethiopian Eunuch
there has been a constant struggle here between the Muslims and the Christians
Ghana (Mali)
they were rich in gold
this became a big trade city
Nok
Huge terracotta heads and bronze masks
huge trade center
Songhai
southern Africa
Zimbabwe – today
huge ancient city
was a big trade center
Egypt
North America
Anasazi culture develops (700 – 1300 AD)
Apartment dwellings in cliff walls
Pit houses
Grew corn and other crops
They were good architects
Basket weavers
Descendants of modern day pueblo dwellers (Hopi, Zuni, Laguna)
Examples of the culture
Chaco Canyon - NM
Mesa Verde - CO
Canyon DeChelley
Why did they leave?
they left as a group
no one knows - could have been lack of water
Other tribes
Mississippian Culture
Ohian Culture (Adena)
Hopewell peoples
Plains Indians
Moved with the food source
Lived in teepees
Pueblo Indians
Stayed in once place
Farmers
Central/South America
Teotihuacan reaches its peak (100-750 AD)
Reaches its peak at 500 AD
More than 100,000 people
Built over 600 pyramids
2000 apartment buildings
Central America
Olmecs (1200 BC - 900AD)
their civilization fades and the Toltecs take over around 900 AD
This is modern day Mexico
Ancient Mayan civilization 300 BC - 1000 AD
Paracas 300 BC - 1000 AD
southern Peru
come to an end around 1000AD
Church
The making of the Medieval Church
first century church
simple meetings, read Scripture, sang hymns, etc.
church was persecuted for 300 years but didn’t change much - nothing like the elaborate pagan Roman rituals
was extended legal protection under Constantine in 313 AD
Sunday is established as a day of rest
Persecution ended and people came to church for political and social reasons
Slaves treated more kindly and eventually slavery was abolished
Gladiators came to an end
Unwanted infants stopped being abandoned and left to die
Family ties became stronger
Many hospitals and orphanages were set up by the “church”
Theodosius made Christianity the only legal faith in 395 AD
“Christianity” now the only allowable religion (Roman Catholic

Church)

Churches filled with “Christians” who were still pagan at heart
Simple services were boring – brought elements of pagan rituals – idol worship
Church began to accept false doctrines
Satan couldn’t destroy the church through persecution, he began through infiltration
Positive influence on church
True believers became stronger and began standing up for what is

right

Even though there are errors in the church – small group of true

believers still remain