Monarchies of Europe in the Middle Ages.

(Jody Gray) After learning that through marriage I could include all the monarchs of Europe throughout the Middle Ages (5th to 15th Centuries); and, in our case, including the Rurik Dynasty in Russia. I’ve determined the best way to present this Dynastic and Noble House lineage is following an historic timeline as closely as possible. So, I’m starting this Blog Post to use as a reference tool. Please, bare with me, as this is going to be major project. I’ll be deleting many of my Ancestry.com Family Tree documents (Media from the Gallery on Profile Pages) and adding a document containing Blog Posts that relate to each person.

  When I began to research the Piper Family ancestors in England, I was a novice. In reviewing my early work, I’ve found that early sources used contained “unverified” information and “errors” that resulted in changes to my Ancestry.com Family Tree. I’m not going to delete these early Blog Posts because the information contained in them is useful to those researching their ancestors and building their own family trees…

Note: I use Google Search for my research. When I find an ancestor has a Wikipedia page, I include a link in that person’s birth information as a “source”. I have found Wikipedia to be the most reliable source of information; each page includes references to the information used. Often, books (non-fiction and fiction) and film relating to the individual are included. Even when books and film use “creative license” they are beneficial for learning about the customs and laws of the period the ancestors lived in. Also, helpful is that they bring the characters to life by giving them personalities with human desires for love, power and fame; and they give history a narrative. In most cases, they accurately follow historic events, customs and geography. They present the way the customs and laws affected individuals on a human level; for example, the laws of inheritance (which excluded women) and marriages arranged for political reasons -parents owned the right to marry both sons and daughters; in some cases, the king as owner of everyone in his kingdom had the right to arrange their marriages. One consequence of these marriage laws was that neither parent would allow themselves to become emotionally attached to a child. Daughters of kings were often betrothed shortly after birth and sent to be raised in the court of their future husband (since they had a ‘wet nurse’ babies could be separated from their mothers any time after birth).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarchies_in_Europe

(left) Monarchies of Europe in the Middle Ages. Monarchy was the prevalent form of government in the history of Europe throughout the Middle Ages (5th to 15th Centuries), only occasionally competing with communalism, notably in the case of the Maritime republics and the Swiss Confederacy.

Repubicanism became more prevalent in the Early Modern period, but monarchy remained prominent in Europe during the 19th Century. Since the end of World War I, however, most European monarchies have been abolished. There remain, as of 2016, twelve sovereign monarchies in Europe. Of these, seven are kingdoms: Denmark, Norway and Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland are of pre-modern origin; the kingdoms of the Netherlands and of Belgium were established in 1815 and 1830, respectively; the Kingdom of Spain, founded in 1479, was abolished in 1931, restored in 1947/69, before Spain transitioned to democracy, in 1978 as a constitutional monarchy... The State of the Vatican City was recognized as a soverign state administered by the Holy See in 1929.

Ten of these monarchies are hereditary, and two are elective: Vatican City (the Pope, elected at the papal conclave)...

Most of the monarchies in Europe are constitutional monarchies, which means that the monarch does not influence the politics of the state: either the monarch is legally prohibited from doing so, or the monarch does not utilize the political powers vested in the office by convention... Currently seven of the twelve monarchies are members of the European Union: Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

Medieval Europe. The monarchies of Europe in the Christian Middle Ages derived their claim from Christianisation and the divine right of kings, partly influenced by the notion of sacral kingship inherited from Germanic antiquity. The great powers of Europe in the Early Modern period were the result of a gradual process of centralization of power taking place over the course of the Middle Ages.

The Early Middle Ages begin with a fragmentation of the former Western Roman Empire into "barbarian kingdoms". In Western Europe, the kingdom of the Franks developed into the Carolingian Empire by the 8th Century, and the kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon England were unified into the kingdom of England by the 10th Century. With the breakup of the Carolingian Empire in the 9th Century, the system of feudalism places kings at the head of a pyramid of relationships between liege lords and vassals, dependent on the regional rule of barons, and the intermediate positions of counts (or earls) and dukes. The core of European feudal manorialism in the High Middle Ages were the territories of the kingdom of France, the Holy Roman Empire (centered on the nominal kingdoms of Germany and Italy) and the kingdoms of England and Scotland. On the fringes of Catholic Europe, additional kingdoms developed with the progress of Christianisation:

*In the Iberian Peninsula, the remanants of the Visigothic Kingdom, the petty kingdoms of Asturias and Pamplona, expanded into the kingdom of Portugal, the Crown on Castile and the Crown of Aragon with the ongoing Reconquista.

*In southern Europe, the kingdom of Sicily was established following the Norman conquest of southern Italy. The Kingdom of Sardinia was claimed as a separate title held by the Crown of Aragon in 1324. In the Balkans, the Kingdom of Serbia was established in 1217.

*In eastern-central Europe, the Kingdom of Hungary was established in AD 1000 following the Christianisation of the Magyars. The kingdoms of Poland and Bohemia were established within the Holy Roman Empire in 1025 and 1198, respectively. In Eastern Europe, the Kievan Rus' consolidated the Grand Duchy of Moscow, which did not technically claim the status of kingdom until the early modern Tsardom of Russia.

*In northern Europe, the tribal kingdoms of the Viking Age by the 11th Century expanded into the North Sea Empire under Cnut the Great, king of Denmark, England and Norway. The Christianisation of Scandinavia resulted in "consolidated" kingdoms of Sweden and Norway, and by the end of the medieval period the pan-Scandinavian Kalmar Union.

Other Source, Medieval Timeline aka Middle Ages (Europe), was a long period of history from 500 AD to 1500 AD -it covers the time from the fall of the Roman Empire to the rise of the Ottoman Empire. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Middle_Ages Timeline of the Middle Ages.

Early Middle Ages (5th-6th century) (7th century) (8th century) (9th Century) (10th century)
 In Table Format: Year, Date, Event, Significance. “Click-on” links to learn more about the dynasties and the historic events they were involved in. Developments in Christianity and monasteries; Civil Law; the Islamic religion.

Note: covers the Mayan civilization and dynasties in China. I’m focusing on the areas our Piper Family ancestors lived in and the historical events that affected them -as Germanic Tribes, Angles, Saxons, Franks and Flemish people -Gaul (modern-day France and Germany, Netherlands, Belgium), England and as Norsemen aka Vikings -Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Russia.
Explore the term “Barbarians”; inferiority based on language, on being “foreign” e.g. “different”... viewing “others” as inferior translated into the “right to rule-over” them.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarian Barbarian. The Greeks used the term for all non-Greek-speaking peoples… emphasizing their otherness, because the language they spoke sounded to the Greeks like gibberish represented by the sounds “bar bar bar,” this is how they came to use the word… the terms was also used by Greeks, especially the Athenians, to deride other Greek tribes and states…
  The Romans used the term barbarus for uncivilised people, opposite to Greek or Roman, and in fact, it became a common term to refer to all foreigners among Romans after Augustus age, including the Germanic peoples, Persians, Gauls, Phoenicians and Carthaginians.
  …”stammering” implying someone with an unfamiliar language…
3. A rude, wild, uncivilized person. B. Sometimes distinguished from savage. c. Applied by the Chinese contemptuously to foreigners…

Historical developments. Greek attitudes to “barbarians” developed in parallel with the growth of chattel slavery -especially in Athens.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slavery#Chattel_slavery Chattel slavery. Is, in the strictest sense of the term, any system in which principles of property law are applied to people, allowing individuals to own, buy and sell other individuals, as a de jure form of property… forced to work against his or her will… Slavery began to exist before written history, in many cultures. A person could become a slave from the time of their birth, capture, or purchase. While slavery was institutionally recognized by most societies, it has now been outlawed in all recognized countries, the last being Mauritania (Africa) in 2007. Nevertheless, there are still more slaves today than at any previous point in history: an estimated 45 million people remain enslaved worldwide. The most common form of the slave trade is now commonly referred to as human trafficking. Chattel slavery is also still practiced by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. In other areas, slavery (or unfree labor) continues through practices such as debt bondage, serfdom, domestic servants kept in captivity, certain adoptions in which children are forced to work as slaves, child soldiers, and forced marriage.

Early history. Evidence of slavery predates written records (illustrations: Ancient Greece (“painted” wall), Izmir, Turkey (carved), and has existed in many cultures. Slavery is rare among hunter-gatherer populations because it requires economic surpluses and a high population density to be viable. This, although it has existed among unusually resource-rich hunter gatherers, such as the American Indian peoples of the salmon-rich rivers of the Pacific Northwest Coast, slavery became widespread only with the invention of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution about 11,000 years ago.

  In the earliest known records, slavery is treated as an established institution. The Code of Hammurabi (c. 1760 BC), for example, prescribed death for anyone who helped a slave escape or who sheltered a fugitive. The Bible mentions slavery as an established institution. (Jody Gray): there are several scriptures in the Old Testament that instruct slaves to obey their masters; here, is one from the New Testament. Peter 2:18 -”Slaves, submit yourselves to your masters with all respect, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh.”

  Slavery was known in almost every ancient civilization and society including… Such institutions included debt-slavery, punishment for crime, the enslavement of prisoners of war, child abandonment, and the birth of slave children to slaves.

Middle Ages. Large-scale trading in slaves was mainly confined to the South and East of early medieval Europe: the Byzantine Empire and the Muslim world were the destinations, while pagan Central and Eastern Europe were important sources. Viking, Arab, Greek, and Radhanite Jewish merchants were all involved in the slave trade during the Early Middle Ages.

  ...In Britain, slavery continued to be practiced following the fall of Rome and sections of Hywel the Good’s laws dealt with slaves in medieval Wales. The trade particularly picked up after the Viking invasions, with the major markets at Chester and Bristol supplied by Danish, Mercian, and Welsh raiding of one another’s borderlands. At the time of the Domesday Book, nearly 10% of the English population were slaves… the Roman Catholic Church repeatedly prohibited it -or at least the export of Christian slaves to non-Christian lands was prohibited… In 1452, Pope NIcholas V issued the papal bull Dum Diversas, granting the kings of Spain and Portugal the right to reduce any “Saracens (Muslims), pagans and any other unbelievers” to perpetual slavery…

  Approximately 10-20% of the rural population of Carolingian Europe consisted of slaves. Slavery largely disappeared from Western Europe by the later Middle Ages. The slave trade became illegal in England in 1102, but England went on to become very active in the lucrative Atlantic slave trade from the seventeenth to the early nineteenth century…

Ottoman Empire. The Ottoman Empire owned and traded slaves on a massive scale. Many slaves were the created by conquest and the suppression of rebellions, in the aftermath of which, entire populations were sometimes enslaved and sold across the Empire, reducing the risk of future rebellion… (illustration: The White Slave, Eberle, 1913).

Africa. Slavery was also widespread in Africa, with both internal and external slave trade. “It is estimated that by the 1890s the largest slave population of the world, about 2 million people, was concentrated in the territories of the Sokoto Caliphate (Africa). The use of slave labor was extensive, especially in agriculture…

Tippu Tip, was a Swahili-Zanzibari slave trader… He met and helped several famous western explorers of the African continent, including David Livingstone and Henry Morton Stanley…

Makua people: after being victims of the slave raids and devastated communities, the Makua chiefs joined the lucrative trading in the 19th-century by becoming a supplier of slaves and raiding ethnic groups near them, selling the captured people to the same merchants and exporters.

(Jody Gray) below, I include a wikipedia link to a TV series “Barbarians Rising”. I include references from the wikipedia link “Timeline of the Middle Ages” (Timeline) -leaders of the rebellion against Rome.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbarians_Rising Barbarians Rising. History Channel. Premiered 6/6/2016. The series is told from the perspective of leaders of peoples that fought Rome, whom were termed barbarians by the Romans. (Amazon.com DVD $53.99) Google: Barbarians Rising watch online (some free) (Jody Gray) I’m using, below, the wikipedia  links included under “Cast”  -leaders of peoples that fought Rome.  

Episodes

No 1. “Resistance” An epic 700-year battle for freedom begins as the barbarians rise against Rome; Hannibal Barca builds an alliance and crosses the Alps; the shepherd Viriathus unleashes a wave of resistance to save his people from destruction.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hannibal Hannibal. b. 247 BC. Lived during a period of great tension in the Mediterranean Basin, when the Roman Republic established its supremacy over the other great powers such as ancient Carthage and the Greek kingdoms  of Macedonia, Syracuse, and the Seleucid Empire. He is often regarded as one of the greatest military strategists in history and one of the greatest generals of antiquity…

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Viriatus Viriathus. d. 139 BC. was the most important leader of the Lusitanian people that resisted Roman expansion into the regions of western Hispania (as the Romans called it) or western Iberia (as the Greeks called it), where the Roman province of Lusitania would be finally established after the conquest.

No 2. “Rebellion” Rome brings its enemies inside its borders as the age of Empire begins; Spartacus leads a slave uprising that threatens Rome on its own turf; Arminius, Germania’s native son raised as a Roman, must choose a side in the fight for freedom.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spartacus Spartacus. c. 111-71 BC. was a Thracian gladiator who, along with the Gauls Crixus, Gannicus, and Oenomaus, was one of the escaped slave leaders in the Third Servile War, a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic. Little is known about Spartacus beyond the events of the war, and surviving historical accounts are sometimes contradictory and may not always be reliable. However, all sources agree that he was a former gladiator and an accomplished military leader.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arminius Arminius. 18/17 BC-AD 21. was a chieftain of the Germanic Cherusci tribe and a former officer in the Roman military. An auxiliary lieutenant to the Roman general Publius Quinctilius Varus, Arminius used his knowledge of Roman tactics to lead an allied coalition of Germanic tribes to a decisive victory against three Roman legions and their auxiliaries in the historic Battle of the Teutoburg Forest, in 9 AD. The defeat would precipitate the Roman Empire’s permanent strategic withdrawal from Magna Germania, and the Romans were to make no more concerted attempts to conquer and hold Germania beyond the Rhine river. Modern historians have regarded Arminius’s victory as Rome’s greatest defeat” and one of the most decisive battles in history. After subsequent defeats by the Roman general Germanicus, nephew of the Emperor Tiberius, Arminius’ influence waned and he was assassinated on the orders of rival Germanic chiefs.

No 3. “Revenge” Arminius unites the tribes and engineers an ambush attack to drive Rome out of Germania; Boudica unleashes bloody vengeance on the Empire; Rome’s betrayal of Fritigern and the Goths ends in an apocalyptic clash.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boudica Boudica. A queen of the British Celtic Iceni tribe who led an uprising against the occupying forces of the Roman Empire in AD 60 or 61… Boudica’s husband, Prasutagus, ruled as a nominally independent ally of Rome and left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman emperor in his will. However, when he died, his will was ignored, and the kingdom was annexed. According to Tacitus, Boudica was flogged and her daughters raped.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fritigern Fritigern. d. ca. 380. was a Thervingian Gothic chieftain whose decisive victory at Adrianople during the Gothic War (376-382) led to favorable terms for the Goths when peace was made with Gratian and Theodosius I in 382. His victory soon led to the Thervings gaining control of much of the Balkan peninsula.

No 4. “Ruin” Alaric’s Visigoths sack Rome; Attila the Hun seizes power through chaos and destruction while the barbarians move in for the kill. The Vandal king, Geiseric, masterminds the end of Rome; the Empire falls.

(Timeline) Alaric, King of the Visigoths sack of Rome, 8/24/410.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alaric_I Alaric, King of the Visigoths. Best known for his sack of Rome in 410, which marked a decisive event in the decline of the Roman Empire.

http://www.troubador.co.uk/book_info.asp?bookid=3194 Alaric’s Gold. “a grave containing ‘the splendid spoils and trophies of Rome’...

http://lostfort.blogspot.com/2006/04/legend-of-alarics-burial.html Legend of Alaric's burial.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attila Attila flourished ca. 406-453. Frequently referred to as Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in March 453.

(Timeline) Genseric, King of the Vandals sack of Rome, 6/2/455. Held by some historians to mark the “end of the Roman Empire”.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Genseric Generic (aka Geiseric). His most famous exploit, was the capture and plundering of Rome in June 455.

(Jody Gray): wikipedia links from the TV Series Barbarians Rising ends here. I continue with wikipedia links from (Timeline), below.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Timeline_of_the_Middle_Ages Timeline of the Middle Ages.

Early Middle Ages (5th-6th century)

Odoacer deposes the last Roman Emperor Romulus Augustulus, 9/4/476. the starting point of the Middle Ages. -https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Odoacer Odoacer aka Flavius Odoacer, King of Italy (433-493 AD). Coin of Odoacer, depicted with a “barbarian” moustache and an elongated skull. Was a soldier who in 476 became the first King of Italy (476-493) -he represented himself as the client of Julius Nepos and, after Nepos’ death in 480, of the Emperor of Constantinople. Odoacer is the earliest ruler of Italy for whom an autograph of any of his legal acts has survived to the current day. Note: Although Odoacer was an Arian Christian, his relations with the Chalcedonian church hierarchy was remarkably good.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arianism Arianism. Christological concept that asserts that Jesus Christ is the Son of God who was begotten by God the Father at a point in time, is distinct from the Father and is therefore subordinate to the father. Arian teachings were first attributed to Arius (c. AD 250-336), a Christian presbyter in Alexandria, Egypt. The teachings of Arius and his supporters were opposed to the theological views held by Homoousian Christians, regarding the nature of the Trinity and the nature of Christ. The Arian concept of Christ is that the Son of God did not always exist but was begotten by God the Father.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Presbyter#Modern_usage Presbyter. This usage is seen by most Protestant Christians as stripping the laity of its priestly status… Presbyterians sometimes refer to their ruling elders and teaching elders (ministers) as presbyters.

Battle of Mons Badonicus, ca 500. The West Saxon advance is halted by Britons in England. Chiefly known today for the supposed involvement of King Arthur but because of the limited number of sources there is no certainty about the date, location, or details of the fighting.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Badon Battle of Badon.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/King_Arthur King Arthur, a legendary British leader, who according to medieval histories and romances, led the defense of Britain against the Saxon invaders in the late 5th and early 6th centuries AD. Geoffrey’s (see Wikipedia link, following) version of events often served as the starting point for later stories. Geoffrey depicted Arthur as a king of Britain who defeated the Saxons and established an empire over Britain, Ireland, Iceland, Norway and Gaul.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geoffrey_of_Monmouth Geoffrey of Monmouth (c. 1095-c. 1155) was a British cleric and one of the major figures in the development of British historiography and the popularity of tales of King Arthur. It was credited, uncritically, well into the 16th century, but is now considered historically unreliable.

Spring, 507. The Franks under Clovis defeat the Visigoths in the Battle of Vouille; the Visigoths retreated into Spain (Septimania) -allowed the Franks to control the southwestern part of France and capture Toulouse.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Vouill%C3%A9 Battle of Vouille, 507, fought in the northern marches of Visigothic territory, at Vouille near Poitiers (Gaul).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clovis_I Clovis I (c 466-11/27/511). The first king of the Franks to unite all of the Frankish tribes under one ruler, changing the form of leadership from a group of royal chieftains to rule by a single king and ensuring that the kingship was passed down to his heirs. He is considered to have been the founder of the Merovingian dynasty, which ruled the Frankish kingdom for the next two centuries. By his death in 511 he had conquered much of the northern and western parts of what had formerly been Roman Gaul.
  Clovis is also significant due to his conversion to Christianity in 496, largely at the behest of his wife, Clotilde, who would later be venerated as a saint for this act, celebrated today in both the Roman Catholic Church and Eastern Orthodox Church. He was baptized on Christmas Day in 508. The adoption of Clovis of Catholicism (as opposed to the Arianism of most other Germanic tribes) led to widespread conversion among the Frankish peoples, to religious unification across what is now modern-day France, Belgium and Germany…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Soissons_(486) Battle of Soissons, 486. In due course Clovis marched against Chararic, captured him and his sons, and forced them to accept ordination and tonsures as deacons. On report of their hope to regain power, he had them executed.

c 563, Saint Columba founds mission in Iona (Scotland); constructed an abbey which helped to convert the Picts to Christianity until it was destroyed an raided by the Vikings in 794.

c 570, Muhammad is born; professed receiving revelations from God, which were recorded in the Qur’an, the basis of Islamic theology, in which he is regarded as the last of the sent prophets.

c 577, The West Saxons continue their advance at the Battle of Deorham; led to the permanent separation of Cornwall, England from Wales.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ceawlin_of_Wessex Ceawlin of Wessex d. ca 593, was a King of Wessex. He may have been the son of Cynric of Wessex and the grandson of Cerdic of Wessex, whom the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle represents as the leader of the first group of Saxons to come to the land which later became Wessex. Ceawlin was active during the last years of the Anglo-Saxon expansion, with little of southern England remaining in control of the native Britons by the time of his death… under Ceawlin Wessex acquired significant territory, some of which was later to be lost to other Anglo-Saxon kingdoms… genealogies in which this information is found are known to be unreliable… Ceawlin lost the throne of Wessex in 592.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_monarchs_of_Wessex#House_of_Wessex_family_tree List of monarchs of Wessex. House of Wessex family tree. (Jody Gray): our Piper Family connection begins with Egbert, King of Wessex 802-839 as the father-in-law to our 35th GGM Judith, Princess of West Francia. Blog Post: House of Wessex and It’s Kings. https://gray-piperfamily.blogspot.com/2016/04/house-of-wessex-and-its-kings.html  *

c 597, Augustine arrives in Kent; Christianization of England (Anglo-Saxons) begins.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Augustine_of_Canterbury Augustine of Canterbury, was a Benedictine monk who became the first Archbishop of Canterbury in the year 597. He is considered the “Apostle to the English” and a founder of the English Church. Augustine was the prior of a monastery in Rome when Pope Gregory the Great chose him in 595 to lead a mission, usually known as the Gregorian mission, to Britain to Christianize King Ethelbertht and his Kingdom of Kent from Anglo-Saxon paganism. Kent was probably chosen because Ethelbertht had married a Christian princess, Bertha, daughter of Charibert I the King of Paris, who was expected to exert some influence over her husband… (after his conversion) Ethelbertht allowed the missionaries to preach freely, giving them land to found a monastery outside the city (Canterbury) walls… attempts to persuade the native Celtic bishops to submit to Augustine’s authority failed.

Early Middle Ages (7th century)

c 602-629, Last great Roman-Persian War; long conflict leaves both empires exhausted and unable to cope with the newly united Arab armies under Islam in the 630s.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roman%E2%80%93Persian_Wars#Climax Persian Wars, were a series of conflicts between states of the Greco-Roman world and two successive Iranian empires… During the Byzantine-Arab Wars, the exhausted Roman Empire’s recently regained eastern and southern provinces of Syria, Armenia, Egypt and North Africa were also lost, reducing the Empire to a territorial rump consisting of Anatolia and a scatter of islands and footholds in the Balkans and Italy. These remaining lands were thoroughly impoverished by frequent attacks, marking the transition from classical urban civilization to a more rural, medieval form of society…

  “How could it be a good thing to hand over one’s dearest possessions to a stranger, a barbarian, the ruler of one’s bitterest enemy, one whose good faith and sense of justice were untried, and, what is more, one who belonged to an alien and heathen faith?” -Agathias, about the Persians, a judgement typical of the Roman view.

  ...The Roman quest for world domination was accompanied by a sense of mission and pride in Western civilization and by ambitions to become a guarantor of peace and order. Roman sources reveal long-standing prejudices with regard to the Eastern powers’ customs, religious structures, languages, and forms of government. John F. Haldon underscores that “although the conflicts between Persia and East Rome revolved around issues of strategic control around the eastern frontier, yet there was always a religious-ideological element present.” From the time of Constantine on, Roman emperors appointed themselves as the protectors of Christians of Persia. This attitude created intense suspicions of the loyalties of Christians living in Sassanid Iran and often led to Roman-Persian tensions or even military confrontations. A characteristic of the final phase of the conflict, when what had begun in 611-612 as a raid was soon transformed into a war of conquest, was the pre-eminence of the Cross as a symbol of imperial victory and of the strongly religious element in the Roman imperial propaganda; Heraclius himself cast Khosrau as the enemy of God, and authors of the 6th and 7th centuries were fiercely hostile to Persia.

Historiography. The Parthians followed the Achaemenid tradition and favored oral historiography, which assured the corruption of their history once they had been vanquished. The main sources of this period are thus Roman (Tacitus, Marius Maximus, and Justin) and Greek historians (Herodian, Cassius Dio and Plutarch).

c 626, Joint Persian-Avar-Slav Siege of Constantinople -Avar power broken and Persians henceforth on the defensive.

6/8/632, Death of Muhammad; by this point, all of Arabia is Muslim. -Accession of Abu Bakr as first Caliph; though the period of his caliphate was not long, it included successful invasions of the two most powerful empires of the time.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caliphate Caliphate -a person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet, Muhammad, and a leader of the entire Muslim community… as leaders of the Muslim community, were chosen through shura, a process of community consultation that some consider to be an early form of Islamic democracy. During the history of Islam after the Rashidun period, many Muslim states, almost all of them hereditary monarchies, have claim to be caliphates.

  The Sunni branch of Islam stipulates that, as a head of state, a caliph should be elected by Muslims or their representatives. Followers of Shia Islam, however, believe a caliph should be an Imam chosen by God from the Ahl al-Bayt (the “Family of the House”, Mahammad’s direct descendants).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Fourteen_Infallibles The Fourteen Infallibles -considered to be infallible under the theological concept of Ismah. Accordingly, they have the power to commit sin but by their nature are able to avoid doing so, which is regarded as a miraculous gift from God. The Infallibles are believed to follow only God’s desire in their actions because of their supreme righteousness, consciousness, and love for God. They are also regarded as being immune to error in practical matters, in calling people to religion, and in the perception of divine knowledge. Shias believe the Fourteen Infallibles are superior to the rest of creation and to the other major prophets. (Family tree)

c 638, Jerusalem captured by the Arab army, mostly Muslims, but with contingents of Syrian Christians.

c 641, Battle of Nehawand; Muslims conquer Persia.

c 643, Arab Army led by ‘Amr ibn al-’As takes Alexandria.

c 650, Slav occupation of Balkans complete.

c 663, Synod of Whitby; Roman Christianity triumphs over Celtic Christianity in England.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synod_of_Whitby Synod of Whitby. One of the main differences between the Roman and Celtic (Irish) traditions, and hence a source of controversy, was the proper calculation of Easter.

c 674-678, First Arab siege of Constantinople; first time Islamic armies defeated, forestalling Islamic conquest of Europe.

c 681, Establishment of the Bulgarian Empire; a country with great influence in the European history in the Middle Ages.

c 685, Battle of Dun Nechtain; Picts defeat Northumbrians, whose dominance ends.

c 687, Battle of Tertry; established Pepin of Herstal as mayor over the entire realms of Neustria and Austrasia, which further dwindled Merovingian power.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Tertry Battle of Tertry, Somme (France)... Pepin, who “reigned” thereafter over all the Franks for 27 more years.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pepin_of_Herstal 40th GGF Pepin of Herstal (c. 635-12/16/714), was a Frankish statesman and military leader who de facto ruled Francia as the Mayor of the Palace from 680 until his death. He took the title Duke and Prince of the Franks upon his conquest of all the Frankish realms. He was the son of the powerful Frankish statesman, Ansegisel and he worked to establish his family the Pippinids, as the strongest in Francia. He became Mayor of the Palace in Austrasia in 680.

  Mayor of the Palace of Austrasia (680-714). Mayor of the Palace of Neustria (687-695). Mayor of the Palace of Burgundy (687-695). Duke and Prince of the Franks (687-714). In foreign conflicts, Pepin increased the power of the Franks by his subjugation of the Alemanni, the Frisians, and the Franconians. He also began the process of evangelisation in Germany. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mayor_of_the_Palace Mayor of the Palace. Under the Merovingian dynasty, the mayor of the palace was the manager of the household of the Frankish king. The office existed from the sixth century, and during the seventh it evolved into the “power behind the throne” in the northeastern kingdom of Austrasia. In 751, the mayor of the palace, Pepin the Short, orchestrated the deposition of the king, Childeric III, and was crowned in his place.

  The mayor of the palace held and wielded the real and effective power to make decisions affecting the kingdom, while the kings had been reduced to performing merely ceremonial functions, which made them little more than figureheads.
(Jody Gray): 40th GGF Pepin of Herstal; his father 41st GGF Ansegisel aka Anchises is the earliest verified ancestor of what would become the Carolingian Dynasty.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ansegisel Ansegisel (c 602 or 610 -679 or 662), was the son of Saint Arnulf, bishop of Metz and his wife Doda. He served King Sibert III of Austrasia as a duke (military leader). He was killed sometime before 679, slain in a feud by his enemy Gundewin. Through his son, Pepin, his descendants would eventually become Frankish kings and rule over the Carolingian Empire. (see, Blog Post: Monarchies of Europe, Middle Ages, 8th Century. https://gray-piperfamily.blogspot.com/2017/04/monarchies-of-europe-middle-ages-8th.html" "rise of the Carolingian Dynasty beginning c 732, Battle of Tours, Charles Martel)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arnulf_of_Metz Arnulf of Metz. Shortly after 800, most likely in Metz, a brief genealogy was compiled, modeled in style after the genealogy of Jesus in the New Testament… Arnulf was born to an important Frankish family near Nancy in Lorraine around 582. The family owned vast domains between the Mosel and Meuse rivers. As an adolescent, he was called to the Merovingian court of king Theudebert II of Austrasia… He distinguished himself both as a military commander and in the civil administration; at one time he had under his care six distinct provinces…  After his wife took the veil as a nun in a convent at Treves, Arnulf saw it as a sign of God and became a priest and bishop afterwards. He was canonized as a saint by the Roman Catholic Church.

 

c 698, Arab army takes Carthage; end of Byzantine rule in North Africa.

*Other Sources -Books and Movies -Barbarians
*(Jody Gray) Before you begin to watch the DVDs about the Barbarians, you may find it interesting to watch this DVD. The Fall of the Roman Empire (Amazon DVD $36.00, 3-disc). Review, A three-hour, sweepingly pictorial entertainment that chronicles the peace-loving Caesar, and his corrupt son, Commodus, who covets his throne. Featuring epic battles, breathtaking sets and locations, and a chariot race that easily rivals Ben Hur, Fall of the Roman Empire charts the greedy miscalculations that led to this civilization's collapse at the bloody hands of the Barbarians. *https://en.wikipedia. The Fall of the Roman Empire. 1964. (Jody Gray): I wondered how historically accurate the movie was… Cast, all characters in blue font are real historical people (“click-on” their name). Lucilla, was the daughter of Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius. Her father arranged both her two marriages, the first when she was between 11 and 13 years old; the second to a Tiberius Claudius Pompeianus a military commander whose background and story is very similar to that of Livius (her lover in the movie). Her wikipedia page contains no grand love story. After her involvement in an assassination attempt, her brother Commodus banished her to an Italian island where she was later executed by Commodus’ order. Emperor Marcus Aurelius was not murdered, he became ill and died of natural causes. His death in 180 is widely cited as bringing about the end of the Pax Romana (“Roman peace”), for afterwards the western portion of the empire experiences a period of increasing instability culminating in its eventual collapse. He appears to have been accurately portrayed. Commodus, succeeded his father; his reign is cited by many as the beginning of the decline of the Roman Empire. Commodus was assassinated in 192, strangled by in his bath.

Conclusion. Other than the “love story drama”, the movie is an accurate presentation of the personalities and lives of the historical characters. Noteworthy, Commodus accession as emperor was the first time a biological son had succeeded his father since Titus succeeded Vespasian in 79.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adoption_in_ancient_Rome Adoption in ancient Rome. Adoption was a fairly common procedure, particularly in the upper senatorial class. The need for a male heir and the expense of raising children (daughters had to be provided with a suitable dowry and sons had to be pushed through the political stages of the military and political administration posts) and the Roman inheritance rules strictly demanding legitimes were strong incentives to have at least one son, but not too many children. Adoption, the obvious solution, also served to cement ties between families, thus fostering and reinforcing alliances. In the Imperial period, the system also acted as a mechanism for ensuring a smooth succession, the emperor taking his chosen successor as his adopted son. Imperial succession. In the Roman Empire, adoption was the most common way of acceding to the throne without use of force.

*Ancient World, Terry Jones (Amazon.com DVD $27.99) Ancient Inventions… The Surprising History of Sex and Love: exploring the radical change in social and religious attitudes towards sex; The Hidden History of Egypt: bizarre, hilarious or shocking this wonderfully entertaining and factually revealing film is packed full of surprises; The Hidden History of Rome: Unearthing the secrets of the Roman world in his own idiosyncratic and bizarre way...

*Medieval Lives: Birth, Marriage, Death, Dr. Helen Castor (Amazon.com DVD $16.98) examines how the people of the Middle Ages handled three of life's great rites of passage-birth, marriage, and death. Why were physicians of no help to women enduring the pains of labor and the dangers of childbirth? Why were newly married couples put to bed by the priest on their wedding night? What did it mean to die well and why was death such a communal affair, both before and after it happened?

  In seeking answers to these and other questions about the medieval world, Castor examines the ways in which the Church dominated the rites and rituals of life, and how every aspect of people's daily existence was colored by their awareness of the afterlife. She goes on to reveal that, by the end of the Middle Ages, changes in the Church as a result of the Protestant Reformation would mean that these rituals would never be the same again.

*Terry Jones, Barbarians (Amazon.com DVD $95.85 *check Barnes and Noble, used, available starting at $58.70) Far from the uncivilized savages they have been believed to be, many of these "non-Romans" were not barbaric at all. They were, in fact, highly organized and intelligent societies that had no intentions of overthrowing Rome or its Empire. A rare blend of scholarly research and archaeological evidence along with Jones’ familiar brand of irreverent humor gives this fascinating series a unique insight into the Barbarians, the Romans and the creation of the modern world. Episodes: The Primitive Celts; The Brainy Barbarians; The Savage Goths; The End of the World. (Jody Gray): ordered, 5/2/2017, will write a review after I watch it).

Timeline, continued, Blog Post: Monarchies of Europe, Middle Ages, 8th Century. https://gray-piperfamily.blogspot.com/2017/04/monarchies-of-europe-middle-ages-8th.html*

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