Early Western Civilization - Essay Example

Early western civilization Affiliation Early western civilization Civilization in human society was a significant hallmark as it sparked several innovations that made life easier. The commencement of early Western civilization can be traced back to the early 3000BC when people in Mesopotamia and Egypt started organized societies and heralded the ideas as well as the institutions that are associated with civilization today. The Greeks and Romans are the ones associated with the development of western civilization.

This essay will examine early western civilization from the time of Charlemagne to the 1600s. Charlemagne, popularly known as, Charles the great, was a King of a Germanic tribe in current-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and western Germany. He embarked on a charge to unite all Germanic peoples into a single kingdom and convert all his subjects to Christianity. Because he was a shrewd military strategist, he spent a majority of his reign engrossed in warfare so as to accomplish his goals.

As a result of this role, he catapulted the Carolingian Renaissance, a cultural as well as intellectual revival in Europe. This Renaissance served as a platform for the rise of civilization in Europe. His unification of most parts of Europe changed the political inclinations of the time. Charlemagne also played a critical role in the economy of Europe by abolishing the monetary system based on gold that was a rare commodity. The new system based on silver that was adopted after that made trading and commerce easier.

The Holy Rome Empire was at the forefront of the civilization in Europe. Through the empire’s solid grounding on Christianity to drive its course, myriad social services were provided to Europeans. These services included schooling and medical care, which are essential to the development of society. As the empire spread its holding to the rest of Europe, so did civilization. Another key participant towards the civilization of Europe was Germany. Germany had innovative ideas for economic growth, coupled with their eye for engineering.

The Germans developed essential tools and equipment that promoted agriculture, and hence civilization. England, as a country had an enormous bearing on the civilization of Europe. Due to her stability in terms of politics, England was able to develop adequate tools to aid the amelioration of her economy. The ideas that were hatched in England moved to other parts of Europe, hence promoting civilization. The Byzantine Empire, headquartered in Constantinople, was one of the key drivers for European civilization.

Over its period of existence, it was the most powerful economic, cultural, and military force in Europe. The economy of the Byzantines was very sophisticated. The sophistication hailed from the fact that Constantinople acted as a major European center for commerce extrapolating to all of Eurasia and the North of Africa. This orientation allowed the Byzantine Empire to grow its economy vigorously, thus surpassing other states (Hinkle, 1936). Additionally, due the magnificent strength espoused by the Byzantine military, the Byzantines found it easy to dictate the politics of Europe and skew it towards their interests.

In a nutshell, it is explicitly clear that many European countries played a great role in the development of European civilization. These key roles were facilitated by the significant political and economic powers of nations and empires such as Charlemagne, Holy Rome Empire, Germany, England, and the Byzantine Empire among others.ReferencesHinkle, G. (1936). Early Western Civilization. Bios, 136-138.