middle ages

What Are the Middle Ages?

• The Middle Ages lasted roughly 1000 years, from 476 CE (fall of the Western Roman Empire) to the 15th century.

• It connects ancient Rome to the Renaissance and the Age of Exploration.

Three Main Periods:

1. Early Middle Ages (476–1000 CE):

   • After the fall of Rome, Western Europe fragmented into Germanic kingdoms (e.g., Visigoths, Franks).

   • The Eastern Roman Empire (Byzantine Empire) survived and briefly reconquered parts of the West.

   • Charlemagne (crowned in 800 CE) united much of Western Europe and became Holy Roman Emperor.

   • Islamic Caliphates rose and expanded across the Middle East, North Africa, and into Spain.

2. High Middle Ages (1000–1300 CE):

   • Period of growth and prosperity in Europe.

   • The Holy Roman Empire fragmented into smaller kingdoms.

   • The Great Schism (1054) split Christianity into the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.

   • Crusades began in 1096 to reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control.

     • Instead of helping the Byzantines, Crusaders set up their own Crusader Kingdoms.

     • In 1204, Crusaders even sacked Constantinople, weakening the Byzantine Empire.

3. Late Middle Ages (1300–1500 CE):

   • Marked by crisis and decline.

   • Black Death (1347) killed up to 60% of Europe's population.

   • Hundred Years' War (1337–1453) between England and France.

   • Famine and climate issues worsened living conditions.

   • In 1453, Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Empire, ending the Byzantine Empire.

End of the Middle Ages:

• By the late 15th century, Europe began transitioning to the Renaissance and Age of Exploration, marking the end of the medieval era.