he quarries for the cathedrals of the Middle Ages, and this isnt too far from the truth. Anyway, if the Europeans were going to get their act together, they would have to content with the Byzantine emperor and the threat of Islamic kingdoms. Fortunately, around 751 independent developments distracted both of them. Islam split into two big rival parties (now called Shiite and Sunni branches). The Sunnis got the upper hand and established their capital in Babylon/Baghdad. They are the main branch today. They were not as interested in conquering the west as their predecessors and were content, more or less, with what they had. The Byzantines saw Europe as a losing proposition and now had another threat-Slavic people were bearing down on them-so they lost interest in meddling in western Europe. This left a vacuum of power for a European ruler to fill up. One did, if only for a short while. The Germanic tribe called the Franks had come down into Gaul after the battle of Adrianople and settled in central Europe. The Frankish leaders and their followers continued to fight, in the Germanic custom they were united like warbands. Devoted followers, sealed by a bond. They bond used to be sealed by blood relations, but that was becoming less possible. The population of the Frankish territory, thanks to their conquests, was not homogeneous. There were Romans, Visigoths, Burgundians, Lombards, Franks..and so on. They spoke different languages, had different traditions, and so on. Also, the threats they were dealing with bigger and required more men than a typical warband could muster. The leaders of the Franks were the first to really use the feudal system to their advantage. Charles Martel started granting estates for military service in the 8th century, when he was trying to defend Europe from the Muslims. One man will try to rise above all these difficulties. His name was CHARLEMAGNE, or Karl die Grosse, or Karel der Groot, or.He decided that he w...
