1. What happened after the collapse of the Roman Empire
What happened after the collapse of the Roman Empire? Western Europe During the Middle Ages
LG 1: Explain how Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy were unifying social and political forces in Western Europe and Byzantine Europe and identify the impact of ideas contained in Justinian’s Code of Laws.

3. The Role of the Church The Christian church survived the fall of Rome
The church was the only thing remaining that provided order and security to the people in the west
This also allowed for some cultural unity throughout Western Europe.

4. Western Europe: Life after the fall of The Roman Empire
Western Rome falls to barbarian invaders in 476 A.D.
Europe was left with no central government & no system of defense
Invading groups set up kingdoms throughout the west
These kingdoms were often at war with one another
Trade was disrupted, cities abandoned, people moved to the countryside for farming

6. Clovis & The Franks
The Franks established the largest of the Germanic kingdoms in what is now known as France (that’s how France got its name)
Clovis:
leader of the Franks
brought Christianity to the region
His baptism led to new conversion for Catholicism
With the help of the newly converted Franks, Christianity continued to spread through out the region
Ruled for 30 years and greatly expanded their empire

7. Background… Glencoe Book
“According to legend, his wife, Clothilde, had urged him to convert to her faith,
Christianity. In 496, Clovis led his warriors against another Germanic army.
Fearing defeat, he appealed to the Christian God. “For I have called on my gods,”
he prayed, “but I find they are far from my aid Now I call on Thee. I long to
believe in Thee. Only, please deliver me from my enemies.” The tide of the battle
shifted and the Franks won. Afterward, Clovis and 3,000 of his warriors asked a
bishop to baptize them.
The Church in Rome welcomed Clovis’s conversion and supported his military
campaigns against other Germanic peoples. By 511, Clovis had united the Franks
into one kingdom. The strategic alliance between Clovis’s
Frankish kingdom and the Church marked the start of a
partnership between two powerful forces.”
Glencoe Book

8. Charles Martel Leader of The Franks after the death of Clovis
United the Franks
Wasn’t the king… ‘Mayor of the palace’
732 AD - Defeated the Moors (Muslims) at the Battle of Tours and kept them from invading
If Charles Martel had not defeated the Moors, Western Europe may have become part of the Islamic Empires and therefore may still have practiced Islam today.

9. Charlemagne Charlemagne: the Holy Roman Emperor
After Charles Martel’s death his son Pepin took over – he was appointed King by the pope, then his grandson Charlemagne took power
Charlemagne: the Holy Roman Emperor
Most important leader of the Franks
Ruled A.D.
Time of education, religion, and power
Unified Christian land in Europe into one single empire: The Holy Roman Empire

10. After Charlemagne…
The Holy Roman Empire collapsed due to poor leadership & new threats of invasion (Slavs, Magyars, Muslims, Vikings)
This led to the system of feudalism, a system of military service in exchange for land

14. The Byzantine Empire
LG 1: Explain how Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy were unifying social and political forces in Western Europe and Byzantine Europe and identify the impact of ideas contained in Justinian’s Code of Laws.

15. Byzantine Empire 500 to 1453 C.E.
After the fall of Rome, the eastern empire continued for another 1,000 years. We call this the Byzantine Empire, after Byzantium, the original name of its capital city
Much more stable than the west
Emperor Constantine moved the capital city to Byzantium and renamed it Constantinople
The eastern half of Rome thrived & survived (Byzantine) and the western half did not

17. Constantinople Why was Constantinople chosen as the capital city?
Easy to defend; surrounded by water on 3 sides
Located on many of the major trade routes
At its height more than a million people lived there and many people found wealth through trading goods (luxury items)

18. Justinian, C.E.
One of the greatest Byzantine Emperors Wife – Theodora
Rebuilt the empire after a revolt
Built the Hagia Sophia – grand church using Gothic Architecture (spires and flying buttresses)
They believed that the bigger the church the more glory they showed to God.
Created a systematic body of laws – Justinian’s Code
Legal system that served as a model to Europe and eventually the world
Reconquered parts of North Africa, Italy, and Spain

19. Hagia Sophia

20. Byzantine Empire Empire organized through a bureaucracy
Officials were trained in Hellenistic classics (remember Greek influence from Alexander the Great)
Regulated trade, taxes, and prices of goods
Western Empire – spoke Latin
Byzantine Empire – spoke Greek

21. Byzantine Empire Before the fall of the Western Roman Empire
2 Emperors ruled – one in Rome & one in Constantinople
Remained connected through their shared Christian faith -
until the church in the east (Byzantine) developed their own ways of doing things which created the Eastern Orthodox Church

22. Split of the Christian Church
Byzantine Empire –
Began Eastern Orthodox Church led by the Patriarch
Western Europe –
Continued to practice Catholicism led by the Pope