Table Of ContentMA.a-ttlpgs. qxp 3/31/04 10:01 AM Page 3
Almanac
JUDSON KNIGHT
Edited by Judy Galens
c Judson Knight
a
n
a Judy Galens, Editor
m
Staff
l
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: Thomas L. Romig, U•X•L Publisher
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Cover photograph of crusaders disembarking in Egypt reproduced by permis-
sion of the Corbis Corporation.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Knight, Judson
Middle ages. Almanac / Judson Knight ; Judy Galens, editor.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-7876-4856-6
1. Middle Ages—History. 2. World history. 3. Civilization, Medieval. I.
Galens, Judy, 1968- II. Title.
D117.A2 K65 2000
909.07–dc21 00-059442
CIP
This publication is a creative work fully protected by all applicable copyright
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other applicable laws. The author and editors of this work have added value
to the underlying factual material herein through one or more of the follow-
ing: unique and original selection, coordination, expression, arrangement,
and classification of the information. All rights to the publication will be vig-
orously defended.
Copyright © 2001
U•X•L, An imprint of the Gale Group
All rights reserved, including the right of reproduction in whole or in part in
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Printed in the United States of America
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Contents
Reader’s Guide. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix
Timeline of Events in the Middle Ages. . . . . . . . . . xi
Words to Know . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xxxi
Research and Activity Ideas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xli
Chapter 1: The Middle Ages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Understanding Medieval Times. . . . . . . . . . 4
Chapter 2: The Fall of the Roman Empire. . . . . . . . . 7
The Decline of the Roman Empire
(A.D.180–c. 350) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
The Fall of Rome (c. 350–476). . . . . . . . . . 13
Chapter 3: The Merovingian Age . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Dividing Up Western Europe (400s–500s) . . . . 19
The Church . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
The Merovingians (481–751) . . . . . . . . . . 29
v
Chapter 4: The Carolingian Age . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
The Carolingian Age (751–987) . . . . . . . . . 33
Feudalism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
The Vikings (793–c. 1000) . . . . . . . . . . . 39
The End of the Early Middle Ages
(843–c. 1000) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Chapter 5: Eastern Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
The Byzantine Empire . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Byzantine Culture . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
The Slavic Peoples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54
The Turning Point for Eastern Europe . . . . . . 58
Chapter 6: The Islamic World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
Preparing the Way for Islam (300s–632) . . . . . 61
The Islamic Faith. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Islamic Empires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Muslim Civilization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
The Splintering of the Islamic World
(c. 875–1258) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
Chapter 7: The Turks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77
Early Turkish Empires (500s–900s). . . . . . . . 77
The Seljuks (900s–1243) . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
The Mamluks (1252–1517) . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The Ottomans . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Chapter 8: The Jewish World. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Jews, Judaism, and Anti-Semitism . . . . . . . . 85
Jews in the Middle East and North Africa . . . . 87
Jews in Spain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
Jews in Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
Chapter 9: The Eleventh Century . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
Europe on the Eve of the Crusades. . . . . . . . 93
The Recovery of the Church . . . . . . . . . . 99
The First Crusade (1095–99) . . . . . . . . . . 102
vi Middle Ages: Almanac
Chapter 10: The Twelfth Century . . . . . . . . . . . 107
A Changing World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
The Cross and the Sword . . . . . . . . . . . 113
The Age of Chivalry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116
Chapter 11: The Thirteenth Century. . . . . . . . . . 121
The End of the Crusades. . . . . . . . . . . . 121
The New Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 126
Chapter 12: The Mongols. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133
Genghis Khan (c. 1162–1227) . . . . . . . . . 133
Conquests in Eastern Europe (1227–41). . . . . 134
A Shift to Southwest Asia (1241–60) . . . . . . 136
Kublai Khan (1215–1294) . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Tamerlane and the End of the Mongols
(1294–c. 1500) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
Chapter 13: India. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
A Land of Divisions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Muslim Empires and Hindu Kingdoms . . . . . 145
Chapter 14: Southeast Asia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Indochina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
The Malay Peninsula and Archipelago . . . . . 155
Chapter 15: China . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
New Religions, New Ideas . . . . . . . . . . . 161
The Sui Dynasty (589–618) . . . . . . . . . . 163
The T’ang Dynasty (618–907) . . . . . . . . . 164
The Sung Dynasty (960–1279) . . . . . . . . . 169
Yüan Dynasty (1279–1368) . . . . . . . . . . 171
Glory Days of the Ming Dynasty
(1368–c. 1500) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
Contents vii
Chapter 16: Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
From the Kofun to the Nara Period
(250–794) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
The Heian Period (794–1185) . . . . . . . . . 180
The Kamakura and Muromachi Periods
(1185–1573) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 181
Chapter 17: The Americas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
The Maya . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 185
The Aztecs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
The Incas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
Chapter 18: Africa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
Ethiopia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 201
The Sudan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203
Bantu Kingdoms and Cities . . . . . . . . . . 207
Chapter 19: The Late Middle Ages. . . . . . . . . . . 213
Pestilence and War . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
The People and the Powers . . . . . . . . . . 220
Where to Learn More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlvii
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xlix
viii Middle Ages: Almanac
Reader’s Guide
The Middle Ages was an era of great changes in civilization,
a transition between ancient times and the modern
world. Lasting roughly from A.D.500 to 1500, the period saw
the growth of the Roman Catholic Church in Western Europe
and the spread of the Islamic faith in the Middle East. Around
the world, empires—the Byzantine, Mongol, and Incan—rose
and fell, and the first nation-states emerged in France, Eng-
land, and Spain. Despite the beauty of illuminated manu-
scripts, soaring Gothic cathedrals, and the literary classics of
Augustine and Dante, Europe’s civilization lagged far behind
that of the technologically advanced, administratively orga-
nized, and economically wealthy realms of the Arab world,
West Africa, India, and China.
Middle Ages: Almanacoffers a comprehensive overview
of this period, these empires, and the societies they created.
Several of its nineteen chapters are devoted to specific eras,
such as the Carolingian Age (about 750–1000) and the late
Middle Ages (1300–1500), while others focus on geographical
regions, including China, Africa, Eastern Europe, and the
Americas. Distinct ethnic and religious groups, among them
ix
the Jewish people; the Mongols; the Arabs, Turks, and other
Middle Eastern peoples; the Ghanaians, Songhai, and Malians
of West Africa; and the Maya and Aztecs of Central America
are extensively covered as well.
Additional features
Nearly one hundred illustrations and maps and
dozens of sidebar boxes exploring high-interest topics bring
the text to life. Definitions of unfamiliar terms and a list of
books and Web sites to consult for more information are in-
cluded in each chapter. The volume also contains a timeline
of events, a general glossary, research and activity ideas, and
an index offering easy access to the people, places, and sub-
jects discussed throughout Middle Ages: Almanac.
Dedication
To Margaret, my mother; to Deidre, my wife; and to
Tyler, my daughter.
Comments and suggestions
We welcome your comments on this work as well as
your suggestions for topics to be featured in future editions of
Middle Ages: Almanac. Please write: Editors, Middle Ages: Al-
manac,U•X•L, 27500 Drake Rd., Farmington Hills, MI 48331-
3535; call toll-free: 1-800-877-4253; fax: 248-699-8097; or
send e-mail via www.galegroup.com.
x Middle Ages: Almanac
Timeline of Events
in the Middle Ages
122 Roman forces begin building Hadrian’s Wall, a barrier
intended to protect Roman citizens from Picts, or na-
tive Scots, on the isle of Britain. The wall is a sign that
the Roman Empire has ceased to expand and will
begin to shrink in coming years.
135 Banished from Jerusalem by the Romans, Jews begin
to spread throughout the Mediterranean.
180 The death of Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius marks
the end of the “Pax Romana,” or Roman peace. Years
of instability follow, and although Rome recovers nu-
merous times, this is the beginning of Rome’s three-
century decline.
220 The Han dynasty of China comes to an end, plunging
the country into three centuries of turmoil.
c. 300 Mayan culture enters the Classic Period, which lasts
until 925, during which time the Maya undertake the
vast majority of their most important building pro-
jects.
xi
300s Buddhism, which originated in India, begins to take
hold in China.
312 Roman emperor Constantine converts to Christianity.
As a result, the empire that once persecuted Chris-
tians will embrace their religion and eventually will
begin to persecute other religions.
325 Constantine calls the Council of Nicaea, first of many
ecumenical councils at which gatherings of bishops
determine official church policy.
325 King Ezana of Aksum accepts Christianity. Eventually
most of Ethiopia will become Christianized as a re-
sult.
330 Constantine establishes Byzantium as eastern capital
of the Roman Empire.
372 Headed westward, the Huns cross the Volga River, dis-
placing the Ostrogoths and setting in motion a chain
reaction that ultimately leads to the downfall of the
Western Roman Empire.
395 After the death of Emperor Theodosius, the Roman
Empire is permanently divided in half. As time pass-
es, the Eastern Roman Empire (later known as the
Byzantine Empire) distances itself from the declining
Western Roman Empire.
410 Led by Alaric, the Visigoths sack Rome, dealing the
Western Roman Empire a blow from which it will
never recover.
429 Having subdued Gaul (France) and Spain, the Vandals
cross the Mediterranean to North Africa and conquer
most Roman territories there.
Mid-400s Angles, Saxons, and Jutes from Scandinavia invade
the former Roman colony of Britain.
451 Roman troops score their last important victory,
against Attila’s Huns in Gaul.
455 The Vandals sack Rome.
476 The German leader Odoacer removes Emperor Romu-
lus Augustulus and crowns himself “king of Italy.”
This incident marks the end of the Western Roman
Empire.
xii Middle Ages: Almanac
