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The Western Roman Empire's gradual fall with its last Emperor, Romulus Augustulus being deposed involved barbarian invasions, internal political instability, economic decline, and social changes.
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Clovis (Frankish King) is baptized as a Christian - starting the influence of the Church on European politics.
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Also known as the European Dark Ages, began after the fall of Rome, when Germanic people invaded and took over Roman lands. The Islamic Empire expanded into Spain and North Africa, while Charlemagne and the Catholic Church formed the Holy Roman Empire. Over time, the Western Roman Empire lost power to the Byzantine Empire.
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Frankish King Pepin helps Pope Stephen II by defeating the Lombards. The Frankish king is now the military authority of the Church.
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The Church governs small countries in Italy.
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Charlemagne was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo ΙΙΙ. This marked the restoration of the Roman Empire in the West after its dissolution. The coronation represented a change in power, with the Frankish king, becoming the first recognized emperor in the West for centuries.
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Alfred the Great unites the Saxon kingdoms and becomes King of England.
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Europe began to take shape, with the Norman Conquest in 1066 CE helping form France, England, and Germany. Western Europe prospered through farming, though disagreements caused a split within the Catholic Church. The period also saw the Crusades, wars between Christian armies and the Islamic Empire over holy sites like Jerusalem.
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The Battle of Hastings was fought between William the Conqueror’s Normans and King Harold II’s English army. After long fighting, the Normans’ cavalry and archers overpowered the English forces. Harold II was killed, ending Anglo-Saxon rule, and William became King of England.
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The Battle of Manzikert sees the Seljuk Turks defeating the Byzantine Empire, leading to the loss of significant Byzantine territories in Anatolia. This weakened Byzantine control in the region, impacting the stability of the Holy Land.
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Pope Urban II delivers the speech at the Council of Clermont, calling for the First Crusade. This speech urged Christians to take up arms and reclaim the Holy Land from Muslim control.
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The Crusaders, after a long and bloody siege, capture Jerusalem during the First Crusade. This leads to the establishment of Crusader states in the Levant.
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The Second Crusade, led by European kings like Louis VII of France and Conrad III of Germany, ends in disappointment with failed attempts to recapture territories lost to the Muslims.
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The pivotal Battle of Hattin takes place where Saladin's forces defeat the Crusaders, leading to the recapture of Jerusalem. This prompts Pope Gregory VIII to call for the Third Crusade to reclaim the city.
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Philip II of France, Richard I of England (The Lionheart) and Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor lead the Third Crusade. They took back many territories from Saladin but failed to win back Jerusalem.
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The end of the High Middle Ages came as famines and plagues killed millions of people. Unfair laws and conditions towards peasants caused great civil unrest, leading to revolts such as the Peasants' Revolt of 1381 in England. Though, this was also the beginning of strong interest in literature and the arts.
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Pope Innocent III declares the Fourth Crusade to take back Jerusalem.
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During the Fourth Crusade, instead of reaching the Holy Land, the Crusaders sack Constantinople, weakening the Byzantine Empire and causing divisions among Christians.
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The Magna Carta, was a document that suppressed the power of the English monarch, by granting certain rights to the barons and the Church. It established that the King was also subject to the law, and it provided for the protection of individual liberties, including protection from illegal imprisonment and access to justice.
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English Norman rulers fight a series of battles in France because they had a claim on the French throne.
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The printing press, allowed for the mass production of books, making them more affordable and accessible to everyone, which then created the spread of information and ideas, heavily affecting literacy, education, and cultural development.
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King Henry VIII is best known for his six marriages and beginning the English Reformation. After the Pope refused annulling marriage to Catherine of Aragon, he created the Church of England, leaving a permanent change to England’s religion and politics.
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King Henry VIII started the Church of England to break away from the Roman Catholic Pope's authority to annul his first marriage and created the Anglican religion.