UCLA: History 1B Week 1 Notes

Professor: Dr. Susan Mokhberi Summer Sessions Warning: The following notes do not cover completely of the lecture materials. This is mainly to help guide you to decide whether you should choose this class or not. However, if you happen to miss a lecture or more, the following notes should likely suffice for you to catch up. I apologize for any spelling error. If you happen to have Dr. Susan Mokhberi as your History 1B professor, please do not use the following notes as an excuse to miss her lectures. Please respect her and the classmates around you by attending the lectures. Thank you and hope the notes help. ______________________________________________________ Introduction: Fall of the Roman Empire and to the Carolingian Empire Fall of the Roman Empire: y Empire gradually collapses o 395 empire divided into Western and Eastern halves o Causes:  Influx of Germanic tribes in the 4th century, especially in the West  Economic deterioration Germanic tribe invasion Nobles retreat to country estates All sides were hitting Rome because Rome was at its weakest point Heirs to y y y y Roman Empire Byzantine Empire Islamic Empire Western Kingdom Common ideas: all actually claim to be the next Rome, all believed to be descendants of Rome, they look up to Rome

Byzantine Empire

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Surviving eastern half of Roman Empire West: attacked by all tribes Split from Rome in 4th century and lasted until 1453 1453: the Ottomans take over the empire Constantinople was the capital Damascus and Alexandria were other large cities o You could see them from far away o Had domes, quite metropolitan and urban Orthodox theology o Persecuted non-orthodox o Even non-Eastern Christian orthodox were persecuted o Wanted to protect Roman culture o Anti-Germanic o Had festivals to celebrate Roman virtues and cultures o Patriarchal society (women were subjected to men)  A male-dominating society

Justinian (527-565) y Launched many military expeditions o Many to cover Rome, and taking back the land from Germanic tribes o Destructive wars, caused lots of death, unsuccessful y Imposed orthodoxy o Heretics would be exiled or persecuted y Famous for the Law Codes and Digest o Uniformity of law y Great builder o Hagia Sophia  Goal to project religion  Sign of power and authority  Reconstruction of Constantine church  Imported marble Troubles y All of the buildings and wars caused financial burden on the empire y People are overtaxed

y y

532 major riot that last nine days o Justinian almost escaped, but they recovered o It was a scare th 6 century Byzantine territory shrank By 627 Sassari Persia took Damascus and Egypt

Byzantium and Christianity y Emperors as powerful religious and political figures head of state and church hierarchy y Bishops served as judges and has collections y Monks and Monasteries power institutions y Icons: images of Holy People (Christ, the Virgin, saints) Islamic Empire y Pre-Islam: o In Arabian Peninsula, Bedouin tribes, Desert, with a few cases of water o Traditions transmitted orally o Commercial centers, ie: Mecca o Nobody fight Mohammad (579-632) y Born in Mecca y Trader, merchant y Married, had four daughters y Recite words of Allah o Qoran (Holy Book of Islam) means recitation y Converted family and friends y Emphasis on immediate family and wider community of believers called ummah o Important to Mohammad teachings y At first: insulted and harassed y 622 leaves Mecca, Hijra migration to Medina o Followers in Medina o Religion issues are tight politics in that era

Spread of Islam y 624 - attack on Meccan caravan loaded with goods Battle of Badr (killed 49 people and took prisoners) y idea of Jihad striving of Islam or holy war y Consolidated position in Medina and draws out Jewish population y 630 entered Mecca with 10,000 men and took over city Five Pillars of Islam y Fast of Ramadan during ninth month of Islamic year y Haji pilgrimage to Mecca y Worship five times a day y Profession of Faith There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his messenger y Zakat tax on possession used for alms Successor: who is to replace Muhammad? y Death of Muhammad on 632 y First caliphs came from his close uncle y Third caliph, Uthman from Ummayad family, aroused discontent y Followers of Ali (Husband of Fatiana, Muhammads only surviving child) Islam Spreads y Mohammads successors attacked Byzantium in 640s y Invaded Sassari Empire (Persia) and controlled entirely by 661 y Islamic soldiers spread from Spain to India y Why so successful? Good warriors and faced weakened neighbors Ummayad Empire y Capital at Damascus y Imposed Arabic to unite lands y Hired Byzantine and Persian officials o Creates new energy y Issued coins

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o Printed money Christians and Jews were free to worship but they paid tax Revolution and split in empires (Abbasids rule empire but Spain still ruled by Ummayads and North Africa ruled by Fatimids) o Ruled the entire empire except for Spain

Islamic Renaissance (790 1090) y Baghdad new capital sophisticated, urban, center of learning, scientific capital of world) y Research libraries are built, universities o Translated and studied y Achievements in Math and science ie. Algebra, Physics, Medicine y Ibn Sinna (known as Avicetina in West (wrotebooks on logic, natural) Cordoba, Spain y Ummayad Court at Cordoba was most dazzling and contained largest collection of books in the world o Great architecture Western y y y Kingdoms Francia was the main political unit Franks dominated Gaul (old term for France) 7th century Frankish kingdom reached eastern borders of present day France, Luxemburg, Belgium, Switzerland, and subjugated people beyond the Rhine River Clovis founder of Merovingian Dynasty

Merovingian Kings (485-791) y Gained power through tribal war leadership, access to plunder; took over Roman institutions although not very efficient y Maintained power through alliances with local aristocrats and church authorities y Marriage used to control affairs y Fighting between sons of kings over territories, wives, money

Britain y y y y Italy y y y y

Germanic people (Anglos and Saxons) invade 5th and 6th centuries They drive indigenous Celts into Wales, Scotland, and Ireland Rural culture, little trade, no cities, little state organization Anglo-Saxons eventually became Christian

Lombard Kingdom Pope: spiritual leader but also subordinate to Byzantines Pope Gregory the Great (590-604) laid the foundation for power of papacy He became greatest landowner in Italy, made treatises, and oversaw court cases

Carolingian Empire (750-1050) y Charles Martel mayor of the Palace under Merovingian o A new dynasty born Charlemagne (768 814) y Charles le magne great in old French y Most powerful Carolingian ruler y Einhard, courtier and scholar at his court, described him as a model Roman Emperor o Propagandist o Described Charlemagne as David y Actuality: Charlemagne was illiterate y Alcuin compared him to David the old Testament King y Charlemagne crowned Emperor and Augustus of Rome in 800 Charlemagnes Conquests y Conquered new territory y Invaded Italy and took Lombard crown y Fought the Saxons and converted them into Christianity y No standing army; men mobilized for each expedition

o Had to get military support the men provide their own armor and support  Had to believe Charlemagne is great, etc Soldiers provided own equipment and took booty as payment as they won battles

Charlemagnes Govt y Issued law in form of capitularies- summaries of decisions made at assemblies with chief men of the realm y Governors called "counts" carried out laws, mustered armies, and collected taxes o Not efficient y King gave land as payment o Prize, perhaps for a good knight o Award Division of Empire y Louis the Pious (Charlemagnes son) ruled the empire o When the king and there are too many sons, the sons would argue for rule of land y Empire a conglomeration of territories y At Louis death, fighting between three sons resulted in division of empire y Three parts: West (France), East (Germany), Middle (Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg) Carolingian Renaissance y Peak in scholars, there is a renaissance, few people y Charlemagne recruited leading intellectuals y Royal courts became centers of learning y Monasteries centers for manuscript production o Not widespread, few scholars gather at the court y Renaissance is not like your average Joe reading or writing Alcuin y

A scholar at Charlemagnes court

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Alcuin of York was the leading architect of cultural reform Carolingian Minuscule and Latin restored as literary language Revised church liturgy and the Bible Schools attached to monasteries

Conclusion y Three heirs to Rome o Byzantine, Islamic, Carolingian o All tried to emulate Rome, Rome model for empires o All monarchies and imperial o All faced regional pressures o In West, break up into smaller units: lordships; family and kinship ties o Age of smaller political units

Europe y y y y

in the year 1000 Charlemagnes Empire divided up Treaty of Verdun 843 Famine; Europe "empty" Barbarians: Saracens, Magyars, Vikings o Not army, problems strike

Invasions of 800s y More destructive than previous invasions y Saracens Arab pirates set loose by the political turmoil in caliphate of Baghdad o Abbasid in turmoil  Series of pirates moving from Baghdad into the West y Magyars or Hungarians or Ogres o Coming from Eastern Europe  East: famine, political turmoil y Vikings or Norsemen Scandinavian pirates who come in ships and loot and burn o No intention to set up a new empire

These, groups, especially the Vikings, terrified the Europeans o Terrorized much of Northern Europe o They sail up rivers They do settle, though, and merge with Christianity o But more looking for booty and looting

Treaty of Verdun, 843 y Charlemagnes empire divided up and collapses y Vacuum of power y Europe cannot defend itself against barbarian invasions o People are left on their own y Famine is general, widespread, destructive on the population o Bad weather destroyed crops, villages, etc y INSECURITY: no law, no order or justice o Youre on your own Life in Europe Difficult in 1000 y 1000 is not an exact figure (during this period of time) o See above y Europe was heavily forested y People were scarce y Population dropped from 25 million in Rome to 15 million under Charlemagne o Very few people living in these places  Not good  You want more people, trade, protection, etc y Famine common o Bad weather o Not enough people to farm o You need people to raise crops o Terrible hunger in 1032-1033 due to poor tech, bad weather, and lack of people  Leading to hunger Year 1000 y Turning Point!!!

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Nobody would bet on Europe in 1000 Backward compared to Muslim neighbors and China By 1050, a new European World emerged o Out of this turmoil, we see change and it leads to a new Europe and a new beginning o Would be unimaginable when looking more into the past

Year 1000: Why? y Luck: no more Barbarian Invasion after 1050 o These groups stopped attacking y Feudalism: small political units function better y A new smaller, better functioning unit emerges y Encourage security which leads to agricultural innovation o Security protection means people can innovate o If you're struggling to survive, you cannot innovate o People now can concentrate on how to improve society and innovate y Christianity accommodates and acculturates barbarians o The barbarians do stay, they are Christianized  Important to changing people, not rigid, will absorb ideas Exchange with the barbarian cultures Easier for the barbarians to adapt o Monasticism keeps Christianity alive  Also keeps learning, culture, and scholarship alive Population Grows after 1050 y Why? o Better climate; Europe gets warmer y Peasants adopt new agricultural techniques y Agriculture becomes more efficient; more food with less labor y Cities can reappear o When you have more security and no more invasions o Better agricultural techniques and climate o Cities are dependent, take crops from the countryside y Commerce resumes

o Crucial for growth  Once you have security, food, crops, people began to trade End of Invasions: How? y Saracens: 972 William count of Arles drives them out of their Mediterranean strongholds o New waves are no longer coming o You just have to build up y Hungarians: Otto of Saxony defeats them in 955 y 1005 Ottos daughter marries their leader and converts them to Christianity o Saxons merging/marrying into their family y Vikings are Christianized and settle down; they become Normans, which become the ancestors of the English Christianity y Christianity accommodates Barbarian influences y Christianity's syncretism makes it a powerful acculturating force o Not the rigid system of today, no solid ideas yet at this time y Monasticism sustains Christian doctrine, but Christian doctrine also absorbs and accommodates barbarian cultures Feudalism y Local nobles & petty warlords and their bands of warriors prove better able to defend Europe than large, cumbersome empires o Smaller political units worked better than political empires y Decentralization & local points of power better defenders y Helps Europe progress and grown Monasticism y Benedict of Nursia (528) creates a rule that encourages selfsufficiency, harmony y Benedictine communities are designed to survive in the most hostile territory y These islands of Christianity keeps Christianity alive

Year 1000: Why? y Vestiges of Antiquity disappear with the collapse of the Carolingians y New resilient features that make medieval civilization resilient: Feudalism and Monasticism y Europe begins to climb to prominence What is Peasants? y A happy person attuned to the rhythms of nature? y An oppressed person victimized by the system? y What does Dennis think? So, what is a peasant? y A person who farms what is almost his own land and for whom the family is the principle unit of production y A peasant a slave? No y A serf? Maybe but not necessarily How did y y y y peasants become peasants? An example: Lournand Lournand is a place in burgundy Happens to be within the domains of an abbey or monastery: Cluny Lournand has some records: this is a time with very few records

Lournand Before 1000 y Part of the Roman world o Economy based on slavery o Slaves settled on land, but did not own land, did not participate in political stuff, did not have rights y Large estates or villae y Tech primitive y Strong, Roman state o To control people o Cities live off countryside y Under the Carolingian World o There was slavery, but a big drop (15% in Lournand)

No strong state to keep slaves working o In place when there are fewer slaves, estates are replaced by farms or smaller units such as manse o Each farmer would have his/her land, protector

Around y y y

1000 Virtually all inhabitants are free & own a little land People are free They live in families of about 5 members o Provided themselves for the most part y They farm manses or allods (ie. family farm) y Why Allods? Require little supervision; family farm is self-sufficient and self-governing o Works better at this time y Consequences: peasants are born! But, still inequities (for the most part) o Not necessarily true for all Europe

Peasants do become Serfs y Had to give up certain privileges for security and protection y Peasants alienate their land (live on it, farm it, but give over a sort of ultimate ownership to the abbey o Beneficial to the peasants y Abbey contracts to protect the peasants (in the case of Lournand) y Why? o Famines in 982, 983, 984 o Violence: in Lournand, conflict between families & peasants need protection Peasants become Serfs of the abbey of Cluny y 970-990 Cluny becomes the protector of the lesser clan y Cluny drives out Bishop; brings knights under its influence; curbs some violence y Cluny can also threaten to excommunicate people from the church What does Cluny get in return?

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Eminent domain o Ownership of peasant land Cluny gets labor and crops from peasants o 1/3 to of the harvest  Annual tax for protection for the peasants Eventually labor service converted to money payments

The agreement between Lord and Peasant: y Is called manorialism or seigneurialism y (Sometimes called the economic side of feudalism) o People pay to the state, church Effects of Seignerualism on agrarian economy? y Some security for peasants y People will innovate when they think they will reap the benefits (wont be robbed) o Innovation comes with security y Technological progress and greater productivity now possible o Population will continue to grow, higher standards of living o Peasants have no state trauma, have no large armies to destroy their villages, no fears o People in the 1200s are living better than people in the 1500s? Economic progress begins y Increase in arable land that is cultivated y When people need land, you have land cleared and drained o Deforestation and swamp draining o Population growth means Europeans start moving into new areas y Colonization of Spain & East of Elbe y New villages Technological progress y New harness & plow o Use animals to do work for them

o Good harness to not hurt your animal Triennial rotation: 1/3 as opposed to land lies fallow (uncultivated) o Need your fields to rest o If overused, you will get bad crops People began to eat more beans o Beans replenish the soil  Improves the soil  Beans are healthy The shit factor o More food, more animal, more fertilizer  Can fertilize land more Become more efficient

Population growth begins y France: population doubles by 1300; England population triples between 1086-1348 y Total European population increased from 38 million to 74 million (or thereabouts) y Population growth continues until 1300s o Growth sustained for 300 years o Cause for the stall: the 1300s bubonic plague Why does this happen? y Manorialism or Seigneurialism (economic side of feudalism) o Peasants need security to innovate Are peasants oppressed y They suffer from prevailing disorder; chaos y Manorialism benefits them (at this point) because it gives them some security Are they poor? y No! Medieval peasants lived pretty well o Medieval peasants had: pretty good diet o A room of their own

o Little epidemic disease (thru short life span) o Material standard of living high; only surpassed 1740

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