Chapter 2: The Global System around 1200 C.E.

Comprehensive practice flashcards covering the global political, cultural, and technological state around 1200 C.E., including China, the Islamic world, Africa, Europe, and the Americas.

What were dhows and why were they significant to maritime trade around 1200 C.E.?

Dhows were small ships with one or two masts and triangular lateen sails that could tack against the wind, making them the main bearers of Muslim commerce and intercultural exchange from Morocco to Malaya.

Who were the Sufis in the context of the expansion of Islam?

Muslim holy men who sought new converts to regions as far-flung as India, Java, Malaya, and the Philippine Islands, usually attaining mass conversions through peaceful spiritual efforts rather than military force.

Which Chinese dynasty (960-1279) was known for major cultural developments and an expansion of trade and manufacturing?

The Song dynasty.

What was the primary method for appointing government officials, known as scholar-gentry or mandarins, in China?

The majority gained their positions by passing rigorous civil service exams, making literacy and schooling essential prerequisites for success.

List several key technological inventions devised by Chinese engineers and artisans prior to 1200 C.E.

Horse collars, wheelbarrows, kites, silk textiles, paper, porcelain, compasses, gunpowder, moveable type for printing, and sternpost rudders.

Who were the Jurchens and what role did they play in Chinese history during the 12th century?

Founders of the Jin kingdom who annexed the Yellow River basin and forced the Song dynasty to flee and retreat to the Yangzi basin in the south.

What is Shinto and how did it interact with imported influences in Japan?

The religion of early Japanese culture where devotees worshipped gods and spirits associated with the natural world; it coexisted with imported systems like Confucianism and Zen Buddhism.

Which dynasty succeeded the Umayyads as caliphs within Islam and built an empire from North Africa to Afghanistan?

The Abbasid dynasty.

How did the Abbasid Caliphate contribute to global science and mathematics?

They developed basic concepts of trigonometry, objective experiments, methods for studying material substances, and improved astronomical tables and maps.

What classification did Muslim conquerors in India give to Hindus and Buddhists to allow for cooperation?

They declared them "people of the book," a status previously reserved for Jewish and Christian communities, to rule through indigenous elites.

Who was Timur-i Lang (Tamerlane)?

A leader of Turkic nomads who launched attacks in Persia, India, and Southern Russia, notably defeating the Delhi sultanate in 1398 and destroying the city.

What does the Arabic term Zenj refer to?

The east African coast, which featured a string of prosperous Muslim-dominated trading centers by 1200 C.E.

What is the origin and meaning of the language known as Swahili?

Meaning "coastal," Swahili is a language that developed as a mix of Arabic and the widespread Bantu language in sub-Saharan Africa.

Who was Sundiata and why is he called the "Lion Prince"?

A member of the Keita clan who created a unified state that became the Mali Empire; he was made a legendary figure through the songs of court griots.

What were griots in the Mali Empire?

Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings.

Define Great Zimbabwe.

A Bantu confederation of Shona-speaking peoples located between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers that featured royal courts built of stone.

What was the significance of the Schism of 1054?

It was the formal split in the Christian community between the Latin church centered on Rome and the Orthodox church headed by the Byzantine patriarch.

How did the Fourth Crusade in 1204 affect the Byzantine Empire?

Crusading forces, financed by Venetians to weaken a trading rival, sacked Constantinople, looting the city and contributing to the empire's eventual decline.

Who was Vladimir I and what was his impact on Russia?

A ruler of Kievan Rus' who compelled his subjects to convert to Orthodox Christianity in the early 11th century.

Describe the three-field system adopted in Western Europe by the ninth century.

An agricultural cultivation method where one-third of the land was planted in spring grains, one-third was left fallow, and one-third was used for other crops to enhance soil fertility.

What is scholasticism?

A dominant medieval philosophical approach based on the use of logic to resolve theological problems, famously practiced by Thomas Aquinas.

What were the main features of the Toltec culture in post-1000 C.E. Mesoamerica?

A strongly militaristic ethic, including human sacrifice, that influenced a large territory until its decline after 1200 C.E.

Identify Tenochtitlan.

The fabled Aztec capital founded c. 1325 on a marshy island in Lake Texcoco, which became the center of Aztec power.

What were some notable achievements of the Incan Empire in South America?

They were expert builders using large stones without cement, domesticated llamas and alpacas as pack animals, and developed advanced horticultural skills with root crops like the potato.