Differences Between Roman Empire And Western Europe

In 476 C.E., the Roman Empire collapsed due to barbarians establishing their kingdoms on Roman territory. The Roman Empire expanded so largely that it was difficult to rule the land, causing lack of communication throughout the land, in addition to internal conflict. The once Roman Empire split into 2 parts: Eastern and Western Europe. Between 476 and 1200 C.E. in Europe, the Eastern Empire started to slowly thrive and flourish due to the access of trading routes, whereas Western Europe undergoed chaos and more invasions, caused by the lack of political unity. The Schism of 1054 caused the churches to split, because of different beliefs of who should be the head of the church. But despite this split, Christianity remained prominent throughout …show more content…
Christianity continuously played a prominent role between 476 and 1200 C.E. in Europe. Charlemagne was the King of the Franks, a Germanic tribe, ruling from 771 to 814 C.E. He effectively took over Western Europe, as he was an efficient military leader. Charlemagne, or Charles the Great, was a follower of Christianity, which played a key role in the spread of the religion during the time period. When conquering others, he forced his people to convert to Christianity and practice the faith, thus, further spreading the religion. Charlemagne was crowned a Roman emperor in 800 C.E., where in his rule, he continued to encourage the conversion to his faith and ensure the survival of the religion. Moreover, Christianity appealed to many of those in Europe, such as women. Women converted to this religion because some aspects allowed them to have more freedom than before. For many Christians, it was important to regain the control over the Holy Land from the Muslims, resulting in the Crusades. The Crusades were several wars between Christian Europeans and Muslims; their sole purpose was to have authority of Jerusalem and the Holy Land during the Middle Ages. The First Crusade involved the Muslims taking control of Jerusalem, but previously, Christians were allowed to visit the city. However, when the Arabs took authority in 1070 C.E., Christians were refused access to the land. This caused the Byzantine Emperor to ask for help from the Pope to protect his empire from the Muslims, allowing for Christian Europeans to join together to fight their common enemy. Overall, Christianity remained prominent throughout the Middle Ages in Europe because Charlemagne effectively spread Christianity to many, and Muslims continued to be common enemies of Europeans because of the constant and numerous