Pop Quiz- After Rome 500-700 AD

• Germanic Barbarians
• Barbarian warlords and families assimilated into Roman culture became nobles or aristocrats of medieval Europe
• Germanic tribes ruled former Roman lands, sought to conquer and assimilate other barbarian peoples who lived beyond frontiers and were still pagans
• Angles and Saxons invaded Britain and assimilated with native Britons
• Most Anglo-Saxons were converted to Christianity in 7th century
• Most powerful Germanic tribe was Franks
• Real power lay with "mayors of the palace" who were royal officials and nobles themselves
• From Eastern Empire to Byzantium
• Eastern Roman Empire continued while west divided into barbarian tribes
• Justinian came to power in 527, decided to reunite entire Roman Empire by conquiring western territories 
• In 476 The western empire ended
• Justinian succedded for a time, but land he retook soon conquered by new tribes and massive plague depopulated much of west
• Greek Byzantine emperors saw themsevles Roman Emperors and heads of Christian Church
• Byzantines preserved Greco-Roman art, architecture, philosophy and writing despite much of it being non christian
• Justinian built massive domed Hagia Sophia (Holy Wisdom) in Constantinople, considered to be most glorious church on earth at the time
• Cathedral of Hagia Sophia