Muhammad’s death to determine the leadership of the new religion which divided his followers into the eventual Shiites (followers of Muhammad’s cousin Ali) and Sunnis (followers of the caliph Mu’awiya, who administered the first, or Caliphate dynasty from 661-750). The enmity between these divisions has lasted to this day.
The Qur’an exhorts Muhammad’s followers to use war in an attempt to spread his vision, but it also includes passages that deny superiority to any race and encourages believers to avoid violence and to treat women respectfully.84 Early Islam had no actual codes of law but was administered by judges under the guidance of the Qur’an.85
The followers of Muhammad spread his religion – mainly by force – at a rapid pace through much of the Middle East, North Africa, the Orient, and Spain within the next 100 years. Muslim armies moving northward from Iberia (modern Spain) into Gaul only were stopped from conquering Europe by Charles Martel at Poitiers in 732.86 But once established, the huge areas under Muslim rule were tolerant of Christians and Jews who they considered “people of the book,” although Muslim teaching is that Islam has superseded those religions.87
Germany is the world’s northernmost quality wine producing region.
Wines in Germany were made in Roman times with extensive plantings near the Mosel and Rhine rivers. Monasteries developed wines for sacramental purposes starting about three hundred years later. Over time, economic fluctuations and phylloxera, a louse that destroys vineyard stock, greatly reduced the wine-making capacity of the area.
Germany is known mainly for its long-lived white wines, usually made from Reisling, which come in various levels of sweetness. Kabinett is the driest, with Spatlese and Auslese (select harvest) coming next. A greater level of sweetness is found in Beerenauslese (second harvest), from hand picked grapes that stay on the vine until almost consumed by rot, and Trockenbeerenauslese (dried berries), which is rare and expensive. The famous Eiswein is made from grapes that stay on the vine until frozen. Wine, Page 446-47
Between the fourth and seventh centuries the scrolls used by scribes to pass on human knowledge and history were gradually replaced by the codex, a small book or manuscript which was much easier to read and copy. The codex was copied onto animal skins and still very expensive, but it resulted in knowledge being more available to those who could read (still a small minority).88
The ruler who united most of the lands that eventually became Europe was Charlemagne (c742-814), who engaged in continual and brutal wars to Christianize Europe. The pagan Saxons were given a choice to convert or die, with up to 4,000 being killed in one day.89 He established a unified currency and code of laws in addition to having his counselors reform writing to make it more accessible. Charlemagne’s efforts to establish rule by law throughout his realm – rather than by the whim of local lords – was a step in the direction of democratization. The serfs also won their emancipation under Charlemagne.90 He had himself crowned emperor of the Holy Roman Empire in 799 by Pope Leo III and spread education and literacy among young knights.
In 910 the great abbey of Cluny was established in southern Burgundy, which attempted to overcome many of the previous abuses that made monks and peasants vulnerable to the whims of wealthy patrons. Cluny’s influence – an attempt to return to the Christian principles of godliness and justice – spread throughout Europe and dominated Western culture for over 200 years. It led to a resurgence of religious practice – including care for the poor and the encouragement of religious art. The monasteries under the Clunaic influence also served as the inns of Europe for the travelers of their time.91
In 987, Hugh Capet took over the Carolingian Dynasty of Charlemagne, which became centered in Paris, and lasted over three centuries. As of the year 1000, Europe still was composed of a number of small kingdoms with no real nations as we know them.92 However, during the next three hundred years many areas were converted to Christianity, including what is now Bulgaria, Bohemia, Poland, Hungary, parts of Scandinavia, and Western Russia. Yet this area remained largely feudal and ineffectively governed, especially after incursions by the Mongols.93
After the Muslims conquered North Africa in the eighth century, they developed trade routes using camels traveling a thousand miles south. The two most profitable commodities were gold and slaves. Seasonal rains in the highlands of Sudan – south of Egypt – had allowed the development of agriculture to flourish since the third century BCE. The Ghana, or local king, and his subjects practiced paganism and idol worship.94 Many natives of the area eventually converted to Islam.
Charlemagne was the owner of many vineyards and a connoisseur of fine wine. One of his favorite vineyards was Corton in Burgundy, which produced a great red wine, or Grand Cru, made of pinot noir. According to legend, Charlemagne’s wife was upset that her husband’s beard bore a perennial red wine stain. So Charlemagne had an area of the vineyard torn out and replanted with white grapes. To this day, Corton Charlemagne, made from Chardonnay, is considered one of the great white wines of the world.
The religion of India is largely based on the Vedas that were composed beginning in the second millennium BCE. As with many scriptures, they were passed on orally until they were written down around 1000 CE. The idea upon which they are based – the unity between all creatures and things – ultimately is a democratic principle. No one can be considered superior to others, as all are part of the essential energy flow of the universe. It was the responsibility of each king to uphold this principle as the basis of justice in his rulings with his subjects. Thus a spiritual view dominated the politics of India as well as the everyday lives of its people. A downside was that occupations were static within families for generations because individual advancement was not seen as being as important as unity with the cosmic whole.95
There also was a warrior class in early India made up of aristocrats and professional soldiers. The Bhagavad-Gita, one of the most holy Sanskrit texts, was written in the fifth century BCE. It portrays a conversation between the warrior Arjuna and his charioteer – the god Krishna – as they are about to go into battle. The main teaching of this text is to have one’s actions guided by the principle of unity with God – or Dharma – as opposed to individual gain or even the victory of one’s tribe or nation. It is fair to say that it differs considerably from any Western battle text. It preaches equality based on unity with the Divine. Yoga – in this context – means practice that leads to the experience of that divine unity.
The man who sees me in everything
and everything within me
will not be lost to me, nor
will I ever be lost to him.
He who is rooted in oneness
realizes that I am
in every being; wherever
he goes, he remains in me.
When
