VIKINGS
WHERE DID THE VIKINGS TRAVEL?
HOW DID THE VIKINGS GET THEIR FIERCE REPUTATION?
HOW DID THE VIKINGS WORSHIP THEIR GODS?
LONGSHIPS
Late in the 8th century, Viking raiders from Norway, Denmark, and Sweden began to sweep across Europe. In their versatile LONGSHIPS, the Vikings sailed vast distances. Their golden age of trade, exploration, and colonization lasted until AD 1100.
WHERE DID THE VIKINGS TRAVEL?
The Vikings raided and settled along the coasts of Britain, Ireland, and continental Europe. They crossed the Atlantic to reach Iceland, Greenland, and Newfoundland. Viking merchants traveled through Russia to Constantinople, exchanging the amber, furs, and whale oil of the north for wine, silks, spices, and silver coins from the Middle East.
HOW DID THE VIKINGS GET THEIR FIERCE REPUTATION?
The Vikings were not Christian, and they saw isolated monasteries and churches as easy targets for hit-and-run raids. But the first people to write about the Vikings were monks who had suffered in these raids. As a result, Viking atrocities were better recorded than Viking achievements.
HOW DID THE VIKINGS WORSHIP THEIR GODS?
The Vikings worshiped their gods in the open air, choosing natural landmarks such as big rocks, unusual trees, and waterfalls. Their most important gods were Odin, the god of knowledge, Thor, the god of metalwork and thunder, and Frey, the goddess of fertility. After around 1000, Viking peoples became Christian.
LONGSHIPS
Viking ships were the best in Europe. Besides the longships used for raiding and war, they had special fishing boats. For long-distance voyages, they built deeper, broader ships called knorrs.
HOW WERE VIKING SHIPS BUILT?
Viking ships were made of planks of oak or pine wood, nailed to a heavy central keel (supporting timber). This made them strong but flexible. The mast was made from a tall tree trunk and supported a huge square sail. There were oars for each crewman, to row the ship when there was no wind.
The shallow hull of a longship made it less likely to capsize. It could be sailed in shallow water close to land, to make a surprise attack. Its planks overlapped for extra strength. Tarred wool was crammed between the planks to keep water out.
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ISLAMIC CIVILIZATION:
WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE IN MUSLIM LANDS?
HOW DID ISLAM SPREAD SO QUICKLY?
WHERE DID MUSLIMS TRAVEL TO?
WHY WERE TEXTILES SO IMPORTANT?
CALIPHS
AL ANDALUS
In AD 610, an Arab merchant called Muhammad founded a new religion called Islam. His teachings inspired the Arab peoples, and by 750 Muslims (followers of Islam) had conquered an area stretching from Afghanistan to AL ANDALUSin southern Spain. Trade, science, and culture thrived in this Islamic empire.
WHAT WAS LIFE LIKE IN MUSLIM LANDS?
Newly conquered lands were united by Islam, and by common tax systems, coinage, and laws. Jews and Christians sometimes paid higher taxes, but they were free to run their own religious affairs so long as they did not insult the Prophet Muhammad.
HOW DID ISLAM SPREAD SO QUICKLY?
Islam brought a new sense of unity and purpose to the traders and tribespeople of the Arabian Peninsula. Led by the CALIPH, Arab armies spread Islam in the Middle East and beyond. It helped that their main enemies, the Sassanids in Iran and the Byzantines in eastern Europe, were weakened by fighting each other. Islam was also spread by Muslim traders.
This minaret, a slender tower used to call Muslims to prayer, was built in 1199 by a new ruling dynasty as a symbol of their victory. It is part of the Quwwat al-Islam (Might of Islam) Mosque, in Delhi, India.
WHERE DID MUSLIMS TRAVEL TO?
Muslim pilgrims, traders, soldiers, scholars, and government officials made long journeys across the Islamic empire and beyond. One of the most famous explorers, Ibn Battuta, set out on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1325. He spent the next 25 years traveling, crossing the Sahara and even reaching China before returning to Morocco to write his story.
WHY WERE TEXTILES SO IMPORTANT?
Many of the first Muslims were nomads, who needed to be able to pack up and move all their belongings quickly. Traditionally, woven cloth was used for tents, bags, clothes, cushions, bedding, and carpets. The art and craft of making textiles continued to be important in the Muslim world, which gave us the words for damask (from Damascus), muslin (from Mosul), and cashmere (from Kashmir).
CALIPHS
After the death of Muhammad in 632, Muslims were ruled by caliphs. As Islam spread, the caliphs had great political as well as spiritual authority. In the reign of the fourth caliph, from 656 to 661, two rival traditions of Islam emerged: the Sunni and the Shi’a. This division meant it was no longer possible for the whole Islamic world to be ruled by a single caliph.
WHO WERE THE UMAYYADS AND THE ABBASIDS?
The Umayyads and Abbasids were dynasties of caliphs. From 661, Islam was ruled by the Umayyads, based in Damascus (in Syria). In 750, a new dynasty, the Abbasid, seized power, although a branch of the Umayyad continued to rule Muslim Spain. The Abbasid caliphs were based at Baghdad, which became the prosperous center of a huge trading empire and the artistic capital of the Muslim world.
AL ANDALUS
Muslim armies conquered southern Spain in 711. They called it Al Andalus, and it became the richest country in Europe. The Muslims, or Moors as they are sometimes called, brought new crops, such as oranges, almonds, and cotton, and new technology, such as water wheels. In 1492, Granada, which was the last surviving Islamic kingdom in Spain, fell to Christian rulers.
HOW DID AL ANDALUS LINK EAST AND WEST?
During the 10th century reign of Abd al-Rahman, Cordoba was the capital of Al Andalus. With its lavishly endowed libraries, it was a magnet for scholars and acted as the door through which the science of the East reached Christian scholars in western Europe. After 1031, when the ruling dynasty changed, Cordoba’s golden age ended. In 1236 it was reconquered by Christian Spanish forces.
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BYZANTINE EMPIRE
WHO RULED THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE?
CONSTANTINOPLE
In AD 324 the emperor Constantine reunited the Roman Empire. By then Rome was too difficult to defend against barbarian attacks, so he moved his capital east to Byzantium, renaming it CONSTANTINOPLE.
WHO RULED THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE?
From Constantinople (now Istanbul), Constantine ruled over the entire Roman world, but eventually the empire split again. In 476, the western Roman empire was swept away. However, the eastern empire, which is called the Byzantine Empire, endured until 1453, when it was conquered by the Ottoman Empire.
CONSTANTINOPLE
In 330, Constantinople was proclaimed capital of the Roman Empire. The new city’s splendid public buildings, which included a forum, were adorned with treasures from all over the empire.
WHY WAS CONSTANTINOPLE SO PROSPEROUS?
Constantinople was a meeting point for long-distance trade routes linking Europe, Asia, and the Middle East. Merchants brought silks from China, pearls and perfumes from Arabia, spices from southeast Asia, and fine wool and furs from Europe to sell in its markets.
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HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
WHY WAS THE EMPIRE FOUNDED?
HOW DID CHARLEMAGNE WORK WITH SCHOLARS?
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TITLE?
On Christmas Day, 800, Charlemagne, the King of the Franks, was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope. Under Charlemagne, much of western Europe was ruled as one vast country, but within 40 years of his death, in 814, the Holy Roman Empire had fragmented.
WHY WAS THE EMPIRE FOUNDED?
Charlemagne was a brilliant leader, and his kingdom stretched from the North Sea to Italy. As Holy Roman Emperor, he was expected to rule Europe like a Roman emperor, but with a new responsibility for the safety and prosperity of the Church and the Pope.
HOW DID CHARLEMAGNE WORK WITH SCHOLARS?
Charlemagne was a great patron of learning, inviting the most famous scholars of the day to his main court at Aachen. His advisers and friends included Peter of Pisa, Agobard of Lyons, and Alcuin of York. Under Charlemagne, rare manuscripts were collected, the text of the Bible was revised, and grammars, history books, and ballads were published.
WHAT HAPPENED TO THE TITLE?
By 843 Charlemagne’s empire had split into three kingdoms, each of which was ruled by a member of his family. Following Charlemagne, there was no Holy Roman Emperor until Otto I was crowned in 962. After 1438, all but one of the holders of the prestigious title were Habsburg monarchs. In 1806 Napoleon abolished the title.
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