The European World Before Contact Western Historical Periods Pre 4000 BCE, Prehistoric Age 4000 BCE to 500 BCE, Ancient World: Egyptians 500 BCE to 500 CE, Classical World: Greece and Rome 500 CE to 1400 CE, Medieval World: Christian world scheme 1400 CE to Present, Modern World Classical Western World I. The first of Classical Civilizations in the Western meta-narrative of the nineteenth century was that of Greece. A civilization that was begun around 750 BCE, Greece culture was dominant in the West until the time of the Roman empire. Some of the most important legacies of Greek culture were: In theater, the pieces of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, and Aristophanes In poetry, the work of Homer and Sappho In philosophy, the thought of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle In history, the writing of Herodotus and Thucydides Map, The Greek World Around 450 BCE II. In 338 BCE, all the city states of Greece, except Sparta, where conquered by Philip of Macedon. Map, Macedonia Under Phillip II, 359-336 BCE III. Although Philip of Macedon began to unite the Greek world, before he could complete his work he was assassinated. His armies and his power went to his 20 year old son, Alexander. Alexander united the Greeks with his own Macedonians and began an era of expansion. By the time of his death, Alexander had become Alexander the Great and ruled a magnificent area in the eastern Mediterranean. Map, The Empire of Alexander the Great, 336-323 BCE IV. After Alexander's death, his empire split apart. The focus in Western Civilization then shifts to the Rome and the emerging Republic. According to Roman legend the city was founded in 753 BCE by the brothers Romulus and Remus. Between 750 and 500 BCE, Rome gained independence and by 270 BCE the Romans controlled all of Italy. Between 264 BC and 146 BCE, in a series of Punic Wars, the Romans conquered the entire western Mediterranean. Map, The Expansion of the Roman Republic, 241-44 BCE V. By the first century BCE, Romans had conquered the eastern Mediterranean as well, and the small early republic had become a vast empire under a dictatorship. Below is the Roman at its height between 97 and 117 CE. Map, The Roman Empire, 14 BCE-284 CE VI. The Roman empire, in fact, grew so large that it split under Emperor Constantine, who moved the capital of the Empire to Constantinople during his rule from 312 to 337 CE. The eastern part of the Empire became known as the Byzantium empire and survived until the Turks sacked Constantinople in 1453. However, the western Roman Empire was not so fortunate. Map, The Eastern and Western Empire in 395
VII. Invasions between the first and fifth century plagued the empire. As the Huns invaded from the east, they pushed many Germanic tribes into the Roman empire. Although the Romans and Germans expelled the Hun threat, the Germanic tribes began building their own kingdoms within the Roman empire. You see the Visgoths in Spain, the Ostrogoths in Italy, the Vandals in North Africa, the Franks in Gual, and the Angles and Saxons in Britain. Germanic tribes in Italy finally overthrew the last of the western emperors in 476, and the Western Roman empire fell. Map, Invasions, Fourth through Sixth Century CE Medieval Europe The Germanic tribes that displaced the Western Roman Empire faced three major adversaries during the Medieval period. I. First was the expansion of Islam. The expansion of Islam threatened the Christian culture that had been established in the West. A. Mohammed and the Ideals of Islam: Mohammed (570-632 CE) was born in the city of Mecca, in Arabia. He was a religious reformer who condemned his people's idol worship and founded his own religion. His ideas, which were brought to him by the Archangel Gabriel, met attak in Mecca, so he fled to Medina, where the people accepted him. His flight, or Hegira, in 622 represents the first year of the Moslem calendar. B. Islam embodies the following principles: 1) There is only one God, Allah, and Mohammed is His prophet. Man is to submit to God. 2) Man must observe the following duties: a) praying daily b) fasting during the Moslem month of Ramadan, and c) if possible journey to the Holy City of Mecca. 3) Man must follow a code of behavior that includes a) giving to the poor b) shunning alcohol c) revering one's parents d) treating all Moslems as brothers 4) The faithful will have everlasting life. Moslems who die fighting for the faith are assured entrace to paradise. Mohammed's teachings became the basis for the Moslem holy book (like the Christian Bible), called the Koran. C. Islamic Challenge This faith threatened to overpower parts of the Christian world, and was met by a series of Western Crusades to recapture holy places in the Christian scheme of things that were lost to the Moslem world. Map, The Expansion of Islam II. The second threat was that posed by the Viking invaders from the North. These warriors raped and pillaged much of the North-Eastern Europe and had to be fought off. They did not settle, but were raiders who wanted short term gains to take back to their own homes. Map, The Viking Threat III. The third threat faced by Europeans during the period was the plague. Passed by fleas that were carried on the black rat, and also in some strains through the air, the plague killed about half of the population of Western Europe. Map, The Black Plague
IV. Europe Become Western Christendom Through all the trials and tribulations that Western Europeans faced during the Medieval period, they remained tied to their strong conviction that Christian faith would save them: they could have everlasting life. Although their world was less complex both politically, you see the move toward familial ties and fedualism, and economically, where you see extreme localism and barter systems, Christianity was the seedbed the rock on which their lives were based. A. Christianity: 1. Jesus of Nazareth,who had lived within the Roman empire around the time of the BC-AD split, was seen as a prophet, a teacher, and to those believed, the son of God. He was put to death for his beliefs and claims, but his ideas outlasted him. 2. St. Paul a vigorous disciple of Jesus told others about him. The Christian church expanded into Rome itself and survived the collapse of the empire. 3. It was not until the 5th century that the Pope was accepted as the head of the Christian church and this was only in the west. The Roman Catholic view, then emerges strongly in the 5th century. 4. By the 6th and 7th centuries, the Roman Catholic Church dominates intellectual life in western Europe. It is dangerous to harbor other ideas. 5. The Roman Catholic view laid out a world order that could help people understand their position in the world. The Real World becomes the Christian World--forever, heaven and hell. This World is a short stopping place, a testing place, which will determine where you are to go in the real world. B. The Roman Catholic Church To really understand what goes on in Western Europe during the Medieval era, you must understand the importance of Christianity and of the Roman Catholic Church. The Church was not merely a religious entity. It became the rule not only over spiritual life but also over economic, political, social, and artistic life. A philosophy of otherwoldliness, in contrast to the world attitude of the Greeks and Romans, was the guiding principle. The doctrine of salvation formed the very core of Christianity, and around this doctrine the early Church stood. Medieval Christianity did not offer a promise of material well-being. On the contrary, it taught that this life was dirty and sordid-something to be endured, not enjoyed, until the final day. C. The Real World The real world became the Christian world. This place was a short stopping place, a testing ground for forever. A Cartographical analysis to show how the Christian World became the "Real World" during the Medieval period. 1) Ptolemy: World Map of the Second Century (S15) A. Claudius Ptolemy of Alexandria published his books during the second century CE. His works were almost totally forgotten in Western Europe during the Medieval period, but were preserved in Islamic and Byzantine libraries. Greek scholars brought Ptolemy's geographical texts to the West in the early fifteenth century, where they were soon translated into Latin. This map was reproduced from the Ulm edition of the Cosmographia, printed in many editions between 1482-86. B. Ptolemy's Map represents the classical tradition of cartography. It stands
out as quite distinct from the otherworldliness of the T-O Maps that come later, during the Medieval period. C. Ptolemy advocated a scientific approach to cartography. He advocated determining the latitude and longitude for specific place on the basis of astronomical observations. D. Things to note: North is at the top, the distance around the earth was 360 degrees. So, Ptolemy believed the world was a round. Europe is easily recognized, Ptolemy extended the Mediterranean Sea too far east and west, thus seeming to shorten the distance around the globe. Columbus used this miscalculation in developing an optimistic estimate of the distance between Spain and the Indies. Ptolemy's maps were to help one get from place to place. He tried to represent distances, landmasses, and oceans as they were. What will it take to get from point A to point B? 2) Isidore of Seville: A Diagram of the Inhabited World (S20) A. Isidore was Bishop of Seville when he compiled his encyclopedia of knowledge (called Etymologae or Origins) around 630 AD. Books 8 and 9 of his encyclopedia dealt with geography. B. This map presents the simplest possible for, the typical T-O conception of the world. The T-O maps became simple diagrams of how the earth was supposed to be arranged according to Christian concepts. They were meant to provide a general view of the world rather than to delineate the shape of continents or actual distances. The image of the cross made them devotional statements. C. The map is oriented in the direction of the rising sun: east. Paradise is in the Far East. Oriens=east, the rising sun, Occidents=west, the setting sun, Meridies=south, midday sun, Septentrio=north. The oceans on the outside, the O, are cut off from the rivers. The Mediterranean is the upshot of the T. The crossbar is formed by waters from the Danube (here Don) river, the Black, Aegean, the Mediterranean and the Nile. The Continents are labeled and given each to one of the sons of Noah. Shem (Sem), the oldest son gets the largest Asia. Ham (Cham) and Jafeth received Africa and Europe respectively. 3) The Psalter World Map, Thirteenth Century A.D. (S28) A. This is another T-O map. Again East is at the top. Christ's rule over the world is indicated both by his location above the world, and by the orb in his hand. The circle at the top of the map indicates Paradise, or the Garden of Eden. Within the circle Adam and Eve are separated by the tree of Life. The Mediterranean Sea is colored green. Sicily is the large island near the top of the T. The panel cut into southern Africa illustrates a series of mythical races. A similar region, across the map in northeast Asia, is walled off to hold the armies of Gog and Magog that were to destroy the earth in the last days. Jerusalem is the center of the map (this is typical of T-O maps) The Red Sea is red, and may be parted to illustrate Moses crossing. B. This map, like all T-O maps is to help the viewer understand his or her place in the Christian world. As a tool for understanding the actual makeup of the earth, and one's location here and now, it is not very useful.
4) Portolan Chart by Petrus Roselli, 1456 (S33) A. This map represents the beginning of the revival of classical map-making in the West. Though it is not based on Ptolemaic standards, it does seek to represent the physical world, not the spiritual one. B. West is at the top. Find the Italian peninsula to orient yourself. C. This is a fairly late example of a type of map that emerged in centers around the Mediterranean Sea around 1300 CE. There is debate over how such a refined cartographic form could have appeared so suddenly from nowhere. The most likely explanation is that this development was linked to the emergence in the Mediterranean Se of the mariner's compass, which allowed courses to be plotted with a new accuracy. D. This navigational device permitted map-makers to measure the angles between ports whose approximate position was known and to construct a grid for the whole inland sea. At first the maps centered on the Mediterranean and later spread to broader areas. This one shows the Black Sea, the west coasts of North Africa, the Iberian Peninsula, and France and Britain. The map is crisscrossed with a maze of lines, which some scholars think were aid to navigation (in setting a course), and others believe were a way of copying one chart from another. The place names are listed at right angles on the coasts. The Madeira and Canary Islands are shown. The Portolan charts of the seas are for people who travel near the coasts around Europe. They are practical and meant to help one get from place to place. Western Europe Emerges from the Medieval Period Medieval Europe in the 14th century began to change. To understand the Age of Discovery-- the age in which Columbus came upon the new lands in the west--we must understand at least some of the fundamental changes that took place in European society. I. This is the age of the Renaissance, which: 1) began with the rediscovery of pagan Greco-Roman civilization, which had been generally neglected by the Christian world of Western Europe 2) emphasized reason, questioning and free inquiry--in contrast to the medieval concern with faith, tradition, and authority 3) viewed life not as a preparation for the hereafter, but as worthwhile and beautiful for its own sake 4) featured great leaps in art (Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo, Titian), philosophy (Erasmus, Sir Thomas More), letters (Dante, Machiavelli, Cervantes), and science (Johann Gutenberg's movable type printing press 1450, Copernicus [1473-1543], sun is center of the solar system, Francis Bacon, scientific method, later Newton [1642-1727] laws of motion and gravitation). II. This is the age of the nation-state in Western Europe --In Western Europe, the nation-state develops with trade and the need for security. Trading over distances requires stability--the assurance that you, as a merchant, will arrive safely, trade in the area, and then make it back home with the money you made. If a political organization, like a lord or a group of lords, offers security for trade routes, then the money the merchant societies make goes into the political center with taxes. That money in turn provides more security, and the political organization grows in strength. Development of economic and political organization together. --Also, we see nation-states taking power from the church. Locals may not like all their tithes
going to Rome. They may not approve of the pope and see him as a "foreign" ruler. Political ruler may thus gain power. III. The Nation-State is: -- an entity with fairly well defined geographical lines. --Political institutions emerge in the nation-state. --Political groups assert the principle that they represent the people and should have a monopoly on violence, external or internal. Crime becomes not a family issue, but a community problem and the community will punish it through the state. --By 1500, there are about 500 of these states in Western Europe. --By 1900, there are only about 25. Why? --War, geographical position, where the black plague goes. The ability of a competent monarch, and that monarch must be able to reproduce a child. --So we see in the 15th and 16th century a trend toward centralization. IV. Example: Unification of Spain In the late fifteenth century. This new unity resulted primarily from the marriage of two sovereigns, Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabella of Castile, and from the brutal expulsion of the "infidel" Muslim Moors from Spain after centuries of Christian-Islamic warfare. Glorying in their new strength, the Spaniards were eager to outstrip their Portuguese rivals in the race to tap the wealth of the Indies. To the south and east, Portugal controlled the African coast and thus controlled the gateway to the round-africa water route to India. We can see that during the 15th and 16th centuries intellectual life has changed I. Secularization Life had become secularized in the sense that not all things nor all values were related to religion. Men did not cease to wonder and worry about the afterworld, but they did become more interested in living to the fullest in this world. This shift of "values in the consciousness of men," so long in arriving, at last put Europe in the mood to explore beyond that narrow strip of seas that had hemmed in the medieval mind as well as medieval man. II. End of Medieval World This shift of values destroyed the soul of the medieval world, yet much of the form lived on. Religion ceased to dominate but not to influence men's thoughts. The crusading spirit, for instance, still thrived. Backed now by the increasing power of the new states, the new mercantile spirit, and the intensified interest in practical matters, this spirit would launch Europe on an age of exploration. Intellectual World of the Age III. Michelangelo Painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome. The musculature of the figures looks more classical than Medieval. Although this is a piece of religious art, it is also a piece which illustrates the secular--the beauty of the human figure and its vitality. No one who sees this piece of art can think that Michelangelo is only concerned with the heavenly or non-human world. In contrast, he is intimately concerned with getting the human figure right. Another example is Michelangelo's David. Probably the most famous sculpture in world history, this piece also represents the blending of the spiritual and the human. Michelangelo again pays great attention, and is at his best, when he details the actual figure. IV. Christianity and Science Not until Darwin and after are science and religion seen as possibly conflicting ideas.