Unit 3: Post Classical Era
This time period and unit we saw the spread of Christianity, the decline of Rome and the
formation of medieval Europe; the development of Islamic caliphates and their impact on Asia,
Africa, and Europe.
Time Period: 500 CE – 1450 CE
The Middle Ages
1. What led to the decline of Rome?
Political weakness, economic problems, military decline, invasions
2. What caused Christianity to spread?
Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity proclaiming the freedom of
worship for Christians. He moved the capital of the Roman Empire to
Constantinople, which connected land and sea routes for trade (cultural
diffusion)
3. How did the development and spread of Christianity serve as a unifying social
and
Political factor in:
Medieval Europe: people were very religious & believed the Church represented
God, the Church became Europe’s largest landowner & wealth increase, the
Church was the center of learning
Byzantine Empire: Eastern Orthodoxy formed separate from the Catholic Church
Byzantine Empire—Identify each of the following and explain their link to the
Byzantine Empire.

Ottoman Turks: (1299-1923) a nomadic group of Turkish people from
Central Asia who emerged as the rulers of the Islamic world in the 13th
century. They conquered Constantinople in 1453

Empress Theodora: Emperor Justinian’s wife

Icons: A religious image used by eastern Christians

Hagia Sophia: the Cathedral of Holy Wisdom in Constantinople, built by order
of the Byzantine emperor Justinian
4. What were the political and legal ideas contained in the Code of Justinian?
Collected all existing Roman laws and organized them into a single code
which served as guide on most legal questions (ex: an eye for an eye)
5. Explain the characteristics of Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy by
completing the chart below:
Rome
Constantinople
Pope
Patriarch
No
Yes
Latin
Greek
Both believe that a political leader should appoint the head of the Church
6. What is feudalism?
Social organization created during the Middle Ages by exchanging grants of
land (fiefs) in return for formal oaths of allegiance and service
7. Identify the major characteristics of Feudalism:

Political: Nobles controlled political life, built large castles for protection,
surrounded by knights, kings relied on nobles for knights (to supply
army)
o Civil wars frequent

Social:
8. Explain the economic characteristics of manorialism—how did it work?
Described economic and political relations between landlords and peasant
laborers; hierarchy of obligations that exchanged labor or rents for access to
land
9. What is significant about the location of Constantinople?
Major trading center
Connects Mediterranean & Black Sea
Connects the East to the West
10. What was the Black Death and what were the main causes of its’ spread?
The bubonic plague: a deadly disease that spread across Asia & Europe in the
mid 14th century, killing millions of people. The main causes of its spread fleas on
rats that came into contact with people, & poor sanitation
11. Complete the boxes below:
Crusades
1095-1272
Black Death
1350s
Great Schism
1378-1417
Define the event:
How did this contribute to the end of
Medieval Europe?
A war requested by Pope
Urban II for Christians to
recapture the Hold Land from
the Muslims
Increased trade with Asia & Islamic culture &
introduced new ideas and goods into
medieval Europe
A disease carried on ships
Labor shortage helped end serfdom &
from Asia to Europe that killed feudalism giving peasants/laborers more
1/3 of Europe’s population
economic power
Split that occurred in the
Catholic Church resulting in 2
Popes, one in Avignon & the
other in Rome
Weakened the Church’s authority
Islam
1. What were the Islamic caliphates and what led to their development?
A form of Islamic political & religious leadership, which centers around the
caliph (successor) of Muhammad. After Muhammad died, a group of Muslim
leaders chose a new leader
- Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates
2. Describe the interactions between Muslim, Christian, and Jewish societies in
Europe.
Growth of intolerance: the Crusades led to the Christian persecution of Jews
and Muslims, as well as to the Muslim persecution of Christians
3. Explain how Islam influences law and government in the Muslim world.
The Quran discusses forms of worship, proper conduct, and the treatment of
women, Five Pillars of faith, development of Caliphs
4. What new ideas in mathematics, science, and technology occurred in the Islamic?
Empire between 700 CE and 1200 CE?
Math: developed Arabic numerals (borrowed concept of zero from India) &
algebra
Science: learned to diagnose many diseases
Technology: Lateen Sail
Islamic World— Identify each of the following and explain their link to the Islamic
World.
 Muhammad: Founder of Islam

Qur’an: holy book of Islam – Muslims believe it records the words revealed to
Mohammad by God