European Dark Ages
What is a dark age?
A period of intellectual and cultural decline in a region, nation, or empire.
Who started the religion of Islam?
Muhammad
What was Justinian's military accomplishments?
Conquering territories formally claimed by the Western Roman Empire.
What did people under the Byzantine Empire actually call themselves at the time?
Romans
What peninsula did Islam originate from?
Arabian
What were the negative impacts on the average life after the fall of Rome?
Decline of large scale trade, lack of protection from invaders, plagues, no large central governments, shrinkage of the middle class, less opportunities for education.
What was Muhammad's early life like?
Grew up in a merchant caravan and married one of the leaders of the caravan.
Who was Theodora and why was she important to the history of Byzantium?
Justinian's wife. She was known for her great skills in diplomacy and ran large sectors of the government including foreign relations.
What is the Hagia Sophia and why is it important?
It was a church and one of largest buildings built during that time. Along with being built as a replacement church for the buildings burned down during the Nika Riots.
What made Constantinople good defensible city?
It was surrounded on multiple sides by water and had large defense walls.
What were the positive impacts on the average life of people after the fall of Rome?
Larger supplies of food, innovations in farming technology, larger populations, new lands were settled.
What issues were there in the empire after Muhammad died?
Muhammad did not pick a successor which lead to political infighting.
What were the Nika Revolts? How did Justinian I solve the issue?
A revolt in the Hippodrome, which started because people wanted justice for three chariot racing fans that were sentenced to death. Justinian ignored them and people started rioting, burning down government buildings, churches, and the Hippodrome. Justinian wanted to leave but was advised to stay by his wife and then massacred the rioters.
Name two of the problems Byzantium faced that led to a dark age.
Military stretched too thin with too many enemies at their border. Plagues that killed a large portion of the population.
What methods did the Muslim Empire use to expand?
Warfare, treaties that allowed people with some freedoms from other cultures.
What was the general consensus of historians during the 1800s-late 1900's of Europe after the fall of Western Rome?
Almost everyone agreed it was a Dark Age with very little innovations or improvement from previous ages.
What are the two separate groups of Islam that formed after Muhammad died? How are they different?
Sunni: Larger population, Accepted Umayyad rule but may not have fully agreed with it.
Shia: Smaller population, believed Only the descendants of Muhammad are the true leaders of Islam.
What were the Justinian Law Codes and why were they revolutionary for the time?
A new set of law codes that: got rid of outdated laws, merged conflicting laws, and unified laws across the entirety of Rome. It was one of the largest reforms of laws during its time and served as a base for laws in Byzantium until its fall. Along with being one of the main law codes studied in early universities at the end of the medieval period.
What made Constantinople and other cities in Byzantium enticing for people to move to?
There were more job opportunities for the upper middle class, better protection from invaders, more freedoms for some groups of people, more entertainment and larger cultural centers.
What areas did Byzantium and Justinian I manage to conquer but ultimately lose?
North Africa, Italy, Middle East, Iberian Peninsula
Was Europe in a dark age after the fall of Western Roman and why?
No: Decline of large scale trade, lack of protection from invaders, plagues, no large central governments, shrinkage of the middle class, less opportunities for education.
Yes: Larger supplies of food, innovations in farming technology, larger populations, new lands were settled.
How is the decline of the Islamic Empire similar to Western Rome?
Both faced similar problems during their decline:
Overexpansion, corruption, political infighting, rulers of providences declaring independence
Why was Justinian's rule considered a Golden Age?
The Empire at its most expansive, Art and literature flourished, Large architectural projects completed, Law refinements (Justinian Law Code)
How were cities changed after the fall of Western Rome?
Cities became for focused on defense, more focus on agriculture, cities were less populated, churches played a larger role, less focus on trade.
How did the geographic location of Arabia effect the culture and people living there?
Large deserts caused people to not have permeant settlements and were pushed towards nomadic caravans. Along with being previously conquered by Alexander the Great and other Hellenistic Kingdoms influenced the culture.