In the first half of this lecture, Professor Freedman continues the previous lecture’s discussion of the Abbasids. He highlights their ability to assimilate other cultures, before turning to their decline in the tenth century. In the second half of the lecture, Professor Freedman considers the seventh century, the crucial turning point in the history of early medieval Europe. The seventh century shaped medieval Europe; the period saw the rise of Islam and Northern Europe, fundamental changes in Byzantium, the reorientation of Persia, and the end of the secular elite in the west. Professor Freedman concludes with a few remarks on the Pirenne thesis, which states that the rise of Islam broke up the Mediterranean and paved the way for the rise of northern Europe.

1. Course Introduction: Rome's Greatness and First Crises
2. The Crisis of the Third Century and the Diocletianic Reforms
3. Constantine and the Early Church
4. The Christian Roman Empire
5. St. Augustine's Confessions
6. Transformation of the Roman Empire
7. Barbarian Kingdoms
8. Survival in the East
9. The Reign of Justinian
10. Clovis and the Franks
11. Frankish Society
12. Britain and Ireland
13. Monasticism
14. Mohammed and the Arab Conquests
15. Islamic Conquests and Civil War
16. The Splendor of the Abbasid Period
17. The Crucial Seventh Century
18. The Splendor of Byzantium
19. Charlemagne
20. Intellectuals and the Court of Charlemagne
21. Crisis of the Carolingians
22. Vikings / The European Prospect, 1000

Major developments in the political, social, and religious history of Western Europe from the accession of Diocletian to the feudal transformation. Topics include the conversion of Europe to Christianity, the fall of the Roman Empire, the rise of Islam and the Arabs, the "Dark Ages," Charlemagne and the Carolingian renaissance, and the Viking and Hungarian invasions.

Original Course Name: HIST 210: The Early Middle Ages, 284–1000.