AP World Unit 1

AP World History: Unit 1 (c. 1200-1450)

This unit focuses on the major civilizations around the world and how they built and maintained their state.

Examples of states include the United States and Japan.

🇨🇳 Song Dynasty (960-1279)

The main question to consider is how the Song Dynasty maintained and justified its rule.

Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism

The Song Dynasty emphasized Confucianism, a philosophy that defined Chinese culture from its earliest days. The Song Dynasty carried over a revival of Confucianism from the preceding Tang Dynasty.

Because it was a revival of an old philosophy, it is referred to as Neo-Confucianism. Neo means new, so it translates to new Confucianism. Neo-Confucianism sought to rid Confucian thought of the influence, especially of Buddhism.

A central idea of Confucianism is that society is hierarchical:

• Citizens submit to the state

• Women submit to men

• Juniors submit to elders

• Children submit to parents

To achieve harmony, those below needed to defer to those above, and those above needed to care for those below. An important part of this arrangement was filial piety.

This philosophy was powerful for binding Chinese society together, as everyone had their place and role.

The Place of Women

With the revival of Confucianism in Song China, women were relegated to a subordinate position.

• Women were stripped of legal rights

  • A woman's property became her husband's property

  • Widowed or divorced women could not remarry

• Women endured social restrictions

  • Limited access to education

  • Elite women were made to endure foot binding, a status symbol

Imperial Bureaucracy

The second way Song rulers maintained and justified their rule was through the expansion of the Imperial Bureaucracy.

The Imperial bureaucracy grew in scope and helped the Song Dynasty maintain its rule. To get a job in the bureaucracy, eligible men had to pass a civil service examination, which was heavily based on Confucian classics.

Bureaucratic jobs were earned on the basis of merit, meaning the most qualified people got the jobs. Theoretically, the civil service exam was open to men of all socioeconomic statuses, but in reality, studying for the exam required a guy to be rich enough not to work and devote himself to study.

Influence on Neighboring Regions

During the Song Dynasty, the kingdoms of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam were rising in prominence. Due to their proximity to or relationships with China, each was influenced by Chinese tradition.

For example, Korea used a similar civil service examination and testing officials to enter bureaucratic work. They also adopted Buddhism. The tactics which China used to maintain their rules spread and influenced neighboring states.

☸ Role of Buddhism

Buddhism originated in India and spread to China long before the Song Dynasty. The teachings of Buddhism center on the Four Noble Truths:

1. Life is suffering

2. We suffer because we crave

3. We cease suffering when we cease craving

4. The fourth Noble Truth explains how to cease craving, which is to live a moral life according to the Eightfold Path

Buddhism shares some beliefs with Hinduism, like the cycle of death and rebirth (reincarnation) and the ultimate goal of dissolving into the Oneness of the universe, a state Buddhists call Nirvana.

It's also important to know how Buddhism changed as it spread into new regions. In Sri Lanka, Theravada Buddhism confined the practice of Buddhism to monks and monasteries.

Over in East Asia, Mahayana Buddhism encouraged broader participation in Buddhist practices. Additionally, the bodhisattvas, or those who had attained Enlightenment, made it their aim to help others along the path to Enlightenment as well.

💰 Song Dynasty Economy

The Song Dynasty inherited prosperity and population growth from the Tang and Sui Dynasties and increased it further.

📈 Commercialization

The main economic development was the commercialization of the Song economy:

Significant trade goods included porcelain and silk.

🍚 Agricultural Innovations

Innovations in agriculture also led to population growth, especially the introduction of Champa rice:

This led to more food and significant population growth.

🚚 Transportation

Innovations in transportation, particularly the expansion of the Grand Canal, facilitated trade and communication among China's regions.

☪ Developments in Dar al-Islam

Dar al-Islam translates to "the house of Islam" and refers to regions where Islamic faith was the organizing principle of civilization.

🕍 Other Religions

Other major religions practiced in the heartland of the Muslim faith:

• Judaism: The ethnic religion of the Jews, centered on the Torah and the Hebrew Bible.

• Christianity: An extension of Judaism centered on the teachings of Jesus Christ.

• Islam: Related to Judaism and Christianity, with the Prophet Muhammad as the final prophet.

All three religions are monotheistic, believing in one God.

🏛 Abbasid Caliphate

Before 1200, the Abbasid Caliphate, centered in Baghdad, was the dominant Muslim empire. It was ethnically Arab. By 1200, its power waned, and new Islamic political entities arose, dominated by Turkic people.

⚔ Seljuk Empire

The Seljuk Empire was established in the 11th century by Turkic pastoralists. The Abbasids brought in Seljuk warriors for military help, but the Seljuks saw the Abbasids' weaknesses and established their own empire. The Seljuks didn't entirely displace the Abbasids; the Mongols sacked Baghdad in 1258.

During the period 1200-1450, Arab Muslim empires faded, and Turkic Muslim empires rose. The new empires continued some practices, such as military administration and establishing Sharia law, a legal code based on the Quran.

🧠 Cultural and Scientific Innovations

• Nasir al-Din al-Tusi: A Muslim scholar who made advances in mathematics and invented trigonometry.

• Muslim scholars preserved Greek philosophy by translating works from Plato and Aristotle into Arabic in the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, a library established during the Golden Age of Islam.

🗺 Expansion of Muslim Rule

Muslim rule expanded through:

• Military expansion: The establishment of the Seljuk, Mamluk, and Delhi Sultanates.

• Traveling merchants: Increased trade and movement of merchants throughout Africa led to the conversion of the Empire of Mali.

• Sufi missionaries: Sufis emphasized mystical experience and adapted to local beliefs, leading to conversions in South Asia.

🌏 South and Southeast Asia

Belief systems significantly affected societies in South and Southeast Asia.

🕉 Religions

Three main religions vied for dominance:

• Hinduism

• Buddhism

• Islam

📉 Buddhism in South Asia

Buddhism, while born in South Asia, was in decline by 1200, mainly reduced to monastic communities.

Belief Systems in South and Southeast Asia 🕌

Hinduism remained the most widespread religion in India, but Islam became the second most important and influential religion, especially after the establishment of the Delhi Sultanate.

Bhakti Movement

• Began in southern India.

• Emphasized devotion to one Hindu god.

• Appealed to ordinary believers tired of complex Hindu hierarchies and sacrifices.

• Challenged social and gender hierarchies in Hindu India.

In Southeast Asia, Buddhism and Islam competed for dominance.

State Building in South Asia 🇮🇳

The Delhi Sultanate, though ruling much of Northern India, struggled to impose a Muslim state on the majority Hindu population.

Rajput Kingdoms

• A collection of rival Hindu kingdoms in Northern India.

• Resisted Muslim rule.

Vijayanagara Empire

• Established in 1336 in Southern India.

• Founded by former Hindu emissaries of the Delhi Sultanate who reconverted to Hinduism.

State Building in Southeast Asia 🌏

Diverse sea-based and land-based empires interacted with China and India.

Majapahit Kingdom

• Based in Java (1293-1520).

• A Buddhist kingdom.

• Maintained influence by controlling sea routes for trade.

• Declined when China supported its trading rival, the Sultanate of Malacca.

Khmer Empire

• A land-based empire.

• Initially founded as a Hindu kingdom but later converted to Buddhism.

• Angkor Wat stands as a monument to both religious continuity and change.

State Building in the Americas 🌎

By 1200, the majority of the population lived in Mesoamerica and the Andean civilization.

Aztec Empire

• Founded in 1345 by the Meshika people.

• The capital city, Tenochtitlan, was magnificent.

• In 1428, the Aztecs formed an alliance with two other Mesoamerican states.

• Aggressive program of expansion.

Administration

• Elaborate system of tribute states.

• Conquered people provided labor, goods, and materials.

• Enslaved people played a role in Aztec religion, especially as candidates for human sacrifice.

Inca Empire

• Born in the early 1400s.

• Stretched across the Andean Mountain Range.

• Incorporated land and languages of older Andean societies.

• More intrusive than the Aztecs.

Administration

• Elaborate bureaucracy with rigid hierarchies of officials.

• The Mita system required labor on state projects.

Comparison: Aztecs vs. Incas

Mississippian Culture

• First large-scale civilization in North America.

• Grew around the Mississippi River Valley due to fertile soil.

State Building

• Large towns dominated smaller satellite settlements.

• Known for monumental mounds.

• The largest mounds were constructed by the Cahokia people.

State Building in Africa 🌍

Swahili Civilization

• Series of cities organized around commerce along the East African coast.

• Grew more influential through Indian Ocean trade.

• Politically independent but shared a social hierarchy that put the merchant elite above commoners.

• Deeply influenced by Muslim traders.

Language

• The Swahili language emerged as a hybrid between indigenous African Bantu languages and Arabic.

• Demonstrates the intermingling and cooperation of various cultures.

As a result of Muslim influence, the Swahili States rapidly became Islamic, increasing their integration into global Islamic trade.

West African Civilizations

• Powerful and highly centralized civilizations, including Ghana, Mali, and Songhai.

• Growth driven by trade.

• Elite members and government officials converted to Islam.## African Civilizations 🌍

The Hausa Kingdoms 🏘

• The majority of the population maintained their indigenous beliefs and traditions.

• They were not centralized empires but rather a series of city-states, similar to the Swahili states in the East.

• They shared a common language and culture.

• Like the Swahili, they were organized and grew powerful through trade, but trans-Saharan trade rather than sea-based trade.

• The Hausa Kingdoms acted as brokers of the trans-Saharan trade.

Great Zimbabwe 🏛

• The capital city was built sometime between 1250 and 1450.

• It contained massive structures covering almost 200 acres.

• The population was about 18,000.

• It became a powerful African state that grew due to trade.

• Their economic base was farming and cattle herding.

• With increasing African and international trade, it became exceedingly wealthy and shifted mainly to gold exports.

• Unlike the Swahili and Hausa states, rulers and people in Zimbabwe never converted to Islam but maintained their indigenous shamanistic religion.

Kingdom of Ethiopia 👑

• Grew and flourished because of trade, especially with states around the Mediterranean and the Arabian Peninsula.

• Unique because of its religion: Christianity.

• It was the one Christian state in a sea of African states dominated by Islam and indigenous belief systems.

• Their power structure was hierarchical, with a monarch at the top and various class structures below.

Europe ⛪

Belief Systems in Europe 🤔

• Dominated by Christianity, but with two different forms: Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholic.

  • Eastern Orthodox: Represented by the Byzantine Empire (the eastern half of the Roman Empire) and later carried forward by the Kievan Rus after their adoption of Eastern Orthodox Christianity in 988. This adoption united the people and plugged them into a larger network of trade in Afro-Eurasia.

  • Roman Catholic: Dominated Western Europe, which had split into decentralized states after the fall of the Roman Empire.

    Roman Catholicism linked every state together culturally, and the church's hierarchy influenced society, culture, and politics across Western Europe.

• Muslims and Jews also exerted influence in Europe:

  • Muslims conquered much of the Iberian Peninsula in the 8th century.

  • Jews lived in smaller pockets throughout Europe and participated in commerce. However, they often faced anti-Semitism and persecution.

State Organization and Power in Europe ⚔

• Politically, there were no large empires in Europe during this period.

• Decentralization and political fragmentation prevailed.

• The main social, political, and economic order was organized around feudalism.

  A system where powerful lords and kings gained allegiance from lesser lords and kings (vassals). The vassals received land in exchange for military service.

• On a smaller scale, European society and economics were organized according to manorialism.

  A manor is a huge piece of land owned by a lord, which was then rented out to peasants who worked the land.

• All major aspects of life were centered on the manor.

• Working peasants were known as serfs.

  Serfs were bound to the land and worked there in exchange for the lord's protection. Serfs were not the personal property of the landowners but were tied to the land.

• The center of political and economic power was in the hands of land-owning lords (the nobility).

• After about 1000 CE, monarchs began to grow in power, and states became highly centralized.