History Series – Part Two
This post is a continuation of a series of posts I am writing that summarize major historical events since the fall of the Western Roman Empire, with a focus on Europe. You can read the first post here.
Context
We pick up from part one around the year 550 AD. Some of the major civilizations relevant to Part Two are:
- The Byzantines, which as a reminder, is the Eastern Roman Empire.
- The Scandinavians. More on them soon.
- The Franks (The French). A powerful Germanic people united under the Merovingian dynasty led by Clovis I. They occupied modern day France and parts of Germany, after having conquered the Gauls, which were the original Celtic inhabitants of the area, prior to the Romans.
- The Sassanians. More on them soon.
Chapter 4: The Vendel Era
Before we pick up the story from part one, which saw the Byzantines eke out a victory against the Ostrogoths, we will first talk about the nascent golden age of the Scandinavians, called the Vendel Era. This period significantly impacted the next several centuries, and I found it fascinating to read about.
The Vendel era occurred around 550 AD, the same time the Gothic wars we discussed in part one ended. During the decline of the Western Roman Empire, there was a mass migration of Germanic people across Europe and many violent conflicts as tribes tried to consolidate land and power from the chaos of the crumbling Romain Empire. Tribes were mixing more, and Scandinavian elites were rubbing shoulders with other powerful kingdoms. One such kingdom was that of the Merovingian Franks which were growing in influence, and would become a major power in Europe. They had ample wealth, military strength, and a monarchical system. The Merovingians and Scandinavians established trade routes, which catalyzed not only the movement of goods but the exchange of ideas and cultural influences, and the Scandinavians seemed to model their society, in part at least after the Merovingians.
Certain Scandinavians had the means to acquire luxuries like gold from these new trade routes, which grew their prestige in society. The influence of monarchical societies also caused Norse society to become more hierarchical, and the constant conflicts in the region motivated the Scandinavians to focus heavily on developing their ability to fight.
A set of elites began to grow in power, and their influence was primarily derived from treasure and warrior prowess. You might be able to see where this is going. The increasing desire for treasures and luxuries from foreign lands and the glorification of warrior elites and kings is how the Vendel era influenced the formation of one of the most famous warrior groups in history. The Vikings.
The Vendel era is when we begin to see some of the iconic architecture and culture of the Norse people develop. Their Chieftains (Jarls) didn’t construct castles or palaces for themselves. Instead, they built huge wooden halls where they would conduct their politics, practice their religion, and hold those hearty Viking feasts we’ve all seen in the movies.
Jarls generously gave their countrymen food, drink, and even treasures at these feasts. It was through a Jarls generosity that he gained the loyalty and support of his people. Given that Europe was in a state of chaos with the decline of the Western Roman Empire and many tribes were trying to grab their share of Europe, warriors became very important for protection in Norse society. However, they weren’t just crucial for protection. The Scandinavians also wanted to claim a share of what they could of the transforming regions, and fighting others was a way to acquire treasures and further enhance a Jarls prestige.
While the practical outworking of wars and acquiring treasures was shaping the Scandinavians into the Viking warriors we all know, Norse mythology and legend were also catalyzing the spirit of the Vikings. The warrior was glorified and mythologized by epics like the story of Beowulf. Animal art motifs and intricate metalwork, like the ornate Vendel helmets pictured below, became widespread and continued into the Viking period.
The Vendel Era ended around 800 AD, to be replaced by the dawn of the Vikings. We’ll need to pause this story here, though, since a lot of other events happened between 550 and 800 AD. Of course, we will return to the Vikings again.
Chapter 5: The fallout of the Gothic wars
Although the Byzantines won the Gothic wars against the Ostrogoths, the victory was devastating and severely weakened them. As a result, the empire had less ability to protect itself from the various barbarian tribes that would attack it, and it struggled to maintain control over Italy.
The wars were also devastating for Italy as a nation. Many major Italian cities were destroyed or abandoned, and the political structures that united Italy became fragmented. This resulted in the formation of many small states within Italy, which often went to war against each other. War fatalities and disease wiped out large populations, which had a severe economic impact that lasted for generations.
Italy’s fragmentation and the weakening of the Byzantines made it susceptible to invasion. In AD 568, the Lombards, another Germanic tribe from modern-day Hungary, invaded Italy and successfully gained control of much of the country. The Lombards established a successful kingdom in Italy that lasted until they were conquered by Charlemagne in 774 AD.
The Lombards had a significant impact on Italy and Europe during their control of the region. The integration of the Lombards into Italy led to the mixing of populations, and modern-day Italians are primarily descendants of ancient Romans and Lombards. Lombardy is a region in Northern Italy today that still retains their name. Like many nations, the Lombards were hungry to expand. They overextended themselves, which provoked the Franks and led to their conquering by Charlemagne. This conquering grew Charlemagne’s power and paved the way for the creation of the Holy Roman Empire, which we’ll discuss in future posts.
Chapter 6: The Lazic war.
As if the Byzantines didn’t have enough on their plate with the Gothic wars, they were also fighting against the Sassanian empire during the years of 541-562 AD. The Sassanians descended from Iranian civilizations and were part of the powerful Persian empire during its zenith.
The two groups were fighting for control of Lazica, which was a strategic region on the Eastern coast of the Black Sea. During the conflict, both sides had victories and setbacks, but the Byzantines managed to win the upper hand. However, similar to the Gothic wars, it wasn’t a decisive victory, and the wars were very costly for both the Sassanians and the Byzantines. The result was a treaty signed in 562 AD that gave control of Lazica to the Byzantines but required the Byzantines to pay the Sassanians an annual tribute.
After the treaty was signed, life was relatively uneventful for the Sassanians, short of some minor continued conflicts with the Byzantines and some other tribes. But there was generally peace and stability for a period of about 50 years. That said, the empire remained weakened from the Lazic wars, and its continual minor conflicts made it difficult to strengthen itself.
Sassanian influence continued a steady decline until they were conquered in the Battle of Nahavand in 651 AD, which was a city in Western Iran. The battle was between the Rashidun Caliphate who were a Muslim people, and the Sassanian empire. The Muslims call their victory at Nahavand the “victory of victories” because of how decisive it was for the conquering of Persia and the spreading of Islam, which started after Mohammed died in 632 AD.
The Vendel Era, the fallout of the Gothic Wars, and the Lazic Wars were the major events that defined the period from 550 AD to around 750 AD. They laid the groundwork for the various religious, political, and cultural struggles that would occur throughout Medieval Europe.
We will pick up part three around 750 AD with the continued expansion of the Franks, the Carolingian Empire, and the increased Viking activity which led to the beginning of the Viking age.