[Home Page] [Other Page] [Inventions Page] [Search Inventions] [Before 10,000 BC] [10,000 BC to 4000 BC] [4000 BC to 3000 BC] [3000 BC to 2000 BC] [2000 BC to 1000 BC] [1000 BC to 1 BC] [1 AD to 1000 AD] [1000 to 1600] [1600 to 1700] [1700 to 1800] [1800 to 1850] [1850 to 1900] [1900 to 1950] [Since 1950] [Inventions] [Biographies] [Religions of the World] [Bible Contradictions] [The Animal Kingdom] [Rain] [Countries of the World] [Cookery] [Food Origins] [Music] [Readers' Feedback (Religion)] [Language] [Travel] [Democracy] [Eclipses] [London] [Astronomy] [Mathematics] [Physics] [Chemistry] [Football] [Television] [Other]

Inventions 1 AD to 1000 AD

Support this web site by making a donation

Key Moments

The Roman Empire reached its maximum extent in 117. In 395 it spilt into two portions: a Latin speaking Western part with its capital in Rome and a Greek speaking Eastern part based in Constantinople (modern Istanbul in Turkey). The latter became known as the Byzantine Empire. This split was reflected in the religion of Christianity. The Latin speaking Catholics lived in Western Europe while the Greek speaking Orthodox Christians lived in Eastern Europe, Asia Minor and the Middle East.

The Western Roman Empire broke up in 476. This event is known as "the fall of the Roman Empire".

Mohammad, the prophet of Islam, was born in the Arabian Peninsula around 580. He began preaching in 620 in the city of Mecca. His move to Medina in 622 marks the beginning of the Muslim calendar. In 632, the religion split into two sects, the majority Sunni and a minority Shia. The preachings of Mohammad were put together into the Muslim scriptures (The Quran) around 655. Muslims believe the contents of the Quran were revealed by God.

Muslim armies conquered much of the Middle East (including Jerusalem in 636), Persia and North Africa (including Egypt in 641 and Carthage in 698). In the East, Afghanistan (664) and Uzbekistan (676) were conquered.

In 711 Tariq ibn Ziyad lead a Moorish army from North Africa into Spain which would remain Muslim for 800 years when it was known as Moorish Spain. The Battle of Tours (732) saw Islam stopped in Southern France by the Franks (who were Christians lead by Charles Martel, born 688). In 673 the Arabs failed to conquer Constantinople, the Byzantine capital, thanks in part to the use of Greek fire.

Arab traders reached the islands of Indonesia in 701, bringing back spices that preserved food and improved its taste.

After about 650, the torch of innovation passed to the Muslim world, dominated by two Arab Empires: Firstly, the Ommayad Empire, centred in Damascus (modern Syria). Later the Abbasid Empire with its capital in Baghdad (modern Iraq). Many classical Greek writings were translated to Arabic, helping preserve them through the northern European dark ages.

During this period, China continued developing and producing many of the items taken for granted in the modern world. Japan, Byzantium and India also made significant contributions.

Around 456, Celtic Britain was invaded by Angles, Saxons and Jutes from northern Germany and southern Denmark: these were the ancestors of the English. Their language would eventually dominate the modern world. The English scholar, Alcuin (born 732) living in (modern) France developed miniscule writing, the "small letters" of the alphabet.

The Vikings, a Scandinavian people, began a series of sea explorations: Ottar became the first person to cross the Arctic Circle by sea in 870; Ingolfur Arnarson sailed to Iceland in 874; Erik Thorvaldson reached Greenland in 982; Leif Erikson reached the coast of (modern day) Canada in 1002. This was the first historical contact between Europe and the Americas.

Around 400, paper was invented in Teotihuacan (modern Mexico) using fig tree bark; ginger began to be used extensively in China. Around 650 the windmill arrived in Europe via the Arabs. Glass for windows and stone for churches began to be used in England in 674. In 785, China was using a floating version of the magnetic compass for navigation. Nitric Acid was produced in the Arab Empires around 750. Hops for brewing beer were first used in Germany around 800. The astrolabe was perfected into an accurate portable timepiece in Persia by 850. In China, the year 910 recorded the first use of gunpowder in war. China was using strike matches by 1000.

Some important people from this period include:

• Pliny The Elder (Roman historian and scholar) was born in 23; he died observing the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79.
• The Roman Emperor, Nero was born in 37.
• The Greek mathematician and astronomer, Ptolemy, summaried the astronomical knowledge of the ancients in the book, The Almagest, in 145. This work would be translated into Arabic and eventually Latin; it would eventually help start the European Renaissance.
• The warrior, Attila (The Hun) was born in 406.
• The Byzantine Emperor, Justinian, was born in 483; he had silk worm eggs smuggled from China and set up Europe's first silk production.
• The Arab alchemist, Abu Musa Jabir Ibn Hayyan (known as Geber) was born in (what is now) Iraq in 721; he was the first to write down his experiments systematically.
• The Frankish king, Charlemagne, was born in 742.
• The Arab mathematician, Muhammad al-Khwarizmi, was born in Uzbekistan c750. He popularised the use of Indian numbers (see below) and developed modern algebra.

Between 629 and 645, Hsuang-Tsang travelled from China to India and Afghanistan to collect Buddhist teachings and wrote up the account of his travels.

The city of Venice was founded in swampy lagoons in 452 by people fleeing Attila The Hun. Chichen Itza (in modern Mexico) was settled by the Mayans in 455. Paris became the capital of the Frankish Kingdom in 508. Mombassa (modern Kenya) was settled c700 as a result of Swahili-Arab trade. Dublin was founded on the Irish coast in 841 by Norse raiders.

The Dome of the Rock Mosque was built in Jerusalem in 691. The Potola Palace was built in Lhasa (Tibet) in 700 as the home of the Dalai Lama. In 752, Great Buddha in the Todai Temple (in Nara capital of Japan) was constructed. Between 800 and 900, Angkor Wat, the world's largest temple complex, was constructed in Cambodia and Borobudur (the world's largest Buddhist monument) was built in Java (modern Indonesia). The golden domed Shrine of Imam Ali was built in Najaf (modern Iraq) in 977.

Numbers

These types of numbers were very awkward to write and impossible to calculate with. They were only used for recording purposes. Fingers or the abacus were used for actual calculations. Multiplication tables were horrendous and time consuming to learn as can be seen from the partial example below.

The modern numbers (1 to 9) were invented in India and were more efficient since they were positional. The figure 3 could mean three or thirty or three hundred depending on its position. Only these symbols were required for any number however large. The key to this was the invention of the zero (0). This allowed numbers like 34, 304 and 340 to be distinguished. A number like 1967 means 1 thousand (1000) plus 9 hundred (900) plus 6 tens (60) plus 7 units.

In 825 the Arabs worked out that the Indian numbers could be used for calculation by learning a few simple rules. This was the beginning of modern arithmatic (addition, subtraction, multiplication, division) using pensil and paper rather than calculating tools. Multiplication tables were simple as position did not affect the result: 2 times 3 was 6 regardless of whether we were talking about units, tens or hundreds.

The Indian numbers eventually reached Europe (where they are known as Arabic Numerals) in time for the scientific revolutions of the 1500s.

By not using letters for numbers, the letters could ber used for unknown or general numbers - algebra was born, a tool now used to solve equations in all branches of science.

Books From Amazon.co.uk and Amazon.com

KryssTal Related Pages

Introduction to Numbers

Introduction to Algebra

Spherical Trigonometry

The English Language

Borrowed Words From Greek

Borrowed Words From Latin

Borrowed Words From Arabic

Borrowed Words From Mandarin