Developments in EUROPE (U1)

Christianity Dominates Europe

Roman Empire

• Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire due to Emperor Constantine's Edict of Milan in 313 AD, which granted religious tolerance to Christians.

• In 476 AD, the Western half of the Roman Empire fell due to a combination of internal strife, economic troubles, and invasions by various barbarian tribes. This marked a significant transition in European history.

• The Eastern half of the Empire, known as the Byzantine Empire, preserved Christianity and organized its social structures around it.

  • Eastern Orthodox Christianity

    • This branch of Christianity helped rulers justify their centralized power structures, aiding in the consolidation of authority.

    • Politically fragmented after the fall of the Roman Empire, it broke apart into various national churches.

    • It was embraced by the Kievan Rus, marking the spread of Orthodox Christianity into Eastern Europe.

Kievan Rus

• Kievan Rus emerged as a principal center of Christianity in Eastern Europe, serving as a cultural and religious link between Byzantium and the North.

  • The Kievan state borrowed extensively from Byzantine architecture and political structures, including the use of religious imagery and ritual.

  • In Western Europe, a stark contrast was found in the lack of centralization, as many regions became isolated and developed distinct identities.

  • Roman Catholicism remained a constant presence in Western Europe:

    • The hierarchical structure of the Catholic Church provided a common framework across fragmented kingdoms in Western Europe.

Effects of the 1453 Fall of Constantinople

• The fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Empire in 1453 marked a turning point:

  • This led to the Ottomans renaming the city Istanbul, establishing it as a cultural and religious center of the Islamic world.

Crusades

• The Crusades were a series of religious wars launched by Christian Europe against Muslim territories:

  • These campaigns ultimately resulted in the loss of many territories to Muslim forces, highlighting the tensions between Christians and Muslims.

Religious Dynamics

• Throughout this time, Christianity was the dominant religion, while Islam and Judaism occupied significant minority positions:

  • During the 8th century, Muslims ruled parts of Europe, significantly impacting trade and culture.

  • The Jewish diaspora played a crucial role in facilitating trade across Europe and the Islamic world.

  • However, suspicion and anti-Semitism persisted, leading to social tensions between Christians and Jews.

Political Decentralization in the West

• During this period, Europe experienced significant political decentralization:

  • No large empires emerged; instead, Europe was organized around feudalism:

    • A system based on allegiances between powerful lords, monarchs, and knights, which often led to shifting loyalties.

    • Greater lords gained allegiance from lesser lords; land was exchanged to ensure the loyalty of vassals.

    • This system saw the rise of manorialism, where peasants worked the land in exchange for protection.

      • Peasants were generally bound to the land, and within the system, they owned nothing except for themselves, as they had no legal rights to the land they farmed.

      • Although they were not owned outright, serfs were often tied to the manors in which they lived, subject to the demands of their lords.

• As monarchs began to centralize power, they introduced bureaucracies to consolidate authority, further altering the political landscape.

  • The consequences of this era included increased competition among emerging states, leading to wars and conquests as rulers sought to dominate one another and secure their power.