They maintained and justified their rule by:
Neo-Confucianism: they carried over a revival of confucianism from the Tang Dynasty
It sought to rid of confucian thought of the influence of buddhism
Society is hierarchical
To achieve social harmony those below had to serve to those above and those above had to care those below
Filial Piety
Imperial bureaucracy:
Bureaucracy: a gov. entity arranged in a hierarchical fashion that carries out the will of the emperor
civil service exam: bureaucratic jobs were earned on the basis of merit (most qualified)
Open to everyone but has to be rich enough to be able to study wo financial worries
Women:
in song china were relegated to the subordinate position
Stripped of legal rights
Her property is her husband’s property
If she was widowed or divorced she could not remarry
Endured social restrictions compared to previous dynasties
Limited education
Elite women- foot binding
Status symbol among elite
Influenced Korea, Japan, and Vietnam
Korea: civil service exam, adopted buddhism
Buddhism
4 noble truths:
Life is suffering
We suffer bc we crave
Cease suffering when we cease craving
The eight fold path will lead to cease of suffering
Similarities w hinduism:
Reincarnation
Ultimate goal to reach nirvana
New branches of Buddhism
Theravada Buddhism:
Originated in Sri Lanka
Monks in monasteries do get enlightened
Believed outsiders were too busy to fully absorb and get into the state of Nirvana
Mahayana Buddhism: East Asia
Made it a goal to help others reach nirvana
Economy:
Increased the prosperity from the previous chinese empires
Under Song rule, China’s pop doubled
Commercialization of Economy:
Manufacturers and artisans began to produce more goods than they consume
Sold excess goods in chinese markets and other countries
Porcelain and Silk
Agricultural innovations
Champa Rice: 2 harvests, resisted drought, matured early
Population growth
Transportation Innovations
Grand Canal Expansion
All the places in world where Islam was main religion
There were 2 other religions heavily practiced in this region:
Judaism
Christianity
These religions were monotheistic and wherever those religions were practices, it shaped their society
Abbasid Caliphate:
Located in Baghdad
Ethnically arab
Started to break up and loose its power
New muslim empires started to rise who were ethnically Turkic, not arab
Muslim empires were still around but the dominant empires were led by turks, not arabs
Seljuk Empire:
Established by turkic pastoralists
The Abbasids got help from the seljuks to keep their empire in line but they later fought w them and established their own empire
Although it was the Abbasids who remained power and remained as the religious head of Islam, it was the seljuks were were actually in control
Turkic Empires: Continuity
Military administered their states
Established sharia law
Legal code based on the Quran
Nasir-al-din al- Tusi
Invented Trig
Preserved greek studies by translating them to Arab
House of Wisdom- baghdad
Golden age of Islam
Dar-al-islam represented the center of Scholars and wealth
Expansion of muslim rule
Military expansion
Muslim merchants
Mali
Muslim Missionaries
Sufi missionaries
Three belief systems
Hinduism
Buddhism
Islam
South Asia:
Buddhism was born here
Hinduism was the mode widespread
Islam was second most spread due to the Delhi Sultanate
Bhakti Movement:
Devotion to one hindu god
Mounted challenged to social and gender hierarchies
Delhi Sultanate:
Ruled much of north india and had trouble holding onto that rule
Rajput Kingdoms: warring hindu kingdoms that existed before the delhi sultanate and were able to keep muslim rule at bay
Vijayanagara Empire: South India
Delhi sultanate sent emissaries who were hindus who converted to islam to spread islam to south india, but the emissaries converted back to hindu
Southeast Asia
Competition between Buddhism and Islam
Many sea based and land based empires
Majapahit kingdom:
Sea based
Buddhihist kingdom
Maintained influence by controlling sea routes for trade
Khmer Empire:
Land based
Hindu kingdom but converted to Buddhist
Angkor Wat
The majority lived in Mesoamerica and Andean civilizations
Aztec Empire:
Capital city: Tenochtitlan
Established an empire with an agreement with two other empires
Tribute states
The people had to provide labor for the Aztecs and regular contributions of good like food, animals, building materials, etc
Enslaved people played a large role in their religious sacrifices
Incan Empire
Elaborate bureaucracy
Rigid hierarchy of officials spread throughout empire to ensure everyone was following them
Mit’a System
The aztecs were mostly decentralized in how they ruled while Inca were highly centralized
Dominated by christianity
Eastern orthodox
Roman catholicism
Byzantine Empire: represented the eastern half of the remaining roman empire
Eastern orthodox
Kevan Rus
Eastern orthodox united the people
Western Europe was dominated by the Roman Catholic Church
Muslims and jews also exerted influence in Europe
Political structure:
During this period, there were no empires. Decentralization and political fragmentation was the political flavor in Europe
Feudalism: A system of allegiance between powerful lords, monarchs, and knights
Vassals: received land from their lords in exchange for military service
Manorialism:
Manor: piece of land owned by a lord in which was then rented out to peasants who worked the land
Peasants were bound to the land and worked on it in exchange of protection
Serfs: not personal property of the lord but were bound to the land and stayed their no matter what
The center of political and economic power was in the hands of landowning lords (nobility)