POINTS TO REMEMBER
The Roman Empire was divided into two parts by the emperor Theodosius: The
Western Roman Empire and the Eastern Roman Empire.
The Germanic peoples invaded the Western Roman Empire and they settled in its
territories, where they created the Germanic Kingdoms.
The Eastern Empire was called Byzantine, because his capital was Byzantium (or
Constantinople). The emperor Justinian wanted to restore the old Roman Empire.
Arabs driven on by the preaching of Mohammed, carried out great conquests in the
Byzantine empire, in Asia and around the Mediterranean.
The Emperor Charlemagne conquered a great part of the Western European lands and
created the Carloningian Empire.
The most important Germanic kingdoms
Visigothic Kingdom
Frankish Kingdom
Vandal Kingdom
Suevian Kingdom
Ostrogothic Kingdom
Anglo-saxon kingdoms
From the V century onwards the Germanic peoples founded several kingdoms in
Roman territories.
Match each word with its definition
Barbarians
Visigoths
Byzantines
Arabs
Franks
Ostrogoths
Germanic people established in Italy
Inhabitants of theEastern Roman Empire
Foreigners, according to the Romans
Germanic people established in the Iberian Peninsula
Germanic people established in the Galia
Originals from the Arabian Peninsula
1
POINTS TO REMEMBER
Muslims created a State in the Iberian peninsula, called Al-Andalus, which lasted 800
years. Its first stage was called the Emirate.
It achieved its greatest splendour with the Cordoba Caliphate (X century). Abd alRahman III, the Caliph, and Al-Mansur, the Prime Minister, were the most important
figures of this period.
In the XI century the Cordoba Caliphate disintegrated and “taifa” kingdoms were
formed, among them those of Zaragoza and Albarracin.
The Muslims remained in the peninsula for 800 years, having an enormous influence on
the Hispanic art and culture. A few Hispano-Arabic monuments are: the Cordoba
Mosque, the Alhambra in Granada and the Giralda in Seville.
The mosque: the parts
Minaret
Arched courtyard
Fountain
The mihrad
The Qibla
Prayer room
POINTS TO REMEMBER
From the VIII-IX centuries independent kingdoms were formed from Al-Andalus. First
was the kingdom of Asturias, which when it extended into the non-inhabited land in the
Duero valley become the kingdom of Leon.
In the Pyrenean region, the Franks pushed the Muslims back, creating the Hispanic
Mark which later gave rise to the kindom of Navarre, the County of Aragon and the
Catalan Counties.
The kings of the Muslims “taifas” were forced to pay taxes to keep peace. From the XI
century, the northern kingdoms achieved a great military advance.
The Almoravid offensive detained the Reconquest towards the end of the XI century,
and the taifa kingdoms fell under their rule.
The repopulation of the barren lands contributed to free the majority of peasants from
feudal serfdom in the north of the peninsula.
Most of the population lived by farming and stockbreeding following extremely
rudimentary techniques.
St James´s Way revitalized the economy of the northern kingdoms and it was along this
route that culture and the artistic styles wich dominated feudal Europe arrived.
2
CURIOSITIES
Chess first appeared in India in the V century, it spread to Persia and the Muslims
introduced it to the Iberian Peninsula in the IX century.
EXERCISES
The Koran: This book, there is no doubt it, is a guide to those who fear God: those who
believe in the unseen; those who keep up prayer; those who give alms from their goods;
and those who believe in that which has been revealed to you and that which was
revealed before you; those who are sure of the life hereafter.
a-Read the text carefully.
b-Look up the words you do not understand in the dictionary.
Islamic doctrine:
The Koran is the sacred book of the Muslims, who have five obligations.
-The profession of faith: there is only one God, Allah, and Mohammad is his
prophet.
-Prayer five times a day. On Fridays, there is a collective prayer in the mosque,
led by the imam.
-Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime.
-Fasting during the month of Ramadan.
-Alms, an economic contribution to charitable works which has sometimes
ended up as a kind of tribute.
Muslims are also obliged to strive for spiritual perfection. A small number also believes
they should spread their religion by means of the holy war.
The Koran also includes obligations for daily life, for example: eating pork, drinking
alcohol, practising usury and playing games of chance are strictly prohibited.
a-Read the text carefully
b-look up the words you do not understand in the dictionary.
3