Medieval Era

Main Points

• Barbarian Invasions The settled civilizations were not the only places developing new and lessons.
• Rise of Religion The emergence of a new way to bind people together.
• Economic Growth The slow accumulation of wealth and transformation in society in economic terms.

The Ancient Era saw the rise of mega-empires, some of the largest states in history thrived at this time, and most of them had only each other as serious competitors for resources and territory. Their dynamism, love of learning, innovation in government, and passion for art created a truly amazing era rich in history and art which we cherish even today. However, political unity, the unity of rule by the sword still held sway over most people. There was no fundamental connection between the Gallic potter and the Palmyran merchant in the Roman Empire. There was no sense of unity between the caravan guard in Gansu and the rice farmer in Sichuan except that the emperor officially ruled them both. In small local ways, people were creating extended communities, but the bonds of mutual oppression were not a strong one between people who would never meet.

This was not strange. There had never been another kind of bond shared from one end of an empire to the other. Such a concept simply did not exist in the Ancient Era. However, this was the seed that led to the transformation which unlocked the Medieval Era, for such bonds did exist. And the first one was about to be unleashed by a wave of barbarian invasions.

Barbarian Invasions

While barbarian invasions were nothing new, the invasions of the Medieval Era were truly special. The Ancient Era empires were too powerful to be conquered by smaller states and absorbed all their regional competition to become mega-empires with only each other to war against. They were too successful, had learned too much, grown too large to fail. The only people capable of conquering them were lurking out in the wilderness of Central Asia.

Like the settled populations, the pastoral nomads of Central Asia had been growing and evolving in their own ways. Generally disgusted with weak city dwellers, they were only too happy to live off by themselves with only the occasional raid to acquire new possessions and booty from the city-dwellers. These horse nomads spent most of their time warring against each other. As competition was fierce and Central Asia was too small for the number of nomads trying to squeeze into it, there was a steady stream of losers being ejected. By and large, these were the barbarians which civilizations had contact with. Only rarely did a truly devastating tribe emerge, like the Xiongnu (Huns) or Juan Juan (Avar). The result was that great, truly terrifying barbarian tribes were developing in Central Asia, largely unknown to the empires of the Ancient Era.

Nor were these tribes static. They were developing new and innovative tactics in mobile warfare. They were developing new ways of living off the land, and creating new and truly deadly weapons, like the composite bow. Since the barbarians did not play by the kinds of rules which tended to evolve among the Ancient Era civilizations, they were quite literally evolving a completely different kind of war with which the great powers were not familiar with.

Further, the barbarian cultures were engineered around the military and the idea of total war; so if they were centuries (even millenia) behind China or Europe in terms of government institutions, learning, and religion, the same could not be said for their military expertise. In fact, military advances were the one area where even the barbarians seemed perfectly willing to steal, borrow, and learn from others. The result was that any military advantages which civilizations held over barbarians were quickly equalized in war. Ironically, the great empires thought too little of the barbarians to learn from them. The composite bow was never adopted by any of the Medieval states despite its clear superiority to any similar weapons they possessed. Nor, for the most part, did they adapt the new lessons in mobile warfare to their own needs.

And so the Medieval Era was the time when the losing tribes were dispersed or subjugated. The barbarians were unified tribe by tribe until there were no other barbarians to fight against. With cultures built on war, and none of their preferred enemies to fight, the last of the great barbarians stormed out of the wilderness to wage war against the dwellers in the cities and to teach them terror.

So it is ironic that the great barbarian invasions of the Medieval Era began with the great exception. In 632 AD, the Arabs stormed out of the Arabian Peninsula with their new religion, Islam. They spread their culture and their new religion from Spain to India. Forget the barbarians, under the commands of Islam the Arab knights imposed one of the most humane and civilized series of conquests in world history. Their unrivaled series of victories and their tolerance for other religions and cultures ensured that – like the Persians of Cyrus the Great – their conquests were perfectly happy to settle into the new Arab empire. This was key reason that Arab armies were able to extend the borders of the empire for a hundred years without pause, because there was no need for them to put down internal rebellions. And thus the Arabs emerged as the only barbarians to found a major world empire – not to mention a major world religion. It is no accident that in the Medieval Era, the two went together.

Then in 1038 AD, the Seljuk Turks stormed through the Middle East; they subjugated the local barbarians and the remaining Islamic states – the Caliphate having fallen in 945 AD. The Turks lacked any experience, and had little interest in government resulting in highly self-centered, warring city-states which had little if any law. The Arabs and Persians mourned their fate not knowing that in 1204 AD worse was to come when Genghis Khan united the Mongol hordes. While not long lived, the Mongols seized control of virtually all of Asia, and parts of Eastern Europe and Northwest India. It was the largest land empire in world history, for a time even greater than the Arab empire though it never settled into a civilization. The Mongol conquests were ruled by independent khans loosely knit together only by their shared conviction that genocide victims don't revolt. Their idea of rulership was rooted in concepts not familiar since the Formative Era and in many cases they could not even establish coherent policies. Indeed, the genocide against the Islamic states of the Middle East by the Ilkhan, prompted the Khan of the Golden Horde – who was Muslim – to declare civil war. These invasions certainly caused widespread destruction at the time, but they also had a profound long term impact on world history. However, with the exception of the Arabs, it was not at all the one they intended.

Rise of Religion

The barbarian invasions led to the rise of religion, with the exception of the Arabs who were united by Islam and spread it with them on their amazing conquests. Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in 313 AD some two hundred years after the barbarian invasions of Europe were begun. Buddhism assumed an entirely new and revolutionary importance in China following the fall of North China to the barbarians. And India saw Hinduism adapt and finally overpower the initial success of Buddhism after the Kushan invasions seized Northwest India. The collapse of the largest empires in each region's history was a cause of grave uncertainty in people's lives; what had seemed the unstoppable destiny of their civilizations and their way of life suddenly came crashing down.

Religion was the move towards spiritual learning which answered people's innermost needs, doubts and fears which Ancient secular learning had been powerless to cope with. Indeed, while the greatest of the Medieval Empires combined religion And learning, it is a theme of many religions that people questioned the entire concept of secular knowledge. After all, they reasoned, if illiterate barbarians were capable of wiping out vast civilizations despite their tremendous learning and institutions, then what good was it. Better to praise God, be devout, and keep the faith. Medieval Christianity became bitterly disillusioned with secular knowledge during the 800 years of barbarian invasions which racked Europe. And while the political propaganda of Nur al-Din and Salah al-Din show movement in the same direction, the victory of the devout Mamluks over the Mongols in 1260 allowed them to champion this trend in Islam.

Religion empowered and unified geographic areas in a completely new, non-political way. In the Formative and Ancient Eras, a region like Europe or India were frequently composed of a large number of political states, and their people were not "connected" in any significant sense. With the advent of religion, there was an underlying cultural bond throughout the entire populace of these regions, a wholly original and highly powerful concept that provided a new foundation to civilization across the globe. This would be even more important in periods of political fragmentation when there was quite literally no other bond except religion to hold people together. The collapse of the Roman Empire in 406 AD and the sack of Baghdad in 945 AD destroyed large centralized powers, but religion continued to connect the successor states in ways that tended to tame the worst excesses and destruction in war, and bring people together. Thus religion's success was largely due to its ability to unite people in a very powerful and fundamentally original way.

While the religious wars – which would become a theme in subsequent history – could frequently betray many of these values, religion met such fundamental needs of individuals that they were unwilling to give it up. And states which embraced religion, taking the good along with the bad, proved far more capable when matched against Ancient Era powers; whether in peace – where religion found ways to cross borders and create converts – or in war – where the commitment and discipline of Medieval knights was too great an advantage. Medieval Era societies replaced the Ancient Era powers across the globe.

On the other hand, political power also benefited from religion. The three most powerful empires of the Medieval Era – the Tang Dynasty, Umayyad Caliphate, and East Roman Empire – all enjoyed significant religious advantages. The Ancient Era had demonstrated that rulers were learning the importance of government institutions and understanding the effective limits on their power. However, religion added a new dynamic to their authority. Rulers could practice the wisdom learned by successful Ancient Era monarchs, while suggesting desired behavior. Wise rulers learned to use religion as a left arm of power while still using the right arm of political government. Naturally, rulers could confuse the opportunities of religion with the ability to ignore the Ancient Era's lessons of limited government. It is true that religion's message to acquiesce to supreme authority gave these rulers some cushion. However, most rulers who ignored the lessons of limited government found themselves exposed in the same way as Formative rulers before them.

However, many rulers found ways to use their power successfully. A number of Medieval Chinese Emperors used Buddhism to cement their power, especially during the Age of Division. The Umayyad Caliphs helped the dynamic growth of their religion, both through the military expansion of Muslim armies and through the peaceful encouragement of conquered peoples to convert to the true faith. The high point of the East Roman Empire saw a cooling of the internal religious and political disputes which allowed that prototypical Greek curiosity and love of learning to emerge; the court erected the greatest Medieval empire on European soil, supported by wise government policy on one side and devout religious belief on the other.

Economic Growth

Religion helped create powerful states throughout the Medieval Era, and many of these emerged during times of political fragmentation. However, the future progress of these states was largely determined by their economic policies. Europe was one of the first states to emerge from the Ancient Era yet barbarian invasions severely limited Europe's economic progress. After the fall of the Roman Empire the Juan Juan (Avars) invaded and ravaged the continent. Charlemagne destroyed their Khanate in 791 AD and inaugurated a mini-Renaissance in learning and economics. After his death, however, the Vikings of Scandanavia emerged and raided across the continent, followed by the Magyars. Once things settled down around 1000 AD, states could grow and prosper.

For the Arab Caliphates the story was exactly the opposite; barbarian invasions became problematic only later in their history. Their initial success was unchallenged. By controlling the Silk Road, encouraging trade, and studying / expanding Greek and Persian learning, they developed a thriving economy and culture. As Caliph after Caliph ruled decade after decade and then century after century, political fragmentation began to undermine the court. Powerful regional lords began to exert more and more autonomy, similar to the conflicts between the nominal kings and emperors of Europe and their theoretical subordinates. However, the Abbasid Caliphs reacted to the challenge poorly, preferring luxurious living to exerting their authority. This made the Caliphate an unfortunately easy target for barbarians in the 10th century and the Caliphate collapsed in 945 AD. While not an immediate casualty, the economy of the Middle East dwindled and never regained its former power.

The Medieval Chinese overthrew their barbarian invaders in 589 AD, four hundred years before Europe. Just as importantly, Buddhism lived happily alongside learning in the life of the court, producing many great Medieval Chinese scholars, poets, and artists. With religion solidifying imperial rule, learning opening new doors, and strong support for trade and business, the Tang Dynasty experienced the most dynamic economic growth of the Medieval Era and never looked back. Even the political fragmentation which followed the An Lushan rebellion did not halt the general direction of the economy.

Economic growth during the Medieval Era had several key facets that would prove very important. Medieval prosperity made significant strides in agricultural production. During the Formative Era, the development of irrigation agriculture in the great river valleys had created a breakthrough. For the first time, farmers had been able to grow enough to feed more than their families and the first careers had been born. It was a miracle that created the first cities and the first states. By the Medieval Era, the same agricultural output could be produced by small villages miles away from the nearest river. Improved understanding of animal biology allowed horses to be used to their full potential for the first time. Improved crop rotation techniques and a wider selection of crops allowed more land to be placed under cultivation and produced higher yields than ever before – all without destroying the land's fertility. This contributed to unprecedented population growth and allowed widespread career specialization. While these trends had been growing throughout the Ancient Era, the Medieval Era saw the conclusion of these trends when they were no longer the "exceptional" domain of cities and lush farmlands but the cultural norm of the majority of those living in the major geographic heartlands.

The increase of career specialization and rising population was felt most dramatically in the increase in the number and size of towns and cities. Specialization and urbanization always naturally fed off of one another; people who specialized in a career needed large numbers of customer to sell to and access to shops where they could buy all the goods and services they did not produce for themselves. However, the population growth which occurred during periods of relative peace during the Medieval Era accelerated this process. The more money and larger the city, the more advanced and specialized careers a city could support. This encouraged new careers and increased specialization. So not only did a rising economy create more money and resources for governments, economically advantaged societies actually had economic sectors, goods, and services which poorer nations could only dream about. This would prove to be the decisive tipping point that allowed China and Europe to burst into the Renaissance Era.

Economic growth allowed rulers to spend money liberally. They spent it on economic activities that brought them more wealth, they donated it to the church to increase their profile and reputation for generosity, but with increasing amounts of cash they began to be able to support artists, poets, and scholars. It was blatantly self-serving, blatantly self-aggrandizing propaganda. This was certainly not new, but the ways in which it was executed were all important. Rather than using this money explicitly for themselves, the palaces they built and the monuments they erected were now to glorify "the state". In practice, this still directly benefited the political power and physical luxury of the rulers. However, its psychological impact could not have been more different.

The Medieval custom of dividing up an empire as the inheritance of a ruler's sons died in those cultures where it had still survived. The borders of these new states ceased to fluctuate as wildly, and no longer did they conduct wars of territorial conquest. Though they were frequently at war, much of the territory they conquered was often returned in favor of other concessions at the conflict's end. The addition and loss of provinces, especially small ones, might change the exact border of the nation but it was rare and extremely important when it actually meant major territorial gains or losses. This change in philosophy is known as nationalism and it marked the beginning of the Renaissance.