AP World Unit 1
The 3 main states in East Asia during 1200 - 1450 circa were China, Japan, and Korea.
The Song Dynasty used Confucianism, specifically Neo-confucianism to promote moral governance and social harmony
Confucianism is composed of unequal relationships like father-to-son or Filial Piety which is to honor ancestors
Neo-Confucianism consisted of Confucianism and Buddhism principles, which caused the revival of the Song period.
Confucianism impacted gender roles and promoted patriarchy, where women were forced to obey and went through the process of foot-binding.
Foot-binding was a status of power where wealthy young girls would wrap their foot so tightly that the bones could not move anymore, this practice was around until the 20th century.
Imperial Bureaucracy was used by the Song Dynasty to recruit tens of thousands of qualified individuals who took the Civil-Service Exam
The Civil Service Exam was an exam that people could take to become government officials, but they had to be masters at the art of Confucianism.
Korea and Japan had very different government styles, where Korea had to copy China because of direct influence, while Japan had a feudal system where the daimyo would give land to the samurai for loyalty and military, this is because they were not pressured by China due to the maritime area.
Korea actually admired the work China had done, with Korean officials worshiping the Chinese leaders which formed a tributary relationship.
They adopted things like civil service exams, confucian principles, and family traditions
Japan adopted some Chinese traditions but did not adopt all if they were bad, but did not have to worry since they were covered by a maritime area.
Vietnam adopted things like Confucianism and Civil Service Exams, but did not make it patriarchal and instead made it more matriarchal.
Buddhism is about the Four Noble Truths which say that life is suffering due to crave, and if the crave stops, we can follow the eightfold path to nirvana or heaven.
  Theravada Buddhism escapes the cycle of life and death
Mayana Buddhism made it so Buddhist teachings were available to all, which grew compassion and made it popular through China
Tibute Buddhism included more mystical practices of Buddhism
Chinese traders produced a surplus of goods, that they started to sell their goods for paper money.
Iron and steel were heavily produced which was used for armor, coins, and tools for agriculture
Champu rice was an agricultural phenomenon as it was drought resistant and was harvestable twice a year.
The Grand Canal stretched from modern Beijing to Hon Jao and is the largest man-made river that was interconnected to other rivers which made trade a whole lot easier.
Boats like Stern-Mountain Runners and Junk made maritime navigation more accurate.
Gunpowder was made by a Daoist Alchemist which was first used for fireworks, and then the military.
The Magnetic Compass improved navigation and sea-based trade.
The Middle East consists of Turkey, Iraq, ran, Saudi Arabia, Israel, Syria, and Jordan.
Judiasm originated in the Middle East and was monotheistic.
Christianity was created from a Jewish prophet named Jesus Christ who claimed to be the prophet the jews were waiting for. After crucification, the jews spread the message of his teachings.
Christianity used to be banned and was targeted, but was then later adopted by the Roman Empire which influenced continents like Africa and Europe to be influenced by people like the pope, cardinals, and the bishops.
Islam was founded by Muhammad during the 7th century in the Arabian Peninsula and claimted to be the final prophet of the Jewish scriptures. Islam was heavily based on trade networks and relationships between Merchants
Muhammad said that salvation can be earned through prayers, almsgiving, and fasting
The five pillars of Islam are Shahada, Salat, Sawm, Zakat, and Hajj
Shahada - There is no god but god, and Muhammad is the prophet of god
Salat - Ritual prayer 5 times a day at dawn, noon, afternoon, sunset, and late evening, however were not required if you haven’t hit puberty, took sick, or menstruating.
Sawm - Holiday known as Ramadan where Muslims can not eat, drink, or smoke during daylight hours
Zakat - Non-poor Muslims have to give a percentage of their income to the poor
Hajj - A pilgrimage to Mecca once in their lifetime
After Muhammad’s death in 632, the faith spread through the Middle East and to North and Subsaharan Africa, Europe, and South Asia.
The Abbasid Caliphate was founded in the 8th century which replaced the Umayyad Empire, this caliphate had power during the Golden Age until it became fragmented by Turkic people, not Arabs.
The Seljuk Empire was founded in the 11th century in Central Asia who took over the Abbasids and had more political power.
The Mamuk Sultate was founded by Saladin who enslaved a bunch of Turkic soldiers to take over Muslim states.
The Delhi Sultate was founded in Southeast Asia and took over Islamic States from the Turkic people for over 300 years.
Military and the Sharia law were still in place even after the Turkic people took over
Islam spread through the Delhi Sultanate, Merchant activity, and Muslim Missionaries
Sufism was a form of Islam that revolved around mythical experiences that was available to any class or gender which contributed to the spread of Islam and was founded in Southeast Asia.
Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi was the person who invented trigonometry to find out how planets and stars move
The House of Islam was a place where a lot of people studied the natural science of the world.
Plato and Aristole were huge philosophers that spred large messages around the world.
South Asia consists of Nepal, Pakistan, and India, while Southeast Asia consists of Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, and Cambodia.
During 1200-1450, the dominating religion in India was Hinduism
Hinduism is a polytheistic belief system. The main goal of Hinduism is for people to reunite their old souls with the world soul known as Baraham, however because of how humans were, they had to have multiple cycles of reincarnation. All of this however provided a unified culture for India.
There was a caste system but the individual roles were not important, and as long as you were good, you would be born higher on the caste system.
Buddhism also had an effect on India, but did not have a caste system and believed in equality for all. The reason why Buddhism was able to spread a lot was because it was an universel religion meaning that it can be placed anywhere.
In Southeast Asia, the Bhakti Movement for Hinduism was to study one particular god in the pantheon of gods, as well as rejecting the caste system and wanting spiritual experiences for all social statuses.
Buddhism is Southeast Asia became more restrictive.
   The Delhi Sultanate tried to impose Islam but was quickly backfired as Hidu was just so socially accepted there, as well as the impending danger they had to face from Rajput Kingdoms
The Vijayanagara Empire was Hinduist and was created by two missionaries who were Muslim, but after not being watched the government, quickly reverted to Hinduism and created their own Empire.
The Srijavaya Empire was Buddhist but was heavily influenced by Hindu states, however had power over the most useful sea-based trade known as the Straight of Malacca which made them really rich as they imposes taxes.
The Majaphit Kingdom was heavily influenced by Buddhism but was able to keep its power through tributary relationships
The Khmer Empiren was heavily based on Hindu and created one of the most beautifil temples in Ankor Wat, later they added Buddhist scultupres but were careful of not destroying the Hindu Elements.
State building in general is used to organize resources, as well as enforce norms/laws. They are able to keep their power due to use of religion as well as wealth and the economy are running smoothly.
The origins of government happened around 3000 BCE and happened all throughout the East and Western hemisphere.
The Mayan Empire existed from 250 to 900 CE and had some huge urban centers, good writing systems, and were so advanced in math espeically with coming up about the number 0.
The state structure of the Mayans were fragmented and were at war with one another, that was until the Mayan Empire stepped in and made tributary relationships with the states.
The Aztec Empire ran from 1345-1528, during the 14th century they were semi-nomadic and were busy buffing up their military. After doing so, the Aztec Empire expanded and wanted to become the most powerful in the region.
The Mayans who were conquered by the Aztecs had tributal relationships with one another, including human sacrifice for the sun god.
Technochilitan was one of the biggest cities in the Mesoamericans with a population of 150,000-200,000 people with beautiful buildings and markets all set up throughout the city.
The Inca civilization started out by borrowing a lot from Andea civilization like the Wari that was established in around 1000 CE.
Unlike the Aztecs, the Incas had a centralized power and had a massive bureaucracy
The Mit’a system was a system where people who were captured were required to work on state projects like mining or military
Mississippian Culture contained mass amounts of agriculture due to the fertile soil, with the political structure being the Great Sun that ruled over smaller regions
The Mississippian was filled with mounds and were most known for their acts of burial sites as well as religious ceremonies on top of these mounds.
Cahokia was the largest center on the Mississippian
Chaco and Mesa Verde were known for being dry, which caused them to be innovative
The Chaco carved sandstone blocks out of quarvies and imported timber from distinct locations, while the Mesa Verde used sandstone from the edge of cliffs to build
The Swahili Civilization emerged from the 8th century along the Swahili Coast, merchants in that civilization were interested in gold, ivory, timber, and enslaved people. Islam was also dominant in that region
Do note that the hierachal system was different that dynasties like Song China as merchants were placed in the elite division. As well as there was no unified power or leader to control them.
Great Zimbabwe’s economy was based on gold, and agriculture. Great Zimbabwe built stone like structures as well for people in royalty.
The Hausa Kingdoms were individual states politically but gained so much wealth from trade.
Ethopia was known for building these huge Christian structures and got wealthy through trade, by both the Indian Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea with salt being the most valuable.
The Roman Empire was the first empire to promote Christianity under Constantine until the Roman Empire split in 476 CE, however the Byzantine empire kept the religion alive for another minimum.
The Eastern Orthodox Christianity was helping keep the power of the Roman Empire until it all fell apart.
Despite the Byzantine being raided by Islamic states during 1200, Christianity and the Byzantine still had a lot of power and influence.
After the fall of Christianity, another group named by the Kievan Rue kept the Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
The groups like the popes, cardinals, and bishops help keep the power and influence across the continent.
The Crusades was an attempt to get back on the Muslims but failed terribly (not for trade though)
European Christians also had anti-semialistic acts on Jews in the area.
Europe had a feudalistic government
The lords gave land to the vassals and the vassals gave loyalty and military, while the lords were vassals to the king, while the peasants did labor work to get protected from bandits.
Manorialism revolved around the king with barely any trade
Unlike peasants, surfs were bound to the land and were forced to do more labor.
Things like murder and crime rates in Europe during 1250-1400 were very common, as well as malnourishment and stunting
Child morality was very high as 50% of children died before the age of 5.
In the late 13th century, Marco Polo send out on to a journey and somehow ended up in China and wrote about his journeys which became insanely popular which opened up imagination on the Far East.
This led to the inventions of map making and cartography
A new class arose know as the “Middle” class who weren’t as rich as the nobles but not as poor as the peasants.
A small ice age happened during this time where temperatures dropped for a few years leading to less agriculture productivity.
During the 1300s, Europe experienced a renaissance (old things coming back in popularity) revolving around ancient Greek and Roman arts
Some pieces that were created were Dante’s Divine Comedy, Chaucer’s Centurbary Tales, and the ceiling of the Cystine Chapel