Editing Early Middle Ages

{{Short description|Period of European history}}
{{For|the scholarly journal| Early Medieval Europe (journal)}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2023}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2024}}

[[File:Codex Aureus Sankt Emmeram.jpg|thumb|The [[Treasure binding|jewelled cover]] of the [[Codex Aureus of St. Emmeram]], {{circa|870}}, a Carolingian [[Gospel book]]]]
The '''Early Middle Ages''' (or '''early medieval period'''), sometimes controversially referred to as the [[Dark Ages (historiography)|Dark Ages]], is typically regarded by historians as lasting from the late 5th to the 10th century.<!-- Please don't fiddle with these dates – raise it on the talk page -->{{NoteTag|For more detail on the various starting and ending dates used by historians, see {{slink|Middle Ages#Terminology and periodisation}}.}} They marked the start of the [[Middle Ages]] of [[History of Europe|European history]], following the [[decline of the Roman Empire|decline]] of the [[Western Roman Empire]], and preceding the [[High Middle Ages]] ({{circa}} 11th to 14th centuries). The alternative term ''[[Late antiquity#Terminology|late antiquity]]'', for the early part of the period, emphasizes elements of continuity with the [[Roman Empire]], while ''Early Middle Ages'' is used to emphasize developments characteristic of the earlier medieval period.

The period saw a continuation of trends evident since late [[classical antiquity]], including [[population decline]], especially in urban centres, a decline of trade, [[Medieval Warm Period|a small rise in average temperatures in the North Atlantic region]] and [[Migration Period|increased migration]]. In the 19th century the Early Middle Ages were often labelled the ''Dark Ages'', a characterization based on the relative scarcity of literary and cultural output from this time. The term is rarely used by academics today.<ref name=Mommsen226227>{{cite journal | last = Mommsen | first = Theodore E. | author-link =Theodor Ernst Mommsen | title = Petrarch's Conception of the 'Dark Ages' | journal = [[Speculum (journal)|Speculum]] | volume = 17 | issue = 2 | pages = 226–227 | publisher = [[Medieval Academy of America]] | location = Cambridge MA | year = 1942 | jstor = 2856364 | doi = 10.2307/2856364| s2cid = 161360211 }}</ref> The Eastern Roman Empire, or [[Byzantine Empire]], survived, though in the 7th century the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] and the [[Umayyad Caliphate]] conquered the southern part of the Roman territory.

Many of the listed trends reversed later in the period. In 800, the title of ''[[Emperor]]'' was revived in Western Europe with [[Charlemagne]], whose [[Carolingian Empire]] greatly affected later European social structure and history. Europe experienced a return to systematic agriculture in the form of the [[feudal system]], which adopted such innovations as [[Three-field system|three-field planting]] and the heavy plough. [[Migration Period|Barbarian migration]] stabilized in much of [[Europe]], although the [[Viking expansion]] greatly affected [[Northern Europe]].
{{TOC limit|limit=4}}

==History==

===Collapse of Rome===
{{Main|Fall of the Western Roman Empire}}

Starting in the 2nd century, various indicators of Roman civilization began to decline, including [[urbanization]], seaborne commerce, and population. [[Archaeologists]] have identified only 40 percent as many [[Mediterranean Sea|Mediterranean]] shipwrecks from the 3rd century as from the first.<ref>Hopkins, Keith ''Taxes and Trade in the Roman Empire (200 BC – AD 400)''</ref> Estimates of the population of the [[Roman Empire]] during the period from 150 to 400 suggest a fall from 65 million to 50 million, a decline of more than 20 percent. Some scholars have connected this de-population to the [[Late Antique Little Ice Age|Dark Ages Cold Period]] (300–700), when a decrease in global temperatures impaired agricultural yields.<ref name="beberglund">{{cite journal |last= Berglund |first= B. E. |year=2003 |title= Human impact and climate changes – synchronous events and a causal link? |journal= Quaternary International |volume= 105 |issue= 1|pages=7–12 |doi= 10.1016/S1040-6182(02)00144-1 |url= http://www.geol.lu.se/personal/bnb/pdf-papers/human_impact.pdf |bibcode = 2003QuInt.105....7B }}</ref><ref>Curry, Andrew, "[https://www.science.org/content/article/fall-rome-recorded-trees Fall of Rome Recorded in Trees] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220202011942/https://www.science.org/content/article/fall-rome-recorded-trees |date=2 February 2022 }}", ''ScienceNOW'', 13 January 2011.</ref>

[[File:2008-05-17-SuttonHoo.jpg|thumb|left|230px|Replica of the [[Sutton Hoo helmet]]; the original was buried with an [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] leader, probably [[List of monarchs of East Anglia|King]] [[Rædwald of East Anglia]], {{circa|620–625 CE}}.<ref>{{cite book |author-last=Nees |author-first=Lawrence |year=2002 |title=Early Medieval Art |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=15NCjWEcG_YC |location=[[Oxford]] and [[New York City]] |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |series=Oxford History of Art |pages=109–112 |isbn=9780192842435}}</ref>]]

Early in the 3rd century [[Germanic peoples]] migrated south from [[Scandinavia]] and reached the [[Black Sea]], creating formidable confederations which opposed the local [[Sarmatians]]. In [[Dacia]] (present-day Romania) and on the steppes north of the Black Sea the [[Goths]], a Germanic people, established at least two kingdoms: [[Thervings|Therving]] and [[Greuthungs|Greuthung]].<ref>Heather, Peter, 1998, ''The Goths'', pp. 51–93</ref>

The arrival of the [[Huns]] in 372–375 ended the history of these kingdoms. The Huns, a confederation of central Asian tribes, founded an empire. They had mastered the difficult art of shooting composite [[Recurve bow|recurve]] [[bow (weapon)|bows]] from horseback. The Goths sought refuge in Roman territory (376), agreeing to enter the Empire as unarmed settlers. However many bribed the Danube border-guards into allowing them to bring their weapons.

The discipline and organization of a [[Roman legion]] made it a superb fighting unit. The Romans preferred infantry to cavalry because infantry could be trained to retain the formation in combat, while cavalry tended to scatter when faced with opposition. While a barbarian army could be raised and inspired by the promise of plunder, the legions required a central government and taxation to pay for salaries, constant training, equipment, and food. The decline in agricultural and economic activity reduced the empire's taxable income and thus its ability to maintain a professional army to defend itself from external threats.
{{multiple image
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header = The Barbarians' Invasions
| image1= Invasions of the Roman Empire 1.png|width1=300
| caption1 = The destruction of the Gothic kingdoms by the [[Huns]] in 372–375 triggered the Germanic migrations of the 5th century. The [[Visigoths]] captured and looted the city of Rome in 410; the [[Vandals]] followed suit in 455
----
{{plainlist|
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
;Germanic tribes
*{{color box|#fefe00|border=silver}} [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]], [[Saxons]]
*{{color box|#e7772d|border=silver}} [[Franks]] (100.000)
*{{color box|#c30952|border=silver}} [[Goths]]
*{{color box|#ba01fc|border=silver}} [[Visigoths]] (200.000)
*{{color box|#ff53e7|border=silver}} [[Ostrogoths]] (100.000)
*{{color box|#01aa45|border=silver}} [[Huns]]
*{{color box|#0c0fd0|border=silver}} [[Vandals]] (80.000)
{{col-break}}
;Roman Empire
*{{color box|#f7d6ab|border=silver}} [[Western Roman Empire|Western Empire]]
*{{color box|#d0c09f|border=silver}} [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern Empire]]
{{col-end}}}}
}}

In the [[Gothic War (376–382)]], the Goths revolted and confronted the [[Late Roman army|main Roman army]] in the [[Battle of Adrianople]] (378). By this time, the distinction in the Roman army between Roman regulars and barbarian [[auxilia]]ries had broken down, and the Roman army was composed mainly of barbarians and soldiers recruited for a single campaign. The general decline in discipline also led to the use of smaller shields and lighter weaponry.<ref name="Eisenberg">Eisenberg, Robert, "[https://www.mcgill.ca/files/classics/2009-10-10.pdf The Battle of Adrianople: A Reappraisal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151112043950/http://www.mcgill.ca/files/classics/2009-10-10.pdf |date=2015-11-12 }}", p. 112.</ref> Not wanting to share the glory, Eastern Emperor [[Valens]] ordered an attack on the [[Thervings|Therving]] infantry under [[Fritigern]] without waiting for Western Emperor [[Gratian]], who was on the way with reinforcements. While the Romans were fully engaged, the Greuthung cavalry arrived. Only one-third of the Roman army managed to escape. This represented the most shattering defeat that the Romans had suffered since the [[Battle of Cannae]] (216 BC), according to the Roman military writer [[Ammianus Marcellinus]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Adrianople-378|title=Battle of Adrianople|last=Kerrigan|first=Michael|date=22 March 2017|website=[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref> The core army of the Eastern Roman Empire was destroyed, Valens was killed, and the Goths were freed to lay waste to the [[Balkans]], including the armories along the Danube. As [[Edward Gibbon]] comments, "The Romans, who so coolly and so concisely mention the acts of ''justice'' which were exercised by the legions, reserve their compassion and their eloquence for their own sufferings, when the provinces were invaded and desolated by the arms of the successful Barbarians."<ref>Gibbon, Edward, ''A History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', 1776.</ref>

The empire lacked the resources, and perhaps the will, to reconstruct the professional mobile army destroyed at Adrianople, so it had to rely on barbarian armies to fight for it. The [[Eastern Roman Empire]] succeeded in buying off the Goths with tribute. The [[Western Roman Empire]] proved less fortunate. [[Stilicho]], the western empire's half-Vandal military commander, stripped the [[Rhine]] frontier of troops to fend off invasions of Italy by the [[Visigoths]] in 402–03 and by other Goths in 406–07.

Fleeing before the advance of the [[Huns]], the [[Vandals]], [[Suebi]], and [[Alans]] launched an attack across the frozen Rhine near [[Mainz]]; on 31 December 406, the frontier gave way and these tribes surged into [[Roman Gaul]]. There soon followed the [[Burgundians]] and bands of the [[Alamanni]]. In the fit of anti-barbarian hysteria which followed, the Western Roman Emperor [[Honorius (emperor)|Honorius]] had Stilicho summarily beheaded (408). Stilicho submitted his neck, "with a firmness not unworthy of the [[Last of the Romans|last of the Roman generals]]", wrote Gibbon. Honorius was left with only worthless courtiers to advise him. In 410, the Visigoths led by [[Alaric I]] [[Sack of Rome (410)|captured the city of Rome]] and for three days fire and slaughter ensued as bodies filled the streets, palaces were stripped of their valuables, and the invaders interrogated and tortured those citizens thought to have hidden wealth. As newly converted Christians, the Goths respected church property, but those who found sanctuary in the [[Vatican City|Vatican]] and in other churches were the fortunate few.

===Migration Period===
{{more citations needed section|date=November 2018}}
{{Main|Migration Period|Germanic kingship|Early Slavs}}
{{multiple image
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header = Migration Period
| image1 = Mausoleum of Theoderic.JPG|width1=225|caption1=The [[Mausoleum of Theodoric]] in [[Ravenna]] is the only extant example of [[Ostrogoth]]ic architecture.
| image2 = Reino de los visigodos-en.svg|width2=165|caption2=Around 500, the [[Visigoths]] ruled large parts of what is now France, Spain, Andorra and Portugal.
}}
The Goths and Vandals were only the first of many bands of peoples that flooded [[Western Europe]] in the absence of administrative governance. Some{{who|date= November 2018}} lived only for war and pillage and disdained Roman ways. Other peoples<ref>{{cite book |last= Collins|first= Roger|date= 1999|title= Early Medieval Europe 300–1000|url=https://archive.org/details/earlymedievaleur00coll|url-access= limited|location= New York|publisher= Palgrave|pages= [https://archive.org/details/earlymedievaleur00coll/page/n64 100]–110|isbn= 978-0230006737|author-link= Roger Collins}}</ref> had been in prolonged contact with the Roman civilization, and were, to a certain degree, romanized. "A poor Roman plays the Goth, a rich Goth the Roman," said King [[Theoderic the Great|Theoderic]] of the Ostrogoths.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Thayer|first=Bill|title=LacusCurtius • Excerpta Valesiana – Latter Part|url=https://penelope.uchicago.edu/Thayer/E/Roman/Texts/Excerpta_Valesiana/2*.html|access-date=2022-01-14|website=penelope.uchicago.edu}}</ref> The subjects of the Roman empire were a mixture of [[State church of the Roman Empire|Roman Christian]], [[Arianism|Arian Christian]], [[Nestorianism|Nestorian Christian]], and [[Paganism|pagan]].{{citation needed|date= November 2018}} The Germanic peoples knew little of cities, money, or writing, and were mostly pagan, though they were increasingly converting to [[Arianism]], a [[nontrinitarianism|non-trinitarian]] form of Christianity that considers God the Son to have been created by, and thus inferior to, God the Father, rather than the two being [[Pre-existence of Christ|co-eternal]], which is the position of [[Chalcedonian Christianity]]. Arianism found some favour in the Roman Empire before being eclipsed by the Chalcedonian position and then suppressed as heretical.

During the migrations, or ''[[Völkerwanderung]]'' (wandering of the peoples), the earlier settled populations were sometimes left intact though usually partially or entirely displaced. [[Culture of ancient Rome|Roman culture]] north of the [[Po River]] was almost entirely displaced by the migrations. Whereas the peoples of France, Italy, Spain and Portugal continued to speak the dialects of [[Vulgar Latin]] that today constitute the [[Romance languages]], the language of the smaller Roman-era population of what is now England disappeared with barely a trace in the territories settled by the Anglo-Saxons, although the Brittanic kingdoms of the west remained [[British language (Celtic)|Brythonic]] speakers. The new peoples greatly altered established society, including law, culture, religion, and patterns of property ownership.

[[File:Trésor de Gourdon 02.JPG|thumb|upright=1.15|left|A [[paten]] from the [[Treasure of Gourdon]], found at [[Gourdon, Saône-et-Loire]], France.]]

The ''[[pax Romana]]'' had provided safe conditions for trade and manufacture, and a unified cultural and educational milieu of far-ranging connections. As this was lost, it was replaced by the rule of local potentates, sometimes members of the established Romanized ruling elite, sometimes new lords of alien culture. In [[Aquitania]], [[Gallia Narbonensis]], southern Italy and Sicily, [[Baetica]] or southern [[Spain]], and the Iberian Mediterranean coast, Roman culture lasted until the 6th or 7th centuries.

The gradual breakdown and transformation of economic and social linkages and infrastructure resulted in increasingly localized outlooks. This breakdown was often fast and dramatic as it became unsafe to travel or carry goods over any distance; there was a consequent collapse in trade and manufacture for export. Major industries that depended on trade, such as large-scale pottery manufacture, vanished almost overnight in places like Britain. [[Tintagel]] in [[Cornwall]], as well as several other centres, managed to obtain supplies of Mediterranean luxury goods well into the 6th century, but then lost their trading links. Administrative, educational and military infrastructure quickly vanished, and the loss of the established ''[[cursus honorum]]'' led to the collapse of the schools and to a rise of illiteracy even among the leadership. The careers of [[Cassiodorus]] (died {{circa|585}}) at the beginning of this period and of [[Alcuin of York]] (died 804) at its close were founded alike on their valued literacy. For the formerly Roman area, there was another 20 per cent decline in population between 400 and 600, or a one-third decline for 150–600.<ref>McEvedy 1992, op. cit.</ref> In the 8th century, the volume of trade reached its lowest level. The very small number of [[shipwreck]]s found that dated from the 8th century supports this (which represents less than 2 per cent of the number of shipwrecks dated from the 1st century). There was also reforestation and a retreat of agriculture centred around 500.{{citation needed|date=October 2024}}

The Romans had practiced [[Crop rotation|two-field agriculture]], with a crop grown in one field and the other left fallow and ploughed under to eliminate weeds. Systematic agriculture largely disappeared and yields declined. It is estimated that the [[Plague of Justinian]] which began in 541 and recurred periodically for 150 years thereafter killed as many as 100 million people across the world.<ref>"[http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/1996/plague.htm Scientists Identify Genes Critical to Transmission of Bubonic Plague] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071007012619/http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/1996/plague.htm |date=2007-10-07 }}", News Release, National Institutes of Health, 18 July 1996.</ref><ref>[http://dpalm.med.uth.tmc.edu/courses/BT2003/BTstudents2003_files%5CPlague2003.htm The History of the Bubonic Plague] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080415231721/http://dpalm.med.uth.tmc.edu/courses/BT2003/BTstudents2003_files%5CPlague2003.htm |date=15 April 2008 }}.</ref> Some historians such as Josiah C. Russell (1958) have suggested a total European population loss of 50 to 60 per cent between 541 and 700.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Maugh|first=Thomas H.|title=An Empire's Epidemic|url=https://www.ph.ucla.edu/EPI/bioter/anempiresepidemic.html|url-status=live|access-date=2022-01-14|website=ph.ucla.edu|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020804054553/http://www.ph.ucla.edu:80/epi/bioter/anempiresepidemic.html |archive-date=4 August 2002 }}</ref> After the year 750, major epidemic diseases did not appear again in Europe until the [[Black Death]] of the 14th century. The disease [[smallpox]], which was eradicated in the late 20th century, did not definitively enter [[Western Europe]] until about 581 when Bishop [[Gregory of Tours]] provided an eyewitness account that describes the characteristic findings of smallpox.<ref>{{cite book | author = Hopkins DR | title = The Greatest Killer: Smallpox in history | publisher = University of Chicago Press | year = 2002 | isbn = 978-0-226-35168-1 | url-access = registration | url = https://archive.org/details/greatestkillersm0000hopk }} Originally published as ''Princes and Peasants: Smallpox in History'' (1983), {{ISBN|0-226-35177-7}}</ref> Waves of [[List of epidemics|epidemics]] wiped out large rural populations.<ref>[http://www.livescience.com/history/080623-hs-smallpox.html How Smallpox Changed the World] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906092625/http://www.livescience.com/history/080623-hs-smallpox.html |date=6 September 2008 }}, By Heather Whipps, LiveScience, 23 June 2008</ref> Most of the details about the epidemics are lost, probably due to the scarcity of surviving written records.

For almost a thousand years, [[Rome]] was the most politically important, richest and largest city in Europe.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.unrv.com/empire/roman-population.php|title=Roman Empire Population &#124; UNRV.com Roman History|website=unrv.com}}</ref> Around 100 AD, it had a population of about 450,000,<ref>Storey, Glenn R., "[https://web.archive.org/web/20110501052229/http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-20586744.html The population of ancient Rome]", ''Antiquity'', 1 December 1997.</ref> and declined to a mere 20,000 during the Early Middle Ages, reducing the sprawling city to groups of inhabited buildings interspersed among large areas of ruins and vegetation.

===Eastern Roman Empire===
{{Main|Eastern Roman Empire}}
{{multiple image
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header = Byzantine Empire
| image1 = Justinien 527-565.svg
| width1 = 300
| caption1 = {{plainlist|
'''[[Byzantine Empire under the Justinian dynasty]]'''
* Under Emperor [[Justinian]] (r. 527–565), the [[Byzantine Empire|Byzantines]] were able to reestablish Roman rule in Italy and most of North Africa.
----
* {{color box|#f6b65f|border=silver}} Justinian's conquests
* {{color box|#f7865e|border=silver}} [[Eastern Roman Empire|Eastern Empire]] }}
}}

The death of [[Theodosius I]] in 395 was followed by the division of the empire between his two sons. The [[Western Roman Empire]] disintegrated into a mosaic of warring Germanic kingdoms in the 5th century, effectively making the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] in Constantinople the [[Medieval Greek|Greek-speaking]] successor to the classical Roman Empire. The inhabitants continued to regard themselves as Romans, or ''Romaioi'', until the [[fall of Constantinople]] to the [[Ottoman Empire]] in 1453. Despite this, to distinguish it from its predominantly [[Latin language|Latin-speaking]] predecessor, historians began referring to the empire as "Byzantine", after the original name of Constantinople, [[Byzantium]].

The Eastern Roman or "Byzantine" Empire aimed to retain control of the trade routes between Europe and the Orient, which made the Empire the richest polity in medieval Europe. Making use of their sophisticated warfare and superior diplomacy, the Byzantines managed to fend off assaults by the migrating barbarians. Their dreams of subduing the Western potentates briefly materialized during the reign of [[Justinian I]] in 527–565. Not only did Justinian restore some western territories to the Roman Empire, including Rome and the Italian peninsula itself, but he also codified [[Roman law]] (with [[Corpus Juris Civilis|his codification]] remaining in force in many areas of Europe until the 19th century) and commissioned the building of the largest and most architecturally advanced edifice of the Early Middle Ages, the [[Hagia Sophia]]. However, his reign also saw the outbreak of a [[bubonic plague]] [[pandemic]],<ref name="Harbeck, et al.">{{cite journal|last1=Harbeck|first1=Michaela|last2=Seifert|first2=Lisa|last3=Hänsch|first3=Stephanie|last4=Wagner|first4=David M.|last5=Birdsell|first5=Dawn|last6=Parise|first6=Katy L.|last7=Wiechmann|first7=Ingrid|last8=Grupe|first8=Gisela|last9=Thomas|first9=Astrid|last10=Keim|first10=P|last11=Zöller|first11=L|year=2013|editor1-last=Besansky|editor1-first=Nora J|editor-link=Nora J. Besansky|title=Yersinia pestis DNA from Skeletal Remains from the 6th Century AD Reveals Insights into Justinianic Plague|journal=PLOS Pathogens|volume=9|issue=5|pages=e1003349|doi=10.1371/journal.ppat.1003349|pmc=3642051|pmid=23658525|last12=Bramanti|first12=B|last13=Riehm|first13=JM|last14=Scholz|first14=HC |doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name="Bos">{{cite journal|last1=Bos|first1=Kirsten|last2=Stevens|first2=Philip|last3=Nieselt|first3=Kay|last4=Poinar|first4=Hendrik N.|last5=Dewitte|first5=Sharon N.|author-link5=Sharon N. DeWitte|last6=Krause|first6=Johannes|date=28 November 2012|editor1-last=Gilbert|editor1-first=M. Thomas P|title=Yersinia pestis: New Evidence for an Old Infection|journal=PLOS One|volume=7|issue=11|pages=e49803|bibcode=2012PLoSO...749803B|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0049803|pmc=3509097|pmid=23209603|doi-access=free}}</ref> now known retroactively as the [[Plague of Justinian]]. The Emperor himself was afflicted, and within the span of less than a year, an estimated 200,000 Constantinopolites—two out of every five city residents—had died of the disease.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Hoepli-Phalon |first1=Nancy |title=Great Decisions: Foreign Policy Association |date=31 January 2006 |publisher=Foreign Policy Association |isbn=9780871242167 |page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYui1vU3UDUC&q=Constantinople+40%25+population+plague |access-date=20 May 2021}}</ref>

[[File:Theodora mosaik ravenna.jpg|thumb|left|[[Theodora (6th century)|Theodora]], [[Justinian I|Justinian]]'s wife, and her retinue<ref>6th century mosaic from the [[Basilica of San Vitale]] in [[Ravenna]]</ref>]]

Justinian's successors [[Maurice (emperor)|Maurice]] and [[Heraclius]] confronted invasions by the [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avar]] and [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] tribes. After the devastations by the Slavs and the Avars, large areas of the [[Balkans]] became depopulated. In 626 Constantinople, by far the largest city of early medieval Europe, [[Siege of Constantinople (626)|withstood a combined siege]] by Avars and Persians. Within several decades, Heraclius completed a holy war against the Persians, taking their capital and having a [[Sassanid]] monarch assassinated. Yet Heraclius lived to see his spectacular success undone by the [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]] of [[Syria (Roman province)|Syria]], three [[Palestine (region)#Middle Ages|Palaestina provinces]], [[Egypt (Roman province)|Egypt]], and [[North Africa during Antiquity#Vandals and Byzantines|North Africa]] which was considerably facilitated by religious disunity and the proliferation of heretical movements (notably [[Monophysitism]] and [[Nestorianism]]) in the areas converted to Islam.

[[File:Walls of Constantinople.JPG|thumb|upright=1.25|Restored [[Walls of Constantinople]]]]

Although Heraclius's successors managed to salvage [[Constantinople]] from two [[Sieges of Constantinople|Arab sieges]] (in 674–77 and 717), the empire of the 8th and early 9th century was rocked by the great [[Iconoclastic Controversy]], punctuated by dynastic struggles between various factions at court. The [[Bulgars|Bulgar]] and [[Slavic peoples|Slavic]] tribes profited from these disorders and invaded [[Illyria]], [[Thrace]] and even [[Greece]]. After the decisive victory at [[battle of Ongala|Ongala]] in 680 the armies of the Bulgars and Slavs advanced to the south of the Balkan mountains, defeating again the Byzantines who were then forced to sign a humiliating peace treaty which acknowledged the establishment of the [[First Bulgarian Empire]] on the borders of the Empire.

To counter these threats a new system of administration was introduced. The regional civil and military administration were combined in the hands of a general, or strategos. A [[Theme (Byzantine district)|theme]], which formerly denoted a subdivision of the Byzantine army, came to refer to a region governed by a strategos. The reform led to the emergence of great landed families which controlled the regional military and often pressed their claims to the throne (see [[Bardas Phokas the Elder|Bardas Phocas]] and [[Bardas Sklerus]] for characteristic examples).

[[File:Porphyrogenetus.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|left|''Christ crowning [[Constantine VII]]''<br />ivory plaque, ca. 945]]

By the early 8th century, notwithstanding the shrinking territory of the empire, Constantinople remained the largest and the wealthiest city west of [[Tang dynasty|China]], comparable only to Sassanid [[Ctesiphon]], and later [[Abbasid]] [[Baghdad]]. The population of the imperial capital fluctuated between 300,000 and 400,000 as the emperors undertook measures to restrain its growth. The only other large Christian cities were Rome (50,000) and [[Thessaloniki|Thessalonica]] (30,000).<ref>City populations from [http://www.etext.org/Politics/World.Systems/datasets/citypop/civilizations/citypops_2000BC-1988AD ''Four Thousand Years of Urban Growth: An Historical Census''] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080211233018/http://www.etext.org/Politics/World.Systems/datasets/citypop/civilizations/citypops_2000BC-1988AD |date=11 February 2008 }} (1987, Edwin Mellon Press) by Tertius Chandler</ref> Even before the 8th century was out, the Farmer's Law signalled the resurrection of agricultural technologies in the Roman Empire. As the 2006 ''[[Encyclopædia Britannica]]'' noted, "the technological base of Byzantine society was more advanced than that of contemporary western Europe: iron tools could be found in the villages; water mills dotted the landscape; and field-sown beans provided a diet rich in protein".<ref>{{cite encyclopedia |url=https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9239 |title=Byzantine Empire. The successors of Heraclius: Islam and the Bulgars |encyclopedia=[[Encyclopedia Britannica]]|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071222083734/https://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9239 |archive-date=22 December 2007 }} <!-- wayback machine archives don't have the complete article e.g. https://web.archive.org/web/20060107161322/http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9239 --></ref>

The ascension of the [[Macedonian dynasty]] in 867 marked the end of the period of political and religious turmoil and introduced a new golden age of the empire. While the talented generals such as [[Nikephoros Phokas the Elder|Nicephorus Phocas]] expanded the frontiers, the Macedonian emperors (such as [[Leo the Wise]] and [[Constantine VII]]) presided over the cultural flowering in Constantinople, known as the [[Macedonian Renaissance]]. The enlightened Macedonian rulers scorned the rulers of Western Europe as illiterate barbarians and maintained a nominal claim to rule over the West. Although this fiction had been exploded with the coronation of [[Charlemagne]] in Rome (800), the Byzantine rulers did not treat their Western counterparts as equals. Generally, they had little interest in political and economic developments in the barbarian (from their point of view) West.

Against this economic background the culture and the imperial traditions of the Eastern Roman Empire attracted its northern neighbours—Slavs, Bulgars, and Khazars—to [[Constantinople]], in search of either pillage or enlightenment. The movement of the Germanic tribes to the south triggered the great migration of the [[Slavs]], who occupied the vacated territories. In the 7th century, they moved westward to the [[Elbe]], southward to the [[Danube]] and eastward to the [[Dnieper]]. By the 9th century, the Slavs had expanded into sparsely inhabited territories to the south and east from these natural frontiers, peacefully assimilating the indigenous [[Illyrians|Illyrian]] and [[Finnic peoples|Finnic]] populations.

===Rise of Islam===
;632–750
{{Main|Spread of Islam|Early Muslim conquests|Arab–Byzantine wars|Muslim conquest of the Levant|Umayyad conquest of Spain|History of Islam in southern Italy}}
[[File:Europe around 650.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.6|Europe around 650]]

From the 7th century, [[History of the Byzantine Empire|Byzantine history]] was greatly affected by the rise of Islam and the [[Caliphates]]. [[Arab Muslims|Muslim Arabs]] first invaded historically Roman territory under [[Abū Bakr]], first Caliph of the [[Rashidun Caliphate]], who entered [[Roman Syria]] and [[Roman Mesopotamia]]. The Byzantines and neighbouring Persian [[Sasanids]] had been severely weakened by a long succession of [[Byzantine–Sasanian wars]], especially the climactic [[Byzantine–Sasanian War of 602–628]]. Under [[Umar]], the second Caliph, the Muslims decisively conquered [[Roman Syria|Syria]] and [[Mesopotamia (Roman province)|Mesopotamia]], as well as [[Roman Palestine]], [[Roman Egypt]], parts of [[Asia Minor]] and [[Africa (Roman province)|Roman North Africa]], while they entirely toppled the Sasanids. In the mid 7th century, following the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]], Islam penetrated into the [[Caucasus]] region, of which parts [[Russo-Persian Wars|would later]] permanently become part of Russia.<ref>{{cite book |quote=It is difficult to establish exactly when Islam first appeared in Russia because the lands that Islam penetrated early in its expansion were not part of Russia at the time, but were later incorporated into the expanding Russian Empire. Islam reached the Caucasus region in the middle of the seventh century as part of the Arab [[Muslim conquest of Persia|conquest]] of the Iranian Sassanid Empire.|title=Islam in Russia: The Politics of Identity and Security|first=Shireen |last= Hunter | publisher=Routledge | date = 2004 |page=3 |isbn = 978-0765612830}}</ref> This expansion of Islam continued under Umar's successors and then the [[Umayyad Caliphate]], which conquered the rest of Mediterranean North Africa and most of the [[Visigothic Kingdom|Iberian Peninsula]]. Over the next centuries Muslim forces were able to take further European territory, including [[Cyprus in the Middle Ages|Cyprus]], [[Malta]], [[Septimania]], [[Emirate of Crete|Crete]], and [[history of Islam in southern Italy|Sicily and parts of southern Italy]].<ref>Kennedy, Hugh (1995). "The Muslims in Europe". In McKitterick, Rosamund, ''The New Cambridge Medieval History: c. 500 – c. 700'', pp. 249–272. Cambridge University Press. {{ISBN|052136292X}}.</ref>

The Muslim conquest of Hispania began when the [[Moors]] (mostly [[Berber people|Berbers]] and some [[Arab]]s) invaded the [[Christians|Christian]] [[Visigothic Kingdom]] in the year 711, under their Berber leader [[Tariq ibn Ziyad]]. They landed at [[Gibraltar]] on 30 April and worked their way northward. Tariq's forces were joined the next year by those of his superior, [[Musa ibn Nusair]]. During the eight-year campaign most of the [[Iberian Peninsula]] was brought under [[Muslim]] rule—except for small areas in the north-northwest ([[Asturias]]) and largely [[Basque people|Basque]] regions in the [[Pyrenees]]. This territory, under the Arab name [[Al-Andalus]], became part of the expanding [[Umayyad]] empire.

The unsuccessful [[Siege of Constantinople (717–718)|second siege of Constantinople]] (717) weakened the [[Umayyad|Umayyad dynasty]] and reduced their prestige. After their success in overrunning Iberia, the conquerors moved northeast across the Pyrenees. They were defeated by the [[Frankish Empire|Frank]]ish leader [[Charles Martel]] at the [[Battle of Tours|Battle of Poitiers]] in 732. The Umayyads were overthrown in 750 by the [[Abbāsids]] and most of the Umayyad clan were massacred.

A surviving Umayyad prince, [[Abd-ar-rahman I]], escaped to Spain and founded a new Umayyad dynasty in the [[Caliph of Cordoba|Emirate of Cordoba]] in 756. Charles Martel's son [[Pippin the Short]] retook [[Narbonne]], and his grandson Charlemagne established the [[Marca Hispanica]] across the Pyrenees in part of what today is [[Catalonia]], reconquering [[Girona]] in 785 and [[Barcelona]] in 801. The Umayyads in Hispania proclaimed themselves caliphs in 929.

===Birth of the Latin West===
{{Main|Barbarian kingdoms}}

====700–850====
[[File:Sutton Hoo helmet 2016.png|thumb|upright|The [[Sutton Hoo helmet]], an [[Anglo-Saxons|Anglo-Saxon]] helmet from the early 7th century]]

Climatic conditions in Western Europe began to improve after 700.<ref name="beberglund" /><ref>Cini Castagnoli, G.C., Bonino, G., Taricco, C. and Bernasconi, S.M. 2002. "Solar radiation variability in the last 1400 years recorded in the carbon isotope ratio of a Mediterranean sea core", ''Advances in Space Research'' 29: 1989–1994.</ref> In that year, the two major powers in western Europe were the [[Franks]] in [[Gaul]] and the [[Kingdom of the Lombards|Lombard]]s in Italy.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 102">Cantor, Norman. "The Civilization of the Middle Ages". p. 102</ref> The Lombards had been thoroughly Romanized, and [[Kingdom of the Lombards|their kingdom]] was stable and well developed. The Franks, in contrast, were barely any different from their barbarian Germanic ancestors. The [[Kingdom of the Franks]] was weak and divided.<ref>{{Cite book|title=The New Cambridge Medieval History: Volume 2, c. 700–c. 900|last=McKitterick|first=Rosamond|publisher=Cambridge University Press|year=1995|isbn=9780521362924|pages=87–90}}</ref> Impossible to guess at the time, but by the end of the century, the Lombardic kingdom would be extinct, while the Frankish kingdom would have nearly reassembled the Western Roman Empire.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 102"/>

Though much of Roman civilization north of the [[Po (river)|Po River]] had been wiped out in the years after the end of the Western Roman Empire, between the 5th and 8th centuries, new political and social infrastructure began to develop. Much of this was initially Germanic and pagan. [[Arianism|Arian Christian]] missionaries had been spreading Arian Christianity throughout northern Europe, though by 700 the religion of northern Europeans was largely a mix of [[Germanic paganism]], Christianized paganism, and Arian Christianity.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 147">Cantor, Norman. "The Civilization of the Middle Ages". p. 147</ref> [[Chalcedonian Christianity]] had barely started to spread in northern Europe by this time. Through the practice of [[simony]], local princes typically auctioned off ecclesiastical offices, causing priests and bishops to function as though they were yet another noble under the patronage of the prince.<ref>Cantor, Norman. "The Civilization of the Middle Ages". p. 148</ref> In contrast, a network of [[Christian monasticism|monasteries]] had sprung up as monks sought separation from the world. These monasteries remained independent from local princes, and as such constituted the "church" for most northern Europeans during this time. Being independent from local princes, they increasingly stood out as centres of learning, of scholarship, and as religious centres where individuals could receive spiritual or monetary assistance.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 147"/>

The interaction between the culture of the newcomers, their warband loyalties, the remnants of classical culture, and Christian influences, produced a new model for society, based in part on [[feudalism|feudal obligations]]. The centralized administrative systems of the Romans did not withstand the changes, and the institutional support for [[Slavery|chattel slavery]] largely disappeared. The [[Anglo-Saxons]] in England had also started to convert from [[Anglo-Saxon paganism|Anglo-Saxon polytheism]] after the [[Gregorian mission|arrival of Christian missionaries in 597]].

====Italy====
{{Main|Kingdom of Italy (medieval)|Italy in the Middle Ages}}
{{Further|Lombards|King of Italy|Medieval Corsica}}[[File:Italien zur Langobardenzeit.jpg|thumb|upright=1.15|right|The Lombard possessions in Italy: The Lombard Kingdom ''(Neustria, Austria and Tuscia)'' and the Lombard Duchies of Spoleto and Benevento]]

The Lombards, who first entered Italy in 568 under [[Alboin]], carved out a state in the north, with its capital at [[Pavia]]. At first, they were unable to conquer the [[Exarchate of Ravenna]], the ''[[Duchy of Rome|Ducatus Romanus]]'', and [[Calabria]] and [[Apulia]]. The next two hundred years were occupied in trying to conquer these territories from the Byzantine Empire.

The Lombard state was relatively Romanized, at least when compared to the Germanic kingdoms in northern Europe. It was highly decentralized at first, with the territorial dukes having practical sovereignty in their duchies, especially in the southern duchies of [[Duchy of Spoleto|Spoleto]] and [[Duchy of Benevento|Benevento]]. For a decade following the death of [[Cleph]] in 575, the Lombards did not even elect a king; this period is called the [[Rule of the Dukes]]. The first written legal code was composed in poor Latin in 643: the ''[[Edictum Rothari]]''. It was primarily the codification of the oral legal tradition of the people.

The Lombard state was well-organized and stabilized by the end of the long reign of [[Liutprand, King of the Lombards|Liutprand]] (717&ndash;744), but its collapse was sudden. Unsupported by the dukes, King [[Desiderius]] was defeated and forced to surrender his kingdom to Charlemagne in 774. The Lombard kingdom ended and a period of Frankish rule was initiated. The Frankish king [[Pepin the Short]] had, by the [[Donation of Pepin]], given the pope the "[[Papal States]]" and the territory north of that swath of papally-governed land was ruled primarily by Lombard and Frankish vassals of the [[Holy Roman Emperor]] until the rise of the city-states in the 11th and 12th centuries.

In the south, a period of chaos began. The [[Duchy of Benevento]] maintained its sovereignty in the face of the pretensions of both the Western and Eastern Empires. In the 9th century, the [[Muslim conquest of Sicily|Muslims conquered Sicily]]. The cities on the [[Tyrrhenian Sea]] departed from Byzantine allegiance. Various states owing various nominal allegiances fought constantly over territory until events came to a head in the early 11th century with the coming of the [[Normans]], who conquered the whole of the south by the end of the century.

====Britain====
{{Main|History of Anglo-Saxon England|History of Brittany|History of Cornwall|Scotland in the Early Middle Ages|Wales in the Early Middle Ages}}

[[Roman Britain]] was in a state of political and economic collapse at the time of the [[End of Roman rule in Britain|Roman departure]] c. 400. A [[Anglo-Saxon settlement of Britain|series of settlements]] (traditionally referred to as an invasion) by [[Germanic peoples]] began in the early fifth century, and by the sixth century the island would consist of many small kingdoms engaged in ongoing warfare with each other. The Germanic kingdoms are now collectively referred to as [[Anglo-Saxons]]. Christianity began to take hold among the Anglo-Saxons in the sixth century, with 597 given as the traditional date for its large-scale adoption.

[[File:Gokstadskipet1.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The [[Gokstad ship]], a 9th-century Viking [[longship]], excavated in 1882. Viking Ship Museum, Oslo, Norway]]

Western Britain ([[Wales]]), eastern and [[northern Scotland]] ([[Picts|Pictland]]) and the [[Scottish Highlands|Scottish highlands]] and [[List of islands of Scotland|isles]] continued their separate evolution. The [[Irish people|Irish]] descended and Irish-influenced people of western Scotland were Christian from the fifth century onward, the Picts adopted Christianity in the sixth century under the influence of [[Columba]], and the Welsh had been Christian since the Roman era.

The [[Northumbria|Kingdom of Northumbria]] was the pre-eminent power c. 600&ndash;700, absorbing several weaker Anglo-Saxon and [[Britons (Celtic people)|Brythonic]] kingdoms, while [[Mercia]] held a similar status c. 700&ndash;800. [[Wessex]] would absorb all of the kingdoms in the south, both Anglo-Saxon and Briton. In Wales consolidation of power would not begin until the ninth century under the descendants of [[Merfyn Frych]] of [[Kingdom of Gwynedd|Gwynedd]], establishing a hierarchy that would last until the [[Norman invasion of Wales]] in 1081.

The first [[Vikings|Viking]] raids on Britain began before 800, increasing in scope and destructiveness over time. In 865 a large, well-organized [[Denmark|Danish]] Viking army (called the [[Great Heathen Army]]) attempted a conquest, breaking or diminishing Anglo-Saxon power everywhere but in Wessex. Under the leadership of [[Alfred the Great]] and his descendants, Wessex would at first survive, then coexist with, and eventually conquer the Danes. It would then establish the [[Kingdom of England]] and rule until the establishment of an Anglo-Danish kingdom under [[Cnut the Great|Cnut]], and then again until the [[Norman conquest of England|Norman Invasion]] of 1066.

Viking raids and invasion were no less dramatic for the north. Their defeat of the Picts in 839 led to a lasting [[Norway|Norse]] heritage in northernmost Scotland, and it led to the combination of the Picts and [[Gaels]] under the [[House of Alpin]], which became the [[Kingdom of Alba]], the predecessor of the [[Kingdom of Scotland]]. The Vikings combined with the Gaels of the [[Hebrides]] to become the [[Norse–Gaels|Gall-Gaidel]] and establish the [[Kingdom of the Isles]].

====Frankish Empire====
{{Main|Frankish Empire|Carolingian Empire|Carolingian Renaissance}}
[[File:Europe 814.svg|thumb|upright=1.25|Europe in 814. Charlemagne's empire included most of modern France, Germany, [[Benelux|the Low Countries]], Austria and northern Italy.]]
[[File:Sacre de Charlemagne.jpg|thumb|On 25 December 800, [[Charlemagne]] was crowned emperor by [[Pope Leo III]].]]
[[File:Aix dom int vue cote.jpg|thumbnail|upright=1.0|[[Palatine Chapel, Aachen|Charlemagne's palace chapel]] in [[Aachen]], [[Germany]], now the central part of the [[Aachen cathedral|cathedral]]]]

The [[Merovingian dynasty|Merovingians]] established themselves in the power vacuum of the former [[Roman province]]s in Gaul, and [[Clovis I]] [[Conversion to Christianity|converted to Christianity]] following his victory over the [[Alemanni]] at the [[Battle of Tolbiac]] (496), laying the foundation of the [[Francia|Frankish Empire]], the dominant state of early medieval Western [[Christendom]]. The Frankish kingdom grew through a complex development of conquest, patronage, and alliance building. Due to [[Salic law|salic custom]], inheritance rights were absolute, and all land was [[Partible inheritance|divided equally]] among the sons of a dead land holder.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 165">Cantor, Norman. "The Civilization of the Middle Ages". p. 165</ref> This meant that, when the king granted a prince land in reward for service, that prince and all of his descendants had an irrevocable right to that land that no future king could undo. Likewise, those princes (and their sons) could sublet their land to their own vassals, who could in turn sublet the land to lower sub-vassals.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 165"/> This all had the effect of weakening the power of the king as his kingdom grew, since the result was that the land became controlled not just by more princes and vassals, but by multiple layers of vassals. This also allowed his nobles to attempt to build their own power base, though given the strict salic tradition of hereditary kingship, few would ever consider overthrowing the king.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 165"/>

This increasingly fragmented arrangement was highlighted by [[Charles Martel]], who as [[Mayor of the Palace]] was effectively the strongest prince in the kingdom.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 189">Cantor, Norman. "The Civilization of the Middle Ages". p. 189</ref> His accomplishments were highlighted, not just by his famous defeat of invading Muslims at the [[Battle of Tours]], which is typically considered the battle that saved Europe from Muslim conquest, but by the fact that he greatly expanded Frankish influence. It was under his patronage that [[Saint Boniface|Boniface]] expanded Frankish influence into Germany by rebuilding the German church, with the result that, within a century, the German church was the strongest church in western Europe.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 189"/> Yet despite this, Charles Martel refused to overthrow the Frankish king. His son, Pepin the Short, inherited his power, and used it to further expand Frankish influence. Unlike his father, however, Pepin decided to seize the Frankish kingship. Given how strongly Frankish culture held to its principle of inheritance, few would support him if he attempted to overthrow the king.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 170">Cantor, Norman. "The Civilization of the Middle Ages". p. 170</ref> Instead, he sought the assistance of [[Pope Zachary]], who was himself newly vulnerable due to fallout with the [[Byzantine Emperor]] over the [[Iconoclastic Controversy]]. Pepin agreed to support the pope and to give him land (the [[Donation of Pepin]], which created the [[Papal States]]) in exchange for being consecrated as the new Frankish king. Given that Pepin's claim to the kingship was now based on an authority higher than Frankish custom, no resistance was offered to Pepin.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 170"/> With this, the Merovingian line of kings ended, and the [[Carolingian dynasty|Carolingian]] line began.

Pepin's son [[Charlemagne]] continued in the footsteps of his father and grandfather. He further expanded and consolidated the Frankish kingdom (now commonly called the [[Carolingian Empire]]). His reign also saw a cultural rebirth, commonly called the [[Carolingian Renaissance]]. Though the exact reasons are unclear, Charlemagne was crowned "Roman Emperor" by [[Pope Leo III]] on Christmas Day, 800. Upon Charlemagne's death, his empire had united much of modern-day France, western Germany and northern Italy. The years after his death illustrated how Germanic his empire remained.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 170"/> Rather than an orderly succession, his empire was divided in accordance with Frankish inheritance custom, which resulted in instability that plagued his empire until the last king of a united empire, [[Charles the Fat]], died in 887, which resulted in a permanent split of the empire into [[West Francia]] and [[East Francia]]. West Francia would be ruled by Carolingians until 987 and East Francia until 911, after which time the partition of the empire into France and Germany was complete.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 170"/>

====Feudalism====
{{Main|Feudalism|Manoralism}}

Around 800 there was a return to systematic agriculture in the form of the [[Open field system|open field]], or strip, system. A [[Manorialism|manor]] would have several fields, each subdivided into {{convert|1|acre|m2|adj=on}} strips of land. An acre measured one "furlong" of 220 yards by one "chain" of 22 yards (that is, about 200 m by 20 m). A furlong (from "furrow long") was considered to be the distance an ox could plough before taking a rest; the strip shape of the acre field also reflected the difficulty in turning early heavy ploughs. In the idealized form of the system, each family got thirty such strips of land. The three-field system of [[crop rotation]] was first developed in the 9th century: wheat or rye was planted in one field, the second field had a nitrogen-fixing crop, and the third was fallow.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi1318.htm |title = No. 1318: Three-Field Rotation|work = Engines of Our Ingenuity|last = Lienhard|first = John H.|publisher = University of Houston}}</ref>

Compared to the earlier two-field system, a three-field system allowed for significantly more land to be put under cultivation. Even more important, the system allowed for two harvests a year, reducing the risk that a single crop failure will lead to famine. Three-field agriculture created a surplus of oats that could be used to feed horses. This surplus allowed for the replacement of the ox by the horse after the introduction of the padded [[horse collar]] in the 12th century. Because the system required a major rearrangement of real estate and of the social order, it took until the 11th century before it came into general use. The heavy wheeled plough was introduced in the late 10th century. It required greater animal power and promoted the use of teams of oxen. Illuminated manuscripts depict two-wheeled ploughs with both a mouldboard, or curved metal ploughshare, and a coulter, a vertical blade in front of the ploughshare. The Romans had used light, wheel-less ploughs with flat iron shares that often proved unequal to the heavy soils of northern Europe.

The return to systemic agriculture coincided with the introduction of a new social system called [[feudalism]]. This system featured a hierarchy of reciprocal obligations. Each man was bound to serve his superior in return for the latter's protection. This made for confusion of territorial sovereignty since allegiances were subject to change over time and were sometimes mutually contradictory. Feudalism allowed the state to provide a degree of public safety despite the continued absence of bureaucracy and written records.

Manors became largely self-sufficient, and the volume of trade along long-distance routes and in market towns declined during this period, though never ceased entirely. Roman roads decayed and long-distance trade depended more heavily on water transport.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.timemaps.com/encyclopedia/medieval-europe-economy-history/|title=The Economy of Medieval Europe: Expanding Trade and Cities}}</ref>

===Viking Age===
{{Main|Viking Age}}

[[File:Viking Expansion.svg|thumb|right|upright=1.35|
Scandinavian settlements and raiding territory. Note : yellow in England and southern Italy covers the Viking expansion from [[Normandy]], called by the name of Norman
----
{{unbulleted list
 |{{color box|#800000|border=silver}} 8th century homeland
 |{{color box|#fe0000|border=silver}} 9th century expansion
 |{{color box|#ff7f00|border=silver}} 10th century expansion
}}
----
{{color box|#00ff01|border=silver}} [[Viking expansion|Viking raiding]] regions]]

The Viking Age spans the period roughly between the late 8th and mid-11th centuries in [[Scandinavia]] and [[Great Britain|Britain]], following the [[Germanic Iron Age]] (and the [[Vendel Age]] in Sweden). During this period, the [[Vikings]], Scandinavian warriors and traders raided and explored most parts of [[Europe]], [[West Asia|south-western Asia]], [[North Africa|northern Africa]], and [[L'Anse aux Meadows|north-eastern North America]].

With the means to travel (longships and open water), desire for goods led Scandinavian traders to explore and develop extensive trading partnerships in new territories. Some of the most important trading ports during the period include both existing and ancient cities such as [[Aarhus]], [[Ribe]], [[Hedeby]], [[Vineta]], [[Truso]], [[Kaupang]], [[Birka]], [[Bordeaux]], [[Jorvik|York]], [[Dublin]], and [[Staraya Ladoga|Aldeigjuborg]].

Viking raiding expeditions were separate from, though coexisted with, regular trading expeditions. Apart from exploring Europe via its oceans and rivers, with the aid of their advanced navigational skills, they extended their trading routes across vast parts of the continent. They also engaged in warfare, looting and enslaving numerous Christian communities of medieval Europe for centuries, contributing to the development of feudal systems in Europe.

===Eastern Europe===
; 600–1000
{{Main|Byzantine Empire|Western Turkic Khaganate|Avar Khaganate|Khazar Khaganate|Old Great Bulgaria|Alani|Magyars|Slavic migrations to the Balkans|Principality of Serbia (early medieval)|Great Moravia|Duchy of Croatia}}

{{multiple image
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header = [[Slavs|Slavic tribes]]
| image1 = Slavic tribes in the 7th to 9th century.jpg | width1 = 220
| caption1 = 
[[Early Slavs|Slavic]] tribes in central, eastern and southern Europe during the 7th to 9th centuries
----
}}

The Early Middle Ages marked the beginning of the cultural distinctions between Western and Eastern Europe north of the Mediterranean. Influence from the [[Byzantine Empire]] impacted the Christianization and hence almost every aspect of the cultural and political development of the East from the preeminence of [[Caesaropapism]] and [[Eastern Christianity]] to the spread of the [[Cyrillic alphabet]]. The turmoil of the so-called [[Migration Period|Barbarian invasions]] in the beginning of the period gradually gave way to more stabilized societies and states as the origins of contemporary Eastern Europe began to take shape during the [[High Middle Ages]].
{{multiple image
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header = [[Magyar tribes]]
| image1 = Kalandozasok.jpg | width1 = 220
| caption1 = 
Magyar campaigns in the 10th century
----
{{color box|#eca0a2|border=silver}} Magyar region
----
Most European nations were praying for mercy: "Sagittis hungarorum libera nos, Domine" – "Lord save us from the arrows of Hungarians" {{citation needed|reason=Like the famous 'A furore Normannorum libera nos, Domine' (which cannot be found in any Medieval Prayer book), this phrase is quoted everywhere and yet nobody seems to bother to provide a citation so it seems reasonable to expect a citation to whichever prayer book "Sagittis hungarorum libera nos Domine" came from and some proof that this prayer was widely used.|date=October 2015}}
}}
Turkic and Iranian invaders from [[Central Asia]] pressured the agricultural populations both in the Byzantine [[Balkans]] and in Central Europe creating a number of successor states in the [[Pontic steppe]]s. After the dissolution of the [[Huns#Unified Empire under Attila|Hunnic Empire]], the [[Western Turkic Khaganate|Western Turkic]] and [[Avar Khaganate]]s dominated territories from [[Pannonian Basin|Pannonia]] to the [[Caspian Sea]] before being replaced by the short lived [[Old Great Bulgaria]] and the more successful [[Khazar Khaganate]] north of the Black Sea and the [[Magyars]] in Central Europe.

The [[Khazars]] were a nomadic Turkic people who managed to develop a multiethnic commercial state which owed its success to the control of much of the waterway trade between Europe and Central Asia. The Khazars also exacted tribute from the [[Alans|Alani]], [[Magyars]], various [[Slavs|Slavic]] tribes, the [[Crimean Goths]], and the Greeks of [[Crimea]]. Through a network of Jewish itinerant merchants, or [[Radhanites]], they were in contact with the trade emporia of India and Spain.

Once they found themselves confronted by [[Early Muslim conquests|Arab expansionism]], the Khazars pragmatically allied themselves with Constantinople and clashed with the [[Caliphate]]. Despite initial setbacks, they managed to recover [[Derbent]] and eventually penetrated as far south as [[Principality of Iberia|Caucasian Iberia]], [[Caucasian Albania]] and [[Armenia]]. In doing so, they effectively blocked the northward expansion of [[Islam]] into [[Eastern Europe]] even before [[khan Tervel]] achieved the same at the [[Siege of Constantinople (717–18)|Second Arab Siege of Constantinople]] and several decades before the [[Battle of Tours]] in Western Europe.  Islam eventually penetrated into Eastern Europe in the 920s when [[Volga Bulgaria]] exploited the decline of Khazar power in the region to adopt Islam from the [[Baghdad]] missionaries. The state religion of Khazaria, [[Judaism]], disappeared as a political force with the fall of Khazaria, while Islam of Volga Bulgaria has survived in the region up to the present.

In the beginning of the period, the [[Early Slavs|Slavic tribes]] started to expand aggressively into Byzantine possessions on the Balkans. The first attested [[Slavs|Slavic]] polities were [[Principality of Serbia (early medieval)|Serbia]] and [[Great Moravia]], the latter of which emerged under the aegis of the Frankish Empire in the early 9th century. Great Moravia was ultimately overrun by the [[Magyars]], who invaded the [[Pannonian Basin]] around 896. The Slavic state became a stage for confrontation between the Christian missionaries from Constantinople and Rome. Although [[West Slavs]], [[Croats]] and [[Slovenes]] eventually acknowledged Roman ecclesiastical authority, the clergy of Constantinople succeeded in converting to Eastern Christianity two of the largest states of early medieval Europe, [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]] around 864, and [[Kievan Rus']] c. 990.

====Bulgaria====
{{Main|First Bulgarian Empire}}
[[File:St. Theodor.jpg|thumb|right|upright=0.8|Ceramic icon of [[Theodore the Studite|St Theodore]] from around 900, found in [[Preslav]], Bulgarian capital from 893 to 972]]
In 632 the [[Bulgars]] established the khanate of [[Old Great Bulgaria]] under the leadership of [[Kubrat]]. The Khazars managed to oust the Bulgars from Southern Ukraine into lands along middle [[Volga]] ([[Volga Bulgaria]]) and along lower [[Danube]] ([[First Bulgarian Empire|Danube Bulgaria]]).

In 681 the Bulgars founded a powerful and ethnically diverse state that played a defining role in the history of early medieval [[Southeastern Europe]]. Bulgaria withstood the pressure from [[Pontic steppe]] tribes like the [[Pechenegs]], [[Khazars]], and [[Cumans]], and in 806 destroyed the [[Avars (Carpathians)|Avar]] Khanate. The Danube Bulgars were quickly slavicized and, despite constant campaigning against Constantinople, accepted Christianity from the Byzantine Empire. Through the efforts of missionaries [[Cyril and Methodius]], mainly their disciples like [[Clement of Ohrid]] and [[Saint Naum|Naum]],<ref>Barford, P. M. (2001). The Early Slavs. Ithaca, New York: Cornell University Press</ref> the spread, initially of the [[Glagolitic alphabet|Glagolitic]], and later of the [[Cyrillic script|Cyrillic]] alphabet, developed in the capital Preslav. The local vernacular dialect, now known as [[Old Bulgarian]] or Old Church Slavonic, was established as the language of books and liturgy among [[Orthodoxy#Christianity|Orthodox Christian]] Slavs.

After the adoption of [[Christianity]] in 864, Bulgaria became a cultural and spiritual hub of the [[Eastern Orthodox]] Slavic world. The [[Cyrillic script]] was developed around 885–886, and was afterwards also introduced with books to [[Principality of Serbia (early medieval)|Serbia]] and [[Kievan Rus']]. Literature, art, and architecture were thriving with the establishment of the [[Preslav Literary School|Preslav]] and [[Ohrid Literary School]]s along with the distinct Preslav Ceramics School. In 927 the [[Bulgarian Orthodox Church]] was the first European national Church to gain independence with its own Patriarch while conducting services in the [[vernacular]] [[Old Church Slavonic]].

Under [[Simeon I of Bulgaria|Simeon I]] (893–927), the state was the largest and one of the most powerful political entities of Europe, and it consistently threatened the existence of the Byzantine empire. From the middle of the 10th century Bulgaria was in decline as it entered a social and spiritual turmoil. It was in part due to Simeon's devastating wars, but was also exacerbated
by a series of successful Byzantine military campaigns. Bulgaria was conquered after a long resistance in 1018.

==== Kievan Rus' ====
{{Main|Kievan Rus'}}
Led by a [[Varangian]] dynasty, the [[Kievan Rus']] controlled the [[trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks|routes connecting Northern Europe to Byzantium]] and to the Orient (for example: the [[Volga trade route]]). The Kievan state began with the rule (882–912) of [[Oleg of Novgorod|Prince Oleg]], who extended his control from [[Veliky Novgorod|Novgorod]] southwards along the [[Dnieper]] river valley in order to protect trade from [[Khazars|Khazar]] incursions from the east and moved his capital to the more strategic [[Kiev]]. [[Sviatoslav I of Kiev|Sviatoslav I]] (died 972) achieved the first major expansion of Kievan Rus' territorial control, fighting a war of conquest against the [[Khazar Empire]] and inflicting a serious blow on [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgaria]]. A [[Sviatoslav's invasion of Bulgaria|Rus' attack]] (967 or 968), instigated by the Byzantines, led to the collapse of the Bulgarian state and the occupation of the east of the country by the Rus'. An ensuing [[Rus'–Byzantine War (970–971)|direct military confrontation between the Rus' and Byzantium]] (970–971) ended with a [[Siege of Dorostolon|Byzantine victory]] (971). The Rus' withdrew and the Byzantine Empire incorporated eastern Bulgaria. Both before and after their [[Christianization of Kievan Rus'|conversion to Christianity]] (conventionally dated 988 under [[Vladimir I of Kiev]]—known as Vladimir the Great), the Rus' also embarked on predatory military campaigns against the Byzantine Empire, some of which resulted in trade treaties. The importance of Russo-Byzantine relations to Constantinople was highlighted by the fact that Vladimir I of Kiev, son of [[Sviatoslav I|Svyatoslav I]], became the only foreigner to marry (989) a [[Anna Porphyrogenita|Byzantine princess]] of the [[Macedonian dynasty]] (which ruled the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] from 867 to 1056), a singular honour sought in vain by many other rulers.

==Transmission of learning==
[[file:Silos-Claustro.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos]]. In the Early Middle Ages, cultural life was concentrated at [[monastery|monasteries]].]]

With the [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire]] and with urban centres in decline, [[literacy]] and learning decreased in the West.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 52">Cantor, Norman. "The Civilization of the Middle Ages". p 52</ref> [[Counterurbanization|De-urbanization]] reduced the scope of education, and by the [[6th century]] teaching and learning moved to monastic and cathedral schools, with the study of biblical texts at the centre of education.<ref>Pierre Riché, ''Education and Culture in the Barbarian West: From the Jeremy Marcelino II'', (Columbia: Univ. of South Carolina Pr., 1976), pp. 100-129.</ref> The education of the [[laity]] continued with little interruption in Italy, Spain, and the southern part of [[Gaul]], where Roman influences lasted longer. In the 7th century, however, learning expanded in Ireland and the Celtic lands, where Latin was a foreign language and Latin texts were eagerly studied and taught.<ref>Pierre Riché, ''Education and Culture in the Barbarian West: From the Sixth through the Eighth Century'', (Columbia: Univ. of South Carolina Pr., 1976), pp. 307-323.</ref> The [[Carolingian Renaissance]] of [[classical education]] appeared in the [[Carolingian Empire]] in the [[8th century]].

In the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] (Byzantium), learning (in the sense of formal education involving literature) was maintained at a higher level than in the West. The classical education system, which would persist for hundreds of years, emphasized [[grammar]], [[Latin]], [[Ancient Greek|Greek]], and [[rhetoric]]. Pupils read and reread classic works and wrote essays imitating their style. By the 4th century, this education system was [[Christianized]]. In ''[[De doctrina Christiana|De Doctrina Christiana]]'' (started 396, completed 426), [[Augustine of Hippo|Augustine]] explained how classical education fits into the Christian worldview: Christianity is a religion of the book, so Christians must be literate. [[Tertullian]] was more skeptical of the value of classical learning, asking "What indeed has Athens to do with Jerusalem?"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ccel.org/ccel/schaff/anf03.v.iii.vii.html|title=Philip Schaff: ANF03. Latin Christianity: Its Founder, Tertullian – Christian Classics Ethereal Library|website=ccel.org}}</ref>

===Science===
{{Main|History of science#Middle Ages}}

In the ancient world, Greek was the primary language of science. Advanced scientific research and teaching was mainly carried on in the [[Hellenistic]] side of the Roman empire, and in Greek. Late Roman attempts to translate Greek writings into Latin had limited success.<ref>[[William Stahl]], ''Roman Science'', (Madison: Univ. of Wisconsin Pr.) 1962, see esp. pp. 120-133.</ref> As the knowledge of Greek declined, the Latin West found itself cut off from some of its Greek philosophical and scientific roots. For a time, Latin-speakers who wanted to learn about science had access to only a couple of books by [[Boethius]] (c. 470–524) that summarized Greek handbooks by [[Nicomachus of Gerasa]]. [[Isidore of Seville]] produced a Latin encyclopedia in 630. Private libraries would have existed, and monasteries would also keep various kinds of texts.

The study of nature was pursued more for practical reasons than as an abstract inquiry: the need to care for the sick led to the study of medicine and of ancient texts on drugs;<ref>Linda E. Voigts, "Anglo-Saxon Plant Remedies and the Anglo-Saxons", ''Isis'', 70(1979):250-268; reprinted in M. H. Shank, ed., ''The Scientific Enterprise in Antiquity and the Middle Ages'', (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 2000).</ref> the need for monks to determine the proper time to pray led them to study the motion of the stars;<ref>Stephen C. McCluskey, "Gregory of Tours, Monastic Timekeeping, and Early Christian Attitudes to Astronomy", ''Isis'', 81(1990):9-22; reprinted in M. H. Shank, ed., ''The Scientific Enterprise in Antiquity and the Middle Ages'', (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Pr., 2000).</ref> and the need to compute the [[date of Easter]] led them to study and teach mathematics and the motions of the Sun and Moon.<ref>Stephen C. McCluskey, ''Astronomies and Cultures in Early Medieval Europe,'' (Cambridge: Cambridge Univ. Pr., 1998), pp. 149-57.</ref><ref>Faith Wallis, "'Number Mystique' in Early Medieval Computus Texts", pp. 179-99 in T. Koetsier and L. Bergmans, eds. ''Mathematics and the Divine: A Historical Study'', (Amsterdam: Elsevier, 2005).</ref>

===Carolingian Renaissance===
{{Main|Carolingian Renaissance}}
In the late 8th century, there was renewed interest in [[Classical Antiquity]] as part of the Carolingian Renaissance. Charlemagne carried out a reform in [[education]]. The English monk [[Alcuin|Alcuin of York]] elaborated a project of scholarly development aimed at resuscitating classical knowledge by establishing programs of study based upon the seven [[liberal arts]]: the ''trivium'', or literary education ([[grammar]], [[rhetoric]], and [[dialectic]]), and the ''quadrivium'', or scientific education ([[arithmetic]], [[geometry]], [[astronomy]], and [[music]]). From 787 on, [[decree]]s began to circulate recommending the restoration of old schools and the founding of new ones across the empire.

Institutionally, these new schools were either under the responsibility of a [[monastery]] ([[monastic school]]s), a [[cathedral]], or a [[noble court]]. The teaching of [[dialectic]] (a discipline that corresponds to today's [[logic]]) was responsible for the increase in the interest in speculative inquiry; from this interest would follow the rise of the [[Scholasticism|Scholastic]] tradition of [[Christian philosophy]]. In the 12th and 13th centuries, many of those schools founded under the auspices of Charlemagne, especially [[cathedral school]]s, would become [[Medieval university|universities]].

===Byzantium's golden age===
{{multiple image
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header = [[Byzantium under the Macedonians|Macedonian Byzantium]]
| image1 = Paris psaulter gr139 fol1v.jpg | width1 = 220
| caption1 = Miniature from the [[Paris Psalter]]
----
[[Byzantium under the Macedonians|Byzantium in the 10th century]] experienced a wide-scale cultural revival.
}}
Byzantium's great intellectual achievement was the [[Corpus Juris Civilis]] ("Body of Civil Law"), a massive compilation of [[Roman law]] made under [[Justinian]] (r. 528–565). The work includes a section called the ''[[Pandects|Digesta]]'' which abstracts the principles of Roman law in such a way that they can be applied to any situation. The level of literacy was considerably higher in the Byzantine Empire than in the Latin West. Elementary education was much more widely available, sometimes even in the countryside. Secondary schools still taught the ''[[Iliad]]'' and other classics.

As for higher education, the [[Neoplatonic Academy]] in [[Athens]] was closed in 526. There was also a school in Alexandria which remained open until the Arab conquest (640). The [[University of Constantinople]], founded by Emperor [[Theodosius II]] (425), seems to have dissolved around this time. It was refounded by Emperor [[Michael III]] in 849. Higher education in this period focused on rhetoric, although [[Aristotle]]'s logic was covered in simple outline. Under the [[Macedonian dynasty]] (867–1056), Byzantium enjoyed a golden age and a revival of classical learning. There was little original research, but many lexicons, anthologies, encyclopedias, and commentaries.

===Islamic learning===
In the course of the 11th century, Islam's scientific knowledge began to reach Western Europe, via Islamic Spain. The works of [[Euclid]] and [[Archimedes]], lost in the West, were translated from Arabic to Latin in Spain. The modern [[Hindu–Arabic numeral system]], including a notation for zero, were developed by Hindu mathematicians in the 5th and 6th centuries. Muslim mathematicians learned of it in the 7th century and added a notation for decimal fractions in the 9th and 10th centuries. Around 1000, Gerbert of Aurillac (later [[Pope Sylvester II]]) made an [[abacus]] with counters engraved with [[Arabic numerals]]. A treatise by [[Al-Khwārizmī]] on how to perform calculations with these numerals was translated into Latin in Spain in the 12th century.

===Monasteries===
[[Monasteries]] were targeted in the eighth and ninth centuries by [[Viking]]s who invaded the coasts of northern Europe. They were targeted not only because they stored books but also precious objects that were looted by invaders. In the earliest monasteries, there were no special rooms set aside as a library, but from the sixth century onwards libraries became an essential aspect of monastic life in Western Europe. The [[Benedictines]] placed books in the care of a librarian who supervised their use. In some monastic reading rooms, valuable books would be chained to shelves, but there were also lending sections as well. Copying was also another important aspect of monastic libraries, this was undertaken by resident or visiting monks and took place in the ''[[scriptorium]]''. In the Byzantine world, religious houses rarely maintained their own copying centres. Instead they acquired donations from wealthy donors. In the tenth century, the largest collection in the Byzantine world was found in the monasteries of [[Mount Athos]] (modern-day Greece), which accumulated over 10,000 books. Scholars travelled from one monastery to another in search of the texts they wished to study. Travelling monks were often given funds to buy books, and certain monasteries which held a reputation for intellectual activities welcomed travelling monks who came to copy manuscripts for their own libraries. One of these was the [[monastery of Bobbio]] in Italy, which was founded by the Irish abbot [[Columbanus]] in 614, and by the ninth century boasted a catalogue of 666 manuscripts, including religious works, classical texts, histories and mathematical treatises.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Books A Living History|last=Lyons|first=Martyn|publisher=Getty Publications|year=2011|isbn=9781606060834|location=United States|pages=15, 38–40}}</ref>

==Christianity West and East==
{{Main|Christianity in the Middle Ages}}
{{further|Christianity in the 6th century|Christianity in the 7th century|Christianity in the 8th century}}
{{multiple image|direction=vertical
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header = [[Medieval Christians]]
| image1 = Sacr Gelasianum 131v 132.jpg | width1 = 220
| caption1 = [[Sacramentarium Gelasianum]].
----
Frontispiece of Incipit from the Vatican manuscript
| image2 = St Boniface - Baptising-Martyrdom - Sacramentary of Fulda - 11Century.jpg | width2 = 220
| caption2 = [[St Boniface]] – Baptism and Martyrdom.
}}
From the [[early Christians]], early medieval Christians inherited a church united by major creeds, a stable [[Biblical canon]], and a well-developed philosophical tradition. The [[history of medieval Christianity]] traces Christianity during the Middle Ages—the period after the fall of the Western Roman Empire until the [[Reformation|Protestant Reformation]]. The institutional structure of Christianity in the west during this period is different from what it would become later in the Middle Ages. As opposed to the later church, the church of the Early Middle Ages consisted primarily of the monasteries.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 153">Cantor, Norman. "The Civilization of the Middle Ages". p 153</ref> The practice of [[simony]] has caused the ecclesiastical offices to become the property of local princes, and as such the monasteries constituted the only church institution independent of the local princes. In addition, the [[papacy]] was relatively weak, and its power was mostly confined to central Italy.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 153"/> Individualized religious practice was uncommon, as it typically required membership in a religious order, such as the [[Order of Saint Benedict]].<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 153"/> Religious orders would not proliferate until the high Middle Ages. For the typical Christian at this time, religious participation was largely confined to occasionally receiving mass from wandering monks. Few would receive this as often as once a month.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 153"/> By the end of this period, individual practice of religion was becoming more common, as monasteries started to transform into something approximating modern churches, where some monks might even give occasional sermons.<ref name="Cantor, Norman p 153"/>

During the Early Middle Ages, the divide between Eastern and Western Christianity widened, paving the way for the [[East-West Schism]] in the 11th century. In the West, the power of the [[Bishop of Rome]] expanded. In 607, [[Boniface III]] became the first Bishop of Rome to use the title [[Pope]].{{citation needed|reason=Not mentioned in other Wikipedia articles such as Pope Boniface and History of the Papacy|date=September 2016}} [[Pope Gregory I]] used his office as a temporal power, expanded Rome's missionary efforts to the British Isles, and laid the foundations for the expansion of monastic orders. Roman church traditions and practices gradually replaced local variants, including [[Celtic Christianity]] in the [[British Isles]]. Various barbarian tribes went from raiding and pillaging the island to invading and settling. They were entirely pagan, having never been part of the Empire, though they experienced Christian influence from the surrounding peoples, such as those who were converted by the mission of [[Augustine of Canterbury]], sent by [[Pope Gregory I]]. In the East, the conquests of Islam reduced the power of the Greek-speaking [[patriarchates]].

===Christianization of the West===
{{Main|Christianization}}

The [[State church of the Roman Empire|Roman Church]], the only centralized institution to survive the [[fall of the Western Roman Empire]] intact, was the sole unifying cultural influence in the West, preserving Latin learning, maintaining the art of writing, and preserving a centralized administration through its network of [[bishop]]s ordained in succession. The Early Middle Ages are characterized by the urban control of bishops and the territorial control exercised by dukes and counts. The rise of [[medieval commune|urban communes]] marked the beginning of the [[High Middle Ages]].

The [[Germanic Christianity|Christianization of Germanic tribes]] began in the 4th century with the Goths and continued throughout the Early Middle Ages, led in the 6th to 7th centuries by the [[Hiberno-Scottish mission]] and replaced in the 8th to 9th centuries by the [[Anglo-Saxon mission]], with Anglo-Saxons like [[Alcuin]] playing an important role in the [[Carolingian Renaissance]]. [[Saint Boniface|Boniface]], the Apostle of the Germans, propagated Christianity in the Frankish Empire during the 8th century. He helped shape Western Christianity, and many of the dioceses he proposed remain until today. After his martyrdom, he was quickly hailed as a saint. By 1000, even [[Iceland]] had become Christian, leaving only more remote parts of Europe ([[Scandinavia]], the [[Baltic peoples|Baltic]], and [[Finnic peoples|Finnic]] lands) to be Christianized during the High Middle Ages.

==Europe in 1000==
{{further|AD 1000}}
Speculation that the world would end in the year 1000 was confined to a few uneasy French monks.<ref>Cantor, 1993 ''Europe in 1050'' p 235.</ref> Ordinary clerks used [[regnal year]]s, e.g. the 4th year of the reign of Robert II (the Pious) of France. The use of the modern "anno domini" system of dating was largely confined to chroniclers of universal history, such as the [[Venerable Bede]].

Western Europe remained less developed compared to the Islamic world, with its vast network of caravan trade, or China, at this time the world's most populous empire under the [[Song dynasty]]. [[Constantinople]] had a population of about 300,000, but Rome had a mere 35,000 and Paris 20,000.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.irows.ucr.edu/research/citemp/estcit/estcit.htm|title = Estimating The Population Sizes of Cities|last1 = Pasciuti|first1 = Daniel|last2 = Chase-Dunn|first2 = Christopher|work = Urbanization and Empire Formation Project|publisher = University of California, Riverside|date = 21 May 2002|access-date = 17 June 2006|archive-date = 21 May 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110521163735/http://www.irows.ucr.edu/research/citemp/estcit/estcit.htm|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://sumbur.n-t.org/sg/ua/ddk.htm |title=Сумбур. Страны и города. Демография древнего Киева |access-date=19 June 2006 |archive-date=19 September 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060919085046/http://sumbur.n-t.org/sg/ua/ddk.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> By contrast, [[Córdoba, Spain|Córdoba]], in Islamic Spain, at this time the world's largest city contained 450,000 inhabitants. The [[Vikings]] had a trade network in northern Europe, including a [[Trade route from the Varangians to the Greeks|route connecting the Baltic to Constantinople]] through Russia, as did the [[Radhanites]].

[[File:St Michaels Church Hildesheim.jpg|thumb|[[St. Michael's Church, Hildesheim]], Germany, 1010s. [[Ottonian architecture]] draws its inspiration from [[Carolingian architecture|Carolingian]] and Byzantine architecture.]]

With nearly the entire nation freshly ravaged by the Vikings, England was in a desperate state. The long-suffering English later responded with a massacre of Danish settlers in 1002, leading to a round of reprisals and finally to Danish rule (1013), though England regained independence shortly after. Christianization made rapid progress and proved itself the long-term solution to the problem of barbarian raiding. The territories of Scandinavia were soon to be fully Christianized Kingdoms: [[Denmark]] in the 10th century, [[Norway]] in the 11th, and [[Sweden]], the country with the least raiding activity, in the 12th. [[Kievan Rus]], recently converted to Orthodox Christianity, flourished as the largest state in Europe. Iceland, [[Greenland]], and [[Hungary]] were all declared Christian about 1000.

In Europe, a formalized institution of marriage was established. The proscribed degree of [[consanguinity]] varied, but the custom made marriages annullable by application to the Pope.<ref>{{cite journal |journal = The Cincinnati Lancet-Clinic|volume= 89|url = https://books.google.com/books?id=MqZXAAAAMAAJ&pg=PA478 |page = 478|title= Heredity with Especial Reference to Certain Eye Affections|last = Dowling|first = Francis|date = 9 May 1903}}</ref> North of Italy, where masonry construction was never extinguished, stone construction was replacing timber in important structures. Deforestation of the densely wooded continent was under way. The 10th century marked a return of urban life, with the Italian cities doubling in population. [[London]], abandoned for many centuries, was again England's main economic centre by 1000. By 1000, [[Bruges]] and [[Ghent]] held regular trade fairs behind castle walls, a tentative return of economic life to western Europe.

In the culture of Europe, several features surfaced soon after 1000 that mark the end of the Early Middle Ages: the rise of the [[medieval commune]]s, the reawakening of city life, and the appearance of the [[bourgeoisie|burgher class]], the founding of the first [[Medieval university|universities]], the rediscovery of [[Roman law]], and the beginnings of vernacular literature.

In 1000, the papacy was firmly under the control of German Emperor [[Otto III]], or "emperor of the world" as he styled himself. But later church reforms enhanced its independence and prestige: the [[Abbey of Cluny|Cluniac movement]], the building of the first great Transalpine stone cathedrals and the collation of the mass of accumulated [[decretal]]s into a formulated [[canon law]]. Meanwhile, a new Central European power was taking shape, and on [[Christmas Day]] of 1000, Stephen I was crowned as the first king of Hungary, stabilising the country, which had been ruled by genera. Like the [[Civitas Schinesghe]], which was also consolidating at the time, the country was seen as a promising political and trading partner, and a ''federati'' (ally) by the emperor.<ref>Andreas Lawaty, Hubert Orłowski, Deutsche und Polen: Geschichte, Kultur, Politik, 2003, p.24, ISBN 3-406-49436-6, {{ISBN|978-3-406-49436-9}}</ref>

==Middle East==
{{main| Muslim history}}

===Rise of Islam===
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:800 height:75
PlotArea = width:720 height:50 left:65 bottom:20
AlignBars = justify

Colors =
    id:time value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) #
    id:period value:rgb(1,0.7,0.5) #
    id:span value:rgb(0.9,0.8,0.5) #
    id:age value:rgb(0.95,0.85,0.5) #
    id:era value:rgb(1,0.85,0.5) #
    id:eon value:rgb(1,0.85,0.7) #
    id:filler value:gray(0.8) # background bar
    id:black value:black

Period     = from:622 till:666
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:622
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:622

PlotData =
  align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line, black) width:10 shift:(0,-3)

  from: 622  till:  632  color:era text:[[Muhammad]]
  from: 632  till:  634  color:age text:[[Abu Bakr]]
  from: 634  till:  644  color:era text:[[Umar ibn al-Khattab]]
  from: 644  till:  656  color:age text:[[Uthman ibn Affan]]
  from: 656  till:  661  color:era text:[[Ali ibn Abi Talib]]
  from: 661  till:  666  color:age text:[[Muawiyah I]]
</timeline>

''Consult particular article for details''

{{Main|Spread of Islam|Early Muslim conquests|Rashidun Caliphate}}
{{multiple image
| direction = vertical
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header = Rise of Islam
| image1 = Arabische Rijk.jpg
| width1 = 220
| caption1 = Arab expansion in the 7th century{{plainlist|
* {{color box|#87f987|border=silver}} ''Area I'' : Muhammad
* {{color box|#45d245|border=silver}} ''Area II'' : Abu Bakr
*{{color box|#22bc20|border=silver}} ''Area III'' : Omar
* {{color box|#098c0a|border=silver}} ''Area IV'' : Uthman
}} }}
The rise of Islam begins around the time [[Muhammad]] and his followers took flight, the [[Hijra (Islam)|Hijra]], from [[Mecca]] to the city of [[Medina]]. Muhammad spent his last ten years in a [[Military career of Muhammad|series of battles to conquer the Arabian region]]. From 622 to 632, Muhammad as the leader of a Muslim community in Medina was engaged in a state of war with the Meccans. In the proceeding decades, the area of [[Basra]] was conquered by the Muslims. During the reign of [[Umar]], the [[Rashidun army|Muslim army]] found it a suitable place to construct a base. Later the area was settled and a mosque was erected. [[Midian|Madyan]] was conquered and settled by Muslims, but the environment was considered harsh and the settlers moved to [[Kufa]]. Umar defeated the rebellion of several Arab tribes in a successful campaign, unifying the entire Arabian peninsula and giving it stability. Under [[Uthman]]'s leadership, the empire, through the [[Muslim conquest of Persia]], expanded into [[Fars province|Fars]] in 650, some areas of [[Greater Khorasan|Khorasan]] in 651, and the conquest of Armenia was begun in the 640s. In this time, the [[Rashidun Caliphate]] extended over the whole Sassanid Persian Empire and to more than two-thirds of the Eastern Roman Empire. The [[First Fitna]], or the First Islamic Civil War, lasted for the entirety of [[Ali ibn Abi Talib]]'s reign. After the recorded peace treaty with [[Hassan ibn Ali]] and the suppression of early [[Kharijites]]' disturbances, [[Muawiyah I]] acceded to the position of Caliph.

===Islamic expansion===
{{Main|Umayyad Caliphate}}
{{multiple image|direction=vertical
| header_background = #f8eaba
| header =[[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim Expansions in 7th & 8th Centuries]]
| image1 = Map of expansion of Caliphate.svg|width1=220
| caption1 = The Islamic expansion of the 7th and 8th centuries {{plainlist|
*{{legend|#a1584e|Muhammad's conquests, 622–632}}
*{{legend|#ef9070|Rashidun Caliphate, 632–661}}
*{{legend|#fad07d|Umayyad Caliphate, 661–750}}}}
}}
The [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]] of the [[Byzantine–Arab Wars|Eastern Roman Empire and Arab wars]] occurred between 634 and 750. Starting in 633, Muslims [[Islamic conquest of Iraq|conquered Iraq]]. The [[Muslim conquest of Syria]] would begin in 634 and would be complete by 638. The [[Muslim conquest of Egypt]] started in 639. Before the [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|Muslim invasion of Egypt]] began, the Eastern Roman Empire had already lost the [[Levant]] and its Arab ally, the [[Ghassanids|Ghassanid Kingdom]], to the Muslims. The Muslims would bring Alexandria under control and the fall of Egypt would be complete by 642. Between 647 and 709, [[Umayyad conquest of North Africa|Muslims swept across North Africa]] and established their authority over that region.
[[File:Spain Andalusia Cordoba BW 2015-10-27 13-54-14.jpg|thumb|The 10th-century [[Mezquita|Grand Mosque of Cordoba]], [[Córdoba, Spain]]]]
The site of the Grand Mosque was originally a pagan temple, then a Visigothic Christian church, before the Umayyad Moors at first converted the building into a mosque and then built a new mosque on the site.

The [[Transoxiana]] region was conquered by [[Qutayba ibn Muslim]] between 706 and 715 and loosely held by the Umayyads from 715 to 738. This conquest was consolidated by [[Nasr ibn Sayyar]] between 738 and 740. It was under the Umayyads from 740 to 748 and under the Abbasids after 748. [[Sindh]], attacked in 664, would be subjugated by 712. Sindh became the easternmost province of the Umayyad. The Umayyad conquest of [[Hispania]] ([[Visigothic Spain]]) would begin in 711 and end by 718. The [[Moors]], under [[Al-Samh ibn Malik]], swept up the Iberian peninsula and by 719 overran [[Septimania]]; the area would fall under their full control in 720. With the [[Islamic conquest of Persia]], the Muslim subjugation of the [[Caucasus]] would take place between 711 and 750. The end of the sudden Islamic Caliphate expansion ended around this time. The final Islamic dominion eroded the areas of the Iron Age Roman Empire in the Middle East and controlled strategic areas of the Mediterranean.

At the end of the 8th century, the former Western Roman Empire was decentralized and overwhelmingly rural. The [[History of Islam in southern Italy|Islamic conquest and rule of Sicily and Malta]] was a process which started in the 9th century. Islamic rule over Sicily was effective from 902, and the complete rule of the island lasted from 965 until 1061. The Islamic presence on the Italian Peninsula was ephemeral and limited mostly to semi-permanent soldier camps.

===Caliphs and empire===
{{main|Abbasid Caliphate|Islamic Golden Age}}

The [[Abbasid Caliphate]], ruled by the [[Abbasid dynasty]] of caliphs, was the third of the Islamic caliphates. Under the Abbasids, the [[Islamic Golden Age]] philosophers, scientists, and engineers of the Islamic world contributed enormously to technology, both by preserving earlier traditions and by adding their own inventions and innovations. Scientific and intellectual achievements blossomed in the period.

The Abbasids built their capital in Baghdad after replacing the Umayyad caliphs from all but the Iberian peninsula. The influence held by Muslim merchants over African-Arabian and Arabian-Asian trade routes was tremendous. As a result, Islamic civilization grew and expanded on the basis of its merchant economy, in contrast to their Christian, Indian, and Chinese peers who built societies from an agricultural landholding nobility.

The Abbasids flourished for two centuries but slowly went into decline with the rise to power of the Turkish army they had created, the [[Mamluks]]. Within 150 years of gaining control of Persia, the caliphs were forced to cede power to local dynastic emirs who only nominally acknowledged their authority. After the Abbasids lost their military dominance, the [[Samanids]] (or Samanid Empire) rose up in Central Asia. The Sunni Islam empire was a Tajik state and had a Zoroastrian theocratic nobility. It was the next native Persian dynasty after the collapse of the Sassanid Persian empire, caused by the Arab conquest.

==Timeline==
{{Further|Timeline of the Middle Ages}}

===Beginning years===
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:800 height:65
PlotArea = width:720 height:40 left:65 bottom:20
AlignBars = justify

Colors =
    id:time value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) #
    id:period value:rgb(1,0.7,0.5) #
    id:age value:rgb(0.95,0.85,0.5) #
    id:era value:rgb(1,0.85,0.5) #
    id:eon value:rgb(1,0.85,0.7) #
    id:filler value:gray(0.8) # background bar
    id:black value:black

Period     = from:400 till:700
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:400
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:400

PlotData =
  align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) width:10 shift:(0, -3)

  bar:People color:era
  from:400 till:430 text:[[Saint Augustine|Augustine]]
  from:466 till:511 text:[[Clovis I]]
  from:527 till:565 text:[[Justinian I]]
  from:570 till:632 text:[[Muhammad]]
  bar:&nbsp; color:era
  from:433 till:493 text:[[Odoacer]]
  from:540 till:604 text:[[Pope Gregory I|Gregory I]]
  bar:Events color:age
  from:496 till:496 text:[[Battle of Tolbiac|Tolbiac]]
  from:602 till:629 text:[[Roman-Persian War]]
  from:535 till:552 text:[[Gothic War (535–552)|Gothic War]]
  from:674 till:678 text:[[Siege of Constantinople (674)|Constantinople Siege]]
</timeline>
;Dates
{{Colbegin}}
* 410: [[Visigoths]] under [[Alaric I]] sack Rome
* 430: Death of [[Saint Augustine]]
* 476: [[Odoacer]] deposes [[Romulus Augustus]]
* 496: [[Battle of Tolbiac]], [[Clovis I]] converts to Chalcedonianism
* 507: [[Battle of Vouillé]]
* 527–565: [[Justinian I]]
* 535–552: [[Gothic War (535–552)|Gothic Wars]]
* 541–542: [[Plague of Justinian]] in [[Constantinople]]
* 547: death of [[Benedict of Nursia]]
* {{Circa|570}}: birth of [[Muhammad]]
* 590–604 [[Pope Gregory I]]
* 597: death of [[Columba]]
* 602–629: Last great [[Roman–Persian Wars#Climax|Roman–Persian War]]
* 615: death of [[Columbanus]]
* 626: [[Siege of Constantinople (626)|Joint Persian-Avar-Slav Siege of Constantinople]]
* 632: death of [[Muhammad]]
* 636: death of [[Isidore of Seville]]
* 674–678: [[Siege of Constantinople (674)|First Arab siege of Constantinople]]
* 681: [[First Bulgarian Empire]] established
{{Colend}}

===Ending years===
<timeline>
ImageSize = width:800 height:65
PlotArea = width:720 height:40 left:65 bottom:20
AlignBars = justify

Colors =
    id:time value:rgb(0.7,0.7,1) #
    id:period value:rgb(1,0.7,0.5) #
    id:age value:rgb(0.95,0.85,0.5) #
    id:era value:rgb(1,0.85,0.5) #
    id:eon value:rgb(1,0.85,0.7) #
    id:filler value:gray(0.8) # background bar
    id:black value:black

Period     = from:700 till:1000
TimeAxis   = orientation:horizontal
ScaleMajor = unit:year increment:10 start:700
ScaleMinor = unit:year increment:1 start:700

PlotData =
  align:center textcolor:black fontsize:8 mark:(line,black) width:10 shift:(0, -3)

  bar:People color:era
  from:714 till:721 text:[[Ardo]]
  from:768 till:814 text:[[Charlemagne]]
  from:871 till:899 text:[[Alfred the Great]]
  from:912 till:973 text:[[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]]
  bar:Events color:age
  from:711 till:718 text:[[Al-Andalus]]
  bar:&ensp; color:age
  from:732 till:732 text:[[Battle of Tours|Poitiers]]
</timeline>
;Dates
{{colbegin}}
* 7th century: [[Khazar]] empire established
* 711–718: [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania]]
* 717: [[Siege of Constantinople (718)|Second Arab siege of Constantinople]]
* 721: death of [[Ardo]], last king of the [[Visigoths]]
* 718-722: [[Battle of Covadonga]], establishment of the [[Kingdom of Asturias]]
* 730: [[First Iconoclastic Controversy]]
* 732: [[Battle of Tours|Battle of Tours/Poitiers]]
* 735: death of [[Bede]], British historian
* 746: [[Blood court at Cannstatt]]
* 751: [[Pepin the Short]] founds the [[Carolingian dynasty]]
* 754: death of [[Saint Boniface]]
* 768–814: [[Charlemagne]]
* 778: [[Battle of Roncevaux Pass]]
* 782: [[Bloody Verdict of Verden]]
* 793: [[Viking]] raid on Lindisfarne; [[Viking Age]] begins
* 796–804: [[Alcuin]] initiates the [[Carolingian Renaissance]]{{Dubious|reason=Too strong a statement; it was started by Charlemagne by necessity; see Carolingian Renaissance|date=September 2016}}
* 815: [[Iconoclasm (Byzantine)|Byzantine Iconoclasm]]
* 843: [[Treaty of Verdun]]
* 862: [[Rurikid Dynasty]] established
* 871–899: [[Alfred the Great]]
* 872–930: [[Harald I of Norway]]
* 874-930: [[Settlement of Iceland]] 
* 882: [[Kievan Rus']] established
* 911: [[Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte]] ([[Normandy]])
* 955: [[Battle of Lechfeld]]
* 962: [[Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor|Otto I]] crowned [[Holy Roman Emperor]]
* 969: [[Kievan Rus']] subjugates [[Khazars]]
* 987–996: [[Hugh Capet]]
* 988: [[Christianization of Kievan Rus']]
* 991: [[Battle of Maldon]]
{{colend}}

==See also==
* [[Early Christian Ireland]]
* [[Early medieval European dress]]
* [[Early medieval literature]]
* [[English medieval clothing]]
* [[Human history]]
* [[Indo-Sassanid]]
* [[Medieval demography]]
* [[History of Africa#Medieval and Early Modern (6th to 18th centuries)|Medieval History of Africa]]
* [[Turkic expansion]]
{{Portal|Middle Ages|History}}

== Notes ==
{{NoteFoot}}

== References ==
; Citations
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
*''Cambridge Economic History of Europe'', vol. I 1966. Michael M. Postan, et al., editors.
*[[Norman Cantor|Norman F. Cantor]], 1963. ''The Medieval World 300 to 1300'', (New York: MacMillen Co.)
*[[Marcia L. Colish]], 1997. ''Medieval Foundations of the Western Intellectual Tradition: 400–1400.'' (New Haven, CT: Yale University Press)
*[[Georges Duby]], 1974. ''The Early Growth of the European Economy: Warriors and Peasants from the Seventh to the Twelfth Century'' (New York: Cornell University Press) Howard B. Clark, translator.
*Georges Duby, editor, 1988. ''A History of Private Life II: Revelations of the Medieval World'' (Harvard University Press)
*[[Heinrich Fichtenau]], (1957) 1978. ''The Carolingian Empire'' (University of Toronto) Peter Munz, translator.
*[[Charles Freeman (historian)|Charles Freeman]], 2003. ''[[The Closing of the Western Mind|The Closing of the Western Mind: The Rise of Faith and the Fall of Reason]]'' (London: William Heinemann)
*[[Richard Hodges (archaeologist)|Richard Hodges]], 1982. ''Dark Age Economics: The Origins of Towns and Trade AD 600–1000'' (New York: St Martin's Press)
*[[David Knowles (scholar)|David Knowles]], (1962) 1988. ''The Evolution of Medieval Thought'' (Random House)
*[[Richard Krautheimer]], 1980. ''Rome: Profile of a City 312–1308'' (Princeton University Press)
*[[Robin Lane Fox]], 1986. ''Pagans and Christians'' (New York: Knopf)
*[[David C. Lindberg]], 1992. ''The Beginnings of Western Science: 600 BC–1450 AD'' (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press)
*John Marenbon (1983) 1988.''Early Medieval Philosophy (480–1150): An Introduction'' (London: Routledge)
*Rosamond McKittrick, 1983 ''The Frankish Church Under the Carolingians'' (London: Longmans, Green)
*Karl Frederick Morrison, 1969. ''Tradition and Authority in the Western Church, 300–1140'' (Princeton University Press)
*Pierre Riché, (1978) 1988. ''Daily Life in the Age of Charlemagne'' (Liverpool: Liverpool University Press)
* Laury Sarti, "Perceiving War and the Military in Early Christian Gaul (ca. 400–700 A.D.)" (= Brill's Series on the Early Middle Ages, 22), Leiden/Boston 2013, {{ISBN|978-9004-25618-7}}.
*[[Richard Southern]], 1953. ''The Making of the Middle Ages'' (Yale University Press)
*[[Chris Wickham]], 2005. ''[[Framing the Early Middle Ages]]: Europe and the Mediterranean 400-800'', Oxford University Press.
* [http://cliojournal.wikispaces.com/Late+Antiquity+to+Early+Medieval Early Medieval History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110902235436/http://cliojournal.wikispaces.com/Late+Antiquity+to+Early+Medieval |date=2 September 2011 }} page, [http://cliojournal.wikispaces.com/ Clio History Journal], Dickson College, Australian Capital Territory.
* [https://books.google.com/books?id=XvQXAAAAMAAJ Glimpses of the dark ages]: Or, Sketches of the social condition of Europe, from the fifth to the twelfth century. (1846). New-York: Leavitt, Trow & company

==External links==
{{commons category|Early Middle Ages}}
* ''[http://libmma.contentdm.oclc.org/cdm/ref/collection/p15324coll10/id/156533 Age of spirituality : late antique and early Christian art, third to seventh century]'' from The Metropolitan Museum of Art

{{Middle Ages}}
{{History of Europe}}
{{Western culture}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Early Middle Ages| ]]
[[Category:Middle Ages|.01]]
[[Category:6th century in Europe|.]]
[[Category:7th century in Europe|.]]
[[Category:8th century in Europe|.]]
[[Category:9th century in Europe|.]]
[[Category:10th century in Europe|.]]
[[Category:6th-century establishments in Europe|.]]
[[Category:10th-century disestablishments in Europe|.]]
[[Category:Articles which contain graphical timelines]]
[[Category:Historical eras]]
[[Category:Dark ages]]

[[pt:Idade Média#Alta Idade Média]]