Post-Classical World Study Guide

10.1
• Arabian Peninsula: Africa, Europe, Asia. Desert
o few oases. Nomadic Arab leaders lived there
o Arab Nomads = Bedouins -> organized into clans, provided security & support in the
desert
• Bedouin: ideals = courage, loyalty, warrior skills -> Islamic way of life
• Fertile areas = farming communities
o Early 600’s many Arab’s settle in oasis/ market towns
o Larger towns on W. coast are market towns for local/regional/western trade
• Trade routes connect Arabia to Byzantine Empire and Sassanid/Persia and Silk Road
• Mecca: religious pilgrimages to Ka’aba an ancient shrine to Abraham (Monotheistic society-
but later introduced more gods)
• The concept of belief in one God is called ALLAH
• Muhammad’s uncle= powerful Meccan leader
• Muhammad = trader, interested in religion
o One day Angel Gabriel came to him and told him he was Allah’s messenger
 Gave him stuff to say
o Becomes a prophet -> taught that Allah was the only god = Islam (submission to the will
of Allah)
o Met with some hostility, accused as a revolutionary
 Therefore, left Mecca with his followers = hijrah
 Went to Medina (formerly called Yathrib)
 Mohammed is a leader of Arab’s and Jews in Medina
o Went back to Mecca (they surrendered under his attack)
 And destroyed the Ka’aba
o Many Meccans converted to Islam; joined UMMA a Muslim religious community.
o Although he died early, he had unified most of the Arabian peninsula under Islam
• 5 Pillars of Faith: faith, prayer, alms, fasting, pilgrimage (hajj)
• Even though Islam has no priests/religious authorities, just Allah, they have the Ulama which is
a religious scholar class.
• M.’s followers collected his recitations that he received from Gabriel in the Qur’an – written in
Arabic the language of worship (language helped unite conquered ppl)
• Sunna = Muhammad’s example for living
• Shari’a = Muslim laws
• Islam vs. Judaism and Christianity
o Islam: Jesus is another prophet, Muhammad is the last and greatest prophet
o Christianity: Jesus = son of god
o All religions go back to Abraham: the people that worship them called: ppl of the Book
10.2
• Issue of leadership after M- he didn’t name a successor
• Community elected Abu Bakr as 1st caliph
• 1st four caliphs = rightly guided; they all personally knew M
o their rule called a caliphate
• Chaos after M’s death: Abu Bakr invoked jihad -> to encourage expansion of Islam
• After A.B.’s death Muslim controlled all of Arabia
• 2nd caliph: Umar -> takes over Syria, Lower Egypt and parts of Sassanid empire
• 3rd and 4th Uthman and Ali also expand empire + spread Islam
• Disciplined armies exploit weaknesses of northern empires
• Equality, non-persecution in Islam appealed to foreigners (as well as the no-tax for Muslim’s
rule)
o But conquered ppl were allowed to follow their own religion: religious Tolerance
• Uthman’s muder = civil war

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 • Ali is natural successor: challenged by Muawiya (governor of Syria) -> Ali assassinated
o elective system of choosing Caliph dies
• Ummayad Family came to power: moved capital to Demascus from Mecca to control territory
easier
o Abandoned simple life
• Majority of Muslims accepted ummayad’s (the Sunni- believed that Caliph’s need to follow the
Sunna)
• The Manority who resisted believed caliph must be descendant of the prophet (the Shi’ites)
• Sufi’s rejected luxuries of ummayad’s.
• Abbassids overthrew ummayad’s and took control
• Spain conquered by N. African Muslims = berbers
o There was a muslim state in al-Andalus
o 1 ummayad descendant fled here
• Abbassids: moved capital to Baghdad -> solidify power and access trade
o Strong bureaucracy: treasury, diplomats, taxes
o Failed to keep complete political control
o Independent muslim states spring up (ie. Fatimid Caliphate)
• 2 major trade networks in the sea: Mediterranean sea + Indian ocean and silk road
• currency = abassid dinar
• to encourage trade banks set up throughout empire w/ letters of credit to be cashed in any
bank called: sakk (pronounced check in Europe)
• Muslim city of Cordova in Spain: major center in Europe -> appealed to non-muslims (way of
life)
10.3
Muslim Culture
• Baghdad: 4 social classes
o Upper class: Muslims @ birth
o 2nd: Muslim converts
o 3rd: Christians, Jews, Zoroastrians
o 4th: slaves/POW’s -> all were non-Muslims
• Muslim women had more economic property rights than European, Indian, Chinese women but
still expected to submit to men.
• Had math and astronomy to calculate times for prayer and direction to Mecca
o Also used to discover new things about the world
• Emphasis on scholarship = places of learning
o Muslims kept classical knowledge alive
o Translated other culture’s learning into Arabic (esp. House of Wisdom: Baghdad)
o Literature: 1st religious, later everything else
• Images of religious beings/ ppl discourages
• Caligraphy, architecture (great mosque of Damascus)
• Had good medicines + encyclopedia
• Muslims solved problems w/ experiments : greek thinkers preferred logical reasoning
• Invented algebra from Indian texts
• Knowledge about eyes, astronomy, philosophy
• Muslim Empire broke up into: Ottoman, Mughal, + Safavid empires
• 1 reason for breaking up: too big, not enough taxes etc.
11.3
• Turkish empires rise in Anatolia- previously from the abassids
• Abassids struggle to maintain control of empire.
• Persian armies destroy the caliph
• Turks (were raiders and traders) taken by abassids as military slaves, mamelukes
• Turks converted to Islam and migrated to abassid empire
• 1st group to migrate were Seljuk’s, caputured Baghdad from the Persians.

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 • Later seljuk’s occupied most of Anatolia and E. Byzantium
• Seljuk sultanate of Rum survived in Anatolia after Seljuk empires downfall.
• Seljuk rulers surround themselves w/ conquered Persian support: choose Persian city of Isfahan
as capital
• Vizier = prime ministers (many Persians were viziers)
• Malik Shah = famous Seljuk sultan : built great mosques, patronized art etc.
• Nomadic seljuk’s were illiterate-> adopted Persian language/culture
• Seljuk rulers = Shah (ruler)
• Promoted Persian writers like rumi, architects, artists
• Arabic language almost disappeared
• Kept alive only by scholars studying Qur’an
• After Malik Shah, the shah’s were weak, the Seljuk empire disintegrated
• The West launched the crusades against the Turks + Muslims for the holy land
• 1st Crusade: called to drive Turks out of Anatolia + recover Jerusalem from Muslim rules
o result: captured Jerusalem (1099) + massacred Jewish residents and established a
kingdom
o Later crusades were weak
• Mongols came from Asia and slaughtered many
o Took Baghdad, burned palace
o Mongol empire crumbled and Ottomans rose out of Turkish empire
Ch 13.1 Charlemagne Unites Germanic Kingdoms
• After decline of Roman Empire, European Middle Ages
• 5th c. Germanic invaders overran Roman Empire
• Destroyed trade, cities, population shifted to rural areas, left without strong leadership,
Germans were illiterate so level of learning declined, Greek knowledge almost completely lost,
Latin language changed-new dialects developed, constant warfare and political chaos
• Church provided order and security
• Gov changed from citizenship and nationalism to personal loyalty and family ties = rise of
feudalism, independent “states”
• Franks in Gaul, leader was Clovis, brought in Christianity
• Church supported Clovis, gave him military strength to unify Franks into 1 kindgom (Church-
state partership)
• Christianity spread through the Church, Frankish rulers,
o missionaries, monasteries and convents sprung up = people gave up private possessions
to devote life to God
• Italian monk Benedict writes rules for monasteries, later adapted for convents +other religious
settlements
• Monasteries = centers of education, schools, libraries, book copying, wrote histories
• Gregory I expands papal power -> became secular (involved in politics) and center or Roman
gov.
• Papacy is in Rome with big political kingdom
• After collapse of Roman Empire small kingdoms sprang up. Franks controlled the largest in
Gaul
• In 700 the major domo (mayor of the palace) = most powerful person in kingdom
• Charles Martel (the Hammer) held more powerful than the king.
o Extended Franks reign, defeated Muslim raiders
• Son Pepin the Short conspires with Pope and becomes King (start of the Carolingian Dynasty)
• 2 sons: Carloman (died) and Charles (Charlemagne! Charles the Great!) ruled
• Built a great empire- conquered tons of land and spread Christianity
• Empire unified West Europe for the first time since Roman Empire. Larger than Byzantine
Empire
• 800: Charlemagne crushed a mob that attacked the Pope. In gratitude, Pope Leo III crowned
him emperor

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 o sig. Pope claimed right to crown emperor
• centralizes gov., limits noble authority, sends agents to govern land, encourages learning
• Charlemagne’s only surviving son Louis becomes emperor . Ineffective.
• 3 sons fight for control of empire- divides empire in 3 kingdoms (Treaty of Verdun)
• Carolingians lose power and central authority broken. Goes back to feudalism
13.2
• Vikings come in and start raiding like crazy (great sea traders, magnificent ships, traveled far
and wide)
• Gradually accepted Christians
• Were given land and money and settled down to farm (difficult in N. climes)
• Magyars (nomadic people from Hungary) attacked/invaded W. Europe
o Took captives but did not settle
• Muslims came from the south, invading through Italy and Spain
• Kings were not able to effectively defend lands- peasants turned to local rulers for
support/safety
• Feudalism: lord/landowner. Lord’s vassals granted land (fief). Knights defended the fiefs. Serfs
worked the land (not slaves but bound to the land)
o Church officials ranked under the King
• Manorialism = self contained world.
o High taxes, tithe to the priest
• Bad living conditions for serfs
13.3 The Age of Chivalry
• Cavalry warfare was a good thing. Knights = warriors on horseback
• Worked for landowners. Paid with land
• Knight’s obligation is to serve in battle- no other labor
• Code of Chivalry = set of ideals to fight bravely in defense of his earthly feudal lord, his
heavenly Lord, and his chosen lady. Also to protect the weak and poor but most treated the
lower class badly
• At age 7, page. Waited on host and practiced fighting skills, 14: squire- servant to a knight, 21:
knight
• Knights took part in tournaments which allowed them to gain money
• Epic poetry created about knights, heroes
• Troubadours, traveling court musicians, sang about romance, war, etc.
• Women were powerless
• Noblewomen could inherit estates from her husband
• Can act as military commander/warrior when husband was not there but generally confined to
home, convent
o Rich educated with tutors
• Peasant women performed endless labor around home and fields
• Girls learned household skills at early age
13.4 The Power of the Church
• After crowning Charlemagne, Church sought to influence spiritual and political
• Pope headed the Church. All clergy under his authority. Bishops supervise Priests
• Although Europe pol. Divided, Church bonded people
• Priests and Clergy administered sacraments (important religious ceremonies i.e. baptism)
• Canon law = Church law in matters like marriage and religious practices
• Harsh punishments = excommunication and inderdict = sacraments can not be performed in
the King’s lands
• So the Church had power over the Emperor
• Otto allies with the Church to limit nobles strength
• Builds his power base with support of bishops, abbots

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 • Otto’s German Italian Empire becomes the Holy Roman Empire
• Church is unhappy that Otto (and kings like him) control Clergy
• Hated lay investiture where kings appointed Church officials. The control of lay investiture =
control of Church
• Gregory VII banned it. Emperor Henry IV ordered Greg to step down. Greg excommunicated
Henry. TO save throne, Henry begged for forgiveness
• Successors continued to fight over lay inv. Till 1122. Compromise = Concordat of Worms
• Church can appoint a bishop and emperor can veto it.
• Fredrick I temporarily united the HRE
• Lombard League created in response to his brutality to Italy
• Finally made peace. After death, the HRE falls to pieces
• Subsequent German kings attempt to revive empire and church alliance but fought with Italy
14.1 Church Reform and the Crusades
 Monasteries led spiritual revival
 Most people were illiterate
 Church corruption- wants political power, money
 Many married, sold positions called simony
 Leo IX and Gregory VII attempt to revitalize the Church to resemble a kingdom
 Pope’s advisors called Papal curia and they developed canon law
 Papal diplomats traveled throughout kingdom
 Church collected tithes. Used some money to operate hospitals
 Other relig. Orders: wandering friars, Dominicans (emphasize scholarly activities), Franciscans
(revere equality), Benedictines
 Women can join these orders. Lived in poverty. Helped poor and sick. Not allowed to travel.
 Cathedrals built 1100 Romanesque style- round arches, heavy roof, thick pillars = tiny windows
 Led to Gothic architecture- taller, stained glass windows, intricate carvings, tall spires, pointed
arches, buttress
 The Crusades began when Emperor Alexius of Byzantines asked Pope for help to kick out
Muslim Turks
 Shortly after, Pope Urban II issued call for Holy War = Crusade. Goals:
o Reconquer Holy Land, kick Muslims out of Constantinople, opportunity to get rid of
knights who threatened the peace, huge economic advantages: leasing ships, controlled
trade
 Crusades 1 + 2: lot of religious feeling. Crusaders ill prepared for war. No leader, small army.
Captured Jerusalem but it was re-conquered by Turks (under Saladin- Muslim leader)
 Created feudal crusader states
 3rd Crusade: led by Phillip II of France, Frederick I Barbarossa of Germany, Richard Lionhart of
England
 Phillip left, Barbarossa drowned, Richard led Crusaders to retain Holy Land from Saladin
 Eventually agreed to a truce: Jerusalem under Muslim control but Christian pilgrims can freely
travel there
 4th crusade: fails. End up looting Constantinople. Later crusades also fail. Religious fervor
declined
 Children’s Crusade: led by 12 yr old. 30,000 kids. On march, many died. Rest drowned or were
sold into slavery
o 2nd: many died in cold crossing Alps. Met Pope. Told them to go home
 Muslims controlled most of Spain. The Reconquista = effort by Spanish to drive the Muslims
out. Finally win
 Inquisition: court held by Church to suppress heresy. Accused burned at Stake
 Crusades encouraged ppl to travel to holy land
 Expanded trade b/w Europe and SW Asia

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  Weakened papal power, increased King’s power
 1000s lost lives, fortunes, left legacy of hatred
14.2 Changes in Medieval Society
 Warmer climate = larger food supply. Peasants switched from oxen to horse power.
Implemented 3 field system = growing crops on 2/3 land
 Guilds: org. of ppl in same business. Merchant and artisan guilds
 Created supervised training of new workers. Set standard prices.
 Guild became powerful -> commercial revolution (peasants could trade in fairs, more foreign
items available, merchants made increased profits, exchange rates between coinage, letters of
credit
 Increase in urbanization and cities were created. Banking became an important business
 Towns grow larger, trade very important but standard of living still pretty low
 Wood houses = fire hazard. Ppl not clean
 Most serfs not content. ran away from manor to cities
 Merchants demand privileges higher than peasants and shift social order to undermine feudal
lords
 European contact with the east is expanded
 Scholars revived. Roman, greek knowledge reintroduced, and Muslim technology
 University created- originally a meeting place for scholars only in theology
 Latin = serious writing. Few exceptional poets (Dante + Chaucer) popularized vernacular
14.3 England and France Develop
 Invasions: mainly Danish Vikings
 Anglo-Saxon King Alfred turns back Vikings, unites kingdom = England
 Danish king Canute conquers England, combining anglo Viking culture
 Norman conquest: William Duke of Normandy claims the crown and the Normans gain control
 English king Henry II marries Eleanor of France (Aquitaine) and gains French lands
 Henry strengthened royal courts, sends judges to every part of England, jury = group of loyal
people
 Rulings of England’s judges become known as common law = the basis of law today
 Henry’s son Richard the Lionharted hero of Crusade was a strong king
 His brother John failed as a military leader and was cruel to his subjects. His nobles revolted
and forced John to agree to the Magna Carta: which guarantees basic political rights to the
nobles and later to all people
 Parliament: 2 burgesses from every borough and 2 knights form every county are in it
 Called the model Parliament. The 2 groups (knights and burgesses) formed their own house
called House of Commons. Nobles and Bishops met in the House of Lords
 Provided a check on royal power
 Capetian dynasty created by Hugh Capet King of France
 Slowly Capetian kings tightened grip on N France and gradually spread outward
 Phillip II (Augustus) a Capetian greatly increased the territory of France, seized Normandy from
King John, and tripled the lands under his direct control so the king was now more powerful
than the vassals
o Strengthened central gov by establishing royal officials (bailiffs) to preside over king’s
court, collect tax
 Grandson Lewis IX was very pious. Made saint after death. Created a French appeals court
which strengthened the monarchy.
 Phillips IV argued with the Pope and allowed commoners to come into his meetings to gain
support for his policies
 Church leaders known as 1st Estate, great lords 2nd Estate, commoners wealthy landowners =
3rd estate
 When they met it was a Estates-General. It increased monarch’s power because it lessened
nobles’ power
 Beginning of democracy. Creation of common law, court systems
11.2 Russian Empire
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 • Russia: unified territory west of Euro mtns. Hilly grasslands in south, forresty flat north, slow
moving rivers connecting( Dnieper, Don, Volga)
• Early days: forests inhabited by Slavic farmers/traders w/ no political unity
• Varangians or Rus (probably Vikings) settled among Slavs.
• Slavs invited Viking chief to be king: founded Novgorod- Russia’s 1st important city
• Noblemen moved south to Kiev (you can reach Constantinople easily from there- for trade)
• Kiev grew into small state ruled by a prince.
• Kievan princess olga converted to Christianity.
• Grandson Vladimir observed major religions and was convinced to convert to Byzanine
Christianity (orthodox) and make all his subjects convert as well = better connection to
Byzantium
• Close link btw church and state - > expanded state into Poland and into Baltic Sea, fought of
Nomads
• Son, Yaroslav the Wise married daughter’s sister’s off successfully to forge alliances
o Created a legal code; Christianity prospered
• After death he divided realm among sons and state was torn apart. (crusades also brought
trouble)
• Mongols came w/ Ghengis Khan 1200’s (tons of brutality)
o Attacked and demolished Kiev
o Russia came under Mongol rule: could follow customs but could not rebel
o All religions were tolerated
o Demanded absolute obedience and massive tribute
o Isolated Russia
• Moscow founded as crude village but strategically located by 3 rivers
• Prince Ivan earned gratitude from Mongols- appointed tax collector and “grand prince”
o Convinced patriarch of Kiev to move to Moscow
o Moscow’s prince is allied w/ the church
o Successors used strategies to enlarge territories
• Ivan III challenged mongol rule- took name Czar (remane of Caesar) and wanted to make
Russia the 3rd Rome
• Russian and Mongol armies faced each other- neither advanced.
14.4 The Hundred Years’ War and the Plague
 Church is failing. People have less faith
 Pope Boniface VIII attempts to force Papal authority on kings
 King Phillip IV of France held Pope prisoner. Moved Papacy to Avignon
 French archbishop chosen as Pope
 Moving it weakened the Church. When they tried to move it back the Pope died then finally the
cardinals decided to listen to the people and elect a Roman for Pope
 Pope Urban VI but he was too reformist so they elect a second pope: Robert of Geneva =
Clement VII
 The 2 popes fought, declared each other to be false, and excommunicated each other
 French Pope in Avignon and Italian pope in Rome = split in church = Great Schism
 Council of Constance attempts to end it by choosing another pope. Now we have 4 popes
 With HRE’s support, council forces all other popes to resign. Chooses Martin V
 Papacy challenged by John Wycliffe. Said that Jesus was the true head of Church and the Bible
was the final authority not the pope. Inspired an English translation of the new testament
 Jan Hus did the same but was burned at the stake and excommunicated
 Bubonic plague strikes. Began in Asia, traveled along trade routes. Infected Asia, Muslim World,
Europe
 Took 4 years to get to the end of Europe. About ¾ of people sick died
 Killed millions
 Returned every few years but never as severely
 Effects: population fell, trade declined, prices rose, Jews blamed, Church down

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  Capetian dynasty died without successor.
 Edward III of England, grandson of Phillip IV of France, claimed the right to the French throne
 Edward’s war continued from 1337-1453 = 100 yrs war.
 Finally, French drove English out of France
 Brought a change of warfare style in Europe: Long bow
 Joan of Arc: French and English signed a treaty that Henry V would inherit French crown after
Charles VI’s death. Peasant girl Joan wanted to rescue France from its English conquerors. Had
visions and voices from saints, led the French army into battle and won
 Charles VII was crowned king
 Brigundians captured Joan, tried and burned
 Impact: feeling of nationalism emerged in England and France, French monarchial power
increased, English suffered internal turmoil War of Roses (2 noble houses fought for throne)

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