Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200 - 1450)

Comprehensive question-and-answer practice flashcards covering Unit 1 topics: East Asia, Dar al-Islam, South/Southeast Asia, the Americas, and Europe (1200–1450).

What were the three pillars of the Song Dynasty and how did they enable China to impact other regions?

Agricultural Intensification driven by Champa rice, Technological innovation (gunpowder and printing press), and Commercial expansion with paper money.

What was Neo-Confucianism and what was its importance to Chinese society?

It restored Confucian hierarchy and moral ideas while adopting Buddhist ideas about mind and reality. It established civil service exams, shaped the social hierarchy, and changed regional transmission.

What were the political similarities and differences between Yuan China and Song China?

Similarities: Both retained the state bureaucracy. Differences: Yuan China placed Mongols on top of the political hierarchy and Chinese below.

How did Japan's political system differ from China's between 1200 and 1450?

Japan utilized Feudalism, a hierarchical system, rather than China's centralized imperial government.

How did Korea and Vietnam maintain a Tributary relationship with China?

Vietnam and Korea adopted Chinese culture and paid tribute to China, allowing China to exert influence without conquering them.

How did Pax Mongolica impact the spread of Chinese cultural and technological innovations?

The period of Mongolian Peace provided stability along the Silk Road, creating greater opportunities for Chinese trade and development.

How did Japan's response to Chinese influence differ from that of Korea or Vietnam?

Because Japan is an island, it could selectively choose what to adopt; it chose Chinese religion while rejecting Chinese political systems.

How did Song Dynasty economic innovations foster connectivity across Asia, Africa, and Europe?

Paper cash simplified trade, compasses facilitated maritime navigation, and gunpowder expanded territory and opened trade routes.

How did Yuan China amplify the economic innovations of the Song Dynasty?

Yuan China expanded the Silk Road through Pax Mongolica, issued paper currency, and maintained extensive trade networks.

What is Champa Rice?

A type of fast-ripening, drought-resistant rice introduced in Song China that led to a population boom.

What is Celadon?

A style of Chinese ceramic glaze that became a prominent luxury export.

What does Dar al-Islam mean?

It means House of Islam, referring to areas of the world where Muslims are in the majority and practice Islam.

Why was Islam considered a missionary religion?

Muslims believed anyone could convert and actively sought followers. Conquered non-converts were permitted to practice their faith if they paid a tax.

Who was Ibn Battuta, and how did Dar al-Islam shape his travels compared to Marco Polo?

He was a Moroccan Muslim scholar who traveled 75,000 miles across Asia and wrote The Journey. Working as a judge, he was never an outsider due to the widespread presence of Dar al-Islam.

What was the significance of the Mongol sacking of Baghdad in 1258?

It ended the Abbasid Caliphate and fractured the center of Islam, causing scholars to disperse and establish new centers of learning across Asia and Europe.

How did the migration of Turks contribute to the Seljuk Dynasty?

Turks conquered northern Dar al-Islam and blended their customs with Islamic beliefs, creating a new empire that later broke apart.

What was the House of Wisdom and what occurred after its destruction?

It was a famous learning center in Baghdad serving as a hub for research. Its destruction destroyed years of accumulated knowledge but dispersed surviving ideas elsewhere.

How did Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and Ibn Sina advance intellectual innovation?

They preserved ancient knowledge and developed new innovations, such as trigonometry, laying groundwork for modern technology.

What is a Caliphate?

An Islamic state ruled by a caliph.

What is the Ummah?

The global community of all Muslims.

What is bhakti?

A Hindu devotional movement emphasizing personal love and worship of a chosen deity, asserting that all individuals can achieve spiritual worth through devotion.

How did Buddhism spread, and why was polycentrism significant?

Buddhism spread via monks and merchants along trade routes. Polycentrism provided multiple teaching centers, enabling the religion to endure wars and imperial collapses.

How were women treated in Hindu society according to the notes?

Hinduism favored female seclusion, restricting lifestyle choices and jobs, though women of higher class status enjoyed greater freedom.

What was the Delhi Sultanate?

A major Islamic empire based in Delhi that ruled large parts of the Indian subcontinent for over 300 years.

What is the Mandala System in Southeast Asia?

A political model where power radiates outward from a central ruler and weakens with distance, forming a system of small kingdoms with local control.

What was the significance of Angkor Wat?

It was utilized as a site to project political power, organize labor, and express cosmic order.

What is Theravada Buddhism?

The oldest branch of Buddhism, focused on monastic life and individual enlightenment through meditation and discipline.

What is Purdah?

A social and religious practice of female seclusion, involving veiling and separation from men outside the family.

What is a Thalassocracy?

A state whose power is based on control of sea routes and maritime trade rather than land territory.

What were the defining characteristics of the Haudenosaunee society?

A tribal confederation living in longhouses with a male-dominant hierarchy.

What were the defining characteristics of Aztec society?

An empire expanded through conquest and prisoner capture, practicing vegetable agriculture and temple sacrifice.

What were the defining characteristics of Mayapan society?

A trade center focused on salt and cotton, notable for its architectural and mathematical achievements.

What were the defining characteristics of Inca society?

An empire built through conquest, featuring a vast road network and extensive record-keeping.

How did religious practices cause division between Byzantium and Latin Christendom?

Disagreements over the nature of Jesus, language (Greek vs. Latin), clerical celibacy, and Eucharist bread created divisions as each region viewed its own practice as uniquely correct.

How did the Iconoclasm controversy highlight the function of religious icons?

Because many believers were illiterate, religious images allowed them to comprehend biblical stories, engage in prayer, and connect with their faith.

How did the Crusades affect Latin Christendom and non-Christian populations?

The Crusades united Latin Christians around a common goal while fostering persecution and violence against Jewish and Muslim populations.

How did European feudal obligations lead to political fragmentation?

Kings granted authority over land to lords in exchange for military service, and lords redistributed land to followers, weakening the central authority of monarchs.

Why did deliberative bodies like Parliament, the Estates, and the Cortes emerge in Europe?

They were established because local lords demanded greater political participation and input into governmental decisions.

How did the manorial system structure European society?

Peasants worked land owned by lords in exchange for military protection, sacrificing personal freedom to form a rigid feudal hierarchy.

How did climate changes around 1350 impact European society?

A 30-year warm period boosted agricultural output and population growth, but after 1350, the Little Ice Age brought severe cold, crop failure, famine, political instability, and a plague epidemic that killed 1/3 to 1/2 of the population.