Byzantine Empire PDF

Byzantine Empire: Rise of the Eastern Roman Empire- In order to move the capital closer to their primary rivals—the Sassanid Persian Empire– Emperor Constantine I built an imperial city on the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, naming it Constantinople Constantine effectively reinvigorated the Roman...

Byzantine Empire: Rise of the Eastern Roman Empire- In order to move the capital closer to their primary rivals—the Sassanid Persian Empire– Emperor Constantine I built an imperial city on the ancient Greek city of Byzantium, naming it Constantinople Constantine effectively reinvigorated the Roman Empire during the 4th century through several civil, economic, and militaristic reforms, thus allowing the empire to recover from a period of strife He also moved himself and his administration to Constantinople, thus effectively splitting the Empire into two halves: East and West At roughly the same time, the large-scale movement of peoples in Europe began during a period known as the Migration Period From 300 to 570 CE, many Germanic, Gothic, and Slavic peoples moved into and within the Roman Empire, followed by pursuing Huns and Avars—all of which threatened Roman imperial power While the West fell to the disorder and pressure of said peoples in 485 CE, the East continued and remained an effective force in the greater Mediterranean region for several centuries under mostly Greek rule and administration; historians refer to them as the Byzantines after 485 CE The Byzantine Empire- While the Western Empire had succumbed to invasion and Goth rule, it was, temporarily reconquered by the Byzantines in the 6th century under Justinian I Despite this temporary reconquest, the West would again fade away, leaving the Roman Empire in the hands of Greeks centered in Constantinople This would be the first of several retraction and expansion periods of the Byzantine Empire, however, there would be some lasting developments in early Byzantine history Another lasting impact of Justinian was the Code of Justinian and his greater civil code Justinian’s codes set the precedent for most modern state legal systems in establishing common civil law, lasting legislation, recording and adherence to judicial precedents, and formal training for students of law Aside from Justinian, another lasting effect of the Byzantines was their embracement and spread of Christianity through institutions and missionaries like Cyril and Methodius Hailing from the Byzantine Empire and Church, these two began the mass conversion of the surrounding hostile Slavic peoples, and the dominance of what is now the Eastern Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe Decline and Fall of the Byzantines- Throughout its existence, the Byzantine Empire remained an effective economic force, connecting the Western world to the trade of South and East Asia through the Silk Roads Said trade, while being beneficial, also proved deadly on more than one occasion, bringing with it plagues, such as the Plague of Justinian in the 6th century, and the Black Death in the 14th century—both of which reduced the populations of the region and the Empire substantially The first major setback of the Byzantine Empire was its temporary contraction and exhaustion at the hands of the Sassanid Empire in the Byzantine-Sassanid War from 602-628 CE The conflict itself ultimately weakened both states, and led to the fall of the Sassanids to Arab conquests of the 7th century, and the loss of more than half of the Byzantine Empire to the same Muslim invaders While it did experience a resurgent growth again in the 11th and 12th centuries during the Macedonian Renaissance, it had already reached its zenith in the centuries prior After decades of invasions, wars, plagues, internal strife, and civil war, the Byzantine Empire was finally ended by the taking of Constantinople by the Turkish Muslim Ottoman Empire in 1453 Rise of Islam: Islam Emerges in Arabia- Islam is a theological system that emerged from the writings of Muhammad—an Arab religious, social, and political leader; the religion itself combines several features of Arab paganism, Zoroastrianism, and Judeo-Christian beliefs According to Islamic doctrine, Muhammad was the last prophet and messenger of Allah (the Arabic word for ‘God’), from whom Muhammad received a divine revelation through an angel around 613 CE These revelations are recorded in the central religious text of Islam: the Quran, and adherents to Islam, regardless of race, are referred to as Muslims Islam itself is monotheistic in nature, and largely aims to convert infidels (non-believers), as well as usher in several social, political, and economic policy reforms (considered a response to contemporary issues at the time) The doctrine of Islam establishes a belief-based entity [a sort of theological state] of believers referred to as the ummah (community of believers) Muslims were to adhere to the religious laws of Islam—such as the Five Pillars (see next slide)— and to upload the integrity, and expansion of, the ummah through whatever means necessary Islam in the Arabian Peninsula- Muhammad began to preach his teachings in 613 CE, emphasizing the complete submission of people to the ‘One God’ Allah, and conversion to Islam While his followers were few in number, he attempted to spread his teachings in the primary regional Arab city of Mecca, only to be chased out by Meccan polytheists Withdrawing to Medina, he converted several Arab tribes and rallied their support against Mecca; in 629 CE, he captured the city and continued conquest and conversion into the greater Arabian Peninsula By the time of Muhammed’s death in 631 CE, nearly the entirety of the Arabian Peninsula, and its previously-disunited tribes, had been converted and organized into what would be later known as the Rashidun Caliphate Among the monotheistic beliefs that were influenced by Zoroastrian and Judeo- Christian beliefs, Islam would continue the legacy of Arab paganism through its emphasis on the Hajj: a lifetime pilgrimage to the Kaaba (a sacred building in Mecca) The Rashidun Caliphate- Following the death of Muhammad, the Muslims would be led by a caliph —a civil and religious leader who determined state and religious policy The period of the first four caliphs that ruled in succession following Muhammad were known as the Rashidun Caliphate (632-661 CE)—a period of rapid Arab expansion into Persia, the Levant, the Caucasus Region, eastern Anatolia, and parts of Central Asia, South Asia, and North Africa The Rashidun Caliphate established several Muslim precedents, most notably their treatment of non-Muslim monotheists (Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians) Known as dhimmis (the protected people), they were generally protected by the Muslim state, but were treated as second-class citizens with political, economic, and military restrictions One of the economic restrictions imposed on dhimmis was the jizya tax—a substantial tax payable to the Rashidun Caliphate that could be avoided upon conversion to Islam Such policies would be lasting characteristics of future Muslim states—even when Arabs lost their primacy a few centuries later to the Persians, Mamluks, Mongols, and Turks Islam Caliphates: The Rashidun Caliphate was the first of the four major caliphates established after the death of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. It was ruled by the first four successive caliphs (successors) of Muhammad after his death in 632 CE. The Rashidun Caliphate is characterized by a twenty-five-year period of rapid military expansion, followed by a five-year period of internal strife. The Rashidun Army at its peak numbered more than 100,000 men. By the 650s, the caliphate in addition to the Arabian Peninsula had subjugated the Levant, to the Transcaucasus in the north; North Africa from Egypt to present-day Tunisia in the west; and the Iranian plateau to parts of Central Asia and South Asia in the east. The caliphate was plagued by assassinations of the caliphs and a large-scale civil war over succession. The civil war known as the First Fitna (656–661). The war was primarily between those who supported Uthman's cousin and governor of the Levant, Muawiyah, and those who supported the caliph Ali. The civil war permanently consolidated the divide between Sunni and Shia Muslims, with Shia Muslims believing Ali to be the first rightful caliph and Imam after Muhammad. A third faction in the war supported the governor of Egypt, Amr ibn al-As. The war was decided in favour of the faction of Muawiyah, who established the Umayyad Caliphate in 661. Sunni and Shi’a are two denominations of Islam. Sunni is by far the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85– 90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word Sunnah, referring to the behaviour of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disagreement over the succession to Muhammad and subsequently acquired broader political significance, as well as theological and juridical dimensions. According to Sunni traditions, Muhammad designated Abu Bakr as his successor (the first caliph). This contrasts with the Shia view, which holds that Muhammad announced his son-in-law and cousin Ali ibn Abi Talib as his successor. Political tensions between Sunnis and Shias continued with varying intensity throughout Islamic history and have been exacerbated in recent times by ethnic conflicts The Umayyad Caliphate was the second of the four major caliphates established after the death of Muhammad. The caliphate was ruled by the Umayyad dynasty. The family established dynastic, hereditary rule with Muawiya ibn Abi Sufyan, long-time governor of al-Sham (Greater Syria), who became the sixth caliph after the end of the First Muslim Civil War in 661. After Mu'awiyah's death in 680, conflicts over the succession resulted in a Second Civil War and power eventually fell into the hands of Marwan I from another branch of the clan. The region of Syria remained the Umayyads' main power base thereafter, and Damascus was their capital. The Umayyads continued the Muslim conquests, incorporating the Transoxiana, Sindh, the Maghreb and the Iberian Peninsula (Al-Andalus) into the Muslim world. At its greatest extent, the Umayyad Caliphate covered 11,100,000 km2 (4,300,000 sq mi), making it one of the largest empires in history in terms of area. The dynasty was eventually overthrown by a rebellion led by the Abbasids in 750. Survivors of the dynasty established themselves in Cordoba which, in the form of an emirate and then a caliphate, became a world centre of science, medicine, philosophy and invention, ushering in the period of the Golden Age of Islam. The Umayyad Caliphate ruled over a vast multiethnic and multicultural population. Christians, who still constituted a majority of the caliphate's population, and Jews were allowed to practice their own religion but had to pay a head tax (the jizya) from which Muslims were exempt. There was, however, the Muslim-only zakat tax, which was earmarked explicitly for various welfare programs. Prominent positions were held by Christians, some of whom belonged to families that had served in Byzantine governments. The employment of Christians was part of a broader policy of religious accommodation that was necessitated by the presence of large Christian populations in the conquered provinces, as in Syria. This policy also boosted Muawiya's popularity and solidified Syria as his power base. The Abbasid Caliphate was the third caliphate to succeed the Islamic prophet, Muhammad. It was founded by a dynasty descended from Muhammad's uncle, Abbas ibn Abdul-Muttalib (566–653 CE), from whom the dynasty takes its name. They ruled as caliphs for most of the caliphate from their capital in Baghdad in modern-day Iraq, after having overthrown the Umayyad Caliphate in the Abbasid Revolution of 750 CE (132 AH). The Abbasid period was marked by reliance on Persian bureaucrats (notably the Barmakid family) for governing the territories as well as an increasing inclusion of non-Arab Muslims in the ummah (national community). Persian customs were broadly adopted by the ruling elite, and they began patronage of artists and scholars. Baghdad became a center of science, culture, philosophy and invention in what became known as the Golden Age of Islam. Despite this initial cooperation, the Abbasids of the late 8th century had alienated both non- Arab mawali (clients) and Iranian bureaucrats. They were forced to cede authority over al-Andalus (Spain) to the Umayyads, as well as other territories in North Africa, Persia, and Central Asia from 756-969. The political power of the caliphs was limited with the rise of the Iranian Buyids and the Seljuq Turks, who captured Baghdad in 945 and 1055, respectively. Although Abbasid leadership over the vast Islamic empire was gradually reduced to a ceremonial religious function in much of the Caliphate, the dynasty retained control over its Mesopotamian domain. The Abbasids' period of cultural fruition and its (reduced) territorial control ended in 1258 with the sack of Baghdad by the Mongols under Hulagu Khan and the execution of Al-Musta'sim. The Abbasid line of rulers, and Muslim culture in general, re-centered themselves in the Mamluk capital of Cairo in 1261. Though lacking in political power, the dynasty continued to claim religious authority until after the Ottoman conquest of Egypt in 1517. Vikings and Mongols: Afro-Eurasian Trade: The Vikings The Vikings are a German ethnic group that occupy modern-day Scandinavia. In the 8th century, the medieval warming period caused much of the iced and infertile lands to germinate vegetation. As such, settlements and populations in the northern regions of the world began to expand. One such group that began to expand were the Vikings, as the populations and settlements of Scandinavia began to reach critical mass. Setting out for the Baltic, North Sea, and Northern Atlantic, these maritime raiders (what Viking itself actually means) began to settle and raid the northern coasts of Europe. Longboats were designed to navigate the sea and rivers, as their wide base allowed them to sail in shallow waters. The Vikings used these to their advantage in the Viking Age (800-1100 CE) to sail upriver and conquer un-suspecting Europeans and North Africans. This allowed Vikings to establish settlements and raid along the coast of Europe and the Mediterranean, as well as discovering and settling Iceland, Greenland, and in Newfoundland (temporarily). The Vikings were also influential in the slave trade, selling white slaves to the Muslim states, working as mercenaries for the Byzantine Empire, and allowing trade to flourish in the founding principalities of Russia such as Kiev and Novgorod. Their lasting impact, however, was the flourishing maritime trade they helped develop in Northern Europe and the Atlantic. Afro-Eurasian Trade: The Mongols The Mongols are a pastoral-based ethnic group that inhabits the central Eurasian steppe. After the union of Mongol tribes in the Central Asian steppes under Genghis Khan in 1206, Mongol forces began to conquer and incorporate other pastoral tribes, including those of Turkic descent. Genghis and his sons began to expand in all directions and were particularly formattable as most of their military were mounted (as they were nomadic pastoralists), and extremely skilled in equestrian combat and archery. To the east, they conquered and controlled China, ending the Song Dynasty; to the south, they conquered and incorporated the peoples of Central Asia and Persia; to the West, they conquered and incorporated the Slavic peoples of Russia and Kiev, and even invaded and conquered into the Middle East, officially ending the Abbasid Caliphate in 1268 CE. When Genghis Khan died in 1227, his song Ogedei inherited the empire and continued expansion; after Ogedei, Genghis’ grandsons would war and squabble over the massive Mongol Empire, disrupting expansion, and resulting in Civil War. While Kublai Khan would firmly establish the Mongols of China through the Yuan Dynasty and the areas of Central and South Asia, there will be a little semblance of a united empire following Ogedei. Mongol conquests were stopped in the West by the Poles and Lithuanians; in the Middle East by the Byzantines and Mamluks; to the South by the Delhi Sultanate; and to the east by Japan. The conquest by the Mongols was particularly brutal. Unlike the previous empires of the Classical Era, there was no organized central bureaucracy or rights of citizenship. Many of the skilled laborers were taken as slaves and used for further Mongolian expansion. For example, Chinese siege workers captured during the conquest of China were used to sack and destroy the castle and fortresses of Persia, Russia, and Central Asia. Enemy soldiers were either killed or incorporated by being split into separate military groups. These groups were kept loyal and from desertion by the punishment of death to ALL members of the platoon or group for deserters or betrayal (thus causing them to enforce loyalty themselves). Tributes were collected from conquered states, and any disobedience to Mongol rule was swiftly punished. Resistance was met with brutality, and the cities or armies that presented more of an obstacle often met a more gruesome torturous end (starvation, torture, mass killing, exposure to disease, enslavement, etc.).By 1294, the Mongol Empire had split into four separate khanates: the Golden Horde, Chagatai, Il-khanate, and the Great Khanate. These khanates, and the Mongol Empire before, brought an era of stability and prosperity to the regions known as Pax Mongolica—where trade and economic activity flourished. Slave routes, particularly the Silk Road, flourished under the Mongols, and many goods from China such as print technology, compasses, and gunpowder were able to spread to India, the Muslim states, and Europe. In addition to positive ideas and goods, the disease was also spread more easily with increased trade, such as the Black Death of the 14th and 15th centuries, which spread through flea bites (carried on rats and other vermin) from China to Europe across the Mongol Empire. The Black Death carried with it a near 90% mortality rate, wiping out more than 1/3 of the people of the contaminated regions of China and Europe, with cities suffering much larger losses than rural communities (due to the density of people and poor sanitation). While most of the khanates began to destabilize and crumble in the 14th century, the khanate of Chagatai continued until 1687. Additionally, being pastoralists and not having universal religious policies, the Mongols left few permanent markers in the cultures of their conquered peoples. While many convert to Islam, no religious writing or buildings were established, and the Mongol language was not enforced or encoded into conquered states. Sub-Saharan Africa: Great Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, and The Hausa Kingdoms: Great Zimbabwe was a city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe; it was the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe during the country's Late Iron Age. Construction on the city began in the 11th century and continued until it was abandoned in the 15th century. Archaeological evidence suggests that Great Zimbabwe became a center for trading with copper coins found at there appear to be of the same pure ore found on the Swahili coast, and also with artifacts suggesting that the city formed part of a trade network extending as far as China. This international trade was mainly in gold and ivory. Causes for the decline and ultimate abandonment of the site around 1450 have been suggested as due to a decline in trade compared to sites further north, the exhaustion of the gold mines, political instability and famine, and water shortages induced by climatic change. Ethiopia - The Zagwe dynasty ruled many parts of present-day Ethiopia and Eritrea between the early 12th and late 13th centuries. From 1270 AD until 1974, the Solomonic dynasty governed the Ethiopian Empire. The empires of Ethiopia were, and remain, largely Christian with a sizable Islamic minority. In the early 15th century, Ethiopia sought to make diplomatic contact with European kingdoms. This proved to be beneficial for the Christian monarchy as Portugal assisted the Ethiopian emperor (then known as the Emperor of Abyssinia) by sending weapons and four hundred men who helped defeat the neighboring Adal Sultanate and maintain a Christian kingdom. The Hausa kingdoms were a collection of states started by the Hausa people, situated between the Niger River and Lake Chad, also benefiting from trade routes connected to Ghana, Mali, and the Songhai Dynasty. Hausaland took shape as a political and cultural region during the first millennium CE as a result of the westward expansion of the Hausa peoples. By the 14th century, Kano had become the most powerful city-state. Kano had become the base for the trans-Saharan trade in salt, cloth, leather, and grain. Despite relatively constant growth from the 15th century to the 18th century, the states were vulnerable to constant war internally and externally and were conquered in the 19th century by a West African Sunni caliphate. Oceania: The Malay, Srivijaya, and Majapahit Malay communities in the Indian Ocean basin - Ancient India exerted a profound influence over Southeast Asia through trade, religious missions, wars, and other forms of contact. Pre-colonial Malaysia was part of 'Indianised Kingdoms' such as Srivijaya, Kadaram, and the Majapahit, which formed part of a cultural region known as Greater India. As such, many merchants from these regions-- most notably Malaysia-- settled around the Indian Ocean to the cultural similarity trade networks established between the Indianized states. Today more than 2 million Malay people resigned in Thailand and Singapore, as well as other areas in the Indian Ocean.