Decline of Rome, Rise of Islam, and Early Medieval Europe

Fall of the Roman Empire

Causes

• Economy: Increased public spending, rising taxes, low agricultural yields.
• Moral: Relaxing habits, arrival of new beliefs.
• Politics: Emperors' indecision, lack of army loyalty, appearance of warlords.
• Invasions of Barbarian Peoples

Barbarian Invasions

Invasions were a culminating event, not the sole cause. Germanic migrations, Mediterranean intentions, and various factors influenced the decline, leading to the appearance of Romance languages.

Features of Barbarian Peoples

• Farmers and ranchers, patriarchal families.
• Naturalistic polytheistic religion.
• Barter economy.
• Oral laws.

Barbarian Groups

• Visigoths: Originally Goths, located by the Danube River, formed an independent kingdom.
• Vandals: Migrated to North Africa, Indo-European origin (Germany, Russia).
• Huns: From Mongolia, nomadic, excellent horsemen, superior military.
• Ostrogoths: Germanic people, settled around the Black Sea.
• Franks: Well-known Roman town, located in northern France and Belgium.

Rise of Islamic Civilization

Birth and Expansion

• Origin of Islam: Arabian Peninsula, nomadic tribes, polytheists, Mecca and Medina were important cities.
• Everything changed with the arrival of Muhammad, born in Mecca.
• Islam = Submission to God.
• Prophet Muhammad began his sermons, leading to the Hegira (migration to Medina).
• Qur'an: Muslim holy book.

Early Medieval Europe

Byzantine Empire

• Period of crisis after Justinian: Lost territories to Muslims, empire reduced to Anatolia and Greece.
• Byzantine power based on Hellenization.

Features

• Politics: Emperor control over church and state.
• Economy: Strategic positioning for trade and communication routes.
• Culture: Preservation and dissemination of Greco-Roman culture.
• Religion: Orthodox Church (Christianity).

Germanic Kingdoms

• Western Roman Empire fragmented into Germanic kingdoms, including Franks and Visigoths.
• Decrease of political power in favor of military nobility.
• Laws: Roman law replaced by Germanic law.
• Society based on individual units instead of public state.
• Economy: Rudimentary agriculture.
• Disappearance of cities and trade: Roman roads ruralized and fell into disuse.