Unit 7: Government and Politics “The Dark Ages” (c CE) Were the “Dark Ages” really dark?

2 “The Dark Ages is a term applied in its widest sense to that period of intellectual depression in the history of Europe from the establishment of the barbarian supremacy in the [late] fifth century (400s CE) to the revival of learning at about the [middle] of the fifteenth (c CE), thus nearly corresponding in extent with the Middle Ages.” - The American Cyclopaedia: A Popular Dictionary of General Knowledge, 1883

3 The time period following the fall of Rome in Europe is sometimes known as the “Dark Ages.” The term implies that the time between the fall of the Roman Empire and the European Renaissance was a period of decline for Europe. This time is also called the Middle Ages because it falls in the middle of two important time periods: Classical Period (Greece & Rome) and the European Renaissance. Background

Roman Empire in 117 CE

5 Sui China Silla Parhae Yamoto Japan Harsha’ Empire Chalukya Avar Kingdom Frankish Kingdoms Ghana Axum Sassanid Empire Byzantine Empire States and Empires in 600 CE

6 6 Ghana Carolingian Byzantine Abbasid Caliphate Axum Gurjara-PratiharaTang China Srivijaya Parhae Silla Cordoba Caliphate Heian Japan States and Empires in 800 CE

7 Mongol Empire Russia Sung China Koryo Kamakura Japan Delhi Sultanate Scandanavian Kingdoms Mali Zimbabwe Benin Oyo France Ethiopia Ayyubid Caliphate Almohad Caliphate Poland Rum H.R.E. Hungary England Portugal Spain States and Empires in 1237 CE States and Empires in 1237 CE Angkor

8 Mali Oyo Benin Zimbabwe Zanj City-States Ethiopia Vijayanagara Siam Majapahit Ashikaga Japan Korea Marinids Hafsids Mamluk Sultanate Granada PortugalCastile France Scotland England Union of Kalmar Holy Roman Empire Poland- Lithuania Hungary Ottoman Emp. Russian States Khanate of the Golden Horde Jagatai Khanate Ming China Timurid Empire States and Empires in 1400 CE

9 The metaphor of “dark” and “light” was originally used by Christians to describe the “darkness” people lived in before God sent Jesus Christ to bring “light” to the world. Petrarch was an Italian scholar during the 1300s who loved Greek and Roman writing. He used the terms “dark” and “light” to describe learning instead of religion. He believed that Europe was in the “dark” after the “light” of the Greek and Roman empires were gone. Why “Dark”?

10 Historians, and others, since Petrach continued to use the phrase “Dark Ages.” They argued that during the centuries following the fall of the Roman Empire, Europeans lived in a time that: Had no central government Had a bad economy Was repeatedly invaded Did not support learning Created very little culture (art, literature, architecture, etc.) Was basically a miserable place to live Why “Dark”?

11 Today many historians disagree with this term. They think it is not the proper way to describe this period of time. But, people continue to use term “Dark Ages.” What do you think? Was Europe really in a “Dark Age” for almost one thousand years? Today