New states took over the classical empires and regimes

State Building In Afro-Eurasia: Tradition and Innovation

• Europe and Byzantium

  • After Rome’s collapse, the system of feudalism emerged

    • feudalism: a system of rule, in which monarchs awarded land to loyal followers who governed the land

    • nobles: those who received the largest amount of land

    • the hierarchy included knights: the army that received lifelong training

      • followed the code of chivalry: dealing fairly with the lower class, and showing women respect

    • A relationship between European monarchs and the Catholic papacy was formed

    • The Magna Carta was formed: guaranteed nobility certain rights and privileges

    • Eventually a Parliament was created. The Parliament worked in conjunction with the King and represented the population

    • Common Law was created. Common Law provided jury trials and observed personal liberties

    • There was war over French territories, the last and most important war was the Hundred Years’ War, which led to social unrest and death on both sides. The French won and centralized their power

    • The Renaissance emerged, a period of cultural dynamism

    • Reconquista: a period of war that lasted between 1000-1492

    • Byzantium empire was the strongest and most advanced state in medieval Europe

      • Their capital was Constantinople

      • Followed Eastern Orthodoxy

      • The Catholic Church had power

        • Promoted the ideal of Christendom

        • Popes had the tight to determine what was heresy

        • Excluded worshippers from the Catholic Church, or excommunication

        • Established the Holy Inquisition: a set of special courts to seek out and punish non-conformity

        • Declared crusades: holy wars

• The Middle East

  • The Muslim world was governed by the caliph

    • Caliph: one person who combined political and religious power

  • The ley political principle was the “circle of justice”

• Africa

  • Arab traders spread Islam to Africa

  • Islam spread to Mali and Ghana

  • Mansa Musa: Mali’s most powerful ruler

    • Mansa Musa centralized power and expanded trade

  • Population was limited due to disease and fluctuating climate

• Asia

  • China was ruled by the Han dynasty, then the Tang dynasty

  • The Tang dynasty enforced the tributary system: countries had to make regular monetary payments to avoid punishment

  • Tang rulers expanded the Grand Canal

  • The Chinese silk industry generated large profits during the Tang era

  • The An She rebellion broke the Tang dynasty

  • China broke down into separate states after the Tang breakdown

  • The Song Empire ruled east-central China and the Yellow River in the north to the Vietnamese border in the South

    • Steady population growth, urbanization, and thriving trade

    • Port of Canton

    • China’s invention of gunpowder, compass and paper money

    • Followed the mandate of heaven, civil service examination and Neo-Confucianism

  • Genghis Khan took over China

  • A series of rulers ruled over China until the end of the dynasty

• Afro-Eurasia: Interregional Contacts and Conflicts

  • Tang China and the Abbasid Caliphate

    • Tang-Abbasid Interchange: enabled the westward movement of Chinese innovations

  • The Crusades

    • Crusades: holy wars declared by the pope

    • Worsened relationship between European Christians and Middle Eastern Muslims

    • Economic wealth

    • Technology transfer

  • The Mongol Khanates

    • Mongols: nomadic horse warriors united by Genghis Khan

    • Used new military techniques

    • Adept cultural borrowers

• State Formation in The Pre-Columbian Americas

  • pre-Columbian era: period before 1492

    • North America

      • Anasazi culture

      • Lived in pueblos: complex dwellings

      • Earth-mound building cultures

    • Mexico and MesoAmerica

      • Mayan culture faded away

      • Toltecs emerged: aggressive warrior society that ruled much of the region from 800-1100s

      • Aztecs emerged

        • adopted cultural and religious practices of pyramid building and human sacrifice

    • The Andes

      • Civilization called the Moche emerged

      • terrace farming and waru waru agriculture