AP World History - Unit 1 Notes

Dar al-Islam

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi: A Muslim scholar who made significant advances in mathematics and invented trigonometry.
Preservation of Greek Philosophy: Muslim scholars translated and commented on the works of Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle.
House of Wisdom: A library in Baghdad established under the Abbasid Empire during the Golden Age of Islam, which housed numerous scholarly works.
Renaissance Connection: The European Renaissance was influenced by the rediscovery of ancient Greek and Roman manuscripts preserved by Arabic translations.
Dar al-Islam and Song China were the centers of scholarship and wealth during this period.
Expansion of Muslim Rule:
- Military Expansion: Seen in the establishment of the Seljuk, Mamluk, and Delhi Sultanate.
- Traveling Muslim Merchants: Stimulated trade and the movement of merchants throughout Africa, leading to the conversion of the Mali Empire.
- Sufis: Missionaries who emphasized mystical experience and adapted to local beliefs, facilitating the spread of Islam.

Belief Systems: Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.
Buddhism's Decline: Reduced to monastic communities in Nepal and Tibet.
Hinduism: Remained the most widespread religion in India.
Islam: Became the second most important religion with the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate, spreading throughout Southeast Asia.
Bhakti Movement: An innovation on traditional Hinduism, emphasizing devotion to one god and challenging social hierarchies.
Southeast Asia: Buddhism and Islam competed for dominance.

Delhi Sultanate: Ruled much of Northern India but faced difficulty imposing a total Muslim state.
Rajput Kingdom: A collection of rival Hindu kingdoms that resisted Muslim rule.
Vijayanagara Empire: A Hindu kingdom established in the South as a counterpoint to Muslim rule in the North in 1336.
- Former emissaries of the Delhi Sultanate, who had converted to Islam, reverted to Hinduism and established the empire.

Majapahit Kingdom: A sea-based Buddhist kingdom in Java that controlled sea routes for trade but declined when China supported its rival, the Sultanate of Malacca.
Khmer Empire: A land-based empire founded as a Hindu kingdom but later converted to Buddhism, evident in Angkor Wat, which contains both Hindu and Buddhist elements.

Aztec Empire: Founded in 1345 by the Mexica people, with its capital city, Tenochtitlan.
Alliance: In 1428, the Aztecs formed an alliance with two other states and expanded aggressively.
Tribute System: Conquered peoples provided labor and goods to the Aztecs.
Enslaved People: Played a role in Aztec religious practices, including sacrifice.

Inca Empire: Emerged in the early 1400s, stretching across the Andean Mountain Range.
Bureaucracy: Elaborate bureaucracy with rigid hierarchies to maintain control.
Mita System: Required labor on state projects such as farms, mining, military service, and construction.
Comparison: Aztecs were decentralized, while the Inca were highly centralized.

Mississippian Culture: The first large-scale civilization in North America, focused on agriculture in the Mississippi River Valley.
Political Structure: Large towns dominated smaller settlements.
Monumental mounds: Were built as burial mounds, with the largest being around nearly 100 feet tall, constructed by the Cahokia people.

Swahili Civilization: Consisted of cities organized around commerce along the East African coast, growing more influential through Indian Ocean trade.
Political Structure: Each city was politically independent but shared a social hierarchy with a merchant elite.
Influence of Muslim Traders: Led to the emergence of the Swahili language, a hybrid of Bantu and Arabic.
Conversion to Islam: The Swahili States became Islamic, increasing their integration into Islamic trade networks.

Powerful Civilizations: Ghana, Mali, and the Songhai Empire, driven by trade and influenced by Islam among the elite.
Hausa Kingdoms: City-states that acted as brokers of the Saharan trade.

Capital City: Built between December and 1450, with massive structures covering almost 200 acres and a population of about 18,000.
Economy: Initially based on farming and cattle herding but shifted to gold exports.
Religion: Maintained indigenous shamanistic religion instead of converting to Islam.

Trade: Flourished through trade with states around the Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula.
Religion: Practiced Christianity, setting it apart from many other African states.
Power Structure: Hierarchical, with a monarch and various class structures.

Christianity: Dominated Europe, with two main forms: Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholicism.
Byzantine Empire: Represented the eastern half of the Roman Empire, practicing Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Kievan Rus': Adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity, uniting the people and connecting them to a larger cultural sphere.
Western Europe: Split into tiny states after the fall of the Roman Empire, connected culturally by Roman Catholicism.
Influence of Muslims and Jews: Muslims conquered parts of the Iberian Peninsula, while Jews lived in smaller pockets throughout Europe.

Decentralization and Political Fragmentation: Characterized Europe during this period.
Feudalism: A system where powerful lords gained allegiance from lesser lords (vassals) in exchange for land and military service.
Manorialism: A system where a manor was a huge piece of land owned by a lord and rented to peasants (serfs) who worked the land in exchange for protection.
Serfs: Bound to the land but not personal property of landowners.
Shift in Power: After about 1000 CE, monarchs began to grow in power and states became highly centralized.