Between 300-700AD the Germanic and Hunnic invasions signal the end of the ancient world. Con l’arrivo dei barbari (the Huns under Attila [434-453] above all) si susseguono anni di carestia e raggiungere i 40 anni di eta’ era un record. The medium-range effects of the entry of the Germans were a further acceleration of the decline in the west or, in other terms, the beginnings of the Middle Ages.
Con il Medioevo inizia una Guerra durata 1000 anni tra Fede e Ragione. L’espressione filosofica religiosa e’ di per se’ una contraddizione in termini.

India
The Gupta dinasty emerged in 320 AD and maintained a well-organized state , though local power fell in the hands of landlords. Buddhusm was becoming a religion for the masses and losing its basic ties with the main stream of Indian thought. By 490 AD the Huns had come to end this era of peace.

China
Internal decay caused a temporarily split apart in Han China into three separate political and economic realms. The remnants of the previous governmental structure fled to south China, together with many of the literate upper classes, and they will define the pattern of Chinese culture.
Religion: Buddhism and Taoism became popular modes of salvation.
From 600AC, China revived rapidly because the old patterns of civilization were far more deeply rooted than had been Greco-Roman culture in western Europe.

Rome
(364-565 AD)
In 364 the Roman Empire is divided into two empires (eastern and western) with two emperors. The Roman Empire in the west ended in 476 AD
By 565 (death of Justinian), the East Roman Empire was financially exhausted and the important provinces of Syria and Egypt were discontent.
Religion: after 395 the Empire began to collapse and in that collapse the potentialities of Latin Christendom suffered a check, which was not undone for centuries to come.

Following the barbarian invasions upon the Greco-Roman world, a new wave of invadors began around 600 AD. The Arabs, aroused by the new faith of Islam conquered Syria, Mesopotamia, Persia, and Egypt (640), the old Roman Africa (700) and Spain (711).
By 700 A.D. after three centuries of turmoil, the borders of Christianity in the West were again roughly what they had been in late Roman times. The lands of north Africa, Asia Minor and Europe were divided into three main areas:

Latin Christians (old West Roman Empire: Italy, France, Belguim, Britain): barbarian kings (germanic) ruled small kingdoms but in truth all government had fallen to pieces. Germanic tribes were self-governing, had a strong sense of loyalty to persons, but not institutions. Life became local and self-sufficient, circulation of money and trade almost stopped.

Greek Christians (Bizantine world: Greece, Turkey, southern Italy)

Muslims (the Arabic world: North africa, arabia, india, spain)

782 – Inizia la Scolastica (Carlo Magno) per eliminare ignoranza e superstizione del Medioevo. Gli insegnamenti comprendevano retorica, grammatica, dialettica, aritmetica, geometria, musica, e astronomia. Sono in mano a preti e monaci che si occupano delle materie religiose e lasciano l’insegnamento di quelle piu’ tecniche ai private.

1100 – si sviluppano I commerci. Le materie iniziano a distinguersi tra quelle religiose (la sapientia dei monaci) e quelle della ragione (la scientia degli intellettuali). Otto crociate tra il 1096 ed il 1270.

Nel 1244 l’Inquisizione inizia la caccia alle streghe. La donna nel Medioevo era vista come il simbolo vivente del peccato originale: “La porta del diavolo”. La donna diventa pari all’uomo solo nel 1968.