Chapter 10: Christendom

Christianity enjoyed an Afro-Eurasian reach with flourishing communities.
African and Asian outposts declined however in later times.
Christianity for a while was an overwhelmingly European phenomenon.
In the East, Constantinople was the seat of Greek and Roman traditions of the Orthodox Church.
Western Christianity had converted many people slowly over time, but West was fragmented.
The Western Church lived in a far more rural society, and did not possess the splendor.
Christianity became a largely European phenomenon due to Islamic expansion.
Arab Muslims conquered vast amounts of territory from existing Christian states.
In Syria, Mesopotamia and Egypt large Christian populations were tolerated by Islam.
Persian monks managed to spread Nestorian Christianity all the way to China.
Large scale conversion to Islam in North Africa largely ended Christian presence there.
Coptic Christians were sometimes considered heretics by the Eastern Roman Empire, but they were tolerated under Islamic rule as dhimmis and they had to pay a special tax.
In early 21st century, 10% of Egypt's population was still Coptic Christian.
Nubia and Ethiopia were also influenced by Coptic Christianity. In Nubia it vanished by 1500.
Ethiopian Christianity developed it's unique character with a fascination with Jerusalem and Judaism.
Byzantine Empire viewed itself as a continuation of the Roman Empire.
Byzantine Empire was a unique civilization centered in Constantinople.
After 1085 the Byzantine Empire shrank, once attacked by Normans, Crusaders and Turkic Muslims.
The Byzantine Emperor had the power to appoint the patriarch of the Eastern Orthodox Church.
Main disagreements between Catholic and Orthodox were on the issue of the trinity, source of the Holy Spirit, original sin, importance of faith and reason. Catholics used unleavened bread, while the Orthodox tended to use bread leavened with yeast in communion. In 1054 schism occurred.
Orthodox Church converted Russians, Bulgarians and Serbs to the new faith.
Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476, when Odoacer overthrew the last Roman Emperor.
Feudalism developed in western europe, and the Catholic Christian Pope gained more authority.
Western Europe had experienced large scale urban growth which given new opportunities.