Un) Civilized Chaos Though History

Un) Civilized Chaos

Though history has shown a general trend towards the coalescing of various civilizations as trade and communication between cultures increases, there have been periods of human development marked by a breakdown of these ties and the establishment of a more chaotic world order. One of these periods occurred around AD 500, beginning earlier in the fifth century and continuing for some time. There are some similarities to this breakdown, which ushered in the thousand-year period known as the Dark or Middle Ages, and the hiccup that the interconnectedness of civilization took from AD 1300-1500. Though this latter period was less chaotic both in degree and in spread than that which occurred in AD 500, some definite connections exist between the two.

The chaos of the fifth and sixth centuries that was to reverberate throughout the Middle Ages was the result of the fall of the Raman Empire. The empire itself has already split into separate entities, weakening it, and its final crumbling re-instilled the pre-Empire chaos to a large degree. Without a central political and cultural force, groups of people turned inward and became protective and isolationist again. Continued war both proved this wise and perpetuated the situation. In the 1300s, the papacy was split, and various allegiances and nations were split with it. Though the implications of the great schism were much less destructive and pervasive than those of the fall of the Roman Empire, the result was similar as trusts were broken.

The ability to conduct trade was essential for continued cooperation. When Rome fell, its roads were no longer guarded, and they soon became the territory of outlaws. Later in history, highwaymen still existed, and government officials and tax men also became common. Reduction in trade was a large part of the reason that chaos gained a foothold again in the late Medieval period.