Editing History of Europe (section)

==Ancient Europe==
===Bronze Age===
{{Main article|Bronze Age Europe|Aegean civilization}}
[[File:Knossos - North Portico 02.jpg|thumb|Partly reconstructed ruins of [[Knossos]], Crete, c. 1700 BC]]

The first well-known literate civilization in Europe was the [[Minoan civilization]] that arose on the island of [[Crete]] and flourished from approximately the 27th century BC to the 15th century BC.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://oxfordbibliographiesonline.com/display/id/obo-9780195389661-0071|title=Ancient Crete|publisher=Oxfordbibliographiesonline.com|date=15 February 2010|access-date=17 May 2012|archive-date=30 May 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200530225110/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780195389661/obo-9780195389661-0071.xml|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Minoans were replaced by the [[Mycenaean civilization]] which flourished during the period roughly between 1600 BC, when [[Helladic]] culture in [[Geography of Greece|mainland Greece]] was transformed under influences from Minoan Crete, and 1100 BC. The major Mycenaean cities were [[Mycenae]] and [[Tiryns]] in Argolis, [[Pylos]] in Messenia, [[Athens]] in Attica, [[Ancient Thebes (Boeotia)|Thebes]] and [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]] in Boeotia, and [[Iolkos]] in Thessaly. In [[Crete]], the Mycenaeans occupied [[Knossos]]. Mycenaean settlement sites also appeared in [[Epirus]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Hammond|first=N.G.L.|title=Migrations and invasions in Greece and adjacent areas|year=1976|publisher=Noyes P.|location=Park Ridge, NJ|isbn=978-0-8155-5047-1|page=139|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=O9saAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Moreover%2C+in+this+area+a+small+tholos-tomb+with+Mycenaean+pottery+of+III+B+style+and+a+Mycenaean+acropolis+have+been+reported+at+Kiperi+near+Parga%2C+and+another+Mycenaean+acropolis+lay+above+the+Oracle+of+the+Dead+on+the+hill+called+%22|access-date=6 November 2020|archive-date=27 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427155343/https://books.google.com/books?id=O9saAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Moreover%2C+in+this+area+a+small+tholos-tomb+with+Mycenaean+pottery+of+III+B+style+and+a+Mycenaean+acropolis+have+been+reported+at+Kiperi+near+Parga%2C+and+another+Mycenaean+acropolis+lay+above+the+Oracle+of+the+Dead+on+the+hill+called+%22|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Tandy, p. xii. "Figure 1: Map of Epirus showing the locations of known sites with Mycenaean remains"; Tandy, p. 2. "The strongest evidence for Mycenaean presence in Epirus is found in the coastal zone of the lower Acheron River, which in antiquity emptied into a bay on the Ionian coast known from ancient sources as ''Glykys Limin'' (Figure 2-A)."</ref> [[Macedonia (region)|Macedonia]],<ref>{{cite book|last=Borza|first=Eugene N.|title=In the shadow of Olympus : the emergence of Macedon|year=1990|publisher=Princeton University Press|location=Princeton, NJ|isbn=978-0-691-00880-6|page=64|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=614pd07OtfQC&q=%22The+existence+of+a+Late+Bronze+Age+Mycenaean+settlement+in+the+Petra+not+only+confirms+its+importance+as+a+route+from+an+early+period%2C+but+also+extends+the+limits+of+Mycenaean+settlement+to+the+Macedonian+frontier.%22&pg=PA64|edition=[Nachdr.]|access-date=6 November 2020|archive-date=27 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427155354/https://books.google.com/books?id=614pd07OtfQC&q=%22The+existence+of+a+Late+Bronze+Age+Mycenaean+settlement+in+the+Petra+not+only+confirms+its+importance+as+a+route+from+an+early+period%2C+but+also+extends+the+limits+of+Mycenaean+settlement+to+the+Macedonian+frontier.%22&pg=PA64|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://aegeobalkanprehistory.net/img_articles/thumbs/tmb_75.jpg|title=Aegeobalkan Prehistory – Mycenaean Sites|access-date=17 May 2012|archive-date=3 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903230427/http://aegeobalkanprehistory.net/img_articles/thumbs/tmb_75.jpg|url-status=live}}</ref> on islands in the [[Aegean Sea]], on the coast of [[Asia Minor]], the [[Levant]],<ref>The Synchronisation of Civilisations in the eastern Mediterranean in the Second Millennium BC III, Proceedings of the SCIEM 2000 – 2nd EuroConference, Vienna, 28 May – 1 June 2003</ref> [[Cyprus]]<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=q4eYEG2FW28C&q=mycenaean+in+italy Use and appreciation of Mycenaean pottery in the Levant, Cyprus and Italy] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427155344/https://books.google.com/books?id=q4eYEG2FW28C&q=mycenaean+in+italy |date=27 April 2023 }}, Gert Jan van Wijngaarden, Amsterdam Archaeological Studies</ref> and Italy.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090822030452/http://www.gla.ac.uk/departments/archaeology/research/projects/mycenaeansitaly/ The Mycenaeans and Italy: the archaeological and archaeometric ceramic evidence], University of Glasgow, Department of Archaeology</ref><ref>Emilio Peruzzi, ''Mycenaeans in early Latium'', (Incunabula Graeca 75), Edizioni dell'Ateneo & Bizzarri, Roma, 1980</ref> Mycenaean artefacts have been found well outside the limits of the Mycenean world.

[[File:Tholos of Atreus.jpg|thumb|upright|The [[Treasury of Atreus]], or Tomb of Agamemnon in [[Mycenae]], Greece 1250 BC]]

Quite unlike the Minoans, whose society benefited from trade, the Mycenaeans advanced through conquest. Mycenaean civilization was dominated by a warrior [[aristocracy]]. Around 1400 BC, the Mycenaeans extended their control to Crete, the centre of the Minoan civilization, and adopted a form of the Minoan script (called [[Linear A]]) to write their early form of [[Greek language|Greek]] in [[Linear B]].

The Mycenaean civilization perished with the [[Bronze Age collapse|collapse of Bronze-Age civilization]] on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. The collapse is commonly attributed to the [[Dorian invasion]], although other theories describing natural disasters and climate change have been advanced as well.{{Citation needed|date=August 2015}} Whatever the causes, the Mycenaean civilization had disappeared after [[LH IIIC|LH III C]], when the sites of Mycenae and Tiryns were again destroyed and lost their importance. This end, during the last years of the 12th century BC, occurred after a slow decline of the Mycenaean civilization, which lasted many years before dying out. The beginning of the 11th century BC opened a new context, that of the protogeometric, the beginning of the geometric period, the ''[[Greek Dark Ages]]'' of traditional historiography.

The Bronze Age collapse may be seen in the context of technological history that saw the slow spread of [[ironworking]] technology from present-day [[Bulgaria]] and [[Romania]] in the 13th and the 12th centuries BC.<ref name="See A 1989">See A. Stoia and the other essays in M.L. Stig Sørensen and R. Thomas, eds., ''The Bronze Age: Iron Age Transition in Europe'' (Oxford) 1989, and [[Theodore Wertime|T.A. Wertime]] and J.D. Muhly, ''The Coming of the Age of Iron'' (New Haven) 1980.</ref>

The [[Tumulus culture]] and the following [[Urnfield culture]] of central Europe were part of the origin of the [[Culture of ancient Rome|Roman]] and [[Classical Greece|Greek]] cultures.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/276372928|title=Barbarian Europe and Early Iron Age Greece}}</ref>

<gallery widths="160" heights="120">
IE_expansion.png|Indo-European migrations from c. 4000-1500 BC according to the [[Kurgan hypothesis]]
Europe late bronze age.png|Late Bronze Age Europe, c. 1300-900 BC
</gallery>

===Classical Antiquity===
{{Main|Classical antiquity}}
[[File:The Parthenon in Athens.jpg|thumb|The [[Parthenon]], an [[Ancient Athens|ancient Athenian]] Temple on the [[Acropolis]] (hill-top city) fell to Rome in 176 BC]]

[[Classical antiquity]], also known as the classical era, classical period, classical age, or simply antiquity,<ref>{{cite book|last=Gruen|first=E.|date=2010|title=Rethinking the Other in Antiquity|publisher=Princeton University Press|doi=10.1515/9781400836550|isbn=9781400836550|url=https://doi.org/10.1515/9781400836550}}</ref> is the period of cultural [[history]] between the 8th century BC and the 5th century AD comprising the interwoven civilizations of [[ancient Greece]] and [[ancient Rome]] known together as the [[Greco-Roman world]], centered on the [[Mediterranean Basin]]. It is the period during which Greece and Rome flourished and had major influence throughout much of [[Europe]], [[North Africa]], and [[West Asia]].<ref>{{Cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Raoul|title=The Roman Empire and the Indian Ocean: The Ancient World Economy and the Kingdoms of Africa, Arabia and India|publisher=[[Pen & Sword]]|date=11 September 2014|isbn=9781473840959}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book|last=McLaughlin|first=Raoul|title=The Roman Empire and the Silk Routes: The Ancient World Economy & the Empires of Parthia, Central Asia & Han China|publisher=[[Pen & Sword]]|date=11 November 2016|isbn=9781473889811}}</ref>

===Ancient Greece===
{{Main|Ancient Greece|Hellenistic period}}

The [[Hellenic civilisation]] was a collection of city-states or [[poleis]] with different governments and cultures that achieved notable developments in government, philosophy, science, mathematics, politics, sports, theatre and music.

The most powerful city-states were [[Ancient Athens|Athens]], [[History of Sparta|Sparta]], [[Thebes, Greece|Thebes]], [[Ancient Corinth|Corinth]], and [[Syracuse, Sicily|Syracuse]]. Athens was a powerful Hellenic city-state and governed itself with an early form of [[direct democracy]] invented by [[Cleisthenes]]; the citizens of Athens voted on legislation and executive bills themselves. Athens was the home of [[Socrates]],<ref>{{cite EB1911 |first=Henry |last=Jackson|wstitle=Socrates |volume=25 |page=331}}</ref> [[Plato]], and the [[Platonic Academy]].

[[File:Napoli BW 2013-05-16 16-24-01.jpg|thumb|right|A [[Alexander Mosaic|mosaic]] showing [[Alexander the Great]] battling [[Darius III]]|255x255px]]

The Hellenic city-states established colonies on the shores of the [[Black Sea]] and the Mediterranean Sea ([[Asian Minor|Asia Minor]], [[Sicily]], and [[Southern Italy]] in [[Magna Graecia]]). By the late 6th century BC, the Greek city states in [[Asia-Minor|Asia Minor]] had been incorporated into the [[Achaemenid Empire|Persian Empire]], while the latter had made territorial gains in the [[Balkans]] (such as [[Macedon]], [[Thracians|Thrace]], [[Paeonia (kingdom)|Paeonia]], etc.) and Eastern Europe proper as well. During the 5th century BC, some of the Greek city states attempted to overthrow Persian rule in the [[Ionian Revolt]], which failed. This sparked the [[First Persian invasion of Greece|first Persian invasion of mainland Greece]]. At some point during the ensuing [[Greco-Persian Wars]], namely during the [[Second Persian invasion of Greece]], and precisely after the [[Battle of Thermopylae]] and the [[Battle of Artemisium]], almost all of Greece to the north of the [[Isthmus of Corinth]] had been overrun by the Persians,<ref name="Warfare in the Ancient World">Brian Todd Carey, Joshua Allfree, John Cairns (2006). [https://books.google.com/books?id=3OSfBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 ''Warfare in the Ancient World''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221229073713/https://books.google.com/books?id=3OSfBwAAQBAJ&pg=PT32 |date=29 December 2022 }} Pen and Sword, {{ISBN|1-84884-630-4}}</ref> but the Greek city states reached a decisive victory at the [[Battle of Plataea]]. With the end of the Greco-Persian wars, the Persians were eventually forced to withdraw from their territories in Europe. The Greco-Persian Wars and the victory of the Greek [[city states]] directly influenced the entire further course of European history and would set its further tone. Some Greek city-states formed the [[Delian League]] to continue fighting Persia, but Athens' position as leader of this league led Sparta to form the rival [[Peloponnesian League]]. The [[Peloponnesian War]]s ensued, and the Peloponnesian League was victorious. Subsequently, discontent with [[Spartan hegemony]] led to the [[Corinthian War]] and the defeat of Sparta at the [[Battle of Leuctra]]. At the same time at the north ruled the Thracian [[Odrysian Kingdom]] between the 5th century BC and the 1st century AD.

Hellenic infighting left Greek city states vulnerable, and [[Philip II of Macedon]] united the Greek city states under his control. The son of Philip II, known as [[Alexander the Great]], invaded neighboring [[Achaemenid Empire|Persia]], toppled and incorporated its domains, as well as invading Egypt and going as far off as India, increasing contact with people and cultures in these regions that marked the beginning of the [[Hellenistic period]].

After the [[death of Alexander the Great]], his empire split into multiple kingdoms ruled by his generals, the [[Diadochi]]. The Diadochi fought against each other in a series of conflicts called the [[Wars of the Diadochi]]. In the beginning of the 2nd century BC, only three major kingdoms remained: the [[Ptolemaic Kingdom|Ptolemaic Egypt]], the [[Seleucid Empire]] and [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]]. These kingdoms spread [[Culture of Greece|Greek culture]] to regions as far away as [[Bactria]].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://explorethemed.com/Diadochi.asp?c=1|title=The Diadochi and the Hellenistic Age|work=Historical Atlas of the Mediterranean|access-date=23 August 2018|archive-date=23 December 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151223010309/http://explorethemed.com/Diadochi.asp?c=1|url-status=live}}</ref>

===Ancient Rome===
{{Main|Ancient Rome|Roman Republic|Roman Empire}}
[[File:Cicero Denounces Catiline in the Roman Senate by Cesare Maccari.png|thumb|[[Cicero]] addresses the [[Roman Senate]] to denounce [[Catiline]]'s conspiracy to overthrow the [[Roman Republic|Republic]], by [[Cesare Maccari]].]]

Much of Greek learning was assimilated by the nascent Roman state as it expanded outward from Italy, taking advantage of its enemies' inability to unite: the only challenge to Roman ascent came from the [[Phoenicia]]n colony of [[Carthage]], and its defeats in the three [[Punic Wars]] marked the start of Roman [[hegemony]]. First governed by [[Roman kings|kings]], then as a senatorial republic (the [[Roman Republic]]), Rome became an empire at the end of the 1st century BC, under [[Augustus]] and his authoritarian successors.

The [[Roman Empire]] had its centre in the Mediterranean, controlling all the countries on its shores; the northern border was marked by the [[Rhine]] and [[Danube]] rivers. Under the [[Roman emperor|emperor]] [[Trajan]] (2nd century AD) the empire reached its maximum expansion, controlling approximately {{convert|5900000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} of land surface, including [[Italian Peninsula|Italia]], [[Gaul|Gallia]], [[Dalmatia]], [[Aquitania]], [[Roman Britain|Britannia]], [[Baetica]], [[Hispania]], [[Odrysian kingdom|Thrace]], [[Macedonia (ancient kingdom)|Macedonia]], [[Greece]], [[Moesia]], [[Dacia (Roman province)|Dacia]], [[Pannonia]], Egypt, [[Asia Minor]], [[Cappadocia]], [[Kingdom of Armenia (antiquity)|Armenia]], [[Caucasus]], North Africa, [[Levant]] and parts of [[Mesopotamia]]. [[Pax Romana]], a period of peace, [[Roman civilisation|civilisation]] and an efficient [[centralised government]] in the subject territories ended in the 3rd century, when a [[Crisis of the Third Century|series of civil wars]] undermined Rome's economic and social strength.

[[File:Colosseum Roma 2009.jpg|thumb|The [[Colosseum]] in Rome, Italy]]

In the 4th century, the emperors [[Diocletian]] and [[Constantine I of the Roman Empire|Constantine]] were able to slow down the process of decline by splitting the empire into a [[Western Roman Empire|Western]] part with a capital in Rome and an [[Byzantine Empire|Eastern]] part with the capital in Byzantium, or [[Constantinople]] (now Istanbul). [[Constantinople]] is generally considered to be the center of "[[Eastern Orthodox Church|Eastern Orthodox civilization]]".<ref>{{cite book|title=Christianity: Religions of the World|first=Ken|last=Parry|year=2009|isbn=9781438106397|page=139|publisher=Infobase Publishing}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=The Blackwell Companion to Eastern Christianity|first=Ken|last=Parry|year=2010|isbn=9781444333619|page=368|publisher=John Wiley & Sons}}</ref> Whereas Diocletian severely persecuted [[Christianity]], Constantine declared an official end to state-sponsored [[persecution of Christians in the Roman Empire|persecution of Christians]] in 313 with the [[Edict of Milan]], thus setting the stage for the [[Christian Church|Church]] to become the [[state church of the Roman Empire]] in about 380.

The Roman Empire had been repeatedly attacked by invading armies from Northern Europe and in 476, Rome finally [[Fall of the Western Roman Empire|fell]]. [[Romulus Augustus]], the last emperor of the [[Western Roman Empire]], surrendered to the Germanic King [[Odoacer]].

<gallery widths="160" heights="120">
File:Europe-In-301BC.png|Europe in the year 301 BC
File:Cesare prima Gallia 58 a.C. jpg.jpg|The [[Roman Republic]] and its neighbours in 58 BC
File:Europe-In-117AD.png|The Roman Empire at its greatest extent in 117 AD, under the emperor [[Trajan]]
File:Partition of the Roman Empire in 395 AD.png|The partition of the Roman Empire in 395, at the death of [[Theodosius I]]: the [[Western Roman Empire]] is shown in red and the Eastern Roman Empire is shown in purple
</gallery>

===Late Antiquity and Migration Period===
{{Main|Late Antiquity|Migration Period}}
[[File:Invasions of the Roman Empire 1.png|thumb|Migrations from the 2nd to the 5th century. See also the [[:File:World 820.png|map of the world in 820 AD]].]]

When Emperor Constantine had reconquered Rome under the banner of the [[Christian cross|cross]] in 312, he soon afterwards issued the [[Edict of Milan]] in 313 (preceded by the [[Edict of Serdica]] in 311), declaring the legality of [[Christianity]] in the Roman Empire. In addition, Constantine officially shifted the capital of the Roman Empire from Rome to the Greek town of [[Byzantium]], which he renamed Nova Roma – it was later named [[Constantinople]] ("City of Constantine").

[[Theodosius I]], who had made Christianity the [[State church of the Roman Empire|official religion of the Roman Empire]], would be the last emperor to preside over a united Roman Empire, until his death in 395. The empire was split into two halves: the [[Western Roman Empire]] centred in [[Ravenna]], and the Eastern Roman Empire (later to be referred to as the [[Byzantine Empire]]) centred in Constantinople. The Roman Empire was repeatedly attacked by [[Huns|Hunnic]], [[Germanic peoples|Germanic]], [[Slavic people|Slavic]] and other "barbarian" tribes (see: [[Migration Period]]), and in 476 finally the [[Western Roman Empire|Western part]] fell to the [[Heruli]] chieftain [[Odoacer]].

[[File:Europa in 526.png|thumb|Europe in 526 AD with the three dominating powers of the west]]

Roman authority in the Western part of the empire had collapsed, and a power vacuum left in the wake of this collapse; the central organization, institutions, laws and power of Rome had broken down, resulting in many areas being open to invasion by migrating tribes. Over time, [[feudalism]] and [[manorialism]] arose, providing for division of land and labour, as well as a broad if uneven hierarchy of law and protection. These localised hierarchies were based on the bond of common people to the land on which they worked, and to a lord, who would provide and administer both local law to settle disputes among the peasants, as well as protection from outside invaders.

The western provinces soon were to be dominated by three great powers: first, the [[Franks]] ([[Merovingian dynasty]]) in [[Francia]] 481–843 AD, which covered much of present France and Germany; second, the [[Visigothic kingdom]] 418–711 AD in the [[Iberian Peninsula]] (modern Spain); and third, the [[Ostrogothic kingdom]] 493–553 AD in Italy and parts of the western Balkans. The Ostrogoths were later replaced by the [[Kingdom of the Lombards]] 568–774 AD. Although these powers covered large territories, they did not have the great resources and bureaucracy of the Roman empire to control regions and localities; more power and responsibilities were left to local lords. On the other hand, it also meant more freedom, particularly in more remote areas.

In Italy, [[Theodoric the Great]] began the cultural romanisation of the new world he had constructed. He made [[Ravenna]] a centre of [[Romano-Greek language|Romano-Greek]] culture of art and his court fostered a flowering of literature and philosophy in [[Latin]]. In Iberia, [[Chindasuinth|King Chindasuinth]] created the [[Visigothic Code]].
<ref name="google">{{cite book|title=History of Theology: The Middle Ages|author1=Di Berardino, A.|author2=D'Onofrio, G.|author3=Studer, B.|date=2008|publisher=Liturgical Press|isbn=978-0-8146-5916-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2o5V2GWlaFIC|page=26|access-date=18 May 2015}}</ref>

In the Eastern part the dominant state was the remaining Eastern Roman Empire.

In the feudal system, new princes and kings arose, the most powerful of which was arguably the Frankish ruler [[Charlemagne]]. In 800, Charlemagne, reinforced by his massive territorial conquests, was crowned Emperor of the Romans by [[Pope Leo III]], solidifying his power in western Europe. Charlemagne's reign marked the beginning of a new Germanic Roman Empire in the west, the [[Holy Roman Empire]]. Outside his borders, new forces were gathering. The [[Kievan Rus']] were marking out their territory, a [[Great Moravia]] was growing, while the [[Angles (tribe)|Angles]] and the [[Saxons]] were securing their borders.

For the duration of the 6th century, the [[Eastern Roman Empire]] was embroiled in a series of deadly conflicts, first with the Persian [[Sassanid Empire]] (see [[Roman–Persian Wars]]), followed by the onslaught of the arising Islamic [[Caliphate]] ([[Rashidun Caliphate|Rashidun]] and [[Umayyad Caliphate|Umayyad]]). By 650, the provinces of [[Muslim conquest of Egypt|Egypt]], [[Muslim conquest of Syria|Palestine and Syria]] were lost to the [[Rashidun army|Muslim forces]], followed by [[Umayyad conquest of Hispania|Hispania]] and [[History of Islam in southern Italy|southern Italy]] in the 7th and 8th centuries (see [[Early Muslim conquests|Muslim conquests]]). The Arab invasion from the east was stopped after the intervention of the [[First Bulgarian Empire|Bulgarian Empire]] (see [[Tervel of Bulgaria|Han Tervel]]).