Western Civilization 3000 BCE - 1500 CE

Mesopotamians

2500 BCE

The Mesopotamians were the first of Western civilization, and it was to their beliefs that humans were created by many gods and goddesses. These gods could only be spoken to and calmed by the priests who had very high power during this time. The Mesopotamians practiced what is known as polytheism, or the worshipping of many gods, some of theirs included gods and goddesses of love, war, and so on.

Yahwist Religion

1200 BCE

It is noted that from the time of the Covenant the Hebrew's worshipped Yahweh. It is important to note that this religion was based around henotheism which was the worshipped of one God, but believing that other gods still exist. This worshipping of one God was a shift in religion and this one in particular influenced the Prophetic movement, and the development of Judaism (one of the three foundational religions).

Compilation of the Torah

621 BCE

One of the most important reforms that occured during Hebrew history was the compilation of the Torah seeing as it was the first Hebrew Bible. This book insisted on the imposition of strict monotheism as the first chapter was recorded. This was the first time historians had seen a group of people fully worshipping one God.

Christianity

100

Christianity (one of the three foundational religions) was formed from the Hebrew religion after Jesus came as a prophet to teach the Jews God's word. Christianity spread tremendously and was still based around the same monotheistic principles. It ended up increasing the educational aspects of society through the teachings, and spread ultimately like wildfire. True Christianity is one of the most well known and worshipped religions.

Constantine

312

He was the first Christian emperor, which not only impacted the Europeans then but religion today. He had his people convert to Christianity, and used his position to elect other Christian leaders to power. He ultimately laid a foundation for Christianity to spread across the world.

Muhammad

570

Muhammad was the founder of Islam (one of the three foundational religions). Muhammad was seen a prophet who could talk to the God, Allah, who was worshipped by many Muslims. This became one of the most practiced religions in the Middle East as Muhammad expanded his teaching into what was considered as 6 holy books.

Charlemagne

768

Charlemagne was a great militaristic leader who had all of his followers convert to Christianity. From there the Pope crowned him Holy Roman Emperor, which was a title that had been kept empty for years. After being placed in this role Charlemagne provided the church with wealth and protection, as well as expanding the church to improves its function and gaining it more power.

The Crusades

1095

The Crusades were a series of invasions and wars by the Europeans in the name of Christianity. This occurred between the Christians and the Muslims ultimately in a battle for the holy land that occured for periods of time across many centuries. This brought many changes to the religions themselves, and impacted them financially and politically.

Martin Luther

1517

He was a spiritual believer and theologist who was against the Catholic church and their ways of teaching and values. He expressed his disgust through his 95 indulgences with the church, which ultimately caused him to be exiled from the church. After the experience Luther spoke out and brought forth the Reformation of the Catholic Church which changed the way the church and religion was looked at.

Religious Wars

1560

From Martin Luther's Reformation a series of religious wars broke out all across the world. As the Protestant religion was gaining power and the Catholic church was losing its it caused people to react with violence all across the world in response to anger displaced somewhere from the church. There was not any winners or losers, just people who were passionate about the freedom of their religion.