1. The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures Fourth Edition
Lynn Hunt • Thomas R. Martin
Barbara H. Rosenwein • Bonnie G. Smith
The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures Fourth Edition
CHAPTER 8
The Heirs of Rome: Islam, Byzantium, and Europe
600–750
Copyright © 2012 by Bedford/St. Martin’s

2. I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
A. Nomads and City Dwellers
1. Sedentary Peoples and Bedouins
2. Mecca
I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
A. Nomads and City Dwellers
1. Sedentary Peoples and Bedouins — The majority of the population of the Arabian peninsula in the seventh century was sedentary, made up of either farmers or communities of artisans and merchants centered around Oases. Nomadic Bedouins formed few cities and had little political organization. Accustomed to desert life, they herded sheep or camels and traded or raided for other goods. This tribal, nomadic way of life produced a profound oral culture.
2. Mecca — Mecca, a major desert oasis near the Red Sea, played an important religious role because it contained a shrine of many idols, the Ka’ba. The Ka’ba was controlled by the Quraysh tribe, who turned Mecca into a center for tourism and pilgrimage.

3. I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
B. The Prophet Muhammad and the Faith of Islam
1. Muhammad and His Call
2. The Qur’an and the Practice of Islam
I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
B. The Prophet Muhammad and the Faith of Islam
1. Muhammad and His Call — Born in Mecca, Muhammad was raised by an uncle who was a leader of the Quraysh tribe. He married and raised a family, but in 610 a vision led him to begin worshipping Allah, the God of the Jews and Christians. He received what he understood to be messages of divine revelation, which were compiled after Muhammad’s death as the Qur’an. The messages came in verse, and the Qur’an contained prayers, accounts of history, prophecy, and legal and moral codes.
2. The Qur’an and the Practice of Islam — Islam was rooted in the message of the Qur’an, which urged individual faith in God and the importance of the nuclear family and the ummah, or community of believers. Islam had no priests or sacraments, but did develop authoritative religious teachers.

4. I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
C. Growth of Islam, c. 610–632
1. Hijra: Muhammad’s Journey from Mecca to Medina
2. Defining the Faith
I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
C. Growth of Islam, c. 610–632
1. Hijra: Muhammad’s Journey from Mecca to Medina — Muhammad’s first converts were his wife and immediate family members. Other Meccans joined the new faith, but Muhammad’s insistence that converts abandon other gods led to conflict within the tribe, as some who kept the Ka’ba were unwilling to give up prestige and wealth. Muhammad was invited by converts to move to Medina, and undertook his relocation (Hijra) in part because he hoped Jewish residents would accept the new faith. Muhammad found many converts in Medina (although not among its Jewish population) and assumed a position of responsibility and influence in the community, in part by raiding Mecca, generating booty, and establishing an Islamic model of close connection between political and religious authority.
2. Defining the Faith — Muhammad developed specific practices that came to define Islam, including zakat, a religious tax to be used for charity; fasting at Ramadan; the hajj, an annual pilgrimage to Mecca; and salat, formal worship three times a day. Using force and negotiation, Muhammad was able to convert and unite many Arabic-speaking tribes before his death in 632. Islam brought social change over time, including worship segregated by gender, multiple wives, the extension of inheritance rights to women, and a prohibition on infanticide. The Islamic community functioned in many ways as a “supertribe,” obligated to fight common enemies, share plunder, and resolve internal debates peacefully. Bedouin tribesmen adapted their warrior culture to Islam and waged jihad against unbelievers.

6. I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
D. The Caliphs, Muhammad’s Successors, 632–750
1. War and Conquest
2. The Politics of Succession
I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
D. The Caliphs, Muhammad’s Successors, 632–750
1. War and Conquest — Muhammad’s reorganization of Arab society resulted in a formidable military force, which his successors, the caliphs, used to attack the Roman and Persian worlds. After Muhammad’s death, Islam spread north and west, to Syria and Egypt, as well as through Persia, where the Sasanids were conquered by 651. From the seventh to the eighth century, Islamic warriors spread the faith from Spain to Egypt. Islam overcame weakened empires, and the Islamic Pact of Umar laid out provisions for allowing the continued practice of Judaism and Christianity. The Arab tribal and warrior traditions aided in Islam’s spread, as Arab tribes resettled in garrison cities and fostered conquest and conversion.
2. The Politics of Succession — Muhammad’s first two successors as caliph were from the Umayyad family, and they ruled peacefully. However, the third, Uthman (r. 644–656), was opposed by Ali, a member of Muhammad’s Hashim clan and the husband of his only surviving child, Fatimah. After a group of soldiers murdered Uthman, civil war broke out between the two factions. Ali was killed by a former supporter and the caliphate remained in Umayyad hands from 661–750. However, many saw Ali as a martyr and a symbol of justice. Shi’at Ali (Ali’s faction) continued to shun the caliphs, and awaited a true leader who would come from the house of Ali.

7. 1. Why would Muslims have constructed such a lavishly decorated mosque?
(Answer: The mosque would have highlighted the importance of religion and the power of Islam; it also served as a gathering place for the faithful, so it would consolidate the religion.)
2. How does this represent a new style of art? An older style?
(Answer: In the new, Islamic style, no humans or animals were represented, and there was a ban on narrative in high Islamic art. The style highlights the intertwining of civilization and nature. However, given the old forms and style of the ornamental landscapes, historians believe the artists may have been Byzantine.)

8. I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
E. Peace and Prosperity in Islamic Lands
1. The Umayyad Caliphate
2. Arabic Literature
I. Islam: A New Religion and a New Empire
E. Peace and Prosperity in Islamic Lands
1. The Umayyad Caliphate — Under the Ummayad caliphate, which lasted from 661 to 750, the Muslim world became a state, with its capital at Damascus in Syria. The state, which was united by the Arabic language and Islam, borrowed freely from Persian and Byzantine imperial practices.
2. Arabic Literature — A thriving economy produced a literary and cultural flowering, including hadith literature (narratives about Muhammad) as well as Arabic prose and love poetry. Arab calligraphy became an art, and a literate class created new forms of prose writing (including official documents) in Arabic on subjects from hunting to ruling. The caliphs found written poetry an important medium for propaganda, and their patronage helped poets reach a wider audience.

9. II. Byzantium Besieged A. Wars on the Frontiers, c. 570–750
1. Invasions from Persia
2. Attack on All Fronts: Lombards, Slavs, and Bulgars
3. Consequences of Constant Warfare
II. Byzantium Besieged
A. Wars on the Frontiers, c. 570–750
1. Invasions from Persia — Wars against invaders were a dominant experience for the Byzantines in this period. Conflict with the aggressive Sasanid Empire of Persia led to the shocking loss of Syria, Jerusalem, and Egypt between 611 and 620. By 627, Emperor Heraclius had regained the territory, but Byzantine control was weakened.
2. Attack on All Fronts: Lombards, Slavs, and Bulgars — Byzantium also faced invasions by the migrating Germanic Lombards, who conquered much of Italy by 572, and Slav invaders who raided the Balkans and Byzantine cities. The Bulgar defeat of the Byzantine army in 681 forced the emperor to recognize an independent Bulgar state in the Balkans. Byzantine control was also weakened by peaceful migrations and the spread of other cultures into their territory.
3. Consequences of Constant Warfare — The Byzantine Empire became smaller and less connected to Europe after the loss of much of the Balkans. Latin was less used, and the two halves of the empire became increasingly separate, while conflict with the Sasanids weakened both empires and left them vulnerable to Arab conquest. Although Constantinople remained a vibrant city, the empire became increasingly rural.

11. II. Byzantium Besieged B. From an Urban to a Rural Way of Life
1. Urban Decay
2. Rural Life in Byzantium
II. Byzantium Besieged
B. From an Urban to a Rural Way of Life
1. Urban Decay — Byzantine urban centers shrank under pressure from invaders and became less important as resources for new construction and rebuilding diminished. Towns that once served as bustling trade hubs or centers of imperial administration vanished or were transformed. Warfare reduced some cities to rubble, and, once cities were rebuilt, the limited resources available went to constructing defensive city walls or large churches rather than to the public baths or marketplaces that formerly served as centers of public life. The focus of daily life shifted to the church and the home, and agriculture became the main focus of economic and social life.
2. Rural Life in Byzantium — Unlike in the west, where a rich and powerful elite controlled the agricultural economy, in the east free and semi-free peasants dominated, growing food, herding cattle, tending to small vineyards, and interacting primarily with their families or nearby monasteries. Emperors increasingly promoted local domestic life, and new laws strengthened the nuclear family by limiting divorce and punishing infidelity.

12. II. Byzantium Besieged C. New Military and Cultural Forms
1. Byzantine Military Resiliency
2. The New Education
II. Byzantium Besieged
C. New Military and Cultural Forms
1. Byzantine Military Resiliency — Military, political, and cultural changes accompanied the transformation of the countryside. The Byzantine navy used a weapon known as “Greek fire” to dominate its opponents, while a system of well-organized military districts called themes protected the imperial frontiers. Promises of land and low taxes attracted men without property to serve in the military, where they fought side by side with landowning farmers who provided their own weapons and horses.
2. The New Education — Religious education came to be preferred over classical learning, with the Book of Psalms used as a common primer. Secular, classical learning remained out of favor throughout the seventh and eighth centuries.

13. II. Byzantium Besieged C. Religion, Politics, and Iconoclasm
1. Bishops and Monks Jostling for Power
2. Conflict over Icons
II. Byzantium Besieged
C. Religion, Politics, and Iconoclasm
1. Bishops and Monks Jostling for Power — Bishops served the state as administrators. Patriarch bishops in Constantinople had regional authority to appoint metropolitan bishops, who in term appointed local bishops. Bishops and clergy formed an important upper class, and the spiritual and secular realms were joined. Although in theory monasteries were under the control of the local bishop, they often acted independently and even defied emperors. Monks enjoyed immense prestige and influenced important doctrinal decisions.
2. Conflict over Icons — The church was deeply divided over the use of icons, or holy images of Jesus, Mary, and the saints. While for many these were a focus of intense religious devotion, for others they represented a disregard of the biblical command to avoid graven images. Icons were widely opposed by the military, who pointed to the Islamic prohibition of such images as one of the reasons for the Arabs’ military success. Emperor Leo III (r. 717–741) attempted to ban all icons, beginning a period of iconoclasm (literally, “icon-smashing”). Many opposed the ban, which produced much conflict.

15. III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
A. Frankish Kingdoms with Roman Roots
1. Blending the Roman Past with the Frankish Present
2. Frankish Peasants and Elites
3. Saints and Relics
III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
A. Frankish Kingdoms with Roman Roots
1. Blending the Roman Past with the Frankish Present — During the sixth century, the Franks established themselves as the dominant power in Roman Gaul. In the western areas that were once part of the Roman Empire, cities retained Roman features and served as centers of church administration. However, many cities were depopulated and lost economic and cultural vitality. Gradually the surrounding forests and pastureland reflected the farming and village settlement patterns of the Franks.
2. Frankish Peasants and Elites — In the countryside, where most elites lived, lords controlled families of peasants, many descended from Roman coloni. Peasants owed dues and labor to the landowner in return for living on and working the land. Roman and Frankish culture merged, as dialects of Latin emerged. Frankish elites cultivated military skills and dress.
3. Saints and Relics — Villages often formed around sacred sites. Churches housing the remains of saints offered an example of a new cultural value, the veneration of dead saints and martyrs. Whereas in the classical world the dead were banished from the presence of the living, in the medieval world the holy dead held a place of high esteem.

17. 1. How does the gate reflect Roman style?
(Answer: Roman style is reflected in the arches, columns, and relative harmony, as well as the gate’s impressive size. Gates to cities were a distinctively Roman feature.)
2. How does the gate’s history reflect the downfall of Rome?
(Answer: Along with the other gates of Trier, this gate was largely pillaged for its materials. The existence of the gate meant that the city needed protection from the threat of raids by Germanic tribes.)

19. III. Western Europe: An Assortment of Kingdoms
B. Economic Activity in a Peasant Society
1. Subsistence and Gift Economies
2. Trade and Traders
3. Jews in Merovingian Society
III. Western Europe: An Assortment of Kingdoms
B. Economic Activity in a Peasant Society
1. Subsistence and Gift Economies — The agricultural economy was weak, and subsistence was the economic norm for most. Food supplies were limited by colder temperatures and limited agricultural technologies. Surpluses were subsumed into a gift economy: booty was seized, tributes demanded, and wealth hoarded by the elites, all to be redistributed to friends and dependents.
2. Trade and Traders — Some European merchants engaged in long-distance trade, offering slaves and raw materials for luxury goods such as silk and paper. Contact with the Byzantine Empire and beyond was tenuous and was often conducted through intermediaries.
3. Jews in Merovingian Society — Although dominated by Christians, Merovingian society integrated Jews into all aspects of secular life. Some Jews were rich landowners, while others were independent peasants. Some lived in towns with a small Jewish quarter, but most lived on the land like their Christian neighbors. Only later did the status of Jews change, marking them out from Christian society.

20. III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
C. The Powerful in Merovingian Society
1. The Aristocrats
2. The Bishops
3. Women of Power
4. The Power of Kings
III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
C. The Powerful in Merovingian Society
1. The Aristocrats — The aristocracy enjoyed considerable wealth. They administered their estates and cultivated a military ethic, perfecting the virtues and skills of a warrior. Marriage and family life were important to the aristocracy, as the production of heirs was important for the survival of aristocratic families and their property. Religion was an important part of aristocratic life and education, and Irish-founded monasteries had a particular appeal for some aristocrats.
2. The Bishops — Bishops were powerful and influential. Although many bishops were married, they were expected to abstain from sexual relations.
3. Women of Power — Aristocrats controlled the marriages of their daughter to strengthen the family through dowries and family connections. Women were allowed to receive property bequests and many were wealthy. Some nuns or abbesses controlled considerable property. Legally subordinate to their husbands, Merovingian women still retained a great deal of power and influence, often through their sons.
4. The Power of Kings — Merovingian kings cooperated with bishops and the aristocracy. They administered justice and led in war. They used their court culture and the distribution of offices to control the aristocracy, creating by the seventh century the stable kingdoms of Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy.

21. III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
D. Christianity and Classical Culture in the British Isles
1. Competing Church Hierarchies in Anglo-Saxon
England
2. Literary Culture
III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
D. Christianity and Classical Culture in the British Isles
1. Competing Church Hierarchies in Anglo-Saxon England — Christianity was introduced to northern England by Irish monks. Irish monasteries were organized around traditional rural clans and were headed by abbots. Since monasteries, rather than cities, were the centers of population settlement, northern bishops were under the authority of abbots. In contrast, Christianity was brought to southern England by papal missionaries who emphasized loyalty to the pope and the hierarchy of bishops. The Roman and Irish churches disagreed on many points, but Roman Christianity dominated in the end, as illustrated by the 664 Synod of Whitby’s selection of the Roman date for celebrating Easter.
2. Literary Culture — Roman Christianity offered access to books and a long literary tradition. Anglo-Saxon and Celtic monasteries became centers of learning where Latin and pagan texts were copied and closely studied. The Anglo-Saxon oral tradition was adapted to Christian culture, and the written Anglo-Saxon language was used in every aspect of English life.

23. 1. Why would books have been so valuable in the Middle Ages?
(Answer: Few people in the Middle Ages could read or write, and there was no easy way to publish. Books were considered decorative objects, and were works of high art in their time; these illuminated manuscripts are considered high art today, as well.)
2. Why would someone have taken the time and money to produce this elaborate manuscript?
(Answer: Displaying one’s piety was very important during the Middle Ages; the book may have been produced by a devoted believer or to showcase one’s own wealth and talent.)

24. III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
E. Unity in Spain, Division in Italy
1. Spain under the Visigoths
2. Lombard Royal Power in Italy
3. The Papacy and Politics
III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
E. Unity in Spain, Division in Italy
1. Spain under the Visigoths — In Spain, the Visigothic king Leovigild (r. 569–586) established rule by military might. To maintain contro,l his son Reccared converted from Arianism to Roman Catholic Christianity, along with most of the Arian bishops. This launched an era of unprecedented close cooperation between kings and bishops, including the anointing of the king by the bishops at Toledo. This unity and centralization made the Visigothic kingdom vulnerable to conquest when the Arabs arrived in 711.
2. Lombard Royal Power in Italy — In Italy, Lombard kings faced a hostile papacy in Rome and independent dukes in the south. Some Lombard rulers were Arian, and the kingdom lacked religious unity, although the Lombard king’s rich estates and military ability strengthened the kingdom. Taking advantage of the weakened but still urban culture of Italy, Lombard rulers assigned dukes to govern cities and set up a capital at Pavia, engaging in the building of churches and city walls in the tradition of Constantine and Justinian. Lombard territory was never fully united, and Lombard expansion led the pope to seek Frankish aid against them.
3. The Papacy and Politics — The pope’s political power was ambiguous, as the office combined secular and religious power.

26. III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
F. Political Tensions and the Power of the Pope
1. Gregory the Great
2. The Papacy and the Byzantine Emperors
3. The Papacy and the Lombards
III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms
F. Political Tensions and the Power of the Pope
1. Gregory the Great — Ambiguous papal power was strengthened during the papacy of Gregory the Great (r. 590–604). Gregory became the greatest landowner in Italy, organizing the army and defenses of Rome while working to expand the power of bishops and the influence of the church throughout Europe. Gregory increased papal involvement with secular matters across Europe, urging secular support for spiritual reforms and authoring many spiritual works and biblical commentaries.
2. The Papacy and the Byzantine Emperors — As a bishop, the pope was in theory subordinate to the Byzantine emperors, who ruled from Constantinople. However, in 691 Pope Sergius I (r. 687/9–701) rejected certain church regulations promulgated by Justinian, which led to Justinian’s efforts to arrest the pope. Local Italian armies sided with the pope and prevented his arrest, which led to a waning of the influence of the Byzantine emperors over the papacy. By the early eighth century, the pope led a tax revolt against Emperor Leo III, and conflict over icons also weakened the emperor’s influence.
3. The Papacy and the Lombards — The popes also struggled to control Lombard expansion, and Pope Zachary (r. 741–752) resisted their territorial ambitions by appealing to the Carolingian King, Pippin III (r. 751–768), to intervene and fight the Lombards.