Weekly Assignment 11

  Compare the effects of the barbarian invasions into the Roman Empire with the effects of the Vikings, Muslim, and Magyar invasions into Carolingian Europe.

The Carolingians

I. The Carolingian Empire

A. The Rise of the Carolingians

1. Charles Martel — Charles Martel, a palace “mayor” of the Merovingian kings, used his position and his victory over a Muslim invasion from al-Andalus in 732 to gain support and establish his family as leading aristocrats. He gained power and influence by turning other aristocratic factions against each other and allying his family with influential religious and political institutions.

2. The Carolingians and Partnership with the Church — The Carolingians cooperated with the Roman papacy to extend its influence and the hierarchical structures of the church. Charles Martel’s son Pippin III (d. 768) deposed the Merovingian king in 751, and Pope Zachary legitimized the act. The papacy and the Carolingians depended on each other for support, ending the papacy’s close connection to the Byzantine Empire and establishing the pope as a territorial monarch over parts of Italy. The Carolingian dynasty’s partnership with the papacy gave the dynasty a Christian aura.

B. Charlemagne and His Kingdom, 768–814

1. Charlemagne’s Complex Character — Charles the Great or Charlemagne (r. 768–814) had a complex, contradictory, and sometimes brutal character. He had a unifying vision of an empire that would unite the Germanic, Roman, and Christian worlds.

2. Territorial Expansion — Charlemagne’s early career was marked by conquests. He invaded Lombard Italy and annexed northern Italy by 774. In the north he fought a difficult but victorious thirty-year war against the Saxons, converting them to Christianity at swordpoint.  In the southeast, he fought the Avars in a campaign that brought booty and riches. In the Southwest he created a buffer zone between his kingdom and al-Andalus.

3. Imperial Coronation — By the 790s, Charlemagne ruled a vast territory. He imitated the Roman imperial model by sponsoring symbolic building programs and patronizing science and the arts. To discourage corruption he appointed special officials, missi dominici, who oversaw the activities of regional governors. In return for his support of Pope Leo III against the adultery and perjury claims leveled against him in 799 by the Roman aristocracy, Leo proclaimed Charlemagne emperor, although he claimed to not want the title.

C. The Carolingian Renaissance, c. 790–c. 900

1. Revival of Learning and Art — The Carolingians inaugurated a revival of learning designed to enhance the glory of the kings, educate their officials, reform the liturgy, and purify Christianity. Roman learning was revived by scholars, and the English scholar Alcuin was recruited with others to form a center of study and bring Anglo-Saxon scholarship to the Carolingian court. Churches and cathedrals were ordered to teach reading and writing to all, although the plan never advanced. Art in the service of the king, influenced by Byzantine practices, also thrived.

2. The Legacy of the Renaissance — Long after the Carolingian dynasty had ended, their mode of inquiry and scholastic endeavors continued in monastic schools for generations. Manuscript handwriting was standardized, making manuscript study easier for future scholars

D.  Charlemagne’s Successors, 814–911

1. Louis the Pious and Rebellion — Charlemagne’s son Louis the Pious (r. 814–840) came to the throne when his father died of fever. He took his role as the leader of Christian empire very seriously, and was a strong promoter of Benedictine monasticism. His firstborn son, Lothar, was made co-emperor, and other sons Pippin and Louis were made sub-kings. When Louis remarried after his wife’ Ermengard’s death and had another son, Charles, in 823, his other children rebelled and fought their father and one another for more than a decade.

2. The Treaty of Verdun — After Louis’s death in 840, the Treaty of Verdun (843) divided the empire among his three remaining sons. Charles the Bald (r. 843–877) received the western third (present-day France); Louis the German (r. 843–876) received the eastern third (present-day Germany); and the “Middle Kingdom” was given to Lothar (r. 840–876), along with the imperial title.

3. Dissolution of Charlemagne’s Empire — The success of Charlemagne’s empire had been based on the loyalty of a small group of privileged aristocrats, laymen, and churchmen alike, with lands and offices across the realm. Their loyalty was based on shared values, friendship, expectation of gain, and formal ties of vassalage and fealty. Once the empire had been divided into three realms and the borders fixed, the aristocrats lost their expectations of new lands and offices. They put down roots in particular regions and began to gather their own followings. Many had never shared the vision of a powerful Christian empire and instead valued family and local loyalties more. Powerful local traditions, including different languages, also undermined imperial unity.

E. Land and Power

1. Carolingian Trade — Carolingian wealth came largely from booty and conquest, but trade with the Abbasid caliphate was also important to the economy. The collapse of that empire may have weakened the Carolingians.

2. Carolingian Agriculture — Land was the most important source of wealth and power. Carolingian aristocrats held many estates scattered throughout the Frankish Empire that were reorganized into productive units that modern historians call “manors.”

3. Manor Life — On Carolingian manors, families of peasants worked the land of their lords as well as their own small plots. Parents subdivided their plots to provide land for their adult children. Peasants used the more efficient three-field system, leaving a third of their land fallow as opposed to half, which had been the custom. Peasants owed dues and services to their lords. Farming was profitable but provided little in the way of surplus, and the system of scattered manors weakened the defense of the empire.

F. Viking, Muslim, and Magyar Invasions, c. 790–955

1. Viking Expansion and Settlement in the North of Europe — Vikings moved westward out of the Gulf of Finland from the end of the eighth century, seeking prestige, profit, and land, and often traveling in family groups. They were expert navigators, venturing as far as Iceland, Greenland, and North America. They settled in northeast England and raided the British Isles regularly until they were defeated by Alfred the Great in 878. Vikings settled and traded where they originally raided, and by 850 they began to control some regions. Rollo, a Viking leader in France, accepted Christianity and gained control of the region of France that was called Normandy. Christian missionaries had also begun to move into Scandinavia. Danish kings who had converted to Christianity created the kingdom of Denmark, and during the tenth and eleventh centuries the Danes expanded their control to parts of Sweden, Norway, and England.

2. Muslim Invasions of Southern Europe — Around the same time, Muslims began to attack southern Europe, setting up bases in the Mediterranean and a stronghold in Provence for a time, before they were expelled by Christians outraged at the kidnapping of Abbot Maiolus of Cluny.

3. Magyars Invade to the West — To the east, Magyars raided into Germany, Italy, and Gaul from 899–955 until the German King Otto I defeated them at the battle of Lechfeld. The Magyars were contained and later converted to Christianity. All of these invading groups, similar to those that had attacked the Roman Empire, came for wealth but later adopted aspects of Western culture as they remained in the region.

II. After the Carolingians: The Emergence of Local Rule

A. Public Power and Private Relationships

1. Vassals, Lords, and Ladies — Personal and local loyalties were most important in this era. The Carolingian system depended on networks of relationships between kings and their fideles, or “faithful men,” who received a share of the revenues of their administrative districts as well as fiefs, or “land grants.” Carolingian counts distributed fiefs to loyal supporters, and by the end of the ninth century fiefs were often passed on to heirs.

2. Lords and Peasants — Warriors increasingly became vassals of local lords, creating the social and economic system some historians call feudalism. Society was divided into those who prayed, those who fought, and those who worked. Vassalage, which also involved lords serving as the vassals of others, strengthened what remained of public power, allowing local lords to muster troops, collect taxes, and administer justice. Vassalage offered the poor some opportunity for protection and reward. Women participated in the system as wives and mothers of vassals, who promised loyalty (or fealty) by offering “homage,” or service, in exchange for protection, all in a public ceremony.

3. Village Life — “Those who worked,” peasants who made up the majority of the population, were at the bottom of the social scale. Peasants increasingly became dependant on the lords of manors as serfs, which was an inherited rather than a voluntary dependency. This inherited status involved serfs laboring on their lord’s land and paying taxes to him. The standard of living for all gradually improved as the climate warmed and better agricultural techniques came into use. Some peasants began to pay money to landlords rather than goods and labor, a change that worked to the advantage of both landlords and peasants.

4. The New System of Local Rule — Bounded villages surrounded by farms and with a strong sense of community grew up around churches. These were interdependent communities of peasants, although they often had conflicting loyalties and obligations in relation to local lords. Authority and power became increasingly localized as it fell into the hands of aristocrats, many of them based in castles. In southern France, virtually independent Castellans extended their authority in some cases, conquering other castles in order to dominate a region and subjecting all near their castles to vassalage, serfdom, taxation, and their judicial regime. Castellans formed relationships with other large landowners, supported local monasteries, and appointed local priests. The development of virtually independent local political units, dominated by a castle and controlled by a military elite, meant that the social, political, and cultural life of Europe was now dominated by landowners who were both military men and regional rulers

B. Warriors and Warfare

1. Knights — Although knights and their lords were differentiated by rank, they all shared a common way of life. Knights and their lords were warriors who fought on horseback and wore armor. Their armor and the adoption of horseshoes and stirrups allowed knights to fight better, travel farther, and use heavier weapons than ever before. Lords and their vassals often lived, ate, hunted, and fought together. They also competed against one another in military games. Unmarried knights who lived with their lords were called youths no matter their age. Their perpetual status as bachelors reflected a change in families and inheritance.

2. Primogeniture and the Patrilineal Family — Diminished opportunities to own land because of primogeniture (which recognized the primary claim of a family’s oldest sons on the family’s landed property) left younger sons seeking careers as knights or in the church. This patrilineal system caused aristocratic women to lose power, although widows and daughters could inherit property and wives might act as lords while their husbands were away. Marriage still played an important part in offering women an important social role.

C. Efforts to Contain Violence

1. The Peace of God — This social system increased violence, which devastated cities and the countryside. Bishops, counts, and peasants all attempted to limit conflict by imposing the Peace of God, a movement that began in France around 990 and quickly spread (by 1050) over a wide region. Excommunication was threatened for those who stole property or seized peasants.

2. The Truce of God — A second set of agreements, the Truce of God was designed to prevent fighting between warriors and prohibited fighting on days of religious significance. It was meant to be enforced by local lords who took a sacred oath. Other efforts were made locally to limit violence, including assemblies where lords and vassals mediated wars and feuds

D. Political Communities in Italy, England, and France

1. Urban Power in Northern and Central Italy — In Italy, cities remained the primary centers of power. Italian elites tended to build estates within walled cities that also contained churches, with the cities controlling the surrounding countryside. A currency economy thrived here, and the cities became centers of commerce and trade. Italian family life rejected primogeniture and shared opportunities among its male members, a model for later Italian business and banking ventures.

2. Alfred and His Successors: Kings of All the English — England remained rural. Alfred the Great, the king of Wessex, fortified settlements and built a mobile army and navy. He reformed religion and supported scholarly translations of religious works into Anglo-Saxon, although Latin remained the language of governance and the church. He issues a law code, and he and his successors rolled back Danish control over parts of the country. England became united and organized under a strong ruler. His grandson Edgar (r. 957–975) had the sworn loyalty of the great men of the kingdom and controlled ecclesiastical appointments. Still, royal control was tenuous, and the Danish king Cnut conquered England and ruled from 1017–1035, reinforcing the cultural connection between England and Scandinavia.

3. Capetian Kings of Franks: Weak but Prestigious — France was a larger realm and struggled to cope with invasions. As the Carolingian dynasty waned at the end of the tenth century, Hugh Capet, a powerful aristocrat, was chosen by the most powerful dukes, counts, and bishops to rule in 987. He reigned until 996, establishing the Capetian dynasty. The Capetian monarchs had scattered estates and limited power, as independent castellans controlled many areas. But they represented the idea of unity inherited from Charlemagne, and therefore enjoyed considerable prestige.

E. Emperors and Kings in Central and Eastern Europe

1. Ottonian Power in Germany — Germany was consolidated by its Ottonian kings, who styled themselves as emperors. Ruling over five large duchies, these kings were elected by the dukes, in part to better resist Magyar invasions from the east. Otto I was a great military hero who conquered Lombard Italy in 951 and defeated a Magyar army in 955, solidifying his dynasty, which continued to resist Slavic invasion. He claimed the Middle Kingdom carved out by the Treaty of Verdun, and had himself proclaimed emperor in 962. His successors, Otto II and Otto III, chosen through patrilineal descent, had to cope with family revolts supported by aristocratic factions. Ottonian monarchs had harmonious relations with the church, empowering bishops as royal officials and participating in their selection. The Ottonians (and their Salian successors) supported learning, and German noblewomen were well-educated and even supported artists and scholars. The monarchy made use of ministerials, specially designated serfs, to administer the kingdom. German influence expanded to the east.

2. The Emergence of Catholic Bohemia, Poland, and Hungary — Supported by the church, German kings created new Catholic polities on their eastern frontier. The Czechs. under the rule of Vaclav (r. 920–929), converted and came into the German sphere of influence. The Polanians, under Mieszko I (r. 963–992), accepted baptism to forestall German attack and placed their people under the protection of the pope. Under Mieszko’s son, Boleslaw, Poland’s borders expanded to Kiev, and Boleslaw became a king with the pope’s blessing. Magyars settling Hungary under Stephen I (r. 997–1038) also accepted Christianity , and Stephen was crowned in 1000 or 1001 by the pope.

From Centralization to Fragmentation in the East

I.               The Byzantine Emperor and Local Elites

A. Imperial Power

1. Tagmata and the Emergence of Effective Mobile Armies (c. 850) — Around 850, a Byzantine recovery began, rooted in new military organization. Themes continued to protect provinces, but new mobile armies of elite troops stopped merely defending territory and began to advance on the Islamic Empire. By 1025, Byzantine victories extended the empire from the Danube to the Euphrates.

2. The Wealth of the Emperors — These victories gave new prestige and wealth to the army and imperial court, and emperors collected revenues from vast imperial estates along with taxes and services in lieu of taxes from the general population. The emperors gained additional wealth from a prosperous agricultural economy organized for trade.

3.  Imperial Trade — Byzantine commerce involved direct imperial control of craft and commercial guilds as well as entrepreneurial organization of markets. Markets organized by entrepreneurs attracted foreign merchants and a steady stream of commodities that ensured imperial revenues. Because trade was intermingled with foreign policy, the Byzantine government considered trade a political as well as an economic matter. Byzantine foreign trade was important and flourished throughout the Middle East, western Europe, and with the Kievan Rus

B. The Macedonian Renaissance, c. 870–c. 1025

1. Basil I and the Revival of Classical Learning — With the empire regaining its military strength and the court remembering Byzantium’s past glory, the Byzantine emperors revived classical intellectual pursuits. Basil I (r. 867–886) from Macedonia founded the imperial dynasty of the period known as the Macedonian renaissance (“rebirth”) (c. 870–c. 1025). Centered in Constantinople, the rebirth of the study of classics was advanced by an intellectual elite who had continued to study classics over the preceding century despite the trend toward a religious education.

2. Support for the Arts — New artistic works flourished under the sponsorship of emperors and members of the imperial court who served as patrons to writers, philosophers, and historians. Icons were allowed, and the classical and Christian traditions merged in manuscript illuminations of religious writings

C. The Dynatoi: A New Landowning Elite

1. Hereditary Military Families — Alongside the scholarly and artistic elite in Byzantium, a new elite group formed in the countryside. In border regions, powerful military families (dynatoi) thrived, enriched by booty and new lands. Some families, notably the Phocas family in the tenth century, gained independent power that rivaled that of the emperors (Nicephorus Phocas was declared emperor by his armies and reigned from 963–969).

2. The Rural Character of the Dynatoi — The dynatoi took over entire villages and used peasant labor for their advantage. Overall, the social organization of the empire became more like western Europe, with rural aristocratic lords controlling lands and the peasantry and wielding considerable political power

D. The Formation of Eastern Europe and Kievan Rus

1. Slavic Settlement and Khagan Expansion — By 800, Bulgarian rulers (khagans) presided over large territories of Slavic settlement from the Danube to Greece and from the Black Sea to Croatia.

2. Bulgaria and Serbia: The Byzantine Conquest of Greece and the Balkans — Byzantine expansion under Nicophorus I (r. 802–811) established control over Greece, and led to conflict with Bulgaria and the emperor’s death in battle. After a peace was established in 816, and intermittent peace lasted about thirty years. However, Basil II (r. 976–1025) led a methodical conquest of the Balkans, which led to the spread of Byzantine religion and culture to the region, including the development of a precursor to the modern Cyrillic alphabet.

3. Kievan Rus: Expansion and Relations with Byzantium — The region that would become Russia lay outside the sphere of direct Byzantine rule in the ninth and tenth centuries. In the ninth century, Vikings imposed their rule. Moving southward they took control of the key commercial region around Kiev and settled as the Rus. From Kiev, the Rus sailed across the Black Sea in search of markets for trade. The relationship between Rus and Byzantium began with trade, but was interrupted by war when the Byzantines tried to use the Rus to attack the neighboring Khazars. The plan backfired, and the Khazars forced the Rus to attack Constantinople in 941. Soon, however, the Rus regrouped and resumed trading with Byzantium.

4. Kievan Rus: Conversion and Fragmentation — Good relations between the Rus and the Byzantines were solidified when Rus leader Vladimir (r. 978–1015) converted to Christianity. A close alliance developed, which tied the Rus closer to Byzantine culture, especially their form of Christianity. In 1054, the death of Iaroslav the Wise led to the division of the Rus kingdom between his sons, and civil wars followed. Outside invasions also weakened

II. The Rise and Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate

A. The Abbasid Caliphate, 750–936 

1. Civil War and the Abbasid Coalition — Civil war in 750 brought down the Umayyads and established the Abbasids as the new caliphate. They found support in an uneven coalition of Shi’ites and non-Arabs, who had been excluded from the Umayyad power structure. The empire’s capital moved from Damascus to Baghdad, a new city, while the empire became increasingly centralized.  

2. Caliph Harun al-Rashid (c. 786–809) and Abbasid Decline — Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid (r. 786–809) built a wealthy trading system, but the empire began to decline after his death. Harun al-Rashid’s two sons fought a civil war, and the empire lost control of many regions. The empire recruited  a mercenary army of freed slaves, many of them Turks skilled at firing arrows from horseback, but the Abbasid tax base was inadequate to support the huge army and complex civil administration. By the tenth century the caliphs were figureheads, and regional governors with their own mercenary armies wielded independent power, fragmenting the caliphate.

B. Regional Diversity in Islamic Lands

1. Forces of Islamic Fragmentation — The caliphate lost its unity in part because the initial conquest had brought many ethnicities, many of whom practiced different customs and identified with different regions, into one empire. The Sunni/Shi‘ite split also generated polarization. As political and religious unity fragmented, local traditions and local rulers became increasingly important.

2. The Fatamid Dynasty — In Egypt the Shi‘ite Fatamid dynasty allied with North African Berbers and by 909 ruled Tunisia. Claiming descent from Ali and claiming to be the mahhdi (the divinely guided Messiah), Fatamid rulers controlled Egypt by 969, and their empire, with its lavish court, extended to North Africa, Arabia, and Syria.

3. The Spanish Emirate and the Caliphate of Córdoba —  Sunni Muslims ruled Islamic southern and central Spain, with a capital at Cordoba. Cordoba was an independent Islamic state that dated from the original conquest of the region in 756. The Cordoba emirate was originally led by Abd al-Rahman, a member of the Umayyad family. The empire was diverse, and included many Jews and Christians, who were allowed freedom of worship and sometimes adopted Arab lifestyle and customs. The caliphate broke up in 1031, and local rulers seized power.

C. Unity of Commerce and Language

1. Shared Language: Arabic — Trade networks, religion, and a shared language allowed for cultural unity in the politically fragmented Islamic world. Arabic, the language of the Qur’an, was used in both commerce and government.

2. Shared Commerce — Although every region had its own political and commercial system, borders were open and contact and travel were an important feature of Islamic life. Islamic society supported vast international trade networks, and Muslim merchants engaged in trade with England, Timbuktu, central Africa, and Russia

D. The Islamic Renaissance, c. 790–c. 1050

1. A Broad-Based Movement — Political fragmentation multiplied centers of learning and culture. Libraries were established at Cordoba and in the Abbasid caliphate, and ancient writings from Persia, India, and Greece were preserved and studied.

2. Supporting Science and Mathematics — In mathematics, Al-Kwarazami (d. 850) wrote books on algebra and developed Arabic numbers. The new independent Islamic rulers also supported science, and medicine, physics, and natural sciences were all studied.

3. Islamic Education and Scholarship — Rich Muslims established schools as a sign of charity and piety. The Qur’an and other literary and legal texts were closely studied, but only by men. Islamic scholars made widespread use of cheap paper, which made their scholarship more widely available.

Weekly Assignment 10

  What were the similarities and the differences in political organizations of the Islamic, Byzantine, and western European societies in the period 600-750? Your answer should fill at least two pages of 8.5x11 paper, be machine-produced in a conventional 12-point font, and turned in by the beginning of class on Wednesday, October 31.

Creating Western Europe

III. Western Europe: A Medley of Kingdoms

A. Frankish Kingdoms with Roman Roots

1. Blending the Roman Past with the Frankish Present — During the sixth century, the Franks established themselves as the dominant power in Roman Gaul. In the western areas that were once part of the Roman Empire, cities retained Roman features and served as centers of church administration. However, many cities were depopulated and lost economic and cultural vitality. Gradually the surrounding forests and pastureland reflected the farming and village settlement patterns of the Franks.

2. Frankish Peasants and Elites — In the countryside, where most elites lived, lords controlled families of peasants, many descended from Roman coloni. Peasants owed dues and labor to the landowner in return for living on and working the land. Roman and Frankish culture merged, as dialects of Latin emerged. Frankish elites cultivated military skills and dress.

3. Saints and Relics — Villages often formed around sacred sites. Churches housing the remains of saints offered an example of a new cultural value, the veneration of dead saints and martyrs. Whereas in the classical world the dead were banished from the presence of the living, in the medieval world the holy dead held a place of high esteem.

B. Economic Activity in a Peasant Society

1. Subsistence and Gift Economies — The agricultural economy was weak, and subsistence was the economic norm for most. Food supplies were limited by colder temperatures and limited agricultural technologies. Surpluses were subsumed into a gift economy: booty was seized, tributes demanded, and wealth hoarded by the elites, all to be redistributed to friends and dependents.

2. Trade and Traders — Some European merchants engaged in long-distance trade, offering slaves and raw materials for luxury goods such as silk and paper. Contact with the Byzantine Empire and beyond was tenuous and was often conducted through intermediaries.

3. Jews in Merovingian Society — Although dominated by Christians, Merovingian society integrated Jews into all aspects of secular life. Some Jews were rich landowners, while others were independent peasants. Some lived in towns with a small Jewish quarter, but most lived on the land like their Christian neighbors. Only later did the status of Jews change, marking them out from Christian society

C. The Powerful in Merovingian Society

1. The Aristocrats — The aristocracy enjoyed considerable wealth. They administered their estates and cultivated a military ethic, perfecting the virtues and skills of a warrior. Marriage and family life were important to the aristocracy, as the production of heirs was important for the survival of aristocratic families and their property. Religion was an important part of aristocratic life and education, and Irish-founded monasteries had a particular appeal for some aristocrats.

2. The Bishops — Bishops were powerful and influential. Although many bishops were married, they were expected to abstain from sexual relations.

3. Women of Power — Aristocrats controlled the marriages of their daughter to strengthen the family through dowries and family connections. Women were allowed to receive property bequests and many were wealthy. Some nuns or abbesses controlled considerable property. Legally subordinate to their husbands, Merovingian women still retained a great deal of power and influence, often through their sons.

4. The Power of Kings — Merovingian kings cooperated with bishops and the aristocracy. They administered justice and led in war. They used their court culture and the distribution of offices to control the aristocracy, creating by the seventh century the stable kingdoms of Austrasia, Neustria, and Burgundy.

D. Christianity and Classical Culture in the British Isles

1. Competing Church Hierarchies in Anglo-Saxon England — Christianity was introduced to northern England by Irish monks. Irish monasteries were organized around traditional rural clans and were headed by abbots. Since monasteries, rather than cities, were the centers of population settlement, northern bishops were under the authority of abbots. In contrast, Christianity was brought to southern England by papal missionaries who emphasized loyalty to the pope and the hierarchy of bishops. The Roman and Irish churches disagreed on many points, but Roman Christianity dominated in the end, as illustrated by the 664 Synod of Whitby’s selection of the Roman date for celebrating Easter.

2. Literary Culture — Roman Christianity offered access to books and a long literary tradition. Anglo-Saxon and Celtic monasteries became centers of learning where Latin and pagan texts were copied and closely studied. The Anglo-Saxon oral tradition was adapted to Christian culture, and the written Anglo-Saxon language was used in every aspect of English life.

E. Unity in Spain, Division in Italy

1. Spain under the Visigoths — In Spain, the Visigothic king Leovigild (r. 569–586) established rule by military might. To maintain control, his son Reccared converted from Arianism to Roman Catholic Christianity, along with most of the Arian bishops. This  launched an era of unprecedented close cooperation between kings and bishops, including the anointing of the king by the bishops at Toledo. This unity and centralization made the Visigothic kingdom vulnerable to conquest when the Arabs arrived in 711.

2. Lombard Royal Power in Italy — In Italy, Lombard kings faced a hostile papacy in Rome and independent dukes in the south. Some Lombard rulers were Arian, and the kingdom lacked religious unity, although the Lombard king’s rich estates and military ability strengthened the kingdom. Taking advantage of the weakened but still urban culture of Italy, Lombard rulers assigned dukes to govern cities and set up a capital at Pavia, engaging in the building of churches and city walls in the tradition of Constantine and Justinian. Lombard territory was never fully united, and Lombard expansion led the pope to seek Frankish aid against them.

3. The Papacy and Politics — The pope’s political power was ambiguous, as the office combined secular and religious power

F. Political Tensions and the Power of the Pope

1. Gregory the Great — Ambiguous papal power was strengthened during the papacy of Gregory the Great (r. 590–604). Gregory became the greatest landowner in Italy, organizing the army and defenses of Rome while working to expand the power of bishops and the influence of the church throughout Europe. Gregory increased papal involvement with secular matters across Europe, urging secular support for spiritual reforms and authoring many spiritual works and biblical commentaries.

2. The Papacy and the Byzantine Emperors — As a bishop, the pope was in theory subordinate to the Byzantine emperors, who ruled from Constantinople. However, in 691 Pope Sergius I (r. 687/9–701) rejected certain church regulations promulgated by Justinian, which led to Justinian’s efforts to arrest the pope. Local Italian armies sided with the pope and prevented his arrest, which led to a waning of the influence of the Byzantine emperors over the papacy. By the early eighth century, the pope led a tax revolt against Emperor Leo III, and conflict over icons also weakened the emperor’s influence.

3. The Papacy and the Lombards — The popes also struggled to control Lombard expansion, and Pope Zachary (r. 741–752)  resisted their territorial ambitions by appealing to the Carolingian King, Pippin III (r. 751–768), to intervene and fight the Lombards