of harvests and military victories [Ti]
Their traditions include
Religion
Religion and Philosophy. Early
religions include animism, shamanism,
and polytheism.
Animism. Animists believe that spirits
exist in animals, plants, mountains,
rivers, and rocks. They communicate
with spirits directly without priests as
intermediaries and use rituals and
totems to gain favors from the spirits.
Shamanism. Shamans were leaders
who helped win favors from ancestors
or from spirits of nature. Some
shamans contacted the spirits after
eating trance inducing plants. Many
shamans served their community as
healers, mediators, and fortune tellers.
Polytheism. Polytheists believe that
gods are divine beings, not spirits
associated with objects of nature.
Rituals, often led by priests, honor the
gods. The Greeks honored gods who
had human bodies
[anthropomorphism]. Swedes [Asa
religion] honored Odin [war], Thor
[thunder], and Frey [fertility].
Polytheists often prefer one god over
others. Each city in Egypt honored its
city god. Clans in Japan honored clan
gods. Other cultures favored the sun
god, a goddess of fertility, or a Mother
Earth goddess.
Indus: Fire Worship [2600]. Indus
peoples worshipped a god of fire.
Egypt: Pyramids [2550]. The great
pyramids were built. Their shape may
be related to Egypt's creation myth in
which the earth, represented by a
mound, rises out of the sea. The
pyramids served as burial places
intended to help deceased kings enter
an eternal after-life.
Egypt: Great Sphinx [2500]. The
great sphinx has the body of a lion and
the head of a man. Other sphinxes
have ram or hawk heads to honor
popular gods.
Egypt: Sun god [2134]. Thebes
conquered other cities and reunited
Egypt. The sun god [Amun], the city
god of Thebes, became Egypt's most
important god.
Sumer: Great Ziggurat of Ur [2000].
Each Sumerian temple included a tall
stepped pyramid building known as a
ziggurat. A statue of the temple's god
and an altar for sacrifices were located
at the top of the ziggurat. The Great
Ziggurat of Ur [2000] honored the
moon god [Nanna Sin].
China: Ancestor Worship [1766].
The Yin [Shang], who ruled for 650
years [1766/1122], worshipped the god
Palestine.
and honored the spirits of wind, rivers,
sun, moon, earth and clouds. The Yin
honored ancestors because they were
able to ask favors from the gods.
Sumer: Abraham [1750]. Abraham is
the father of the Jewish, Christian, and
Islamic religions. The Jewish people,
Jesus Christ, and Muhammad are his
descendents. God revealed himself to
Abraham, asked him to leave his
homeland [Sumer], and promised that
he would be the father of many
nations. All Abrahamic religions believe
in a monotheistic God, a judgment day,
and life after death.
Crete: Priestesses [1700].
Priestesses led a matriarchal religion
that worshipped a 'Mother Earth'
goddess.
Greece: Mount Olympus [1600]. The
gods of Mycenae, the first powerful
Greek city, lived on Mount Olympus.
Mycenaean gods had human bodies
[anthropomorphism].
Phoenicia: Fertility goddess [1510].
Each Phoenician city had its favorite
god and built temples where animals,
and sometimes children, were
sacrificed. The goddess of fertility
[Astarte, also known as Ishtar] was
important.
England: Stonehenge [1500]. This
monument used for sun and moon
worship began as wooden posts inside
circular walls of dirt [2950]. The large
stone blocks visible today were added
about 1500.
Egypt: Obelisk [1500]. New Kingdom
rulers created large obelisks to
commemorate events and honor the
sun god [1500]. Smaller obelisks were
used centuries earlier. Their shape
represents a beam of light from the
sun.
China: Oracle Bones [1400]. Priests
used the shoulder bones of cattle and
the shells of turtles to get advice from
ancestors. The priest asked a
question, heated the bone or shell until
it cracked, and interpreted the meaning
of the cracks. The priests wrote the
question and the answer on the bone
or shell.
Egypt: Monotheism [1379]. Egypt's
leader [Akhenaten] became more
interested in religion than in governing
a kingdom. He imposed monotheism
by replacing Egypt's many gods with
the sun god [Aton]. His successor
[Tutankhamun, 'King Tut', 1333/1324]
restored the worship of the older gods.
Israel: Exodus from Egypt [1250].
Israelites, taken to Egypt to work as
slaves, escaped and returned to
stories of ten plagues, Moses leading
the captives out of Egypt, crossing a
sea before it swallowed up Egypt's
pursuing army, receiving Ten
Commandments from their God, and
wandering in the desert for 40 years.
Israel: Passover [1250]. This seven
day religious holiday commemorates
the exodus from Egypt [1250].
Iranians: Magi [1200]. The magi were
priests who served the gods
worshipped in Media and Persia. The
word 'magic' comes from the religious
practices of the magi.
China: Mandate of Heaven [1122].
The Zhou overthrew the Yin [Shang]
and justified the change of leadership
by claiming: 'If kings fail, the gods
bless new leaders.' This principle, the
Mandate of Heaven, is important in
China's history because it requires
rulers to be responsible or be replaced.
Egypt: Priests rule [1065]. Egypt
became divided. Pharaohs ruled at
Tanis. Priests formed a new capital at
Thebes.
Sweden: Asa Religion [1000]. The
Swedes worshipped three primary
gods, Odin [war], who ruled at the giant
hall where dead warriors ate and drank
[Valhalla], Thor [thunder, plague,
famine], and Frey [fertility and harvest].
Swedes sometimes sacrificed humans
to the gods.
Sweden: Nightmare [1000]. Swedes
aspired to become rich through plunder
or to die as a hero. They believed that
a female spirit, the 'nightmare' [Maran],
took souls during sleep and that it was
shameful to die in bed.
Israel: Temple [957]. The king
[Solomon] supported the construction
of a temple in Jerusalem [957/586].
Israel: Divided [925]. Israel's king
[Solomon] had increased taxes to build
a palace and temple. After his death a
civil war split the kingdom [922/918].
The south kept the capital, the ruling
family, and Hebrew religion, but took a
new name, Judah. The north kept the
name, Israel, formed a new capital
[Samaria], and worshipped a new god
[Ba'al].
Etruscans: Bull God [900]. Etruscans
worshipped a bull god. 'Italy' comes
from 'vitulli', the Etruscan word for
young bulls.
Nubia: Pyramids [900]. Wealthy
Nubians were buried as mummies and
pyramids were built above the burial
site. Nubian pyramids, smaller and
shaped differently than Egyptian
pyramids, often had a prayer chapel on
one side.
England: Druid Priests [800]. Celtic
speakers [Gaels] arrived in England.
Celtic priests [druids] led religious
practices.
North India: Rig-Veda [800].
Religious hymns [Vedas] described
events and culture. After being passed
down orally for hundreds of years, the
hymns were written [800, Rig-Veda].
North India: Brahmanas [800]. These
writings explained the Rig-Veda
hymns, led to the caste system, and
provided instructions for rituals. The
rituals became elaborate, expensive,
and rigid. Priests were required to
perform each ritual precisely or else
the gods would become angry.
North India: Upanishads [750].
Critics complained about the Brahman
religion: its rituals were too rigid; its
priests, too rich; and its sacrifices, too
cruel. Their writings [750, Upanishads]
introduced the ideas of a never dying
soul [atman], reincarnation in a new
body after death [samsara], and the
aftereffect [karma] of good or evil in a
past life that returns at rebirth. Good
works are rewarded with a favorable
rebirth and evil deeds are punished by
an undesirable reincarnation.
Greece: Oracle at Delphi [650]. A
virgin priestess [oracle] at the temple to
the god Apollo at Delphi answered
questions in a trance. Priests
interpreted the oracle's responses.
Believed to be inspired by Apollo, her
replies were valued for important
decisions.
North India: Sutras [600]. These
religious writings defined rules of
conduct including child marriage and
the separation of castes.
North India: Hindu religion [600].
Brahmanism evolved into the Hindu
religion [600]. The gods Shiva [the
destroyer] and Vishnu [the preserver]
joined Brahman [the creator] as the
three main gods. Vishnu visited earth
as a god in a human or animal body
[avatar]. Vishnu's human forms include
Rama, Krishna, and Buddha. Hindus
do not seek converts because birth
determines membership. They honor
the cow as a life giving Divine Mother.
They drink milk, but do not eat meat.
Israel: Temple destroyed
[597].Babylon conquered Jerusalem
and destroyed the first Jewish temple
[597]. The Babylonians took many
captives to Babylon and forced them to
build city walls and monuments.
Media: Zoroaster [590]. Zoroaster
[630/553, Zarathustra] denounced
polytheism and taught that the god of
the good [Ahura Mazda] and his angels
were at war with the evil spirit
[Ahriman] and his devils. Good people
rise to eternal life on judgment day.
Fire ceremonies replaced animal
sacrifices. Zoroaster wrote part of the
Zoroastrian book of religion [570,
Avesta]. China: Daoism [560]. Dao
means 'way' or 'road'. Daoists act in
harmony with nature because they
believe that the universe is more
important than individuals. Although its
founder [Laozi] lived at this time,
Daoism became popular during the
Warring States period 200 years later
[360].
Israel: Second Temple [516] Persia
conquered Babylon [538] and
permitted Jewish slaves to return
home. A second temple [516/70] was
built in Jerusalem.
North India: Buddha [500]. A prince
from Nepal [Siddhartha Gautama,
563/483], who became known as
Buddha, decided that we are unhappy
because we desire pleasure, power,
and other earthly goods. He asked
followers to free themselves from
worldly cravings and to seek
enlightenment [nirvana] by leading a
good life and practicing meditation.
Because Buddhism does not honor a
god, it is classified as a belief system,
not a religion.
China: Confucius [500]. Confucius
[Kong Qui, 551/479] taught that
education and self-discipline help a
person make wise decisions and that
ritual and etiquette help a person
achieve virtue.
North India: Jainism [500]. Jainism
[founded by Vardhamana Mahavira,
540/468] teaches that every plant and
animal has a soul and should not be
killed. Jain members observe fasting
and self-discipline. They are vegetarian
and avoid violence.
Greece: Parthenon [432]. Athens
gained military strength by joining with
other cities [Delian League, 479].
Athens celebrated a victory over Persia
by using League money to build a
temple [Parthenon] in honor of
goddess of war [Athena]. Angry, the
other cities asked Sparta to help.
Sparta won a 30 year war and forced
Athens to tear down its walls [404].
China: Moism [420]. Mozi [470/390]
did not agree with Confucian views and
taught followers to love everyone
equally. Mozi measured an item's
value by its usefulness: 'seek food, not
music'. He recommended avoiding war
by making defenses so strong that
offense is not practical.
Greece: Plato [380]. The philosopher
Plato [429/347] established a school
[Academy, 'academics'] just outside of
Athens. He wrote a book [Republic,
380] that recommended a government
led by a knowledgeable few
[philosopher kings], rather than one
where every person votes.
Greece [Athens]: Cynics [400].
Cynicism held that people are selfish.
We call people 'cynical' when we
dislike their motives.
China: Hundred Schools of Thought
[400]. So many new ideas and
philosophies arose during the Warring
States period that they became known
as 'the hundred schools of thought'.
China: Legalism [360]. One of the
Warring States [Qin] increased its
power by abandoning Confucianism
and adopting Legalism. Proposed 200
years earlier, Legalism held that
people are selfish and corrupt and that
leaders must use strong laws and firm
punishments.
Greece [Athens]: Stoics [300].
Stoicism [Zeno] holds that fate is
predetermined and people should not
be disturbed by pleasure or pain. We
call people 'stoic' when they accept
adversity bravely.
Greece [Athens]: Epicureans [300].
Epicurus told followers that gods did
not care about human affairs.
Epicureans value pleasure: 'Think of
yourself, not others' and 'Eat, drink,
and be merry'.
Greece [Athens]: Skeptics [300].
Skeptics believe that our senses do not
provide true knowledge about the
world. We call people 'skeptical' when
they resist accepting new views.
Slavs: Easter Eggs [300].A Slav
spring festival featuring decorated
eggs may have inspired 'Easter Eggs'
centuries later.
North India: Buddhist missionaries
[250]. A Mauryan ruler [Ashoka]
expanded his kingdom in a bloody war,
felt guilty about the bloodshed,
adopted Buddhism, and sent
missionaries to spread Buddha's
message of non-violence.
North India: Buddha's Tomb
[236].The Mauryan ruler [Ashoka]
began construction of dome-shaped
tomb [at Sanchi] for Buddha.
North India: Ramayana [250]. In this
epic poem the god Vishnu appears in a
human body as Rama and rescues his
wife with the help of an army of
monkeys.
China: Confucianism strong [202].
The Han won the civil war that ended
the Qin dynasty, restored
Confucianism, and ruled for 400 years
[202 BCE/220 CE].
North India: Anti-Buddhist rulers
[184]. A Brahman who opposed
Buddhism assassinated the last
Mauryan king and founded the Sunga
dynasty [184/72]. Many Buddhists
moved elsewhere.
Israel: Revolt of the Maccabees
[164]. The Seleucids, who controlled
Israel, executed citizens who refused
to make sacrifices to idols, a practice
forbidden by the Hebrew religion [167].
The Hebrews rebelled [Maccabeus
brothers, 164] and won independence
[141/64 BCE].
Israel: Hanukkah [164]. This holiday
{Festival of Lights], held for eight days
in December, celebrates the rebellion
against the Seleucids [164]. Candles
are lighted and gifts are exchanged.
Pyu: Avoid war [150 CE]. The Pyu
formed a kingdom in Myanmar
[Burma]. Most were Buddhists. They
avoided war and sometimes settled
disputes by allowing two warriors to
fight.
China: University [124]. China's
Western Han rulers established a
university to train students for
government jobs and selected workers
by merit and testing. The university
emphasized the teachings of
Confucius.
Central India: Mayahana Buddhism
[100]. A new sect, Mayahana, taught
that Buddha was divine and promoted
the role of lay people. Mayahana
honors many 'lesser Buddhas'
[Bodhisattvas] and emphasizes prayer.
The earlier sect, Theravada,
considered Buddha to be a wise
teacher and emphasized the role of
monks and monasteries. Kushan
missionaries spread Mayahana
Buddhism into China [65]. It spread
later into Japan and Korea [Northern
Buddhism]. The Shatavahana
developed sea trade and spread
Theravada to Thailand, Burma, and
Kambuja [Southern Buddhism].
Rome: Pax Romana [29 BCE]. The
emperor [Augustus] closed the doors
of the temple of the god Janus. The
doors of this temple were opened
during wartime and closed during
peacetime. This marked the beginning
of 200 years of peace in the
Mediterranean region which was ruled
for the first time by a single state.
Israel: Christ born [1 CE]. Jesus
Christ was born near Jerusalem.
Christians honor Jesus as the Son of
God. Christ encouraged his followers
to treat everyone with the same
fairness that they wanted to receive.
Israel: Christ dies [30]. Jesus Christ
died by crucifixion [30, Good Friday].
Christians celebrate his return to life
[resurrection] three days later [Easter].
Rome: New Testament [70]. The
gospels of the Christian bible were
written [70/100].
Israel: Jerusalem destroyed [70].
The Romans [under Herod] built a
fortress on a high plateau [Masada,
31]. Jewish rebels, who wanted
religious and political freedom, seized
control of the fortress [66]. Rome
ended the rebellion by destroying
Jerusalem and the Jewish temple [70].
The rebels continued to hold Masada
for several years [73].
Israel: Jewish Diaspora [135]. Jews
rebelled [132/135] because the
Romans began to build a temple to
their god, Jupiter, in Jerusalem on the
site of the Jewish temple that had been
destroyed. Rome ended the rebellion
and forced many Jews to leave the
country [diaspora, 'scattering']. Many
moved to North Africa and served
alongside Berbers as merchants and
traders. Hundreds of years later Jews
[Sephardi] crossed from North Africa
into Spain. Other Jews [Ashkenazi]
moved north into central Europe.
Persia: State Religion [212]. The
rulers of Sassanid Persia made
Zoroastrianism the state religion.
Armenia: Independence [284].
Armenia rebelled and gained
independence after Persia imposed
Zoroastrianism.
Armenia: Christianity [301]. Armenia
became the first nation to adopt
Christianity as its state religion [301].
Christianity played a prominent role in
Armenia's national identity.
Rome: Mithraism [303]. The emperor
[Diocletian] encouraged the worship of
Mithra, a Zoroastrian god of loyalty.
Followers purified themselves using
the blood of cattle and birds.
Rome: Edict of Milan [313]. The
emperor [Constantine] permitted
members of all religions to worship
freely.
Rome: Council of Nicea [325].
Roman Christian leaders approved a
summary of church belief [Nicene
Creed] that begins 'I believe in One
God'. They defined God as a single
being composed of three equal and
eternal persons: Father, Son [Jesus],
and Holy Spirit. They wanted to do this
to oppose the view of a priest [Arius]
who said that the Father created the
Son because they felt that Arianism
implied that the Son is inferior to the
Father.
Rome: Christmas [326]. Roman
Christians began to celebrate
December 25th as Christmas, the day
of Christ's birth. Earlier Christians
celebrated the day when three wise
men [magi] visited the infant
[Epiphany, January 6].
East Germanic: Gothic Alphabet
[360]. A Christian monk [Ulfilas,
311/381] created the Gothic alphabet,
translated the Bible, and converted the
Goths. The monk was an Arian, not a
Roman Christian. All of the Germanic
peoples adopted Arian Christianity,
except the Franks who chose Roman
Christianity. The religious differences
later led to wars.
China: Mogao Caves [366]. Located
near a city along the Silk Roads, these
caves honor '1000 Buddhas'.
Rome: Emperor Performs Penance
[390]. The Roman army murdered
rioters [Thessalonica, 390]. The pope
ordered the emperor to do public
penance. The emperor [Theodosius]
performed the penance [390], the first
Roman emperor to submit to a
religious authority.
Ireland: Manuscripts [400]. Celts in
Ireland became Christians [400]. Over
the next several hundred years, monks
in Irish monasteries made handwritten
copies of documents. They preserved
books that did not survive on the
mainland of Europe because of
Rome's decline and warfare.
Funan: Hinduism [400]. Funan
prospered because of its sea ports.
Settlers from India introduced the
Hindu religion.
Armenia: Alphabet [404]. An
Armenian monk [Mesrop] created a 36
letter alphabet [404] derived from the
Greek alphabet and translated the
Christian Bible into Armenian [425].
Rome: Nestorianism [431]. Roman
Christian leaders [Council of Ephesus,
431] condemned the ideas of an
archbishop [Nestorius] who held that if
Christ were an eternal being, he could
not be born or die. Nestorius held that
Christ had two separate personalities,
God and man. The Council of Ephesus
ruled that Christ was a single person,
both God and man. Christians in
Persia and Armenia accepted the
views of Nestorius and later broke
away from the Roman Christian
church.
Armenia: Rebellion [451]. Armenians
rebelled after Persia forced them to
convert to the Zoroastrian religion
[451].
Rome: Pope meets Huns [452].
Turkic Huns approached the city of
Rome to obtain tribute [452]. They left
after the Pope met, and perhaps paid,
the Hun leader.
China: Yungang Caves [460]. These
'Cloud Ridge' caves have 252 rooms
with thousands of Buddha figures.
India: Hinduism popular [470]. The
Gupta empire split into two states at
Ujjayini and Pataliputra [470].
Hinduism became more popular than
Buddhism and Jainism.
China: Longmen Caves [493]. More
than 2000 'Dragon's Gate' caves
contain many Buddhist figures and
images.
Franks: Christian wars [502]. The
Frank ruler converted to Roman
Christianity [496] and defeated two
groups of Arian Christians [Alemanni,
502 and Visigoths, 507]. The Visigoths
moved to Spain and the Franks moved
their capital south to Paris [507].
Byzantium: Hagia Sophia [532]. The
Church of Saint Sophia, which had
been destroyed during riots, was
rebuilt [532/567]. The church remained
the world's largest religious building for
700 years [until the Cathedral of Seville
in Spain]. Towers [minarets] were
added when the church was converted
to a mosque [1493].
Armenia: Church separation [554].
Leaders of the Armenian Christian
church leaders agreed [554, Second
Council of Dwin] that Christ had two
separate personalities, God and man
[Nestorianism]. Roman and Greek
Christians believe that Christ was a
single person both God and man.
The disagreement led to the Armenian
Church breaking away from the other
churches.
England: Canterbury [604]. A
monastery at Canterbury [604] became
the center of Roman Christianity in
England.
Japan: Horyu Temple [607]. The
ceremonial hall and five story pagoda
of this Buddhist Temple [607; rebuilt
711] are the oldest wooden buildings in
the world.
Muslims: Muhammad [610].
Muhammad considered himself a
prophet chosen to revitalize ancient
religions, not the founder of a religion
[Islam]. He encouraged followers to
abandon polytheistic gods, adopt
monotheism [Allah], and help the poor.
Muslims: Hjira [622]. Polytheists and
the rich, threatened by Muhammad's
teachings, opposed him. He fled with
supporters from Mecca to Medina
[hjira, 622].
Muslims: War of the Ridda [628].
Muhammad and his successor [Abu
Bakr, the first caliph] conquered and
united many Arab tribes [War of the
Ridda].
Muslims: Kaaba [630]. Muhammad
gained converts, returned to Mecca,
and dedicated a cube-shaped building
[kaaba, cube] to Allah [630]. Muslims
face toward the kaaba during five daily
prayers and walk around the kaaba
seven times during pilgrimages to
Mecca [hajj].
Muslims: Black Rock [630]. Muslim
traditions hold that a rock [Al-hajar Al-
aswad] fell from space near the first
man [Adam] and was rediscovered by
Ibrahim [Abraham]. The rock is now
part of the wall of the kaaba.
Muslims: War of the Jihad [634]. In
less than 20 years [634/655] the
Muslims conquered all of Persia and
took Syria and Egypt from Byzantium.
Japan: Shinto [650]. Japan's
shamanistic religion evolved into a new
belief system, Shinto. Followers of
Shinto build shrines for prayers purify
themselves by washing.
Muslims: Qur'an [652]. This book of
faith of the Islamic religion includes
messages from Allah who spoke
through Muhammad.
Muslims: People of the Book [652].
Muslims called Christians, Hebrews,
Hindus, and Zoroastrians 'people of the
book' because these religions also
have a book of faith. Muslims permitted
'Peoples of the book' to practice their
own religion and keep their land as
long as they paid taxes. Members of
other religions had to convert to Islam
or to a religion of the book.
Muslims: Umayyad caliph [657]. The
first four caliphs were relatives of
Muhammad and Shia. A Sunni
[Mu'awiyah] who was not a relative of
Muhammad became the first Umayyad
caliph following a battle [657, Siffrin]
and the assassination of the Shia
caliph [Ali].
Muslims: Shia and Sunni [657]. The
power struggle that resulted in the first
Sunni caliph caused religious and
political differences that remain today.
Shias believe that caliphs must be
descendants of Muhammad and
emphasize the leader's religious role.
Sunnis hold that caliphs should be
elected and value the caliph's political
strength.
Muslims: Dome of the Rock [687].
Umayyads built the Dome of the Rock
mosque in Jerusalem where
Muhammad ascended into heaven and
near the ruins of the Jewish temples.
China: Ch'an Buddhism [710]. Ch'an,
a new branch of Buddhism,
emphasized meditation [710]. Ch'an
Buddhism later declined in China, but
flourished in Japan [Zen Buddhism].
Byzantium: Stops Umayyads [718].
Umayyads attacked Byzantium, but
were defeated [717/718]. The victory
ended Umayyad expansion toward
Europe from the east.
Franks: Stop Umayyads [732].
Umayyads entered Spain [711] and
France [719]. The Franks stopped
Muslim expansion into Europe by
defeating the Umayyads [732, Tours].
Byzantium: Iconoclasm [726]. The
emperor reduced the wealth of
monasteries by declaring religious
images illegal [726/780, iconoclasm].
Works of art were destroyed.
Muslims: Abbasids rebel [750].
Umayyads became disliked because
they did not pay taxes and lost territory
to Byzantium. Abbasids rebelled [750,
Zab]. Both were Sunni. Umayyads
favored Arab traditions. Abbasids
adopted a Persian culture.
Khazars: Convert to Judaism [740].
The Khazar nation converted to the
Hebrew religion.
Japan: Todai Temple [745]. The
Todai Buddhist temple in Nara is the
world's largest wooden building. A 25
meter [53 foot] high bronze Buddha is
inside.
Franks: Papal Land [756]. After the
East Germanic Lombards took
Ravenna [751], the Pope asked the
Franks to recover it. Charlemagne
defeated the Lombards [756] and gave
some Lombard land to the Pope
[Donation of Pepin, 756]. The land
became the Papal States and gave the
Christian church at Rome a political as
well as a religious role.
North Africa: Kharijites [757]. After
the assassination of the Abbasid
leader [754], Berbers broke away and
joined the Kharijite sect. Kharijites
believe that Muslims have the right to
revolt against a caliph.
North Africa: Shia Idrisids [778].
Shias rebelled in Damascus [762], but
were defeated and expelled. Some
moved to North Africa and formed a
Shia kingdom [789/985, Idrisids].
Spain: Mosque of Cordoba [784].
Japan: Capital moved [784]. Land
and tax reforms enabled Buddhist
monasteries, which were immune from
taxes, to gain so much power that the
emperor moved the capital from Nara
to Nagaokakyo [784] and Kyoto [794].
Byzantium: Iconoclasm ends [787].
After the emperor died his wife [Irene]
reduced military funding because army
leaders supported iconoclasm. The
church restored the use of images
[Council of Nicea, 787].
Norway: Monasteries attacked [793].
Raiders from Norway destroyed a
monastery in England [793,
Lindisfarne]. Monasteries became
targets because of their valuable
possessions.
Frank: Charlemagne emperor [800].
Romans forced the Pope [Leo III] to
leave the city. Charlemagne restored
him to power [799]. The Pope crowned
Charlemagne as Roman emperor
[800].
Byzantium: Iconoclasm again [815].
The use of religious images was
outlawed a second time [815/843].
Works of art were destroyed and
monks were persecuted.
Venice: Piazza San Marco [831]. The
body of the Christian saint, Mark, was
brought to Venice [831]. He was
named patron of the city and the public
square [Piazza San Marco] was built.
The buildings that now surround the
public square were built during the
1200s.
West Slavs: Great Moravia [833].
West Slavs formed Great Moravia
[833], adopted Greek Christianity, and
developed the first Slavic alphabet
[863, Glagolitic]. After its ruler died
[895] Moravia switched to Roman
Christianity and the Latin alphabet.
Byzantium: Iconoclasm ends again
[843]. The Byzantine ruler [Michael]
ended the ban on images.
Japan: Ritual Suicide [858]. Warriors
who failed in responsibility cut open
their abdomen [seppuku] because it
was the place where their spirit was
located. A friend quickly cut off the
warrior's head to end the suffering.
Slavs: Filioque [863]. Roman
Christian doctrine stated that the Holy
Ghost 'proceeds from the Father' [381].
New words, 'who proceeds from the
Father and the Son', gradually came
into use. A Greek church leader
[Photius, 863] opposed adding 'and the
Son' ['filioque' in Latin]. This
disagreement is one of the reasons
that the Greek and Roman churches
separated [1054].
Slavs: Bulgars adopt Christianity
[864]. The Bulgar ruler [Boris I]
adopted Roman Christianity [864] but
switched to Greek Christianity [870],
partly because the Roman Church did
not appoint a Bulgar to lead the
country's church.
Muslims: Slaves rebel [869]. Most
Abbasid slaves were Slavs from
Central Europe or Bantu from eastern
African [Zandj]. The African slaves
rebelled [Zandj Rebellion], held a large
region for 13 years, and contributed to
the downfall of the Abbasids [936].
Muslims: 'Muslim World' [893]. After
the slave rebellion [883/920] new
Muslim kingdoms formed. The single
Muslim state was replaced by a
'Muslim World' where religion and
culture bonds independent states
together.
Slavs: Cyrillic alphabet [893].
Bulgars weakened Byzantine influence
by replacing an alphabet developed by
Byzantine monks [Glagolitic] with a
new alphabet [Cyrillic].
Southeast Asia: Temples at Angkor
[900]. The first of many temples was
completed at Angkor. The early
temples were made of wood and have
not survived. The temples that remain
today were built of stone in the 1100s.
North Africa: Fatimids [909]. Shia
Fatimids overthrew the Sunni
Aghlabids [909] and expanded into
Morocco [930]. The Fatimids produced
coins using gold obtained from West
Africa.
Muslims: Buyids [936]. Shia Buyids
took political control at Baghdad [936].
They allowed the Sunni Abbasid caliph
to maintain a religious role.
Slavs: Christianity [966]. Poland
adopted Roman Christianity [966]. Kiev
adopted Greek Christianity [988] and
the Cyrillic alphabet.
Muslims: Fatimids take Egypt [969].
Shia Fatimids expanded into Egypt
[969].
Magyars: Hungary [972]. Magyars,
threatened by Byzantium's expansion,
accepted Roman Christianity [972].
The Pope crowned Istevan ['Stephen']
the 'King of Hungary' [1000].
Byzantium: Mount Athos [972]. The
Byzantine emperor allowed monks to
form a small, independent state where
life remains today very much as it was
in 972. The Byzantine flag flies. Days
start at sunset [Byzantine time].
Norway: Christianity unsuccessful
[995]. The Norse leader [Olaf] angered
opponents by imposing Christianity
[995] and was removed [1000].
Venice: Wedding of the Sea [1000].
Venice defeated pirates and celebrate
this victory in an annual Wedding of
the Sea ceremony.
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