Unit 8: Rome's Successor States.
readings:
Hunt, The Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures, ch. 8 (pp. 283-317).
QUIZ 6 will include Key Terms in Hunt, p. 317.
Questions on Hunt
Ch. 8 (pp. 283-317)
1. What foreign powers weakened the Byzantine Roman Empire in the late 500s-700s and what affect had constant warfare had on life in the Byzantine lands?
2. Until the 600s, Byzantium had been an urban culture that placed great value on the arts and philosophy it had inherited from Rome. When and why did that change and what were the results? Where there big differences between changes in Byzantium and in Rome in this time period? Explain.
3. How were the teachings of the 7th century prophet Muhammad (Islam) related to the teachings of Judaism and Christianity, and how did Islam differ from the other monotheistic faiths?
4. The spread of Christianity had been linked to its status as a "state" religion in Rome. Explain how Islam became linked to government power, and also explain why warfare helped the spread of Islam?
5. How were the elites who dominated the Merovingian Frankish kingdom in the 700s differ from the elites who had dominated the same territory in the 400s?
6. What was the basis of the Merovingian economy and how was the organization of economic life related to the power of the nobles (aristocrats), the King, and the Church?
7. What were the major differences between the organization of power and authority in Anglo-Saxon England, Visgoth Spain, and Lombard Italy?
BIG QUESTION: Think about the entire chapter. The authors calls Byzantium, Western Europe, and the Islamic territories "sibling cultures." What evidence is there that these three cultures still could be considered part of one common "civilization"?
Questions on Lualdi
We will focus on two documents for this unit: "Islamic Terms of Peace" (pp. 138-142) and Pope Gregory the Great, "Letters" (pp. 144-146)
Answer the "Six Questions" for both documents:
Notice that the Islamic Terms of Peace includes several documents by different Islamic military commanders who had conquered different cities in different years. Pope Gregory's letters were written to two different men in two different years.
OK. Here is the main discussion question for these documents:
1. Compare and contrast the position that the Catholic Church took towards non-Christians and the position that Islamic rulers took towards non-Muslims.