Developments in East Asia, Dar al-Islam, South/Southeast Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe

Developments in East Asia

• Ming Dynasty "Prohibition Ordinance" (1368–1644) aimed to enforce ordinances and restore morality.
• Essential Question: How did developments in China and the rest of East Asia between c. 1200 and c. 1450 reflect continuity, innovation, and diversity?

Government Developments in the Song Dynasty

• The Song Dynasty (960-1279) replaced the Tang Dynasty.
• Lost northern lands to the Jin Empire, established by invading pastoralists from Manchuria.
• Despite ruling a smaller region than the Tang, the Song Dynasty was prosperous with flourishing arts.
• Bureaucracy:
  • China's strength was due to its imperial bureaucracy, a vast organization of appointed officials.
  • The bureaucracy existed since the Qin dynasty (221 B.C.E.–207 B.C.E.), representing continuity.
  • Under the Song, the bureaucracy expanded, strengthening the dynasty initially.
• Meritocracy and the Civil Service Exam:
  • Emperor Song Taizu expanded educational opportunities for lower economic classes to take civil service exams.
  • Success in exams led to desired jobs in the bureaucracy.
  • Exams focused on Confucian texts.
  • The bureaucratic system was a meritocracy, but the poor were underrepresented.
  • By the end of the Song, the large bureaucracy increased government costs, draining China's surplus wealth.

Economic Developments in Postclassical China

• The Tang Dynasty promoted agricultural development, improved infrastructure, encouraged trade, and spread technology, leading to prosperity during the Song Dynasty.
• Grand Canal:
  • An inexpensive and efficient internal waterway transportation system extending over 30,000 miles.
  • Enabled China to become the most populous trading area.
• Gunpowder:
  • Invented in China before the Song Dynasty.
  • Innovators in the Song Dynasty made the first guns.
  • Gunpowder technology spread from China to Eurasia via the Silk Roads.
• Agricultural Productivity: Champa Rice:
  • Champa rice, a fast-ripening and drought-resistant strain from Vietnam, expanded agricultural production before the 11th century.
  • Farming spread to new lands, allowing two crops per year in some areas.
  • Farmers used manure to enrich the soil and built irrigation systems (ditches, water wheels, pumps, and terraces) to increase productivity.
• New heavy plows pulled by water buffalo or oxen allowed previously unusable land to be cultivated.
• These changes led to an abundance of food and population growth, increasing from around 25 percent of the total world population to nearly 40 percent.
• Manufacturing and Trade:
  • Industrial production soared.
  • Discovery of coal in the 4th century B.C.E. enabled greater production of cast iron goods.
  • China had the greatest manufacturing capability in the world.
  • The Chinese learned to manufacture steel, used for bridges, gates, ship anchors, religious items, and agricultural equipment.
  • China experienced proto-industrialization, with rural areas producing more goods than they could sell, relying on home-based production using simple equipment.
  • Artisans produced steel, porcelain, and silk under government supervision.
  • Porcelain was highly desired for being lightweight yet strong and easily painted.
  • The compass was used in maritime navigation, and ships were redesigned to carry more cargo.
  • China's ability to print paper navigation charts made seafaring possible in open waters.
  • The economy changed from local consumption to market production, with porcelain, textiles, and tea as the main exports.
  • The Grand Canal supported internal trade, and naval technology allowed control of trade in the South China Sea.
  • The powerful military protected traders from bandits.
• Taxes and Tributes:
  • The Song promoted economic growth by paying people for public projects.
  • The tributary system, where other states paid money or provided goods, cemented China's economic and political power, creating stability and stimulating trade.
  • Japan, Korea, and kingdoms in Southeast Asia were tributary states.
  • Emperor expected kowtow, a ritual bow, from tributary states representatives.
  • Zheng He led fleets to demonstrate power and receive tribute.
• Social Structures:
  • Urban areas grew, and China was the most urbanized land, boasting several cities with over 100,000 people.
  • The largest cities (Chang'an, Hangzhou, and Guangzhou) were cosmopolitan metropolises and active centers of commerce and entertainment.
  • Bureaucratic expansion created the scholar gentry, who outnumbered the aristocracy and became the most influential class, educated in Confucian philosophy.
  • Other classes (farmers, artisans, and merchants) ranked below the scholar gentry.
  • Merchants had low status due to Confucian respect for hard work.
  • Lower classes included peasants and the urban poor, with government aid and public hospitals provided.
• Role of Women:
  • Confucian traditions emphasized respect and deference to men, strengthening during the Tang and Song dynasties.
  • Foot binding became common among aristocratic families during the Song Dynasty, restricting women's movement and signifying social status.
  • Foot binding was banned in 1912.

Intellectual and Cultural Developments

• China enjoyed affluence, education, and foreign contact, leading to thriving intellectual pursuits.
• Paper and Printing:
  • The Chinese invented paper as early as the 2nd century C.E. and printing in the 7th century.
  • They first used woodblock printing (a Buddhist scripture produced in the 9th century is considered the world’s first woodblock printed work).
  • Printed booklets on efficient farming were distributed in rice-growing regions.
• Reading and Poetry:
  • Paper and printing expanded book availability, and privileged classes had increased access to literature.
  • Confucian scholars were major consumers and producers of literature.
  • Emphasis on schooling created well-rounded scholar-bureaucrats.
• Religious Diversity:
  • Buddhism came to China from India via the Silk Roads.
  • It became popular during the Tang Dynasty, with Xuanzang helping to build its popularity.
  • Forms of Buddhism:
    • Theravada Buddhism: Focused on personal spiritual growth through meditation and self-discipline (strongest in Southeast Asia).
    • Mahayana Buddhism: Focused on spiritual growth for all beings and service (strongest in China and Korea).
    • Tibetan Buddhism: Focused on chanting (strongest in Tibet).
    • All three include the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-Fold Path.
  • Buddhism's idea of dharma was translated as dao, combining with Daoist traditions to create Chan (Zen) Buddhism.
  • Because of its fusion with Chinese beliefs, Buddhism became very popular, and monasteries appeared in major cities.
  • The Tang Dynasty had trouble accepting a foreign religion's prominence and closed monasteries, but Chan Buddhism remained popular.
• Neo-Confucianism:
  • Evolved in China between 770 and 840, combining rational thought with Daoism and Buddhism.
  • It emphasized ethics over mysteries and became popular in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam.
• Comparing Japan, Korea, and Vietnam:
  • Each country's relationship with China was significant, influencing their culture.
  • They faced the challenge of sinification (assimilation of Chinese traditions).
• Japan:
  • Separated by sea, it controlled interactions with China more effectively.
  • Prince Shotoku Taishi promoted Buddhism and Confucianism alongside Shintoism.
  • During the Heian period (794-1185), Japan emulated Chinese traditions but moved in new directions like "The Tale of Genji".
  • Feudal society with landowning aristocrats (daimyo) battling for land, and rice farmers.
  • Lacked social mobility and built upon hereditary hierarchies.
  • Peasants (serfs) were economically dependent, samurai were protectors, and daimyo enjoyed privilege.
  • Japan also differed from China in how it was governed.
  • China was ruled by an emperor with a civilian bureaucracy.
  • For much of its history, China had a central government strong enough to promote trade and peace.
  • In contrast, when the Heian court declined, the Minamoto clan took charge. In 1192, the Minamoto installed a shogun, or military ruler, to reign.
  • Though Japan still had an emperor, he had little power.
  • For the following four centuries, Japan suffered from regional rivalries among aristocrats. Not until the 17th century would shoguns create a strong central government that could unify the country.
• Korea:
  • Shared a land boundary with China.
  • Emulated Chinese politics and culture through tributary relationships.
  • Centralized its government and adopted Confucian and Buddhist beliefs.
  • Adopted the Chinese writing system, but developed its own in the 15th century.
  • Powerful aristocracy prevented certain Chinese reforms from being implemented (e.g., civil service exam).
• Vietnam:
  • Traded with and learned from China, adapting Chinese writing and architecture.
  • Had a more adversarial relationship with China.
  • Vietnamese women enjoyed greater independence.
  • Preferred nuclear families and villages operated independently of national governments.
  • Adopted a merit-based bureaucracy, but officials were loyal to the village peasants.
  • Rejected foot binding and polygyny (having more than one wife).
  • Despite efforts to maintain their own culture, sinification did occur.
  • Vietnamese rebels pushed out China’s occupying army, showing a strong capacity for guerilla warfare.

Developments in Dar al-Islam

• The Quran, Chapter 47 highlights Islamic beliefs and good deeds.
• Essential Question: In the period from c. 1200 to c. 1450, how did Islamic states arise, and how did major religious systems shape society?
• After Muhammad's death in 632, Islam spread rapidly and extended from India to Spain through military actions, merchants, and missionaries.
• Islamic leaders showed tolerance to Christians, Jews, and others who believed in a single god.
• Scholars studied at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, and the Islamic community facilitated knowledge transfer throughout Afro-Eurasia.
• When the Abbasids declined, they were replaced by other Islamic states.

Invasions and Shifts in Trade Routes

• In the 1100s and 1200s, the Abbasid Empire faced conflicts with nomadic groups in Central Asia and European invaders.
  • Unlike the Chinese, they confronted European invaders.
• Egyptian Mamluks:
  • Arabs purchased enslaved people, or Mamluks (often ethnic Turks from Central Asia), to serve as soldiers and bureaucrats.
  • Mamluks had more opportunities for advancement.
  • In Egypt, Mamluks seized control of the government, establishing the Mamluk Sultanate (1250–1517).
  • They prospered by facilitating trade in cotton and sugar but declined with new European sea routes.
• Seljuk Turks:
  • Central Asian Seljuk Turks, who were also Muslims, conquered parts of the Middle East in the 11th century.
  • The Seljuk leader called himself sultan, reducing the Abbasid caliph to chief Sunni religious authority.
• Crusaders:
  • The Abbasids allowed Christians to travel to Jerusalem, but the Seljuk Turks limited this travel.
  • European Christians organized Crusaders to reopen access.
• Mongols:
  • The Mongols conquered the remaining Abbasid Empire in 1258 and ended Seljuk rule.
  • They were stopped in Egypt by the Mamluks.
• Economic Competition:
  • Trade patterns shifted north, causing Baghdad to lose its central trade position, wealth, and population.
  • Infrastructure decayed, and farmers could not provide enough food.

Cultural and Social Life

• The Islamic world fragmented politically, with new states adopting Abbasid practices but differing ethnically.
  • The Abbasid Caliphate was led by Arabs and Persians, later Islamic states were shaped by Turkic peoples.
  • The Mamluks, Seljuks, and Delhi Sultanate were partially Turkic.
  • The Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire, and Mughal Empire had roots in Turkic cultures by the 16th century.
• However, these Islamic states continued to form a cultural region due to trade, shariah, and universities.
• Cultural Continuities:
  • Islamic scholars followed Muhammad’s advice to seek knowledge, carrying on the work of earlier thinkers.
  • They translated Greek classics, studied mathematics from India, and adopted paper-making from China.
• Cultural Innovations:
  • Nasir al-Din al-Tusi (1201–1274) contributed to astronomy, law, logic, ethics, mathematics, philosophy, and medicine.
  • His observatory was advanced, and he laid the groundwork for trigonometry.
  • Medical advances and hospital care improved, and doctors and pharmacists studied to get licenses.
  • Ibn Khaldun (1332–1406) was known for his historical accounts and is considered a founder of historiography and sociology.
  • Sufi poet ‘A’ishah al-Ba’uniyyah (1460–1507) wrote “Clear Inspiration, on Praise of the Trusted One.”

Sufism

• Differs from other Muslims by emphasizing introspection and mystical experiences.
• Might have begun as a response to the Umayyad Caliphate's love of luxury.
• Sufi missionaries played a key role in spreading Islam by adapting to local cultures and practices.

Commerce, Class, and Diversity

• Islamic society viewed merchants favorably, in line with Muhammad's own background.
• Merchants grew rich from trade and were esteemed for fair dealings and charity.
• Discrimination against non-Arabs faded in the 9th century.
• Soldiers could not own conquered territory.

Slavery

• Islam forbade enslaving other Muslims or monotheists but permitted enslaving others.
• Enslaved people were imported from Africa, Kievan Rus, and Central Asia, but hereditary slavery was not standard.
  • Free Women in Islam
  • Practices were common in Central Asia and the Byzantine Empire before Islam.
  • Women often covered their heads and faces.
  • Women could study and read, but not with unrelated men.
• Muhammad raised the status of women by treating his wives with love, insisting dowries be paid to the wife, and forbidding female infanticide.
• Islamic women had a higher status than Christian or Jewish women and could inherit property, remarry if widowed, and receive a cash settlement if divorced. A wife could initiate divorce.
• Islamic women who testified in a court under shariah were to be protected from retaliation, but their testimony was worth only half that of a man.
• One gap in the historical record is written evidence of how women viewed their position in society: most of the records created before 1450 were written by men.
• The rise of towns and cities in Islamic-ruled areas resulted in new limitations on women’s rights, just as it did in other cultures.

Islamic Rule in Spain

• In 711, after defeating Byzantine armies in North Africa, Muslim forces invaded Spain.
• They designated Crdoba as their capital for Spain.
• At the Battle of Tours in 732, Islamic military expansion into Western Europe was halted.
• Muslims ruled Spain for the next seven centuries.
• There was toleration with Muslims, Christians, and Jews coexisting.
• Trade was promoted, allowing Chinese and Southeast Asian products to enter into Spain.
• Ships called dhows, first developed in India or China, transported goods.

Cultural and Scholarly Transfers

• The Islamic state in Spain, known as al-Andalus, became a center of learning.
• Crdoba had the largest library in the world at the time.
• Ibn Rushd (Averroes) (12th century) wrote influential works on law, secular philosophy, and the natural sciences.
• The Islamic scholars, Christians, and Jews living in al-Andalus influenced one another.
• Maimonides (c. 1135–c. 1204) developed a synthesis of Aristotle’s reasoning and biblical interpretation.
• He influenced Christian philosophers, including St. Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274).
• Islamic scholarship, scientific innovations, and knowledge transferred from India and China laid the groundwork for the Renaissance and Scientific Revolution in Europe.

Developments in South and Southeast Asia

• Poetry of Lal Ded, known as Mother Lalla, illustrates cross-interaction between religious traditions.
• Essential Question: How did various beliefs and practices in South and Southeast Asia affect society and the development of states?
• She was born in Kashmir, a region of northern India.
• Interactions of Hindus and Muslims, though sometimes violent, shaped developments in religious thought, politics, economics, art, and architecture.
• Local Hindu kingdoms continued to play a major role in India’s decentralized political landscape despite the Islamic presence.

Political Structures in South Asia

• South Asia was only occasionally united as a single state.

• After the collapse of the Gupta Dynasty in 550, disunity returned to the region for most of the next 1,000 years.
  Northern and southern India developed separate political structures.

• Hinduism did provide some cultural unity.

Political Structures in Southern India

• More stable than northern India.
• The Chola Dynasty reigned for more than 400 years (850–1267), extending its rule to Ceylon (Sri Lanka).
• Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646) took its name from "the victorious city".
• Began with Harihara and Bukka from the Delhi Sultanate, who converted to Islam and then back to Hinduism to create their own kingdom.
• The Vijayanagar Empire existed from the mid-1300s until the mid-1500s, when a group of Muslim kingdoms overthrew it.

Political Structures in Northern India

• Experienced more upheaval than Southern India.
• After the fall of the Gupta Empire, Rajput kingdoms formed in northern India and present-day Pakistan.
• These were Hindu kingdoms led by leaders of numerous clans who were often at war with one another.
• No centralized government arose because of competition among clans.
• The lack of centralized power left the kingdoms vulnerable to Muslim attacks.
• Himalayas protected India from the north and east, but mountain passes in the northwest allowed invasions from Muslim armies.
• Islamic presence grew over time:
  • In the 8th century, Islamic armies invaded what is today Pakistan, but brought little change to everyday life.
  • Eastern fringes of the Dar al-Islam, so the region was isolated.
  • Rajput princes limited Muslim influence.
  • Islamic forces plundered northern India’s Hindu temples and Buddhist shrines for their riches in the 11th century.

Delhi Sultanate

• Early 13th century, Islamic forces conquered Delhi and much of northern South Asia.
• The Delhi Sultanate reigned for 300 years, from the 13th through the 16th centuries, bringing Islam into India.
• Some Hindus converted to Islam, others resented Muslims.
• Delhi Sultanate imposed the jizya, a tax, on all non-Muslim subjects of the empire.
• The Delhi Sultanate never organized an efficient bureaucracy in the style of the Chinese.
• Sultans wanted to extend their rule southward.
• Delhi Sultanate prevented the Mongols themselves from conquering South Asia.

Religion in South Asia

• Before Islam, most South Asians practiced Hinduism, while a smaller number identified themselves as Buddhists.
  • Hindus pray to many gods, while Islam is strictly monotheistic.
  • Hindu temples and artwork are replete with pictures of deities, while Muslims disapprove of any visual representation of Allah.
  • Hinduism was associated with a hierarchical caste system, while Islam has always called for the equality of all believers.
  • Hindus recognize several sacred texts, while Muslims look to only the Quran for spiritual guidance.
• The Arrival of Islam
  • Relationship between Hindus and Muslims shaped South Asia and continues to shape regional culture and politics today.
  • Islam initially entered India forcefully, then took a more peaceful approach.
  • Muslim rulers found that forcing conversion wasn't successful, so most converts came voluntarily.
  • Muslim merchants in the Indian Ocean trade moved to Indian port cities and married. Their wives often ended up converting to their husband’s religion.
  • Islam also attracted low-caste Hindus who hoped that conversion would improve their social status.
• The largest numbers of converts to Islam, however, were Buddhists.
• Corruption among the monks and raids on monasteries by early Muslim conquerors left the Buddhist religion disorganized.
• The spread of Islam helped make Buddhism a minority religion in its place of birth.

Social Structures in South Asia

• India’s caste system is its strongest historical continuity. It lent stability to a politically decentralized land, was flexible, and able to accommodate newcomers.
• Muslim merchants and migrants found a place for themselves within the caste hierarchy.
• Those who tried to escape the grip of the caste system often failed, individuals required more education and opportunities for better jobs.
  Most of those who tried to escape the grip of the caste system failed.
• As Islam spread, Muslims varied how they applied its core teachings.
• Islam did not alter gender relations greatly.

Cultural Interactions in South Asia

• People in South Asia and the Middle East shared their intellectual and cultural achievements with each other.
• Arab astronomers and mathematicians added to the body of knowledge begun by their Indian counterparts.
• Indian developments in algebra and geometry were translated into Arabic and spread throughout Dar al-Islam.
• Numberal system in the West actually originated in India.
• Sultans erected buildings melding the intricate artistic details of Hindu art with the geometric patterns preferred by Islamic architecture. Delhi is filled with Islamic architecture built during the Delhi Sultanate.
• Qutub Minar built out of a destroyed Hindu temple.
• An entirely new language developed among Muslims of South Asia: Urdu (melded Hindi, Arabic, and Farsi).

The Bhakti Movement

• Beginning in the 12th century, drawing upon traditional teachings about the importance of emotion in their spiritual life.
• Focused on developing a strong attachment to a particular deity.
• Appealed to many believers because it did not discriminate against women or people of low social status.
• One of the most famous figures of the Bhakti Movement would be a female, the poet Mira Bai.
• The bhaktis were Hindus, they were similar in some ways to Sufi Muslims
• They placed less emphasis on strict adherence to traditional rituals and beliefs, appealed to people outside their traditions.
• The Bhaktis helped spread Hinduism.
  South Asia strongly influenced its neighbors, particularly the lands of Southeast Asia.

Sea-Based Kingdoms

• Two were particularly long-lasting:
  • The Srivijaya Empire (670–1025) was a Hindu kingdom based on Sumatra.
  • The Majapahit Kingdom (1293–1520) based on Java had 98 tributaries at its height and was Buddhist.

Land-Based Kingdoms

• Other kingdoms in Southeast Asia drew power from their control over land.
• The Sinhala dynasties in Sri Lanka, Buddhists often served as advisors to the monarchs.
• The Khmer Empire, also known as the Angkor Kingdom (802–1431), was situated near the Mekong River. The government of one of the kingdoms oversaw the construction of a network of reservoirs and canals to create an excellent irrigation system
• Irrigation allowed farmers to harvest rice crops several times a year.
  The Khmer capital was at Angkor Thom.
• During the same period and only one-half mile from Angkor Thom, rulers constructed the ornate and majestic Buddhist temple complex of Angkor Wat.
• The Thais of the Sukhothai Kingdom invaded the area, forcing the Khmers out.
• Ruins of the magnificent structures in Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat still stand, testifying not only to the sophistication of Southeast Asian culture but also to the powerful influence of Indian culture on the region.

Islam in South East Asia

• The first Southeast Asian Muslims were local merchants, They could be Muslims and still honor local deities.

Developments in the Americas

• Nezahualcoyotl (1402–1472), Aztec poet highlights importance of humanity.
• Essential Question: What states developed in the Americas, and how did they change over time?
• Following the decline of the Olmecs and the Chavin, new civilizations, such as the Mayans, the Aztecs, and the Incas rose in the same regions.

The Mississippian Culture

• Society had a rigid class structure. A chief called the Great Sun ruled each large town.

• Mississippians built enormous earthen mounds

• The government of one of the kingdoms oversaw the construction of a network of reservoirs and canals to create an excellent irrigation system

• The Decline of Mississippian Civilization People abandoned Cahokia around 1450, and other large Mississippian cities by 1600
  Two cultures became well-known for their innovations:

• The Chaco built large housing structures using stones and clay, some of which included hundreds of rooms
  The people of Mesa Verde built multi-story homes into the sides of cliffs using bricks made of sandstone. Both groups declined in the late 13th century as the climate became drier

• The Maya City-States

  • Mayan civilization reached its height between 250 and 900 C.E.Mayans stretched over the southern part of Mexico and much of what is now Belize, Honduras, and Guatemala.
  • Most lived in or near one of the approximately 40 cities that ranged in size from 5,000 to 50,000 people.
  • At its peak, as many as 2 million Mayans populated the region.

• Mayan Government

  • The main form of Mayan government was the city-state, each ruled by a king and consisting of a city and its surrounding territory.
  • Most rulers were men.
  • Mayans rarely fought to control territory. More often they fought to gain tribute—payments from the conquered to the conqueror—and captives to be used as human sacrifices during religious ceremonies.

• Royal rule usually passed from father to son, but kings who lost the support of the people were sometimes overthrown.

• Mayan Religion, Science, and Technology

  • The Mayans were innovative thinkers and inventors. For example, they incorporated the concept of zero into their number system, developed a complex writing system, and learned to make rubber out of liquid collected from rubber plants.

Aztecs

• Aztecs, also known as the Mexicas:
  • Originally hunter-gatherers who migrated to central Mexico from the north in the 1200s.
  • In 1325, founded their capital Tenochtitln on the site of what is now Mexico City.
  • Over the next 100 years, they conquered the surrounding peoples and created an empire that stretched from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean.
• Capital City
  • The Aztecs located Tenochtitln on an island in the middle of a swampy lake in order to protect it from attacks.
  • Tenochtitln grew to almost 200,000 people, making it one of the largest cities in the world.
  • At the center of the city, the Aztecs built a pyramid that rose 150 feet into the air.
• Chinampas increase food production:
  • Built floating gardens called chinampas to increase the amount of space for food production.
• Government, Economy, and Society
  • As the Aztecs conquered much of Mesoamerica, they developed a tribute system that insured their dominance
  • Included practical goods such as food, cloth, and firewood, as well as luxury items such as feathers, beads, and jewelry.
• Aztec government was a theocracy, which is rule by religious leaders.
• Worship among the Aztecs involved a great many rituals and feast days as well as human sacrifices.
• By the late 15th century, the Aztec Empire was in decline

Inca

• In 1438, a tribal leader who called himself Pachacuti, which means “transformer” or “shaker” of the earth, began conquering the tribes living near what is now Cuzco, Peru.
• It extended from present-day Ecuador in the north to Chile in the south. By 1493, Pachacuti’s grandson, Huayna Capac, ruled the empire.
• In order to rule the extensive territory efficiently, the Incan Empire was split into four provinces, each with its own governor and bureaucracy.
• Conquered people under the Inca did not have to pay tribute. Rather, they were subject to the mit’a system, mandatory public service. *Inca Religion
  • The name Inca means “people of the sun,” and Inti, the sun god, was the most important of the Incan gods. Temple of the Sun formed the core of Incan religion
  • The Inca were especially good builders of bridges and roads. Using captive labor, they constructed a massive roadway system called the Carpa Nan, with some 25,000 miles of roads used mainly by the government and military.
• The Spanish conquered the core of the empire in 1533.

Developments in Africa

• Ibn Battuta’s commentary on Mali society sheds light on the cultural forces at work in Sub-Saharan Africa during the 14th century.

• Essential Question: How and why did states develop in Africa and change over time?

• As Ibn Battuta’s account makes clear, African societies that had adopted Islam kept many of their traditions
  Political Structures in Inland Africa

• Development of Sub-Saharan Africa was heavily shaped by the migrations of Bantu-speaking people outward from west-central Africa.

• Communities formed kin-based networks, where families governed themselves.

• Survival for small kin-based communities became more challenging.
  The Hausa Kingdoms

• Sometime before 1000, in what is now Nigeria, people of the Hausa ethnic group formed seven states, the Hausa Kingdoms.
  In the 14th century, missionaries introduced Islam to the region.

• Kingdoms on both the western and eastern sides of Africa benefited from increased trade
  Ghana

• Nestled between the Sahara and the tropical rain forests of the West African coast, the kingdom of Ghana had been founded during the 5th century, reached its peak of influence from the 8th to the 11th centuries.
  Mali

• In the 12th century, wars with neighboring societies had permanently weakened the Ghanaian state.
  Zimbabwe

• Built prosperity on a mixture of agriculture, grazing, trade, and, above all, gold. It was situated between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers in modern-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique.
  Ethiopia

• Rock structures had been a feature of Ethiopian religious architecture since the 2nd millennium B.C.E.

Social Structures of Sub-Saharan Africa

• In Sub-Saharan Africa, strong central governments ruling over large territories were uncommon. Small communities of kinship, age, and gender.
• Men dominated most activities that required a specialized skill. For example, leather tanners and blacksmiths were typically men.
• Women generally engaged in agriculture and food gathering.
  Chattel - People were the legal property of the owner.

Slavery in Sub-Saharan Africa and Southwest Asia

Chattel

• Prisoners of war, debtors, and criminals were often enslaved.
  Domestic.
• People served as cooks, cleaners, or other household workers.

*Most men and some women did agricultural work. Most women and some men served in households.
The Indian Ocean slave trade between East Africa and the Middle East.

• The enslaved East Africans, known in Arabic as zanj, provided valuable labor on sugar plantations in Mesopotamia. captured the city of Basra

  Cultural Life in Sub-Saharan Africa

• Playing music, creating visual arts, and telling stories were and continue to be important aspects of cultures everywhere because they provided enjoyment and mark rituals such as weddings and funerals

• Visual arts also commonly served a religious purpose.
  Griots and Griottes In Sub-Saharan Africa, They would sing at special occasions, such as before a wedding.

Developments in Europe

• Peter Abelard, Letter 17 to Heloise (1141) emphasizes Christianity over scholarship.
• Essential Question How did the beliefs and practices of the predominant religions, agricultural practices, and political decentralization affect European society from c. 1200 to c. 1450?
• As the Roman Empire declined in power in the 5th and 6th centuries, Western Europe entered the Middle Ages

Feudalism: Political and Social Systems

• European civilization in the Middle Ages was characterized by a decentralized political organization based on a system of exchanges of land for loyalty known as feudalism.
• Feudalism provided some security for peasants, equipment for warriors, and land to those who served a lord.
• The feudal system incorporated a code of chivalry, focusing on honor, courtesy, and bravery.
• Manorial System LLarge fiefs or estates were also referred to as manors
  the manorial system provided economic self-sufficiency
• As both climate and technology slowly improved, the amount of arable or farmable land gradually increased and agriculture grew more efficient
• Political Trends in the Later Middle Ages In the later Middle Ages, monarchies grew more powerful at the expense of feudal lords by employing their own bureaucracy and a military.

France

• King Philip was the first to develop a real bureaucracy yet although the French kings consulted this Estates-General when necessary. this Estates-General included representatives from the clergy, nobility, and commoners

The Holy Roman Empire

• The German king Otto I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962

Norman England

• Descendents of successfully invaded England in the 11th century

• In 1215, they forced King John to sign the Magna Carta increasing the rights of the English nobility/
  *The Hundred Years’ War Between 1337 and 1453, the rival monarchies of England and France fought a series of battles known as the Hundred Years’ War.

• Tensions between popes and kings strengthened the intention of the Roman Catholic Church to take control.

Economic Self Sufficiency in Europe

• The crusades: crusaders increased demand for goods.