Middle Ages Flashcards
What did the Bedouins do?
move in small bands across the Arabian peninsula
Nomadic Arab shepherds and goatherds
bedouins
a large cube-shaped building in the center of Mecca
Kaaba
the name for Muhammed’s journey from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina)
hegira
Where were Muhammed’s words collected?
Qur’an
What is the Qur’an?
the sacred text of Islam
List the 5 pillars of Islam with clarification.
profession of faith - there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is his prophet 5 daily prayers facing Mecca giving of alms fast from dawn to dusk during Ramadan pilgrimage to Mecca once in a lifetime
the pilgrimage to Mecca required of each Muslim
hajj
Where do Muslims gather to worship?
mosques
the struggle for faith, or holy war
jihad
the loosely organized Muslim legal system
Sharia
The three peoples of the book
Jews
Christians
Muslims
Who was Muhammad’s successor after his death?
Abu Bakr
What do you call the successor to a prophet?
caliph
Who reluctantly accepted the Umayyad caliph Mu’awiya after the assassination of Ali?
Sunnis
Who was Ali?
the third caliph and Muhammad’s cousin
The party of Ali
Shia
What did the Shia do?
Refuse to go along with the Umayyads and chose their own leader
What did the Shi’ites call their leader?
imam
Sought a mystical connection with Allah through breath control and meditation
Sufis
Where did the Abbasids move the capital of the caliphate to?
Baghdad
When did the Abbasids move the capital?
after they defeated the Umayyads
What was the Muslim economy built largely on?
commerce
What was a valuable contribution of Muslim scholars?
translating Ancient Greek scientific and philosophical writings into Arabic
What were the Averroes?
the commentaries of Ibn Rushd on the works of Aristotle which influenced Christian thinking
What did the Muslims perfect?
the astrolabe
What was an astrolabe?
an instrument for finding the position and movement of the stars and planets
Beautiful styled writing developed by Islamic artists
caligraphy
What almost toppled Justinian and his wife?
Nika Revolt
What was Justinian’s wife’s name?
Theodora
Codified the existing laws of the Roman Empire from the time of Hadrian
Corpus Juris Civilis
What does Corpus Juris Civilis mean?
body of civil law
What was Justinian’s code?
The updated revised version of Corpus Juris Civilis
the most common art of the Byzantines
mosaics
paintings or sculptures of sacred figures
icons
Why did some church officials find these sacred figures useful?
teaching people about Christianity
5 ways the eastern church differed from the western church
downplayed or rejected icons worshipped in the vernacular worshipped a cappella priests married emperor supreme authority (pope supreme authority)
another term for church officials
clergy
What did the eastern church become known as?
Orthodox
The western church became known as?
Roman Catholic Church
Who did Constantinople fall to?
Ottoman Turks
What did the Ottoman Turks do to Constantinople?
renamed in Istanbul
What did the Slavs along the river Dnieper do about their problems?
asked the Rus to intervene
the ruler during the height of Kievan Rus’s power
Yaroslav the Wise
Who did the Eastern church send to the Slavs?
Cyril and Methodius
Why were Cyril and Methodius sent to the Slavs?
to convert them to Christianity
Who was baptized into the Eastern church and later made Christianity the state religion of Kievan Russia?
Grand Duke Vladimir I
Who did Kiev fall to?
Mongol raiders
Saved the Russian city of Novgorod from invasion by the Swedes
Alexander Nevsky
What does means Nevsky?
of the Neva
Who else did Alexander Nevsky save Novgorod from?
Teutonic Knights
Who led a group of monks to bring Christianity to England?
Augustine of Canterbury
What did Alfred the Great do?
united the small Anglo-Saxon kingdoms
Why did Alexander the Great unite kingdoms?
to repel an invasion by the Danes
Who was baptized into the Western church with 3000 Franks?
Clovis
What were the Middle Ages also known as?
the Medieval period
Who brought the Christian faith to Ireland?
Patrick
Undertook reforms to strengthen both the papacy and canon law
Gregory the Great
What did Gregory envision?
Christendom as a spiritual kingdom under papal authority
Created a collection of guidelines for monks
Benedict of Nursia
Three vows the Benedictine monks made
chastity
obedience
poverty
How did Benedictine monasteries preserve the knowledge of Ancient Greek and Rome?
copying ancient manuscripts
3 examples of how Western Europe declined after the fall of Rome
loss of legal system
decline of trade and towns
loss of literacy
Defeated the Muslim invaders at Tours
Charles Martel
What did Martel’s victory at Tours do?
ended the Muslim advance through Spain
Forced the king of the Franks to abdicate and took the throne himself
Pippin the Short
What did Charlemagne do?
chose Aaechen as the permanent capital of the Franks organized the kingdom into countries revived learning and literacy recorded many of the tribal law systems crowned Holy Roman Emperor
2 ideas behind the pope’s granting of Holy Roman Emperor to Charlemagne
Charlemagne had restored the glory of the Roman Empire in Europe
Charlemagne’s rule was backed by the church and God
3 advantages the Vikings had in making raids on Europe
well built ships
navigation
intimidation
3 reasons the Viking raids ended
feudalism
conversion to Christianity
gradually warming climate
4 needs met by feudalism
protection from Vikings and crime
social organization
system of justice
quasi-government functions
highly skilled soldiers who fought on horseback
knights
a parcel of land given to a knight in return for his military service
fief
anyone who accepted land in return for service
vassal
a person who granted land in return for service
lord
bound a knight to loyal service
oath of fealty
3 factors behind complexity of the feudal system
one could be a lord and a vassal at the same time
one knight could serve many lords
the rules regarding feudal obligations were specific to the time and place
the economic system linked to feudalism
manorial system
most of the peasants on the manor
serfs
What were 2 things about serfs?
not free to leave the manor
could not marry without their lord’s permission
Who fought the Battle of Hastings?
William the Conqueror
Harold the Anglo-Saxon
Who won the Battle of Hastings?
William the Conqueror