The course begins with the fall of the Roman Empire in the West in 476 and ends with the collapse of the Eastern (or Byzantine) Empire in 1453. Among the topics addressed are the following: the western successor states, the birth and expansion of Islam, the Carolingian Empire, the Vikings, and the political entities of the High and Late Middle Ages. Due attention will also be paid to religious beliefs and devotional practices, economic change, cultural development, gender relations and other aspects of social history.
