Europe

The Postclassical period saw a dramatic shift in Europe. The Eastern Roman Empire, based in Constantinople, flourished. In contrast, the decline of the Western Roman Empire left a power vacuum in the rest of the continent. Invasions of people from Northern Europe, known as the Vikings, brought another group of people into the cultural exchanges. Central and western Europe devolved into thousands of duchies and fiefdoms. As a result of the lack of strong central governments, Europe could not provide the protection and stability merchants desired. It did not benefit from long distance Afro- Eurasian trade as much as other regions did.

Just as Hinduism provided cultural unity to a politically divided South Asia, Christianity became the one unifying force in central and western Europe. In 800, the pope demonstrated his power and authority by bestowing on the French king, Charlemagne, the title of “Emperor of the Romans.” However, European Christian unity would not endure. In 1054, it split into two branches, the Roman Catholic Church in the west and the Orthodox Church in the east.

In 1095, the Roman Catholic pope called for a Holy Crusade to free Jerusalem and the lands around it from Islamic control. The early crusaders had some limited success. But after two centuries of trying, the crusades failed to seize power. However, they had a large impact culturally. The Crusades made Europeans more aware of the achievements of the Middle East and the rest of Asia. This awareness was one factor in stimulating Europe to become more interested in intellectual and technological advances.