As a means of recording the passage of
time, the
11th century was that
century which lasted from
1001 to
1100.
In the history of
European culture, this period is considered the early part of the
High Middle Ages. There was a sudden decline of
Byzantine power and rise of
Norman domination over much of Europe, along with the prominent role in Europe of notably influential
popes. In what is now northern
Italy, a growth of population in urban centers gave rise to early organized capitalism and more sophisticated, commercialized culture by the late 11th century. In
Song China and the
Islamic world, this century marked the high point for both classical
Chinese civilization, science, and technology and medieval
Islamic science,
technology, and
literature. Rivaling political factions at the
Song Dynasty court created strife amongst the leading statesmen and ministers of the empire. There was also a population explosion, doubling to the size of 100 million, and an
economic revolution in China that spurred manufacture and production rates which rivaled even
Great Britain's
coal and
iron output in the early
Industrial Revolution. For
Chola-era
India and
Fatimid-era
Egypt, they had reached their zenith in military might and international influence. The
Western Chalukya Empire (the Chola's rival) also rose to power by the end of the century. In this century the Turkish
Seljuk dynasty comes to power in the Middle East over the now fragmented
Abbasid realm, while the
first of the
Crusades were waged towards the close of the century. In
Japan the
Fujiwara clan continued to dominate the affairs of state. In the Americas the
Toltec civilization flourished in
central America, along with the
Huari Culture of
South America. In
Russia, there was the
golden age for the principality of
Kievan Rus. In
Korea the
Goryeo Kingdom flourished and faced external threats from the
Liao Dynasty (
Manchuria). In
Vietnam the
Lý Dynasty began, while in
Myanmar the
Pagan Kingdom reached its height of political and military power.
Overview
In European history, the 11th century is regarded as the beginning of the
High Middle Ages and is therefore sometimes termed the
Early Middle Ages, though this term has another common meaning synonymous with
Dark Ages. The century began while the ''
translatio imperii'' of
962 was still somewhat novel and ended in the midst of the
Investiture Controversy. It saw the final Christianisation of
Scandinavia and the emergence of the
Peace and Truce of God movements, the
Gregorian Reforms, and the
Crusades which revitalised a church and a papacy which survived tarnished by the tumultuous tenth century. In
1054, the
Great Schism rent the church in two, however.
In Germany, it was marked by the ascendancy of the
Holy Roman Emperors, who hit their high watermark under the
Salians.
In Italy, it opened with the integration of the kingdom into the empire and the royal palace at
Pavia was sacked in
1024. By the end of the century,
Lombard and
Byzantine rule in the
Mezzogiorno had been usurped by the
Normans and the power of the territorial magnates was being replaced by that of the citizens of the cities in the north.
In Britain, it saw the transformation of
Scotland into a single, more unified and centralised kingdom and the
Norman conquest of England in
1066. The social transformations wrought in these lands brought them into the fuller orbit of European feudal politics.
In France, it saw the nadir of the monarchy and the zenith of the great magnates, especially the dukes of Aquitaine and Normandy, who could thus foster such distinctive contributions of their lands as the pious warrior who conquered Britain, Italy, and the East and the impious peacelover, the
troubadour, who crafted out of the European vernacular its first great literary themes. There were also the first figures of the intellectual movement known as
Scholasticism.
In Spain, the century opened with the successes of the last
caliphs of Córdoba and ended in the successes of the
Almoravids. In between was a period of Christian unification under
Navarrese hegemony and success in the
Reconquista against the
taifa kingdoms which replaced the fallen caliphate.
In China, there was a triangular affair of continued war and peace settlements between the
Song Dynasty Chinese, the
Tanguts of the
Western Xia in the northwest, and the
Khitans of the
Liao Dynasty in the northeast. Meanwhile, opposing
political factions evolved at the Song imperial court of
Kaifeng. The political reformers at court, called the New Policies Group (新法, Xin Fa), were led by
Emperor Shenzong of Song and the
Chancellors
Fan Zhongyan and
Wang Anshi, while the political conservatives were led by Chancellor
Sima Guang and Empress Dowager Gao, regent of the young
Emperor Zhezong of Song. Heated political debate and sectarian intrigue followed, while political enemies were often dismissed from the capital to govern frontier regions in the deep south where
malaria was known to be very fatal to northern Chinese people (see
History of the Song Dynasty). This period also represents a high point in classical Chinese science and technology, with figures such as
Su Song and
Shen Kuo, as well as the age where the matured form of the
Chinese pagoda was accomplished in
Chinese architecture.
In India, the
Chola Dynasty reached its height of naval power under leaders such as
Rajaraja Chola I and
Rajendra Chola I, dominating southern India (
Tamil Nadu),
Sri Lanka, and regions of
South East Asia. They also sent raids into what is now modern-day
Thailand.
In Japan, the
Fujiwara clan dominated central politics by acting as imperial regents, controlling the actions of the
Emperor of Japan, who acted merely as a '
puppet monarch' during the
Heian period.
In the Middle East, the
Fatimid Empire reached its zenith only to face steep decline, much like the Byzantine Empire in the first half of the century. The
Seljuks came to prominence while the
Abbasid caliphs held traditional titles without real, tangible authority in state affairs.
In Korea, the rulers of the
Goryeo Kingdom were able to concentrate more central authority into their own hands than in that of the nobles, and were able to fend off two
Khitan invasions with their armies.