West Civ II Midterm

Byzantine Empire

official language - Greek, silk production was an important industry, official religion - Christianity

Leo III

outlawed icons as idolatry

Belisarius

the general who led Justinian’s army and defeated the Ostrogoths in Italy

The Body of Civil Law

a codification of Roman law, written in Latin

Rise of the Byzantine Empire

1. The Macedonians expanded the empire.

2. They became the center of commerce.

3. They had power over both the Church and the state.

Fall of the Byzantine Empire

1. They had incompetent rulers.

2. The Church split.

3. They were being threatened by the Seljuk Turks.

major problems faced by the Eastern Roman Empire after Justinian died

1. too much territory to protect far from Constantinople

2. an empty treasury

3. a decline in population after a plague

4. renewed threats to its frontiers

the most important cause of the decline of the Byzantine Empire

invasion of the Seljuk Turks and involvement with the Cruasdes

Justinian’s most important contribution

codification of Roman law

Five Pillars of Islam

the acts of worship practiced by Muslims

shari’ah

the code of law that regulates all aspects of Muslim life

revelation

a divine truth revealed to Muhammad

Hijrah

the journey of Muhammad and his followers to Medina

Allah

the god of Islam

Arabs

primarily nomads before the trade routes were established. not able to take over Europe after the Battle of Tours in 732

first millennium B.C.

domestication of camels by Arabs - led directly to Arabs populating more of the desert

Islamic religion

created as a direct result of the revelations received by Muhammad. began in the Arabian Peninsula. monotheistic

Muhammad

received messages from Gabriel according to Islamic teaching. NOT divine

Quran

the holy book of Islam. granted women spiritual and social equality with men

Beliefs and Ways of life of Islam

1. there is no god but Allah

2. Muhammad was Allah’s prophet

3. obey the will of Allah by practicing the Five Pillars of Islam

Christianity

monotheistic. believes Jesus is divine

Battle of Tours

halted Arab expansion in Western Europe

680 A.D.

revolt in Iraq led by the son of Muhammad’s son-in-law - led Islam to split into two conflicting groups

how and why empires develop and grow

1. strong leadership

2. a powerful army

3. the support of the people

characteristics of the Umayyad, Abbasid, and Seljuk Turk dynasties that brought about their fall

no visible successor and corruption

Sunni and Shia

the two groups Islam split into after the internal struggle led by Hussein, second son of Ali (son-in-law of Muhammad)

Sahara Desert

prevented Islam from spreading further south into Africa

Muslims

prohibited from drinking wine

how Arab scholarship helped resurrect European learning

they translated the works of Aristotle and other European writers to Arabic and to Latin

minaret

the most famous section of a mosque that has an unusual outside staircase. 90 ft tall

muezzin

a crier, that called the faithful to prayer five times a day

astrolabe

an instrument used by sailors

bazaar

covered market

dowry

a gift of money or property to the bride

knights

armed cavalry

Vikings

Germanic warriors from Scandinavia. proficient as warriors, skilled shipbuilders, and sailors

fief

grant of land to a vassal

chivalry

code of ethics guiding nobility

feudalism

relationship between lords and vassals. developed because centralized power was lost in the face of invasion

vassals

directly served both lords and kings

lord-vassal relationship

required military service

two problems facing western Europe after the death of Charlemagne

invasions from northern peoples and internal division

chivalric code

expected knights to treat prisoners with respect and dignity

heart of feudalism

vassalage - homage and loyalty were offered for a parcel of land

814 A.D.

Charlemagne died and the Carolingian empire fell apart

bourgeoisie

means “middle class” that comes from the German word meaning “walled enclosure”

patrician

a wealthy, powerful landowner

Hanseatic League

one-hundred or more cities bound together for trade protection and opportunity. instrumental in protecting trade and promoting the economy in Northern Europe

money economy

use of coins and paper currency rather than bartering

guild

organizations to protect quality and prices for crafts and trades. business organization that set prices, regulated quality, and determined how many people could enter a specific trade

population increase

result of more food production and fewer invasions

courts of Champagne

initiated a series of trade fairs between in the chief towns of the territory in order to encourage trade between Flanders and Italy

Magna Carta

Great Charter that codified rights of kings and vassals

common law

a uniform system of law that developed in England

Parliament

the representative government that emerged in 13th century England

England

Magna Carta; Parliament, common law, census and taxation

France

estates-general, expanded the power of the monarchy, royal bureaucracy

Holy Roman Empire

brought church under control, German lords created independent kingdoms

disorder

time period between the Han and Sui dynasties

Tang and Song eras

age of prosperity

majority of Chinese people

lived off the land in villages

the Grand Canal

constructed during the Sui dynasty connected the Yellow River and the Yangtze River

exam system

determined candidate’s intellectual capabilities as a political leader and allowed the upper class to be full of smart leaders

Silk Road

where the Mongols increased their empire and their trade

Tang Dynasty

great age of Chinese poetry, printing was invented

reason for prosperity and trade during the Mongol Empire

their control of an enormous landmass under a single rule

Neo-Confucianism

embraced by the government because this philosophy viewed that participation in the real world brought fulfillment

central government

Shotoku Taishi brought it to Japan in order to unify it, collapsed because of power struggles between Japan’s central government and aristocrats

shogun

military general that Minamoto Yoritomo used to protect his own interests

women

the most productive writers of prose fiction

three kingdoms of early Korea

Paekche, Silla, and Koguryo

shinto

the religion that is linked to a belief in the divinity of the emperor and the sacredness of the Japanese nation

Japanese Feudalism vs. European Feudalism

similarities

• dependent on bonds of personal loyalty

• based on land ownership

• agricultural based society reliant on farming

• break down of central authority and security

differences

• Europe - based on Christianity. knights

• Japan - not based on Christianity. samurai

the Ring of Fire

a line of seismically active earthquake epicenters and volcanoes that encircles much of the Pacific Ocean

Japan

an archipelago (a chain of islands)

four main islands of Japan

1. Hokkaido

2. Shikoku

3. Honshu

4. Kyushu

five geological themes

1. location (absolute and relative)

2. region

3. movement

4. human-environment interaction

5. place

two groups that Buddhism was split into

1. Theravada

2. Mahayana

Theravada

the group that followed the original teachings of the Buddha

Mahayana

thought Theravada Buddhism was too strict for ordinary people and that the Buddha was not only a wise man but a divine figure

Buddhism

impacted China, Korea, Southeast Asia, and Japan

Papal States

territories in central Italy controlled by the pope

lay investiture

appointment of church officials by secular rulers

sacraments

Christian rites

Inquisition

Holy Office to deal with heretics, most associated with the Dominicians

relics

objects connected with saints

Jerusalem

the most difficult shrine for most Christians to make a pilgrimage to. the city that both Muslims and Christian wanted to control during the Crusades

the interdict

an effective political weapon used for Pope Innocent III because it prevented priests from giving anyone the sacrament

what happened in the Investiture Controversy

1075. fight between King Henry IV and Pope Gregory VII about lay investiture

Concordat of Worms

1122. decision that the pope could elect the archbishop as long as he (the archbishop) paid homage to the king. the archbishop received earthly symbols and then received spiritual symbols

King Henry IV

Holy Roman emperor and king of Germany

Pope Gregory VII

self proclaimed “vicar on Earth” - title empowered him to make a statement about King Henry IV on lay investiture

Alexius I Comnenus

Byzantine emperor that asked for help fighting the Seljuk Turks - this sparked the idea of the Crusades

Pope Urban II

promises the people that the sins of anyone killed during the Crusade would be instantly forgiven (the First Crusade)

result of the Crusades

the breakdown of feudalism

the capture of Constantinople

led to the weakening of the Byzantine Empire

Constantinople

center of government and wealth for the Byzantine Empire. losing it greatly reduced the power of the Byzantine Empire

the greatest impact of the Crusades

political

meaning associated with Crusade

“a holy war” during the Middle Ages

The First Crusade

formed four crusader states