New Centres of Power in the 8th and Ninth Century
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·       Pirenne - new N Sea centre C8. New economy credited with own dynamic (not Med decline / rise of Islam); base = agrarian wealth of W Europe / exchange system oriented v. N Sea into which rivers drained.

·       No longer vast Roman wealth - partitioned but revision / revival poss - increasing resources + competition. Response from new peoples peripheral to former Roman Empire (A-S, Scandies, Irish).

·       E - still heirs of Rome - probs of Arab expansion. W - two greatest successor states much changed [Ost kingdom only partly replaced by Lombards (dependent on warrior aristocracy despite imp veneer); E / S Italy in Byz hands]. [Visigothic Spain fell in 711 to N African Muslims - tiny successor state fell in C9. Frankish power crucial c8/9.]

·       Carolingian expansion + absorption of neighbours, then C9 ravaging / converted / borrowed from. Charlemagne’s accessions in NE Spain tempted successors to intervene further (e.g. 826 F emperor wrote to men of Mérida urging revolt against amir of Córdoba), but no territorial gain, and couldn’t prevent damaging territorial raids on Med coasts.

·       Reorientation: end of diplomatic relations with Baghdad (810 - Charlemagne’s elephant - gift from caliph - died in Westfalia preparing for Danish campaign). Danes = greater threat. 805 - 8 frontier posts Saxony - Austria to control export of Frankish arms to Slavic peoples.

·       Papacy legitimised F empire in 800 - but Latin Christendom had asserted its identity long before this, by sending competing missions (with E) to convert Slavs. Byz an alien power, but imp style still fascinated - monarchic symbols and also substance of govt. (Roman law texts ) saw rebirth / reuse by royal counsellors.

Other Notes in this Category

1. Ancient Cities
2. Carolignian Period
3. Charles the Bald
4. Chronology of Byzantium and Persia
5. Dynasty of Theodosius I and Barbarians in the West
6. French and British Agriculture
7. Islamic Conquests up to 700 a.d. - Islamic Strenghts / Roman Weaknesses?
8. Islamic Conquests up to 700 a.d. - Islamic Strenghts / Roman Weaknesses?
9. MOHAMMED, CHARLEMAGEN AND THE ORIGINS OF EUROPE
10. New Centres of Power in the 8th and Ninth Century
11. Peace and War - Rome and Persia - 5-7th Centuries
12. Practice Questions
13. The Age of Attila
14. The Decline of the Ancient World
15. The Mediterranean and the Dilemma of the Roman Empire in Late antiquity
16. Warfare
17. Was successful Kingship in Merovingian Gaul simply a matter of being an effective and lucky war leader?
18. Why did the western empire fall when the east survived?

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