Topic 1.1: Developments in East Asia

China

• China has great wealth, political stability, artistry, neo-confucian teachings, and spread of confucianism and buddhism

• Song Dynasty replaced the Tang in 960

• Bureaucracy - political organization where appointed officials carry out the empire’s policies (a continuity across dynasties)

• Meritocracy and the Civil Service Exam - Emperor Song Taizu expanded educational opportunities to men of lower economic classes to score well on the civil service exam to obtain good jobs in the bureaucracy; based on the knowledge of Confucian texts

• Technology improved roads, canals, foreign trade, prosperity, and population growth

  • The Grand Canal was an inexpensive, efficient internal waterway transportation system; most populous trading area in the world

  • Gunpowder helped make the first firearms that spread to Eurasia via the Silk Roads

  • Champa rice was a fast-ripening and drought-resistant strain from present-day Vietnam that allowed farming in lands where rice didn’t grow

  • Irrigation systems used water, terraces, and pumps to increase productivity and cultivate unusable land which provided an abundance of food

• Greatest manufacturing capability

  • Learned to take carbon out of cast iron to manufacture steel to reinforce bridges, gates, anchors, and make religious items and agricultural equipment

• Proto-industrialization - people in rural areas made more goods than they could sell and relied on home-based or community-based production using simple equipment

• Artisans or skilled craft workers produced steel in smelting facilities under the imperial government and manufactured porcelain and silk that spread through trade (porcelain was highly desired because it was light-weight, strong, light-colored)

• Maritime navigation - redesigned ships for more cargo, compass, print paper navigation charts (less reliant on the sky)

• Commercialized society - economy changed from local consumption to market production

  • The Grand Canal supported internal trade with naval technology and allowed China to control trade in South China Sea

• Commercial economy with public projects increased money in circulation, promoted economic growth, and increased taxes

• Tributary system - arrangement where states had to pay money or provide goods to honor the Chinese emperor and cemented economic and political power over foreign countries (Japan, Korea, and kingdoms in Southeast Asia were tributary states)

• Urban areas grew with cosmopolitan metropolises (active centers of commerce)

• Social class - scholar gentry, aristocracy, farmers, artisans, merchants, peasants

  • Low status reflected Confucian respect for hard work and creative value

• Role of women - respect for women but they still defered to men (patriarchy)

  • Foot binding - girls had their feet wrapped to signify social status; restricted participation in the public sphere in aristocratic families

• Paper and printing - first culture to use woodblock printing; expanded availability of books (Confucian scholars were major producers of literature) and placed emphasis on creating well-rounded scholar-bureaucrats

• Buddhism came to China via Silk Roads from India (monk Xuanzang helped build popularity); introduced Buddhism in China by relating beliefs to Daoist principles; 3 forms of Buddhism

  • Theravada Buddhism focused on personal spiritual growth, Mahayana Buddhism focused on spiritual growth for all beings, and Tibetan Buddhism focused on chanting

  • Four Noble Truths - personal suffering alleviated by eliminating cravings or desires and following Buddhist precepts

  • Eight-Fold Path - the precepts that can lead to enlightenment or nirvana (right speech, livelihood, effort, and mindfulness)

  • Chan/Zen Buddhism - syncretic Daoist and Buddhist faith that emphasized direct experience and meditations as opposed to formal learning based on studying scripture

• Filial piety - duty of family members to subordinate desires to the male head of the family and the ruler; emphasized respect for one’s elders to maintain Song rule

• Neo-Confucianism - syncretic system; combined rational thought with more abstract ideas of Daoism and Buddhism; ethics over God and nature

Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

• Japan, Korea, and Vietnam had to maintain distinctive cultures or assimilate Chinese practices

• Japan - Buddhism, Confucianism, and Shinto religion; woodblock printing; emulated Chinese traditions; feudalism and aristocrats (daimyo)

  • Serfs were born into economic dependency while samurai were born into roles as protectors; bushido stressed frugality, loyalty, martial arts, and honor unto death; the emperor had little power and suffered regional rivalries

• Korea - tributary relationship with China and emulated politics and culture; adopted Confucian and Buddhist beliefs; centralized government; aristocracy were more powerful and prevented Chinese reforms

• Vietnam - traded with and learned from China, but rebelled against Chinese influence; women had greater independence and preferred nuclear families; villages operated independently; merit-based bureaucracy; rejected foot binding and polygyny

Topic 1.2: Developments in Dar al-Islam

Darl al-Islam

• Islam spread outward from Arabia through military actions, merchants, and missionaries

• House of Wisdom - center of learning in the Abbasid Empire that helped transfer knowledge through Afro-Eurasia

• Mamluks - enslaved people for Arabs who were Turks from Central Asia; in Egypt, they established the Mamluk Sultanate and prospered with trade in cotton and sugar and were a threat to Abbasid Empire

• Seljuk Turks - challenge to Abbasids from Central Asia after conquering the Middle East; highest-ranking Abbasid from the caliph to chief Sunni religious authority

• Crusaders - Abbasids allowed Christians to travel to and from holy sites around Jerusalem until they limited travel and the Crusaders (Christian soldiers) reopened access

• Mongols - central Asia; conquered the remaining Abbasid Empire, ending Seljuk rule and were stopped in Egypt by Mamluks

• Abbasids became an important link connecting Afro-Eurasia until trade patterns shifted farther north; Baghdad stopped being the center of trade and lost wealth, population, canals, and food

• Abbasid Caliphate - led by Arabs and Persians later shaped by Turkic people in Central Asia led to Islamic states with Turkic cultures: Ottoman Empire in Turkey, Safavid Empire in Persia, and the Mughal Empire in India

• Islamic scholars followed Muhammad’s advice and translated Greek literary classics into Arabic, studied mathematics from India, and adopted paper-making from China

  • Nasir al-Din al-Tusi - astronomy, law, logic, ethics, mathematics, philosophy, trigonometry, medicine

  • Ibn Khaldun - historical accounts and historiography and sociology

  • ‘A’ishah al-Ba’uniyyah - prolific female Muslim writer; Sufi

• Sufi - emphasized introspection to gather truths and incorporated local religious elements into Islam; played important role in the spread of Islam

• Islamic society viewed merchants as prestigious as long as they maintained fair dealings, gave to charity, and kept in accord with the pillars of Islamic faith

• Dhows - long, thin hulls made for carrying goods

• Non-Arab states with Islamic caliphs showed discrimination against non-Arabs; people paid tribute to Islamic caliphs rather than to Byzantine rulers

• Slavery - Islam allowed slavery of non-Muslims, Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians; imported from Africa, Kievan Rus, and Central Asia (who converted for freedom); slave women were concubines to Islamic men and had more independence than legal wives

• Women -dressed modestly with a hijab; Muhammad raised the status of women by making dowries paid to the future wife and forbiding female infanticide

  • Islamic women had higher status than Christian or Jewish women (allowed to inherit property, retain ownership, remarry, cash settlement, birth control, etc.)

• Islamic rule in Spain - the Umayyads rules in Spain after Muslims defeated Byzantines armies and invaded Spain, designating Cordoba as their capital; turned back after the Battle of Tours; maintained religious toleration, promoted trade, and made al-Andalus a center of learning

Topic 1.3: Developments in South and Southeast Asia

South Asia

• Interaction of Hindus and Muslims created developments in religion, politics, economics, art, and architecture

• Hindu kingdoms played a role in India’s decentralized political landscape

• Buddhism had a strong presence

• Hinduism provided cultural unity

  • Chola Dynasty - southern India until 1267

  • Vijayanagara Empire - the victorious city; Harihara and Bukka from Delhi Sultanate in north-central India converted to Islam for upward mobility and then returned to Hinduism and established their own Hindu kingdom

  • Rajput kingdoms - northern India and present-day Pakistan; Hindu kingdoms led by clans, no centralized government (demonstrating diversity and regionalism), vulnerable to Muslim attacks

• Islamic forces conquered much of Delhi and northern South Asia, bringing Islam into India and the Delhi Sultanate; some Hindus converted, others resented Muslims

• Jizya - Delhi Sultanate imposed a tax on all non-Muslims

• Delhi Sultanate - no organized bureaucracy → had difficulty imposing policies, local kingdoms played a role in India’s decentralized political landscape

  • Prevented the Mongols from conquering South Asia but lost power to the Mughals

• Hinduism vs Islam

  • Polytheistic vs monotheistic

  • Temples and artwork of deities vs no visual representation of Allah

  • Hierarchical caste systems vs equality

  • Sacred texts vs the Quran

• Arrival of Islam - Islam was a universalizing religion (voluntary converts to Islam); attracted low-caste Hindus because of equality but the largest number of converts were Buddhist’s due to corruption and disorganization

• Caste system - politically decentralized and accommodates newcomers, especially low-caste Hindus who converted to Islam to improve social status

• South Asia shared intellectual and cultural achievements - Indian developments translated into Arabic and spread throughout Dar al-Islam (“Arabic numerals”); Islamic architecture combined with Hindu art (Qutub Minar); Urdu melded Hindi (northern India) and Arabic with elements of Farsi (Persian)

• Bhakti Movement - southern India; the importance of emotion in spiritual life and focused on strong attachment to a deity; did not discriminate against women or people of low status; was Hindu but similar to Sufi Muslims due to mystical movements that emphasized inner reflection and less on strict adherence to traditional rituals or beliefs

• Influence on Southeast Asia - Indonesia, Malaysia, Cambodia, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam; Indian merchants and trade introduced Indian religions to Southeast Asia

• Sea-based kingdoms

  • Srivijaya empire - Hindu kingdom based on Sumatra; built up navy and charged fees for ships traveling between India and China

  • Majapahit Kingdom - power by controlling sea routes; primarily Buddhist

• Land-based kingdoms

  • Sinhala dynasties in Sri Lanka - a center of Buddhist study and simple life of contemplation

  • Khmer empire - Mekong River and irrigation and drainage systems led to economic prosperity; the capital was Angkor Thom with temples of Indian cultural influences, Hindu artwork, and Buddhist sculptures

Topic 1.4: Developments in the Americas

Mississippian Culture

• First large-scale civilization in North America near the Mississippi River Valley that built earthen mounds such as Cahokia

• The Great Sun ruled each town; social class had priests, nobles, farmers, hunters, merchants, artisans, and slaves in a matrilineal society (determined by women’s side of the family)

• Decline - abandoned Cahokia around 1450; thought to be flooding, weather extremes, collapse of agricultural economy, or disease

Chaco and Mesa Verde

• Southwestern USA -  dry region forced ways to collect and store water

  • Chaco - built housing using stones and clay

  • Mesa Verde - built multi-story homes on sides of cliffs using sandstone bricks

Maya City-States

• Mexico/Central America

• Moderate trade

• Writing, step pyramids, accurate calendar - incorporated the concept of zero; science and religion linked through astronomy and calendars using pyramids; priests conducted ceremonies honoring deities and made offerings to the gods such as war captives

• City-states are ruled by a king including a city and surrounding territory; wars between city-states were common but rarely fought to control territory but rather to gain tribute and captives for human sacrifices; Mayan kings claimed to be descended from a god

• Common people were required to pay taxes in a form of crops or labor

Aztecs

• Central Mexico

• Capital City - Tenochtitlan was one of the largest cities in the worldwide with networks of aqueducts and floating gardens (chinampas) to increase amount of space for food as well as ditches to irrigate fields and drain water for land

• Extensive trade

  • Pochteca - special merchant class that traded luxury goods

• Step pyramids, chinampas, accurate calendar

• Powerful king, wars for captives, tribute - conquered peoples forced to pay, surrender, or perform military services; allowed local rulers to collect tribute; grouped city-states into provinces with Aztec officials at each capital to collect tribute

  • Theocracy - rule by religious leaders; the Great Speaker was a political ruler and divine representative of the gods

• Social class - the Great speaker, nobles and military leadership, scribes and healers, craftspeople and traders, peasants and soldiers

  • Women were important in tribute system with their woven, valuable cloth that local rulers demanded; they became priestesses, midwives, healers, or mechants; noblewomen became scribes to female members of royal families

• Religion - worshiped a pantheon of hundreds of deities, involved rituals, feast days, and human sacrifices (gods sacrificed themselves for the world so human sacrifice was repayment and atonement for sin)

• Decline - low level of technology, insufficient agriculture, the empire grew beyond what it could govern, and sacrifices inspired resentment

Inca

• Andes in South America

• Limited trade

• Powerful king, wars for conquest, mit’a system - four provinces with governors and a bureaucracy

  • Mit’a system - mandatory public service

• Waru waru, roads, masonry

  • Quipu - system of knotted strings used to record numerical information

  • Waru waru - raised beds with channels that captured and redirected rain to avoid erosion during floods and store water

  • Carpa nan - massive roadway system

• Religion - the sun god, Inti, was the most important Incan god; Inca rulers were considered Inti’s representative on Earth

  • Royal ancestor veneration - extended the rule of a leader; dead rulers were mummified and they continued to rule

  • Animism - belief that elements of the physical world could be supernatural

• Decline - the arrival of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizaroo, civil war after the death of an emperor and weakened the army, and diseases from Europeans

Topic 1.5: Developments in Africa

West, East, and Sub-Saharan Africa

• Ibn Battuta - from Morocco; travelog showed how Islam’s growth increased connections among cultures of Asia, Africa, and southern Europe

• Politics of Sub-Saharan Africa - did not centralize power and formed kin-based networks (families governed themselves); the male head of the network was a chief and mediated conflicts; groups of villages became districts

• Hausa kingdoms - Hausa ethnic groups formed city-states with specialties that benefited from the trans-Saharan trade network (network of trade across the great desert)

• Politics in West and East Africa - benefited from increased trade and the spread of Islam

• Ghana - rulers sold gold and ivory to Muslim traders; the king ruled a centralized government with nobles and an army

• Mali - a powerful gold trading society; the founding ruler, Sundiata, a Muslim, used connections with others of his faith to establish trade with North African and Arab merchants

• Zimbabwe - powerful East African kingdom; a mixture of agriculture, grazing, trade, and gold (rich gold fields with taxes on transport of gold); traded with coastal city-states and in the Indian Ocean trade; spoke Swahili (combination of Bantu and Arabic)

• Ethiopia - only Christianity-led kingdom; Ethiopian Christianity by combining faith traditions with Christianity

• Slavery - prisoners of war, debtors, and criminals

  • Chattel slavery - slaves were the legal property of the owner

  • Domestic slavery - slaves served as household workers

  • Debt bondage - people became slaves through mutual agreement to repay debt

  • Indian Ocean slave trade - caused by strong demand in the Middle East for enslaved workers (zanji - enslaved East Africans) that eventually led to the Zanji Rebellion

Topic 1.6: Developments in Europe

Feudalism

• Middle Ages - trade declined, intellectual life receded, the united Roman state was replaced, and only the Roman Catholic Church remained powerful

• High Middle Ages - classical thinkers

• Feudalism - exchanges of land for loyalty

  • A monarch granted tracks of land to lords in return for owed service

  • Lords provided land to knights in return for protection

  • Lords provided land to peasants in return for labor

• Manorial system - large estates called manors provided economic self-sufficiency and defense; serfs spent entire lives on a manor and were tied to the land in a three-field system for crop rotation

• Monarchies grew powerful at expense of feudal lords by employing bureaucracy

Roman Catholic Church and the Crusades

• Holy Roman Empire - Germany; lay investiture controversy about whether secular leaders rather than the pope could invest bishops with symbols of office

• Norman England - a fusion of Normans (descendants of Vikings) and Anglo-Saxons

• Magna Carta - forced William the Conqueror to limit his power and required kings to respect certain rights

• English Parliament - increased rights of nobility

• The Hundred Years’ War - England and France with English won; spread gunpowder weapons

• Christians vs Muslims - Muslims conquered Spain, and Christians wanted to reconquer it during the Reconquista

• Great Schism - Christian Church in Europe was divided into 2 branches; the Roman Catholic Church dominated Europe and the Orthodox Church was powerful from Greece to Russia

• The Church - provided people with a shared identity

  • Established first universities; artwork focused on religious themes

• Church and State - Church held power in the feudal system and had a hierarchy of regional leaders

• Monasticism - Christian clergy went to monasteries to meditate and pray; same economic functions as manors; women as nuns

• Reform - clergy supported charities and were a considerable political influence, which led to corruption theological disagreements that drove reformers to shatter the unity of the Church (Martin Luther)

• Crusades - Europeans wanted to reclaim Holy Land after they were under the control of Muslims; military campaign and access to trade routes resulted in the Crusades; popes, kings, and the Church used spiritual authority to recruit believers

  • 1st Crusade - victory for Christendom; promoted cultural exchange between Europe and the Middle East

  • 4th Crusade - Levant (Venice transported Crusaders to the Middle East) and Islamic forces won

Economic and Social Changes

• Marco Polo - Italian with a description of the customs of the people he met; described Mongols and sparked curiosity about Asia leading cartography or mapmaking

• Social change - long-distance commerce started a middle class known as the bourgeoisie including merchants

• Urban growth and commerce → larger cities, advances in agriculture and population growth, and the growth of towns and markets

• Bubonic plague - the Black Death killed ⅓ of the population, increased demand for labor, and gave serfs bargaining power

• Little Ice Age - lower temperatures reduced agriculture and increased disease and unemployment

• Jews - Jews lived in the Iberian Peninsula and were taken by European Christians

  • Antisemitism - Jews were thought of as outsiders and untrustworthy; were expelled from Europe and moved to eastern Europe

• Muslims -  faced discrimination and moved to southeastern Europe; contact with traders in Muslim caliphates opened the trading world

The Renaissance

• Renaissance - the revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman literature, art, culture, and civic virtue; printing press allowed mass production of manuscripts at affordable costs leading to the growth in literacy and spread of ideas

  • Humanism - focuses on individuals rather than God; sought education and reform, increased use of vernacular language; the rise of monarchies, centralized governments, and nationalism

Russia

• Russia - extensive trade in furs, fish, and grain connected people from Scandinavia to Central Asia; adopted Orthodox Christianity, cultural relationships with Byzantium; Mongols overtook this region and required local nobles to collect taxes for them until the resisted Mongol rule

• Ivan the Great - independence from Mongols and beginning of Russia

Topic 1.7: Comparison in the Period from c. 1200 to c. 1400

• Mongols - largest land-based empire

• Islam - key in state-building

• New empires emerged and states expanded

  • Song Dynasty, China - continued period of technological and cultural progress

  • Abbasid Caliphate, Middle East - fragmented by invaders, shifts in trade; new Muslim states in Africa, Middle East, and Spain

  • Chola Kingdom and Vijayanagar Empire, south and southeast Asia - used trade to build strong states, Delhi Sultanate was more land-based

  • Mali, Africa - empire was bigger and centrally administered than the Empire of Ghana

  • Aztecs, Americas - tributary empire in Mesoamerica w/ strong military

  • Inca, Andean region - mit’a system for state-building

  • Europe - feudal ties declined in importance as centralized states developed

  • Japans - more decentralized and feudal

• Religion - strengthened political control over territory; missionary activity was important in the decline in practice of local religions; trade helped spread religion

  • Islamic world - Arabic, and basis for legitimacy for rulers

  • China and East Asia - Confucian beliefs and scholars for bureaucracy over large territory; Neo-Confucianism in Korea and Japan allowed rulers to justify political power; rulers in south and southeast Asia relied on Hinduism and Buddhism

  • Europe - the Church was part of the state-building process and provided an alternative structure for society

• Trade fueled cross-cultural exchanges of technology and innovations

  • Champa Rice - larger urban centers and supported China’s manufacturing capability

  • Paper - made its way across Eurasia; increased literacy rates, focused on intellectual thought and learning led to advances in math and medicine (Islamic centers of learning)

• Nomadic groups - Mongols and transfer of knowledge after conquests; Turkish groups created Seljuk and Ottoman empires