The Year 700 A.D.

PART ONE: LECTURE

In the year of 700 A.D., Europe and Spain were on the threshold of a dramatic new historical era that would be driven by the Islamic invasion that was about to come surging cross the Mediterranean at Gibraltar. This new group of peoples who would come from various north African communities carrying the new religion of Islam would challenge the whole structure of Christian Spain and would push beyond Spain deep into France. During the first century of the Islamic presence in Spain, it often seemed that this new Islamic empire was unstoppable and that eventually it would spread to all of Europe. Then during the eighth century, a new political force in European politics emerged from France: the Carolingians. This Germano-French dynasty with its roots in Burgundy and the Rhine valley organized the larger French territory and stopped the Islamic surge, first at Poitiers, later in Spain itself and along the border lands.

CHRISTMAS VACATION

no classes for 3 weeks
Week of Monday Dec 18
Week of Monday Dec 25
Week of Monday Jan 1, 2024

Classes Begin

Week of Monday Jan 8, 2024.