From Centralization to Fragmentation

750–1050

Between 750 and 1050, competing forces of unity and fragmentation shaped the development of western Europe, Byzantium, and Islam, as the following documents reveal. The Carolingian king Charlemagne (r. 768–814) forged a vast kingdom, the scope of which had not been seen since Roman times. His success was based not simply on military victory but also on his ability to administer effectively the diverse regions under his rule (Document 1). Although the division of Charlemagne’s empire in 843 opened the door to local rule, his legacy endured and enhanced Europe’s distinctiveness from Byzantium (Document 2). By that time, the Byzantine emperors had regained much of their lost luster through military victory and a cultural revival (Document 3). Against this backdrop, the Islamic world continued to forge a unified sense of identity even as it fragmented into smaller political units (Documents 4 and 5). With Charlemagne’s empire long gone, western Europe underwent its own political and social changes. Independent lords assumed control over many regions, relying on local networks of support and allegiance rather than the king for power (Document 6).