CHAPTER 2 WHAP

What period saw a major intensification of contacts among Eastern and Western hemisphere societies?

The period around 1200 C.E.

What four things facilitated the increased interactions around 1200 C.E.?

Camel caravans, nomadic migrations, military campaigns, and small ships known as dhows.

What were dhows?

Small ships with one or two masts and triangular lateen sails.

Where were dhows primarily used for trade?

From Morocco to Malaya.

What made dhows highly maneuverable for commerce?

Their design allowed them to tack against the wind and navigate shallow harbors.

Why were dhows not effective as warships?

Because of their small size and inability to carry heavy armaments or large numbers of soldiers.

What types of goods did dhows carry?

Bulk items (rice, timber) and luxury commodities (tea, ivory, fine textiles).

How did Islam primarily spread by 1200 C.E.?

Through peaceful means, primarily by Sufi missionaries traveling by sea in dhows.

Why were many civilizations facing crisis or decline around 1200 C.E.?

Due to internal issues and external pressures from nomadic invasions.

Which two empires were significant centers of cultural, technological, and commercial exchange around 1200 C.E.?

The Song Empire in China and the Abbasid Empire in the Middle East.

When was the Kamakura shogunate founded in Japan?

Between 1000 and 1200 C.E.

When did the Christian reconquest of Iberia take place?

Between 1000 and 1200 C.E.

Which dynasty did the Abbasid caliphate overthrow in the eighth century?

The Umayyad dynasty.

What regions did the Abbasid empire encompass at its height?

From North Africa to present-day Afghanistan.

What major Byzantine city did the Abbasid conquests fail to capture?

Constantinople.

Which two groups' invasions ironically helped prolong the Abbasid dynasty?

Buyid Muslims from Persia and Seljuk Turkish converts to Islam.

Why is the Abbasid era considered a golden age?

Due to significant contributions to global science, mathematics, and culture, including trigonometry, astronomy, and medicine.

What was the capital of the Abbasid empire and a key hub for global trade?

Baghdad.

What event marked the final decline of the Abbasid empire?

The Mongol invasions from Central Asia.

In what year did the Mongols capture Baghdad and end the Abbasid dynasty?

1258 C.E.

What role did Western Europe play after the fall of the Roman Empire?

It overcame instability and violence, with Christianity providing unity.

What organizations preserved classical learning and contributed to technological innovation in Western Europe?

Monastic orders.

Who called for the Crusades from the 11th to 13th centuries?

The popes.

What was the primary goal of the Christian Crusades?

To reclaim Jerusalem from Muslims.

How did the popes use the threat of Islam in Western Europe?

They used it to unify Latin Christendom.

What military innovation completely transformed European warfare and social structures?

The introduction of the stirrup.

What social class emerged in Western Europe due to the introduction of the stirrup?

A medieval aristocracy of heavily armored knights.

What three innovations sparked the Agrarian Revolution in Western Europe?

The three-field system, steel plows, and horse collars.

What were the results of the Agrarian Revolution in Western Europe?

Higher agricultural yields, better diets, and the release of labor for other pursuits.

Which two Italian cities became pivotal trade centers in Western Europe?

Genoa and Venice.

Did Western Europe trade with the Islamic world despite the Crusades?

Yes, substantial commercial connections existed between the Islamic and Christian worlds.

What happened in the Iberian Peninsula under Islamic rule?

A flourishing of architecture, poetry, music, philosophy, and scientific inquiry.

Who collaborated to create the cultural flourishing in the Iberian Peninsula?

Muslim, Christian, and Jewish scholars.

By 1200 C.E., what northern European city began to flourish as a center of commerce and art?

Paris.

What architectural style experienced a revival in Northern Europe, symbolized by Notre Dame?

The Gothic revival.

What major educational institution rose in France around 1200 C.E.?

The University of Paris.

Who instituted significant judicial reforms in France, including the principle of presumed innocence?

King Louis IX.

What negative actions is King Louis IX also known for?

Leading crusades and persecuting heretics.

Why did Constantinople's location make it a crucial commercial hub?

It was positioned between Europe and Asia, connecting trade routes across three continents.

What defensive advantages prevented Constantinople from being captured by early Arab dynasties?

Its formidable triple walls and the Byzantine fleet's use of Greek fire.

What major religious event occurred in 1054 C.E.?

The schism between the Latin (Western) and Orthodox (Eastern) churches.

What happened during the Fourth Crusade in 1200 C.E.?

The Crusade, financed by Venice, sacked Constantinople, leading to significant destruction and looting.

Who were the principal trading partners of the Byzantine Empire in the north?

Viking merchants from Scandinavia.

What kingdom was founded in the ninth century by the merging of Slavic populations and Scandinavian political dominance?

Kievan Rus', centered on Novgorod.

Which ruler converted Kievan Rus' to Orthodox Christianity in the early eleventh century?

Vladimir I.

What cultural elements did Kievan Rus' adopt from the Byzantine Empire?

Bureaucracy, legal systems, church architecture, rituals, and Greek texts translated into Cyrillic.

Which Slavic groups adhered to the Roman Catholic Church instead of the Orthodox Church?

The Poles and Czechs, who connected culturally and politically to Western Europe.

Which two Chinese dynasties achieved unparalleled success in agriculture, bureaucracy, and urbanization before 1200 C.E.?

The Song and Tang dynasties.

What crops supported population growth and urbanization in China?

Wheat, millet, and wet-rice.

Who were the scholar-gentry in China?

Officials appointed through rigorous civil service exams requiring extensive schooling and literacy.

What philosophy shaped government obligations, social interactions, and artistic production in China?

Confucianism.

Name six major technological advancements from China.

Horse collars, wheel-barrows, kites, silk textiles, paper, porcelain, compasses, gunpowder, moveable type, and sternpost rudders.

What were three notable scientific contributions from China?

Acupuncture, seismographs, and a 365.5-day calendar.

Why did China have a trade surplus in Eurasian networks?

Due to high demand for Chinese silk, tea, and porcelain.

Which nomadic tribes threatened and weakened the Song dynasty by the 12th century?

The Tangut and Jurchens.

How did Korea interact with China politically?

Korean dynasties formed tributary alliances with China and adopted its bureaucratic structures.

What Chinese technologies did Koreans improve upon?

They excelled in fine ceramics and printing with moveable metal type.

How long did China rule Nam-Viet (Vietnam) before it gained independence?

For over a thousand years, until 939 C.E.

What cultural traits did Vietnam retain despite Chinese influence?

Their distinct language, the strong position of women, and allegiance to local leaders.

What indigenous religion did Japan retain while selectively borrowing from China?

The Shinto religion.

What impact did Chinese patriarchal ideals have on Japan?

They reduced Japanese women's influence over time, though elite women remained central in literature.

What form of Buddhism did the Japanese elite favor?

Zen Buddhism, which they blended with Shinto elements.

How did Islam initially spread to South and Southeast Asia?

Through warriors, merchants, and mystics (Sufis) from the Middle East.

Why did Muslim conquerors in India allow religious tolerance for Hindus and Buddhists?

They recognized them as "people of the book," similar to Jewish and Christian communities.

What Islamic state was established in India that extended from Sind to Bengal?

The Delhi Sultanate.

How did high-caste Hindus view their Muslim overlords in the Delhi Sultanate?

They remained distant and viewed them as outcasts.

What highly impactful scientific knowledge was exchanged between Hindu scholars and Abbasid scientists?

Advanced mathematics, including the Hindu numbering system (Arabic numerals).

Who led a second wave of conquests into Northern India in 1398, destroying Delhi?

Timur-i Lang (Tamerlane).

Who finally united the Indian subcontinent after the fall of the Delhi Sultanate?

Babur, a descendant of Mongol khans and Timur, who founded the Mughal Empire.

What region developed prosperous Muslim-dominated trading centers along the east coast of Africa?

The Zenj region.

What were the major products traded out of East Africa?

Gold, ivory, precious stones, and slaves.

What common language, a mix of Arabic and Bantu, was shared by East African coastal towns?

Swahili.

What was the earliest expansive savanna state in West Africa, emerging by the third century C.E.?

The Ghana Empire.

What two major goods did the Ghana Empire exchange across trans-Saharan trade routes?

Gold from the rainforest zone for salt and dates from the Sahara.

Who was Sundiata?

Mali’s "Lion Prince" who ruled in the mid-thirteenth century.

Which famous traveler praised the security, well-being, and craftsmanship of Sundiata’s realm?

Ibn Battuta.

What agricultural tool introduced in the B.C.E. centuries increased male planting roles and elevated the status of blacksmiths in African coastal rainforests?

Iron plows.

Who was Ogun in the coastal rainforest kingdoms?

The god of the highly respected blacksmiths.

Which regional kingdom developed by Edo-speakers emerged as a power in the early thirteenth century in Africa?

The Benin kingdom.

What historical event significantly transformed Central Africa's demography and landscape over millennia?

The Great Bantu Migrations.

What kingdom did Bantu migrants establish in present-day Zimbabwe by 1200 C.E.?

Great Zimbabwe.

Why did Amerindian civilizations develop uniquely compared to Eurasia and Africa?

The Americas were isolated, leading to developments without shared diseases, crops, inventions, or animals.

What were the foundational crops of early Amerindian civilizations?

Maize, beans, cotton, and potatoes.

What indigenous group built the massive city of Cahokia?

The mound builders.

Why did the Toltec Empire (capital at Tula) disintegrate around 1200 C.E.?

Due to nomadic incursions.

Which civilization built Tenochtitlan in the fourteenth century with a population over 100,000?

The Aztecs.

Which civilization built an empire in present-day Peru and Ecuador and specialized in root crops like potatoes?

The Incas.

What animals did the Incas domesticate for transportation?

Llamas and alpacas.

Who eventually subjugated both the Aztec and Inca empires in the sixteenth century?

Spanish Conquistadores.