The History Book

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 49

See also: The Law Code of Hammurabi 36–37 ■ The palace at Knossos 42–43 ■ The Persian Wars 44–45 ■
The conquests of Alexander the Great 52–53 ■ The Peloponnesian Wars 70 ■ The fall of Constantinople 138–41

The Parthenon, built in 447–438 bce traditional ties that underpinned Areopagus council, transferring the
as a temple dedicated to the goddess Athenian aristocratic society, and majority of its powers to the Boule,
Athena, is often seen as a symbol of established sortition—the random the Ecclesia, and the citizen courts.
democracy and Western civilization. selection of citizens for government Ephialtes was assassinated in
positions rather than basing the 461 bce and Pericles took over the
established a law that declared all choice on heredity. In addition, he political leadership, becoming one
citizens could vote in matters of restructured the Boule—a council of the most influential rulers in the
state, and that a law court should of 500, which drew up legislation history of ancient Greece.
admit all citizens. At the same and proposed laws to the assembly
time, however, he mollified the of voters (Ecclesia). In 501 bce, A perfect democracy?
upper classes by introducing a command of the military was Athens now had a genuine direct
graded oligarchy in which power transferred to popularly elected democracy, but many people were
corresponded to wealth—the generals (strategoi). not allowed to participate in the
aristocracy was to control the system as they were not considered
highest offices, the middle class the In 462 bce, Ephialtes became true citizens. Political rights were
lesser offices, and the poor could be leader of the democratic movement restricted to adult male Athenians;
selected by lot to serve on juries. in Athens and, together with his women, foreigners, and slaves were ❯❯
deputy Pericles, he dismantled the
In the late 6th century bce,
Athens fell under the sway of the Aristocratic oligarchy monopolizes power.
tyrant Pisistratus and his sons.
In response, a faction of aristocrats Poor farmers are forced Middle-class hoplites achieve
led by Cleisthenes allied with into debt slavery, causing military success, leading to
lower-ranking members of society
to take power. The institution of major resentment. desire for representation.
true democracy in Athens is
traditionally dated to this point— Pressure for change is strong. The limited political reforms of
around 507 bce. Cleisthenes Solon fail to meet the demands of the lower and middle classes.
introduced true popular government,
or direct democracy, enabling all Pisistratus achieves economic reforms, but he does not
citizens of Athens to vote directly satisfy continuing demands for political reform.
on Athenian policy (unlike in a
contemporary representative Cleisthenes implements democracy and other
democracy, in which the people reforms creating a more egalitarian government.
elect representatives to act as the
legislature). He also reorganized
the citizenry into units by geography
rather than kinship, breaking the

50 ATHENIAN DEMOCRACY

The Athenian constitution relied on a careful
separation of powers. This was essential to make the
practical operation of direct democracy possible. It
also ensured that all citizens (men aged 20 and above)
could serve and that power could not be abused.

DEMOCRACY

Military Elects Ecclesia Boule Tribunal
magistrates voted on proposed tried civil
commanded new laws, new laws for and criminal
the military decrees, Administers consideration Supervises
and treaties cases

Citizens could Citizens Citizens aged Citizens were
stand for could vote in 30+ volunteer for chosen by lot for

30,000 male citizens

120,000 Athenians
(adult men and women)

300,000 Atticans (living in
the region of Athens)

excluded. In the 4th century bce, of the Delian League (the anti- temple (the Parthenon) on the rocky
out of the 300,000-strong total Persian confederation that had hill known as the Acropolis.
population of Attica—the region of become a vessel for Athenian Citizenship of Athens was highly
Greece controlled by Athens—just hegemony) to build a magnificent coveted, and in 451 bce Pericles
30,000 men comprised the voting passed a law restricting it to men
population. In theory, men became Our ordinary citizens, though whose parents were both Athenians.
voting citizens at age 18, but as occupied with the pursuits
they were generally liable for two A center of philosophy
years of military service they were of industry, are still fair As well as being the most powerful
not enrolled on the rosters of the judges of public matters. city-state in ancient Greece,
council until they turned 20, and Athens was also the crucible of
did not come into their full political Pericles a revolutionary new direction in
rights until the age of 30. philosophy, in large part due to
Socrates (c.469–399 bce). Earlier
During the “Pentekontaetia”— Greek philosophers, collectively
the decades between Greek victory known as the pre-Socratics, had
in the Persian War (479 bce) and introduced a revolution of their own
the start of the Peloponnesian War in human thought in the 5th and
(431 bce)—Athens reached the 6th centuries bce. They rejected
height of its glory. In 447 bce, supernatural explanations for the
Pericles appropriated the treasury

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 51

world, the explanatory power would emerge. In his ideal republic, An Audience in Athens (1884),
of mythology, and the authority of enlightened philosophers would by Sir William Blake, captures the
tradition, and set out to discover rule as kings. He also challenged atmosphere at the Greek tragedy
the origins and workings of the the basic principle of democracy— Agamemnon by Aeschylus c.450 bce.
natural world through reason and that of liberty (eleutheria)—which This period is regarded as the Golden
observation. The pre-Socratic he believed could divert people Age of drama in ancient Greece.
natural philosophers developed from the proper pursuit of ethics
theories about the elements, and cause social disunity. Athens’ weak position was due
classifications of nature, and to democracy and led a counter-
mathematical and geometric proofs. The fall of democracy revolution to replace democratic
During the Peloponnesian War rule with an extreme oligarchy. In
Socrates turned his enquiries (431–404 bce), in which Athens was both cases, democratic rule was
inward to more human matters— ultimately defeated by the Spartans, restored within one year.
as Cicero said of him, “he brought Athenian democracy was twice
philosophy down from heaven.” suspended, in 411 and 404 bce. Democracy flourished for the
Socrates’ method was simply to ask Athenian oligarchs claimed that next eight decades. However, after
questions—What is friendship? the Macedonian conquest of
What is justice? What is knowledge? Dictatorship naturally arises Athens under Philip II and his son
The Socratic method tended to lay out of democracy, and the Alexander (later Alexander the
bare the limits of existing thinking, most aggravated form of Great) in 322 bce, Athenian
often making people look foolish or tyranny and slavery out of democracy was abolished. It was
pompous. Accordingly, Socrates the most extreme liberty. intermittently restored in the
was unpopular and eventually he Plato Hellenistic age in the 1st and 2nd
was accused of two crimes by his centuries bce, but the Roman
enemies—corrupting youth by conquest of Greece in 146 bce
encouraging them to go against the effectively killed it off.
government, and impiety, or lack of
respect for the gods. Consequently, Although democratic rule had
he was sentenced to death. been quashed, Athenian science
and philosophy lived on. The
Socrates’ successors renown and influence of Plato
The fate of Socrates was taken as and Aristotle endured through
an indictment of democracy by his the ages that followed, and much
successors, particularly Plato of their work continues to influence
(c.428–348 bce), who saw him as Western thought to this day. ■
a martyr for truth. Plato ran a school
(the Academy) and developed
ideas about universal truths and
metaphysics that have shaped all
subsequent religion and philosophy
in the Western world. His student
Aristotle (384–322 bce) became
equally influential, setting up the
Lyceum school and writing on such
diverse topics as politics, ethics,
law, and natural sciences.

Plato opposed democracy, as
he believed that the people were
not sufficiently equipped with
philosophical grace to legislate and
if governance were left in the hands
of the ordinary, citizen tyranny

52

IWTMHHPEOORSEWSIIISLBLNLEOTRTTHYOINHGE

THE CONQUESTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT
(4TH CENTURY bce)

IN CONTEXT I n one of the fastest and most Greece. When he was assassinated
daring military expansions in in 336 bce, Philip had been planning
FOCUS history, Alexander the Great, an expedition to West Asia, to free
Hellenistic world the young king of Macedon in the the former Greek city-states now
Balkans, blazed a trail of conquest ruled by the world’s superpower, the
BEFORE across most of the known world of Persian Empire. After securing the
449 bce The end of the Persian his day, and set in motion a process Macedonian throne by destroying
Wars leaves Persia in control of of Hellenization—the spread of his rivals, Alexander set about
Greek kingdoms in Asia Minor. Greek culture and its fusion with pursuing his father’s quest, while
non-Greek, Eastern traditions— satisfying his own thirst for glory.
359 bce Philip II of Macedon which endured for centuries.
begins his rise to power and King of the world
develops innovative military Alexander’s father, Philip II, had After forcing the other Greek city-
technology and tactics. transformed this peripheral state states to accept his authority, in
into a formidable military power, 334 bce Alexander marched into
338 bce Philip II defeats the and had waged campaigns against Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey) at
Greek states and becomes his neighbors that culminated in the head of an army of 43,000 foot
undisputed leader of Greece. Macedon’s domination over all of soldiers and 5,500 cavalry. At its
heart lay the Macedonian phalanx,
AFTER In this late Roman mosiac, Darius a well-drilled, tight-knit corps of
321 bce After Alexander’s III is shown fighting at Issus in 333 bce. 15,000 men armed with the sarissa,
death, squabbling between Alexander conquered the Persian king’s a pike that was up to 23ft (7m)
his generals breaks out into empire and destroyed its capital in long. When combined with the
widespread civil war. Persepolis without suffering a defeat. shocking cavalry charge provided
by the king’s personal bodyguard,
278 bce Alexander’s generals the Companions, the formation
establish three Hellenistic proved irresistible.
kingdoms in Greece, the
Middle East, and Europe. After an initial victory over the
Persians at the River Granicus in
30 bce Emperor Octavian the northwest, Alexander pressed
annexes Egypt, the last on across Asia Minor. He stopped
Hellenistic kingdom, for Rome. at Gordium in the central kingdom
of Phrygia, where tradition held
that he who could untie a complex

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 53

See also: The Persian Wars 44–45 ■ Athenian democracy 46–51 ■ The assassination of Julius Caesar 58–65 ■
Belisarius retakes Rome 76–77 ■ The founding of Baghdad 86–93 ■ The fall of Constantinople 138–41

East–West cultural exchange begins from Alexander’s conquests force
an era of Persian Wars, with western the rapid synthesis of Greek
provinces of Persian Empire becoming and Asian cultures, laying
Hellenized and Macedonians adopting seeds of the Hellenistic age.
aspects of Persian culture.

Hellenistic learning survives the fall Hellenized societies in Egypt and West
of Rome in the Byzantine Empire and Asia assimilated into Roman Empire.

in the Translation Movement of
the Islamic Caliphate.

knot made by the city’s founder, deserts, and rivers into Afghanistan the process of Hellenization was
would conquer the entire continent. and Central Asia, and on to the already underway in the western
Alexander, in a typically forthright Indian Punjab, ruthlessly crushing half of Persia before his expedition,
move, cut the knot with his sword. all resistance. He would have pushed Alexander had accelerated its
He went on to twice defeat the far further into India, but in 325 bce his spread throughout the Middle East.
superior forces gathered by Darius exhausted men refused to go on.
III, the Persian emperor—at Issus In 323 bce, Alexander died—
(on the southern coast of Asia The Hellenistic legacy most likely from disease but perhaps
Minor) in 333 bce and Gaugamela Alexander was now the king of a by poisoning—without naming a
(in modern Iraq) in 331 bce, vast and ethnically diverse empire successor. His empire was carved
subduing Egypt in the interval. that included 70 newly founded up by his leading generals, but some
cities, united by a common Greek of the Hellenistic dynasties they
Having forced the Persians into culture, customs, and language, founded, notably Selucid Syria
submission, Alexander drove his and linked by trade routes; although and Babylon and Ptolomeic Egypt,
troops eastward, across mountains, survived until Roman times. ■

Alexander the Great Throughout antiquity, Alexander point of recklessness—with his
was widely regarded as the most own life and those of his men—
remarkable man who ever lived, and a brilliant tactician. He
and in terms of the breadth and maintained the loyalty of his
duration of his renown, which forces throughout his long and
saw him become a key figure in arduous campaign, but his quick
national literatures from Central and violent temper, fueled by his
Asia to Western Europe, he is one heavy drinking, occasionally
of the most famous men in history. spurred him to eliminate those
closest to him, including his
Born in 356 bce, to parents who friends. Alexander died at age 32,
claimed descent from demigods at the height of his power. His
and heroes, Alexander’s education funeral cortège was hijacked by
under the philosopher Aristotle Ptolemy, one of his generals, and
ensured he was steeped in Greek diverted to Alexandria in Egypt,
legend, and he came to believe he where his tomb was later visited
was invincible, even divine. As a by Julius Caesar, but is now lost.
general he was decisive, bold to the

54 IN CONTEXT

IGEWWFNEOHTDTROHHULLEIPDESQ,HWIWTNIHSOASERYPHNLRWODTIUSIHWTLOEHDNILETELRHVEER FOCUS
Han China
THE FIRST EMPEROR UNIFIES CHINA
(221 bce) BEFORE
1600–1046 bce Shang
dynasty rules.

c.1046–771 bce Western
Zhou dynasty.

771–476 bce Spring and
Autumn Period (the first half
of the Eastern Zhou dynasty).

551–479 bce Life of Kong Fuzi
(known as Confucius).

476–221 bce Warring States
Period (the second half of
the Eastern Zhou dynasty).

AFTER
140–87 bce Reign of Han
Emperor Wudi (Liu Che)—a
time of imperial expansion.

220–581 ce Three Kingdoms
and Six Dynasties Period.

581–618 Sui dynasty.

618–907 Tang dynasty.

C hina is probably the most
enduring coherent state
in world history, and to
an extraordinary extent this is
due to the will of one man: Qin
Shi Huangdi, the self-styled First
Emperor. Before he unified ancient
China in 221 bce, it was a region
of diverse states, differing in culture,
ethnicity, and language. During the
era known to Chinese historians
as the Spring and Autumn Period
(771–476 bce), the region was
nominally under the control of Zhou
dynasty kings, but in reality their
feudal system of government meant
that only a token authority rested
with the royal throne, while feudal
lords held genuine power over what

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 55

See also: Emperor Wu claims the Mandate of Heaven 70 ■ China is divided
into Three Kingdoms 71 ■ The An Lushan revolt 84–85 ■ Kublai Khan conquers
the Song 102–03 ■ Hongwu founds the Ming dynasty 120–27

When [Qin Shi Huangdi] competent generals combined to Qin Shi Huangdi
is in difficulty he readily produce a formidable and ruthless
war machine. Zheng had rivals As First Emperor of China,
humbles himself executed or exiled, appointed very Ying Zheng (later known as
before others, but when effective generals and counselors, Qin Shi Huangdi, 260–210 bce)
and conquered the six other states was a truly pivotal figure in
he has got his way, in the region, so that by 221 bce all Chinese history, uniting the
then he thinks nothing seven states were unified under his country and ushering in a
of eating others alive. rule. Disdaining the old title of king period of imperial rule that
(Wang), he styled himself as emperor lasted nearly 2,000 years.
Sima Qian (Huangdi). Since he was the first He was a brutal despot but
(Shi) emperor of the Qin dynasty, was also innovative, dynamic,
Han historian he was known as Qin Shi Huangdi. and energetic—reports claim
that he needed just one hour’s
were effectively autonomous states. The governing philosophy of the sleep per night and he set
Up to 140 small states competed Qin state had been legalism: strict himself a daily work quota,
for power and territory. centralization of power and severity measured by the weight of
in enforcing adherence to the law. papers that he needed to go
The Spring and Autumn Period The emperor now set about applying through. He regularly walked
gave way to the Warring States this philosophy throughout the the city streets in disguise
Period (476–221 bce), in which whole of China, ruthlessly imposing to keep tabs on the populace,
power was consolidated into the cultural, linguistic, economic, and and he made five great tours
hands of seven kingdoms: Qi, Chu, technological unity. All scripts of inspection of the empire.
Yan, Han, Zhao, Wei, and Qin. At except Xiaozhuan (small seal script) Highly paranoid and fearful
this point in China’s history it was were banned. In addition, according of possible attempts on his
by no means certain that an over- to legend, the emperor gave orders life (he survived at least one
arching Chinese identity or state for 400 Confucian scholars to be assassination attempt), the
would emerge. If anything, it was buried alive and all existing books emperor became obsessed
more likely that the considerable to be burned; his reign was to mark with the quest for immortality,
geographical, climatic, cultural, a new “Year One” in the history and sponsoring expeditions to
and ethnic differences between culture of China. He also introduced look for magic ingredients
the various kingdoms would see the a host of economic reforms—there and mystics who could brew
region develop in a similar fashion was to be a single, unified system an elixir of life, to enable him
to Europe many centuries later, of weights and measures, a uniform to live forever. Ironically, his
with multiple distinct and coinage, and even the gauge of cart death at the age of 50 might
divergent national entities. tracks was standardized so that well have been linked to his
axle-widths could be the same consumption of toxic mercury-
The rise of Qin across the empire. based potions that he had
In 247 bce, a 13-year-old prince taken to extend his life.
named Ying Zheng succeeded to The new order
the throne of Qin. He inherited a The new social and political order
militarized state, in which effective of the empire reflected changes
bureaucracy, powerful armies, and that had been underway since the
Spring and Autumn Period. The
feudal system was abolished, so
that the mass of peasantry now
owed their allegiance to the state
rather than feudal or clan lords.
Over 100,000 noble families were ❯❯

56 THE FIRST EMPEROR UNIFIES CHINA

relocated to the emperor’s capital With his puffed-out He is traditionally credited with
city Xianyang (near Xi’an, in the chest like a hawk and voice building the first part of the Great
Shaanxi province), and their arms Wall of China, to keep out nomadic
were confiscated, melted down, of a jackal, Qin is a man tribes in the north, by connecting
and then cast into giant statues. of scant mercy who parts of old walls erected by the
During the Warring States Period, Warring States and then adding
the pressure of incessant military has the heart of a wolf. thousands of miles of new wall.
competition had generally favored Sima Qian Other projects included constructing
the emergence of more meritocratic the Lingqu canal, which linked the
avenues for advancement, thereby Han historian Xiang and Li rivers so military
facilitating social mobility while supplies could be transported from
undermining the importance of state officials. The merchant class northern to southern China, and
noble lineage. In the Qin dynasty, was officially the lowest and most building military roads including
aristocratic rule was replaced despised of the orders, and was “the Straight Road,” which was
with a centralized bureaucratic subject to legal discrimination; 497 miles (800 km) long and ran
administration and the country however, wealthy merchants were from Xianyang to the Great Wall.
was divided into 36 commanderies, able to use their financial muscle to
which were administrative become important political players. Most famous of all the emperor’s
divisions controlled by appointed ventures was the construction of
(not hereditary) governors. Censors, Great works his own elaborate mausoleum
or inspectors, traveled the country Among Qin Shi Huangdi’s greatest complex, which took 38 years and
to enforce adherence to Qin law. achievements were his ambitious over 700,000 workers to construct.
civil engineering projects, although It consisted of a giant pyramid
The Qin dynasty also saw the there was a great human cost as covered in earth to create an
emergence of a new scheme of many lost their lives in the process. immense mound, 328 ft (100 m)
social stratification, with society high and 1,640 ft (500 m) across.
divided into four classes: gentlemen Within the pyramid was a tomb in
(Shi), peasants (Nong), and two which his beloved empire was
new classes that had emerged recreated in miniature, complete
during the Zhou dynasty—artisans with liquid mercury rivers and
(Gong) and merchants (Shang). The seas. Buried around the tomb were
educated gentry would replace large pits filled with thousands of
the nobility as the main source of life-sized terracotta warriors,
bureaucrats, and entertainers, all
intended to serve the emperor in the
afterlife. Workers on the tomb were
killed after completing their tasks so
the secrets of the mausoleum’s
location and contents died with
them, and the tomb remained
undiscovered for over 2,000 years.

Despite the megalomaniacal
exertions of the First Emperor,
the Qin dynasty was to prove
short-lived. Peasant unrest caused

Guarding the tomb of Emperor Qin
Shi Huangdi, these life-sized terracotta
soldiers were discovered in 1974 by
workers digging a well. The figures
were originally brightly painted and
each has a unique facial expression.

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 57

Large region Qin state Chinese unity is
comprises many conquers the strengthened further.
small, culturally other six states.
diverse states.

Seven major states Qin Shi Huangdi
emerge and engage in frequent imposes unification,
standardization, and
warfare to gain power
and territory. homogeneity.

by deep-seated resentment over northeast to Manchuria and Korea, The influence of the First Emperor
the brutal extortions of money and and south to Yunnan, Hainan, and is still felt in modern China, and
the many years of forced labor, plus Vietnam. Most importantly, they Chairman Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
bankruptcy as a result of over- consumed the powerful Xiongnu explicitly drew on the emperor for
ambitious civil works, combined Empire in the north. They also inspiration. “You accuse us of
to undermine the carefully ordered reintroduced Confucianism as the acting like Qin Shi Huangdi,” Mao
administration of the emperor and official state philosophy: Confucian thundered in a 1958 tirade against
his leading counselors, chief among education and ethics soon became intellectual critics. “You are wrong.
them the chancellor Li Si. the cornerstones of the scholar- We surpass him a hundred times.
bureaucracy, eventually forming When you berate us for imitating
When the First Emperor died the basis for the all-important civil his despotism, we are happy to
in 210 bce his youngest son, Hu Hai, service examination system, which agree! Your mistake was that you
under the influence of advisor and would give a meritocratic basis to did not say so enough.” ■
former tutor Zhao Gao, seized imperial institutions and combat
the throne and exiled—and later the power of the aristocracy for Confucius is generally considered
executed—Li Si. Hu Hai was millennia to come. to be the most influential philosopher
subsequently murdered after just in Chinese history. His teachings
three years of being in power and Han success in building and emphasized the importance of morality,
his successor, Zi Ying, found his maintaining a unified, centralized integrity, humility, and self-discipline.
authority so reduced that he adopted China was based on the foundations
the title of king, rather than emperor. that had been laid down by the
First Emperor. The Han dynasty
The Han Dynasty finally collapsed in 220 ce, amid a
China collapsed into rebellion and foment of civil unrest and natural
civil unrest, and a few days after Zi disasters that convinced the
Ying’s accession, the Han general Chinese that their dynasty had lost
Liu Bang marched into Xianyang. “the mandate of heaven,” giving
The following year, in 206 bce, he way to the violent and chaotic era
declared himself emperor of the known as the Three Kingdoms and
Han dynasty, which would go on Six Dynasties Period. Despite the
to rule China for 400 years, shaping devastating cost of this breakdown,
its subsequent history to such an which saw the Chinese population
extent that the main ethnic group plummet from 54 million in 156 ce
in China is now known as the Han. to 16 million in 280 ce, the concept
of a unified China survived 360
The Han expanded Chinese years of division, enabling the Sui
territory in all directions—west dynasty to reunify China in 581.
to Xinjiang and Central Asia,

TTHYUSRPEARINSHTASLL

THE ASSASSINATION OF
JULIUS CAESAR (44 bce)



60 THE ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS CAESAR

IN CONTEXT The oligarchic political Rome’s nobility
system in the Roman dominate the Senate,
FOCUS Republic is corrupt protecting their privileges at
Fall of the Roman Republic the expense of political change,
and decaying. leading to a crisis of
BEFORE After successful military
509 bce Rome becomes a campaigns, Julius Caesar the republic.
republic in which a small becomes dictator and forces
number of wealthy families political and social reforms Fearing Caesar’s
share power. popularity and power,
on the nobility.
202 bce Rome defeats Octavian wins the a group of senators
Carthage in North Africa and civil war to determine assassinate him.
the empire expands rapidly. Caesar’s heir. Calling himself
Augustus, he becomes the Augustus ensures that the
88–82 bce Civil war between first emperor of Rome. office of emperor survives
rival generals Sulla and Marius by making Tiberius his heir,
tips the republic into crisis.
transforming Rome into a
AFTER hereditary monarchy.
31 bce Octavian’s victory at
the Battle of Actium leads constitution allowed the election of
to his accession as Rome’s two top officials, known as consuls,
first emperor and the end to run the state, but in order to
of the republic. prevent abuse of power, their term
was limited to one year. The office
79 ce Vesuvius erupts, of king was also prohibited, and
destroying Pompeii. special provision was made for the
appointment of a dictator to replace
2nd century ce The Roman the consuls in times of crisis—his
Empire reaches its greatest term being limited to six months.
extent, with a population of
around 60 million people. The fledgling Roman Republic
proved remarkably successful:
O n March 15, 44 bce, enabled him to rule as emperor, between 500 and 300 bce, it
the life of Julius Caesar, bringing the 500-year-old Roman increased its extent and power
dictator of Rome, came Republic to an end in all but name.
to a bloody end at the hands of a
faction of aristocratic senators who Republican origins
were determined to rescue the From its ancient beginnings as a
Roman Republic from what they cluster of small villages on seven
saw as Caesar’s tyranny. In reality, hills by the River Tiber, Rome grew
the dictator’s death did not save into a city-state that was just one
the republic: it merely unleashed of many on the Italian peninsula.
the latest in a series of civil wars, According to legend, Rome was
which exhausted the Roman state. first ruled by kings, but in 509 bce,
It was left powerless to resist the the monarchy was overthrown and
rise to absolute power of Caesar’s it became a republic. A new
great-nephew Octavian. Taking the
title Augustus, Octavian created
a new political arrangement that

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 61

See also: Athenian democracy 46–51 ■ The conquests of Alexander the Great 52–53 ■ The Battle of Milvian Bridge 66–67 ■
The Sack of Rome 68–69 ■ Belisarius retakes Rome 76–77 ■ The crowning of Charlemagne 82–83 ■ The fall of Constantinople 138–41

Trajan’s column in Rome is one of the
most valuable sources of information
about the Roman army—it is decorated
with a spiraling relief depicting the
well-drilled legions on campaign.

through a combination of conquest common people). On the formation changing needs of the Roman
and diplomacy until it incorporated of the republic, only patricians people. In Italy and the provinces
the whole of Italy. Between 202 and had been entitled to hold office in an unequal system of taxation and
120 bce, Rome came to dominate the Senate—Rome’s governing and corrupt governance were causing
parts of North Africa, the Iberian advisory council—but in 368–367 social unrest, while in the city of
Peninsula, Greece, and what is bce, a constitutional amendment Rome itself, the infrastructure was
now southern France. Its conquered allowed the election of wealthier barely able to cope with a growing
territories were organized into plebs too, and the result was a population. The empire’s rapid
provinces, ruled by short-term power-sharing arrangement. expansion had brought a flood of ❯❯
governors who maintained order
and oversaw the collection of taxes. However, in reality, a small In Caesar were combined
group of patrician families known genius, method, memory,
By the 1st century bce, Rome as the Optimates (the “Best Men”)
was a Mediterranean superpower, had long dominated the Senate and literature, prudence,
yet its long tradition of collective jealously guarded their privileges. deliberation, and industry.
government, in which no individual In the late Roman Republic, those
could gain too much control, was who championed the rights of the Cicero
being challenged by the personal plebs—the Populares (the “People’s
ambitions of a few immensely Men”)—sought popular support 2nd Philippic, section 116
powerful military men. A series against the Optimates, either in the
of bloody civil wars, internal interests of the people themselves,
political struggles, and civil unrest or more often, in pursuit of their
culminated with the dictatorship own careers. The self-interested
of Julius Caesar, a brilliant general Optimates resisted making the
and statesman, whose murder at social and economic reforms that
the hands of his political enemies were urgently required to meet the
led to the demise of the republic
and the birth of the Roman Empire.

The republic crumbles
In the period in which Julius
Caesar came to prominence on
the Roman political scene (around
70 bce), Rome was in turmoil: beset
with ever worsening social and
economic problems and torn by
political conflict. Early in Rome’s
history, the non-slave population
had been officially split into two
classes: the patricians (members
of the ancient hereditary nobility
and wealthy landowners) and the
plebeians, or plebs for short (the

62 THE ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS CAESAR

slave labor from the provinces, rule. He also led two expeditions to Even yet we may draw back,
driving many Roman farm workers Britain, in 55 and 54 bce. Caesar’s but once across that little
and smallholders off the land and heroic military exploits left him bridge, and the whole issue
into the city in search of work. immensely rich and increased his is with the sword.
personal prestige; he enjoyed the Julius Caesar
The rise of Julius Caesar loyalty of his armies and the love
Meanwhile, a handful of military of the Roman mob, upon whom he Speaking to his army before
leaders in Rome’s provinces had could now afford to lavish feasts, crossing the Rubicon
begun to use their armies to jockey games, and money.
for political prominence. Among general Pompey. The Senate passed
them was Julius Caesar, a highly Buoyed by his achievements, laws intending to strip Caesar of
intelligent and ambitious general Caesar attempted to dictate the his command when he returned
from a patrician family who had terms on which he would return from Gaul, and in 49 bce they
aligned himself with the Populares to Roman politics, demanding to declared him hostis, or public
and risen swiftly through the be allowed to stand for a second enemy. In response to this direct
political ranks. Caesar was intent consulship while remaining in threat, Caesar did the unthinkable:
on making the reforms necessary command at Gaul. This put him he marched his army on Rome.
to meet the challenges of the on a collision course with the En route, he paused at the border
republic, and so he maneuvered Optimates in the Senate, since between the Gallic provinces
himself into a position that would Roman law required military and Italy proper: a small river called
allow him to achieve his goal. leaders to relinquish control of their the Rubicon. Caesar was acutely
armies before entering Rome, a aware that crossing the river would
In 60 bce, Caesar became prerequisite for running for office. constitute a declaration of war
consul, and two years later he was Caesar knew that if he agreed to against the Senate but, quoting the
appointed governor of the province enter the city as a private citizen,
of Gaul, a role which enabled him without his armies, his political
to remain abreast of developments opponents would most likely
in the Senate while also offering a attempt to try him for abuse of
springboard to military glory. In a power during his first consulship.
series of masterful campaigns over
the next eight years, he conquered Back in Rome, the Optimates,
Gaul, bringing the whole of what alarmed by the implications of
is now France, along with parts of Caesar’s meteoric rise, allied
Germany and Belgium, under his themselves to one of his main
political rivals, the renowned

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar was born in eventually teaming up with the
Rome in 100 bce, to a patrician two other leading men in Rome,
family of distinguished ancestry. Crassus and Pompey, to form
From an early age, he grasped the so-called First Triumvirate.
that money was the key to power Between 58 and 50 bce, he
in a political system that had formed a provincial power base
become hopelessly corrupt. He in Gaul where, without the
also quickly learned that forging a sanction of the Senate, he
network of alliance and patronage launched a series of campaigns
would be crucial to his success. that made him master of
Western Europe, with fabulous
After serving in the war to wealth and powerful armies.
crush the slave revolt led by However, these campaigns also
Spartacus in 72 bce, Caesar was earned him many opponents
briefly taken hostage by pirates. among the governing classes,
Once he returned to Rome in who would eventually cut short
60 bce, Caesar spent vast sums both his career and his life.
on buying influence and positions,

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 63

Athenian poet Menander, he Consuls The Cursus Honorum was
announced alea iacta est (“let the were chief the sequence of offices through
dice roll”) and led his men onward. judges, who which Roman patricians aspiring
XX chaired the to power had to progress as they
Caesar’s new order Senate and aged in order to reach the
In the ensuing civil war, Caesar commanded highest rank: consul.
finally triumphed over Pompey’s the army.
forces at the Battle of Pharsalus Praetors A separate series of ranks
in northern Greece in 48 bce. acted as judges governed offices for plebeians
The defeated Pompey fled to Egypt and commanded (those not of noble birth). The
for sanctuary, where he was later armies in Rome rank of aedile was the highest
assassinated. After crushing the in the consuls’ plebeians could hope to achieve.
remaining pockets of resistance, absence.
Caesar finally returned to Rome in
45 bce, to consolidate his political X Aediles had Plebeian
position. In 46 bce he accepted the responsibility for aediles
dictatorship for 10 years; two years maintaining the public had a lower
later, he was granted the office for buildings and temples, status than
life. Now in a position to begin the and for ensuring the
monumental task of reconstructing city’s grain supply. patrician
the Roman state and restoring aediles.
stability to the empire, Caesar
initiated far-reaching social and Quaestor was the Tribunes
political reforms. He extended first elected office. protected
Roman citizenship; he enlarged They supervised the plebs from
the Senate, bringing in allies from use of state finances.
among the provincial aristocracy; Senators directed other abuses of
he established colonies outside magistrates and controlled power by
Italy, to help spread Roman culture the granting of public money. vetoing
and knit the empire together; he
spent lavishly on grandiose public legislation or
works and buildings; he cut taxes; judgments.
and he even reformed the Roman
calendar, introducing the system of quell the suspicions. He accepted Representing those opposed to the
leap years that is still in use today. unprecedented honors, such as dictator’s reforms—and the leading
assuming the title “Imperator” agent in the plot to murder him—
A murder plot (“Victorious General”) as a family Gaius Cassius Longinus was a
Caesar’s pragmatic solutions for name; he also allowed temples and general who had risen to political
re-establishing unity in the empire statues to be erected in his honor, prominence during a largely
after years of chaos found favor and had coins minted bearing his disastrous campaign in Persia.
with many parts of society, yet image. And when he adopted his Ancient Roman historians argued
at the same time, his increasingly grand-nephew, Octavian, there that Cassius’s involvement was
autocratic attitude to power was were fears that he was trying to prompted by a combination of
alienating fellow members of the establish a dynastic succession. jealousy and greed. He is also said to
ruling class. They felt that Caesar Some members of the Senate have recruited the most important
was trying to destroy the cherished concluded that the only solution conspirator, Marcus Junius Brutus, a
traditions of the Roman state, and to the problem was to assassinate trusted colleague and confidante of
to undermine the prestige of the Caesar, and so they hatched a Caesar, opposed to the dictator’s
nobility, and spread the rumor that conspiracy to carry it out. presumed monarchic ambitions. ❯❯
he was planning to make himself
king. Unfortunately, Caesar failed to

64 THE ASSASSINATION OF JULIUS CAESAR

Death of a dictator Caesar, like a most not long before Octavian went to
The assassination plot grew rapidly, gentle physician, had been war against Anthony in north
eventually including 60 senators, Africa, and, after defeating his
among them many of Caesar’s close assigned to the Romans forces at Actium in western Greece
colleagues. The plotters decided by Heaven itself. in 31 bce, Octavian became the
to strike at a meeting of the Senate Plutarch master of the Roman world.
that had been called for March 15,
(the Ides of March). On the day, Parallel Lives Rome’s first emperor
they gathered at Cassius’s home, Octavian returned to Rome in
each senator concealing a dagger Caesar breathed his last slumped 28 bce and, instead of following
beneath his robes, before moving against the base of a statue of his Caesar’s example, he renounced
on to Pompey’s Theatre—part of a old rival Pompey. the dictatorial powers granted
great civic complex that Caesar’s to him in order to wage his war
old rival had constructed—where The Second Triumvirate against Antony. In 27 bce, in
the Senate was meeting. A group Seized with manic fervor, the gratitude for his service to Rome,
of gladiators had been stationed in conspirators dipped their hands the Senate bestowed on him
the theatre itself, to help control any in Caesar’s blood and rushed out the name Augustus (“revered
crowd problems. However, many of into the Forum to proclaim their personage”) and granted him wide-
the conspirators were nervous and tyrannicide. In the power vacuum ranging legal powers. Eventually,
ready to flee, convinced that the that followed, Mark Anthony, and through political sleight of hand,
plot had been uncovered. Caesar’s heir, Octavian, promptly he became Rome’s sole ruler,
assumed control of the state, forming controlling all aspects of the Roman
Caesar had indeed been warned: in 43 bce a triumvirate (a group state and command of the army.
a list of the plotters had been thrust of three men holding power) with
into his hands, but he ignored it. Lepidus, one of Caesar’s former allies. An emperor in all but name
His wife pleaded with him not to (he was careful to spurn such titles,
attend the Senate meeting, but one Needing to gather enough funds styling himself instead as princeps,
of the conspirators, stationed at to stabilize their authority, and to or “first citizen”), over the next
Caesar’s house, helped calm her remove political opposition, the four decades, Augustus set about
fears. When Caesar arrived at the triumvirate drew up a list of those transforming the ruins of the
meeting, a conspirator distracted who had supported Caesar’s republican system into an imperial
his deputy, Mark Anthony, delaying murderers, and declared them autocracy, all the while maintaining
him outside the theatre. As Caesar outlaws. Around 200 senators and the illusion that his authority
took his seat, the conspirators drew more than 2,000 equites (“knights” was dependent on the will of the
their daggers and struck, stabbing or minor nobility) were either killed people. He loosely established the
him 23 times. In an ironic twist, or had their estates confiscated. boundaries of the empire, pushed
The treasury’s coffers now filled, through reforms to clean up both
I found Rome a city of the triumvirate hunted down and private and public life, and crushed
bricks, and left it a destroyed Brutus and Cassius. dissent. After the long periods of
city of marble. In 40 bce, the triumvirs met again, exhausting civil war, many in the
Augustus this time to carve up the Roman empire were grateful for peace.
world. Africa was given to Lepidus,
According to Suetonius, the East to Mark Anthony, and the The Pax Romana
Augustus’s biographer West to Octavian. However, it was Indeed the might of the Roman
military and the consequent
improvements in security and
stability across a vast stretch of
territory, in what became known as
the Pax Romana (“Roman Peace”),
led to a growth in trade, economic
activity, population, and general
prosperity. The arts and culture

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 65

flourished, public and private Bear with me the hope granted powers until he could
building works proliferated, and the that when I die, that the effectively be considered to be
provinces outside Italy underwent a foundations which have laid a co-emperor. This smoothed the
process of Romanization, in which for [Rome’s] future government, transition of authority on Augustus’
the Roman language, culture, laws, will stand firm and stable. death, preventing a vacuum of
and institutions were embedded power and ensuring continuity.
into diverse societies and across Augustus
ethnic boundaries. Provincials were Augustus thus established the
even granted full Roman citizenship An imperial legacy principle of direct succession and
after a period of military service. By the end of his life in 14 ce, ensured the survival of the office of
Augustus had established a new emperor. The system continued
However, for the regions beyond imperial system that would endure through multiple dynasties, with the
the bounds of empire, Augustus’s for centuries. For some years before empire reaching its height under the
Pax Romana often meant just the his death, Augustus had prepared Nerva-Antonine dynasty when the
opposite. Even after reducing the the way for an heir to succeed him, emperor Hadrian ordered the
army from 80 legions to a permanent and retain control of the state. His building of a wall in northern Britain
force of just 28, Augustus had to step-son Tiberius was gradually to mark the empire’s outer limit.
find employment for 150,000 soldiers.
He launched a series of campaigns The transition from republic to
to extend borders, suppress and monarchy, while drastic, gave Rome
harry rebels and “barbarians,” and a new stability. Masquerading as a
seize slaves from conquered areas. democrat, Augustus created a new
autocratic system of government,
The Ara Pacis Augustae altar which, despite restricting political
in Rome is dedicated to Pax, participation, was much better able
the Roman goddess of peace. The to resist the compulsive upheavals
processional frieze shows members that had plagued the Roman
of the Roman Senate with a priest. Republic a generation before. ■

66

BCYONTQHUISERSIGN

THE BATTLE OF MILVIAN BRIDGE (312 ce)

IN CONTEXT I n October 312 ce, Emperor Constantine I’s adoption of
Constantine I was stationed Christianity after his victory at the
FOCUS at the Milvian Bridge near Milvian Bridge gave the faith a huge
The spread of Christianity Rome, waiting to join battle with boost: it rapidly gained more followers
Maxentius, his rival for control of and began edging out the pagan cults.
BEFORE the Western Roman Empire (in 285,
33 ce Crucifixion of Jesus. the empire had been split into two defeat Maxentius’s men. In fact,
halves, eastern and western, each the Christian god was not the first
46–57 Missionary journeys ruled by an emperor and a deputy). deity Constantine had auditioned;
of St. Paul the Apostle. Tradition says that in the days an earlier version of his vision had
before the encounter, Constantine involved the Greek and Roman god
64–68 ce When a fire breaks had a vision of a flaming cross in Apollo. He appears to have been
out in Rome, Emperor Nero the heavens bearing the inscription looking for theological “back-up” to
kills hundreds of Christians in hoc signo vinces (“by this sign legitimize his ambition to become
as scapegoats; martyrdom conquer”). This convinced him that sole emperor, and a monotheistic
of saints Peter and Paul. he had the support of the god of supreme being may have seemed
the Christians, and this belief was to him a good fit: a heavenly mirror
284–305 Diocletian and upheld when his army went on to image of his own position on Earth.
Galerius suppress Christianity
throughout the empire.

AFTER
325 The first Council of Nicaea
defines the nature of orthodox
Christian belief.

c.340 Ulfilas, the “Moses of
the Goths,” begins to spread
Arian Christianity to the
Germanic tribes.

380 Christianity becomes the
Roman Empire’s official faith.

391 Pagan worship is banned
in the Roman Empire.

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 67

See also: The Sack of Rome 68–69 ■ Belisarius retakes Rome 76–77 ■ The crowning of Charlemagne 82–83 ■ The Investiture
Controversy 96–97 ■ The fall of Jerusalem 106–07 ■ The fall of Constantinople 138–41 ■ Martin Luther’s 95 theses 160–63

Despite the legend of his divine consecrating it with both Christian Roman emperors derive
vision, Constantine’s conversion and pagan rites, but allowing only authority and legitimacy
to Christianity seems to have been Christian churches to be built. from pagan religions.
gradual rather than immediate—he Although it would take time for
was not baptized until many years all Roman citizens to convert to Christianity’s egalitarianism
later, on his deathbed. However, Christianity, in Constantine’s reign, threatens to disrupt
soon after his victory at the Milvian the higher ranks of society, seeking
Bridge, he began the process of political advancement and personal the strict social order
rehabilitating, and then exalting, favor with the emperor, flocked to of the Roman Empire.
Christianity; in 331 ce, he issued the Church, and the emperor built Constantine sees
the Edict of Milan, a proclamation basilicas across the empire.
that established religious toleration Christianity, with its one
for Christianity within the empire. Christianity, however, was not a supreme deity, as a tool for
single, uniform religion at this time, unity, and a validation of
A multi-faith empire and splits, or schisms, formed.
For almost 300 years after the life In 325, Constantine convened imperial authority.
of Jesus Christ, the religion based the Council of Nicaea—the first
on his teachings remained a minor universal council of the Christian After the Battle
sect within the Roman Empire, Church—mainly to settle the Arian of Milvian Bridge,
practiced alongside many other schism, a theological dispute over Constantine adopts
faiths, both mono- and polytheistic. whether Jesus was of the same Christianity. It later
Some aspects of Christianity, substance as God. becomes the official
such as its egalitarian nature,
made it suspicious to the imperial Rome is Christianized religion of the
authorities however, and Christians In the mid-300s, Emperor Julian, an Roman Empire.
were periodically persecuted. adherent of the old religion, tried
to revive paganism, but it was too The Church is refashioned
All across the ancient world at late: Christians had become a in the image of the
this time, changing social, political, majority, at least in the East. The
and economic conditions were faith was increasingly bound up Roman state, with a
reflected in cultural and religious with empire, as the Roman state strict hierarchy and
changes; Christianity was just adopted and molded the Church centralization of dogma.
one of a number of monotheisms into an instrument of social and
gaining popularity in the Roman political control, unity, and stability.
Empire, including the Persian cult
of Mithraism, with which it had Under Emperor Theodosius I
much in common. (reigned 379–395), pagan temples
and cults were suppressed, heresy
The rise of Christianity was outlawed, and Christianity
In 324, after disposing of the became the official religion of the
emperor in the East, Constantine Roman Empire. Eventually, it also
became sole ruler of the Roman became the faith of the barbarian
Empire, and then sought to use successor states in the Roman
Christianity as a unifying force Western Empire, as well as of the
across his diverse and fractious Byzantine Empire in the East. Over
realm. To make the increasingly the course of many centuries, the
dominant eastern half easier to western (Catholic) and eastern
govern, he founded a new city called (Orthodox) churches grew apart
Constantinople (now Istanbul), in doctrine and organization, but
Christianity endured. ■

68

HTWWHAAHDESOCTLIAITETKSYWEENWLOFRTHLTHICDAEHKEN

THE SACK OF ROME (410 ce)

IN CONTEXT Western Roman Steppe nomads are
Empire declines forced to migrate.
FOCUS in economic and
Nomad invasion military strength.

BEFORE Imperial authority Germanic tribes
9 ce Germanic tribes secure weakens and borders are displaced by
their independence with migrating nomads.
victory at Teutoburg Forest. are breached.

285 The Roman Empire is Barbarian invasions begin,
divided into East and West. culminating in the Sack of Rome.

372 The Huns defeat the Germanic tribes create new kingdoms in Western Europe.
Ostrogoths in Eastern Europe.
I n 410 ce, Rome fell to an army of Changes known as the Migration
378 Visigoths destroy a Roman nomadic Germanic peoples— Period, or the Barbarian Invasions,
army and kill the emperor at Visigoths—who pillaged the were then taking place, with great
the Battle of Adrianople. city over the course of three days. movements of peoples across all of
Although Rome had already ceased Eurasia, from China to Britain.
402 The Western Roman to be the capital of the Western Barbarian peoples began to invade
capital moves to Ravenna. Roman Empire and the destruction settled empires such as those of
was relatively restrained, the sack Rome and China from around 300
AFTER sent shock waves across the world. to 650. They carved out new
451 A Roman–German
coalition defeats the Huns
at the Battle of Chalons.

455 Vandal pirates loot Rome.

476 The last Western Roman
emperor is deposed.

489 Theodoric of the
Ostrogoths conquers Italy,
with Byzantine consent.

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 69

See also: The assassination of Julius Caesar 58–65 ■ Belisarius retakes Rome 76–77 ■ Clovis unites Gaul 71 ■
The crowning of Charlemagne 82–83 ■ Kublai Khan conquers the Song 102–03

The barbarian “other” barbarians—either Germanic The Western Empire had however
auxiliaries and mercenaries, been in decline since at least the
Barbarian was a Greek word or Roman citizens who were 3rd century. Its population and
signifying the unintelligible actually Gauls, Britons, or one economy had diminished, making
babble of those who did not of the hundreds of other groups it increasingly financially dependent
speak Greek, and therefore and ethnicities. Nevertheless, on the Eastern Empire; weakening
could not be considered much Roman culture survived central authority had given more
civilized. Romans adopted this the invasions. For instance, autonomy to the provinces. The
“them-and-us” construction. although much of Italy, Gaul, military, obliged to recruit from
However, by the 4th century, the and Spain fell under the sway barbarian tribes, was losing its core
boundaries between Rome and of the “Germanic” Goths, strength. In reality, the Barbarian
its barbarian neighbors were Suevi, and Vandals, their Invasions were probably part of a
blurred, both culturally and languages resisted Germanic process: a transition, rather than
geopolitically: the barbarians influence and remain Romance a fall. Roman customs, culture,
had become more like the languages—that is, languages language, and particularly its
Romans, and vice versa. The that have evolved from the Latin religion in the form of Christianity,
Roman army comprised mostly spoken by Romans in Rome. endured across the provinces, and
many of the new ruling elite saw
kingdoms, which in many cases Gaul to Spain to North Africa. themselves as continuing in the
gave rise to the nations of the In the 440s the Huns, under Attila, tradition of Rome. The city itself
modern era. Climatic changes in ravaged Eastern Europe before survived sack by Alaric and his
Central Asia drove the nomadic being defeated by a coalition of Visigoths, and by the Vandals in
horse tribes of the steppes to seek Romans and Germans. The Western 455, and flourished under Theodoric
better pastures, which in turn Roman Empire shrank to encompass the Ostrogoth (489–526).
forced neighboring nomads to little more than Italy itself, its puppet
invade the so-called civilized emperors controlled by barbarian In their turn, the successor
empires. China was ravaged by the generals. In 476, the last nominal states formed by Germanic tribes
Xiongnu, Persia by the Hepthalites, emperor was deposed by one such over the following centuries
and India by the White Huns. general, Odoacer, marking the end eventually found themselves under
of the Roman Empire in the west. attack by further waves of invaders
Barbarians at the gates such as the Magyars and Vikings. ■
In Europe, the arrival of the Huns
in the lands east of the Rhine and
north of the Danube displaced
Germanic tribes who had long lived
in delicate balance with the Roman
Empire. The Visigoths moved into
Roman lands, eventually storming
Rome in 410, while other tribes
including the Vandals, Suevi, Alans,
Franks, Burgundians, and Alemanni
invaded and settled territory from

In Destruction (c.1935) by Thomas
Cole, invaders overrun a once-great
city often likened to Rome. Citizens’
bodies litter monuments that were built
to celebrate the now fallen civilization.

70

FURTHER EVENTS

THE INDUS VALLEY to overthrow the ruler if he did not tools and ornamental objects in
CIVILIZATION COLLAPSES display these qualities. It influenced bronze, but they were also among
the way the Chinese regarded their the first in Europe to use iron for
c.1900–1700 bce rulers for thousands of years. items such as swords. Their striking
bronze jewelry bore intricate
The Indus Valley Civilization JUDAH DEFIES THE patterns featuring spirals, knotwork,
(c.3300–c.1700 bce) was based ASSYRIANS and animal designs, which had a
around large cities with planned lasting influence on later Celtic art.
streets and impressive drainage (c.700 bce)
and water-supply systems in what THE PELOPONNESIAN
are now Pakistan and northwestern In the 9th century bce, the Hebrew WARS
India. By 1900 bce, this civilization state of Judah (west of the Dead
was in decline and no longer Sea) was part of the large Assyrian (431–404 bce)
producing the elaborate jewelry and empire. In the 8th century, the
fine seals for which it was famous. Judaean ruler Hezekiah refused The Peloponnesian Wars were
By c.1700 bce, the great Indus cities to pay tribute to the Assyrians. fought between Athens (initially
of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro were The Assyrian king, Sennacherib, the most powerful Greek city-
virtually empty. The reason is laid siege to Jerusalem (an event state and the center of classical
unclear, but the most likely described in the Bible), but the civilization) and the more
explanation is a combination of Judaeans resisted their mighty militaristic Sparta. Sparta first
crop failure and a decline in trade enemies, who failed to take the launched land-based attacks on
with Egypt and Mesopotamia. city. Although this was a relatively Athens, while Athens used its
There is also some evidence of small setback for Assyria, it was a superior sea power to suppress
flooding due to a change in the triumph for the Judaeans, who revolts along the coast. In 413 bce,
course of the Indus River. attributed their victory to Yahweh. an attack on Syracuse, Sicily,
This was a major factor in the went wrong, leaving most of the
EMPEROR WU CLAIMS THE Hebrew peoples’ adoption of Athenian force destroyed. Then
MANDATE OF HEAVEN monotheistic religion soon after. the Spartans, allied with Persia,
supported rebellions in a number
(1046 bce) CELTIC CULTURE of Athenian subject states and
FLOURISHES AT HALLSTATT finally wiped out the Athenian fleet
The idea that the emperor of China at Aegospotam (405 bce). The war
rules with the approval of heaven (c.650 bce) deeply damaged Athens, ending
dates to the Zhou dynasty, which the golden age of Greek culture
was founded when Wu and his ally In the 8th century bce, a distinctive and leaving Sparta dominant.
Jiang Ziya defeated the long-ruling culture developed around Hallstatt,
Shang at the Battle of Muye in 1046 southeast of modern Salzburg, in HANNIBAL INVADES ITALY
bce. The Shang had presided Austria. Hallstatt’s people were
over a long period of peace and Celts, probably originally from (218 bce)
prosperity but by the 1040s had Russia, and by the time their
become corrupt. The Zhou concept civilization reached its highest By the 3rd century bce, Carthage,
of the Mandate of Heaven aimed point, around 650 bce, it had spread in Tunisia, had established
to prevent this from happening, west to eastern France, east into itself as a major regional power,
placing good government above Romania, and north to Bohemia and extending along the coast of North
noble birth, and sanctioning others Slovakia. Its people produced fine Africa before invading Spain in

ANCIENT CIVILIZATIONS 71

the 230s bce. In 218 bce, Hannibal, England to the Scottish border and central Mexico, although lowland
Carthage’s commander in Spain, into Wales. The Romans governed cities such as Tikal were also
took his army across the Alps to Britain until c.410, founding towns, powerful. Maya civilization left a
attack Italy. Despite a series of developing a system of roads, and lasting mark in North and Central
victories in what became known introducing such innovations as America, its culture influencing
as the Second Punic War, Hannibal underfloor heating and the use of later peoples, such as the Aztecs.
could not take Rome itself and in concrete for building. Many Britons
202 bce, he returned to Africa. benefited from Roman rule and OBELISKS ARE ERECTED
The Romans had proved their from strong trading links with IN THE KINGDOM OF AXUM
strength, put an end to the idea the empire in products such as
that Carthage was invincible in metals and grain. (4th century ce)
the Mediterranean, and paved the
way for their own rise to power. CHINA IS DIVIDED INTO In the 4th century ce, the people of
THREE KINGDOMS the Ethiopian city of Axum erected
VERCINGETORIX IS tall stone obelisks that would be a
DEFEATED AT ALESIA (220 ce) feature of their civilization. Axum
dominated the maritime trade
(52 bce) The last years of the Han dynasty routes around the Horn of Arabia
in China were marked by bitter and into the Indian Ocean, offering
In 52 bce, the Gaulish chieftain divisions and fighting that led in traders a vital link between Asia
Vercingetorix led a revolt of local 220 ce to the country being divided and the Mediterranean making the
tribes against the Roman conquest between three rival emperors, kingdom an impressive income.
of Gaul (modern France). At the all claiming to be the rightful The obelisks are up to 108 ft (33 m)
Battle of Alesia, in Burgundy successors of the Han. These tall and are thought to be memorials
(eastern France), Roman forces Three Kingdoms—the Wei in the to prominent people. They testify
under Julius Caesar built an north, the Wu in the south, and the to the power of this early African
ingenious donut-shaped Shu in the west—reached a fairly kingdom and its development
fortification around the town, stable agreement over territory of a distinctive civilization. The
blocking Vercingetorix inside until fighting broke out from obelisks have become symbols
while also creating a stronghold 263, when the rival Jin dynasty of enduring African culture.
against Gaulish reinforcements. challenged and then conquered
The chieftain was forced to them. The wars had a devastating CLOVIS UNITES GAUL
surrender, and after five years in impact on the population.
captivity he was strangled on (late 5th century ce)
Caesar’s orders. The battle resulted THE MAYA CLASSICAL
in an all-embracing Roman Empire PERIOD BEGINS The end of Roman rule in Gaul
stretching right across Europe. (modern France) came about
(250 ce) when Clovis, leader of the Salian
ROMANS OCCUPY BRITAIN Franks, defeated the Roman leader
The Maya civilization reached its Syagrius in 486 ce. This victory,
(43 ce) Classic phase in the 3rd century which added to those of Clovis’
ce, with a large number of cities father Childeric, brought virtually
In 43 ce, on the command of the across Mexico and Guatemala all of France north of the Loire
emperor Claudius, a Roman that featured distinctive temples under the rule of his dynasty,
invasion force landed in Britain. shaped as stepped pyramids, called the Merovingians, after
In spite of opposition from local carved monuments inscribed his grandfather Merovech. The
chieftains such as Caratacus, and with dates from the complex Merovingians ruled France for
a later revolt by the Iceni tribe Maya calendar, and a large and some 300 years, making real
under their leader Boudica, Roman extensive trade network. The the idea of a united France
rule eventually extended across largest city was Teotihaucan in independent of outside rulers.

WTHOERMLDEDI

500–1492

EVAL

74 INTRODUCTION

The army of the The Abassid caliph Frankish king In Cambodia, work
Eastern Roman al-Mansur’s founding of Charlemagne is crowned begins on the vast
Empire, led by Baghdad marks the start Hindu temple Angkor
Belisarius, retakes emperor in Rome. Wat, which becomes
Rome, driving out of the Islamic golden As secular leader of the world’s largest
the Ostrogoths. age. The city is a center of Christendom, he unites religious structure.
much of Western Europe.
Muslim scholarship.

536 762 800 1120
c.610 793 1099 1192

Muhammad announces Viking warriors mount a Christian knights Minamoto Yoritomo
that he has received a divine brutal raid on a monastery seize Jerusalem becomes shogun,
revelation and founds Islam. from the Muslims, establishing a line of
Within 20 years, the religion on the holy island of and go on to found military rulers who
will come to dominate the Lindisfarne, northern crusader states in would govern Japan
England—the first of Palestine and Syria.
Arabian peninsula. for 650 years.
many Viking raids.

H istorians call the period The rise of Islam it. Islamic civilization remained
from 500 to 1500 “the The dominance of two mutually dynamic and expansive throughout
Middle Ages,” seeing it as hostile monotheistic religions— the entire medieval period.
a separate era sandwiched between Christianity and Islam—was the
the ancient world and modern times. most distinctive characteristic of Western European fortunes
In reality, there was never a clear this period across much of Eurasia. In Western Europe, civilization fell
break with the ancient world. In the The founding of Islam in the 7th drastically from the level achieved
eastern Mediterranean, the Roman century was a transformative event, under the Roman Empire. Warrior
Empire continued for almost 1,000 and Arab armies inspired by the kings ruled over a thinly spread
years after the fall of Rome, although faith altered the political landscape: population sustained by subsistence
it was rebranded by historians as Muslim rule spread from Spain in agriculture, and the area remained
the Byzantine Empire. The ancient the west to central Asia in the east. prey to non-Christian raiders and
tradition of a united China ruled by invaders, such as the Vikings and
an emperor was revived in the 6th Although a united Islamic the Magyars, into the 10th century.
century and continued to the Ming caliphate could not be sustained,
dynasty, albeit with interruptions. the religion ensured a continuity A nostalgia for ancient Rome
Even in Western Europe, where the of civilization even when power led to King Charlemagne being
breakdown after the Roman Empire’s shifted from the Arabs to other crowned emperor in 800, but the
collapse was most evident, Christian peoples such as the Turks. The Holy Roman Empire, based on
religion survived in Rome as the key great cities of the Muslim world the tradition Charlemagne founded,
marker for the distinction between surpassed any in Christendom in failed to unify Western Europe
what were considered “civilized” size and sophistication, and Muslim politically. In the absence of strong
and “barbarian” societies. scholars preserved the science of centralized state systems, feudal
the ancient Greeks and built upon relationships held societies together.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 75

King John of England Mansa Musa, the The bubonic plague Korean king Sejong
signs the Magna Carta, wealthy ruler of Mali, arrives in Europe, declares the creation
makes a high-profile
which asserts that all hajj to Mecca, resulting probably originating in of a new, simpler
individuals, including in the spread of Islam Asia. Within two years, alphabet for the
the king, are subject it kills over one-third Korean language,
to the law of the land. in West Africa. of Europe’s population. to encourage literacy.

1215 1324 1347 1443
1275 1325 1368 1492

The Venetian merchant The Aztecs found their Hongwu is proclaimed the King Ferdinand and
Marco Polo arrives at the capital city Tenochtitlan first emperor of the Ming Queen Isabella of
dynasty, having ousted
court of Kublai Khan; in central Mexico. the Yuan dynasty. Almost Spain seize Granada,
the Mongol ruler will go Meanwhile, the Incas 300 years of prosperity ending 800 years of
on to conquer southern establish a civilization Muslim rule on the
China four years later. and stability follow. Iberian peninsula.
in Peru.

From the 11th century, a revival of linked Europe to China and the China was the ultimate source of
Western European culture, trade, thriving trading kingdoms of Asia, most inventions, from paper and
and urban life gathered pace. The by land along the Silk Road and by printing to the magnetic compass
“Medieval Warm Period” (950–1250), sea across the Indian Ocean. Cairo and gunpowder. Even relatively
when Europe experienced above- and Venice both became wealthy backward Europe benefited from
average temperatures, improved cities as focal points at the western improvements in shipbuilding and
yields from agriculture; it was also end of this trade. metalworking, and the invention
a time when great cathedrals and and spread of the plow and the
castles were constructed. But However, civilized life remained windmill transformed agriculture.
even when the Christian crusaders precarious. The Mongols—nomadic
fought their way to Jerusalem at the warriors from the Asian steppes— By the end of the Middle Ages,
heart of the Muslim world, the flow seized major cities from the Middle Western European kingdoms had
of civilization was the other way, East to southern China, carrying developed from “feudal” states,
with Islamic scholars far advanced out large-scale massacres. Lethal based on oaths of loyalty, to more
in medicine, philosophy, astronomy, diseases were also highly prevalent. stable and centralized states, able
and geography. Carried along the trade routes in the to channel their key resources into
mid-14th century, the Black Death the large projects of colonization
Expansion and contraction epidemic may have killed a quarter and exploration. In the Americas,
By the 13th century, the world’s of the world’s population. meanwhile, civilizations such as
population is believed to have risen the Aztecs and Incas continued to
to around 400 million—double its Inventions and progress evolve independently, untouched by
total at the high point of the ancient Technological progress was slow developments in Eurasia and Africa,
empires. A wide-ranging network but cumulatively substantial. As until the Spanish conquistadors
the world’s most advanced country, arrived in the 16th century. ■

76

SEMMEOEPRKIERTEGOLAEONNRDLIOMAURASGKEETITHE

BELISARIUS RETAKES ROME (536 ce)

IN CONTEXT O n December 9, 536 ce, the who had been responsible for
army of the Eastern Roman deposing the last Western Roman
FOCUS (or Byzantine) Empire, led emperor. In return the Ostrogoths
The Byzantine Empire by general Belisarius, entered the would be allowed to rule Italy as
city of Rome through the ancient subjects of the Byzantine Emperor.
BEFORE Porta Asinaria gate. The Byzantine’s Furthermore, the Goths had been
476 ce Barbarian general arrival forced the rapid departure of encroaching on imperial lands, and
Odoacer deposes the last the city’s current defenders, the so Zeno hoped their removal to Italy
emperor of the Western barbarian Ostrogoths, who were would neutralize both problems.
Roman Empire and rules fleeing northward through the
as independent king in Italy. Porta Flaminia. Almost precisely The Gothic War
60 years after Italy had fallen out of For the following 40 years, the
493 ce Ostrogothic ruler imperial hands, it appeared that the Goths’ rule of Italy was relatively
Theoderic overthrows Odoacer empire’s ancient birthplace might untroubled. However, the accession
and becomes king, notionally be restored to Roman rule. of Justinian (c.482–565) as Byzantine
subject to Byzantine rule. emperor in 527 changed things.
The survival of Byzantium
534 ce Byzantines end Vandal While the Western Roman Empire To find money in Italy
rule in North Africa. finally fell in 476 after a century of for the war is impossible,
barbarian invasions, the eastern
AFTER portion—the Byzantine Empire, since the country has
549 ce Byzantines recapture with its capital at Constantinople been largely reconquered
Rome from the Goths for the (modern Istanbul)—weathered the
third and final time. storm, its retention of rich provinces, by the enemy.
such as Egypt, enabling it to mount Belisarius, 545
568 ce Lombards (a barbarian a successful defense of its territory.
tribe) invade Italy and seize However, the loss of the empire’s
land that Justinian had birthplace was a blow to the prestige
recaptured for the Byzantines. of the Byzantine emperors, who
refused to accept it. In 488, the
751 ce Lombards capture Emperor Zeno despatched one
Ravenna—the last remaining tribe of Germanic barbarian
major Byzantine holding in mercenaries, the Ostrogoths, to
northern Italy. remove another, led by Odoacer,

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 77

See also: The Battle of Milvian Bridge 66–67 ■ The Sack of Rome 68–69 ■ The fall of Jerusalem 106–07 ■
The Great Schism 132 ■ The fall of Constantinople 138–41

and forth between the two sides Tensions between
as the war in Italy dragged on for Byzantine Empire
almost 20 years. and unstable Gothic
Kingdom of Italy grow.
Twice the Goths retook Rome
but, lacking the resources to hold Byzantines
it, lost it again both times to the invade Italy and
Romans. Finally, the last major capture Rome.
Gothic army was defeated in 552.
War devastates Italy,
Emperor Justinian, a man of great The impact of the war making it harder to raise
energy, set about an ambitious, Although the Byzantines had won tax revenues to fund
wide-ranging program of expansion the war, the victory was hollow.
and reform in order to restore the Italy was devastated—the cities its defense.
Roman Empire to its former glory. had lost much of their population New barbarian
and the rural economy was in invasions are able to
He was determined to restore tatters. The traditional Latin- penetrate borders of
Roman dignity, and this meant speaking ruling classes found that an empire crippled by
reconquering the lost Roman Greek-speakers from Constantinople debt and effects of
provinces. He began in 533 by were given all the key positions.
despatching an army to North Rome was treated as a provincial the plague.
Africa under general Belisarius, outpost of the Byzantine Empire, Byzantine
who swiftly defeated the Vandals and hopes that the city might be expansion in the
(a Germanic people who had ruled restored as the center of imperial west stops and
there since the 430s). power were dashed. the empire
turns inward.
Emboldened by his success, The effects of the war, together
Justinian ordered an invasion of with a plague that killed one-third
Italy in 535. Belisarius’s army made of the empire’s inhabitants in 542,
rapid progress and in 536 they made it hard to find troops that could
successfully recaptured Rome. garrison Italy. The new province
Byzantine euphoria at the recovery provided little tax revenue and it
of their ancient capital was rudely became a major financial drain
shattered, however, when the The optimism that greeted the
Gothic King Witigis counter- capture of Rome was replaced by a
attacked and subjected Rome profound gloom—a mood confirmed
to a grinding, year-long siege. when in 568 the Lombards, another
barbarian group, invaded Italy and
Stalemate in Italy took most of the Byzantine land in
Belisarius launched a fresh assault, north and central Italy.
but he was recalled after Justinian
began to fear that he would set Although the Byzantine Empire
himself up as an independent king survived a further nine centuries,
in Italy. The country passed back it was never again able to make
another serious attempt to restore
the Roman Empire in the west.
Instead, it focused on defending
its Greek-speaking core in the east,
leaving the Germanic kingdoms in
Italy, France, and Spain free to
develop unhindered. ■

78 IN CONTEXT

FHTCARAOLSUMSTEVEHAHANHONIAODSSDHED FOCUS
The rise of Islam
MUHAMMAD RECEIVES THE
DIVINE REVELATION (c.610) BEFORE
c.550 ce Fall of the Himyarite
Kingdom in southern Arabia.

570 Birth of Muhammad.

611 Persian Shah Khusrau
conquers the Byzantines in
Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.

AFTER
622 Muhammad and his
followers flee Mecca and
take up residence in Medina.

637 Muslim army captures
Jerusalem after a siege.

640 Muslim general Amr
ibn al-As conquers Egypt.

661 Umayyad caliphate
established by Muawiya
at Damascus, Syria.

711 Muslim armies cross
into Spain and conquer the
Christian Visigothic kingdom.

A round 610 ce, in a cave in
the hills above the town
of Mecca, central Arabia,
Muhammad—a 40-year-old man
from a merchant family—declared
that he had received a divine
message from the angel Gabriel.
This was followed by similar
revelations over the coming months
and years and led to the founding
of a new monotheistic religion:
Islam. Within 20 years, this creed
had come to dominate the Arabian
peninsula, and a century later its
followers had shattered the ancient
Byzantine and Persian Empires,
creating a state that stretched from
Spain in the far west to Central
Asia in the east.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 79

See also: The founding of Baghdad 86–93 ■ The fall of Jerusalem 106–07 ■ Mansa Musa’s hajj to Mecca 110–11 ■
The Arab advance is halted at Tours 132 ■ The fall of Constantinople 138–41 ■ The conquests of Akbar the Great 170–71

In this 16th-century miniature The lifestyle, and competition for scarce there was but a single God, and
Kaaba, considered the house of God resources shaped a society in that believers needed to follow
and the holiest shrine in Islam, is which primary loyalty was to a prescribed set of religious
decorated by angels on the occasion a kinship group, or tribe. observances—including praying
of the Prophet Muhammad’s birth. five times a day and fasting during
At the time of Muhammad, Ramadan—set his followers apart.
Arabia before Islam Arabia was in a state of religious His preaching of a single religious
From the first millennium bce there and political ferment. Strong community that cut across social
were sophisticated kingdoms in Jewish communities had become boundaries was perceived as
southern Arabia, which derived established in Yemen in the south threatening by the traditional
their wealth from the spice trade. and in northwestern oasis towns, leaders, who felt it undermined
In the early days, the trade routes such as Medina, while Christianity the source of their authority.
ran along the northwest coast, had gained footholds in Yemen and
but by the 7th century these eastern Arabia. Although The flight to Medina
had diminished as merchants monotheistic faiths were making By 622, the atmosphere in Mecca
increasingly used a maritime inroads against the traditional had become so tense that
route up the Red Sea, leaving many polytheistic paganism of the Muhammad and his handful of
places that had been relatively Bedouin Arabs, paganism still followers fled north to Medina—
prosperous in decline. There were remained strong. Conflict between an event called the hijra (meaning
a few scattered towns, such as tribes was also common, and in emigration), which marked the real
Medina (then known as Yathrib) Mecca, in the sacred enclosure foundation of the Islamic community.
and Mecca, which were dependent known as the haram, a truce was The Medinans, who resented the
on more local trade in wool and enforced so men of different tribes power of the Mecca-based Qurayshi,
leather, along with a few key could trade freely without violence. were sympathetic to Muhammad’s
imports such as grain and olive oil. cause and allowed him to preach
The central desert regions of the Muhammad in Mecca freely, giving him the opportunity
Arabian peninsula were very poor: The Meccan haram was controlled to attract further converts.
Bedouin tribes followed a nomadic by the powerful Quraysh clan, of
which Muhammad was a member. The Qurayshi were not content
Muhammad’s rejection of paganism, to see Muhammad’s powerbase
and his bold proclamation that grow in Mecca and within two ❯❯

Muhammad when he began to preach
against pagan polytheism
The Prophet Muhammad was and practices such as female
born in Mecca around 570 ce infanticide. Muhammad’s flight
to a branch of the influential to Medina in 622 marked a key
Quraysh tribe. Tradition relates moment in the spread of Islam,
that he was an orphan, whose as its acceptance outside Mecca
first marriage to a wealthy showed that its appeal might
widow named Khadijah secured transcend traditional kinship
his economic future. The structures. Muhammad proved
religious revelations that were an inspirational leader, and his
imparted to Muhammad over adept handling of the challenges
a period of about 12 years from facing the new religion meant
about 610—and which would that by the time of his death in
later be written down as the 632, two years after his return
Qur’an—caused a rupture with to Mecca, its adherents had
the traditional Meccan elites spread throughout Arabia.

80 MUHAMMAD RECEIVES THE DIVINE REVELATION

The Battle of Uhud (in 625) was one
of several bloody conflicts fought
between the Muslims of Medina,
led by Muhammad, and the larger
Qurayshi army from Mecca.

years violence had broken out After Muhammad’s death, Islam Conquests beyond Arabia
between the established powers entered a crisis and the fledgling Having secured their position,
there and Muhammad’s supporters. religion might easily have been Muhammad’s successors, in
Muhammad outmaneuvered the crushed. Tribes in the east broke particular Umar (634–44), initiated
Qurayshi, first by raiding their away from the Muslim religious campaigns of conquest further
caravans, then defeating them in community (the umma) and afield. They were fortunate in that
a pitched battle in 627, and finally declared allegiance to their own profound changes had occurred
negotiating the right to return to prophet, while the Medinans were on the northern fringes of Arabia.
Mecca on a pilgrimage in 629. By unhappy about the dominance of Between 602 and 628, the two long-
the time he died in 632, Muhammad Meccans in the movement. The established empires in the area—
was re-established in Mecca, and choice of Abu Bakr, Muhammad’s the Byzantines to the northwest
his diplomatic and military father-in-law, as caliph (successor) and the Persian Sassanids to the
successes in attracting other tribes signaled that the leadership would northeast—had been engaged
to his cause had made his position remain in the Prophet’s family and in a long, vicious war that ended in
unassailable. As his authority this, together with a series of catastrophe for both parties. Their
spread, so too did the reach of his successful military campaigns coffers had been drained by the
religious message and the numbers against the malcontents, enabled costs of the conflict and some
of new Muslim converts. the umma to survive. regions within their territories had
been utterly devastated. Both sides
had also become reliant on Arabs
to defend their borders and small,
semi-independent Arab states had
emerged on the peripheries of the
two empires.

Rapid defeat
The Arab armies that swept
northward in the 630s faced far less
resistance than they would have
half a century earlier. Provinces fell
easily as weakened garrisons and
the doubtful loyalty of citizens
undermined resistance. Although
relatively small in number and
lightly armed, the Arab armies
were very mobile and did not need
to defend fixed positions, giving
them a huge advantage over their
opponents. When they defeated the
Byzantines at Yarmuk in 636, the
whole edifice of imperial control in
Palestine and Syria came crashing
down. In the case of Persia, it took
Arab generals just nine years to
dismember the Sassanid Empire.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 81

Islamic society Muhammad Traditional political and religious
The newly conquered lands became receives the divine allegiances are weakened.
part of an Islamic caliphate. Many
of its inhabitants converted, while revelation.
those who did not were tolerated
if they were Christians, Jews, or Islam rapidly gains adherents among Arab tribes.
Zoroastrians, provided they paid a
special tax. Islam transformed the Expansion of Islam Arab armies make swift
lands it absorbed in many ways. raises tensions over who conquests in the Middle
As well as sweeping away the old has supreme authority.
imperial structures, it imparted a East; Islam spreads.
new sense of religious community,
often uniting the conquerors and Islam continues to spread but divides into Sunni
the conquered. Islamic scholars and Shia factions and competing caliphates.
resurrected the works of Greek
philosophers and scientists that Growing divisions mainstream Sunni (who rejected
had languished forgotten for Tensions over the succession to the this) became definitive—a division
centuries, translating them into caliphate resulted in a major schism that continues to this day.
Arabic, and beautiful mosques in Islam. A struggle between Ali,
began to adorn the towns. Areas Muhammad’s son-in-law, and Islamic unity was fractured in
that had been marginalized under Muawiya, the Governor of Syria, other ways too; ruling over such a
the Byzantine or Sassanid Empires led to a civil war that ended in vast empire was almost impossible
now found themselves at the heart Ali’s murder and Muawiya taking when messages from the eastern
of a new, vibrant civilization. control of the caliphate in 661. and western extremities might take
While Muawiya’s descendants months to reach the caliph’s court.
Success, however, brought its (the Umayyads) ruled from the Independent Muslim dynasties
own problems for Islam. Acquiring Syrian city of Damascus, Ali’s emerged in peripheral areas and
lands far more urbanized than followers opposed their authority, rival caliphs appeared in the 10th
Arabia meant that the caliphs had claiming the caliph should be century in Spain, Tunisia, and
to adapt from being warrior chiefs chosen from among Ali’s offspring. Egypt. Yet even though its political
commanding a tight-knit group of After the murder of Ali’s son Husayn unity had been shattered, and its
followers, to monarchs ruling over a at Karbala in 680, the split between religious unity compromised,
huge area with complex economies the Shia (those who supported Muhammad’s creed was so popular
and societies. In addition to this, the right of Ali’s descendents to and successful that by the 21st
Muslims were initially in the rule the caliphate) and the more century there were about 1.5 billion
minority, and not wholly united. Muslims worldwide. ■

Recite in the name of
your Lord who created,
Created man from a blood-clot.

Qur’an (Surah 96)

The first words revealed
to Muhammad (c.610 ce)

82

ICSASHHLARAETDIASOPDTWEEIAARCNTIHENNEAWTHIOONSE

THE CROWNING OF CHARLEMAGNE (800)

IN CONTEXT O n Christmas Day, 800 an over western rulers. In due course,
extraordinary event took Charlemagne’s empire (which later
FOCUS place at St. Peter’s Basilica, became known as the Holy Roman
Foundations of medieval Rome. Pope Leo III crowned the Empire) expanded to cover a vast
Christendom Frankish King Charlemagne with area and laid the foundations for
an imperial diadem, coronating the some of the future nation-states
BEFORE first emperor in the west for three of Western Europe.
496 ce Frankish King Clovis centuries. The imperial crown
converts to Christianity. established Charlemagne and his New rulers
successors as secular rivals to the In the half century before the
507 Clovis defeats Visigoths Papacy’s claim (as spiritual head of Western Roman Empire finally
to gain dominance over Gaul. the church) to a position of authority collapsed in 476 ce, most of its

754 Pope Stephen II The Roman Charlemagne Weak pope
recognizes Pippin III Empire in the expands the seeks allies
as King of the Franks. West collapses. Frankish state. outside Italy.

768 Pippin dies and the The pope crowns Charlemagne as emperor
Kingdom of the Franks is in Rome—the first in 300 years.
divided between Charlemagne
and his brother Carloman. The notion of the emperor as the secular leader
of Christendom allows the office to survive
771 Death of Carloman leaves divisions of the Frankish kingdom.
Charlemagne as sole ruler over
the Frankish kingdom.

AFTER
843 Frankish realm is divided
again by Treaty of Verdun.

962 Otto I, Duke of Saxony, is
crowned Emperor by the pope.
He unites Germany and Italy
to form what was later called
the Holy Roman Empire.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 83

See also: The Battle of Milvian Bridge 66–67 ■ The Sack of Rome 68–69 ■ Belisarius retakes Rome 76–77 ■
The Investiture Controversy 96–97 ■ The fall of Jerusalem 106–07 ■ Martin Luther’s 95 theses 160–63

He cultivated the By contrast, the Papacy had
liberal arts most studiously experienced difficult times in the
8th century, snared in petty power
and, greatly respecting politics as various Roman noble
those who taught them, families sought to secure positions
in the ecclesiastical hierarchy.
he granted them After Leo was assaulted in Rome
great honours. in 799, he fled across the Alps to
Einhard seek help from Charlemagne,
inviting him to bring order to
Frankish scholar and courtier Italy and restore the status of the
(c.770–840) church. A year later, Leo crowned
Charlemagne, creating a Western
emperor alongside the Eastern one. Charlemagne

provinces were invaded by barbarian Carolingian Renaissance Charlemagne (c.747–814) was
tribes who established smaller Charlemagne pushed forward his the eldest son of Pippin III,
kingdoms on its former territory. At program of reforms, issuing an who in 751 deposed the last
first, the Eastern Roman emperors edict in 802 that required an oath Merovingian king of the
did not recognize the legitimacy of of loyalty to be sworn and laying Franks and assumed the royal
these new kings’ right to rule in out the duties of his vassals. He office himself. Energetic and
nominally Roman territory. But as also invited distinguished scholars visionary, Charlemagne
the new kingdoms, particularly that to court, and encouraged academic greatly expanded the Frankish
of the Franks, became stronger and disciplines that had languished kingdom. He was also a very
more unified, Eastern Roman since the collapse of the Roman strong ruler, implementing
recognition ceased to matter. Empire, including grammar, reforms that enhanced the
rhetoric, and astronomy. Music, authority of the monarchy
From kingdom to empire literature, art, and architecture and the church. In addition,
Charlemagne, who came to the also flourished during his reign. he reformed the kingdom’s
Frankish throne in 768, expanded economy by introducing
his dominions extensively over After Charlemagne’s death, a new monetary system,
time, conquering northern Italy divisions were rife. The Frankish standardizing weights and
and Saxony, gaining some areas custom of dividing the kingdom measures, and unifying an
from the Arabs in northern Spain, between several heirs weakened array of different currencies
and taking Avar territories in the central authority and led to civil to encourage commerce and
Danube. He strengthened Frankish wars; it also allowed the emergence trade. His acquisition of the
administration, establishing a of powerful landowners, who often imperial title in 800 further
network of missi domenici—royal challenged royal authority. consolidated his power, but at
agents who would enforce his will Ultimately, the empire split into first he made no plans to pass
in the provinces. For the first time two main portions, which roughly it on. His first decision on the
in centuries, a powerful ruler equate to France and Germany succession, in 806, divided
controlled most of the former Western today. The title of emperor was the realm between three of
Roman Empire’s lands, turning passed down to the immediate his sons but made no mention
them into a single political entity. descendants of Charlemagne and of the office of emperor.
then, from the 10th century, to However, the deaths of two of
more distantly related German his sons led Charlemagne to
princes. In this form, as the Holy bequeath his lands and title to
Roman Empire, it was to survive a single heir—Louis the Pious.
to the early 19th century. ■

84

TWSHTEEAATRLETUIHLSEYRDBEIUSSTTTRHOEYED

THE AN LUSHAN REVOLT (756 ce)

IN CONTEXT Protecting China’s borders Civil service reforms
requires a larger military, reduce the political power
FOCUS
Tang China leading to the rise of traditionally wielded by
powerful army commanders noble families.
BEFORE and increased taxation.
618 Li Yuan becomes first
emperor of the Tang dynasty. Tensions and competition for power in the Tang
court between aristocrats, bureaucrats, and
632–35 Chinese armies
capture Kashgar, Kokand, military commanders leads to An Lushan revolt.
and Yarkand in Central Asia.
Tang authority is restored, but central control is weakened,
751 Tang armies are defeated eventually leading to the break up of China.
by Arab forces at the Battle of
Talas River (Kyrgyzstan). I n 618, the Tang dynasty relative political stability, and
succeeded the Sui as rulers of economic growth that triggered
AFTER China, ushering in one of the a cultural and artistic renaissance
762 Luoyang is retaken by the most glittering eras in the country’s and technological innovation.
Tang, and in 763 the last Yan history. The early Tang emperors
emperor commits suicide, directed military campaigns that But in 755, this golden age was
ending the An Lushan revolt. pushed China’s frontiers deep into violently interrupted by An Lushan,
Central Asia, and established a discontented army general who
874 The faction-torn Tang a centralized government with a led an internal rebellion against the
court is unable to resist the highly competent bureaucracy to Tang that plunged northern China
first of a series of revolts by administer the empire. Later rulers into a devastating war, after which
over-taxed peasants. presided over long periods of peace, the dynasty was never again fully
in control of the country.
907 The last Tang emperor
is overthrown by rebel leader
Zhu Wen, who founds the
Later Liang dynasty.

960 China is reunified
under the Song dynasty.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 85

See also: The First Emperor unifies China 54–57 ■ Kublai Khan conquers the Song 102–03 ■
Marco Polo reaches Shangdu 104–05 ■ Hongwu founds the Ming dynasty 120–27

An Lushan’s rebels conquered and
occupied Chang’an, but the general
himself remained in Luoyang, where
he was later assassinated by one of his
sons in a dispute over the succession.

rebellious nobles, ambitious
professional bureaucrats, and
military governors, some of whom
had begun to intervene in politics.

However, it was a series of
military debacles that provided the
spark for revolt against the Tang,
including the defeat by Abbasid
Arabs in 751 that halted China’s
expansion into Central Asia.

The seeds of rebellion the nobility to grab land to increase Turning on the Tang
Under Xuanzong (712–56), the Tang their regional power bases, and led Discontent exploded among the
dynasty reached the zenith of its to unrest among the peasantry. military, which saw its position
power and prestige, yet several key threatened now that the era of
economic, social, and political Lastly, earlier reforms made by conquest was over. An Lushan,
issues threatened to destabilize it. Emperor Taizong (reigned 626–649) a prominent military governor who
to the examination system used to had become a court favorite, rose
Firstly, the state was struggling recruit civil servants, which opened up against his masters. Claiming
to raise sufficient taxes to fund a it up to able men from humbler that the emperor had asked him to
sharp rise in military expenditure. backgrounds without connections, remove Yang Guozhong (the court’s
The fu-bing, the cost-effective and had created a bureaucracy based chief minister, with whom An
self-supporting national militia on merit that eroded the power Lushan was engaged in an intense
system in which soldiers worked and influence of the aristocracy. power struggle), he mobilized a
the land when not required for Xuanzong now had to manage rival rebel army and marched south.
active military duty, was proving factions in his court—potentially
inadequate in the face of repeated At first the revolt looked set for
invasions by neighboring groups. Ten thousand success: it captured the eastern
Xuanzong was forced to establish houses with stabbed capital, Luoyang, early in 756—
military provinces along China’s where An Lushan declared a rival
northern frontiers, headed by local hearts emit the dynasty, the Yan—before storming
governors who commanded huge smoke of desolation. Chang’an, the primary capital.
armies, and who came to acquire Xuanzong fled from his court, only
considerable power and autonomy. Wang Wei just escaping An Lushan’s clutches.

The Tang’s coffers were drained Tang poet (756) After eight years of war, the
further by the failure of the “equal Tang finally crushed the revolt, but
field” system, a program of land the effort had fatally weakened it.
distribution and tax collection that Over the next century it lost more
protected small farmers from the political power to the military, and
depredations of wealthy landowners further rebellions broke out. By 907,
by periodically reallocating land to the empire had fragmented into
them. Its gradual demise enabled local dynasties and kingdoms that
vied for power for 50 years. ■

SA SPUIRRGEITIN

IANNDINATNEALWLAIGKEENNICNEG

THE FOUNDING OF BAGHDAD (762)



88 THE FOUNDING OF BAGHDAD

IN CONTEXT Islamic conquests result
in many collections of Greek
FOCUS manuscripts being held in
Islamic society and science
Arab-controlled areas.
BEFORE
711 A Muslim Arab and Translation of Greek Al-Mansur founds
Berber army conquers the scientific texts in the House Baghdad and the city
Visigothic Kingdom of Spain. of Wisdom in Baghdad leads becomes a centre of
to Arab scientific advances. Muslim science and
756 Umayyad prince Abd
ar-Rahman I establishes a learning.
court at Cordoba in Spain.
Arabic translations
AFTER of Greek authors appear
800 The first Islamic hospital in Europe where they are
is established in Baghdad. translated into Latin, so
diffusing knowledge of lost
825 Al-Khwarizmi introduces
decimal notation (derived from classical texts.
India) to the Islamic world.
dropping brass balls onto cymbals speakers, Persians, and central
1138–54 Al-Idrisi compiles a at the mechanism’s base. This Asians, had been among the
world map for Roger II of Sicily. sophisticated timepiece was just Abbasids’ principal backers and
one of the advances the Arabs had had provided them with a power
1258 The sack of Baghdad made—advances that left their base independent of the Arab
marks the end of the Abbasid European counterparts far behind. tribes based in northern Arabia,
caliphate. Syria, and Iraq who had supported
The rise of the Abbasids the Umayyads.
1259 An astronomical After the death of the Prophet
observatory is founded at Muhammad in 632, his successors It was in part to provide land
Maragha. ruled over a growing Islamic empire for his Khurasani soldiers that
(or caliphate). Following the murder al-Mansur, the second Abbasid
I n 762 the second ruler of the in 744 of the caliph al-Walid, a caliph, established the city of
newly ascendant Abbasid member of the Umayyad family that Baghdad in 762. He chose the site
dynasty moved the capital of had ruled from Damascus since 661, for its mild climate and its location
the powerful Islamic Caliphate from civil war broke out, ending only on the trade routes between Persia,
Damascus to the newly-founded when the Abbasid dynasty came to Arabia, and the Mediterranean.
city of Baghdad. The move is often power in 750. The Abbasids spent It was also just 20 miles to the
seen as marking the beginning of their first decade pacifying the southeast of the Persian royal seat
an Islamic golden age in which empire, with the help of troops from at Ctesiphon, which it soon eclipsed,
science, art, and culture flourished. Khurasan in northeastern Iran. enabling the new dynasty to portray
The extent of Muslim technological These troops, a mixture of Arab- themselves as masters of a culture
development was demonstrated in that stretched back to Cyrus the
802 when the Abbasid caliph Harun
al-Rashid dispatched an embassy
to the Frankish ruler, Charlemagne,
which included the gift of a water
clock that chimed the hours by

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 89

See also: Siddartha Gautama preaches Buddhism 40–41 ■ The palace at Knossos 42–43 ■ The conquests of
Alexander the Great 52–53 ■ Muhammad receives the divine revelation 78–81 ■ Mansa Musa’s Hajj to Mecca 110–11 ■
The Arab advance is halted at Tours 132 ■ The conquests of Akbar the Great 170–71 ■

Great in the 6th century bce. The In addition to his profound his personal physician, and for
heart of the new capital was a mile- knowledge of logic and law eight generations until the mid-11th
wide, circular enclosure in which century, members of the Bukhtishu
sat the caliphal palace and main [al-Mansur... was] very family occupied the position at the
government offices. interested in philosophy and Baghdad court, bringing with them
knowledge of Greek and Hellenistic
Search for knowledge observational astronomy. texts and medical practices. In 800,
The Abbasids laid claim not only Said al-Andalusi Caliph Harun al-Rashid asked Jibril
to their predecessors’ political ibn Bukhtishu, Jurjis’s grandson, to
heritage, but also to their cultural Islamic historian (c.1068) head the new hospital in Baghdad,
and scientific achievements. the first in the Islamic world.
Although the Umayyad Empire western Iran became a center of
had included ancient seats of medical scholarship. It was staffed Al-Mansur established a library
Greek learning such as Alexandria mainly by Christians from the in Baghdad to house his collection
in Egypt, under their rule there had Nestorian sect, which had been of manuscripts. This venture was
been little sponsorship of scientific persecuted in the Byzantine made easier by the Arab adoption
endeavor. This changed under the Empire. In 765, al-Mansur is said of paper as a medium for books,
Abbasids, who spent their time to have summoned staff member and the establishment in Baghdad
consolidating Islamic rule rather Jurjis ibn Jibril ibn Bukhtishu to in 795 of a paper mill. However,
than on campaigns of conquest. Baghdad to diagnose a stomach since Arabic speakers had no
They sponsored scholars to explore complaint. So pleased was the access to this learning, the library
knowledge gained from foreign caliph with his treatment that he did little to advance an indigenous
works, rather than relying solely on prevailed upon Jurjis to stay on as Arab scientific tradition.
the guidance found in the Koran
and the hadiths (the sayings of the House of Wisdom
Prophet Muhammad). To remedy this, Harun al-Rashid
(caliph from 786 to 809) and
The earliest advances were al-Mamun (reigned 813–833)
made in medicine. During the mid- established the Bayt al Hikma
to late 6th century, a philosophical (House of Wisdom), which not only
school at Gondeshapur in south- housed the growing library, but ❯❯

Harun al-Rashid Harun (763–809) succeeded as in 806, personally commanding
caliph in 783 after the mysterious an army of many thousands.
death of his older brother al-Hadi, Harun’s gift of an elephant to
who had reigned for just one year. Charlemagne in 802 was part of
For the first 20 years of his reign, a series of diplomatic exchanges
the Barmakid family, who helped with the Frankish court that
strengthen a powerful central were intended to put further
administration, dominated court. pressure on the Byzantines.
Under Harun’s rule, Baghdad
became the most powerful city in Harun’s House of Wisdom,
the Islamic world, and flourished a translation bureau, library,
as a center of knowledge, culture, and academy for scholars and
invention, and trade. Even so, for intellectuals from across the
almost two decades Harun based empire, contributed to his
himself at Raqqa, closer to the nickname al-Rashid (“the Just”).
frontiers of the Byzantine Empire, He died in 809 while on an
against which he launched a raid expedition to Khurasan in the
northeast of Iran.

90 THE FOUNDING OF BAGHDAD

also acted as an academy for that had been discovered had been Jews and Christians...
scholars and a center for the rendered into Arabic. Many of them translate these scientific books
translation of key scientific works were not available in Western
into Arabic. Among its leading Europe at all, and even if they had and attribute them to their
scholars were Hunayn ibn Ishaq been, knowledge of Greek had all own people... when they are
(808–873), a Nestorian Christian but disappeared there. The Muslim
from al-Hira in Iraq, who translated world was therefore well set by indeed Muslim works.
more than 100 mostly medical and around 850 to build on the scientific Muhammad ibn Ahmad
philosophical works; and Thabit ibn traditions of Classical and Hellenistic
Qurra, a member of a pagan sect Greeks transmitted and developed Ibn Abdun
known as the Sabaeans, who under the Roman Empire—and to
translated Elements, Euclid’s acquire a centuries-long lead over Legal scholar (early 12th century)
great work on geometry, and the Christian Western Europeans.
Almagest, Ptolemy’s key work of these calculation techniques,
on astronomy. Complex calculations arriving in 771 with a delegation of
An understanding of mathematics Hindu scholars. The scholars were
Translation became a highly and astronomy is essential to the visiting al-Mansur’s court (which in
prestigious endeavor. One Arab calculation of the times at which itself illustrates the comparative
patron paid an extravagant 2,000 Muslims must observe their five openness and tolerance of the
dinars a month to ensure his daily prayers (times that varied
association with a translation of widely across the vast Islamic
a work by the Greek physician Empire), therefore both disciplines
Galen (a dinar, made of pure gold, were studied assiduously. Another,
weighed the same as 72 grains of separate, intellectual tradition
barley). Within around 150 years, contributed to the development
almost all of the key Greek texts

The House of Wisdom played host to House Mathematical
scholars who translated Latin and Greek of Wisdom advances made
works into Arabic. In doing so, they built upon possible the use
classical knowledge and made breakthroughs of algebra and
in fields such as mathematics and medicine. decimal places.
Hindu numerals,
including the
number zero,
came from India.

Philosophical and Arabic versions
scientific works by of classical Greek
Aristotle and Plato texts ensured the
came from conquered survival of ancient
Greek lands. knowledge.

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 91

The Canon of Medicine by ibn
Sina or Avicenna (980–1037) set the
standard for medicine in the Islamic
world and medieval Europe, and
remained an authority for centuries.

early Abbasids), and brought with instrument in which the celestial observations with theoretical
them India’s relatively advanced sphere was projected onto a flat analysis. Al-Razi (died 925)
mathematics, including the use of plane marked with latitude and produced the first description of
trigonometry to help solve algebraic longitude lines. smallpox and measles, as well as
equations. Crucially, the Hindu compiling a medical compendium
mathematicians also employed By the 13th century, Islamic that began a tradition of such
a decimal notation, which one of the astronomy was at its zenith, and encyclopedias, culminating in
members of the House of Wisdom, in 1259 a great observatory was the Canon of Medicine by ibn Sina
Al-Khwarizmi (c.780–830), adopted constructed at Maragha in eastern (who was known as Avicenna in
and described in The Book of Iran. Here Nasr al-Din al-Tusi the West). Composed around 1015,
Addition and Subtraction According and his successors made fine it included separate sections for
to Hindu Calculation. adjustments to account for slight diseases that are specific to one
discrepancies in the orbit of the body part, and those that afflict
Furthermore, Al-Khwarizmi also planets, assisted by mechanical the body as a whole.
explained a method of calculating clocks that enabled them to record
the square roots of numbers, and their observations in fine detail. Islamic science spreads
pioneered work on algebraic Muslim scholars made advances in The Islamic expansion that began
equations. He and his fellow many other areas, too, first building in the mid-7th century not only
scholars made rapid strides in on the base of Greek manuscripts absorbed ancient centers of
geometry, taking as their starting translated into Arabic, and then learning such as Alexandria, but
point Euclid’s and Archimedes’s making their own discoveries. They also brought the Muslim world to
work on spheres and cylinders. did not accept the theories of the the fringes of Western Europe
ancients uncritically: al-Haythem through the conquest of Spain
Astronomy and medicine (died 1039) produced a key work, (from 711) and Sicily (from 827).
Al-Khwarizmi compiled the first the Book of Optics, in which he A tradition of Islamic learning
known tables of daily prayer times speculated that sight was the result embedded itself in both areas,
at Baghdad, his calculations of light traveling from an object to and particularly in the Iberian
assisted by direct astronomical the eye, rather than the other way Peninsula, known to the Arabs as
observation. The early Islamic around as Ptolemy had theorized. al-Andalus. The court established
astronomers drew from Ptolemy’s Arab physicians continued to make there in 756 by Abd ar-Rahman I, ❯❯
Almagest, adopting his view that progress, combining their practical
the Earth was at the center of the
solar system, and that the planets
rotated around it along the lines
of eight spheres. They also learned
from Hindu astronomers, translating
and perfecting Indian zij, or tables of
planetary positions, and continued
to refine Ptolemy’s system, only
occasionally (as in the work of the
10th-century astronomer al-Biruni)
toying with a heliocentric system
that had the sun at its center. Their
calculations were made simpler
when in the mid-eighth century
they adopted the astrolabe, an

92 THE FOUNDING OF BAGHDAD

The ancient Greek thinker Aristotle astrolabe, and of a type of abacus Classical Greek texts arrived
teaches Muslim students how to that used a decimal system. directly from the Byzantine Empire
measure the positions of the Sun, This was the first example of the to the West (in particular Pisa,
Moon, and stars in this imagined system’s use in medieval Europe. which had a trading quarter in
scene from an Arabic manuscript. It was a small beginning, and one Constantinople), including works
paralleled in southern Italy where a by the philosopher Aristotle. The
a refugee Umayyad prince who had medical school was established at main channel for the transmission
escaped the Abbasid revolution, Salerno in the 9th century. A few of Islamic learning into Europe,
became a magnet for scholars Islamic manuscripts reached the however, continued to be Spain. As
from the East, and its libraries school in the early years, but many Islamic Spain shrank, pressurized
became a repository of precious more arrived in the late 11th by the Reconquista, the flow of
ancient texts that had been century when Muslim doctor materials accelerated. The Christian
translated into Arabic. Constantine the African returned reconquest spread increasingly into
from Qairawan in Tunisia. He had Muslim emirates until, in 1085,
In 967, the French cleric and gone there to study medicine, and Alfonso VI of Castile captured
scholar Gerbert of Aurillac (who in brought back with him works such Toledo. The city became a center
999 would become Pope Sylvester as the Complete Art of Medicine by for the translation of Arabic works
II) arrived in Spain for a three-year Ali ibn al-Abbas al-Majusi (known by an international group including
period of study at a monastery in in the West as Haly Abbas), parts the Englishman Herbert of Ketton,
Catalonia. There he had access of which he then translated into Slav Hermann of Carinthia, the
to manuscripts that had filtered Latin. This translation gave Western Frenchman Raymond of Marseilles,
over the border from Muslim-held doctors and scholars access to Jewish scholar Abraham ibn Ezra,
al-Andalus. He took back to France comparatively advanced Muslim and Italian Gerhard of Cremona.
knowledge of Arabic technology medical knowledge. In the mid-12th century, the group
such as the water clock and the

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 93

translated many Arabic texts polymath who knew at least four [Roger II of Sicily] is
into Latin, including works on languages, Roger so impressed his responsible for singular
mathematics, medicine, and contemporaries with his learning innovations and for marvelous
philosophy. Western Europe now that he became known as Stupor inventions, such as no prince
had access to Ptolemy’s Almagest, Mundi (“the Marvel of the World”). has ever before realized.
and to the medical works of Galen, Among his protégés were the
as well as access to new works by Scottish scholar Michael Scot, who Al-Idrisi, c.1138
Arabic writers who had built on translated key works of Aristotle
or summarized the work of their on zoology, and the Pisan Leonardo such as the Shia Buyids, and, from
ancient predecessors, such as ibn Fibonacci, who had been sent 1055, the Seljuqs, a Turkish group
Sina’s Canon of Medicine. This by his merchant family to study originating in central Asia. The final
five-book encyclopedia became one mathematics at Bougie in Muslim blow was dealt by the Mongols,
of the most widely used treatises in North Africa. There Fibonacci who surged westward into the
European medical schools until the learned of the decimal system, and Islamic world in the early 13th
16th century. in 1202 he published the Book of century. In 1258, the Mongol Great
Calculations, the most detailed Khan Möngke unleashed an army
Royal patronage account yet seen in Europe of the against Iraq, which laid siege to
This transmission of knowledge Arabic system of numbering. and then sacked Baghdad, inflicting
to the West mirrored the process an appalling massacre on its
by which the Islamic world had By the early 13th century, inhabitants. The last ruling
absorbed Greek learning during the Abbasid Empire had all but Abbasid caliph al-Musta’sim was
the great period of translation collapsed. The difficulties of ruling executed, and political and cultural
into Arabic in the 9th and 10th such a far-flung empire and the leadership of the Islamic world
centuries. Noble and royal patrons effects of a series of civil wars had passed first to the Mamluks in Cairo
played similar roles in both phases led to key provinces such as Spain, and then, after their conquest of
of the transmission. King Roger II Tunisia, and Egypt breaking away Egypt in 1517, to the Ottoman Turks.
of Sicily (which by 1091 had been to be ruled by their own caliphs.
reconquered from the Muslims) Even in Baghdad, where the By this time Europeans had
invited Arab scholar al-Idrisi to his Abbasid caliphs clung on, they rediscovered Greek and Roman
court in 1138 with a commission were only notionally sovereign. Real learning in almost every field of
to construct a map of the world power was held by other dynasties scholarship through the medium of
based on Islamic geographical Arabic texts. It had taken centuries
and cartographic works. The result, Roger II invited scholar al-Idrisi to for the new material to be absorbed,
which took more than 15 years to create an accurate map of the known and a further wave of interest in
complete, was by far the most world in 1138. Al-Idrisi presented the classical manuscripts in the 15th
accurate world map yet available planisphere, and an accompanying century to spark the Renaissance
to Europeans, and showed areas book, to his patron in 1154. in Europe. The House of Wisdom
as far east as Korea. The map founded by the Abbasid caliphs
was accompanied by the Book of had played a key role in ensuring
Pleasant Journeys into Faraway the survival of Greek and Roman
Lands, in which al-Idrisi’s royal science in the Islamic world,
patron could have read of wondrous allowing its transmission centuries
things such as cannibals in Borneo, later to Christian Europe. ■
and the gold trade in Ghana.

A tradition of learning
Roger’s grandson Frederick II, Holy
Roman Emperor from 1220 until
1250, continued his grandfather’s
tradition of sponsoring translations
of Arabic texts. A remarkable

94

HNAPEAPVSEESRAURBCEEHDFAOINRTBEERRIRTOARIN

THE VIKING RAID ON LINDISFARNE (793)

IN CONTEXT O n a calm June day in 793, enabled its crew to sail far up
a party of men landed on waterways and alight stealthily on
FOCUS the shore of the holy island shores. Each ship could carry up to
Viking raiders of Lindisfarne in northern England, 80 warriors, recruited by a warlord
and mounted a ferocious attack whose authority depended on his
BEFORE on its monastery. The invaders military prowess and his success
550–750 In Sweden, the murdered some of the monks, in capturing booty for his followers.
Vendel period is a time of dragged others away into slavery,
increased prosperity. and plundered the church’s No single motive drove the
treasures before slipping away. Vikings to venture across the sea.
737 Construction of Danevirke In parts of Scandinavia, population
fortifications in Denmark This unexpected assault was growth may have forced young men
shows growing royal authority. the first recorded raid by Vikings— into a piratical lifestyle; in others,
pagan seafaring warriors from perhaps the increasing strength of
AFTER Denmark, Norway, and Sweden— local clan leaders sparked power
841 Vikings establish a and news of it sent waves of horror struggles that pushed the losers
permanent settlement in and fear across Christian Europe. into exile. And the newly rich
Ireland, which will grow Over the next 200 years, Vikings trading towns in northern Europe
into the city of Dublin. would ravage and loot settlements
across large parts of the continent. The ravages of heathen
845 Viking raiders advance But they were also colonists and men miserably destroyed
along the Seine and sack Paris. traders with a sophisticated artistic
culture who left a lasting imprint on God’s church on
867 Danish Vikings take the places they invaded and settled. Lindisfarne with
control of Northumbria in plunder and slaughter.
northeast England. An unstoppable force Anglo-Saxon Chronicle
Within six years of the Lindisfarne
911 Vikings found Duchy of raid, bands of Vikings—or “Danes”
Normandy in northern France. as they were known in Anglo-Saxon
England—were targeting the wealth
10th century Swedish “Rus” of other Christian sites in England,
Vikings are dominant in Kiev Scotland, Ireland, and France. Key
and Novgorod in Russia. to the success of these missions
was the Viking longship, a slender
vessel with a shallow bottom that

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 95

See also: The Sack of Rome 68–69 ■ Belisarius retakes Rome 76–77 ■ The crowning of Charlemagne 82–83 ■
Alfred rules Wessex 132 ■ Christopher Columbus reaches America 142–47

were irresistible targets for a warrior News of rich targets Population pressure
society in which a reputation for across the North Sea and political instability
valiant deeds was a great asset. attracts rootless young
men to war leaders. in Scandinavia.
Conquest and settlement
As the Vikings’ raiding parties Success of Lindisfarne Attack on
grew in size, many of the men attack attracts more Lindisfarne
started to settle in the territories Monastery.
they invaded, including those in warriors to join
Britain and France. In the late 9th new raids. Raids lead to permanent
century, England was divided into Viking settlements.
a number of kingdoms that offered from raiding and pillaging to more
no coherent resistance to the organized settlement and conquest. and in 1066, an unsuccessful
Viking challenge, while France Cnut of Denmark created a Viking attempt to claim the English
was consumed by civil war. North Sea empire that included throne by the Norwegian King
Denmark, Norway, and England. Harald Hardrada, was the final
This disunited opposition helped Yet it did not survive his death, flourish of the Viking age that
the Vikings to conquer northern began with the sack of Lindisfarne. ■
and central England—where they
established a kingdom that lasted
almost 100 years—and to occupy
land in northern France, where
their descendants became French-
speaking Normans. In the east,
Vikings traded and raided along
Russia’s rivers, which brought them
silver from the Islamic world and
contact with the Byzantine Empire.

By the 11th century, most of
the Scandinavian kingdoms had
adopted Christianity, and turned

Viking expansion in the North Atlantic

The Vikings were among the most The Vikings used their knowledge son, Leif Eriksson, was driven
skilled shipbuilders, sailors, and of winds and currents to navigate off course at sea and landed in
navigators in the Western world the seas and discover new lands. a region teeming with hardwood
of the early Middle Ages. Around 800, they colonized the forests and wild grapes that he
Faroe Islands, and used them as called Vinland (Land of Wine).
a stepping stone to explore the
North Atlantic. By the 870s, their Subsequent expeditions to
ships had reached Iceland, where this area, which is located in
settlers founded a colony that what is now Newfoundland in
grew politically independent. eastern Canada, led to a tiny
Viking colony, but this was
In 982, Erik the Red, exiled abandoned after attacks by
from Iceland for murder, stumbled hostile indigenous people.
upon Greenland and established Nevertheless, Leif and his crew
a new colony there. A Norse saga had been the first Europeans to
tells how, 18 years later, Erik’s set foot on North American soil.

96

NCTHHEVEUERRRCOHEMRHARANESD

THE INVESTITURE CONTROVERSY (1078)

IN CONTEXT Laxness in observing F or three days in 1078, the
church rules on clerical Holy Roman Emperor Henry
FOCUS marriage and investiture IV stood penitent, barefoot
The medieval church of bishops leads to calls in the snow outside the Italian
and the papacy fortress of Canossa, begging Pope
for reform. Gregory VII for absolution. This
BEFORE Gregory VII promotes event was the culmination of the
1048–1053 Pope Leo IX issues reform, including a ban Investiture Controversy, a struggle
decrees against simony and on lay investiture. between the two men about the
priestly marriage, beginning extent of secular authority over the
the reform movement. Emperor and Christian church, and the authority
pope clash to appoint—or invest—bishops.
1059 A college of cardinals to
elect new popes is established. over investiture; Both king and pope were rulers
the emperor is of particular domains, but they also
1075 The Lateran Council excommunicated. had rival symbolic claims to lead all
decrees that only the pope Christendom. An emperor had to
can appoint bishops. The pope’s victory in be crowned by the pope before he
the investiture struggle assumed the imperial title. Pope
1076 Gregory VII deposes and strengthens the reform Gregory VII asserted that the pope’s
excommunicates Henry IV. movement and papal authority was supreme in spiritual
matters, and that even in secular
AFTER administration. affairs it stood far above that of
1084 Henry IV captures Rome, worldly princes.
forcing Gregory VII to flee to
southern Italy. When at last Gregory signaled
forgiveness of the penitent emperor,
1095 The pope calls a it marked a bitter blow for imperial
Crusade, asserting papal prestige and a huge triumph for the
leadership over Christendom. independence of the church.

1122 In the Concordat of The state of the church
Worms, Henry V gives up By the early 11th century, the papacy
almost all rights to invest was at a low ebb. It had failed to
bishops. impose—or had lost—authority over
national churches outside Italy,

THE MEDIEVAL WORLD 97

See also: The Battle of Milvian Bridge 66–67 ■ The crowning of Charlemagne 82–83 ■ The fall of Jerusalem 106–07 ■
Otto I becomes Holy Roman Emperor 132 ■ Martin Luther’s 95 theses 160–63

Henry was refused entry when Gregory vigorously promoted papal I Henry, by the grace of
at last his long trek across the Alps authority, and in 1075 a church God august emperor of the
brought him to the castle gates. Only council declared that only the Romans… do remit to the holy
after three days’ penitence was the pope had the power to appoint Catholic church, all investiture
emperor’s excommunication lifted. bishops or move them to a different through ring and staff and
area. Henry, facing the loss grant that in all the churches
and monarchs were appointing of authority over large tracts of there may be free election
their own bishops, especially in Germany, continued to appoint
Germany where the office often bishops and called for the pope to and consecration.
came with considerable territorial step down. Gregory retaliated by Henry V, 1122
domains. The feeling that the church excommunicating the king and
had lost touch with its roots was declaring him deposed. German increasingly assertive insistence on
also widespread: monasteries had nobles, already feeling discontented papal supremacy, and the growing
become storehouses of treasure, at Henry’s attempts to centralize independence of the German
bishops were ruling their lands like power, felt that this released them nobles, the emperor conceded
secular lords, and clerical offices from their oath of loyalty, and many virtually all investiture rights.
were openly sold. Itinerant preachers rose up in revolt. Caught between
started to inveigh against these the papacy and the nobles, Henry Energized by its success, the
betrayals, and calls for reform were eventually chose to take the road to papal administration (or curia)
beginning to be heard from within Canossa in a humiliating retreat. consolidated. A growing thirst for
the church itself. education led to the foundation of
Final agreement at Worms universities such as that at Bologna
The new monasticism But Henry’s submission did not where many students studied canon
last. The issue of investiture was law. With rising confidence, popes
By the 11th century, many felt not explicitly settled and underlying ruthlessly persecuted heretics and
that monastic orders had also dispute caused partisans of pope swept away lax practices.
strayed from their original and emperor to clash repeatedly
mission, accumulating wealth until 1122, when Henry’s son The reforms strengthened the
and abandoning spirituality. Henry V agreed to the Concordat church, whose diplomatic stature
Men such as Bruno of Cologne of Worms. Squeezed between an grew to equal that of any monarch,
led calls to return to a purer and it survived in a united form
form of monasticism. Bruno 350 houses, yet these enclosed until the Reformation in the 16th
joined a group of hermits near orders did not fully answer the century. The blow to the prestige
Grenoble in 1084. Their way of spiritual needs of a society that of the Holy Roman Emperors was
life attracted others to found was becoming increasingly commensurate. Secular lords seized
similar groups, which became affluent, educated, and mobile. the opportunity to magnify their
the core of the Cistercian Order. A new wave of mendicant friars own power, fragmenting the empire
The Carthusians, established appeared in the 13th century: into a constellation of lordships and
in 1098, had by 1153 nearly committed to a life of poverty, competing authorities who paid
they traveled and preached only lip service to the emperor. ■
among the people. The
Franciscans, founded in 1209
by Francis of Assisi, and the
Dominicans, established in
1216 by Dominic de Guzman,
represented the most successful
exponents of this new apostolic
form of monastic life.

98

BTAHEMCEAOSNMTDEATEMESATSINTEEDRTOOF

MINAMOTO YORITOMO BECOMES SHOGUN (1192)

IN CONTEXT W hen in 1192 the At the time of the Gempei Wars the
Japanese clan leader Samurai fought as mounted bowmen,
FOCUS Minamoto Yoritomo but by the 15th century the sword, in
Shogunate Japan became the military commander- particular the long-bladed katana, had
in-chief, or shogun, it marked the become their principal weapon.
BEFORE ascent to power of a Japanese
1087 The Insei system begins: military class, the samurai, and The situation became entrenched
emperors withdraw from court established a line of military rulers after the capital moved (following
but retain authority, in order to who would govern Japan for the the emperor) to Kyoto in 794.
counter the power of regents next 750 years. Non-Fujiwara nobles were denied
and the rising warrior class. preferment at court, so sought
The Japanese imperial court positions in the provinces. The gulf
1156 The Minamoto challenge had been dominated since the widened between the Kyoto-based
the Taira for the first time, and mid-7th century by regents from the bureaucrats and the regional
are crushed. Fujiwara family, who had reduced nobility, the samurai, who assumed
the emperors to mere figureheads.
1180 The Gempei War
between the Minamoto
and the Taira breaks out.

1190s Minamoto Yoritomo
builds power in the provinces.

AFTER
1221 Emperor Gotoba fails to
re-establish imperial power in
the Jokyu Disturbance.

1333 The Ashikaga family
overthrows the Kamakura
shogunate.

1467 The Onin Wars, the first
of a series that plague Japan
for over a century, break out.