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476
The Fall of the Roman Empire
The Roman Empire thrived until the third century A.D. Drastic economic, military, and political reforms was needed to hold off the collapse but failed. During the Pax Romana, trade was bustling by land and by water. However, the economy soon suffered from inflation, which was a drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise in prices. Agriculture faced equally serious problems. Harvests have overworked soil and had last its fertility. The empire’s economic crisis was worsened by its grow -
476
The Fall of the Roman Empire (CONT 1)
growing military troubles. In the army, discipline and loyalty had collapsed. Soldiers gave their loyalty not to Rome but to their commanders, who fought among themselves for the throne. To defend against the increasing threats to the empire, the government began to recruit mercenaries, foreign soldiers who fought for money. The Roman Empire used to conquer many countries and was very powerful. After the fall, governments and the way things worked just crumpled down. After falling, foreign -
476
The Fall of the Roman Empire (CONT 2)
governments and the way things worked just crumpled down. After falling, foreign countries that had power started to conquer. -
Feb 1, 613
Muhammad is the Founder of Islam
Muhammad took great interest in religion and often spent time alone in prayer and meditation. He believed that he had heard the voice of an angel. After much soul-searching, Muhammad came to believe that the Lord who spoke to him though Gabriel, the angel, was Allah. Muhammad became convinced that he was indeed the last of the prophets. He taught that Allah was the one and only God and that all other gods must be abandoned. By 613, Muhammad began to preach publicly in Mecca. -
Feb 1, 613
Muhammad is the Founder of Islam (CONT 1)
However, many Meccans believed his revolutionary ideas would lead to neglect of the traditional Arab gods. They feared that Mecca would lose its position as a pilgrimage center if people accepted Muhammad’s monotheistic beliefs. His beliefs started to become the basic principle called Islam. The beliefs and practices of Islam were written down in the Qur’an. -
Feb 1, 613
Muhammad is the Founder of Islam (CONT 2)
In the Qur’an, it states, “And if any one earns sin, he earns it against his own soul” (Surah 4:111). Muslims believe that each person will stand before Allah on a final judgment day and enter either heaven or hell. Unlike many other religions, Islam has no priests or central religious authority. Every Muslim is expected to worship God directly. -
Jun 10, 1093
The Crusades
In 1093, during the Age of Faith, the Byzantine emperor Alexius Comnenus sent an appeal to Robert, Count of Flanders. That letter was also read by Pope Urban II. The emperor asked for help against the Muslim Turks. They were threatening to conquer his capital, Constantinople: “Come then, with all your people and give battle with all your strength, so that all this treasure shall not fall into the hands of the Turks…” This was written by Emperor Alexius Comnenus, quoted in The Dream and the Tomb. -
Jun 10, 1093
The Crusades (CONT 1)
Shortly after this appeal, Pope Urban II issued a call for what he termed a holy war. This was the Crusades. The Crusades’ biggest aim was to gain control of the Holy Land. Over 200 years, the goals of these military expeditions were to recover Jerusalem and the Holy Land from the Muslim Turks. The Crusades had both economic goals and religious motives. The first Crusaders were ill-prepared for their holy war. -
Jun 10, 1093
The Crusades (CONT 2)
They knew nothing of the geography, climate, or culture of the Holy Land. They had no grand strategy to capture Jerusalem. The later Crusaders grew from the forces of religious fervor, feudalism, and chivalry as they came together with explosive energy. This same energy could be seen in the growth of trade, towns, and universities in medieval Europe. -
Jun 10, 1400
The Invention of the Printing Press of Johannes Gutenberg
During the 13th century, block-printed items reached Europe from China. Europe printers began to use block printing to create whole pages to bind into books. However, this process was too slow and hard to satisfy the Renaissance demand for knowledge and books. Johann Gutenberg reinvented a movable type around 1440. The method was practical since the Europeans’ languages had very small number of letters in their alphabets. Gutenberg then invented the printing press. -
Jun 10, 1400
The Invention of the Printing Press of Johannes Gutenberg (CONT 1)
The printing press was a machine that pressed paper against a tray full of inked movable type. Using this invention, Gutenberg printed a complete Bible in about 1455. It was the first full-size book printed with movable type. The printing helped spread learning. Since the Renaissance encouraged education, people wanted the Bible to read. For the first time, books became inexpensive. -
Jun 10, 1400
The Invention of the Printing Press of Johannes Gutenberg (CONT 2)
New ideas spread more quickly than ever before. At first printers produced many religious works (like the Bible). Then it printed other subjects like medical manuals. -
May 9, 1430
Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc was a teenager who thought she was hearing voices in her head. She believed the voices in her head were heavenly. Five years after Agincourt, the French and English signed a treaty stating that Henry V would inherit the French crown at the death of the French king Charles VI. The French had lost hope. -
May 9, 1430
Joan of Arc (CONT)
Feeling that she was moved by God to rescue France from its English conquerors, she went to Charles VI. Her goal was to drive the English out of France and give the French crown to France’s true king, Charles VI’s son. In 1430, Joan of Arc got caught by the English. She was tried for witchcraft and heresy (for hearing voices). Joan was tied to a stake and burned to death on May 30, 1431. -
Jun 8, 1500
Leonardo da Vinci (CONT)
and as the Italian Renaissance and Northern Renaissance ideas started emerge together, he drew The Last Supper. Of the many ideas Leonardo da Vinci wrote down in his notebook, only one fourth of his works have survived. One thing that was fascinating was that Leonardo wrote his entries backwards! In addition, many of Leonardo da Vinci’s inventions have been modified and used throughout the centuries. Leonardo’s artworks are so amazing that his reputation as one of the world’s geniuses is secure. -
Jun 8, 1500
Leonardo da Vinci
Leonardo da Vinci was a painter, sculptor, inventor, and scientist during the Italian Renaissance. Many people look at him as true “Renaissance man” since he was deeply interested in how things worked and helped revolutionize art. Leonardo helped bring curiosity to the public during the time of how the muscles moved or how veins were arranged in a leaf. He filled his notebooks with observations and ideas of new inventions. As an artist, Leonardo da Vinci drew the famous Mona Lisa and as the Ital -
Oct 31, 1517
The Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation is the name given to a religious and political development in the early 16th century. The reformation was led by Martin Luther, a monk from Germany. He said that the Roman Catholic Church was corrupt and that it should be reformed. Luther also argued that a reformation was needed of other things. In particular reformation was required with regards: the language that the Bible was produced in: most people couldn't read Latin; the selling of forgiveness, -
Oct 31, 1517
The Protestant Reformation (CONT)
produced in: most people couldn't read Latin; the selling of forgiveness, this was considered to be immoral by Luther but had been standard practice by some monks and priests for years. For example, Martin Luther once said, “Those priests act ignorantly and wickedly who, in the case of the dying, reserve canonical penalties for purgatory” in his 95 Theses. The ideas behind the Protestant Reformation were simple. The church should be changed, or reformed, so that it was less greedy, fairer and ac -
Charlemagne Encourages Conversion to Christianity Within the Holy Roman Empire
Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was an imposing figure who conquered new lands to both the south and the east. He fought the Muslims in Spain and tribes from other Germanic kingdoms that surrounded his original kingdom. Through these conquests, Charlemagne spread Christianity. He reunited Western Europe for the first time since the Roman Empire. -
Charlemagne Encourages Conversion to Christianity Within the Holy Roman Empire (CONT)
By 800, the Carolingian empire exceeds the Byzantine Empire. Charlemagne had become the most powerful king in Western Europe. Charlemagne helped Pope Leo III. Doing this, the Pope crowned him emperor. This event signaled the joining of Germanic power, the Church, and the heritage of the Roman Empire.
