What do you think happened to the Roman Empire?

Early Empire Following the 4th period of expansion came the Early Empire (14-180 A.C.E.) This period was a time of prosperity, internal peace, and high levels of trade Christianity was created during this time At first, the empire saw the new religion as a threat

Late Empire Next came the Late Roman Empire During this time, Constantine became the first Christian emperor Following him, Theodosius the Great made Christianity the empire’s official religion Due to the large size of the empire, it was split in half: East and West The Western Empire kept the capital of Rome The Eastern Empire changed it’s capital to Byzantium which later became Constantinople

The Fall of the Roman Empire The Western Empire fell to several different Germanic tribes including the Visigoths but the East lives on as the Byzantine Empire The Western Empire was replaced by a number of states ruled by German kings

European Kingdoms and Feudalism What do you think the term ‘feudalism’ means?

The Church The church gained power when the Roman Empire fell In the Catholic church, the Bishop of Rome claimed to be the leader, or the Pope Pope comes from the Latin word papa, or “father”

Charlemagne Charlemagne, a Germanic king, expands his kingdom to create the Carolingian Empire once called the “Kingdom of Europe” He was the first Germanic king crowned the king of the “Roman Empire” When this kingdom fell apart, it led to a need for local protection which created Feudalism

Feudalism King Lord Knight Vassal

England In 606 William of Normandy conquered England and became King Monarchy- a form of government where all the power is an individual ruler, monarch or king/queen The King became too powerful so King John created the Magna Carta Monarch’s power was limited, not absolute English parliament also emerged Dealt with taxes, politics, and passed laws Representatives from all over the land

Holy Roman Empire Hence the name “Holy Roman Empire” Germanic King, Otto I, crowned emperor of the Romans in 962 The empire tried to rule German and Italy because Italy was the center of the “Holy Empire” Hence the name “Holy Roman Empire” But, the empire lost power in Germany while trying to rule Italy and then lost all power

Byzantine Empire and Crusades What were the Crusades? What were they fighting for? Do you know any movies that talk about the Crusades?

Byzantine Empire Byzantine Empire lasted until 1453 It was a Christian and Greek state Spoke Greek; Religion was Christianity Created the Eastern Orthodox Church The empire had many threats from abroad including trouble with Muslim empires

Crusades The Byzantine Empire wanted to take back Jerusalem and the “Holy Land” (Palestine) Went on crusades to attempt to conquer this land Only the 1st crusade worked, it went downhill from there The crusades resulted in increased trade, a weakening of feudalism, and a strengthening of the King’s power From this time three nation-states arose: Spain, England, and France