The Middle Ages in Europe & The Islamic World and Africa

The Middle Ages in Europe & The Islamic World and Africa

This lesson will review Unit 3 - including the Byzantine Empire, Medieval Europe, and the Islamic World and African kingdoms.

The Byzantine Empire

• Also known as the Eastern Roman Empire

• Crossroads of trade between Europe, Asia, and Africa - made it wealthy and powerful!

• Practiced Eastern Orthodox Christianity

• Spoke Greek, preserved education and literature of the Roman Empire

• Lasted until the Ottoman Empire invaded in 1453

Justinian the Great of Byzantium

• Expanded the territory of the Byzantine Empire

• Codified (organized and simplified) Roman law which became basis of American and European legal systems of today

• Constantinople became cosmopolitan center of learning and trade

Multiple Choice

What typically happened when Byzantine leaders showed off their wealth to visitors?

• Visitors left disappointed by Byzantine culture

• Visitors left eager to become missionaries

• Visitors left inspired by Byzantine culture

• Visitors left in favor of the Kievan Rus

Multiple Choice

Which Emperor was responsible for organizing and simplifying old Roman law into a new code?

• Constantine

• Diocletian

• Justinian

• Xerxes

Multiple Choice

The importance of Justinian's Code is that:

• It provided equality for women

• It outlawed slavery

• It was based on Christian beliefs

• It was the basis of western law codes

Multiple Choice

The Byzantine Empire preserved the cultural heritage of what two places?

• Greece & Persia

• Rome & Persia

• Greece & Rome

• Russia & Rome

Medieval Europe in the West

• The fall of Rome led to the collapse of Western Europe into dangerous chaos

• Education and learning disappeared except for in the Church

• Feudalism emerged to provide LAND in exchange for SERVICE and keep people safe

• Life was unpleasant, short, and focused mostly on religion

Feudalism: A Review

Land was granted in exchange for service. People could not move up in society. There was no social mobility.

Multiple Choice

Which feudal class had the most people?

• Monarchs
• Lords
• Knights
• Peasants

Multiple Choice

Europe was known as the Dark Ages because

• there was decline in trade, education,and culture
• Rome did not pay its electric bill
• there was a growth of war
• empreors were not very smart

Multiple Choice

The Middle Ages began when the.....

• Roman Empire fell
• Greeks were polytheistic
• Agricultural Revolution began
• the Reformation started

The Crusades

• Fought over who would control the Holy Land - Christians or Muslims

• Christians never re established control over Jerusalem

• The most important result of the Crusades was INCREASED TRADE BETWEEN EUROPE, ASIA, and AFRICA

The Black Death (Bubonic Plague)

• As a RESULT of increased trade from the Crusades, diseases spread more easily

• The bubonic plague killed at least 1/3rd of all Europeans

• Many people became VERY religious hoping that God would save them

• Others gave up on religion believing nothing could save them

• The death rate led to the decline of feudalism

Multiple Select

Effects of the Crusades included

• continued decline of feudalism

• rise of a merchant class in Europe

• exchange of goods and ideas between Europe and the eastern Mediterranean

• increased intolerance for non-Christians

Multiple Choice

Muslim scholars in the Middle East preserved ancient __________ and ___________ knowledge that had been lost in Europe.

• Greek and Roman

• Egyptian and Mesopatamian

• Indian and Chinese

• Japanese and Mongolian

Multiple Choice

True or False: The majority of the Crusades were very successful in capturing the Holy Land.

• True

• False

Multiple Choice

The city of Jerusalem is important to what three major religions?

• Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam

• Islam, Christianity, and Hinduism

• Islam, Christianity, and Judaism

Multiple Choice

How did the plague impact Europe?

• People started to question the church
• 1/3 of the population died
• It contributed to the decline of feudalism
• All are correct

The Rise & Spread of Islam

• Islam emerged in the 7th century

• Founder - Mohammed

• Holy Book - Quran

• Islam spread rapidly into North Africa, Middle East, and Europe

• Islam spread through trade, especially in Africa

West African Kingdoms & The Gold-Salt Trade

• Merchants crossed the Sahara to trade salt for gold - many merchants were Muslims*

• Ghana - prospered by taxing gold-salt trade

• Mali - controlled gold-salt trade; Mansa Musa's famous wealth & pilgrimage & Timbuktu as trade hub

• Songhai - grew rich from trade across Sahara, expanded trade with Asia and Europe

• Trade spread Islamic religion

Multiple Choice

The Sahara Desert is located in the northern section of

• East Africa
• West Africa
• South Africa
• Europe

Multiple Choice

How did the king of Ghana become wealthy?

• by selling salt
• by converting to Islam
• by taxing trade
• by trading camels

Multiple Choice

This was traded for gold and was considered to have the same worth pound for pound.

• millet
• salt
• books
• textiles

Multiple Choice

He was a king of the Mali empire and was considered the richest man to ever live.

• Mansa Musa
• Askia Muhammad
• Suni Ali
• Pumba

Multiple Choice

This West African city was a great center of trade that had mosques, universities, and libraries.

• Mecca
• Rome
• Los Angeles
• Timbuktu