Unit 1

Cultural Traditions

South Asian Traditions: Hinduism & Buddhism

Hinduism

Had no specific creator — developed as part of indian society through the caste system

Ethnic tradition — spread through migration, not missionary activity

Can be seen as philosophical way of living or a polytheistic religion

Philosophical Goal of Hinduism:

• gain union with Brahman (world soul, final + ultimate reality) — known as moksha (liberation)

Hindu beliefs:

• law of karma

• reincarnation/rebirth

Ways of Gaining Moksha:

• gaining knowledge/study

• extreme religious study + devotion/meditation

Buddhism

Founded by Siddhartha Gautama when he returned with a spiritual awakening (enlightenment) after going on a journey to discover the cause and cure for human suffering

Buddhist Foundation: human suffering is due to a high level ego and desire, which needs to be solved through individual action

Practices of Buddhism:

• eightfold path

  • living modest + morally

  • meditation/concentration practices

  • gaining wisdom to understand reality

Goal of Buddhism: achieve nirvana/enlightenment

Similarities of Buddhism with Hinduism:

• idea that ordinary life is an illusion

• law of karma + rebirth cycle

• having to overcome the ego

• meditation

• hoping to be released from the cycle - moksha and nirvana

Differences of Buddhism with Hinduism:

• rejection of brahmins — their religious authority + rituals/sacrifices

• buddhist emphasis on the individual

• rejection of the hindu caste system’s inequalities

What caused the decline of buddhism in India:

• the monasteries wealth + economic interests of buddhist figures

• brahmin priests hostility

• competition with islam

• bhakti movement

Theravada Buddhism

saw the buddha as a wise teacher/model but not divine — followers saw little need for divinity in order to gain enlightenment

Mahayana Buddhism

became more religion like, saw buddha as divinity

-became a more accessible religion for a wider variety of people — changed beliefs like achieving nirvana in 1 life rather than multiple

- adopted aspects of heaven and hell

- told people enlightenment could be gained through acts of piety and devotion

focussed on compassion — developed bodhisattvas (fully enlightened beings who postpone their final liberation in order to help the suffering humanity)

Tibetan Buddhism

Lamas held authority there — traditions were blends of buddhist, hindu and the native tibetan ones

Main focus was on the awareness and preparation for death

Chinese Traditions: Confucianism & Daoism

Not religiously outlooked, philosophy and about how to live life — both created as a way to bring peace during China’s “Age of Warring States”

Confucianism:

Created by Confucius — wrote a book + gained following, adopted by the Han Dynasty as official ideology

Confucian Ideologies:

• moral behavior would bring peace

• believed society is filled with unequal relationships — so if person with power behaves properly to the lower then the lower would show respect, bringing harmony

Confucian Practices:

• filial piety (honoring one’s ancestors)

• gaining a proper education — applying education to government

• rituals/ceremonies to show rules for appropriate behavior

Impact of Confucianism in Chinese Society:

• blended with elite culture

• became center piece to chinese education — bureaucratic civil service exam

• brought sense of democracy — power shouldn’t just be given to the rich — needed moral character

Role of Confucianism in Chinese Government:

• pointed out many inequalities among citizens

• established expectations for higher class levels and emperor

  • keep low taxes, follow proper justice, give to the people

• Mandate of Heaven — provided legitimacy to leaders based on confucian values

Confucianism was spread outwards to nearby civilizations and led to a higher focus of the moral quality of rulers and their importance in gaining social harmony

Daoism:

Created by Laozi, wrote a poetic volume (Daodejing) then disappeared into the wilderness on a water buffalo

Daoist Ideologies:

• combated confucian ideas

• states that in order to gain social harmony we need to reject society and withdraw into nature — follow spontaneous and natural behavior patterns

• central concept = dao : notion referring to the way of nature + unchanging principle that governs natural phenomena

Daoism in Practice:

believed in disengagement from society

• simple living

• self-sufficient communities

• limited government

• rejection of education

Yin Yang

Although daoism and confucianism differ the chinese elite saw them as complementing aspects — meaning that many elites would practice both traditions

Impact of Daoism on Ordinary Chinese

• became part of popular religion

• became belief for spiritual practices — magic + fortune telling

• provided ideology for rebellions — removal of harsh unneeded government

Middle Eastern Traditions: Judaism, Christianity & Islam

All emerged from Jerusalem, all monotheistic and have the presence of the biblical character Abraham

Judaism

Started by the Hebrews — jews followed the ten commandments

Jewish God: originally was a powerful and jealous god of war who changed overtime in order to be compassionate and a god of social justice for the marginalized

- demanded his followers to have social justice + moral righteousness

Christianity

Founded by Jesus of Nazareth, a wisdom teacher in Judaea following his crucifiction

- Jesus was trying to revitalize Judaism by teaching an emphasis on following the original practices and values of the religion

- this showed him as a political and social threat due to him standing up for the mistreated people which threatened the rule of the romans, leading to his death

Spread of Christianity:

Started by Saint Paul — travelled around the Roman Empire, teaching the word of Jesus, attracting people due to its inclusiveness

Wasn’t adopted by the Empire due to its rejection of all other Gods — eventually adopted as the official religion by Constantine

- had also made its presence in Ethiopia, Eritrea and Eastern Turkey

When adopted by the Roman Empire, Christianity gained a hierarchical organization

- hard to gain unity due to massive scope, and cultural backgrounds change aspects leading to divides within the church (roman catholic vs eastern orthodox)

Islam

Started by Muhammad Ibn Abdullah, a merchant from Mecca — he was upset with the corruption of Arab society and would take periods of withdrawal, where during one of these he had an experience that left him saying he was the messenger to Allah

- was his job to give the arabs a scripture in arabic, the Quran

Impact of Islam on Arab society:

• challenged their previously polytheistic view

• challenged the tribal clan structure of arabia (prone to violence)

• implemented new community, umma — took place of prior identities

  • drew heavily upon christianity and judaism

Impact of Islam socially:

criticized common practices in mecca

• hoarding wealth

• exploitation of the poor

• charging high rates of interest on loans

• corrupt business practices

• abuse of women and neglect of widows and children

  • demanded social justice

Spread of Islam:

Muhammad unified Arabia under Islam by military force

- expanded outward, creating an empire under the justification of needing a unified muslim community

- islam spread to everywhere the empire expanded

Sunni Shia Split:

• disagreed over who should be the heir to muhammad

• led to permanent split and civil war

Practices of Islam:

• prayer five times a day

• holding respect for muhammad

• reading the quran

• required pilgrimage to mecca

Role of the Ulama:

Served as high level elites in society and were preservers + teachers of Islamic law (sharia)

- colleges formed

- teaching: grammar, rhetoric, philosophy, theology, math, medicine and law

- attracted learners from around the world

Role of the Sufis:

served in religious orders — spreading a mystical branch of islam, sufism, saw the worldly success of the islamic world as a deviation from the truth of islam that was meant to be followed

- thought a more personal interaction with the faith was needed

- saw the islamic law as good but a personal touch was needed

- would travel with conquering armies to spread the faith, since not so strict they allowed for blending islam with local cultures/traditions

Song Dynasty China

“Golden Age” - centered on the arts/literature + cultural values (confucianism)

Song Dynasty Political Organization:

formed into an organized bureaucracy — had an agency that looked over the power of each part of the government (Censorate)

- staffed the gov. using the civil service exam — promoted education and challenged rich families’ hold on the government

Causes of the Chinese Economic Revolution:

• adoption of new agriculture tech. + adoption of champa rice

  • these facilitated massive production growth in the agricultural sphere

    • large amount of food led to a massive population growth, leading to the rev.

What occurred within the Chinese Economic Rev.:

• urbanization

• increased industrial input, leading to increased output

  • ex. metallurgy industry

• tech innovations

  • ex. printing, navigational/ship building tech, gunpowder

• creation of a highly commercialized society

• infrastructure projects

  • led to farmers specializing in certain crops for money, in order to pay taxes

Societal changes during Song Dynasty’s Golden Age:

• elite men became more seen as educated, instead of like warriors/athletes

• women lost jobs (textile industry)

• Foot Binding : practice of breaking the feet, so they appear smaller — women can’t walk, good for appearance (elites)

• women gained property rights

• education was promoted by some for women

Interactions with Korea

Participated in tributary relations

- gave tribute in return for peaceful relations, gifts + trade between the states

Cultural Interactions:

Koreans adopted confucian values in regard to women and family image — took away lots of Korea customs + restricted women’s rights

- chinese culture only affected the korean elite, did not reach commoners and slaves

The Chinese tried to set up a bureaucracy with civil service exam — didn’t work to the extent it did in china + koreans took monopoly over china in the bureaucracy

Independence: in order to gain back korean identity they developed a new alphabet/writing system

Interactions with Vietnam

Participated in tributary relations with china, elite culture also adopted confucianism, daoism, buddhism, chinese bureaucracy/examination system + art/writing styles

- all these systems were more heavily adopted in vietnam compared to korea

- certain elites saw themselves as chinese, not distinctive state — bc they had previously been incorporated in the chinese state, then continued their relations after gaining independence

- pop culture stayed dominant and this influence only stayed with the elites

- women kept their roles + vietnamese society heavily valued daughters

- new writing system was created giving the state another key feature of their independence from china

Interactions with Japan

Was voluntary borrowing done by the Japanese

- japan was a bunch of competing chiefdoms at this time — one saw the chinese bureaucracy and wanted to model japan like that

- first started adopting culture: buddhism, which heavily impacted japanese culture (arts/way of living) — done by elite then spread to commoners

- borrowed culture was then assimilated into japanese culture, creating a unique identity

Japanese Politics:

• didn’t create a function centralized bureaucracy — power went to aristocrats

  • as power decentralized, families got their own military forces: samurais, creating a emphasis on bravery, loyalty and honor among japanese (bushido)

Japanese Religion + Culture:

• buddhism was adopted

• local beliefs were maintained

  • overtime a form of japanese buddhism was created, blending the two

• chinese court life aesthetic was created + maintained

• japan created a distinct literary system

• women maintained their roles, as japan didn’t adopt the oppression going along with confucianism

Dar al-Islam

Abbasid Caliphate: arab dynasty, had ruled over the islamic world, falling apart

- local governors + military commanders asserted their autonomy, but kept allegiance to the caliph

Arrival of the Turks:

Seljuk Turkic Empire: pastoralists serving as slave soldiers within the abbasid caliphate

- as caliphate declined they took both political and military power, used muslim titles + became important to the islamic middle east

Ottoman Empire: turkic warrior groups that unified the islamic middle east + north africa (unit 3)

- claimed legacy to the abbasid caliphate for justification of their rule

- brought political unity, military power, economic prosperity + diverse culture

al-Andalus (Spain):

originally hosted peaceful between muslims, christians and jews

- religious tolerance

- cultural assimilations — traditions of all three relations blended together

- hosted massive growth in technologies and intellectual innovations, everybody working together bringing their own ideas

End of the Golden Age:

although tolerance was granted, muslims held superiority over the overs — eventually leading to the removal of tolerance + splitting the regime bringing war

al-Mansur: started policy of christian persecution, including

• plundering of churches + taking wealth

• christians and muslims didn’t interact

• arab christians could only go certain places

• priests couldn’t carry a cross or bible

Christian Reconquest:

Ferdinand and Isabella reconquered Spain as the Catholic Monarchs

- forced muslims to convert or migrate (jews too)

- although the removal of the cultures happened, cultural interactions kept occurring — ex. arab texts still translated to latin

Importance of Muslim Spain:

brought new technologies and information to new places, making many discoveries in lots of different fields

Sand Roads: trade routes across western africa, connecting to the rest of the islamic world

- muslim traders dominated on these routes + spread islam

- developed lots of new places, spread goods, created demands for different goods, spread new foods/crops — started the “Islamic Green Revolution” — created lots of economic growth + developed technologies

Intellectual Developments:

gained access to other growths knowledge + translated texts in order to build off of, built lots of new buildings just for education + learning (ex. House of Wisdom)

- took other cultures knowledge to blend in and create a unique and distinct civilization, with their own contributions to the world’s knowledge — ex. arab numeral systems + medicine

South & Southeast Asia

Turkic Invasions of India

Created multiple islamic regimes in northern india — brought by violent conflicts (destroyed hindu and buddhist temples + stole valuables)

Sultanate of Delhi

Systematic governance of muslim ruled areas — didn’t bring mass conversion due to internal conflicts and the small number of Turkics

What led to mass Islamic conversion in next centuries in India

• spiritual aspects

• equality attracted low caste hindus, buddhists and untouchables (lower than lowest caste)

• the avoidance of non-muslim tax

• sufis were “god-filled men” which indian society valued

Scope of Muslim Rule in India

• only converted 20-25%

• centered in northwest and northeast (punjab and bengal)

• established cultural borders that are still present today

• their governance involved the use of native hindus

Vijayanagar Empire

Massive Hindu empire — controlled all of southern india

-formed to resist muslim conversion from the north — internally held lots of peaceful hindu-muslim encounters

Khmer Empire

Centered in Southeast Asia — Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, Southern Vietnam

-wasn’t the only kingdom in the area — surrounded by man warring and competing kingdoms who adopted lots of their culture from india

Had military campaigns into the west and north, brought invasion from the Chams who took Angkor and looted them

Internal Challenges to Khmer Rule:

• rebellions started by nobles who wanted independence

• conspiracies against the king

  • specifically during succession

Khmer Empire — very organized bureaucracy + favored hinduism as state religion, then switched to buddhism

Fall of Khmer Empire:

• connected to great thai migration — as people migrated they created kingdoms nearby, eventually attacked and conquered the khmer people

Angkor Wat:

massive religious complex (originally hindu, then buddhist) — was a symbol of religious unity within the capital, attracted lots of pilgrimage

Jayavarman II

Used military conquest to conquer and unite these small kingdoms — took the title of chakravartin, “universal ruler” which marks the start of the Khmer Empire

Jayavarman VII

removed the invading chams, retaking angkor bringing unity and government to the people — started massive building projects (infrastructure + temples) + expanded khmer territory

-the monuments and temples that were built were religious, bringing a sense of religious unity among the khmer people

Americas

Mayans

Centered in Guatemala and Yucatan Mexico

Artistic + Intellectual Society:

built urban centers with temples, pyramids, palaces + public plazas that had lots of murals and carvings

developed the most elaborate writing system in the americas, a math system involving the concept of zero and place notation

Political Organization:

society made of fragmented city-states with no central authority — faced frequent warfare between the city-states

Aztecs

Formation of the Aztec Empire:

Caused by the migration of the Mexica

• they established themselves and built up their military strength

• served as mercenaries for powerful people (gaining good relations)

• built up their own capital (Tenochtitlan)

• negotiated elite marriages for alliances

  • this allowed for the Triple Alliance

    • started a century long military conquest, bringing most of mesoamerica into one political system

    • in order to maintain this state the Aztecs claimed to descend from earlier Mesoamerican societies

after initial formation the empire faced many rebellions due to its unstable government

Maintaining the Aztec Empire

• had organized system of tribute + good documentation

• advanced infrastructure

• “floating gardens” allowing for productive agriculture

• commercialized economies (large marketplaces)

• uniting the state through religious rituals (human sacrifice)

Incas

Formation of the Inca Empire:

built by the Quechua-speaking people (incas)

• built off of earlier andean society traditions

• united large amount of the andes through military conquest

Maintaining the Inca Empire:

• formed an intrusive but organized bureaucracy

• had organized population records

• resettlement program

• cultural integration for conquered leaders

• requiring the acceptance of certain gods, but overall holding religious tolerance

• mita labor system

Similarity between the Aztecs and the Incas:

Gender parallelism: women and men work in separate fields that are equal

• same jobs (religious roles)

• matching social and political hierarchies

  • neither gender norm activities were inferior to the other

Africa

Great Zimbabwe

Grew as part of trading empire — maintained state through constant participation in trade, facilitating economic growth which provided state with the resources needed to defend and maintain themselves

Religion was centerpiece to society

Abandoned because of a lack of resources and overpopulation

Ethiopia

State rose with the Solomonic rebellion over the Zagwe Dynasty

Zagwe Dynasty: united Northern Ethiopia + gained positive relations with nearby muslim groups

-provided allies and peaceful relations when the Solomonic Dynasty took over

Solomonic Dynasty: expanded territory outwards, gaining access to nearby trading routes

-gained economic and military strength through this providing ways for the Ethiopian State to be maintained, along with their foreign diplomacy

Europe

Eastern Orthodox World

Byzantine Empire: continuation of Roman Empire — population saw themselves as “romans”, used prior roman administration structures (centralized rule + imperial court)

- Constantinople = “new rome”

Main Goal: restore and glorify the legacy of the greco-roman civilization

Territory: eastern mediterranean, balkans + anatolia — lost land due to islamic expansion

Political Organization:

tightly centralized rule — emperor maintained his power through being “god’s worldly representative”

• caesaropapism: relationship describing the tight relation between the byzantine gov. and the eastern orthodox church

  • church served as department of the government

  • sometimes the emperor would be both caesar and pope (head of state and church)

Role of the Orthodox Church:

• legitimated the power of the emperor

• gave cultural identity to the people — being “orthodox”

Spread of Eastern Orthodoxy to Rus:

Spread to Ukraine/Western Russia : Kievan Rus

• adopted orthodoxy to:

  • unify the people (were diverse + loosely governed)

  • link rus to wider networks of communication + exchange

Adopted first by the rulers, the people then followed — local cultures stayed but orthodoxy mainly took their place

Long Term Effects of Russian Society:

• brought their society strictly to the orthodox side of christianity

  • bringing a separation to both the roman catholic church and islam

What did Rus borrow from Byzantium:

• architecture

• alphabet/writing system

• extreme use of religious imagery

• political ideas + use of church and state

• orthodoxy

  • giving rulers legitimacy + a popular identity

Fall of Byzantium:

Declined in power and lost land due to civil wars + invasions from the turkics + western europeans

• fell with the ottoman seizing constantinople in 1453

Western Europe

Limitations caused by Western Europe’s geography:

• too far away for sea trade + other prosperous trade routes (sand, sea, silk)

• internal geography made political unity hard

Benefits of Western Europe’s geography:

• internal trading

• good climate — increased agricultural production

Political Organization of Western Europe:

never gained political unity — was a highly fragmented and decentralized society (feudalism)

manorialism: independent self-sufficient and isolated estates/manors with landowning lords held power (political,economic + social)

• due to competition knights would pledge to the landowning lords, providing military service in return for land

serfdom: roman style slavery, in which serfs weren’t personal property of masters but were bound to estates where they worked

• would gain land + protection for working

How did the political landscape of Western Europe change over time:

independent competing states emerged with distinct language + culture

• royal courts + bureaucracies formed alongside the states

  • allowed rulers to be stronger than those in the east (not competing with church or nobles)

• What did this new organization cause:

  • wars (death, destruction, disruption)

  • enhanced the role/status of military men

  • technological development

Roman Catholic Church: was the one commonality among all western european states, allowed for ideas and news to be transferred from one place to another through the clergymen (all spoke latin)

• provided legitimacy to rulers

• church gained lots of influence and wealth over time

  • would eventually cause protestant reformation

Urban-Based Merchants:

due to constant competition among clergymen, nobles and kings merchants gained local power and created powerful, almost independent city-states

• eventually kings gave these cities the right to have their own mini governments while still paying the kings’ taxes

• due to having lots of freewill and power merchants eventually laid the groundwork for later systems to emerge

  • including: capitalism and parliaments

Evolving European Society & Economy

High Middle Ages (1000-1300): time with good climate and stability/security

What occurred during High Middle Ages:

• massive population growth

• new land used for inhabitation

• many people got out of serfdom

Agricultural developments allowing the High Middle Ages:

• using a better plow (heavy wheeled plow)

• using horses and collar tech. from china

• three field crop rotation system

  Environmental Impacts of this agricultural tech.

  • deforestation

  • overfishing

  • extreme human waste

Industrial Developments:

Began to use mechanical energy systems to increase production, helped create a decent amount of growth in long-distance trade

• led to more job specialization in cities — creating a new division of labor

Women’s Opportunities:

• gained access to urban professions + had women’s guilds

• church lives were offered (becoming nuns), which provided them with authority & education

  • these opportunities didn’t last and with time were removed