The Invasions of Europe Essay Example for Free

The Invasions of Europe Essay On the later stage of the dark ages or the Middle Ages, Europe experienced loses from barbaric attacks by Vikings, Magyars and Moslem invaders which ranged from early 9th century up to 11th century. These invasions had made Roman Empire lost most of its land area as well as the trust of people to the Christian leaders. Vikings started their attack because of overpopulation in their homeland. They came first to England then to Iona, Ireland and the rest of the north and western part, destroying the most civilized part of the region and plundering the rich trading centers and monasteries. As each attack became successful, they would return in more numbers. Their invasions had become easier on them because they had their sail ships compared to their earlier invasions which was by foot. People started fearing to live in the coastal region. While some of the Vikings battle in the western half of Mediterranean, some began settling in the northwest of France and the others came to Moslem Spain and Great Britain. Chieftains would bribe them in order for Vikings not to attack their villages. Some groups such as Danes began the resistance and successfully defended England. As Normans settled down, they began to decrease in number. They became civilized and were converted to Christianity. They had lost their lust in plundering. During that period, in the other part of Europe, the Moslems had gone invading Spain, threatening Italy, droving out Byzantines in Sicily and southern Italy. They almost got into Rome. While Moslems continued their attack in the Mediterranean, Magyars began invading the east. These groups of invaders which simultaneously attacked from all sides had surrounded the European continent. Magyars invaded Germany each year. They had passed through Germany, France, Burgundy, all the way to Italy. While some of them continued to pursue their attacks at France, others left for Spain. Until the Magyar armies were annihilated by a German king Otto I, Europe became safe from invasions.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   All of these invasions had contributed to the downfall of the rich Holy Roman Empire. But they experienced the worst attack from the Magyars mainly because during that time that they attacked, Europe was already suffering from attacks of Vikings and Moslems. There were almost no civilized regions left during that time and areas became less populated. They invasion became so damaging as they suffered simultaneous attacks from all sides.   As the Roman Empire tends to collapse, they failed to resist these attacks earlier because they had fewer warriors.   Some locals burn their fields not letting the barbarians have it. Most of the richest parts were prone to attack while monasteries were heavily subjected to being destroyed. People suffered heavily. They lost their lands, livelihood and their wealth. As they mourn, they ran to the church for comfort but they were disappointed as there were anomalies in the leader of the churches.   Some of them became robbers, adulterers, and murderers and converged into realms of politics. There were numerous replacements of popes. At a time there were â€Å"illegal doings† in the papal palaces. Some must have lost their trust in their belief. Yet, Christianity did not end there. It was reformed by Benedictine monks in France. As the Magyars were defeated during that time, they became converts to Christianity and settled at Hungary. Vikings were also converted to Christianity but one of the main reasons is that Christians didn’t want to trade with and marry non-Christians. During the latter course of Dark Ages, Europe gradually recovered from the invasion. Leaders were crowned but had conflicts with Christian leaders. There were tensions between them about who had the greatest power. And so the Dark Ages ended. References Kimball, C. (2001). Chapter 7: The Viking Era. A History of Europe. Retrieved December 7,   Ã‚  Ã‚   2007, from http://xenohistorian.faithweb.com/europe/eu07.html. Knight, J. (2001). The Carolingan Age. Middle Ages: Almanac, 39-45. Retrieved December 7,    2007, from http://www.4shared.com/file/28008239/b4f1dc89/Gale_- _Middle_Ages_Reference_Library_Vols1-5.html [database].