Question: With the collapse of the classical civilizations, post-classical civilizations arose shortly thereafter. Compare the factors that led to the rise post-classical civilizations from 500 CE to 1200CE between two of the following regions- Europe, East Asia, Africa or the Middle East.
Model Essay Comparison Essay Post-Classical Civilizations
With the collapse of the Roman, Gupta and Han empires, the world was left in a period of chaos with little structure in most areas. However after these collapses and the interlude that followed, post-classical civilizations arose in various regions. There were various reasons for this that ranged from rise of religion to the re-organization of political structures. During the time frame 500
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Though Islamic jihads spread rapidly throughout the Middle East and North Africa (even into Europe), they rarely forced conversion by the sword and instead wanted people to come to it of their own will, which allowed a “truer” believer. The reason for this difference is probably due to the threats that the early western European church faced from constantly invading nomads and thus wanted those under their control to be Christian and nothing else. Islam was not as concerned with this due to the overwhelming nature of their conquests. This is also demonstrated in the eastern Roman empire (Byzantine Empire) because they never “collapsed” and thus allowed a diversity of religions within their empire unlike western Europe. The structure of these religions allowed both regions to have a sense of stability and common beliefs even though both had a diversity of cultures within their regions. This structure allowed for political systems to get stronger and protect the people during this period of constant invasion (especially for Europe) and allowed the rise of more advanced civilizations. One sees this with rise of the Holy Roman Empire in Western Europe and the caliphate empires of the Umayyad and Abbasid dynasties. This similarity in the impact of structured religion in both regions can be explained by the need for people to latch on to any stable, organized entity that would allow them to survive the chaos after 500 CE. The revival of trade was
Lastly, Islam spread quickly through military campaigns which is depicted in “The Spread of Islam (map)” (Doc. C) This map shows how the people that were conquered by the Muslims chose to convert to Islam
Islam also spread because people like their government. They had people who were called caliphs who did a great job. They also sang Hymns which the people loved and they signed up.
Islam spread so quickly because they had strict religious rules, trade, the military and mercy to muslims and other races.
Military conquest also played a big role in Islam’s growth. “In the year 636 the Byzantine Emperor… gathered an army… to resist the expansion of Islam. The people… are the… Syrians…
Immediately after the Classical Era of World History, the period that came along was the Postclassical Period. This period, within the year 500 CE and 1450 CE, was built up by “third-wave civilizations”. In other words, it was built up by large empires characterized by constant patterns of change, trade, and considerable changes in technologies. In 1492 CE these civilizations got global, meaning that the interactions among these different societies stopped being regional. Two empires who were very important during the Postclassical Period were the Byzantine Empire and China. Geographically these civilizations were far apart, but as they developed, they became two of the most influential empires of the time. Also, as they developed they
The spread of Islam and Christianity. Both belief systems spread both rapidly and were efficient religions that brought great change for the greater good. They were the largest religions in the entire world and both happened to be monotheistic. Both religions share a similar history and tradition. Christianity appealed to the people because of their unwillingness to live on and how hopeless they were to move forward in poverty. Travel played an enormous role in conversion because of the missionaries sent out to unknown lands to spread the faith through trading routes (Christianity) and contacts (Islam). Islam prospered, on the other hand, with a vision of the angel Gabriel from Muhammed (became a god messenger and prophet of Allah). Interactions with other civilizations developed the Islamic World. These new religions led to more growth in the aspects of their social, economic, and political systems in addition to influencing other upcoming religions in history.
Throughout history, there have been many civilizations, empires, colonies, and tribes that have impacted the world. The civilizations of Greece, Rome, and China have done this, but what sets them apart from the others is their lasting significance and lasting impact they had on the world. For this reason, they are considered classical civilizations. To describe how Greece, Rome, and Han China are classical, there are three systems that are used; these are Economic, Social, and Political.
Eastern Europe had begun its transition from the Eastern Roman Empire into the Byzantine empire with the penetration of Christianity into all aspects of life. Both the Byzantine and Islamic Empires were defined by their use of monotheistic religion in governing their empires. They both used religion in their own ways as justification to spread their governorship. But their laws however were not the same, Byzantine laws were based off of romans and Christianity, However the Islamic caliphates laws were based off The Holy Book Quran. The Byzantine built churches so the people could worship and learn about the religion of Christianity where the Islamic Caliphates used the Sharia law where equal punishment is given to criminals. The difference between the two empires was that the Islamic Caliphates believed that the ruler should be related to prophet Muhammad. Whereas the Byzantine Empire believed that whoever was the most dedicated to the religion of
Three new major religions developed and spread around the same time as the decline of the classical empires. These tree religions were Christianity, Buddhism, and Islam. As government declines, people began to strive for a more spiritual like and to seek joy. So, people turned to these religions. Buddhism spread through the bodhisattvas. As it spread and gained popularity, different versions of Buddhism formed in certain areas, like Mahayana Buddhism. Christianity spread through the teaching of monks and religious leaders. It became very popular because it appealed to all social classes. It offered a spiritual like, seeking the divine all-powerful force, which appealed to the wealthy. But, it also promoted the beauty of a simple life and spiritual equality, so the lower classes were fond of the new religion. Islam spread when the Arab armies fought to convert people to their religion. Islam had a huge impact in the civilizations in the Middle
Islam’s massive growth in size can be credited to the constant battles and war with surrounding areas. The Muslims were determined to share
It is said that the Islamic culture mirrors that of the Roman Empire in terms of expansion and longevity. The now widely practiced faith began in an area called Arabia, which neither Rome nor Persia dared conquer. From its creation, it contributed several important things to Medieval Europe and the World as a whole. It conquered a large region and gained thousands of followers.
6. Based on the timeline above, during which years did all of the Classical Civilizations exist?
One of the greatest changes in the post classical period was the rise of Islam that spread across Eurasia and Africa. Even after the Islamic Empire, Dar al-Islam, had begun to lose power by 850 Islam continued to spread, unifying diverse societies and ethnicities through the commonality of culture and religion.
The difference of religion had a huge impact on both of the empires. Christianity in the Byzantine Empire was the most popular religion in the world with Islam right after. Judaism is a monotheistic religion and while most Christians believe they are monotheistic as well, many Muslims think upon Christians as polytheistic because they believed both God and Jesus are gods. In comparison, both empires were ruled by a pope. The Byzantine Empire was impacted through Christianity because the pope was the head of the empire, such as Constantine who became pope in 708. The Islamic Caliphate was also impacted through Islam because they too were ruled by a pope. This meant if you had a religious ruler, many people of the empire would follow suit and either convert or become more involved in the religious practices that the emperor/pope would do. Both religions were quite simple. Islam has no official clergy, and follows only one single sacred text, the Koran. However, Muslims do believe in the validity of the Old Testament. Muslim's
The world of Late Antiquity is written by Peter Brown, a Professor of History at Princeton University. This book is an entertaining introductory text to the Late Antique period, AD 150 to 750. Brown delivers an entertaining account and perspective of how and why the Late Antique world came to differ from “Classical civilization.” Instead of focusing on the cause and effect of the civilization’s downfall, Brown emphasizes the changes that occurred and men’s reaction to them. His thesis centers around social and cultural changes and specifically states: