Key Notes

Module 7

1. Justinian Code: The Justinian Code was a set of laws created by Justinian and his jurists created to equally establish the same rules all over the empire. One part of the empire might have had different rules or laws compared to another part so he wanted his people in the empire to be treated fairly no matter what part of the empire they were from. But instead of just creating new laws, Justinian and his jurists also used laws that began in ancient Rome, which was called the Twelve Tables.

2. Byzantium: Byzantium was the eastern part of the Roman empire after being split into eastern half and western half. Constantine made Constantinople the capital of the Roman empire in Byzantium. Confiding the capital in Byzantium, the eastern half was heavily fortified even from attacks from the Persians. Persia was the biggest threat to Byzantium instead of barbarians. After the collapse of the Western side, Byzantium prospered for more than a thousand years because of their advancement in technology and science. While Byzantium was the side full of sophistication and prosperity, the western side was dominated by barbarians.

3. Koran: The Koran is the bible for Islam. Because Islam is like Judaism and Christianity that is why the Koran is considered the Islamic bible. Islam is a Muslim religion so the Muslims believed that Allah, their God, wrote the Koran and it is consisted of the revelations that Muhammad received from God. The Koran is very similar to the Bible with some difference such as people will get into heaven with their own good deeds instead of needing a pope to help them.

4. Hagia Sophia: Hagia Sophia was a Christian church created by Justinian. It is considered to be one of Christianity’s most famous churches because of its architectural achievements. It served as an eastern orthodox cathedral and seat of the patriarch of Constantinople. It was then converted to an imperial mosque under the rule of the Ottoman empire.

5. Theodora: Theodora was Justinian’s wife who had a reputation in Byzantium. Even though she was called a prostitute, she had heavy influence on Justinian as his wife and main advisor. The reason why Justinian was able to rule in Byzantium was because of Theodora who helped rule Byzantium with him. You can say that she acted more of a ruler than Justinian especially when people protested against him but she convinced him to stay and fight back.

Module 8

1. Feudalism: Feudalism was a system that included economics, politics, and military and was used after the western half of the roman empire fell to organize society. It was a classification of power with the king being on top, followed by lords, then vassals, and then everyone else. Due to feudalism it was easier for the king to control his land because he had lords and vassals, knights, to help him look over the empire.

2. Charlemagne: Charlemagne was King Pepin’s son whose grandfather is King Charles Martel. Charlemagne took reign at an early age of 26 and he is one of the most famous kings in European history. While being educated he was a great military leader gaining control of most of Europe. What’s important of Charlemagne was he converted all of the barbarian tribes of Germany to Christianity. He was a Christian educated military man. He eventually became the emperor of the Holy Roman empire but the pope had more power.

3. Alcuin: Alcuin was a clergyman that was appointed by Charlemagne to bring back education to the Holy Roman Empire due to the decline in education after the fall of the Roman empire. The reason why Alcuin was appointed was that he was one of the most educated men in Europe being that clergymen are supposed to be educated. He established a curriculum that would be used for many years to come and basically created a structure that would be similar to schools. He would have teachers come and teach based on how the curriculum was divided into.

4. Clovis: Clovis was a Frank king during 500. Being that the Franks were a barbarian tribe who ruled during the early Middle Ages after the Roman empire collapsed, Clovis controlled one of the largest kingdoms in Europe. Even though the French and Germans claimed to be descendants of the Franks, Clovis was considered the first king of France. What’s important about Clovis is that he converted to Christianity because of his wife who was a catholic. When Clovis conquered other lands and tribes, conversion to Christianity was required.

5. Serfs: Serfs were basically normal Europeans who worked on land. They weren’t slaves but were still under the landlord’s watch. They weren’t able to leave a land without receiving permission from the land lord. Even though serfs weren’t slaves they were very restricted to what they were allowed to do. Even if they were allowed to do something they either needed permission or need to pay a fine. Due to serfs being normal Europeans, their lives were to work on the field and harvest foods. They were never paid and were all illiterate. The serf had control of the land he worked on but basically had to provide food for the lord.