unit 2

2.1

• han dynasty & romans 📉 → abbasid ruling and reviving silk roads → mongols took over, led to even better trade because of centralization

• pax mongolica (”mongol peace”) → improved roads & new trade routes/canals & laws protecting trade/merchants → safer and efficient trade

• carvans & saddles

• tech. innovations/diffusion: magnetic compass, rudder, junks

kashgar: the middle point

• city between the north and south side of silk roads

• in the middle of a desert; any location of water was a center

  • scarcity of water → places thrived with it

• had abundant water and food by the river

• artisans made textiles, rugs, leather, goods, pottery

• merchants depended on it

• buddhist → islam

  • became islamic center

samarkand: china & mediterranean world

• between china and mediterranean world

• artisant

• religiously diverse: zoastrionism, christianity, buddhism, islam

• islamic center of learning

• had caravanserai: inns that were 100 mi apart (amt a camel could go w o water) so animals and merchants can rest.

  • often traded animals

• ⭐ marco polo: venetian merchant who described Silk Roads all the way to China → inspired new explorers and encouraged further trade

• flying cash: china’s sys, where you desposite paper money in one location to get it in the next

  • led to banking houses in Europe → bills of exchange (doc. stating payment then getting payment, like checks)

  • allowed convienience and stability

• flying cash/banking houes/bills of exchange wasn’t necessary when hanseatic leagues were in place; national govt. can protect own merchants

2.2

• origins: nomads

• skilled horseback riders (men & women)

• acessed and regulated silk roads → acess and rise to luxury goods (ex. gold)

• khan = king

• khanate = kingdom

• kuriltai = where mongol chiefs had a meeting and elected Genghis Khan

• Genghis Khan attacked Jin Empire (Zhongdu, major port city-state, modern-day Bejing China)

  • expanded from North China to eastern Persia

• ⭐ known for their brutality, vengence

structure of war

• messenge force → oral messages

• tactic: would send smaller army first into battle field. would fake retreat. opps would follow them into a huge army → confusion and unprepardness

• before battle, Mongols would ask them for surrender. no compliance = killing of aristrocrats

• saved valuable people like craftsmen, people who read and write

• seige weapons: portable towers, catapults, etc.

• had specialized unit to mark terrain and plan

pax mongolica

• era of Mongol peace

• ⭐ Karakorum capital

• religious tolerance

• consulted Chinese & Islamic influence (based on location of Mongol empire) to establish govt. & construction

  • good example of how an empire situated themself to fit the culture, opposed to the Scramble of Africa (unit 4)

• soldiers took charge of Silk Roads → protection

• re-ignited strength of Silk Roads

• unification attempt → alphabet of Uyghur. failed but still used in Mongolia.

mongolian empire expands

batu’s golden horde

• Batu: Khan’s oldest son

• Golden Horde: army name

• force distribute to each city-state they went to

• conquered Russia, Kiev & Moscow

• same system as the Russians, additional tribute added

• sympathy for Mongols left Western Europe when they attacked Chirstian region

• Mongols wanted to get Italy & Austria → successor of Batu died → went back for funeral → lost interest

  • affect: prevented Mongol influence to further infiltrate Europe

Russians rising (unit 3 lol)

• Russia developed anti-Mongol coalition & militia → Moscow led rebellion against Golden Horde → Mongol influence 📉

• Russia begun recovering from Golden Horde

• Muscovy: a title and principle that reunited Rus people thru single crown

• Ivan (III) the Great: unified Rus and independence from Golden Horde

• Ivan the Terrible: the son. put his own personal accord and led to feudalist society to become monarchal

  <aside>

  Ivan the Great unified Rus and separated from Mongols → Ivan the Terrible started Rus Empire → boyars’ political power abolished & Ivan the Terrible established oprichina → protests from boyars → massacres called the oprichina terror → “paid back” by giving military grants → Rus Empire becoming monarcy, Ivan the Terrible eing centralized monarchial power

  </aside>

  • boyars: feudal aristocrats, second to princes

  • oprichina: policy that expanded Ivan the Terrible’s personal land at the expense of boyars and princes (took their land unjustly)

• Peter I of Russia (1682-1725): did territorial expansion and modernism. first imperialist tsar (leader)

  • wanted Russia to be more modern and not viewed as barbarian

  • capital Moscow → Petersburg. did this bc. it was in the coast and good for their navy

  • militia funding: raised taxes for buiding projects, expansion, etc.

  • cultural reforms: reduced power of Orthodox church, fine for beards, banned arranged marriages, etc

  • backstory: studied in European countries and everyone thought Russians were smelly (barbaric). wanted to change that

  • effect on peasants: b.c. of taxes, peasants moved to dangerous places that were cheaper—Asian frontier near Russian forts. begun the spread of Russian peoples thru Asia

russian effects

• distinct culture from Western Europe

• invasions led russia to focus on their militia & to centralize their govt.

hulegu - il khanate & islamic world

• il khanate: army of hulegu

• ⭐ conquered abbasid caliphate, lost by egyptian mamluks

• conquered Baghdad

• expanded westward to Amy Darya (Middle East & Byzantium).

• stopped expanding when reached Egyptian Mamluks bc. of Ain Jalut battle

  • ain jalut: temporary alliance with Mongols that prevented Mongols conquering them.

  • both Muslims & Christians believed Mongols were a threat

• mongols ruled w Persians as the officals → max tax collected

• was once religiously tolerant

• il-khanate converted to Islam → encouraging persecution and massacres against Christians and Jews

  • change: tolerance → rule, modern → traditional

kublai khan - rebuilding china, pax mongolica 2.0

• song dynasty → yang dynasty

  • kublai khan ended song dynasty

• rebuilt Genghis Khan’s brutality, strengthened Silk Roads

• rebuilt Zhong Du, it was destroyed from Mongol invasion

• religiously tolerant; accepted whatever religion to what’s convienient in location

• women had more freedom: rode horses, wore trouses, etc.

  • change: Chinese women before had less freddom → more freedom

mongols lose power

• started appointing foreigner officials than Chinese → created conflict

• dismantled civil service exam as an attempt to lessen power in scholar gentry

• china created white lotus society, secret society that worked to overthrow Yuag Dynasty → Zhou Yuangzhong led revolt → led to Ming dynasty

• Mongol empire failed to conquer any further; couldn’t get Japan

jagatai/chagtai khanate - simarkand

• ⭐ took over Simarkand. major trade city in Silk Roads (in between North and South of it)

• ⭐ facilitated and stabilized safety in Silk Roads

• blended Mongolian traditions with Islamic influence

  • ex. Persian language went into Islamic literature bc. the elites used it

• trade between Islamic world & China, cultural exchanges

• split into 2 regions: Western Chagtai & Eastern Chagatai

• 📉 ceased after his death, internal strife and external pressures from emerging powers (Timur) → other powers wanting to fill void like Timur

  • Timur w

  • anted to be like Genghis Khan

    • also conquered throughout Persia, South Russia, parts of Middle East, Central Asia

lasting effects

• Silk Roads rejuvenized and stabilized → diffused ideas and innovatiosn during Pax Mongolica

• Bubonic Plague/Black Death

• since Mongols had centralized power, empires that followed wanted to keep empire centralized

• cannons

• speedy fighting techniques, weaponry, and armor → influenced knights’ armor down the line

• concept of a walled-city gone bc. that didn’t stop the Mongols. → emphasis on good military

2.3

• Indian Ocean Trade 🆙 → specialized products 🆙

• Calicut: city in southwest India where Arabs and Chinese merchants exchanged goods

specialized products

• India: fabrics—cotton. meticulous woven carpets, tanned leather, high-carbon steel (for swords and knives), stonework, pepper

• Malaysia & Indonesia: the spice islands. ex. nutmeg

• Swahili city-states: enslaved people, gold, ivory

• China: silk & porcelain

• Southwest Asia: horses, figs, dates

slavery

• more freedom than Americas → bc. Islamic World, etc

• Eastern-African enslaved people mostly went to Madagascar, Middle East, Northern Africa, India

• forced labor in sea ports mainly, household servants, soldiers, and sailors

  • ⭐ note the use of slaves compared to other eras: focus on sea ports bc this era was all abt trade. in imperialism era, it would be more focused on production bc empires need more trade

• worked alongside

• diffusion of African culture and lang. (like Swahili)

maritime tech. & env.

• maneuvering monsoon winds

• lanteen sails: triangular. picked up wind more

• stern rudders: helped with maneuvering and stability boat efficiently

• dhows

• astrolabe: helped sailors determine how far north and south is from equator. helped muslim navigators

malacca/meleka

• example how IOT created only-trade cities

• became wealthy bc. of navy & imposing fees on ships

  • contrast: economy on trade than ag. or manufacturing

• 📉 Portuguese conquering

  • wasn’t better than Malacca, but did continue to faciliate trade

  • conflicts happened

  • le

  • d to trade diversifying into diff. routes and ports

• other ports: Hangzhou & Canton (china)

diaspora communities

• def: settlements of people away from their homeland

• created diffusion and blending of diff. cultures

• intro. to Islam wasn’t thru missionaries but rather these communities; intermarriage

• IOT → diaspora → diffusion

zheng he

• the junk guy

• controversial to chinese officals bc. they weren’t sure if it created social order → discontinued junks → piratry still present

2.4

• why camels: they could hold water and sustain themselves for longer distances

• camel saddle innovations: on the hump = battle and control (north), lower on the hump = traveling and lugguage (south)

  • somalis had greatest impact on these, since they were semi-nomadic they used camels and correct saddles for heavy load

• gold from West Africa ↔ salt, textiles, horses from other empires

west african empire expansion

• mali: gold

  • timbuktu: great city-state & islamic learning center

• increased trade → need for administration and maintenence for economy—currency !

  • ex. Mali with cowrie shells

• rival group invaded Mali, killing royal fam → left Sundaiata (little baby prince) → Sundaita later claimed and ruled Mali → connected trade relations bc. he was Muslim

• Mansa Musa (son) went on pilgrimage and showed Mali’s wealth

  • gold everywhere. allowed more trade relations and respect for Mali

    • compare: Zheng He

  • established mosques, sponsored religous studies for scholars, madrasas

  • ⭐ Mansa Musa deepened Islam in Mali, even to today

songhai kingdom

• took over Mali

• bef: Mali was on decline bc. of Islamic caliphates going down too

• Gao (Sonhai) was trade rival. took advantage of decliline

• continuity: traded gold and slaves

• 1500: Songhai conquered all of Mali and made it the largest Sub-Saharan state

askia the great

• one of the most powerful Songhai leaders

• religously tolerant

• spread and deepened Islaic influence in West Africa

  • built madrasas and mosques (made out of clay with spikes of wood)

• court opened to non-Black scholars & poets thru Muslim World

• social hierarcy: higher u are, the more compliant to king and Muslim values.

  • used Islam as a form of consolidating (gaining) political power

asante empire

• West African empire in modern-day Ghana

• establisher & ruler: Osei Tutu

• unification symbol: the Golden Stool of Asante

• what Tutu did: expanded Asante Empire, est strong military, made them a fighting machine

• Portuguese dramatically increased wealth

  • this is a main trend all throughout West Africa

kingdom of kongo

• west-central Africa

• manikongo (ruler) ruled provinces → several core provinces made up Kingdom of Kongo

• manikongo converted to Christianity after contact w Portuguese

  • heavily increased and strenthened trade, esp. for slaves

  • compare: Islam’s effect on Mali

• letters from Alfonso I: state that manikongo did slave trade way before Atlantic-Slave trade. TST was the OG (not in a good way but good way to memorize)

2.5

• Marco Polo: China. focused on trade and information. more “objective”

• Ibn Battuta: Islamic World. viewed journey in religious perspective

• Margery Kemp: all Holy Sites. firsthand account of a middle-class woman in medieval times

• Hangzhou: example of how trade supported urbanization

  • center of south-chinese culture

• religions co-existed, syncretized, and/or used as justification or unification

  • ex. Zen Buddhism w Daoism, Neo-Confucianism w Daoism and Buddhism

• Srivijaya: Hindu

• Khmer/Ankor: coexistence between Buddhism and Hinduism

islam in afro-eurasia

africa

• Swahili: mix of Bantu & Arabic

• Timbuktu: center of Islamic learning

• merchants strengthened trade ties thru going to Mecca (pilgrimage) → used religion to further increase economy and trade

southeast asia

• Majapahit (Indonesia): Hindu & Buddhist → Muslim

• Muslim rulers mixed traits: Mughal-Indian, local traditions, and Chinese-Buddhist confucianism

• stories/puppetry/poetry absorbed Muslim characters and techniques

south asia

• Buddhists more willingly converted to Islam bc. of corruption in monastaries and past Muslim attacks weakened Buddhist communities

2.6

• rice terraces allowed land to be used once deemed unuseable

• caliphates spread cultivation of cotton, sugar, citrus, crops

• Samarkand: new fruits and vegetables

• rice & citrus by Southwest Asia → Europe

• Europe’s increased demand in sugar → more slave amt in Americas

• Europe: deforestation & soil erosion + Little Ice Age → 📉 decline

• Zimbabwe: overgrazing and overusing mines

• Mongols spread Bubonic Plague

  • possibly bc. of caravanserai’s animals getting fleas

• medieval climatic optimum (warm, ⬆ ag., ⬆ trade) → Little Ice Age (⬇ ag., ⬇ trade, ⬇ pop.)

• intensive agriculture: small plots of land but greater yield (ex. fertilizers and pesticides)