Magnus
Diplocat
I am fascinated with Europe and the Middle & Near East from 400 to 1000 AD, from the descendency of the Western half of the Roman Empire to essentially the end of invasions of Europe (with the notable exeption of the Mongols!) I just love tracking all the migrations.
As Western Rome crumbled to the massive barbarian migrations: The Franks, the Sueves, the Visgoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Alans, Burgundians, Alemanni, Thuringians, Huns, etc. the East was largely unnafected, and actually flourished for 600 more years before the combined efforts of decentralization, western europe interference (crusades - slef-inflicted I might add) and the Seljuk Turks brought that Empire to an eventual halt.
The barbarians did not stop there, later on the Lombards, Magyars, Bulgars and other Slavic tribes, Vikings, & Arabians all served to put Europe to the test as well. I am also intrigued by certain areas of Europe, once civilized that disappear from history for a while, like what is modern day Transylvania (until about 1000 AD) and the British Isles (until roughly 700 AD). Also this time period is before the ascendency of the Papacy, and it is interesting to observe the slow and steady Christianization of the wild lands of the continent.
After 1000, Europe finally could breathe easy enough to begin the change that would put it ahead of the rest of the world until that all fell apart in 1914.
[This message has been edited by Magnus (edited July 16, 2001).]
As Western Rome crumbled to the massive barbarian migrations: The Franks, the Sueves, the Visgoths, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Angles, Saxons, Jutes, Alans, Burgundians, Alemanni, Thuringians, Huns, etc. the East was largely unnafected, and actually flourished for 600 more years before the combined efforts of decentralization, western europe interference (crusades - slef-inflicted I might add) and the Seljuk Turks brought that Empire to an eventual halt.
The barbarians did not stop there, later on the Lombards, Magyars, Bulgars and other Slavic tribes, Vikings, & Arabians all served to put Europe to the test as well. I am also intrigued by certain areas of Europe, once civilized that disappear from history for a while, like what is modern day Transylvania (until about 1000 AD) and the British Isles (until roughly 700 AD). Also this time period is before the ascendency of the Papacy, and it is interesting to observe the slow and steady Christianization of the wild lands of the continent.
After 1000, Europe finally could breathe easy enough to begin the change that would put it ahead of the rest of the world until that all fell apart in 1914.
[This message has been edited by Magnus (edited July 16, 2001).]