Unit 1: 1200 CE - 1450 CE Heimler Review Guide Notes

China: The Song Dynasty (960-1276 CE)

• State-building and maintenance were major themes.
• Song Dynasty legitimized rule through Neo-Confucianism and imperial bureaucracy.
• Civil Service Exam based on Confucian classics.
• Society was hierarchical; harmony depended on proper relationships and filial piety.
• Continuity: Confucianism and Civil Service Exam from Han Dynasty (202 BCE - 220 CE), large bureaucracy from Qin Dynasty (221-206 BCE).
• Innovation: Neo-Confucianism.
• Women had subordinate roles with limited rights and education; footbinding in elite circles.
• Influenced neighbors in East and Southeast Asia.
• Adopted civil service exam and Buddhism in Korea.
• Buddhism's Four Noble Truths: suffering exists, desire causes it; Eightfold Path stops suffering.
  • Goal: Nirvana through enlightenment.
  • Theravada Buddhism: original form with monastic focus.
  • Mahayana Buddhism: broader participation, help from bodhisattvas.
• Strong economy due to inherited prosperity, population doubling, commercialization (porcelain, silk), and Grand Canal expansion.
• Champa Rice: drought-resistant, early-maturing crop increasing food and population.
• Increased productive capacity and expanding trade networks.
• Silk and Porcelain production relied on peasant and artisanal labor.
• Chinese Tribute System: countries acknowledge China’s superiority for trade access.
• Japan, Korea, and Vietnam adopted Confucianism and Mahayana Buddhism through the Tribute System.

Middle East: Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE)

• Islam, Judaism, and Christianity share roots; Muhammad as final prophet.
• By 1200, Abbasid Caliphate declined; Baghdad conquered by Mongols in 1258.
• Dominated by ethnic Turks.
• Seljuks: Turks from Central Asia who created their own empire.
• Turkic Muslim states: Delhi Sultanate, Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.
• Sharia law based on the Quran.
• Nasir al-Din al-Tusi invented trigonometry.
• Muslim scholars preserved Greek philosophical works.
• Expansion: military (Seljuks, Mamluks, Delhi Sultanate), merchants (Mali), missionaries (Sufis).

South and Southeast Asia

• Religions: Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism.
• Bhakti Hinduism: devotion to one god, challenged social hierarchies.
• Delhi Sultanate: Islam as the elite religion.
• Theravada was the most ancient form of Buddhism; Mahayana was very popular in East Asia.
• New States:
  • Delhi Sultanate: Muslim rulers, Hindu majority.
  • Rajput Kingdoms: rival Hindu kingdoms.
  • Vijayanagara Empire: Hindu kingdom formed by converts from Delhi Sultanate.
  • Majapahit Kingdom: Buddhist kingdom controlling sea routes, declined due to Chinese support for Malacca Sultanate.
  • Khmer Empire: Hindu empire that adopted Buddhism; art and architecture reflect both faiths (Angkor Wat).
• Diasporic communities spread Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam; governments adopted religions to build trade relationships and maintain control.

State Building in the Americas

• Aztec Civilization:
  • Founded 1345, capital Tenochtitlan.
  • Expanded from 1428.
  • Decentralized rule; tribute in goods/labor, enslaved and sacrificed conquered people.
• Inca Empire:
  • Elaborate bureaucracy in the Andean region.
  • Mit'a system: labor for state projects (farms, mining, military, construction).
  • Highly centralized.
• Mississippian Culture:
  • Mississippi River Valley, agriculture-based.
  • Mound builders; Cahokia with burial mounds.

State Building in Africa

• Swahili Civilization: powerful city-states due to Indian Ocean Trade; influenced by Dar al-Islam; Swahili language (Bantu and Arabic).
• West African Empires (Ghana, Mali, Songhay): centralized, grew due to trade with Dar al-Islam; elites converted to Islam.
• Hausa Kingdom: decentralized city-states, common culture, brokers for trans-Saharan trade.
• Great Zimbabwe: wealthy due to trade, farming, cattle herding, and gold; maintained indigenous shamanistic faith.
• Ethiopia: grew due to trade; strict hierarchy; Christian.

Developments in Europe

• Christianity dominated; Orthodox Christianity in Byzantine Empire; Roman Catholic Church in the West provided cultural unity.
• Muslims in Iberian Peninsula; Jews faced anti-Semitism.
• Feudalism: decentralized political system; lords gained allegiance from vassals in exchange for land and military service.
• Manorialism: economic system; peasants (serfs) bound to land for lord's protection.