AP World History - Unit 1 Notes

Emphasized Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism (sought to rid Confucian thought of Buddhism).
Society was hierarchical: citizens submit to the state, women to men, juniors to elders.
Filial piety emphasized; women stripped of legal rights, subjected to social restrictions like foot binding.
Imperial bureaucracy grew, maintained rule through civil service exams based on Confucian classics.
Tributary system with Korea, Japan, Vietnam.
Buddhism originated in India, spread to China; Theravada, Mahayana, and Zen Buddhism emerged.
Economy inherited from Tang and Sui dynasties saw increased prosperity.
Population explosion due to agricultural innovations like Champa rice.
Expansion of the Grand Canal facilitated trade.

Believers used religious principles to shape societies.
Abbasid Caliphate, initially Arab, lost power and was dominated by Turkic people (Seljuk Empire, Mamluk Sultanate, Delhi Sultanate).
Seljuk warriors fought with the Abbasids; Mongols sacked Baghdad.
Arab-Muslim empires declined as Turkic Muslim empires rose.
Military administered states under Sharia law.
Nasir al-Din al-Tusi made innovations in math.
Muslim scholars preserved Greek works in Arabic in the House of Wisdom.
Expansion via military; Empire of Mali converted to Islam, traded with Islamic regions.
Sufis adapted to local beliefs, served as missionaries.

Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam influenced the region.
Buddhism in South Asia involved monastic communities; Islam became the second most important religion and religion of the elite.
Bhakti movement innovated on traditional Hinduism, challenged social hierarchies.
Delhi Sultanate struggled to control the entire state; Rajput kingdoms resisted Muslim rule.
Vijayanagara Empire and Majapahit Kingdom (Java, Buddhist) maintained influence by controlling sea routes.
Khmer Empire, initially Hindu, converted to Buddhism (Angkor Wat - syncretism).

Aztec Empire formed an alliance with Mesoamerican states, traded, and established a tribute system.
Enslaved people became candidates for religious sacrifice.
Inca Empire, highly centralized, incorporated land and languages; developed a bureaucracy.
Incas adopted the Mita system - mandatory labor on state projects.
Mississippian civilization known for monumental mounds.

Swahili civilization organized around the East African coast, influenced by Muslim traders; Swahili states became Islamic.
Ghana, Mali, and Songhay driven by trade; elite members converted to Islam.
Hausa kingdoms acted as brokers in the trans-Saharan trade.
Zimbabwe grew wealthy through trade, especially gold exports, but never converted to Islam.
Ethiopia remained Christian.

Dominated by Christianity: Eastern Orthodox (Byzantine Empire) and Roman Catholicism.
Kievan Rus adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
Western Europe experienced decentralized states and isolation.
Roman Catholicism linked every state, giving the Church significant power.
Muslims conquered the Iberian Peninsula; Jews remained on the outskirts of European life.
Decentralization and political fragmentation characterized the region.
Feudalism: vassals received land for military service.
Manorialism: peasants bound to land in exchange for protection; nobles held economic and political power.