1. The Islamic East
   Shortly after 600, an Arabian prophet preached a new faith whose followers conquered and settled lands from Spain to China.
   1. Arabia Before Muhammad
      Traders formed the economic and political elite in the complex and turbulent Arab East.
   2. The Prophet and His Faith
      Born to a respectable Meccan family, Muhammad received revelations that formed the uncompromising moral foundations of the new Islamic faith.
   3. The Arab Conquests
      The secular Umayyad dynasty led Islamic armies and administrators in the conquest and creation of a vast empire.
   4. The Abbasid Revolution
      Islam enjoyed a golden age of political stability, economic prosperity, and cultural achievement under the early Abbasid caliphs.
   5. The Emergence of Islamic Culture
      Study of Greek scientific texts and the Quran anchored the cultural developments of early Islam.
2. The Byzantine Empire
   The eastern Roman Empire shrank geographically and changed both its basic administrative structure and its cultural orientation to produce Byzantine civilization.
   1. External Changes
      Weakened by war with Persia, the eastern empire lost territory to the Arabs, shrinking to include only the eastern Balkans and western Anatolia.
   2. Internal Changes
      Byzantium undertook military and administrative reforms, revised its laws, and refocused its culture, especially in religion.
3. Catholic Kingdoms in the West
   The social and political heritages of the German and Roman pasts interacted with Christianity to produce Catholic Europe.
   1. The Struggles of Visigothic Spain
      Visigothic rulers of Spain survived internal struggles and external threats until Muslims invaded and conquered much of the Iberian peninsula in the early eighth century.
   2. Italy and the Papal State
      Through their conquests of the Lombards and their military and political support, the Franks enabled popes to create the first papal state in central Italy.
   3. The Fate of the British Isles
      Celtic Britain nurtured a vibrant Christian culture, while AngloSaxons converted to Roman Christianity and consolidated their rule in England.
4. The Carolingian Empire
   The Carolingians politically, culturally, and religiously revitalized the West.
   1. The Rise of the Carolingian Family, 600-768
      While the Merovingian kings squabbled, the noble Carolingians consolidated Frankish military and political power in their own hands.
   2. The Empire of Charlemagne, 768-814
      Uniting religious and political authority in his rule, Charlemagne presided over a uniquely Western empire.
   3. Carolingian Government
      Personal connections between a king and his followers formed the basis of a new political and administrative structure.
   4. The Carolingian Renaissance
      Promoting religious scholarship and education, Charlemagne encouraged a cultural revival uniting diverse elements into a distinctive legacy.
   5. The Fragmentation of Charlemagne's Empire, 814-887
      Within a century, internal division and external attacks caused Charlemagne's empire to fracture into a host of smaller states.
5. Early Medieval Economies and Societies
   While Islam brought change, the structures of rural, hierarchical life continued in Europe and most strongly in the Byzantine East.
   1. Trade and Commerce
      International trade continued among the empires, although most trade was local.
   2. Town and Countryside
      In the early Middle Ages the production of culture and administration of government became less town-centered. In the Frankish West the bipartite estate, or manor, appeared, as a means of supporting warrior-aristocrats.
   3. Social Patterns
      Despite religious ideals, economic forces and tradition bound peasants, slaves, and women to limited roles.