AP World History Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450)

Key

(—>) = Causation

(——>)= Continuity/change over time

Bolded Text = More important/useful information

1.1 State Building in East Asia (How did Song China maintain and justify power?)

Confucianism: Philosophy that taught that human society is hierarchical by nature

• Husbands over Wives, Rulers over subjects

  1. Women relegated to subordinate position in society

     • Foot Binding: feet of young women bounded and broken to make walking impossible; signified status for elite men

• Filial Piety: Practice of honoring one’s ancestors and parents

• Traditional Confucianism in Han Dynasty ——> Neo-Confucianism in Song Dynasty after collapse and rebirth

  1. Neo-Confucianism: Influence of Buddhist and Daoist Philosophical Ideas

  2. Confucianism in China demonstrates historical continuity as well as change/innovation

Buddhism:

• As Buddhism spread, several branches emerged as it changed

  1. Although Song Dynasty emphasized traditional Chinese ideas like Confucianism, Buddhism still played a significant role in society

  2. Tibetan

     • Same basic doctrines

     • Emphasized more mystical practices

  3. Mahayana (East Asia)

     • Buddhist teachings available to all

  4. Theravada (South Asia)

     • Most similar to original form of Buddhism

     • Open to only a select few (monks)

• 4 Noble Truths:

  1. Life is suffering

  2. We suffer because we crave

  3. We cease suffering when we cease craving

  4. Eightfold path leads to cessation of suffering and craving

     • Eightfold Path: Moral lifestyle and meditation

Imperial Bureaucracy: Governmental entity that carries out will of empire

• Allows for the dispersion of officials and maintaining of rules in a country

• The growth and improvement of the imperial bureaucracy —> Song Dynasty maintaining rule over country

  1. Civil Service Examination: Test to determine if an individual can join the bureaucracy

     • Bureaucracy staffed with only qualified men (merit-based) → Increased competency and efficiency of tasks

     • Not open for women due to Confucian ideals during time period

Chinese Influence on Neighbors

• Korea

  1. Tributary Relationship with China → Positive relationship → Korea adopting Chinese Culture

     • Civil Service Exam to staff bureaucracy

     • Confucian principles in family

     • Women’s role in society weakened

• Vietnam

  1. Tributary System

  2. Confucianism, Buddhism

  3. Civil Service Examination

  4. Despite adoption of Confucianism, women in Vietnam not nearly as oppressed

     • Female deities in nature, Female version of Buddha

• Japan

  1. Chinese writing, Buddhism

  2. Adopted Chinese cultural traits voluntarily as opposed to Korea

     • Korea had looming threat of invasion while Japan protected by sea

Economy in Song Dynasty

• Agricultural Innovation

  1. Champa Rice:

     • Drought resistant

     • Harvestable twice a year

• Iron and steel production

• Transportation Innovations

  1. Grand canal expanded

  2. Magnetic compass

  3. Ship building

• Commercialization of economy: produced more goods than needed, sold the rest

  1. Paper Money

• All of these factors contributed to the growth and prosperity of Song China

1.2 Developments in Dar-al-Islam (How did Islam and Islamic empires grown and develop over time?)

Three Monotheistic Religions

• Judaism

  1. Ethnic religion of Jews

  2. Originated in Middle East

• Christianity

  1. Established by Jewish prophet Jesus Christ

  2. Taught to not accumulate wealth

• Islam

  1. Founded by Prophet Muhammad

  2. Dar-Al-Islam: “The House of Islam”

     • All the areas Islam had influence in (N. Africa, Middle East)

     • Facilitated trade, supported by Muhammad’s teachings

• Islam being more trade focused than Christianity based on teachings —> prospered more than Christian areas

Prosperity in Islam —> Formation of powerful Islamic empires

• Abbasid Caliphate: (750-1258)

  1. Ethnically Arab

  2. In power during Golden Age of Islam

     • Golden Age: Period of extreme innovation in science, maths, technology

• Waning of Abbasid power before 1200 —> Rise of new Islamic Empires

  • Arab Peoples rule in previous time periods ——> Turkic peoples rule after fall of Abbasid

  • Continuities:

    1. 1. Military in Charge of Administration

    2. 2. Implementation of Sharia Law

• Seljuk Empire: (11th century established)

  1. Came from Central Asia, took power

  2. Abbasid caliphs still in power, but Seljuks had most political power

• Mamluk Sultanate:

  1. Egypt

  2. Previous Ayyubid Sultanate taken over by previously enslaved Mamluks —> Rise of another Turkic Muslim state

• Delhi Sultanate

  1. South Asia

Continued Expansion of Islam

• —>Expansion of Islam:

  1. Military Expansion

     • Delhi Sultanate

  2. Merchant activity

     • Trade

  3. Muslim Missionaries

     • Sufism

• Sufism: Form of Islam that highlighted mystical experience

  1. Believed that mystical experiences available to all regardless of status

  2. Became a driving force for the spread of Islam

Intellectual Innovations and Transfers (Golden Age of Islam)

• Mathematics

  1. Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi:

     • Invented Trigonometry

  2. House of Wisdom: World famous library attracting scholars

     • Translated Greek texts like Plato, Aristotle into Arabic that would have otherwise been lost

1.3 State Building in South Asia & Southeast Asia (How were culture and state structure different between nations?)

• Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam struggled for dominance

  1. Buddhism vs Hinduism (Compare/Contrast)

     • Buddhism, Hinduism = Reincarnation, dissolve into oneness of universe

     • Buddhism: Equality for all, Universalizing religion

     • Hinduism: Caste system, Ethnic religion

     • Hinduism provided conditions for unified culture in India through caste system

     • By 1200s, Buddhism in South Asia weakening

  2. Islam:

     • In 1206, Turkic Muslims invaded South Asia and established Delhi Sultanate —> Muslim rule, Islam religion of the elite

• Changes in Religion

  1. Hinduism Bhakti Movement:

     • Encouraged believers to worship one particular god

     • Rejected Hinduism hierarchy

     • Encouraged spiritual experiences to all regardless of status

  2. Islam Sufism: A more mystical version of Islam

  3. Bhakti vs. Sufism (compare)

     • Bhakti, Sufism: Mystical experience, spiritual experience to all people

  4. Buddhism became more exclusive in South Asia despite original teachings

     • Inclusive previously ——> Exclusive after

• State building in South Asia

  1. Delhi Sultanate

  2. Muslim rulers had trouble imposing Islam in India —> Islam being minority religion of elites

  3. Hinduism too engrained in Indian culture —> Resistance against Muslim rule

     • Rajput Kingdoms: collection of rival & warring Hindu kingdoms

     • Vijayanagara Empire

• State building in Southeast Asia

  1. Srivijaya Empire (7-11th century):

     • Gained power through controlling Strait of Malacca

     • Buddhist state influenced by Hinduism

     • Sea based

  2. Majapahit Kingdom (Java):

     • Hindu Kingdom with strong Buddhist influence

     • Maintained power through tributary system

     • Sea based

  3. Sinhala Dynasties (Sri Lanka):

     • Land-based empire

  4. Khmer Empire:

     • Hindu empire

     • Land based

     • Hindu temple Angkor Wat ——> Buddhist temple with Hindu elements remaining

  5. Srivijaya and Majapahit were sea based

  6. Sinhala and Khmer were land based

1.4 State Building in the Americas (How did American states change and stay the same over time

Maya Civilization: Decentralized collection of city-states frequently at war with one another (before 1200)

• Fought to create vast network of tributary states among neighbors

  1. Conquered powers remained partly independent, but had to send tribute payments

• Emphasized human sacrifice

States in current time period demonstrated continuity and innovation from the Mayans

• Aztec Empire vs Maya

  1. Maya —— Decentralized Power, Tributary System, Religious Motivation for expansion (sacrifices) ——> Aztec

  2. To secure legitimacy, Aztecs claimed heritage from older Mesoamericans

  3. Maya ——> More advanced Aztecs

     • Populous capital: Tenochtitlan (150-200k)

     • Commercialized economy (markets)

     • Elaborate buildings (palaces, temples)

• Inca were successors to previous empire Wari in Andean Mountains

Inca vs Aztecs

• Similarities:

  1. Outsiders rose to power through military conquests

  2. Empire rapidly expanded

• Inca:

  1. Centralized power

  2. Massive bureaucracy

  3. Mit’a System: Required labor of all people to work on state projects

  4. Extremely connected

     • Network of officials

     • Well constructed roads

• Aztecs:

  1. Decentralized power

  2. Tributary relationships

North American Civilizations

• Mississippian Culture (emerged 8-9th century)

  1. Extremely fertile soil —> Agricultural society

  2. Politics dominated by chiefs known as the Great Sun that ruled each town and extended power over small settlements

     • Hierarchical society

  3. Mound building projects

     • Used for religious purposes

     • Indicates the ability to bring together manpower to build mounds

     • Most famous mound named Cahokia

• Chaco and Mesa Verde society: (Southwest USA)

  1. Dry land —> Innovation in transportation and storing of water and shelter

     • Mesa Verde built houses into the sides of cliffs

1.5 State Building in Africa (What were similarities and differences between African States?)

State building in Sub-Saharan Africa

• Swahili Civilization: Collection of independent city states

  1. Access to Indian Ocean Trade along coast —> Rise in prominence/power

  2. Indian Ocean merchants interested in:

     • Gold

     • Ivory

     • Timber

     • Slaves

  3. Trade based civilization —> Importing goods from farmers and pastoralists

  4. Indian Ocean Trade —> Islam becoming dominant religion

     • Conversion took place voluntarily

     • Islamic Swahili more connected to economic world of Dar-Al-Islam

     • Islam influenced Swahili language (Mix of native Bantu and Arabic)

• Great Zimbabwe:

  1. Participation in Indian Ocean Trade —> High wealth

  2. Economy based on farming and cattle herding

  3. Exported gold

  4. High wealth —> Construction of large capital city

Swahili States vs. Song China

• Similarities:

  1. Expanded wealthy by participating in trade beyond borders

  2. Hierarchical class structure

• Song China:

  1. Highly centralized power structure with emperor at top

• Swahili:

  1. No larger political structure, independent city-states

Swahili vs Hausa

• Similarities:

  1. Urbanized and commercialized states

  2. Traded with other states

  3. Each state ruled by a king

  4. Rulers converted to Islam —> facilitated trade

Swahili & Hausa vs. Ethiopia

• Swahili & Hausa:

  1. Muslim

  2. Decentralized

  3. Traded through Indian Ocean

• Ethiopia:

  1. Christian

  2. Centralized

  3. Traded through Indian Ocean AND Mediterranean

State Building in West and East Africa

• Hausa Kingdoms: Collection of independent city-states

  1. Trade through Trans-Saharan Trade Network —> Gaining of power and wealth

  2. Conversion to Islam —> facilitation of trade with Islamic merchants

  3. Decentralized

African states adopted Islam to organize societies and facilitate trade through access to Dar-Al-Islam

• EXCEPTION: Ethiopia

  1. Christian African Kingdom

  2. Traded in Mediterranean Sea and Indian Ocean Network —> Wealthiness

     • Salt was valuable export

  3. Centralized power

     • King sat at top

     • Class hierarchy below king

1.6 Developments in Europe

Christianity Dominates Europe

• Eastern Orthodox Christianity

  1. Belief structure helped Byzantine rulers justify and consolidate power

     • Centralized Power

  2. Ottoman Empire conquers —> Fall of Byzantine Empire —> Embodiment of Eastern Orthodox in Kievan Rus

  3. Eastern Orthodox states were highly centralized

     • Kievan Rus, Byzantines

• Roman Catholic Christianity

  1. Collapse of Roman Empire —> Decentralized and unorganized Western states

     • Roman Catholic Church provided at least some structure

  2. Catholic Church EXTREMELY influential in medieval Europe

     • Called for Crusades in distant lands

     • Shaped art, education, etc.

While Christianity was the dominant belief system, Island and Judaism also had important roles

• Muslim rule in Iberian Peninsula

• Jews scattered throughout Europe and regularly participated in trade

  1. Anti-Semitism prevalent among Europeans —> Jews kept at edges of society

     • Mass expulsion of Jews (England 1290, France 1306)

Political Decentralization in the West at beginning of time period

• No large empires in West Europe at start of this time period

• West Europe characterized by political fragmentation and decentralization

• Social, political, and economic order organized around feudalism

  1. Feudalism: System of allegiances between powerful lords

     • Land given to gain allegiance from lesser lords

  2. Manorialism: Peasants (serfs) bound to land and worked it for protection

     • Serfs were bound to the land

Monarchs in various states began to gain power and centralize through introducing large militaries and bureaucracies

• Nobility held most power ——> Monarchies gaining power and centralizing authority

• Increasing centralization and powerful monarchs —> Competition for influence and territory —> War/conflicts