6.
Mongols: *
The Mongol Empire existed during the 13th & 14th centuries AD, the largest contiguous land empire in history. Originating in the steppes of Central Asia, it eventually stretched from Eastern Europe to the Sea of Japan, northwards into Siberia, eastwards and southwards into the Indian subcontinent, Indochina, and the Iranian plateau, and westwards as far as the Levant and the Carpathians. It emerged from the unification of nomadic tribes in the Mongol homeland under Genghis Khan, proclaimed ruler of all the Mongols (1206). The empire grew rapidly under him & his descendants, who sent invasions in every direction. It connected the east with the west with an enforced Pax Mongolica, allowing the flow of goods, ideas & technologies across Eurasia. It began to split due to wars over succession, as the grandchildren of Genghis Khan disputed whether the royal line should follow from his son and initial heir or from one of his other sons. By the time of Kublai's death in 1294, the Mongol Empire had fractured into four separate khanates or empires, each pursuing its own separate interests and objectives (see the 3 illustrations)
7.
Germans: *
The earliest documented sites of settlement for the Germanic peoples, is found on the plains of Denmark & southern Sweden. This population had been stable as far back as the Neolithic Age, when agriculture & the domesticated animals emerge. In the 2nd millennium BC (the Bronze Age) they expanded eastward, into the regions between the estuaries of the Elbe & Oder. Owing to soil exhaustion & population growth, the Germans moved SW into coastal floodplains. By 250 BC further southern expansion began in central Europe; by now 5 distinct groups & dialects appear. Late 2nd century BC, Roman sources recount the migrating Germanic people of Gaul, Italy & Hispania who invaded parts of Imperial Rome, leading to war. The Cimbri crossed into Norticum (Austria) in 113 BC seeking food & land & defeated a Roman army. Between 109-105 combined forces of Cimbri & Teutoni defeated additional Roman armies. At Vercellae (101 BC) they were pushed back. The Gauls faced growing pressure from German tribes, and implicit in this was a threat to Rome. Caesar wrote of these invasions as a danger that needed to be controlled. Major hostilities between the external Germanic peoples & Rome did not commence until the reign of Trajan (98-117 AD) who used the full weight of Roman might to attack the Dacians. At this point some Germanic tribes on the periphery of Rome chose shelter within the empire. Assimilation allowed for the 2 societies to cooperate & live together. Most famously the Tervingi sought asylum in the empire (376 AD). German pressure on the Roman frontier was clearly evident but tribal division & wars prevented effective action against Rome. German tribes began seeping into the Empire’s northern frontier. Symptomatic of this gradual encroachment & impact was the election of Maximinus I, Roman Emperor (235 to 238 AD). His rule begins the Crisis of the 3rd century; ethnically he was Germanic, not Roman. Around 238 AD the Goths make their first appearance, moving from the Baltic to the Ukraine; in 251 they defeated a Roman Army in the Balkans, killing Emperor Decius. Rome faced civil war and a deteriorating army. In the 4th century they adopted the practice of foederati (federates), enlisting Germans in the Legion. By late fourth century, the majority of the Roman military was made up of Germanic warriors. Federating whole tribes of Germanic people into the Empire marked a whole new phase of encroachment and facilitated the fragmentation of Rome from within its own borders.
see Goths.
Map of the Nordic Bronze Age culture, around 1200 BC Roman map of Germania in the early 2nd century
8.
Franks: *
Known to the Romans as both allies providing soldiers & as enemies. The Franks are reported as working together to raid Roman territory, but from the beginning this was associated also with attacks upon them from outside their frontier area, for example by Saxons, and pressure by frontier tribes to move into Roman territory. Frankish peoples inside the Roman Rhine included the Salian Franks (were permitted to live inside the Empire) & the Rhineland Franks (who conquered the Roman frontier city of Cologne & settled the left bank of the Rhine). In the 5th century, during factional conflicts in Gaul, the Frank Childeric I commanded Roman forces. He along with his son Clovis I faced competition for the kingship of the Franks & command of the local Legion. Possibly inspired by Alaric (who sacked Rome in 410 but who sought a recognized position in the Empire as commander of the Legion) a new type of kingship emerge with the Merovingian dynasty. Externally the kingdom was untied under the king; internally it was split into department or sub states ruled by the sons of the king (partition). Clovis, the second Merovingian king, succeeded in uniting Gaul in the 6th century & established himself as the leading Frankish ruler. It was on the basis of this Merovingian empire that the resurgent Carolingians eventually came to be seen as the new Emperors of Western Europe in 800.
511 AD 740 AD 800-814 AD
9.
Carthaginians:
Carthage was founded in 814 BC, a dependency of Tyre, a Phoenician state. The Phoenicians established colonial cities on the coasts of the Mediterranean, to provide safe harbors for their merchant fleets & maintain a Phoenician monopoly on an area's natural resources & insure trade was free of outside interference. The demand for commerce was high in these regions. They also feared Greek competition & colonization in the W. Mediterranean. Carthage emerged from this as the dominant city-state. It gained independence 650 BC & established its political hegemony over the other coastal Phoenician settlements. At the height of the city's prominence it was a commercial centre with trading stations extending throughout the region. For much of its history, Carthage was on hostile terms with the Greeks (in Sicily) & Rome. The city also had to deal with potentially hostile Berbers. Hostilities with the Geeks & Romans led to the Greek-Punic Wars (c. 600–265 BC) and the Punic Wars (264–146 BC). Following their victory in 146, Roman forces destroyed, re-designed & occupied Carthage. The remaining Phoenician city-states subsequently fell into Roman hands.
Carthage and its
dependencies in 264 BC
