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         The Middle Ages
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The expression "Middle Ages" has been employed by Western civilization to define
the 1000 years that span European history from roughly 500 to 1500 AD. The
beginning of the Middle Ages is marked by the fall of the Western Roman Empire,
the generally accepted end of classical ancient history. The end of the Middle
Ages is noted by the beginning of the Renaissance (the "rebirth" of Europe).
Events marking the end of the period include the fall of Constantinople in 1453,
the first use of the printing press in 1456, the European discovery of the
Americas in 1492, the Protestant Reformation, triggered by Martin Luther in
1517, and the flowering of the arts in Italy. The Middle Ages thus fall in the
middle between ancient and modern history.

Historic periods in Asia and the Middle East do not fit easily into the concept
of a European Middle Age. China evolved gradually from prehistoric times up to
the advent of Western modern history without the great disruptions that befell
Europe. China passed under the control of several dynasties and suffered from
invasion, but the basic culture progressed steadily. Japan progressed steadily,
as well, and was left largely alone. The history of the Middle East fits
together more closely with the European Middle Ages because these two regions
were adjacent and shared many interactions.


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| The Fall of Rome |
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The Roman Empire of the fourth century AD extended entirely around the basin of
the Mediterranean Sea, including modern Turkey, Israel, Egypt, and North Africa.
Modern France (called Gaul) and modern Spain and Portugal (Iberia) were entirely
Roman. Modern England was Roman, but modern Scotland and Ireland were barbarian
(non-Roman, or noncivilized). The northern borders of the empire were the Rhine
and Danube Rivers. The lands north of these rivers were occupied by a variety of
tribes of Scandinavian origin that the Romans called the Germans.

Rome was engaged in border skirmishes with the tribes north of the great
European rivers. Strong emperors occasionally extended the empire over the
rivers while weak emperors tended to lose those lands. The largest organized
rival of the Romans was the Persian Empire to the east, occupying modern Syria,
Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The Persians were the political descendants of the
Parthians who had revolted away from Greek rule following Alexander's conquests
and thereafter resisted successfully Roman invasions.

The Romans had existed as an important power for over 1000 years. They had
brought stability, prosperity, and order to the civilized West. Excellent roads
connected the far reaches of the empire with the capital at Rome. These were
built originally for military purposes but improved all communications and
trade. Roman law kept the internal peace and 20 to 30 Roman legions defended the
frontiers.

All was not perfect, however. Emperors held absolute authority. This worked well
with good emperors, but incompetent ones could do great harm. The rules for
succession to the throne were never clear, and debilitating civil wars often
resulted. The bureaucracy that managed the empire on a daily basis grew more
corrupt, increasing the dissatisfaction of the common citizen. The wealth of the
empire gradually concentrated in the hands of a minority while a large slave
population did most of the work. The borders of the empire were immense and put
a strain on military resources (500,000 soldiers defended a frontier that
required 3 million or more to be secure). Roman conquests had ceased in the
second century AD, bringing an end to massive inflows of plunder and slaves.
Taxes increased and production fell as the workforce declined. A plague may have
killed 20 percent of the empire's population in the third and fourth centuries,
further reducing trade and production.

In the late third century, the Roman Empire was split into eastern and western
halves in an attempt to make for easier rule and better control. In 323
Constantine became emperor after a civil war and established his eastern capital
at Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople. During the next century the
eastern and western parts of the empire gradually established separate
identities, although nominally the same empire. These identities were partially
due to the different pressures brought to bear on them from the outside and the
local culture. The Western Empire was predominately Latin; the Eastern Empire
was predominately Greek (although they referred to themselves as Romans). The
Eastern Empire survived the cataclysm of the third and fourth centuries because
it had a larger population (70 percent of the empire's total), better emperors,
more money, and a far better army and navy.


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| Barbarian Invaders |
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Around the year 200 AD, nomadic tribes on the great grass steppes of Central
Asia began migrating toward China, India, Persia, and Europe. The reasons for
this migration are not fully understood. The largest group of nomads was the
Huns. Their small stature and small ponies belied a fierce and determined
ruthlessness. They terrified other tribes they encountered in their migrations,
causing something like a domino effect. Moving west, the Huns displaced the
Goths living northwest of the Black Sea, for example, who pushed south over the
Danube into the Balkans lands ruled by the Eastern Roman Empire. More Huns moved
toward the German plains, encouraging other Germanic tribes to cross the Rhine.

The Western Roman Empire was already weakened by this time from sporadic raids
and invasions across the Rhine and Danube. Germanic tribes with growing
populations coveted the sparsely occupied lands in Gaul and the benefits of
being within the Roman Empire. By 400 the Roman army was already 30 to 50
percent German mercenaries. In desperation, some barbarian groups were enlisted
into the Roman army as entire units to help defend against other groups. This
was especially popular during civil wars of the fourth century, when pretenders
to the throne in Rome needed to raise armies quickly. These barbarian units did
not have the loyalty and discipline of the legions and kept their own leaders.
This stopgap measure backfired when whole barbarian armies revolted. The Rhine
and Danube frontiers dissolved and Germanic tribes moved into Gaul, the Balkans,
and even Italy itself. The fighting was nearly incessant along the shrinking
frontier and the number of loyal Roman troops continually diminished.

The last legions in Britain were withdrawn for service in Gaul in 410,
abandoning that province forever. Saxon raids increased and became actual
invasions. The Jutes, Frisians, and Angles, other Germanic tribes from the north
German coast, joined the Saxons. Together they overwhelmed the Romano-British
culture and took possession of what is today England (Angle-land).

The Eastern Roman Empire suffered through the loss of most of the Balkans but
was able to deflect or bribe the barbarians before they could attack
Constantinople. The invaders in this area were the Goths, who had become much
more civilized through their contact with the Eastern Empire than had the
Germanic tribes along the Rhine. The Goths came as settlers primarily, not
conquerors.

During the fifth century Rome was sacked several times and the Western Empire
ceased to exist effectively. Italy was repeatedly invaded and ravaged. In 476
the last recognized Roman emperor was killed. Italy and the old Roman Empire
were now occupied by Germanic tribes. Despite a general wish by the barbarians
to preserve the stability and order of the past Roman civilization, only
vestiges of it survived the turmoil and devastation that followed the invasions.
Most of Europe fell back into a much more primitive and barbaric period.