Features of the formation and development of states in the medieval east. Lecture: Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages

The transition to the Middle Ages in the East in some cases was carried out on the basis of already existing political formations (for example, Byzantium, Sassanian Iran, Kushan-Gupta India), in others it was accompanied by social upheavals, as it was in China, and almost everywhere the processes were accelerated thanks to participation of "barbarian" nomadic tribes in them. In the historical arena during this period, such hitherto unknown peoples as the Arabs, Seljuk Turks, and Mongols appeared and rose. New religions were born and civilizations arose on their basis.

The countries of the East in the Middle Ages were associated with Europe. Byzantium remained the bearer of the traditions of Greco-Roman culture. The Arab conquest of Spain and the campaigns of the Crusaders to the East contributed to the interaction of cultures. However, for the countries of South Asia and the Far East, acquaintance with Europeans took place only in the 15th-16th centuries.

The formation of medieval societies in the East was characterized by the growth of productive forces - iron implements spread, artificial irrigation expanded and irrigation technology improved, the leading trend in the historical process both in the East and in Europe was the establishment of feudal relations. Different results of development in the East and West by the end of the XX century. due to the lesser degree of its dynamism.

Among the factors responsible for the "lagging" of Eastern societies, the following stand out: the preservation, along with the feudal system, of primitive communal and slaveholding relations that were extremely slowly decaying; the stability of communal forms of community life, which held back the differentiation of the peasantry; the predominance of state property and power over private land ownership and private power of feudal lords; the undivided power of the feudal lords over the city, weakening the anti-feudal aspirations of the townspeople.

Taking into account these features and based on the idea of the degree of maturity of feudal relations in the history of the East, the following stages are distinguished:

I-VI c. AD - the transitional period of the emergence of feudalism;

VII-X centuries - the period of early feudal relations with the inherent process of naturalization of the economy and the decline of ancient cities;

XI-XII centuries - the pre-Mongol period, the beginning of the flourishing of feudalism, the formation of the estate-corporate system of life, cultural takeoff;

XIII centuries - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the development of feudal society and reversed some of them;

XIV-XVI centuries. - the post-Mongol period, which is characterized by a slowdown in social development, the preservation of a despotic form of power.

A variegated picture was presented by the Medieval East in a civilizational sense, which also distinguished it from Europe. Some civilizations in the East originated in antiquity; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Indian subcontinent, Taoist-Confucian - in China. Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim civilization in the Near and Middle East, Indo-Muslim in India, Hindu and Muslim in Southeast Asia, Buddhist in Japan and Southeast Asia, Confucian in Japan and Korea.

India. In the VII-XII centuries. a period of feudal fragmentation began in India. At this stage, however, the isolation of the country's regions and the decline of culture did not occur due to the development of port trade. In the VI-VII centuries. in India, a system of stable political centers is developing, fighting with each other under the banner of different dynasties - North India, Bengal, the Deccan and the Far South. In the X century. the leading powers of the country fell into decay, divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the XI century. regular raids by the troops of Mahmud Ghaznavid, the ruler of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.

The socio-economic development of India in the Rajput era was characterized by the growth of feudal possessions. The richest among the feudal lords, along with the rulers, were Hindu temples and monasteries. The Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and self-governing. The full-fledged commune member inherited his own field, although trade operations with land were certainly controlled by the communal administration.

Urban life, which stood still after the 6th century, began to revive only towards the end of the Rajput period. Old port centers developed faster. New cities arose near the castles of the feudal lords, where artisans settled, serving the needs of the court and the troops of the landowner. The development of urban life was facilitated by increased exchange between cities and the emergence of groups of artisans by caste. Just as in Western Europe, in the Indian city the development of crafts and trade was accompanied by the struggle of citizens against the feudal lords, who imposed new taxes on artisans and merchants. Moreover, the value of the tax was the higher, the lower was the estate status of the castes to which the artisans and merchants belonged.

At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally prevailed over Buddhism, defeating it by the power of its amorphousness, which corresponded perfectly to the political system of the era.

In the XIII century. in the north of India, a large Muslim state, the Delhi Sultanate, was established, the domination of Muslim military leaders from the Central Asian Turks was finally formed. Sunni Islam became the state religion, Persian became the official language. Accompanied by bloody strife, the dynasties of Gulyams, Khilji, Tughlakids were successively replaced in Delhi. The troops of the sultans made conquest campaigns in Central and South India, and the conquered rulers were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of Delhi and pay the Sultan an annual tribute.

A turning point in the history of the Delhi Sultanate was the invasion of North India in 1398 by the troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur. In 1526 Babur laid the foundation for the Mughal Empire, which existed for almost 200 years. In the Mughal era, India entered the stage of developed feudal relations, the flowering of which went parallel to the strengthening of the central power of the state. The importance of the main financial department of the empire (divan) increased, in the central regions of the country the peasants were transferred to a monetary tax, which forced them to be included in market relations in advance.

During this period, handicrafts reached a high flourishing, especially the production of fabrics, which were valued throughout the East, and in the region of the southern seas, Indian textiles acted as a kind of universal equivalent of trade. The process of merging the upper merchant stratum with the ruling class begins. In the XVII century. the importance of the economic center passes to Bengal. The production of fine fabrics, saltpeter and tobacco is developing here. Shipbuilding continues to flourish in Gujarat. A new large textile center, Madras, is emerging in the south. Thus, in India, XVI-XVII centuries. the emergence of capitalist relations has already been observed, but the socio-economic system of the Mughal Empire, based on state ownership of land, did not contribute to their rapid growth.

China. At the end of the III century. China becomes an easy prey for the nomadic tribes who poured here, mainly settling in the north-western regions of the country. From that moment, for two and a half centuries, China was divided into northern and southern parts, which affected its subsequent development. In the VI century. the political unity of the country was restored.

Political changes in China III-VI centuries. are closely associated with cardinal shifts in ethnic development. Although foreigners penetrated into China before, but it was in the IV century. became a time of massive invasions, comparable to the Great Migration of Nations in Europe. In the south, the processes of assimilation of the non-Chinese population (yue, miao, li, i, man and yao) proceeded faster and less dramatically, leaving significant areas un colonized. This was reflected in the mutual isolation of the parties, and also in the language there were two main dialects of the Chinese language. The northerners called themselves the inhabitants of the middle state, that is, the Chinese, only themselves, and the southerners called the people of W.

The period of political fragmentation was accompanied by a noticeable naturalization of economic life, the decline of cities and a reduction in money circulation. Grain and silk became the measure of value. The allotment system of land use was introduced, which affected the type of organization of society and the way it was managed. Its essence consisted in securing for each worker, attributed to the class of personally free commoners, the right to receive a plot of land of a certain size and the establishment of fixed taxes on it.

The allotment system was opposed by the growth of private land plots of the so-called "strong houses", which was accompanied by the ruin and enslavement of the peasantry. The introduction of the state allotment system, the struggle of the authorities against the expansion of large private landownership lasted throughout the medieval history of China and affected the design of the country's unique agrarian and social system.

The process of official differentiation proceeded on the basis of the decay and degeneration of the community. All the unequal strata in the state were collectively called "vile people" and were opposed to the "good people". The growing role of the aristocracy was a striking manifestation of social shifts. Nobility was determined by belonging to the old clans. Another hallmark of social life was the strengthening of personal relationships. The principle of personal duty of the younger to the elder has taken a leading place among moral values. The process of ethnic consolidation of the Chinese leads to the formation of the Chinese people.

In the Tang and Song empires, administrative systems that were perfect for their time were formed, which were copied by other states. All military units of the country began to report directly to the emperor, and local military ranks were appointed from among the civil servants of the capital. This strengthened the power of the emperor. The bureaucratic apparatus has grown. The highest government institution was the Department of Departments, which headed the six leading executive bodies of the country: Ranks, Taxes, Rituals, Military, Judicial and Public Works. Along with them, the Imperial Secretariat and the Imperial Chancellery were established. The power of the head of state, officially called the Son of Heaven and Emperor, was hereditary and legally unlimited.

Economy of China VII-XII centuries. was based on agricultural production. The land use system already included the state land fund with imperial estates, large and medium-sized private land ownership, small-peasant land ownership and estates of state land holders. The taxation procedure can be called total. The main one was the land two-time tax in kind, amounting to 20% of the harvest, supplemented by trade tax and labor work. To keep track of taxpayers, household registers were compiled every three years.

The unification of the country led to a gradual increase in the role of cities. Urbanization was closely related to the growth of handicraft production. Such areas of government craft as silk weaving, ceramic production, woodworking, papermaking and dyeing were especially developed in the cities. The family workshop was a form of private craft, the rise of which was restrained by the powerful competition between government production and the comprehensive control of the imperial power over the urban economy. Trade and craft organizations, as well as shops, constituted the main part of the city's craft. The technique of the craft was gradually improved, its organization changed, large workshops appeared, equipped with machines and using hired labor.

There were three religious doctrines in medieval China: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism.

The Mongol conquest of China stretched out for almost 70 years. In 1271, all the possessions of the great khan were declared the Yuan Empire on the Chinese model. Mongol rule in the main part of China lasted a little over a century and was noted by Chinese sources as the most difficult time for the country.

Despite its military power, the Yuan Empire was not distinguished by its internal strength, it was shaken by civil strife, as well as the resistance of the local Chinese population, the uprising of the secret Buddhist society "White Lotus".

A characteristic feature of the social structure was the division of the country into four categories of unequal rights. The Chinese of the north and the inhabitants of the south of the country were considered, respectively, people of the third and fourth grade after the Mongols themselves and immigrants from the Islamic countries of western and central Asia. Thus, the ethnic situation of the era was characterized not only by national oppression by the Mongols, but also by the legalized opposition of northern and southern Chinese.

Ming China was born and died in the crucible of the great peasant wars, the events of which were invisibly directed by secret religious societies such as the "White Lotus". In this era, Mongol domination was finally eliminated and the foundations of economic and political systems were laid, corresponding to the traditional Chinese ideas of ideal statehood. The peak of the Ming empire's power was in the first third of the 15th century, but by the end of the century negative phenomena began to grow. 16th - first half of the 17th centuries characterized by a protracted crisis, which by the end of the era acquired a general and comprehensive character.

Since the XVI century. the penetration of Europeans into the country begins. As in India, the Portuguese were in the lead.

Arab Caliphate... On the territory of the Arabian Peninsula already in the II millennium BC. lived Arab tribes that were part of the Semitic group of peoples. In the V-VI centuries. AD Arab tribes prevailed in the Arabian Peninsula. Part of the population of this peninsula lived in cities, oases, was engaged in handicrafts and trade. Another part wandered in deserts and steppes, was engaged in cattle breeding. Trade caravan routes between Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, Ethiopia, and Judea passed through the Arabian Peninsula. The intersection of these paths was the Meccan oasis near the Red Sea. In addition, Mecca became the religious center of Western Arabia. The ancient pre-Islamic temple of the Kaaba was located here. According to legend, this temple was erected by the biblical patriarch Abraham (Ibrahim) with his son Ismail. This temple is associated with a sacred stone that has fallen to the ground, which has been worshiped since ancient times, and with the cult of the god of the tribe Kureish Allah (from Arab. Ilah - master).

In the VI century. n, e. in Arabia, due to the movement of trade routes to Iran, the importance of trade is declining. The population, having lost income from the caravan trade, was forced to look for sources of livelihood in agriculture. But there were few land suitable for agriculture. They had to be conquered. For this, forces were needed and, consequently, the unification of fragmented tribes, who, moreover, worshiped different gods. The need for the introduction of monotheism and the rallying on this basis of the Arab tribes was increasingly determined.

This idea was preached by adherents of the Hanif sect, one of whom was Muhammad, who became the founder of a new religion for the Arabs - Islam. This religion is based on the dogmas of Judaism and Christianity: belief in a single God and his prophet, the Last Judgment, the afterlife, unconditional obedience to the will of God (Arabic Islam-obedience). The names of prophets and other biblical characters common to these religions testify to the Jewish and Christian roots of Islam: the biblical Abraham (Islamic Ibrahim), Aaron (Harun), David (Daud), Isaac (Ishak), Solomon (Suleiman), Ilya (Ilyas), Jacob (Yakub), Christian Jesus (Isa), Mary (Maryam), etc. Islam has common customs and prohibitions with Judaism. Both religions prescribe circumcision of boys, forbid depicting God and living beings, eating pork, drinking wine, etc.

After the death of Muhammad, his sermons and sayings were collected in a single book of the Koran (translated from Arabic means reading), which became sacred for Muslims. The book includes 114 suras (chapters), which set out the main tenets of Islam, prescriptions and prohibitions. Later Islamic religious literature is called Sunnah. It contains legends about Muhammad. Muslims who recognized the Koran and Sunnah began to be called Sunnis, and those who recognized only one Koran - Shiites. Shiites recognize only his relatives as legitimate caliphs (governors, deputies) of Muhammad, spiritual and secular heads of Muslims.

The economic crisis of Western Arabia in the 7th century, caused by the movement of trade routes, the lack of suitable agricultural land and high population growth, pushed the leaders of the Arab tribes to seek a way out of the crisis by seizing foreign lands. This is reflected in the Koran, which says that Islam should be the religion of all peoples, but for this it is necessary to fight the infidels, exterminate them and take their property.

Guided by this specific task and the ideology of Islam, the successors of Muhammad, the caliphs, began a series of campaigns of conquest. They conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia. Already in 638 they captured Jerusalem. Until the end of the VII century. under the rule of the Arabs were the countries of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Egypt and Tunisia. In the VIII century. Central Asia, Afghanistan, Western India, Northwest Africa were captured. In 711, the Arab troops sailed from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula, quickly conquered the Iberian lands and rushed to Gaul. However, in 732, at the Battle of Poitiers, they were defeated by the Frankish king Charles Martell. By the middle of the IX century. the Arabs captured Sicily, Sardinia, the southern regions of Italy, the island of Crete. This stopped the Arab conquests, but a long-term war with the Byzantine Empire was fought. The Arabs twice besieged Constantinople.

The victories of the Arabs, their capture of vast territories were facilitated by the long-term war between Byzantium and Persia, disunity and constant enmity between other states that were attacked by the Arabs. It should also be noted that the population of the countries occupied by the Arabs, suffering from the oppression of Byzantium and Persia, saw the Arabs as liberators who reduced the tax burden primarily to those who converted to Islam.

The unification of many former scattered and warring states into a single state contributed to the development of economic and cultural communication between the peoples of Asia, Africa and Europe. Crafts, trade developed, cities grew. Within the boundaries of the Arab Caliphate, a culture developed rapidly, absorbing the Greco-Roman, Iranian and Indian heritage. Through the Arabs, Europe got acquainted with the cultural achievements of the Eastern peoples, primarily with the achievements in the field of exact sciences - mathematics, astronomy, geography, etc.

In the VIII century. the division of the Arab Caliphate into two parts was the beginning of the creation of smaller Arab states, the heads of which were the rulers of the provinces - the emirs.

The Caliphate as an institution for the spiritual leadership of the Arabs by all Muslims continued to exist until 1517, when this function was transferred to the Turkish Sultan, who conquered Egypt, where the last Caliphate lived - the spiritual head of all Muslims.

Introductory
- The subject of the science of history and its place in the system of historical sciences
- Functions of historical knowledge
- Methodology of Science and General History Course
- Historical data mining principles
- Stages of development of historical science
- Variants of the periodization of history
The primitive era of humanity
- Variants of the periodization of ancient history
  - Paleolithic
  - Mesolithic
  - Neolithic
  - Eneolithic
- Decomposition of the primitive communal system
History of the states of the ancient East
- The era of early Antiquity (late IV - late II millennium BC)
  - Egypt
  - Sumerian-Akkadian period
  - The first civilizations in India and China
- The heyday of the ancient states (late II - late I millennium BC)
  - Mesopotamia
  - Achaemenid Persian Power
  - India
  - China
- The era of late antiquity
History of ancient states
- Ancient Greece (III millennium BC - 30 BC)
  - Archaic period
  - Classical period and the era of Hellenism
- Ancient Rome (VIII century BC - V century AD)
  - Republic period
  - Empire period
Civilization of ancient Russia
- Civilization of ancient Russia
- The oldest settlements on the territory of our country (from the emergence to the 6th century A.D.)
  - The ancestral home of the Slavs and their ethnogenesis
- Eastern Slavs on the verge of state formation (VI - IX centuries)
  - Resettlement of the Eastern Slavs
  - Economic activity
  - Social system
  - Trade, cities
  - Customs, mores and beliefs
- Formation of European civilization
- General characteristics of the Western European Middle Ages (V-XVII centuries)
  - Vassalage system
  - Morals, customs
- Early Middle Ages (V - X centuries)
  - Classes of early feudal society
- Classical Middle Ages (XI-XV centuries)
  - Peasant uprisings
  - Economy. Agriculture
  - Medieval cities
  - Medieval craft
  - Trade and merchants
  - Medieval universities
  - Features of the historical development of the leading countries of Europe
- Late Middle Ages (XVI - early XVII centuries)
  - Trade
  - Agriculture
  - Reformation of the church
  - Development of science
Russia in the Middle Ages
- Kievan Rus (IX - XII centuries)
  - Norman theory
  - Social system
  - Economic life
  - Christianization of Rus
- Formation of civilization in the Russian lands (XI-XV centuries)
  - Major princely lands
  - Fight against the Mongol-Tatar conquerors
- Formation and rise of the Moscow state (XIII-XV centuries)
  - Formation of the Moscow centralized state
States of the East in the Middle Ages
- India (VII - XVIII centuries)
  - The era of the Muslim conquest of India. Delhi Sultanate (XIII - early XVI centuries)
  - India in the era of the Mughal Empire (XVI-XVIII centuries)
- China (III - XVII centuries)
  - Imperial period (late VI-XIII centuries)
  - China in the era of Mongol rule. Yuan Empire (1271-1367)
  - Minsk China (1368-1644)
- Japan (III - XIX centuries)
  - Fujiwara era (645-1192)
  - Japan during the era of the first Minamoto shogunate (1192-1335)
  - Second Ashikaga Shogunate (1335-1573)
  - Unification of the country; Shogunate Tokugaev
- Arab Caliphate (V - XI centuries AD)
- Europe: transition to modern times
- The consequences of the great geographical discoveries
  - Colonial system of nascent capitalism
  - Development of science
- Netherlands
- England
  - Sources of initial capital accumulation
  - Causes of the bourgeois revolution
  - The course of the bourgeois revolution
  - Results of the revolution
- France
  - Features of socio-economic development
  - Economic policy. Henry IV. Richelieu. Colbertism.
- Germany
  - Reformation
  - Thirty Years' War
Russia in the XVI-XVII centuries.
- Russia in the 16th century
  - The beginning of the reign of Ivan IV
  - Reforms of the 50s
  - Agrarian coup. Oprichnina
  - Foreign policy
  - Russian economy
- XVII century in the history of Russia
  - End of the intervention. The fight for Smolensk
  - Cathedral Code of 1649 and the strengthening of autocracy
  - Foreign policy
  - Internal political situation
  - Economy of Russia in the 17th century
Europe in the 18th century
- Enlightenment is a necessary step in cultural development
  - English Enlightenment
  - French Enlightenment
  - Enlightened absolutism
- The French Revolution
  - The stages of the Revolution
  - The most important events of the Jacobins
  - Results of the Revolution and its meaning
- Economic development of European countries in the XVIII century.
  - The beginning of the industrial revolution in England
  - Agriculture
  - Shifts in social structure
Russia in the 18th century
- Russia under Peter I
  - Manufacturing development
  - Monetary reform
  - Social politics
- Socio-economic development of Russia in the second half of the 18th century
  - Industry
  - Domestic and foreign trade
  - Development of banking systems
  - Strengthening feudal land tenure and dictatorship of the nobility
- Enlightened absolutism in Russia
  - Commission order on drawing up a draft of a new Code
  - Russian educators

Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages

The term "Middle Ages" is used to designate the period of history of the countries of the East in the first seventeen centuries of the new era. The natural upper boundary of the period is considered to be the 16th - early 17th centuries, when the East becomes the object of European trade and colonial expansion, which interrupted the course of development characteristic of Asian and North African countries.

Geographically, the Medieval East covers the territory of North Africa, the Near and Middle East, Central and Central Asia, India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia and the Far East.

Remodification of the history of the medieval East. Taking into account these features and based on the idea of the degree of maturity of feudal relations in the history of the East, the following stages are distinguished:

I-VI c. AD - the transitional period of the emergence of feudalism;

VII-X centuries - the period of early feudal relations with the inherent process of naturalization of the economy and the decline of ancient cities;

XI-XII centuries - the pre-Mongol period, the beginning of the flourishing of feudalism, the formation of the estate-corporate system of life, cultural takeoff;

XIII centuries - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the development of feudal society and reversed some of them;

XIV-XVI centuries. - the post-Mongol period, which is characterized by a slowdown in social development, the preservation of a despotic form of power.

Eastern civilizations. A variegated picture was presented by the Medieval East in a civilizational sense, which also distinguished it from Europe. Some civilizations in the East originated in antiquity; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Indian subcontinent, Taoist-Confucian - in China.

Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim civilization in the Near and Middle East, Indo-Muslim in India, Hindu and Muslim in Southeast Asia, Buddhist in Japan and Southeast Asia, Confucian in Japan and Korea.

1291 the fortress of Acra fell - the last stronghold of the crusaders in the Holy Land.

As a result, the Europeans failed to gain a foothold in the eastern countries. The only winners were the merchants of the Italian cities of Venice and Genoa, since the Mediterranean trade, previously controlled by the Byzantines and by the Arabs, now almost completely passed into their hands. The penetration of Europeans to the East contributed to the expansion of their understanding of the countries of this region. The inhabitants of Europe began to grow new useful plants for them (rice, buckwheat, lemons, apricots, watermelons), borrowed technical inventions (windmills), everyday life (hot baths). The knights who returned from the campaigns acquired a taste To oriental goods (spices, fine fabrics, stainless steel weapons, carpets). This contributed to the further development of trade.

Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages

Arab Caliphate

Features of the development of the countries of the East in the Middle Ages

Remodification of the history of the medieval East. WITH Taking these features into account and based on the idea of the degree of maturity of feudal relations in the history of the East, the following stages are distinguished:

I-VI c. AD - the transitional period of the emergence of feudalism;

VII-X centuries - the period of early feudal relations with the inherent process of naturalization of the economy and the decline of ancient cities;

XI-XII centuries - the pre-Mongol period, the beginning of the flourishing of feudalism, the formation of the estate-corporate system of life, cultural takeoff;

XIII centuries - the time of the Mongol conquest, which interrupted the development of feudal society and reversed some of them;

XIV-XVI centuries. - the post-Mongol period, which is characterized by a slowdown in social development, the preservation of a despotic form of power.

Eastern civilizations. A variegated picture was presented by the Medieval East in a civilizational sense, which also distinguished it from Europe. Some civilizations in the East originated in antiquity; Buddhist and Hindu - on the Indian subcontinent, Taoist-Confucian - in China. Others were born in the Middle Ages: Muslim civilization in the Near and Middle East, Indo-Muslim in India, Hindu and Muslim in Southeast Asia, Buddhist in Japan and Southeast Asia, Confucian in Japan and Korea.

India (VII - XVIII centuries)

Rajput period (VII-XII centuries) ... As shown in Chapter 2, in the IV-VI centuries. AD on the territory of modern India, a powerful Gupta empire was formed. The era of the Guptas, perceived as the golden age of India, was replaced in the 7th-12th centuries. a period of feudal fragmentation. At this stage, however, the isolation of the country's regions and the decline of culture did not occur due to the development of port trade. The tribes of the conquerors of the Huns-Hephthalites who came from Central Asia settled in the north-west of the country, and the Gujarats that appeared with them settled in Punjab, Sindh, Rajputan and Malwa. As a result of the merger of newcomers with the local population, a compact ethnic community of the Rajputs arose, which in the VIII century. began from Rajputana expansion into the rich regions of the Ganges Valley and Central India. The most famous was the Gurjara-Pratikhara clan, which formed a state in Malwa. Here the most striking type of feudal relations with a developed hierarchy and vassal psychology took shape.

In the VI-VII centuries. in India, a system of stable political centers is developing, fighting with each other under the banner of different dynasties - North India, Bengal, the Deccan and the Far South. Canvas of political events of the VIII-X centuries. the struggle for the Doab (between the Djamna and the Ganges) began. In the X century. the leading powers of the country fell into decay, divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the XI century. regular raids Mahmoud Ghaznavid(998-1030), ruler of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.

The socio-economic development of India in the Rajput era was characterized by the growth of feudal possessions. The richest among the feudal lords, along with the rulers, were Hindu temples and monasteries. If initially they were only complained about uncultivated land and with the indispensable consent of the community that owned them, then from the VIII century. more and more often, not only land is transferred, but also villages, the inhabitants of which were obliged to bear in-kind duty in favor of the recipient. However, at this time, the Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and self-governing. The full-fledged commune member inherited his own field, although trade operations with land were certainly controlled by the communal administration.

At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally prevailed over Buddhism, defeating it by the power of its amorphousness, which corresponded perfectly to the political system of the era.

The era of the Muslim conquest of India. Delhi Sultanate(XIII - early XVI centuries) In the XIII century. in the north of India, a large Muslim state, the Delhi Sultanate, was established, and the domination of Muslim military leaders from the Central Asian Turks was finally formalized. Sunni Islam became the state religion, Persian became the official language. Accompanied by bloody strife, the dynasties of Gulyams, Khilji, Tughlakids were successively replaced in Delhi. The troops of the sultans made conquest campaigns in Central and South India, and the conquered rulers were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of Delhi and pay the Sultan an annual tribute.

A turning point in the history of the Delhi Sultanate was the invasion of Northern India in 1398 by the troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur(another name is Tamerlane, 1336-1405). The Sultan fled to Gujarat. An epidemic and famine began in the country. Abandoned by the conqueror as the governor of the Punjab, Khizr-khan Sayyid seized Delhi in 1441 and founded a new dynasty of Sayyids. Representatives of this and the Lodi dynasty that followed it ruled already as governors of the Timurids. One of the last Lodi, Ibrahim, seeking to exalt his power, entered into an irreconcilable struggle with the feudal nobility and Afghan military leaders. Ibrahim's opponents turned to the ruler of Kabul, Timurid Babur, with a request to save them from the tyranny of the Sultan. In 1526 Babur defeated Ibrahim at the Battle of Panipat, thus laying the foundation for Mughal Empire, which existed for almost 200 years.

The system of economic relations is undergoing some, albeit not radical, changes in the Muslim era. The state land fund is significantly increasing due to the possessions of the conquered Indian feudal families. The main part of it was distributed in a conditional service award - ikta (small areas) and mukta (large "feeding"). The Iktadars and Muktadars collected taxes from the villages granted to them in favor of the treasury, some of which went to support the family of the holder, who supplied a soldier to the state army. Mosques, owners of property for charitable purposes, keepers of the tombs of sheikhs, poets, officials, and merchants were the private landowners who disposed of the estate without government intervention. The rural community has survived as a convenient fiscal unit, however, the payment of the poll tax (jiziyah) fell on the peasants, most of them Hinduism, a heavy burden.

By the XIV century. historians attribute a new wave of urbanization in India. The cities became centers of craft and trade. Domestic trade was mainly focused on the needs of the capital's court. The leading article of import was the import of horses (the basis of the Delhi army is the cavalry), which were not bred in India due to the lack of pastures. Archaeologists find treasures of Delhi coins in Persia, Central Asia and on the Volga.

During the reign of the Delhi Sultanate, the penetration of Europeans into India began. In 1498, under the leadership of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese first reached Calicata on the Malabar coast of western India. As a result of subsequent military expeditions - Cabral (1500), Vasco de Gama (1502), d "Albuquerque (1510-1511) - the Portuguese seize the Bijapur island of Goa, which became the mainstay of their possessions in the East. The Portuguese monopoly on sea trade undermined India's trade relations with countries of the East, isolated the deep regions of the country and delayed their development. To the same led wars and destruction of the population of Malabar. Gujarat was also weakened. Only the Vijayanagar empire remained in the XIV-XVI centuries powerful and even more centralized than the former states of the south. was considered a maharaja, but all the fullness of real power belonged to the state council, the chief minister, to whom the governors of the provinces were directly subordinate. lands of one village, and the community members increasingly began to turn in half-fledged sharecropping tenants. In the cities, the authorities began to give the collection of duties at the mercy of the feudal lords, thereby strengthening their undivided domination here.

With the establishment of the power of the Delhi Sultanate, in which Islam was a forcibly implanted religion, India was drawn into the cultural orbit of the Muslim world. However, despite the fierce struggle between Hindus and Muslims, long-term cohabitation led to the mutual penetration of ideas and customs.

India in the era of the Mughal Empire (XVI-XVIII centuries .) 1 The final stage in the medieval history of India was the rise in its north at the beginning of the 16th century. new powerful Muslim Mughal Empire, which in the XVII century. managed to subjugate a significant part of South India. The founder of the state was Timurid Babur(1483-1530). The power of the Mughals in India was strengthened during the years of half a century of rule Akbara(1452-1605), who transferred the capital to the city of Agra on the Jamnah River, conquered Gujarat and Bengal, and with them access to the sea. True, the Mughals had to come to terms with the rule of the Portuguese here.

In the Mughal era, India entered the stage of developed feudal relations, the flowering of which went parallel to the strengthening of the central power of the state. The importance of the main financial department of the empire (divan), which was obliged to monitor the use of all suitable lands, increased. The share of the state was declared a third of the harvest. In the central regions of the country under Akbar, the peasants were transferred to a monetary tax, which forced them to be included in market relations in advance. All the conquered territories entered the state land fund (khalisa). From it, jagirs were distributed - conditional military awards, which continued to be considered state property. The Jagirdars usually owned several tens of thousands of hectares of land and were obliged to support military detachments - the backbone of the imperial army - with these incomes. Akbar's attempt to liquidate the jagir system in 1574 ended in failure. Also in the state there was a private land property of feudal zamindars from among the conquered princes who paid tribute, and small private estates of Sufi sheikhs and Muslim theologians, inherited, and free from taxes - suyurgal or mulk.

During this period, handicrafts reached a high flourishing, especially the production of fabrics, which were valued throughout the East, and in the region of the southern seas, Indian textiles acted as a kind of universal equivalent of trade. The process of merging the upper merchant stratum with the ruling class begins. Money people could become jagirdars, and the latter - the owners of caravanserais and merchant ships. Merchant castes are formed, playing the role of companies. Surat, the country's main port in the 16th century, becomes a place where a stratum of comprador merchants (i.e. those associated with foreigners) emerged.

In the XVII century. the importance of the economic center passes to Bengal. Here the production of fine fabrics, saltpeter and tobacco is developing in Dhaka and Patna. Shipbuilding continues to flourish in Gujarat. A new large textile center, Madras, is emerging in the south. Thus, in India, XVI-XVII centuries. the emergence of capitalist relations has already been observed, but the socio-economic system of the Mughal Empire, based on state ownership of land, did not contribute to their rapid growth.

In the Mughal era, religious disputes become more active, on the basis of which wide popular movements are born, the religious policy of the state undergoes major turns. So, in the XV century. in Gujarat, among the Muslim cities of trade and craft circles, the Mahdist movement arose. In the XVI century. the ruler's fanatical adherence to orthodox Sunni Islam turned into lawlessness for the Hindus and the persecution of Shia Muslims. In the XVII century. oppression of Shiites, destruction of all Hindu temples and the use of their stones to build mosques Aurangzeb(1618-1707) caused a popular uprising, anti-Mogul movement.

So, medieval India personifies the synthesis of a wide variety of socio-political foundations, religious traditions. ethnic cultures. Having melted all this many beginnings inside herself, by the end of the era she appeared before the amazed Europeans as a country of fabulous splendor, attracting to itself with wealth, exoticism, secrets. Within it, however, processes began similar to those in Europe, inherent in the modern era. The internal market was formed, international relations developed, social contradictions deepened. But for India, a typical Asian power, a despotic state was a strong deterrent to capitalization. With its weakening, the country becomes an easy prey for European colonialists, whose activities interrupted for many years the natural course of the country's historical development.

China (III - XVII centuries)

The era of fragmentation (III-VI centuries). With the fall of the Han Empire at the turn of the II-III centuries. In China, there is a change of eras: the ancient period of the country's history ends and the Middle Ages begins. The first stage of early feudalism went down in history as time Three kingdoms(220-280). On the territory of the country there were three states (Wei-in the north, Shu-in the central part and U-in the south), the power in which was close to a military dictatorship.

But already at the end of the III century. political stability in China is again being lost, and it becomes an easy prey for the nomadic tribes that poured in here, mainly settling in the north-western regions of the country. From that moment, for two and a half centuries, China was divided into northern and southern parts, which affected its subsequent development. The consolidation of centralized power takes place in the 20s of the 5th century. in the south after the founding of the Southern Song empire here and in the 30s of the 5th century. - in the north, where Empire of the Northern Wei, in which the desire to restore a unified Chinese statehood was expressed more strongly. In 581, a coup d'état took place in the north: the commander Yang Jian removed the emperor from power and changed the name of the state Sui. In 589, he subdued the southern state to his power and for the first time after a 400-year period of fragmentation restored the political unity of the country.

Political changes in China III-VI centuries. are closely associated with cardinal shifts in ethnic development. Although foreigners penetrated before, but it was the IV century. becomes a time of massive invasions, comparable to the Great Migration of Nations in Europe. The tribes of the Xiongnu, Sanbi, Qiang, Jie, Di who came from the central regions of Asia settled not only in the northern and western outskirts, but also in the Central Plain, mixing with the indigenous Chinese population. In the south, the processes of assimilation of the non-Chinese population (yue, miao, li, i, man and yao) proceeded faster and less dramatically, leaving significant areas un colonized. This was reflected in the mutual isolation of the parties, and also in the language there were two main dialects of the Chinese language. The northerners called themselves the inhabitants of the middle state, that is, the Chinese, only themselves, and the southerners called the people of W.

The period of political fragmentation was accompanied by a noticeable naturalization of economic life, the decline of cities and a reduction in money circulation. Grain and silk became the measure of value. The allotment system of land use (zhan tian) was introduced, which affected the type of organization of society and the way it was managed. Its essence consisted in securing for each worker, attributed to the class of personally free commoners, the right to receive a plot of land of a certain size and the establishment of fixed taxes on it.

The allotment system was opposed by the growth of private land plots of the so-called "strong houses" ("da jia"), which was accompanied by the ruin and enslavement of the peasantry. The introduction of the state allotment system, the struggle of the authorities against the expansion of large private landownership lasted throughout the medieval history of China and affected the design of the country's unique agrarian and social system.

The process of official differentiation proceeded on the basis of the decay and degeneration of the community. This found expression in the formal amalgamation of peasant farms into five-yard and twenty-five-yard buildings, which were encouraged by the authorities for tax benefits. All the unequal strata in the state were collectively called "vile people" (jianren) and opposed to the "good people" (liangmin). The growing role of the aristocracy was a striking manifestation of social shifts. Nobility was determined by belonging to the old clans. Gentility was consolidated in the lists of noble families, the first general register of which was compiled in the 3rd century. Another distinctive feature of public life in the III-VI centuries. there was a strengthening of personal relationships. The principle of personal duty of the younger to the elder has taken a leading place among moral values.

Imperial period (end VI-XIII cc ) During this period, the imperial order was revived in China, the political unification of the country took place, the nature of the supreme power changed, the centralization of government increased, the role of the bureaucratic apparatus increased. During the reign of the Tang dynasty (618-907), the classical Chinese type of imperial government was formed. In the country there were rebellions of military governors, the peasant war of 874-883, a long struggle with the Tibetans, Uighurs and Tanguts in the north of the country, a military confrontation with the South Chinese state of Nanzhao. All this led to the agony of the Tang regime.

In the middle of the X century. from the chaos the state was born Later Zhou, which became the new nucleus of the political unification of the country. Land reunification was completed in 960 by the founder of the Song Dynasty Zhao Kuanying with the capital Kaifeng. In the same century, a state appears on the political map of northeastern China Liao. In 1038, the Western Xia Tangut Empire was proclaimed on the northwestern borders of the Song Empire. From the middle of the XI century. between Song, Liao and Xia, an approximate balance of power is maintained, which at the beginning of the XII century. was violated with the emergence of a new rapidly growing state of the Jurchens (one of the branches of the Tungus tribes), which formed in Manchuria and proclaimed itself in 1115 as the Jin Empire. It soon conquered the state of Liao, captured the capital Song along with the emperor. However, the brother of the captured emperor managed to create the Southern Song empire with its capital in Lingan (Hangzhou), which extended its influence to the southern regions of the country.

Thus, on the eve of the Mongol invasion, China again found itself split into two parts, the northern one, including the Jin Empire, and the southern territory of the Southern Song Empire.

The process of ethnic consolidation of the Chinese, which began in the 7th century, already at the beginning of the 13th century. leads to the formation of the Chinese people. Ethnic self-awareness manifests itself in the isolation of the Chinese state, opposing foreign countries, in the spread of the universal self-name "han ren" (people of han). The population of the country in the X-XIII centuries. was 80-100 million people.

In the Tang and Song empires, administrative systems that were perfect for their time were formed, which were copied by other states. Since 963, the country's military formations began to report directly to the emperor, and local military ranks were appointed from among the civil servants of the capital. This strengthened the power of the emperor. The bureaucratic apparatus has grown to 25 thousand. The highest government institution was the Department of Departments, which headed the six leading executive bodies of the country: Ranks, Taxes, Rituals, Military, Judicial and Public Works. Along with them, the Imperial Secretariat and the Imperial Chancellery were established. The power of the head of state, officially called the Son of Heaven and Emperor, was hereditary and legally unlimited.

Economy of China VII-XII centuries. was based on agricultural production. The allotment system, which reached its apogee in the 6th-8th centuries, by the end of the 10th century. disappeared. In Song China, the land use system already included a state land fund with imperial estates, large and medium-sized private landholdings, small-peasant land ownership, and estates of state land holders. The taxation procedure can be called total. The main one was the land two-time tax in kind, amounting to 20% of the harvest, supplemented by trade tax and labor work. To keep track of taxpayers, household registers were compiled every three years.

The unification of the country led to a gradual increase in the role of cities. If in the VIII century. there were 25 of them with a population of about 500 thousand people, then in the X-XII centuries, during the period of urbanization, the urban population began to make up 10% of the total population of the country.

Urbanization was closely related to the growth of handicraft production. Such areas of government craft as silk weaving, ceramic production, woodworking, papermaking and dyeing were especially developed in the cities. The family workshop was a form of private craft, the rise of which was restrained by the powerful competition between government production and the comprehensive control of the imperial power over the urban economy. Trade and craft organizations, as well as shops, constituted the main part of the city's craft. The technique of the craft was gradually improved, its organization changed, large workshops appeared, equipped with machines and using hired labor.

History

Lesson number 5.

Chapter: Civilizations of the West and East in the Middle Ages

Topic: Features of the development of civilizations of the East in the Middle Ages.

Purpose: To consider the characteristic features and features of the development of civilizations of the East in the Middle Ages.

Tasks:

(Educational) study the features of the civilizations of the East in the Middle Ages;

(Developing) teach to distinguish between civilizations of the Ancient world;

(Educational) contribute to fostering a sense of patriotism and belonging to their homeland.

Equipment: textbook, notebook, chalk, blackboard.

Lesson type: Combined lesson

During the classes.

Organizing time. (3 minutes)

Homework check (30 minutes)

Tell us about the new Egyptian state?

Assyrian military powers?

The essence of the Greek polis Ancient Rome?

Qin and Han Empire?

Learning new material. (40 minutes)

Plan

3. Sino-Confucian civilization.

1. The great migration of peoples and its historical results.

The Great Migration of Nations is the conventional name for the totality of ethnic movements in Europe in the IV-VII centuries, mainly from the periphery of the Roman Empire to its territory.

The death of the Western Roman Empire in 476 is considered to be the line between the history of the Ancient World and the Middle Ages, or the Middle Ages. There is no consensus among historians about the time of the end of the Middle Ages. Most of them believe that it ended at the end of the 15th century. after the discovery of America by Europeans, but there are other points of view (for example, the middle of the 17th century). Scientists also argue: can the term "Middle Ages" be applied to all regions of the globe, or only to Western Europe?

The Middle Ages are divided into three stages - early (5th century - mid-9th century), mature (end of 9th century - end of 13th century) and later (early 14th century - end of 15th century).

Reasons for the fall of the Western Roman Empire. The death of the empire is associated with the invasions of its territory by barbarian tribes. The Romans called barbarians those who lived outside the Roman state, did not know Latin and were alien to Roman culture.

Warlike tribes of the Germans lived in Central Europe. At first, the Romans managed to repel their raids. At the end of the IV century. a number of other barbarian peoples joined the Germans in the attacks. By this time, many barbarian tribes in their development approached the formation of statehood. They unite in unions led by leaders - dukes, kings. The number of tribes grew, it was difficult for them to feed on their lands. All peoples at this stage of development become very militant, striving to enrich themselves at the expense of others. The barbarians were attracted by the cities, fertile fields, fat pastures of the empire. Thousands of people with families, livestock, property began to withdraw from their places and move to Roman lands. The Great Migration of Peoples began.

The Roman Empire proved to be easy prey for the barbarians. As you know, it was divided into two parts, inside of which, especially in the west, there was little unity. The empire was rocked by revolts; people suffering from huge taxes and arbitrariness of officials often expected the arrival of barbarians as liberators. As part of the barbarian militias, all the adult men of the tribe fought, and they were opposed by relatively small detachments of Roman professional soldiers.

Religious motives also inspired many barbarians on their campaigns. Christianity began to penetrate into their midst even before the beginning of the Great Migration. The most militant Germanic tribe of the Goths was baptized as a result of the sermons of Bishop Ulfila (he was a Goth, lived a long time in the empire and translated the Bible into the Gothic language). However, for the barbarians, the doctrine of the Trinity was incomprehensible. Therefore, many of them adopted Christianity in the form of the teachings of the priest Arius. At the Council of Nicaea in 325, this doctrine (Arianism) was recognized as heresy (a deviation from the dogmas of the Christian faith), the Arians denied the Trinity of God, believing that God is one, and Jesus Christ is not consubstantial with God the Father, but only similar to Him. Ulfilah preached precisely Arianism. Vandals, Burgundians, Lombards and a number of other tribes also became Arians. Most of the inhabitants of the empire were considered by the Arians to be heretics and fought with enthusiasm with them.

Formation of barbarian kingdoms. Back in 410, the Visigoths (Western Goths), under the leadership of King Alaric, took Rome. Soon for the settlement of the Visigoths, the western emperor provided land in the south of Gaul. So in 418 the first barbarian Visigothic kingdom appeared. The Visigoths took over other territories in Gaul and Spain.

Even earlier, the tribes of the Vandals and Alans passed through Gaul and Spain to North Africa. The Vandal-Alan kingdom arose in Africa. In 455, the Vandals made a sea raid on Rome, subjecting it to destruction. In those same years, the Germanic tribes of the Angles, Saxons and Jutes began to invade Britain. They defeated the Celtic kingdoms that existed on the island after the withdrawal of the Roman troops and formed the seven Anglo-Saxon kingdoms. In Gaul, to the east of the Visigoths, the Burgundians created their kingdom. The barbarians also ruled in Italy. The Roman army here consisted almost entirely of barbarians, whose leaders actually ruled on behalf of the emperors. In 476, one of these leaders, Odoacer, deposed the Western emperor, and sent his crown to Constantinople. Formally, the eastern emperor was now considered the supreme ruler of the barbarian kingdoms, but he did not have real power. As for Odoacer, he proclaimed himself king of Italy. Soon the tribes of the Ostrogoths (Eastern Goths) under the leadership of King Theodoric (493 - 526) invaded Italy. After killing Odoacer, the Ostrogoths created their kingdom here.

At the same time, the Frankish kingdom was formed. In 486, the king of the Salic (seaside) Franks Clovis led their campaign against Northern Gaul. Later, the Franks subdued a number of Germanic tribes - the Alemans, Turingians, defeated the Visigoths and captured South Gaul.

The Goths, Burgundians and other Germanic tribes took a significant part of the lands from the inhabitants of the Roman Empire. The Franks, in contrast to them, almost did not take away the land from the local residents, but divided among themselves the empty former possessions of the emperor. Therefore, the Gallo-Roman population was more friendly to the Franks than to other barbarians. In addition, the Franks adopted Christianity in the orthodox form that the inhabitants of Gaul adhered to, and not in the form of Arianism, like other Germans. Clovis generously distributed valuables and lands to bishops and monasteries. For these reasons, of all the barbarian kingdoms, the Frankish one turned out to be the most stable.

Barbaric truths. Much can be learned about the life of barbarian kingdoms from the records of their laws of the 5th - 9th centuries. These laws are called barbaric truths.

Barbaric truths were records of customary law (we consolidate traditions, customs, rules of behavior), but, of course, they also experienced the influence of Roman law.

In barbaric truths, punishments for various crimes, the procedure for conducting a trial, etc. were determined. The king and the nobility, free full members of society were singled out as special categories of the population. The laws in relation to dependent people and slaves were stricter.

The most famous document is the Salicheskaya Pravda, created by order of King Clovis in about 500. According to these laws, for the murder of a noble person (count) it was necessary to pay a wergeld (fine) in the amount of 600 solidi, a free person - 200, a dependent - 100; for the murder of a slave, his owner was paid 30 solidi. "Salic truth" testifies that the Franks lived in communities that were the owners of the land. Forests, pastures, water bodies were jointly owned, and arable land was owned by individual families. It was impossible to sell these plots, but the process of turning the plots into family property was outlined.

After the Great Migration, the Western Roman Empire fell and “barbarian kingdoms” were formed - barbarians “domesticated”, some of them became the predecessors of modern European states. The resettlement contributed to the formation of a unified Latin language system in Europe (the so-called "Vulgar Latin"), on the basis of which many languages of Western Europe were formed.

However, this resettlement caused significant damage to the nascent culture of the northern tribes and nomadic peoples. Thus, many tribes of the indigenous peoples of Northern Europe were ruthlessly destroyed, the ancient monuments of these peoples - obelisks, barrows, etc., were plundered.

2. West and East in the heyday of the Middle Ages.Kingdom of the Franks. Military reform of Karl Martell. During the reign of the sons and grandsons of the founder of the Frankish kingdom, Clovis, the Burgundian kingdom was conquered, many Germanic tribes east of the Rhine were subordinated.

For a long time, the bulk of the troops of the Frankish kings were free communal peasants. However, over time, the communities began to disintegrate. Under the influence of Roman customs, plots of land passed into the ownership of individual families. Often impoverished due to participation in constant wars, the Franks gave their plots to a large landowner or monastery. Over time, these people became dependent on the new owners of the land and began to work for them. They could no longer continue their military service - they did not have the means to purchase weapons and armor, and the owner of the land did not want to let his workers go.

The number of soldiers in the royal army was rapidly dwindling. As a result, the power of the kings weakened, the rich nobility, who possessed large lands, less and less reckoned with her. From the middle of the 7th century. Frankish rulers began to be called "lazy kings". One after another, people who were completely incapable of government ascended to the throne. All affairs were disposed of by the courtiers, headed by the majords (elders in the house).

At the beginning of the VIII century. Major Karl Martell (Hammer) managed to curb the willfulness of large landowners. Some of them were executed, and their lands went to Martell.

At this time, a formidable danger loomed over Europe. After the conquest of the Ostrogothic kingdom, the Arabs invaded Gaul. The basis of the Arab army was the cavalry. The Franks fought mainly on foot. An experienced rider easily overpowered the foot soldiers, so Karl Martell took measures to create an efficient equestrian army.

For warriors from any free strata of the population, he began to provide relatively small plots of land (benefits). The ownership of this land was conditional - a plot of land was given only for the duration of the service and could not be inherited. The size of the plot was determined in such a way that the income from it allowed the warrior to support himself and his horse, to acquire weapons and armor. Usually it was the same village with the peasants.

Later, such land began to be inherited, but the condition of service was preserved. This conditional hereditary possession was called a feud, or flax.

The initiative of Karl Martell had great consequences for the development of the whole of Europe, and it gave immediate results. In 732, the army of the mayordom in a fierce battle near the city of Poitiers defeated a large detachment of Arabs.

The reflection of the Muslim threat increased the authority of Karl Martell in the eyes of all Christians. At the request of the head of Christians in Western Europe, Pope Karl Martell, supported the preachers of Christianity in the German lands. Among these preachers, the monk Boniface, the first bishop of Germany, stood out.

After the death of Karl Martell, his son Pepin the Short became mayord. On Boniface's advice, Pepin overthrew the last "lazy king" and in 751 became king himself. Boniface helped him enlist the support of the Pope. In 754, the Franks began a war with the Lombards, who were Arians and did not recognize the spiritual authority of the pope. Pepin, having defeated the Lombards, in 756 handed over the lands conquered from them in Central Italy to Pope Stephen P. The so-called Papal state arose.

The conquests of Charlemagne and the rebuilding of the Roman Empire. Under Pepin's son Charles (768 - 814), the size of the Frankish kingdom doubled. However, Charles was nicknamed the Great during his lifetime, not only for his conquests. He became a model for the rulers of European states for many centuries. The very word "king" in the Slavic languages comes from his name.

At the beginning of his reign, Charles finally defeated the Lombards and annexed Northern Italy to his kingdom. The Franks managed to conquer some lands from the Arabs in northern Spain. In alliance with the Slavs, Charlemagne fought for a long time with the nomadic tribe of Avars, who then lived on the territory of modern Hungary. One of the Slavic princes managed to capture the capital of the Avar Kaganate. Soon the Franks and Slavs exterminated all the Avars.

The most difficult for Charles was the war with the German tribe of the Saxons. It lasted more than thirty years. The Franks defeated the Saxons more than once, but as soon as their army left, Saxony rebelled. Karl resorted to brutal racial rights. Tens of thousands of Saxons were executed, many were resettled deep in the kingdom, and their lands were given to the inhabitants of Gaul. In the wars with the Saxons, Karl was also helped by the Slavs.

Charlemagne's campaigns resulted in the creation of a huge state. In 800, Pope Leo III placed the imperial crown on Charles's head.

During the reign of Charlemagne, an empire was restored in western Europe.

A few years later, the Byzantine emperor had to come to terms and recognize the existence of a new empire. The center of government of the empire was the imperial court. Locally, most of the cases were decided by the counts appointed by the ruler, as well as by the bishops. The emperor spread the Christian faith everywhere. For refusing to be baptized, for disobeying the clergy, for not observing posts in the empire, the death penalty was imposed.

Carolingian Revival. The rise of culture during the time of Charlemagne and his first successors - the Carolingian Renaissance - is associated with the desire to use art and education to create the ideal Christian state. The best scholars gathered at the court in Aachen became assistants to the ruler in the spread of culture. The most prominent educator and close friend of Charles was the Anglo-Saxon Alculin, the greatest scholar and theologian of his time. On behalf of the emperor, he opened schools, provided them with teachers and everything they needed.

In Aachen, Alculin created a school called the Court Academy. The ruler himself, his sons, the children of the nobility studied there. Classes were held in the form of a friendly conversation. Historian Frank Eingard became the most famous among the graduates of the academy. Later he wrote the book The Life of Charlemagne. This small work became the model that all medieval scholars followed.

Charlemagne became famous as the creator of temples, bridges, roads, canals, palaces. A temple was erected in Aachen (this is the only building from the time of Charles that has survived to this day), which was called "a miracle of wondrous and high beauty."

The collapse of the empire. Reasons for fragmentation. In 814 Charlemagne died. His son and heir Louis was distinguished by great piety, for which he received the nickname Pious. He, like his father, patronized culture, but, having a weak character, he easily submitted to other people's influence. Counts-governors gradually turned into independent rulers. Strife began.

The struggle for power flared up with renewed vigor after the death of Louis in 840. In 843, in the city of Verdun, three grandsons of Charlemagne finally divided the empire. The eldest, Lo-pgar, formally retaining the title of emperor, received only Italy and the lands along the Rhine and Rhone in his possession; Charles the Bald became king of the West Frankish kingdom (west of the Rhine), and Louis the German became king of the East Frankish kingdom (east of the Rhine). Later, the brothers' possessions turned into states that still exist today - Italy, France and Germany.

In the early Middle Ages, a number of other European states were born. So, in Britain, the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms eventually united. In 1066, these lands were conquered by the Duke of Normandy (a region in the north of France), William the Conqueror, who became king of England. To the east of Germany, Slavic states were formed - Poland, Czech Republic, Russia. On the Middle Danube, where the nomadic Hungarians came, over time, the Kingdom of Hungary arose. The kingdoms of Denmark, Norway and Sweden were formed in the north of Europe. In all these countries, after the initial unity, a period of feudal fragmentation also began.

The reason for the collapse of the early medieval states was not only the strife of their rulers. In the empire of Charlemagne, different peoples united by force of arms did not want to live under a single rule any longer. The inhabitants of the West Frankish kingdom eventually came to be called French. The inhabitants of Italy were called Italians, and the inhabitants of the East Frankish kingdom were called Germans. It is characteristic that the first documents in national languages appeared during the struggle of the grandchildren of Charlemagne: the brothers Louis and Charles vowed to stand against Lothair and consolidated this oath in records in German and French.

Viceroys of rulers in different parts of states (dukes, earls) ceased to reckon with the supreme power. It was much easier for local rulers to govern and defend their small territories. The owners of the feuds obeyed the count or duke only during the war, when they went on a campaign as part of his troops. In their fiefs, they were completely independent.

The increase in fragmentation was facilitated by the fact that the inhabitants of certain regions and even villages had little need for connections with other regions or villages. Everything that was necessary for life - food, clothing, tools - they made themselves, exchanged with their fellow villagers or closest neighbors. Subsistence economy prevailed. Trade has almost disappeared.

Eastern Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire included territories with ancient agricultural traditions. Unlike the West, where slave labor was widespread, free and semi-free peasants continued to play a significant role in agriculture. Relying on the economic power of the state, the eastern emperors managed to repel the attacks of the barbarians.

For a long time Constantinople remained the largest city in Europe and the most important center of crafts, trade and culture. Here, handwritten books were made, decorated with magnificent miniatures. Other cities continued to flourish in the empire - Alexandria, Antioch, Thessaloniki.

An attempt to restore the Roman Empire. The Byzantine Empire reached its highest peak during the reign of Emperor Justinian (527-565). He was born in Macedonia to a poor peasant family. His uncle, the general Justin, was enthroned by soldiers. Justin I made his nephew a co-ruler, and then Justinian became emperor.

Emperor Justinian tried to restore the Roman Empire to its former borders. In 534, under the blows of his troops, the Vandal-Alan kingdom in North Africa fell. Then the war began with the Ostrogothic kingdom. The inhabitants of the Apennines, experiencing oppression from the Goths, initially supported Justinian, and in 536 his troops captured Rome. However, the arbitrariness of the imperial soldiers, as well as the introduction of new taxes, caused discontent among the population. Ostrogoth Totila, elected king in 541, accepted slaves into his army and gave them freedom, took land from large Roman owners and distributed them to the Ostrogoth and Italic peasants. In 546 Totila conquered Rome, and by 551 he had liberated almost all of Italy. Perelom in the long war occurred when Justinian sent a fresh army to the Apennines, led by the talented commander Narses. In the decisive battle, the Ostrogoths were defeated, Totila died. By 555, Italy was conquered by Justinian.

Justinian also fought wars with the Visigoths in Spain, where he achieved great success. It seemed that dreams of rebuilding the Roman Empire were about to come true. However, the restoration of the previous order, heavy tax oppression caused general discontent. Justinian's conquests were fragile. Soon, almost all of Italy was captured by the tribes of the Lombards, who created their kingdom there.

In the first third of the 7th century. Arab troops attacked Byzantium. The fight against the Arabs went on with varying success. In the XI century. The Seljuk Turks conquered all of Asia Minor from Byzantium. It was there in the XIII century. a state of the Ottoman Turks was formed, which, after long and stubborn wars, ended the Byzantine Empire in 1453.

Slavization of the Balkans. From the middle of the VI century. Slavic tribes living in Central Europe east of the territory occupied by the Germans moved from raids on Byzantium to the settlement of the Balkan Peninsula. According to the Byzantine author, the Slavs "can in no way be enslaved or subjugated." Soon, all the Balkans, except for the extreme south, were inhabited by newcomers who mingled with the local population, which began to speak Slavic.

To the south of the lower reaches of the Danube, the Slavs formed in the 7th century. union of seven tribes. In the 60s. VII century these lands were invaded by the Turkic tribes of the Proto-Bulgarians, who had previously roamed the steppes of the Northern Black Sea region. The proto-Bulgarian Khan Asparukh (d. C. 701) defeated the Byzantine army, attracted the alliance of seven tribes to his side and founded an independent Slavic-Bulgarian state. The first Bulgarian kingdom existed from 681 to 1018. The Bulgarians dissolved among the Slavs, giving their name to one of the Slavic peoples.

The Slavs had a great influence on the development of Byzantium. During the settlement of the Balkans, they seized the land holdings of the magnates, in which they used the labor of slaves and dependent people. Everywhere a neighborhood community was established. The peasants became free, but were imposed by state taxes. The Slavs, especially the southern ones (Bulgarians, Serbs, Croats, etc.), in turn, experienced a huge Byzantine influence. In 864 the Bulgarian prince Boris was baptized by Byzantium.

Byzantine culture. Roman and Greek education was preserved in Byzantium, and up to the XII century. education was here at a higher level than anywhere else in Europe. In Byzantium, there were many schools of different levels.

The most famous architectural monument of Byzantium was the Hagia Sophia, erected in Constantinople under Justinian. The period from the 9th to the 12th century is considered the "Golden Age" in the history of Byzantine culture. At this time, the most beautiful temples were erected in Byzantium. Their walls and vaults were completely covered with mosaics and frescoes. Great skill was characteristic of the work of icon painters.

Byzantine culture had a significant impact on the culture of many countries and peoples. It was of particular importance for the cultural development of the Slavic countries, in particular, Ancient Russia.

3. Sino-Confucian civilization. China in the III - XIII centuries. After the collapse in the III century. The Han Empire in China was followed by a long period of unrest and internecine wars, accompanied by attacks by nomads. The unity of the country was restored only by 589 by the Sui dynasty. However, as a result of the peasant uprisings of 611 - 618. dynasty. Sui was overthrown. In 618, the Tang dynasty came to power, which again strengthened the central power.

The unification of China during the Tang era made it possible to expand its influence among its neighbors, to pacify many nomads. A number of transformations contributed to the strengthening of centralization. At the end of the 6th - beginning of the 7th century. the construction of the Great Canal between the Yellow and Yangtze rivers was carried out, the Great Wall of China was fortified. From the second half of the VIII century. the decline of the Tang Empire begins. The growth of the administrative apparatus increased costs, and the self-will of the nobility grew. In the IX century. peasant uprisings begin. In 874, they developed into a grandiose peasant war. In 881, the peasant army captured the capital. China was reunited in 960 under the Song Dynasty. But in the XII century. the northern territories of the country were seized by nomadic peoples who created their own states there (the Jin Empire, the Tangun kingdom).

Mongol conquests. The disintegration of China made it easier for the Mongols to conquer the country. Genghis Khan became the creator of the Mongol state. He managed to unite the Mongol tribes and create a powerful army, united by iron discipline and equipped with the best weapons for that time. With this army, Genghis Khan began his campaigns of conquest. In 1211 -1213 he managed to conquer the Jin empire and the Tangun kingdom. In 1219, the army of Genghis Khan attacked the powerful state of Khorezm, which occupied the territory of Central Asia and Iran. A year later, after fierce battles, all these lands were annexed to the Mongol Empire. The Mongols also conquered the tribes of southern Siberia. A vast power was formed, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to the Caspian Sea. After the death of the founder of the empire, the conquests were continued by his sons and grandchildren. According to the will of Genghis Khan, the conquered lands were divided into four parts, in which the descendants of his four sons began to rule (the Golden Horde, the Hulaguid state, the Chagatai ulus, the Yuan empire). They soon became independent states.

During the reign of Genghis Khan's descendants, the Song state was conquered (1279). The dynasty of the Mongol emperors of China was named Yuan. China was under the rule of the Mongol dynasty for over a century. The brutal oppression and plundering of the population by the conquerors more than once provoked uprisings. In 1368, as a result of a powerful popular movement, the power of the Mongols was overthrown. The peasant Zhu Yuanzhang was the leader of the uprising. He was proclaimed the Son of Heaven, the emperor. The rule of the Ming dynasty began (1368 -1644).

Ming dynasty. Having ascended the throne, Zhu Yuanzhang did a lot to strengthen the central power and economy of the country. The distribution of land to landless and land-poor peasants had a beneficial effect on the life of China. Taxes have been reduced. The craft has achieved great success. The main commodities in China's trade with other countries were fabrics and porcelain. The Chinese carefully kept many craft secrets. So, only two families owned the secret dressing of one of the varieties of silk, and for three hundred years they had been connected with each other by marriage, so that the secret did not go beyond the families.

China fought successfully against Vietnam. The Chinese fleet sailed to the countries of Southeast Asia, to India and even to the east coast of Africa. The gifts of foreign rulers were perceived as the arrival of barbarians with tribute. In response, they presented gifts to the arrivals. The value of these awards was to be as many times higher than the tribute, as the prestige of the emperor was valued above the prestige of the ruler who received the gifts.

Features of the development of Japan.In the IV century. a large part of Japan was united under the rule of one of the tribal unions. In 645, Prince Nakanooe came to power and carried out major transformations. Instead of a tribal union, a state was created in the image of the Chinese. The supreme body was the council under the ruler, which was conventionally called the emperor. The country was divided into provinces. The peasants received from the state for temporary use an allotment of land corresponding to the number of family members. In addition to paying the state with grain and handicrafts, it was necessary to perform various works. Cities arose that were built under the influence of China and Korea.

Samurai. Over time, the central government in Japan weakened. The provincial rulers strove for complete independence. In this they relied on the Japanese samurai knights.

Samurai are warriors who received land from the ruler of the region or another noble person for their service.

– secular feudal lords, ranging from large sovereign princes (daimyo) and ending with minor nobles; in a narrow and most frequently used sense - the military-feudal class of small nobles. Although the words "samurai" and "bushi" are very close in meaning, nevertheless, "bushi" (warrior) is a broader concept, and it does not always refer to a samurai. An analogy is often drawn between samurai and European medieval chivalry, but such a comparison is largely inaccurate.

The bulk of the samurai came from wealthy peasants. Another way was to provide land to domestic servants. The top of the samurai class was replenished also at the expense of the rulers of the provinces.

The life of a samurai was based on the Laws, Bushido (translated from Japanese - "The Way of the Warrior"). Faithfulness to the master, modesty, courage, and readiness for self-sacrifice were glorified as norms of behavior. The samurai, going on a campaign, took three vows: to forget your home, to forget about your wife and children, to forget about your own life. A persistent custom was the suicide of a samurai after the death of his master.

There were continuous wars between the samurai groups, which undermined the economy and the integrity of the country. In 1192, the leader of one of the groups appropriated the title of shogun (commander-in-chief) and became the de facto ruler of Japan, pushing the emperor out of power. The shogunate institute existed in Japan until the second half of the 19th century.

In the XIII century. the Japanese managed to repel the Mongols' attempt to seize their country. However, then a strife broke out, ending with the overthrow of the shogun from the Minamoto dynasty. After years of struggle, the Ashikaga shogunate was established in the country.

4. Summarizing. Frontal poll

- What is traditional society?

- What is the Great Nations Migration?

- Features of the West and the East in the heyday of the Middle Ages?(10 minutes)

5. Homework. Samygin P.S., p.30,33, 36,39,52, Artyomov V.V. pp. 71-74, 80-92.

Disagreements in the chronology of the era and the impossibility of applying the term "Middle Ages" to all states of the world confirm its conditional nature.

The term "middle ages" (ævum medium - Middle Ages) was first introduced by Italian (). Before Biondo, the dominant term for the period from the fall of the Western Roman Empire to was the introduced concept "", which in modern times means a narrower period of time (-).

In the narrow sense of the word, the term "Middle Ages" is used only in relation to the Western European Middle Ages. In this case, this term implies a number of specific features of religious, economic and political life: the system of land use (feudal landowners and semi-dependent peasants), the system (relations between feudal lords and), unconditional dominance in religious life, political power of the church (, church courts, existence - feudal lords), ideals and (a combination of spiritual practice of self-improvement and society), the flowering of medieval architecture -. In a broader sense, this term can be applied to any culture, but in this case it denotes either a predominantly chronological affiliation and does not indicate the presence of the above features of the Western European Middle Ages (for example, "medieval China"), or, conversely, indicates a historical period, having signs of the European Middle Ages (mainly feudalism), but not chronologically coinciding with the Middle Ages of Europe (for example, the Japanese Middle Ages).

The Middle Ages are conventionally divided into three main periods:

(end of V - middle of XI centuries).

Or the classical, Middle Ages (mid-11th - late 14th centuries).

Or early modern times (XIV-XVI centuries).

The exact description of the era was given by V.Ya.Bryusov:

The spirit of knowledge lived, hidden in a secret elixir,
Appearing healing muddy darkness of the ages.
Let life be a continuous struggle of enemies
Let the sword ring in battle and in the tournament, -
The alchemist was looking for a stone of wise men,
Mind thinned out in vampire talk
The theologian tried to get to know the creator, -
And the thought rocked the world weights.
Monk, judge, knight, minstrel, -
All dimly saw the holy purpose,
Although they did not go to her along the same road.
In the days of horror, fire, murder, alarm,
That goal shone like a star: it
In all ages she lived, hidden.

Theoretical part

Civilizations of the East in the Middle Ages

For many centuries, East and West were perceived as two complete opposites, as the personification of inertia and progress, stagnation and dynamics, despotism and freedom. Recently, historians are increasingly turning to the problem of the "lagging behind" and "stagnation" of the East, revising the well-established clichés that are firmly rooted in the minds. Indeed, how “backward” was the East? Was Europe always ahead of him in all areas?

The medieval East was for Europeans a symbol of wealth and refined luxury. The living standard there, up to the end of the 18th century, was significantly higher than in the West; cities outnumbered European cities in terms of their numbers. In London, Paris, Venice and Florence - the largest cities in the West - in the XIII century. lived about 100 thousand people, while in China already in the XI century. there were cities with a population of half a million to a million people, in the Arab East - up to 300-400 thousand. It is quite understandable that the tribesmen of the famous Venetian merchant Marco Polo (XIII century), who lived for many years in China, did not believe his stories about the magnificent huge cities, between which were straight, like arrows, paved roads lined with trees, about inns, where about four hundred horses were kept in full readiness, about grain barns, where grain was poured in order to distribute it among the population in years of poor harvest, about gigantic bazaars accommodating up to 50 thousand people. All this was so at odds with the then European reality that the traveler was known as a dreamer. In the large cities of the East, craft developed, reaching a very high level for the Middle Ages. Europe bought silk, porcelain, weapons, spices in the East, but for a long time it had little to offer in return. When an official mission from England arrived in China in 1793 with an offer of trade, the emperor proudly replied that his country did not need English products. And, in general, this was quite true. Meanwhile, the life of the medieval East was turbulent. Its political map, especially since the emergence of Islamic civilization, has been redrawn many times. Old empires collapsed, and new states arose in their place. Hordes of nomads destroyed ancient centers of culture, endangering the very existence of civilization. If Western Europe is already by the XII century. mainly freed from this danger, then in the East the struggle against nomads continued for a long time.

The history of all medieval civilizations has many features in common, but at the same time, it was in that era that their diversity was especially clearly defined. The East was by no means a single whole: a huge abyss separated nomadic tribes and sedentary cultures, the historical paths of ancient civilizations (Indian and Chinese) and younger ones that appeared by the 6th-7th centuries were different. n. NS. (Arabic and Japanese). Their unique originality was formed under the influence of many factors, among which the most important role was played by the religions of salvation and the systems of values developed by them, which influenced the statehood, official ideology, the outlook of people and their behavior, work ethics, etc.

India in the 7th - 18th centuries

Rajput period (VII-XII centuries)... In the IV-VI centuries. AD on the territory of modern India, a powerful Gupta empire was formed. The era of the Guptas, perceived as the golden age of India, was replaced in the 7th-12th centuries. a period of feudal fragmentation. At this stage, however, the isolation of the country's regions and the decline of culture did not occur due to the development of port trade. The tribes of the conquerors of the Huns-Hephthalites who came from Central Asia settled in the north-west of the country, and the Gujarats that appeared with them settled in Punjab, Sindh, Rajputan and Malwa. As a result of the merger of newcomers with the local population, a compact ethnic community of the Rajputs arose, which in the VIII century. began from Rajputana expansion into the rich regions of the Ganges Valley and Central India. The most famous was the Gurjara-Pratikhara clan, which formed a state in Malwa. Here the most striking type of feudal relations with a developed hierarchy and vassal psychology took shape.

In the VI-VII centuries. in India, a system of stable political centers is developing, fighting with each other under the banner of different dynasties - North India, Bengal, the Deccan and the Far South. Canvas of political events of the VIII-X centuries. the struggle for the Doab (between the Djamna and the Ganges) began. In the X century. the leading powers of the country fell into decay, divided into independent principalities. The political fragmentation of the country turned out to be especially tragic for Northern India, which suffered in the XI century. regular raids by the troops of Mahmud Ghaznavid (998-1030), the ruler of a vast empire that included the territories of the modern states of Central Asia, Iran, Afghanistan, as well as Punjab and Sindh.

The socio-economic development of India in the Rajput era was characterized by the growth of feudal possessions. The richest among the feudal lords, along with the rulers, were Hindu temples and monasteries. From the VIII century. more and more often they were given not only land, but also villages, the inhabitants of which were obliged to carry a duty in kind in favor of the recipient. However, at this time, the Indian community was still relatively independent, large in size and self-governing. The full-fledged commune member inherited his own field, although trade operations with land were certainly controlled by the communal administration.

At the stage of feudal fragmentation, Hinduism finally prevailed over Buddhism, defeating it by the power of its amorphousness, which corresponded perfectly to the political system of the era.

The era of the Muslim conquest of India. Delhi Sultanate(XIII - early XVI centuries) In the XIII century. in the north of India, a large Muslim state, the Delhi Sultanate, was established, the domination of Muslim military leaders from the Central Asian Turks was finally formed. Sunni Islam became the state religion, Persian became the official language. Accompanied by bloody strife, the dynasties of Gulyams, Khilji, Tughlakids were successively replaced in Delhi. The troops of the sultans made conquest campaigns in Central and South India, and the conquered rulers were forced to recognize themselves as vassals of Delhi and pay the Sultan an annual tribute.

A turning point in the history of the Delhi Sultanate was the invasion of Northern India in 1398 by the troops of the Central Asian ruler Timur (another name is Tamerlane, 1336-1405). The Sultan fled to Gujarat. An epidemic and famine began in the country. Abandoned by the conqueror as the governor of the Punjab, Khizr-khan Sayyid seized Delhi in 1441 and founded a new dynasty of Sayyids. Representatives of this and the Lodi dynasty that followed it ruled already as governors of the Timurids. One of the last Lodi, Ibrahim, seeking to exalt his power, entered into an irreconcilable struggle with the feudal nobility and Afghan military leaders. Ibrahim's opponents turned to the ruler of Kabul, Timurid Babur, with a request to save them from the tyranny of the Sultan. In 1526 Babur defeated Ibrahim at the Battle of Panipat, thus laying the foundation for the Mughal Empire , which existed for almost 200 years.

During the reign of the Delhi Sultanate, the penetration of Europeans into India began. In 1498, under the leadership of Vasco da Gama, the Portuguese first reached Calicata on the Malabar coast of western India. The Portuguese monopoly on sea trade undermined India's trade relations with the countries of the East, isolated the interior regions of the country and delayed their development. The wars and the destruction of the population of Malabar led to the same. Gujarat was also weakened. Only the Vijayanagar empire remained in the XIV-XVI centuries. powerful and even more centralized than the former states of the south. State lands were distributed in a conditional military award - amaram. A significant part of the villages were in the possession of brahmana collectives - sabhs. Large communities have disintegrated. Their holdings narrowed down to the lands of one village, and the community members increasingly began to turn into unequal tenants-sharecroppers. In the cities, the authorities began to give the collection of duties at the mercy of the feudal lords, thereby strengthening their undivided domination here.

India in the era of the Mughal Empire (XVI - XVIII centuries)

The final stage in the medieval history of India was the rise in its north at the beginning of the 16th century. new powerful Muslim Mughal Empire, which in the XVII century. managed to subjugate a significant part of South India. The founder of the state was Timurid Babur (1483-1530). The power of the Mughals in India strengthened during the half-century reign of Akbar (1452-1605), who moved the capital to the city of Agra on the Jamnah River, conquered Gujarat and Bengal, and with them access to the sea.

In the Mughal era, India entered the stage of developed feudal relations, the flowering of which went parallel to the strengthening of the central power of the state. The importance of the main financial department of the empire (divan), which was obliged to monitor the use of all suitable lands, increased. The share of the state was declared a third of the harvest. In the central regions of the country under Akbar, the peasants were transferred to a monetary tax, which forced them to be included in market relations in advance. All the conquered territories entered the state land fund (khalisa). From it, jagirs were distributed - conditional military awards, which continued to be considered state property. The Jagirdars usually owned several tens of thousands of hectares of land and were obliged to support military detachments - the backbone of the imperial army - with these incomes. Also in the state there was a private land property of feudal zamindars from among the conquered princes who paid tribute, and small private estates of Sufi sheikhs and Muslim theologians, inherited, and free from taxes - suyurgal or mulk.

During this period, handicrafts reached a high flourishing, especially the production of fabrics, which were valued throughout the East, and in the region of the southern seas, Indian textiles acted as a kind of universal equivalent of trade. The process of merging the upper merchant stratum with the ruling class begins. Money people could become jagirdars, and the latter - the owners of caravanserais and merchant ships. Merchant castes are formed, playing the role of companies. Surat, the country's main port in the 16th century, becomes a place where a stratum of comprador merchants (i.e. those associated with foreigners) emerged.

In the Mughal era, religious disputes become more active, on the basis of which wide popular movements are born, the religious policy of the state undergoes major turns. So, in the XV century. in Gujarat, among the Muslim cities of trade and craft circles, the Mahdist movement arose. In the XVI century. the ruler's fanatical adherence to orthodox Sunni Islam turned into lawlessness for the Hindus and the persecution of Shia Muslims. In the XVII century. the oppression of the Shiites, the destruction of all Hindu temples and the use of their stones for the construction of mosques by Aurangzeb (1618-1707) caused a popular uprising, an anti-Mogol movement.

China in the III - XVII centuries.

The era of fragmentation (III-VI centuries). With the fall of the Han Empire at the turn of the II-III centuries. In China, there is a change of eras: the ancient period of the country's history ends and the Middle Ages begins. The first stage of early feudalism went down in history as the time of the Three Kingdoms (220-280). Three states emerged on the territory of the country (Wei - in the north, Shu - in the central part and Wu - in the south), the power in which was close to a military dictatorship.

But already at the end of the III century. political stability in China is again being lost, and it becomes an easy prey for the nomadic tribes that poured in here, mainly settling in the north-western regions of the country. From that moment, for two and a half centuries, China was divided into northern and southern parts, which affected its subsequent development. The consolidation of centralized power takes place in the 20s of the 5th century. in the south after the founding of the Southern Song empire here and in the 30s of the 5th century. - in the north, where the Northern Wei empire is gaining strength, v which the desire to restore a unified Chinese statehood was expressed more strongly. In 581, a coup d'état took place in the north: the commander Yang Jian removed the emperor from power and changed the name of the state Sui. In 589, he subdued the southern state to his power and for the first time after a 400-year period of fragmentation restored the political unity of the country.

The period of political fragmentation was accompanied by a noticeable naturalization of economic life, the decline of cities and a reduction in money circulation. Grain and silk became the measure of value. The allotment system of land use (zhan tian) was introduced, which affected the type of organization of society and the way it was managed. Its essence consisted in securing for each worker, attributed to the class of personally free commoners, the right to receive a plot of land of a certain size and the establishment of fixed taxes on it.

All the unequal strata in the state were collectively called "vile people" (jianren) and opposed to the "good people" (liangmin). The growing role of the aristocracy was a striking manifestation of social shifts. Nobility was determined by belonging to the old clans. Gentility was consolidated in the lists of noble families, the first general register of which was compiled in the 3rd century.

Imperial period(end VI-XIII centuries) During this period, the imperial order was revived in China, the political unification of the country took place, the nature of the supreme power changed, the centralization of government increased, the role of the bureaucratic apparatus increased. During the reign of the Tang dynasty (618-907), the classical Chinese type of imperial government was formed. In the country there were rebellions of military governors, the peasant war of 874-883, a long struggle with the Tibetans, Uighurs and Tanguts in the north of the country, a military confrontation with the South Chinese state of Nanzhao. All this led to the agony of the Tang regime.

In the middle of the X century. from the chaos the state was born Later Zhou, which became the new nucleus of the political unification of the country. The reunification of the lands was completed in 960 by the founder of the Song Dynasty Zhao Kuanying with the capital Kaifeng. In the same century, the state of Liao appears on the political map of northeastern China. . In 1038, the Western Xia Tangut Empire was proclaimed on the northwestern borders of the Song Empire. From the middle of the XI century. between Song, Liao and Xia, an approximate balance of power is maintained, which at the beginning of the XII century. was violated with the emergence of a new rapidly growing state of the Jurchens (one of the branches of the Tungus tribes), which formed in Manchuria and proclaimed itself in 1115 as the Jin Empire. It soon conquered the state of Liao, captured the capital Song along with the emperor. However, the brother of the captured emperor managed to create the Southern Song empire with its capital in Lingan (Hangzhou), which extended its influence to the southern regions of the country.

Thus, on the eve of the Mongol invasion, China again found itself split into two parts, the northern one, including the Jin Empire, and the southern territory of the Southern Song Empire.

In the Tang and Song empires, administrative systems that were perfect for their time were formed, which were copied by other states. All military units of the country since 963 began to report directly to the emperor, and local military ranks were appointed from among the civil servants of the capital. This strengthened the power of the emperor. The bureaucratic apparatus has grown to 25 thousand. The highest government institution was the Department of Departments, which headed the six leading executive bodies of the country: Ranks, Taxes, Rituals, Military, Judicial and Public Works. Along with them, the Imperial Secretariat and the Imperial Chancellery were established. The power of the head of state, officially called the Son of Heaven and Emperor, was hereditary and legally unlimited.

The development of trade was facilitated by the introduction at the end of the 6th century. standards of measures and weights and the release of a copper coin of a specified weight. Trade tax revenue has become a tangible item of government revenue. The increase in the extraction of metals allowed the Song government to issue the largest amount of hard currency in the history of the Chinese Middle Ages. The intensification of foreign trade fell on the VII-VIII centuries. The center of maritime trade was the port of Guangzhou, which connected China with Korea, Japan and coastal India. Overland trade went along the Great Silk Road through the territory of Central Asia, along which caravanserais were arranged.

The "golden age" of bureaucracy was the time of the Song. The service pyramid consisted of 9 ranks and 30 degrees, and belonging to it opened the way to enrichment. The main channel of penetration into the environment of officials was state exams, which contributed to the expansion of the social base of service people. About 60% of the population were peasants who legally retained their rights to land, but in fact did not have the opportunity to freely dispose of it, leave it uncultivated or abandoned. From the IX century. there was a process of disappearance of the personally unequal estates (jianren): state serfs (guanhu), state artisans (gong) and musicians (yue), private and dependent landless workers (butsoi). A special stratum of society was made up of members of Buddhist and Taoist monasteries, numbering in the 20s of the XI century. 400 thousand people.

There were three religious doctrines in medieval China: Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. In the Tang era, the government encouraged Taoism: in 666, the sanctity of the author of the ancient Chinese treatise - the canonical work of Taoism Laozi (IV-III centuries BC) was officially recognized, in the first half of the VIII century. the Taoist Academy was established. At the same time, the persecution of Buddhism intensified and neo-Confucianism was established, which claimed to be the only ideology that substantiated the social hierarchy and correlated it with the concept of personal duty.

China v the era of Mongol rule. Yuan Empire (1271-1367) The Mongol conquest of China stretched out for almost 70 years. In 1215 it was taken. Beijing, and in 1280 China was completely at the mercy of the Mongols. With the accession to the throne of Kublai Khan (1215-1294), the Great Khan's headquarters was moved to Beijing. Along with it, Karakorum and Shandong were considered equal capitals. In 1271, all the possessions of the great khan were declared the Yuan Empire on the Chinese model.

The dominance of the Yuan Empire rested on the strength of the army. Each city contained a garrison of at least 1000 people, and in Beijing there was a Khan's guard of 12 thousand people. Tibet and Koryo (Korea) were in vassal dependence on the Yuan palace. Attempts to invade Japan, Burma, Vietnam and Java, undertaken in the 70s and 80s of the XIII century, did not bring success to the Mongols. For the first time, Yuan China was visited by merchants and missionaries from Europe, who left notes about their travels: Marco Polo (about 1254-1324), Arnold from Cologne and others.

Mongol rulers, interested in receiving income from the conquered lands, from the second half of the XII century. more and more began to adopt the traditional Chinese methods of exploiting the population. Initially, the taxation system was streamlined and centralized. Tax collection was removed from the hands of local authorities, a general population census was carried out, tax registers were compiled, the capitation and land grain taxes and the household tax levied on silk and silver were introduced.

The current laws determined the system of land relations, within the framework of which private land, state land, public land and specific allotments were allocated. A stable trend in agriculture since the beginning of the XIV century. there is an increase in private land holdings and an expansion of rental relations. The surplus of the enslaved population and prisoners of war made it possible to widely use their labor on state lands and on the lands of soldiers in military settlements. Along with slaves, state land was cultivated by state tenants. Temple land tenure was widespread as never before, replenished both through government donations and through purchases and direct seizure of fields. Such land was considered an eternal possession and was cultivated by brothers and tenants.

Minsk China (1368-1644). The peak of the Ming empire's power was in the first third of the 15th century, but by the end of the century negative phenomena began to grow. The entire second half of the dynastic cycle (16th - first half of the 17th centuries) was characterized by a protracted crisis, which by the end of the era acquired a general and comprehensive character.

The central foreign policy task of the Minsk state in the XIV-XV centuries. was the prevention of the possibility of a new Mongol attack. Not without military clashes. And although peace was concluded with Mongolia in 1488, the raids continued in the 16th century. From the invasion of the country by the troops of Tamerlane, which began in 1405, China was saved by the death of the conqueror. In the XV century. the southern direction of foreign policy is becoming more active. China is interfering in Vietnamese affairs and seizing a number of areas in Burma. From 1405 to 1433 seven grandiose expeditions of the Chinese fleet under the leadership of Zheng He (1371 - about 1434) are made to the countries of Southeast Asia, India, Arabia and Africa. These voyages were aimed at establishing trade and diplomatic relations with overseas countries, although all foreign trade was reduced to the exchange of tribute and gifts with foreign embassies, while the strictest prohibition was imposed on private foreign trade activities. The caravan trade also took on the character of ambassadorial missions.

Government policies on domestic trade have been inconsistent. Private trading activity was recognized as legal and profitable for the treasury, but public opinion considered it unworthy of respect and required systematic control by the authorities. The state itself pursued an active internal trade policy. The treasury forcibly bought goods at low prices and distributed the products of state-owned crafts, sold licenses for trading activities, maintained a system of monopoly goods, maintained the imperial shops and established state "trading settlements".

The economic specialization of the regions and the trend towards the expansion of state crafts and trades are indicated more clearly than in the previous era. Handicraft associations during this period gradually begin to acquire the character of guild organizations. Written statutes appear within them, and a wealthy stratum appears.

Since the XVI century. the penetration of Europeans into the country begins. As in India, the Portuguese were in the lead. Macau (Aomen) became their first possession on one of the southern Chinese islands. From the second half of the 17th century. the country is flooded with the Dutch and the British, who assisted the Manchus in conquering China.

In the Ming era, neo-Confucianism dominated religion. From the end of the XIV century. the desire of the authorities to place restrictions on Buddhism and Taoism is traced, which led to the expansion of religious sectarianism.

The turning point in the history of Ming China is associated with the powerful peasant uprising of 1628-1644. led by Li Zichen . In 1644, Li's troops occupied Beijing, and he himself declared himself emperor.

Japan in the III - XIX centuries.

Epoch of the Yamato kings. The birth of the state (III - mid VII). The core of the Japanese people was formed on the basis of the Yamato tribal federation (as Japan was called in ancient times) in the III-V centuries. At the stage of state formation, society consisted of consanguineous clans (uji) that existed independently on their land. A typical clan was represented by its head, priest, lower administration and ordinary free persons. Groups of semi-free (bemins) and slaves (yatsuko) adjoined it, without entering it. The first in the hierarchy was the royal clan (tenno). Its allocation in the III century. was a turning point in the country's political history. The tenno clan ruled with the help of advisers, district lords (agata-nushi) and regional governors (kunino miyatsuko), the same leaders of local clans, but already authorized by the king. The appointment to the post of ruler depended on the will of the most powerful clan in the royal environment, which also supplied the royal family with wives and concubines from among its members. 563 to 645 such a role was played by the Soga clan. This period of history was named the Asuka period after the residence of the kings in the Yamato province.

Socio-economic system of the III-VII centuries. enters the stage of decomposition of patriarchal relations. The communal arable land that was at the disposal of rural households is gradually beginning to fall under the control of powerful clans, vying with each other for initial resources; land and people.

In 552, Buddhism came to Japan, which influenced the unification of religious and moral-aesthetic ideas.

Fujiwara era (645-1192). The historical period following the era of the Yamato kings covers the time, the beginning of which falls on the "Taika coup" in 645, and the end - in 1192, when military rulers with the title of shogun stood at the head of the country.. Shogun is the title of the military feudal rulers of Japan in 1192-1867, under which the imperial dynasty was deprived of real power.

The country was divided into provinces and counties, headed by governors and county chiefs. An eight-degree system of family titles with the emperor at the head and a 48-rank ladder of court ranks were established. Since 690, population censuses and land redistributions have been carried out every six years. A centralized system of manning the army was introduced, weapons were confiscated from private individuals. In 694, the first capital city of Fujiwarakyo was built, a permanent place of the imperial headquarters (before that, the headquarters were easily transferred).

Completion of the design of the medieval Japanese centralized state in the VIII century. was associated with the growth of large cities. In one century, the capital was transferred three times: in 710 to Haijokyo (Nara), in 784 in Nagaoka and in 794 in Heiankyo (Kyoto). Since the capitals were administrative, not trade and craft centers, after the next transfer they came to desolation. The population of provincial and county towns did not exceed, as a rule, 1000 people.

Foreign policy problems in the VIII century. recede into the background. The consciousness of the danger of an invasion from the mainland is dying out. In 792, general military service was abolished and the coast guard was eliminated. Embassies to China are becoming rare, and trade is beginning to play an increasingly important role in relations with the Korean states. By the middle of the IX century. Japan is finally moving to a policy of isolation, leaving the country is prohibited, and the reception of embassies and ships is stopped.

From the second half of the 9th century. representatives of the Fujiwara clan actually begin to rule the country - from 858 as regents under juvenile emperors, and from 888 - as chancellors under adults. The period from the middle of the 9th to the first half of the 11th century. is called "the time of the reign of regents and chancellors." It flourished in the second half of the 10th century. with representatives of the House of Fujiwara, Mitinaga and Yorimichi.

At the end of the IX century. the so-called "state and legal system" (ritsuryo) is formed. The new supreme state bodies were the personal office of the emperor and the police department, directly subordinate to the emperor. The broad powers of governors allowed them to strengthen their power in the province so much that they could oppose it to the imperial.

The population of the country, mainly engaged in agriculture, numbered in the 7th century. about 6 million people, in the XII century. - 10 million. It was divided into full-fledged (remin) and unequal (semmin) taxpayers. In the VI-VIII centuries. the allotment system of land use prevailed. Officials received allotments for the term of office. Only a few influential administrators could use the allotment for life, sometimes with the right to inherit it for one to three generations.

A feature of the country's socio-economic development in the IX-XII centuries. there was the destruction and complete disappearance of the allotment system of management. The patrimonial estates, which had the status of "granted" to private individuals (shoen) by the state, come to replace them. Representatives of the highest aristocracy, monasteries, noble houses that dominated the counties, the hereditary possessions of peasant families applied to state bodies for recognition of the newly acquired possessions as shoen.

To settle the interests of opposing feudal groups in the country, a single estate order is created, for which a new term "imperial state" (ede kokka) is introduced, replacing the previous regime - "rule of law" (ritsuryo kokka).

Another characteristic social phenomenon of the developed Middle Ages was the emergence of the military class. Having grown from the detachments of vigilantes used by the owners of shoen in internecine struggle, professional warriors began to turn into a closed class of samurai warriors (bushi). In the samurai environment, a code of military ethics arose, based on the main idea of personal loyalty to the master, up to the unconditional readiness to give his life for him, and in case of dishonor to commit suicide according to a certain ritual.

In the VIII century. Buddhism becomes the state religion, which quickly spread among the top of society, which has not yet found popularity among the common people, but is supported by the state.

Japan during the era of the first Minamoto shogunate (1192-1335) In 1192, a sharp turn in the historical fate of the country took place, the supreme ruler of Japan with the title of shogun was Minamoto Erimoto, the head of an influential aristocratic house in the north-east of the country. The headquarters of his government (bakufu) became the city of Kamakura. The Minamoto shogunate lasted until 1335. This was the heyday of the cities, crafts and trade in Japan. As a rule, cities grew around monasteries and the headquarters of large aristocrats. The flourishing of port cities was initially promoted by Japanese pirates. Later, regular trade with China, Korea and the countries of Southeast Asia began to play a role in their prosperity.

With the coming to power of the shogun, the agrarian system of the country has qualitatively changed. Small samurai became the leading form of land tenure, although large fiefdoms of influential houses, the emperor and the all-powerful Minamoto vassals continued to exist.

From the successors of the first shogun, power was seized by the house of the relatives of the Hojo, called Shikken (rulers), under which a semblance of an advisory body from the highest vassals appeared. Being the mainstay of the regime, the vassals carried hereditary security and military services, were appointed to the post of administrators (jito) in the estates and state lands, by the military governors in the provinces. The power of the military government of the bakufu was limited only to military-police functions and did not cover the entire territory of the country.

Under the shoguns and rulers, the imperial court and the Kyoto government were not liquidated, for the military power could not rule the country without the authority of the emperor.

Second Ashikaga Shogunate (1335-1573) The second shogunate in Japan arose during the long strife of the princes of noble houses. For two and a half centuries, periods of civil strife and the strengthening of centralized power in the country have alternated. However, the period of centralized power of the shoguns was short-lived. After the assassination of the shogun Ashikaga Yoshinori in 1441, an internecine struggle developed in the country, which grew into a feudal war of 1467-1477, the consequences of which affected a whole century. The country is entering a period of complete feudal fragmentation.

During the years of the shogunate, there was a transition from small and medium feudal land ownership to large. The system of fiefdoms (shoen) and state lands (koryo) is declining due to the development of trade and economic ties, which destroyed the closed borders of feudal possessions. The formation of compact territorial possessions of large feudal lords - principalities - began. This process at the provincial level also proceeded along the line of the increase in the holdings of military governors (shugo ryokoku).

In the Ashikaga era, the process of separating handicrafts from agriculture deepened. The development of the craft contributed to the growth of trade. Specialized trading guilds emerged, separated from craft workshops. On the transportation of the products of tax revenues, a stratum of Toimaru merchants grew, which gradually turned into a class of intermediary merchants who transported a variety of goods and engaged in usury. The centers of the country remained the capitals of Kyoto, Nara and Kamakura.

Until the middle of the 15th century. the monopoly of trade with China was in the hands of the Ashikaga shoguns, and then began to go under the auspices of large merchants and feudal lords. From China, they usually brought silk, brocade, perfumery, sandalwood, porcelain and copper coins, and sent gold, sulfur, fans, screens, lacquered dishes, swords and wood. Trade was also conducted with Korea and the countries of the South Seas, as well as with Ryukyu, where a unified state was created in 1429.

The social structure in the Ashikaga era remained traditional: the ruling class consisted of the court aristocracy, military nobility and the top of the clergy, the common people - of peasants, artisans and merchants. Until the XVI century. clearly established classes-estates of feudal lords and peasants.

Unification of the country. Shogunat Tokugaeva. Political fragmentation has put the task of uniting the country on the agenda. This mission was carried out by three prominent political figures of the country: Oda Nobunaga (1534-1582), Toyotomi Hijoshi (1536-1598) and Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616).

One of the first reforms of the Tokugawa house was aimed at limiting the omnipotence of daimyo, of which there were about 200. For this purpose, the daimyos hostile to the ruling house were geographically dispersed. Crafts and trade in the cities under the jurisdiction of such tozama were transferred to the subordination of the center along with the cities. The Tokugawa agrarian reform once again secured the peasants for their lands. Under him, the estates were strictly demarcated: samurai, peasants, artisans and merchants. Tokugawa began to pursue a policy of controlled contacts with Europeans, singling out the Dutch among them and closing ports to everyone else and, above all, missionaries of the Catholic Church. The European science and culture that came through the Dutch merchants in Japan received the name of Dutch science (rangakusha) and had a great influence on the process of improving the economic structure of Japan.

The crisis of the third shogunate became evident in the 1930s. XIX century. The weakening of the power of the shoguns was used primarily by the tozama of the southern regions of the country, Choshu and Satsuma, who grew rich due to the smuggling of arms and the development of their own, including the military industry. Another blow to the authority of the central government was struck by the forcible "opening of Japan" by the United States and European countries in the middle of the 19th century. The emperor became the national-patriotic symbol of the anti-foreign and anti-Shogun movement, and the imperial palace in Kyoto became the center of attraction for all the country's rebellious forces. After a short resistance in the fall of 1866, the shogunate fell, and power in the country was transferred to the 16-year-old Emperor Mitsuhito (Meiji) (1852-1912). Japan has entered a new era in history.

Arab Caliphate in the 5th - 11th centuries

In the VI century .. in Arabia, due to the movement of trade routes to Iran, the importance of trade decreases. The population, having lost income from the caravan trade, was forced to look for sources of livelihood in agriculture. But there were few land suitable for agriculture. They had to be conquered. For this, forces were needed and, consequently, the unification of fragmented tribes, who, moreover, worshiped different gods. The need for the introduction of monotheism and the rallying on this basis of the Arab tribes was increasingly determined.

This idea was preached by adherents of the Hanif sect, one of whom was Muhammad (c. 570-632 or 633), who became the founder of a new religion for the Arabs - Islam. This religion is based on the dogmas of Judaism and Christianity: belief in one God and his prophet, the last judgment, the afterlife, unconditional obedience to the will of God. At the first stage of development, the new religious worldview of Islam was not supported by the majority of Muhammad's fellow tribesmen, and primarily by the nobility, as they feared that the new religion would lead to the cessation of the Kaaba cult as a religious center, and thereby deprive them of income. In 622, Muhammad and his followers had to flee from persecution from Mecca to the city of Yathrib (Medina). This year is considered the beginning of the Muslim chronology.

The economic crisis of Western Arabia in the 7th century, caused by the displacement of trade routes, the lack of suitable agricultural land, and a high population growth, pushed the leaders of the Arab tribes to seek a way out of the crisis by seizing foreign lands. Guided by this specific task and the ideology of Islam, the successors of Muhammad, the caliphs, began a series of campaigns of conquest. They conquered Palestine, Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia. Already in 638 they captured Jerusalem. Until the end of the VII century. under the rule of the Arabs were the countries of the Middle East, Persia, the Caucasus, Egypt and Tunisia. In the VIII century. Central Asia, Afghanistan, Western India, Northwest Africa were captured. In 711, the Arab troops under the leadership of Tariq sailed from Africa to the Iberian Peninsula (from the name of Tariq, the name Gibraltar was derived - Mount Tariq). Having quickly conquered the Iberian lands, they rushed to Gaul. However, in 732, at the Battle of Poitiers, they were defeated by the Frankish king Charles Martell. By the middle of the IX century. the Arabs captured Sicily, Sardinia, the southern regions of Italy, the island of Crete. This stopped the Arab conquests, but a long-term war with the Byzantine Empire was fought. The Arabs twice besieged Constantinople.

The main Arab conquests were made under the caliphs Abu Bakr (632-634), Omar (634-644), Uthman (644-656) and the Umayyad caliphs (661-750). Under the Umayyads, the capital of the Caliphate was moved to Syria to the city of Damascus.

The victories of the Arabs, their seizure of vast territories were facilitated by the many years of mutually exhausting war between Byzantium and Persia, disunity and constant enmity between other states that were attacked by the Arabs. It should also be noted that the population of the countries occupied by the Arabs, suffering from the oppression of Byzantium and Persia, saw the Arabs as liberators who reduced the tax burden primarily to those who converted to Islam.

In 750, the Umayyad dynasty in the eastern part of the caliphate was overthrown. The Abbasids, the descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, Abbas, became the caliphs. They moved the capital of the state to Baghdad.

In the western part of the caliphate, in Spain, the Umayyads continued to rule, who did not recognize the Abbasids and founded the Cordoba Caliphate with the capital in the city of Cordoba.

The division of the Arab Caliphate into two parts was the beginning of the creation of smaller Arab states, the heads of which were the rulers of the provinces - the emirs.

The Abbasid Caliphate waged constant wars with Byzantium. In 1258, after the Mongols defeated the Arab army and captured Baghdad, the Abbasid state ceased to exist.

The Spanish Umayyad caliphate also gradually narrowed. In the XI century. As a result of internecine strife, the Cordoba Caliphate fell apart into a number of states. The Christian states that emerged in the northern part of Spain took advantage of this: the Leono-Castile, Aragonese, Portuguese kingdoms, which began a struggle with the Arabs for the liberation of the peninsula - the reconquista. In 1085 they conquered the city of Toledo, in 1147 - Lisbon, in 1236 Cordoba fell. The last Arab state on the Iberian Peninsula, the Emirate of Granada, existed until 1492. With its fall, the history of the Arab Caliphate as a state ended.

The Caliphate as an institution for the spiritual leadership of the Arabs by all Muslims continued to exist until 1517, when this function was transferred to the Turkish Sultan, who seized Egypt, where the last Caliphate lived, the spiritual head of all Muslims.

Daily life and life of Europeans in the middle

century.

Everyday life is closely connected with the world around a person and the events taking place in it; in many ways, everyday life is a reflection and sometimes even a reaction to these events.

The most vividly medieval architecture manifested itself in monumental construction, in the form of cathedrals, churches and castles. The first castles were more or less extensive earthen trenches, surrounded by a moat and crowned with a wooden palisade. For the convenience of the inhabitants, something like a wooden platform, a descent on props was arranged; in case of need, he easily understood, thanks to which the enemy, who wanted to penetrate the dwelling itself, met a serious obstacle. After passing the danger, the disassembled parts were just as easily brought back to their previous state. It was very important for the castle to have an adequate supply of water in case of a siege. Therefore, they tried to build the central tower - donjon - on the site of the spring, often it was located at a distance from the rest of the buildings of the castle. The residential building of the castle - the palace - was located on the upper floors, the second or even the third. The lighting in the castle as a whole was rather scarce, paraffin candles, of course, did not exist yet, therefore, candles made from lamb fat or fat obtained from cow kidneys were mainly used. Wax candles were expensive and were used only if the owner of the castle had his own apiary. The wick of wax candles was made of reed; special scissors were used to remove carbon deposits. Then chandeliers began to appear, at first they were quite simple, but later they began to be made of deer antlers and decorated with various figures. In the early Middle Ages, the floors in the castles were covered with thatch or even earthen. However, in the future, the feudal lords, paying more and more attention to convenience and comfort, began to prefer floors lined with multi-colored slabs. Often these slabs were just two contrasting colors, staggered. Above the hall there was usually a bedroom of the owner and his family members, and a servant was located under the roof. The upper floor of the residential tower was accessed by a spiral staircase. The walls were covered with carpets or tapestries to keep out the cold. The carpets were also on the floor. Initially, they were brought to Europe by participants in the Crusades. Subsequently, after the tapestry production technique was discovered in Spain, carpets began to be widely used in interiors. In the bedrooms of wealthy homeowners, merchants and aristocrats, in addition to a bed, there was often a small cabinet with drawers, like a modern chest of drawers. Drawers were decorated with carvings and served to store jewelry. Another luxury item is a mirror. The mirrors were small in size, most often round and convex. They were inserted either in a decorated frame or in a regular wooden frame without decorations.

Typical town houses had two floors. Often the houses were rectangular in plan, the entrance to the house, located on the narrow side, was protected by a roof canopy resting on pillars. The main building material was wood. In general terms, the house inside looked something like this: on the ground floor there was a storage room, a place for a hearth, a kitchen, and sometimes a restroom. On the top floor there was a staircase and a staircase leading to it, often there were bedrooms.

The houses had several floors; to save space, protruding upper floors were arranged. This way of building made the streets very narrow. The most typical street is 7 - 8 meters wide (this is, for example, the width of an important highway that led to Notre Dame Cathedral). Small streets and lanes were much narrower - no more than two meters, and in many ancient cities there were streets one meter wide. One of the streets of ancient Brussels was called "One Man's Street", which indicates that two people could not disperse there. There were three elements of street traffic: pedestrians, animals, and carts. City officials tried to prevent excessive narrowing of streets. There is also known a method for determining the proper width of a city street. From time to time, a horseman rode through the streets of the city, holding a stick or spear of a certain size in a transverse position. In cases where a spear or stick determined the illegality of any structure, the latter was condemned to be scrapped, and the perpetrators of the narrowing of the street were fined.

The streets were very dirty. Here are some quotes from various historians: “The streets were terrible for their filth. And even now the pavement appeared only here and there, only in front of the houses of noble and wealthy citizens. Fortunately for us, the weather has been dry for several weeks. But if you came here in a rainy season, you would give up and leave without looking around the city. "

You can read about this in Skazkin: “The inhabitants of the houses threw out all the contents of the buckets and tubs right on the street, on the mountain to a gaping passer-by. The stagnant slops formed stinking puddles, and the restless city pigs, of which there were a great many, complemented the picture. " "The French king Philip II Augustus, accustomed to the smell of his capital, fainted in 1185 when he stood at the palace, and carts passing by him blew up street sewage ..." (Lev Gumilyov). From the above quotes, we can conclude that monstrous unsanitary conditions reigned in the cities of medieval Europe. Note that this fact had not the last impact on the instant spread of plague and other epidemics that sometimes destroyed the population of almost entire cities. In addition, we recall that the attitude to personal hygiene was specific, namely, washing was considered a sin and a serious offense unworthy of a true Christian. Queen of Spain Isabella of Castile admitted that she had washed only twice in her entire life - at birth and on her wedding day. The daughter of one of the French kings died of lice. Pope Clement V dies of dysentery, and Pope Clement VII dies painfully from scabies, like King Philip II. In addition, medieval cities were literally flooded with rats, which are known to carry dangerous diseases. Cats were practically exterminated for the same religious reasons, as they were considered servants of the devil.

Houses in the medieval city did not have numbers and were designated with the help of various images as something like a bear, a wolf, a sword, a hare. The house and its owner shared the same nickname.

There was a town hall in the center of the city. At critical moments, a bell rang from the tower of the town hall, announcing a fire, summoning a militia or reminding about the time to extinguish candles in the houses of residents. The town hall, as a rule, was located in the square. From the center of the city, four main streets diverged in shape, which led to the city gates. The main streets were intersected by secondary ones, on each of them townspeople settled, engaged in the same occupation.

The costume has always been and remains in the sphere of influence of the artistic style of the era, which in turn is formed as a result of various historical processes. In the Middle Ages, wool and linen were mainly used for clothing. Silk was very expensive and only very rich people could afford it. It was appreciated for its convenience and beauty, but still more for the fact that lice did not grow in silk clothes. Linen was used primarily for underwear, but was less prized than wool, since dyeing flax was a time consuming and complex process.

If we trace the evolution of medieval clothing from primitive forms to more complex ones, the following stages can be distinguished.

XII - first half of the XIV century Clothes for men and women are long and tight-fitting. The fit is achieved with the help of a cut: 3 seams are designed in the clothes - the side and middle seams of the back. Clothes are mostly overhead, only draped raincoats;

Second half of the 14th - first quarter of the 15th century. (Gothic period). The emergence of short menswear and the further enrichment of long womenswear forms. Wide distribution of various types of swing clothing.

Second quarter of the 15th century - the period of exquisite forms of Franco-Burgundian fashion, which were expressed primarily in the socio-class isolation of the feudal lord's costume: elongated clothes dragging along the ground, tight-fitting forms that hinder movement, hanging sleeves, long toes of shoes, grandiose headdresses, S-shaped curvature silhouette, the so-called "gothic curve".

According to the descriptions of the poets of the XI-XII centuries. a woman should have long golden curly hair, green or blue eyes, cheerful and smiling, lips like a fresh peach. Her beauty, kindness, loyalty are glorified at knightly tournaments. The motives of the rose - a flower symbolizing tenderness, fragility, grace, are widely spread in art and in everyday life. Roses decorate the dining table, rose petals float in bowls of wine, boys and girls wear wreaths of roses. It was in the cruel and gloomy era of the Middle Ages that the cult of the "beautiful lady" emerged, which had a tremendous influence on the attitude towards women of all subsequent generations. This period is characterized by the ideal of purity and holiness. Angelic appearance, or the appearance of the Virgin Mary, was in vogue. No curvy shapes, no makeup, no open body. To make the skin pale, women rubbed themselves with lemon juice or whitewash, which included mercury and lead, or did bloodletting. Women plucked their eyebrows and shaved their foreheads, and to make their necks appear longer, they shaved the backs of their heads.

The ideal of male beauty is a courageous knight with a beautifully developed body. Physical strength combined with good manners are the main features of male beauty.

Then the standard of beauty changed somewhat, and already in the late Middle Ages, the so-called S-shaped figure became a characteristic feature of the female appearance. It is a flexible, slender body, a long neck, a head with a high forehead, slightly tilted forward, and a slightly bent back in the lumbar region. To visually lengthen the neck and make the forehead taller, they also continued to shave off their hair. The remaining hair was hidden under headdresses of the most sophisticated shapes and sizes. A pale face without makeup, plucked eyebrows and eyelashes remain fashionable. The woman looked like a fragile, crooked, stunted plant.

As for the male type, he is undergoing significant changes. The ideal of male beauty is no longer a courageous knight with a stern face and strong body, but a pampered, sophisticated, somewhat feminine dandy with long curls, in clothes reminiscent of women, with an abundance of details, including teeth, scallops, bells.

Women's headdresses were very bizarre and pretentious. These are horned caps, high cone-shaped caps of genins, "sugarloaf", annenas. Headdresses were made of brocade and velvet on a frame and supplemented with a veil. The church considered them a caricature of Gothic cathedrals and repeatedly subjected them to curses and public burning.

The shoes were varied and had a beak-like toe. These are pullena ankle boots, horse riding husso, galoshes, low-heeled shoes and much more. The shoes of noble people were of gilded and purple leather.

Massive wide gold chains, rings, and various clasps were mainly used as jewelry.

Chivalry in the Middle Ages.

Chivalry, a social category in the countries of Western and Central Europe in the Middle Ages, which included all secular feudal lords. The first mentions of chivalry date back to the end of the 11th century. At this time, knighthood meant the category of military servants who were vassals.

The word "knight" is usually translated into the learned language as "warrior". The "warrior", as a rule, took care of his fields himself and lived by his own labor. However, if necessary, he could find himself a temporary replacement and completely surrender to the joys of military exploits. The class of "warriors" was not of a closed nature, since stay in it depended mainly on the availability of funds, in other words, on the amount of accumulated wealth. The rich, the free, could enter this class. Those who became poorer were forced to leave him

Naturally, the social status of the "soldiers" was different depending on the region of the country. It increased in proportion to the growth of dangers and disturbances that threatened the well-being of society. The need to have a strong army became vital. Towards Normandy, where the system of castellanism (a fortified settlement) did not receive authority and where the authority of the count still retained all its strength, the "warriors" for a long time stood aside from public life. Judging by the documents, the social position of the "warrior" did not enjoy special prestige. It is very difficult to establish who belonged to this category, since below the category of the "best" the social position of the free was not differentiated. Only in the second quarter of the 11th century did an army appear, which was directly under the command of the count himself.

In some areas, from which the present Belgium later developed, a kind of "holders" appeared; it was customary to call them "mounted warriors". They were different from the common warrior. It was about subordinates who were used as couriers and members of the export. In the form of a benefit, they received "holdings". In the Acts of the Abbots of St. Bertina ”about“ warriors ”and“ mounted warriors ”is spoken of in such a way that it can be assumed that there is a similarity between these categories. Some historians believe that ministerials could later be recruited from among these "mounted warriors", since their ability to handle horses and weapons played the main role here. They could eventually make up the guard of the seigneur's mounted warriors. In the description of the possessions of Prüm Abbey for 893, there are references to the so-called "scararias", which, apparently, are the successors of the Carolingian "mounted warriors". Until the XII-XII centuries, they remained under the name "scararia, scaramanni, ministerial".

In Germany, especially in some of its regions, social structures remained faithful to Germanic traditions. The split into "warriors" and "villagers" did not occur here. In the same way, there was no tendency to develop vassalage here (unlike in France). Allod is not widespread here. Of course, there were "vassals" here as well, since they lived on the "holdings" entrusted to them. The baccalum, or gaustalds, lived in the lord's house as a retinue. Thus, the free lived the same life as the unfree - the seigneur's armed bodyguards. It was in this environment that a new type of person was created, overcoming the ancient political and legal barriers. It has been suggested that there is a connecting link between the German ministers of the Carolingian and feudal eras - "horse warriors", a certain group of ministers who served as horse messengers.

At the beginning of the 11th century in Christian Spain, just as it was to some extent throughout the continental West, the term "warrior" lost its original meaning and began to be used in the sense of "horse warrior", "cavalryman", "knight". In Spain, as well as in other western countries, the infantry still retained its importance. However, only a warrior riding a horse was now considered a true warrior.

The social position of these mounted warriors was not the same. So, for example, there were cavalry in private detachments, there were horse warriors among the bodyguards, all this is the result of the development of the Gothic committee. It can be argued with confidence that since the 11th century, and most likely even earlier, the "palace guard" of the Asturian-Scoleon kings had cavalry in their composition. Along with these professional warriors, who acquired both dignity and material wealth in the private service, one should mention the "infansons", that is, apparently, the successor of the Gothic nobility, who, even before the Islamic invasion, had special privileges and a legal status that distinguished them from the bulk of the population. The Infancons received benefits from the kings of Leon and the counts of Castile, or became their vassals. They invariably retained their military functions (for this reason, however, already during the Gothic monarchy, the noble Goths were freed from corporal punishment and from enslavement).

The process of stratification in the British Isles developed more slowly. Among the Anglo-Saxons, at the end of the 9th century, military service begins to undergo differentiation. Those liable for military service are those one hundred who own the land. It is generally accepted that in order to enter military service, it was necessary to own at least five guides of the earth. The Anglo-Saxon was content with a horse, helmet, chain mail and sword.

It can be concluded that by the end of the 10th and the beginning of the 11th centuries the knightly "class" was finally formed. His appearance is extremely varied and changeable.

The knight's defensive armament served him for defense and for defense against enemy attacks. To this kind of weapon belonged: helmet, or helmet; shishak; gobisson; carapace, or armor; half-jacket; legguards; amice, or shoulder pads, and knee pads; shield. The following items belonged to offensive weapons: a spear, a sword, a dagger, a berdysh, or a halberd, a club, or a mace, a muskel or a war hammer and a crooked knife.

The helmet was quite deep, made of iron or steel and tapered upward, had a set, to which the visor was attached when it was lowered, and below a kind of iron breastplate; the bib was detached from the helmet and attached to it with a metal collar. The visor was a fine lattice; it descended only during the battle, and at other times moved under the visor. On a helmet, or on a helmet, the knights put on a crest; crowned persons wore a crest in the form of a crown, and knights wore various other adornments.

The knight's horse was also protected from enemy blows. Her head was carefully covered with either a metal or leather headpiece; the chest was covered with iron plates, and the sides were covered with leather.

This was the equipment of the knights. True, it was very difficult, and one had to possess great physical strength so that, as knights often had to, not take off such weapons for whole days and endure all the difficulties and hardships of the path and battle in it.

The knights have a special code of honor. He was obligatory for all persons of noble birth who call themselves knights. In the event of a violation of the Code by a knight, his fate will be entrusted to the overlord, whose vassal he is; if he evades the will of the overlord, this person is deprived of the noble knightly title and all privileges. Each knight must, at the cost of his life, protect the life of his overlord. Every knight must keep the word given to him, for only cowardice is a shame for a knight more than perjury. Every knight must have a certificate confirming his noble birth. The knight's clothing must have his coat of arms. The knight should by all means avoid lying and deceit. Each knight must take part in tournaments. The knight does not dare to harm an unarmed man. A knight does not dare to harm a person armed with unequal weapons, except on the battlefield. The knight should be merciful and meek and not refuse those who ask for help. The knight must be ruthless to the enemies of the Church and the overlord. A knight should be gallant in dealing with noble ladies. If a dispute arose between the knights, or one of them by word or deed insulted the other, then the knight may demand an honest duel or renunciation of his words and repentance in his actions. There is nothing more disgusting for a Knight than betrayal. A knight cannot strike a defeated enemy, as well as an enemy begging for mercy. A knight taken prisoner in a fair fight must pay the agreed ransom or return on a promise on the designated day and hour to prison, otherwise he will be declared dishonorable and treacherous. The knight must mercilessly punish any insult to the honor of his overlord, the honor of the lady, and his own honor.

Practical part

Determine which countries the specified events, names, characteristics belong to.

Enter the desired numbers on the appropriate country line:

England___________________

Byzantium_________________

Spain__________________

Italy___________________

Holy Roman Empire ________________

France__________________

1) Philip IV the Handsome;

Fill in the table "Crafts workshop and manufactory":

Comparison questions

III. Establish which civilizations we are talking about:

a) The achievements of science were great. “The most important adornment of a person is knowledge,” said the scientists. They created algebra, began to use Indian numbers, introduced them to Europe.

b) This game was brought to Western Europe by the Arabs during the campaigns of conquest. Along with equestrian competitions, archery and fencing, it becomes one of the favorite activities of chivalry, and its symbolism appears even in the coats of arms of eminent families. This game was violently attacked in the XIII-XIV centuries. in France, where priests were forbidden even to have it in their home. Moreover, under the influence of the higher clergy, the French king Louis Saint in 1254. generally imposed a ban on it in his country. What kind of game is it? Where did she come from?

c) The bulk of the population was divided into "kind" and "vile" people. Most of the peasants, artisans, merchants - all those who paid taxes to the state belonged to the "good". Those who did not pay them - servants, slaves - belonged to the "vile" people.

d) From the VIII century. the collection of poems "Myriad of petals" has reached us. It contains four and a half thousand verses. Most of them are written in the form of a tank. Such a poem must have 5 lines and 31 syllables. Poets described the beauty of nature and their feelings.

IV. Correlate concept and meaning.

a) Workers

V. Fill in the table "Types of dependence of medieval peasants."

Types of addiction

Crosswords

Horizontally:

1. The name of the legendary king of England, the hero of chivalric romances. (Arthur.)

2. The leader of the uprising in Azerbaijan, directed against the domination of the Arabs. (Babek.)

3. Spiritual person. (Bishop.)

4. The name of the religion of the Arabs. (Islam.)

5. The holy city of Muslims. (Mecca.) Vertical:

1. What was the name of a person who opposed the teachings of the Catholic Church in the Middle Ages? (Heretic.)

2. City in Palestine. (Jerusalem.)

3. Representative of the ruling class in the Middle Ages. (Feudal lord.)

4. Capital of the Arab Caliphate. (Damascus.)

5. The name of one of the Germanic tribes. (Franks.)

Horizontally:

1. The order of the disposition of lands in the feudal estate. (Striped.)

Vertically:

1. Weapons that were used in antiquity and in the Middle Ages. (Sword.)

2. The name of the most powerful ruler of the Frankish Empire. (Charles.)

3. The people against whom Charlemagne waged numerous wars. (Saxons.)

4. Large owner of land in the Middle Ages. (Senor.)

5. Home of a major feudal lord in the Middle Ages. (Lock.)

6. The river on the banks of which the Franks originally lived. (Raine.)

7. River, on the banks of which one of the tribes of the Eastern Slavs settled. (Oka.)

Horizontally:

1. An ordinary member of the monastery community. (Monk.)

4. Small-scale production in a medieval town based on manual labor. (Craft.)

5. Pseudoscience about the combination of various substances in order to obtain gold. (Alchemy.)

8. Fortified place, settlement of artisans and merchants. (Town.)

Vertically:

1. Paintings made of colored stones or pieces of glass. (Mosaic.)

2. A portion of the communal land owned by a single family. (Allotment.)

3. The state of the Arabs. (Caliphate.)

7. Vassal of a duke or count and lord of the knights. (Baron.)

Puzzle

Write the words into the cells of the puzzle so that the fourth letters of each word (vertically) get the name of the letter, allegedly giving "absolution". (Indulgence.)

1. The name of the compulsory duties carried out by the serfs. (Obligations.)

2. What improvement in metallurgy was marked by the 16th century? (Blast furnace.)

3. What were the Bulgarian and Serbian partisans called? (Haiduki.)

4. What were the names of the people who professed Islam? (Muslims.)

5. What did the emperor collect from merchants for the transport and sale of goods? (Fees.)

6. What did the vassals call their master? (Senor.)

7. Wandering actors who performed in villages and city streets. (Jugglers.)

8. Name of Muslim temples. (Mosques.)

9. What was the name of the event records by year? (Chronicle.)

10. A defensive weapon that replaced chain mail. (Shell.)

11. Decoration at the top of the column. (Small caps.)

12. People who exchanged money from different countries. (Money changers.)

Chinward

1. Wandering actor. (Juggler.)

2. Indian prince. (Rajah.)

3. Pseudoscience seeking an "eternal stone". (Alchemy.)

4. Turks on foot. (Janissary.)

5. The building in which the city council met in the Middle Ages. (Town Hall.)

6. Abbot of the monastery. (Abbot.)

7. A duel between knights. (Tournament.)

8. Drawing from a stone in the form of a rose. (Socket.)

9. Pseudoscience about predicting the fate of people according to the location of the heavenly bodies. (Astrology.)

10. Place of gathering of merchants for the sale of goods. (Fair.)

11. A portrait painted from oneself. (Self-portrait.)

12. Fighter against German dominance in the Czech Republic. (Taborit.)

13. The farming system in the X century. (Three-field.)

14. Church minister. (Bishop.)

15. The special right of a particular class. (Privilege.)

Intellectual tournament

"Journey through the Middle Ages".

Leading: Today we will take an amazing journey through the history of the Middle Ages. We will visit a knight's castle, a medieval town, a peasant dwelling and see a lot of interesting things.

Competition number 1. "Warm-up".

I will ask each team 6 questions. You get 1 point for each correctly guessed answer.

Owner of tools, independent worker in his workshop. (Craftsman).

The picturesque image of God is called ... (Icons).

A man engaged in the cultivation of the land. (Peasant).

What are the names of document repositories ? (Archive).

How much does a knight's equipment weigh? (50 kg.).

The metal plate with slits for the eyes is called ... (Visor)

What is the name of the letter of forgiveness of sins? (Indulgence).

A person who is the complete property of his master is ... (Slave).

As the participants in the conquest campaigns to the East were called in XI - XIII centuries .? (Crusaders).

What is the name of the building where religious rites are performed? (Temple).

What is the name of the military competition of the knights? (Tournament).

What is the name of the annual auction in which merchants from different cities and countries take part? (Trade fairs).

Competition number 2. "Knights and their mottos".

You know that every knight had a coat of arms and a motto. But the trouble is, on the old coats of arms, some letters have been erased. Nevertheless, try to read the mottos of the glorious knights of the medieval era.

1. "B.G & M .. PR.V."- the motto of the English king Richard the Lionheart, which became the motto of the British monarchy.

2. ".D. SV ... D.R.G .. "- the motto of Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy.

3. ". N. K.R.L and N. KN.3,. - B.R.N K.S. "- the motto of the barons of Kusi.

(Answers: 1. "God and my right";

2. "I am going my own way";

3. "I am not a king or a prince - I am Baron Kusi").

Competition number 3. "Estates of feudal Europe"

Here are excerpts from the work of Jeffrey Chaucer "The Canterbury Tales" Determine what occupation of medieval inhabitants these passages are suitable for, what place they occupied in medieval society.

1.His stable the whole neighborhood knew,
His bridle buckled,
Like the bells of that chapel,
The income from which he spent as his own.

Why pore among the books or in the garden,
Why grow thin in defiance of nature?
Works, fasts, privations, prayers -
What are they for if there is love and battles?
Let Augustine care for salvation,
And the brethren will leave their sins.

2.With him in the medical profession, not a single
The London doctor could not compete;
Besides, he was a skilled astrologer;
He, only when the star was at its zenith,
Healed the patient; and tying all the threads
His destinies that the horoscope gives,
He predicted the outcome of diseases, -
Recovery or death terms.

3. He loved honor, courtesy and freedom;
He was a zealous and zealous vassal,
And rarely has anyone been to so many places.
Baptized and even baptized
Recognized his valor in battle.

He took Alexandria with the king,
At the order feasts he sat
At the top of the table, was a guest in the Prussian castles,
He went to Lithuania, went to the Russians,

What can I say about his outfit?
The horse was good, but he himself is not a parade;
His jacket was worn with chain mail,
Broken, patched, the whole hem is stained.
He, returning from a long campaign,
Immediately he went to the relics with all the people.

4. There was a great craftswoman in weaving -
The weavers of Ghent are just right to marvel at.
She liked to do good, but to the temple
Some of the ladies squeeze in front of her,
In a moment she forgot, in fierce pride,
About complacency and benevolence.
I could hang a headscarf on my head,
Equipping himself for mass, ten at once,
And all of silk or linen;
She wore red stockings
And shoes made of soft morocco.
The face of a striker, goodness and blush,
She was an enviable wife
And she survived five husbands,

5. He was so shabby, poor,
Thin, worn out by a bad road.
He did not manage to get a parish,
No clerical service. Take out
Need and hunger have learned steadfastly.
He put the log at the head of the bed.
He loves to have twenty books,
Than expensive dress, lute, food.
He despised perishable treasures bliss,
But Aristotle is a treasure trove of valuable thoughts
Couldn't add a penny

6. He wore a Flanders beaver hat
And boots with a stacked strap
Yes, a beard. He talked about
How to receive, how to save income.
He demanded that the waters be guarded
On the way from Middleburg to Orwell.
He knew how to calculate the ecu rate
And notably profited from the exchange
And he got rich, and even broke,
But he hid his debts from everyone.
The merchant willingly gave money in growth,
But he did his calculations so skillfully
That he was honored by everyone.

Answers: 1. - monk, 2 - doctor of medicine, 3 - knight, 4 - weaver, 5 - student, 6 - merchant.

Competition number 4. "A journey through the castle"

Read the keywords correctly and insert them into the text to take a guided tour of the medieval castle. For each correctly specified word - 1 point.

Keywords: underground passage, oak gates, loopholes, lower courtyard, buttresses, drawbridge, spiral staircase, hatch, barbican, upper courtyard, weapons, mashikuli, gers, wooden galleries, watchtower, chapel, donjon, grand hall, coat of arms, curtain, embrasures , tapestries, labyrinth, fireplace, armor.

The air trembled in the hot rays of the midday sun, when the silhouette of the ancient castle clearly appeared through its light haze against the background of the blue sky. Even the weary traveler finds it difficult to hide his impatience as he approaches his destination.

We pass the first fortification protecting the gate -…. You can hear the clanging and grumbling rattle of chains - it descends ... ... over a wide and once deep ditch, which now hardly seems an impenetrable obstacle. Massive…… open with a creak. We are waiting for it to rise ... - a heavy lattice, set in motion by a mechanism mounted on a mighty overhead tower.

We enter ... ... where in the old days it was crowded and noisy from the neighing of dozens of horses in the stables, the shouts of the courtyard people scurrying back and forth, the sounds of the forge and the grape press in the far corner, the conversations of pilgrims, monks, merchants - all those who found temporary shelter and protection here. Once upon a time life was in full swing here, but now silence reigns near the overhanging gray walls with spots of greenish-gray moss.

Continuing the path under heavy stone arches, we feel that there is a rather steep ascent upward, and after several turns we go into ... ... the castle. Thick walls surround us more closely, our voices are muffled. The feeling is that the sun has darkened, for the upper ones ... ... and the huge ones cast a shadow over most of the courtyard space. Close up, you become convinced how high a continuous vertical wall is ..., which is supported at the base by powerful ..., and you begin to understand why the castle-fortress was impregnable. Scattered along the walls ... and ... through which the enemy was showered with arrows. In the upper part of the wall, interspersed with rows of battlements, there are overhanging loopholes -…. Defending the castle, the defenders poured boiling tar from the galleries onto the heads of the attackers, threw stones and heads of dead enemies to intimidate. Brrrr.

There is a breath of dampness and musty - we go inside the main tower. Stone steps lead to the basements and lower rooms. There were warehouses for food and a well; above them - a kitchen with powerful hooks on the walls for carcasses of cattle and small hooks for drying vegetables and medicinal herbs. Even the light from modern light bulbs is not enough to illuminate all the nooks and crannies, turns, false ladders, passages and dead ends of a castle complex, reminiscent of…. How eerie and gloomy it was with the uneven light of torches and oil lamps, even in living quarters!

We see painted walls and stained-glass windows, a golden cross on the altar - this is the castle ..., the most beautiful room of the castle. We pass the female half, children's bedrooms. But they don't look comfortable either. Would you agree to spend the night here at least once and listen to a terrible fairy tale before going to bed?

Today we are going up to the chateau living quarters along freshly planed wooden stairs. In ancient times, there were no such stairs, they used attachments, which were removed during the siege, and from one floor to another it was possible to get only through….

… … striking in its size and strict majesty. Over the huge ... hangs ... the owner of the castle, on the walls - ancient ..., ... - swords, spears, darkened with time .... There are benches along the walls, and in the center of the hall there is an impressive table with huge dishes, cups, and glasses.

We continue to climb and go out into the open air. The height is breathtaking. Only the daredevils rise higher: here, at the top of the keep, the main…… is built.

The return journey does not repeat the beginning of the excursion. From the upper platform, we, bending down, pass through the door, which is opened by an invisible mechanism, and again we find ourselves in the darkness of the corridor. Down there is a steep ... ... which turns counterclockwise. This was done to make it easier for the defenders of the castle to defend the stairs: after all, they held the sword in their right hand.

The path seems endless. But then a bright speck appeared ahead, which is increasing in size. A ray of sunshine skimmed over the cobweb-covered walls. Soon ... will end. We accelerate our pace and enter a sunny forest glade. Birds chirp, the sun blinds your eyes. We look around. Where is the castle? Was he not grafted into us in a dream?

(Answers: barbican, drawbridge, oak gate, gers, lower courtyard, upper courtyard, wooden galleries, donjon, curtain, buttresses, embrasures, loopholes, machikuli, labyrinth, chapel, hatch, ceremonial hall, fireplace, coat of arms, tapestries, weapons, armor, watch tower, spiral staircase, underground passage).

Competition number 5. "Riddles of the Arab Guest".

After listening to the riddle, the team confers and gives an answer .. If the answer is correct, the team gets 3 points, if the answer is not correct, the opponents can give their own answer.

1st riddle. Absence around presence. Presence around absence. What is it?

Answer: number "0".

2nd riddle. What do the Arabs have in front and the Europeans in the back?

Answer: an indication of the father's name: Arab "Ibn"(son, descendant) in his own name is placed before the father's name, forming a surname, for example, Ibn Sina. Compare: English Johnson is a surname formed on behalf of the father ( son - son); Russian Romanov is a surname formed on behalf of his father.

3rd riddle. What do the Arabs have on the right and the Europeans have on the left?

Answer: the beginning of the book. Arabs write from right to left, while Europeans write from left to right.

Competition number 6."Famous people of the Middle Ages"

Identify who the passages are referring to:

At the age of 10 he knew mathematics and astronomy, at the age of 12 he was considered the best expert in laws in Bukhara. But most of all he was interested in medicine. He became an outstanding doctor, while not only treating people, but also teaching future doctors. He taught not only the art of healing, but also the art of compassion for man

“Oh, gallant warriors, descendants of invincible ancestors! He cried. - Forget all your quarrels and resentments! Set off on your way to the Holy Sepulcher, pluck out the sacred ground from the clutches of the vile conquerors. "

He wore a long beard, which was unusual for a Mongol, and was strong, because life in the saddle tempered him. He had a hypnotic gaze, his eyes resembled those of a cat. Sometimes he caused such horror in his enemies that they suddenly switched to his side.

Initially, he was the leader of one of the Germanic tribes, and then the king of a vast state in the territory of the former Roman province of Gaul. Treacherous, cunning and cunning, he did not stop at anything to achieve his goal.

He is the only foreigner who has invaded and conquered England in the last thousand years.

The battle that glorified her took place at Orleans. She was declared a witch and brought to the ecclesiastical court, and after four and a half centuries she was elevated to the rank of a Catholic saint.

This national hero of the Czech people and the ideologist of the Czech Reformation, the inspirer of the popular movement against the domination of the Germans and the Catholic Church, was burned by the verdict of the church council in 1415

This French king was called the "world spider" for the policy he pursued during the period of centralization of the state: he wove intrigues, luring into his networks and destroying opponents.

Answers

Avicena (ibn-Sina),

Urban II (pope),

Genghis Khan,

Clovis,

Wilgelm the conqueror,

Joan of Arc,

Jan Hus,

Louis IX Saint

2 points for each specific personality.

Competition number 7. "Dragons Live Here"

Before you is a map of Europe. Medieval residents believed that fantastic creatures live next to them or their neighbors, place magnets where they settled: Dragons, elves, leprechauns, werewolves, witches, gnomes, trolls, mermaids, vampires

Answers:

Dragons - in England, France, Germany, Russia
Elves - in England
Leprechauns - in Ireland
Werewolves - in France, Russia, Hungary
Witches - in England, France, Germany, Ukraine
Dwarfs - in Germany, Scandinavia
Trolls - in Scandinavia
Mermaids - in Eastern Europe
Vampires - in Romania

Summarizing. Winner's reward ceremony.

List of literature and Internet resources:

V. A. Vedyushkin A textbook on the history of the Middle Ages; M., Enlightenment, 2006

Donskoy G.M. Assignments for independent work on the history of the Middle Ages. M., Enlightenment, 1992

Devyataykina N.I. "History of the Middle Ages"; sources, tasks, games. M, Education, 2009.

G.A. Kulagina One Hundred Games in History: A Guide for the Teacher. M .: Education, 1983.

Solntseva E.E. Medieval town and its inhabitants. // History No. 7, 1997, p. 13