Editing History of Europe (section)

===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]]).