Unit 2 ( 2.1 to 2.4 ) AP Exam Study!!

Silk Roads: Main goods

Luxury:

• Silk

• Porcelain

• Paper

• Glassware

• Horses

Silk Roads: Technology

• Caravanserai: rest stops for merchants

• Credit: flying cash

• Bills of Exchange: promised payment on set date

• Paper money ( China ) 

• Banking houses 

Silk Roads: Key regions/ cities

• China

• Central Asia

• Middle East ( Samarkand, Kashgar )

Silk Roads: Cultural Diffusion

• Buddhism spread from India —> China —> SE Asia

• Islam spread to Central Asia

Silk Roads: Empires/States supporting trade

• Mongol empire protected routes ( Pax Mongolica = Period of Peace )

Silk Roads: Impact of Trade 

• Spread disease ( Black Death ) 

• Luxury goods tied Afro- Eurasia together 

Silk Roads: Best Remembered for

Luxury goods and Mongol Protection

Indian Ocean: Main goods

Bulk:

• Spices

• Cotton

• Rice

• Timber

Luxury:

• Ivory

• Porcelain

Indian Ocean: Technology

• Monsoon wind knowledge: seasonal sailing + cultural exposure

• Laten sail ( winds ) '

• Astrolabe ( N / S )

• Compass

• Dhows/Junks ( Less sinking + efficient )

• Rudder ( Navigation + control )

Indian Ocean: Key regions/cities

• East Africa/Kilwa/Mombasa ( Swahili city states )

• South Asia/India ( Calicut )

• Southeast Asia ( Malacca )

Indian Ocean: Cultural Diffusion

• Islam spread widely through Muslim merchants '

• Blending of cultures in port cities

Indian Ocean: Empires/States supporting Trade

• Muslim empires

• Hindu Kingdoms

• Srivijaya

• Malaca

Indian Ocean: Diasporic communities / Impact of trade

• Asian 

• Persian 

• Indian merchants 

Permanently in trade hubs + Diasporic merchant communities

Indian Ocean: Best Remembered for

Moonsoon winds and Bulk goods

Trans-Saharan: Main goods 

• Gold ( West Africa —> North Africa )

• Salt

• Slaves 

• Ivory 

Trans-Saharan: Technology

• Camals

• Camel saddle

• Caravans ( group of travelers )

• Introduction of Islam strengthened connections with Dar - Al - Islam

Trans-Saharan: Key regions/cities

• West Africa ( Mali, Timbuktu —> key trading center, Gao )

• North Africa

Trans-Saharan: Cultural Diffusion

Islam spread to West Africa —> Islamic scholarship in Timbuktu

Trans-Saharan: Empires/States supporting trade

Mali Empire ( Sundiata, then Mansa Musa ) 

Trans-Saharan: Impact of trade 

Enriched West African empires:

cultural + religious shifts 

Trans-Saharan: Best Remembered For

Gold Salt trade & spread of Islam into Africa

Trans-Saharan: Important person to know

Mansa Musa ( 1324) :

• Ruler of largest and wealthiest North African state

• A lot of wealth and pilgrimage to Mecca

• Deepend Islam

The Mongol Empire: Key empires 

Gengis Khan united Mongols/Khanates:

• Golden Horde ( Russia ) —> Batu ( grandson) 

• Yuan Dynasty ( China ) —> Kublai Khan ( religious tolerance + liked ) 

• II-Khanate ( Persia ) —> Hulegu 

The Mongol Empire: Effects of Mongol rule

• Increased safety and stability on silk Roads

• Spread of technologies: gunpowder, printing, paper

• Spread of crops: citrus, rice

• Spread of disease: Black Death ( plague )

The Mongol Empire: Governance 

• Religious tolerance 

• Adopted local systems of rule ( Chinas Bureaucracy ) 

The mongol empire: Decline

• Overextension

• Internal divisions

• Spread of plague