Chapter Outline
The quest for political order
The Early Byzantine Empire
The City of Constantine
Caesaropapism
Justinian (527-565 C.E.) and his legacy; Theodora (empress)
Rebuilt Constantinople, including Hagia Sophia
Justine's Code
Codified Roman law Corpus iuris civilis (The Body of the Civil Law)
Byzantine Conquests
Muslim Conquests and Byzantine Revival
Muslim Conquests
The Theme system
The Rise of the Franks
Germanic Kingdoms
The Franks
Charlemagne (reigned 768-814 C.E.)
Grandson of Charles Martel, founder of Carolingian empire
Control extended to northeast Spain, Bavaria, north Italy
Charlemagne's Administration
Capital city at Aachen (in modern Germany)
Relied on aristocratic deputies, known as counts
Used missi dominici to oversee local authorities
Charlemagne as Emperor
Pope Leo III proclaimed Charlemagne emperor, 800
The coronation strained relations with Byzantine emperors
The Age of the Vikings
Louis the Pious
Invasions
Vikings
Devolution of Political Authority
Economy and Society in Early Medieval Europe
The Two Economies of Early Medieval Europe
Byzantine Peasantry
Manufacturing
Silk
Agriculture production suffered from repeated invasions
Heavy plows
Heavy plows appeared in the sixth century; could turn heavy northern soils
Became common from the eighth century; production increased
Cultivation of new lands; watermills; and rotating crops
Rural society--agricultural surplus not enough to support large cities
Mediterranean trade--Italian and Spanish merchants trade with Muslims
Norse merchant mariners in North and Baltic Seas
Followed routes of Vikings
Traded actively with Byzantine and Abbasid empires
Imported Abbasid silver used in European coinage
Population: 36 million in 200; down to 26 million in 600; back up to 36 million in 1000
Social Development in the Two Worlds of Christendom
Byzantium: An Urban Society
City Life
Attractions of Constantinople