1. In the seventh and eighth centuries Islam expanded rapidly, conquering and converting vast areas and developing an advanced urban civilization.

2. The Byzantine Empire survived by becoming a Greek-speaking bastion of Orthodox Christianity defended by free peasant-soldiers, enriched by trade and manufacturing, and governed by an elaborate bureaucracy.

3. Charlemagne created a Frankish empire that encompassed present-day France, western Germany, and northern Italy that fostered a brief but significant revival of cultural life.

4. The first East Slavic civilization was organized around the Principality of Kiev, a sophisticated but relatively short-lived state.

5. From the late ninth to the eleventh century, new incursions by Asiatic nomads in the east and Scandinavian raiders from the north challenged these expansive but unstable states, causing them to crumble into smaller political units more capable of managing local defense.