Medieval Empires In Europe, 750 To 1453

By André Geraque Kiffer

Religion, which in principle could be a pacifying human activity, was marked in the Medieval Age by clashes between two of the greatest, both in their early days, Islam and Christianity. In strategy the final clash in the Medieval Age pitted the Greek Orthodox Christianity of the dying Byzantine Empire against the Turkish Islam of the future Ottoman Empire. In geography the Medieval Age, in the history of mankind, witnessed the outline of the borders of the modern nations. Among the defining factors of these frontiers we can cite for Europe the linguistic differences, in Africa and Asia plus the differences between the ethnicities, and between the three continents the religious differences. In philosophy there was a period in the Medieval Age when almost all the works of the great ancient philosopher Plato were unknown, but before that and after the rediscovery of his texts (Petrarch in the XIV century had a Plato manuscript) he was read and taken as a reference point. In the simulation we will imagine that the rediscovery had occurred earlier, let s say in the so-called “Carolingian Renaissance” from the year 787.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Clube de Autores
• Release date: Feb 1, 2024

Book preview

ANDRÉ  GERAQUE  KIFFER

Medieval  Empires  in  Europe,

750  to  1453.

A  Historical  Simulation

Author’s  Edition

Resende

2019

---  Kiffer,  André  Geraque.

Medieval  Empires  in  Europe,  750  to  1453.  A  Historical Simulation.  André  Geraque  Kiffer.

Author’s  Edition,  Resende,  2019.

Bibliography:  179  p.  81  im.  21  cm..

1.  History.  2.  Art  of  War.  3.  War  Science.  4.  Wargames.  I. Author.  II.  Title.

ISBN  978-85-65853-28-6

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My  story  will  be  less  certain  than  history;  but  whoever  wants to  relive  the  past  to  study  the  similarities  and  analogies between  human  conflicts  in  the  present  is  enough  for  me  to find  it  useful.  This  War  History  of  mine  is  a  definite achievement  and  not  an  ostentatious  work  for  a  current audience.

(André  Geraque  Kiffer)

4 PROLOGUE

I  was  inspired  to  build  this  work  by  reading  Arnold Toynbee's  book,  A  Study  of  History,  and  Trevor  N. Dupuy's  Future  Wars.  Between  2005  and  2007  I acquired  a  collection  of  board  wargames  in  New York,  and  reading  the  book  Wargame  Design published  by  Strategy  &  Tactics  Magazine consolidated  a  Matrix  for  A  Study  of  Military History.  Thus,  from  2008,  I  was  able  to  begin  an analysis  of  the  wars,  campaigns,  and  battles  of history  of  a  particular  time  and  /  or  civilization described  in  the  Smithsonian  Institute's  Atlas  of Military  History.  So  far  I  have  published  the  following series:  I.  Historical  Simulation  of  the  First  Empire Wars  in  2010;  VIII.  World  War  I  Historical Simulation  in  2011;  II.  Historical  Simulation  of  the Wars  in  Classical  Greece  in  2012;  III.  Historical Simulation  of  the  Roman  Wars  in  2016;  and  IV. Historical  Simulation  of  Wars  in  the  Medieval  Era  in 2018.  In  2014,  to  continue  my  work  "A  Study  of

Military  History,  I  read  the  book  Japanese  and

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Chinese  Chess  -  The  Science  and  Art  of  War  and added  a  new  book  The  Study  of  Wars  and  Chess Games  to  my  planned  study,  associating  the foundations  of  chess  games  with  the  principles  of Art  and  Science  of  War.  In  each  book  of  the  work  a selected  war,  campaign,  or  battle  is  studied  at  any of  the  applicable  decision  levels,  namely  the Political,  Strategic,  Operational,  Tactical,  and Technical.  Based  on  a  summary  of  the  historical  fact I  seek  to  highlight  the  decisive  fact  (s)  causing  the negative  result  (s)  before  playing  the  simulation through  a  board  wargame  -  the  actions  on  the  other side  of  the  hill  (from  the  enemy)  are  studied through  a  parallel  electronic  wargame.  In  the simulation  all  the  possibilities  of  the  purpose  of  the study  are  completed  when  the  past  of  history  is analyzed  on  the  basis  of  present  theory  and projected  into  the  future  or  revived  as  a  what  if schematic  case.  When  we  play  we  will  follow  the maxim  WIN  ALWAYS  BUT  WITH  THE  LOWEST

POSSIBLE  COST".

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Keywords:  History.  Art  of  War.  War  science.

Wargames.

7 SUMMARY

CHAPTER  1  –  MEDIEVAL  EMPIRES……………....8 CHAPTER  2  –  POLITICALANALYSIS.……….…..16 CHAPTER  3  –  A  POLITICAL  SIMULATION..…….41

REFERENCES.............................................……172

8 CHAPTER  1

MEDIEVAL  EMPIRES

For  the  reader  who  wants  an  introduction  to  the history  of  the  Wargames  and  the  historical  period  of the  Art  and  Science  of  Wars  in  the  Medieval  Era,  we recommend  purchasing  the  first  book  in  this  Series.

Im  1:  The  initial  landmark.

Middle  Age  is  a  period  of  history  which  in

relation  to  the  theme  of  our  Series  IV  of  the  History

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of  Wars  -  Historical  Simulation  of  Wars  in  the Medieval  Era  -,  we  will  consider  occurred  between the  V  and  XV  centuries;  starting  with  the  initial breakdown  of  the  Western  Roman  Empire  and ending  with  the  fall  of  the  Eastern  (Byzantine) Roman  Empire.

Im  2:  The  maximum  Islamic  expansion.

This  periodization  is  more  focused  on  Europe, but  in  our  studies  it  will  also  cover  influences, interactions  with  North  Africa,  the  Middle  East  and Central  Asia.  Also  to  meet  our  goals  we  will  consider a  division  of  this  Medieval  Age  into  two  major periods,  the  High  Middle  Ages  and  the  Low  Middle Ages,  with  the  dividing  landmark  being  the consolidation  of  the  Germanic  Kingdoms  and  the

Christian  Crusades  in  the  Middle  East.

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During  the  High  Middle  Ages,  the  processes  of urban  depopulation,  ruralization,  and  immigrations of  Germanic  peoples  began  during  Late  Antiquity. These  form  kingdoms,  building  on  the  structure  of the  Western  Roman  Empire.

Im  3:  Carolingian  Empire.

In  the  7th  century,  North  Africa  and  the  Middle East,  which  had  been  part  of  the  Eastern  Roman Empire,  became  Islamic  (or  Muslim)  territories  after their  conquest  by  the  successors  of  the  Arab prophet  Muhammad.

The  Byzantine  (or  Eastern  Roman)  Empire survives  and  becomes  a  great  power.  In  the  West, although  there  have  been  significant  changes  in

political  and  social  structures,  the  break  with

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antiquity  has  not  been  complete  and  most  of  the new  kingdoms  have  incorporated  as  many  pre- existing  Roman  institutions  as  possible.

Im  4:  The  world  is  not  over  yet.

Christianity  spread  throughout  Western  Europe and  witnessed  an  upsurge  in  the  building  of monasteries  as  cultural  bastions.  During  the  7th  and 8th  centuries,  the  Germanics  Franks,  ruled  by  the dynasty  inaugurated  by  Charlemagne  (Carolingian), established  an  empire  that  dominated  much  of Western  Europe  until  the  9th  century.

It  will  disintegrate  (dividing)  by  internal  quarrels and  the  onslaught  of  Germanic  Vikings  from Scandinavia,  Hungarian  Magyars  from  the  steppes

of  Asia,  and  Arabs  (or  Saracens)  from  Africa.

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During  the  Low  Middle  Ages,  which  started around  the  year  1000,  there  is  a  very  strong demographic  growth  in  Europe  and  a  revival  of trade  as  innovations  in  agricultural  techniques  allow for  higher  crop  productivity.

Im  5:  Society  in  the  Lower  Middle  Age.

It  is  during  this  period  that  the  two  social structures  that  will  dominate  Europe  until  the Renaissance  (or  the  beginning  of  the  Modern  Age) begin  and  consolidate:  Servility  -  or  a  social organization  of  peasants  in  villages  that  pay  rent and  render  services  on  the  lands  of  a  nobleman; and  Feudalism  -  or  a  political-social  structure  in which  noblemen  of  lower  status  render  military service  to  superiors,  receiving  compensation  for

manorial  property  (for  the  exercise  of  servility)  and

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the  right  to  collect  taxes  from  burgs  (cities)  in  a given  territory.

Im  6:  The  Holy  War.

The  Crusades  (or  Holy  War),  first  called  by  the Western  Catholic  Church  in  1095,  represent  an attempt  to  regain  control  of  the  Holy  Land (Jerusalem  and  its  surroundings)  from  Muslims, having  even  established  some  Christian  states  in the  Middle  East.

Cultural  life  was  dominated  by  Scholasticism,  a philosophy  of  education  that  sought  to  unite  faith with  reason,  and  the  founding  of