HIST 1201 Midterm review (more concise to get general info better)

The Umayyads and the Abbasids

Early Caliphates that followed the Prophet Muhammad

Umayyad

• Moved the capital to Damascus.

• Consolidated the caliphate into a structured empire.

• Made Arabic the official language, promoting Arabization in regions like Egypt.

Abbasid

• Came to power after the Second Fitna (civil war), overthrowing the Umayyads.

• Established Baghdad as their capital.

• Oversaw the Islamic Golden Age, marked by major advances in culture, science, and learning.

• The caliphate ended when the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258.

The Millet System

• Ottoman institution that granted protected status to non-Muslim religious minorities (similar to the Arabic term dhimmi).

• It allowed groups like Christians and Jews to:

  • Keep their own traditions.

  • Be governed by their own legal codes.

• The system’s religious tolerance attracted Jewish refugees after their expulsion from Spain in 1492 during the Christian Reconquista.

• It provided autonomy and security for minorities, helping unify the diverse Ottoman Empire.

Overland System (2 points); Tribute System

Ming and Qing Dynasties. Trade systems

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• Managed relations with nomadic and pastoral tribes to the north and west.

• These groups were seen as a military threat due to their cavalry and ability to raid across the steppes.

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• Applied to eastern and southern states such as Korea, Japan, and Southeast Asian kingdoms.

• These states posed no major military threat.

• Foreign envoys had to:

  • Travel to the Chinese capital,

  • Offer tribute (gifts),

  • Perform the ketou (kowtow) to show submission.

• In return, they received valuable gifts from the Emperor.

• The system reinforced China’s belief in itself as the “Middle Kingdom” and controlled the terms of foreign trade.

Sankin Kotai

• (“system of alternate attendance” at Edo) was key to maintaining the Tokugawa peace (Pax Tokugawa) and unity in Japan (1600–1868).

• It required daimyos (local lords) to:

  • Spend every other year in Edo (the shogun’s capital).

  • Leave their wives and children in Edo as hostages when they returned to their home domains (han).

• The system:

  • Financially strained the daimyos due to constant travel and maintaining two residences.

  • Ensured loyalty and control by the shogun.

  • Prevented rebellions and maintained a stable, decentralized political structure.

The Aztec Empire

• triple alliance between Tenochtitlan (Mexica), Texcoco, and Tlacopan, centered in the Valley of Mexico.

• It had a strict social hierarchy with:

  • An aristocracy,

  • A priestly class, and

  • A king (tlatoani).

• Warfare was ritualistic, featuring ceremonial battles where noblemen sought to capture prisoners for human sacrifice on pyramid temples.

• The empire’s economy thrived through marketplaces and trade networks.

• It was easily conquered by the Spanish because many subject and rival city-states allied with the Europeans against the Aztecs.

Sapa Inca

• The Sapa Inca (“the only Inca” or “supreme leader”) was the autocratic ruler and living god of the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu).

• Seen as the earthly representative of Inti, the sun god, he held absolute authority over both military and religious affairs.

• His centralized power was key to maintaining the empire’s unity.

• Even after death, the mummified Sapa Inca was honored at state ceremonies, symbolizing his continued presence.

• Succession disputes often caused internal instability.

• The empire fell when Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro captured the Sapa Inca in 1533.

The Columbian Exchange

• Term for the widespread transfer of plants, animals, people, and microbes between the Americas and the rest of the world after 1492.

• From the Americas came crops such as corn, potatoes, tomatoes, and cocoa.

• From Europe, Africa, and Asia came coffee, wheat, rice, horses, cattle, pigs, and sheep.

• It transformed global diets, boosting nutrition and population growth worldwide.

• However, it was devastating for Indigenous Americans, with up to 80% dying from Eurasian diseases like smallpox and measles.

Mansa Musa

• Mansa Musa was a wealthy and famous emperor of the Mali Empire in West Africa.

• Mali’s wealth came from taxes on the trans-Saharan gold and salt trade.

• He is best known for his grand hajj to Mecca in 1324, traveling with:

  • Camels and elephants

  • Thousands of attendants

  • Massive amounts of gold

• His lavish gifts in Cairo caused inflation that reportedly lasted 12 years.

• He invested his wealth to rebuild Timbuktu, turning it into a major center of Muslim scholarship and learning

Cuius Regio eius religio

• means "whose realm, his religion".

• Established by the Peace of Augsburg (1555) in the Holy Roman Empire.

• Allowed territorial rulers to choose either Catholicism or Lutheranism as the official religion of their lands.

• Provided a temporary settlement to religious conflicts between Lutherans and Catholics.

• This uneasy peace eventually failed, contributing to the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648).

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre

• occurred during the French Wars of Religion.

• It began on August 24, 1572, in Paris.

• The Catholic Guise family convinced King Charles IX to kill about two dozen leading Huguenot nobles gathered for a royal wedding.

• Many Parisian Catholics misinterpreted the order, believing all Huguenots should be killed.

• This misunderstanding led to widespread violence, resulting in:

  • ~2,000 Protestants killed in Paris over two days

  • Up to 8,000 killed across France by October.

“He said, "Oh! of old the former kings of Xia cultivated

earnestly their virtue, and then there were no calamities from

Heaven. The spirits of the hills and rivers alike were all in

tranquility; and the birds and beasts, the fishes and tortoises,

all enjoyed their existence according to their nature. But their

descendant did not follow their example, and great Heaven

sent down calamities…”

• The quote illustrates the Chinese concept of the "Mandate of Heaven".

• This philosophy held that Heaven grants the right to rule to a virtuous ruler or dynasty.

• Good governance and virtue brought harmony and prevented calamities from Heaven.

• If a ruler or dynasty lost virtue, Heaven could send calamities, signaling the loss of legitimacy.

• The Mandate of Heaven could be revoked, often justifying revolts and the rise of a new dynasty.

“The messengers with a trumpet worked in relays, one chasqui relieving another after a distance of just under two miles. In this way the rate of progress of the message could be kept astoundingly high. It was said that a snail picked off a leaf at Tumi in the north of the empire could be delivered to the Inca in Cuzco still alive. As for the higher messengers, their task was to carry heavy loads on a whole day’s journey at a time.”

• The Inca messenger system relied on runners called chasqui.

• Messages and goods were transported in relays across a vast network of roads, including six major highways and many connecting routes.

• The system allowed communication and transport at very high speeds across the empire.

• The Inca state’s authority and bureaucracy depended on both the infrastructure and the chasqui’s loyalty and dedication.

“The royal court is magnificent and very well organized. When the king goes from one city to another with the people of his court, he rides a camel and the horses are led by hand by servants. If fighting becomes necessary, the servants mount the camels and all the soldiers mount on horseback. When someone wishes to speak to the king, he must kneel before him and bow down; but this is only required of those who have never before spoken to the king, or of ambassadors. The king has about 3,000 horsemen and infinity of foot-soldiers armed with bows made of wild fennel [?] which they use to shoot poisoned arrows. This king makes war only upon neighboring enemies and upon those who do not want to pay him tribute. When he has gained a victory, he has all of them—even the children—sold in the market at Timbuktu.”

• The passage describes a powerful West African ruler, likely from the Mali or Songhai Empire.

• Examples include Sundiata Keita (Mali) and Askia Muhammad (Songhai).

• Their power was based on control of trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt, including key hubs like Timbuktu.

• The rulers maintained centralized authority and commanded large armies.

• Wars were fought to enforce tribute and capture defeated enemies, which may relate to the early slave trade in the region.

“Here it is told how the men of Tlatilulco and Tenochtitlan

surrendered to the Spaniards and what happened when they

were among them.

And when they had gotten him [Cuauhtémoc] there and when

he was on land, all the Spaniards came to see. They came to

take him. The Spaniards grasped him by the hand, took him

up to the roof and put him in front of the Captain [Cortés], the

war leader….[Then] they fired the cannons; they hit no one,

but they aimed over the [common] people, the [shots] just

went over the heads of the Indians. Then they brought out a

cannon, put it in a boat, and took it to the home of

Coyohuehuetzin. When they arrived, they took it up on the

roof. Then again they killed people, many died there.”

• The surrender of Cuauhtémoc marked the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521 to Hernán Cortés and the Spanish.

• Cuauhtémoc, leader of the Mexica (Aztec) forces, was captured and brought before the Spanish, showing the total defeat of the Aztec leadership.

• The Spanish used cannons and intimidation, causing many Mexica to flee in desperation, with orders like “Eat greens!” reflecting their survival struggles.

• After the conquest, the Spaniards stole gold and seized women and men for forced labor or branding.

• This account offers a primary, indigenous perspective on the brutality of the final conquest of the Aztec Empire.

Pomestia

• were nonallodial fiefs in Russia granted to nobles in return for military service to the Tsar, beginning under Ivan III in the late 15th century.

• These lands came from conquered territories, confiscated boyar and monastery lands, and free peasant plots.

• The system was tied to the rise of coerced cash-crop labor, as land grants rewarded loyal supporters and required control over peasant mobility, eventually leading to serfdom.

• strengthened the Tsar’s absolute monarchy, provided a loyal army, and created a new service-based nobility, contrasting with Eastern Europe where landed nobles gained power.

• Over time, pomestia and the older votchina system merged legally in 1731