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The medieval period, also known as the Middle Ages, is a part of history spanning the 5th century CE to about the 14th century CE. This period is marked by the fall of the Roman Empire at approximately 476 CE and ends at the beginning of the Renaissance period, which was around the 1300s.
After Rome fell, there was no proper government that ruled the Europeans. The Catholic Church then took its place, becoming the most powerful organization of the time. Even royal figures like kings, queens, and others allied themselves with the church and were protected by it. As a result, the church gathered lots of wealth and influenced most of Europe.
It is also during the Medieval period that Islam grew more in numbers and in power. After 632 CE, Muslims controlled most parts of the Middle East, uniting them under a single Islamic government called a caliphate. At this time, the Islamic states combined were much larger than the Christian states.
It is even in the Muslim states where a lot of intellectual achievements were made. Books were written about science, philosophy, and poetry. Technologies like windmills, instruments used for surgery, and photography were invented. Even mathematical systems were created at this time, like algebra that is so crucial to high school curriculums today.
Architecture also was one field that thrived in the Medieval period. It is during this time when huge, picturesque cathedrals were built, as well as monasteries and other structures for religious purposes. In fact, the largest buildings that can be found in Europe at this time were cathedrals, and every town center in Europe had one.
Although the Medieval era was known as a period with very little scientific and technological development, it was not so. Muslim scientists and intellectuals contributed a lot to the technologies we have today, and later on the Christians would also discover these and utilize the technologies themselves.
