HistoryOfEurope

In brief:

Europe has been human-occupied since the dawn of mankind. NeanderthaL man settled Europe long before the emergence

of modern man, HomoSapiens.

The CelticPeople formed the first well-known, widespread civilization in Europe. As they did not practice a

written language, knowledge of them is piecemeal. The Romans encountered them and recorded a great deal

about them; these records and the results of archaeological digs form our primary understanding of this extremely

influential culture. The Celts posed a formidable, if disorganized, competitor to the RomanEmpire, that had

colonized and conquered much of the southern portion of Europe.

While much of the early prehistory of Europe is shrouded in mystery, one of the first solid, very well-documented

cultures is that of the Greeks. The GreekCivilization took the form of a collection of CityStates, many having

vastly differing types of government and cultures. While it is likely that many other civilizations around the

world experimented with the various governmental forms, because of the thorough analysis and documentation (and

the careful preservation of this "classical" data by first the Romans and later the CatholicChurch), these researchings

have come down to present day, influencing political thinking around the world. The Greeks (and the Athenian's

especially) were well known for their erudite philosophical ponderings on a great many matters, and are often

accredited with the founding of Western Philosophy, ScienCe, PoLitics, SportS, TheaTer and MuSic.

AlexanderTheGreat, a Macedonian, conquered Greece, and much of the (Western) civilized world of the time,

extending almost as far as India. A brilliant strategitian, backed by some of the best minds produced

by the GreekCivilization, Alexander's exploits laid the foundations of western military strategy.

The Roman Empire emerged from Italy, originally governed by kings, then by an oligarchical republic made up of senators. These families fought and schemed against one another, using the vast and powerful Roman armies as tools of power. After a series of military successes, Julius Ceasar declared himself ruler of the empire. His assasination led to a civil war, the result of which was a succession of AuthoritariaN emperors.

Europe emerged as the site of a distinct civilization after the fall of the RomanEmpire (c. 400-500 AD), separated from the rest of the Meditteranean by the Byzantine and Islamic cultures. Huge amounts of technology and learning were lost, and people returned to local agragarian communities.

The first substantial new development was the appearance of the HolyRomanEmpire around 800 AD. The subsequent period saw the growth of FeudalisM, the development of the CatholicChurch as a major power, and the first signs of new learning began to appear. By the end of the MiddleAges, powerful NationStates had appeared and began conquering wide portions of the world.

Philosophy, science and technology developed rapidly throughout. The church broke up and semi-secular governments started developing. In the FrenchRevolution, people made a significant attempt to create a new government based on freedom and equality, instead launching the NapoleonicEra. Napoleon also destroyed the HolyRomanEmpire, leaving Germany and Italy to develop into nation-states by 1900.

The twentieth century saw the massively overdone world wars, which ended the pre-eminent position of Europe. Thereafter it was a zone of contention between the world-powers of the UnitedStates and SovietUnion, which have only just finished.