AP World Review�Post-Classical Civilizations �

Priscilla Zenn

Allen Park High School

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*Source: AP World History

An Essential Coursebook

by Ethel Wood

Post-Classical Era 600 CE-1450 CE

• Map of the world had changed; large empire split into smaller, quarrelsome political units

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Western Roman Empire

• Germanic tribes settled in the area of the Western Roman Empire

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Indian Sub-Continent

• The Indian sub-continent returned to its regional political factionalisms but Hinduism gave structure to society

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China

• China on the verge of political centralization after the fall of the Han and resulting 400 years of political chaos due to the unifying influences of Confucianism and Daoism

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Overall

• The post classical era saw the emergence of:
• important new civilizations
• the revival and expansion of some old civilizations
• the peak of influence of nomadic groups
• the importance of belief systems as unifying forces
• the increasing interconnections among the world’s people through trade networks

Keep in mind what did NOT happen!

• Eastern and Western hemispheres were not joined.
• The Americans were developing in isolation from Asia, Europe, and Africa. Australia and Polynesia were also developing on their own.

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• Technology expanded but innovations were not numerous.
• Expansion was more characteristic than innovation. Previous technologies diffused far beyond the region of innovation
• camel saddles, stirrups, silk-making techniques, steel plows

Keep in mind what did NOT happen!(cont)

• No political form became dominant
• Empires in this era were smaller and many other organizations emerged (previous era empire was the dominant political form)
• kingdoms, caliphates, khanates

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• Environmental changes were not as great as in other eras
• More areas became agricultural, but no massive transformation such as during the classical era
• *Roman era saw the soil become depleted of nutrients

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Keep in mind what did NOT happen! (cont)

• Most societies remained patriarchies with clear social distinctions
• Few changes in gender relations but in some areas inequality between the sexes grew
• Slavery remained characteristic of most social systems
• Status and wealth was still based primarily on land ownership
• Land ownership disputes remained problematic

The BIG Picture

• Belief systems were unifying forces
• Christianity, Buddhism, Islam (missionary religions)
• Islam spread from its origins
• Buddhism important in China and spread to Korea, Japan, and SE Asia.
• Christianity important in most of Europe.

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The BIG Picture (cont)

• Civilizations spread to many parts of the globe
• Including Sub-Saharan Africa, N and W Europe, Japan, SE Asia, and the Americas. Nomadic groups influence at its peak.

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The BIG Picture (cont)

• Trade and communications networks increased the interdependence of numerous societies
• Technologies spread and more cultural exchanges took place. Land and water routes became more complex; spread of disease also accelerated.

Keep in Mind:

• The influence of the classical civilizations continued
• Political lines reconfigured and governing styles changed but the Middle East, China, India, and Eastern Roman Empire remained powerful with the greatest cities of the world in these areas.
• As we approach the end of this era the world was already beginning to change as Europeans prepared to set sail on the Atlantic.

Islamic World

A vast region shaped by religious conquest that illustrates the importance of belief systems as unifying forces during this period

Islam

• Spread quickly and deliberately by adherents
• Principles appealed to people of many cultures
• Religion was beginning to play an important role as cultural and economic force in Eurasia at this time (remember, governments fragmented and religion and philosophy connected people).

The Origins of Islam

• Desert region
• Bedouins (kinship groups)
• Conflicts over grazing lands/water
• Mecca
• Shrines – religious pilgrims
• Ka’ba held Black Stone and idols
• Bedouin religion a blend of animism and polytheism

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Muhammad’s Visions

• Merchants came into contact with other clans and people of different faiths
• Visions: visited by Angel Gabriel as messenger from Allah
• Received revelations that became tenets of Islamic faith
• Gained a following as he shared revelations; set off rivalries
• Flight to Medina known as hijrah and is the founding date of the new faith

Growth of Islam

• Muhammad returns to Mecca in triumph
• Destroys idols, keeps Black Stone to symbolize acceptance of Allah as one god
• Umma – Muslim community
• Clans united under banner of Islam

Islamic Beliefs

• Qu’ran
• Revelations believed to be sacred words of Allah
• Hadith
• Collection of sayings of Muhammad
• Shari’a law based on Qu’ran and Hadith
• Seal of the Prophets
• Muhammad as the last prophet sent by God
• Abraham, Jesus

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Five Pillars of Islam

• Confession (declaration) of faith
• Prayer (5x per day facing Mecca)
• Fasting (Ramadan)
• Alms (give to the needy)
• Hajj – pilgrimage to Mecca to worship Allah at the Ka’ba.
• Established customs:
• don’t eat pork or drink alcoholic beverages
• Men could have up to four wives.
• Marriage with non-Muslims was forbidden.
• Equality of all believers.
• Worship in a mosque.

Muhammad’s Successors

• Ali (cousin and son-in-law of Muhammad) passed over for Abu Bakr to be caliph
• raided large areas revealing the weaknesses of the Byzantine and Sassanid empires
• Islamic lands from NW Africa and Spain to Indus River
• Arabs passionate about new faith
• Jihad – struggle and also used to describe warfare

Muhammad’s Successors (continued)

• Succession issues led to split
• Shi’ites – caliph to be selected according to hereditary lines
• Sunni – pious Muslim

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Umayyad Dynasty

• Election of Muawiya led to split between Sunni and Shi’ite sects
• Sunni
• Capital at Damascus
• Caliph powerful and imperial
• Continued expand under this dynasty; from Afghanistan to Spain
• Charles Martel; battle of Tours

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Umayyad Dynasty (cont.)

• Government:
• Bureaucracy
• Muslims taxed for charity, non-Muslims paid taxes to support govt
• Some intermarrying and conversion (few financial benefits at this time)
• Converts not considered part of umma but mawali
• People of the Book treated better than other beliefs but had to pay same taxes
• Exclusion of non-Arabs in government led to problems and chaos as empire grew and demands grew for social

and religious equality

for Arab Muslims.

• Mawali rebellion
• Abbasid clan took control

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Abbasid Dynasty

• Claimed descent from Muhammad’s uncle; more acceptable to Shi’ites
• Changed policies opening religion to all on equal basis
• Helped est. Islam as a universalizing religion
• Cosmopolitan mix of cultures emerged
• Golden Age of Islam
• Problems with governing vast area

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Abbasid Dynasty (cont.)

• Muslim shari’a took shape
• Ulama interpreted Qur’an and Hadith
• Govt in Baghdad under a vizier
• Provinces governed by emir
• Military commanders had power
• As army grew difficult for caliph to control commanders
• Ulama undermined caliphs powers due to control of shari’a.

Golden Age of Islam

Economic Activities

Social Distinctions

• Based on agriculture
• Organized system of trade led to new crops and techniques
• Increase in food supply to support growth of cities
• Cities were also govt and religious centers
• Dhows w/lateen sails traded across seas

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• Caliphs had lavish lifestyles
• Merchants grew wealthy from trade
• Elaborate mosques and buildings
• Domestic servants
• Slaves (most Zanj – non-Muslim east Africans)

Golden Age of Islam (cont.)

• Arabic language was unifying force
• Promoted partly due to Qur’an
• Paper from China encouraged production of books
• Poetry
• Universities – madrasas (preserved writings of ancient Greeks and Indians)

Golden Age of Islam (cont.)

• Muslim art; forbade lifelike representation of human figures, including Muhammad
• *Persian art depicts Muhammad w/veil
• Designs of garlands, plants, and geometric figures
• Calligraphy
• Mosques w/minarets

Golden Age of Islam (cont.)

• Arabic numerals (from India)
• Marker event – calculate large sums
• Algebra
• Optical Science
• Pharmacology
• Anatomy
• Maps and geographical information

Decline and Fall of the Abbasid Caliphate

• Hostility increased between Sunni/Shi’ites
• Difficult to hold diverse empire together from one central location
• Slave revolts and peasant uprisings
• Incompetent caliphs
• Abbasids hired Seljuk Turks as soldiers; gained power
• Seljuk leader Tughril took over Baghdad; caliph is figurehead
• Mongols seized throne in 1258
• The Mongol IL-Khan Empire

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Mongols seized throne

Christian Societies in Europe and the Middle EAst

Follows the changes in Europe after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, including the rise of important branches of Christianity in the area

After the fall of the Western Roman Empire…..

• Christianity came to dominate many of the areas formerly controlled by the Roman Empire but did not unite the lands
• Similar to Islam dominating lands controlled by caliphates except Islam united its lands
• Patchwork of tribal kingdoms emerged in Western Europe
• Byzantine Empire in the lands around eastern Mediterranean
• By the end of the era, the Byzantine Empire on the verge of collapse and Western Europe had laid the foundation for the central place it would play on the world stage

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Western Europe: �After the Fall of Rome

• Middle Ages or medieval times
• Between the fall of Roman Empire and the European Renaissance
• Dark Ages?
• Divide into the
• Early Middle Ages
• Germanic tribes.
• Nomadic peoples
• Subsistence farmers
• Chieftains
• Most people illiterate
• The High Middle Ages
• Signs of recovery
• Growth of towns
• Trade w/Eastern Hemisphere established
• Emergence of middle class
• Renaissance begins at the end of the era

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The Early Middle Ages

• Collapse of political, social, and military order left Europe in chaos
• Continuing invasions and conflicts
• The Church provided cultural unity and enabled the area to regain some control

The Early Middle Ages: �Political Development

• Germanic Tribes; borders changed with fortunes of war
• Roman governors replaced with tribal chieftains
• Roman concept of rule of law replaced with informal governments based on family ties and loyalty
• Warriors bound to chiefs w/oaths of loyalty
• People settled on manors, feudalism and manorialism developed
• Complex system with mutual obligations

The Early Middle Ages: �Political Development (cont.)

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• Franks managed to organize Germanic kingdoms under their kings and looked as if they might unite Western Europe under one king
• Clovis: converted to Christianity
• Charles Martel (Charles the Hammer) Carolingians takes control

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Charlemagne

• Grandson of Charles Martel
• temporarily unified most of western Europe
• People needed protection from Vikings
• Administrative system divided into counties governed by a count
• Missi dominici were the eyes and ears of the king
• Charlemagne moved around the empire
• Pope crowned Charlemagne emperor; implying heir to Roman throne
• Showed superiority of church over political leaders
• After his death, the empire was divided: Treaty of Verdun

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The Early Middle Ages: �Economic Development

• Manorialism defined both economic and political obligations between lords and peasant laborers
• Serfs tied to the land; received protection, justice, and the right to graze animals. In return, they were obliged to give a portion of their products to the lord.
• Trade based on barter
• New ideas like the iron plow and three field system helped the serfs produce more goods

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Political and Religious Power of the Roman Catholic Church

• Constantine moved capital to Constantinople
• Split in political authority led to split in religious authority
• Popes
• Patriarchs
• Missionaries traveled in Western Europe
• Bishops directed churches in urban areas
• Church supported monasteries in rural areas
• The Benedictine Rule
• Monasteries played important role in providing stability during Dark Ages
• Protection, schools, libraries, copied books which saved part of the intellectual heritage of the classical civilization

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The Revival of Civilization: �The High Middle Ages

• Changes about 1000 CE
• Innovations from eastern Europe and Asia make the difference
• Moldboard plow
• Three field system
• Horse collar
• Stirrups
• Better agricultural methods promoted by monasteries
• Viking raids became less serious as regional governments grew stronger
• Population increased with agricultural production
• Created demand for more trade/towns grew
• As local economies grew, political and cultural changes occurred

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Political Developments in the Age of Faith

• Feudalism discouraged growth of strong central governments
• Political Power of the Church countered power of the kings
• Canon law filled the void of political authority in early days
• Excommunication and interdict
• Friction between popes and kings grew
• Nobles resisted growth of strong, central governments since they enjoyed the independence that came with feudalism and manorialism

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Political Developments (cont.)

• Holy Roman Empire (German princes) and Eastern Europe remained feudalistic
• England, Spain, France grew into centralized governments but faced many challenges
• England
• Magna Carta/limited government
• Parliament gave people a voice in policy making
• These ideas to the growth of modern democracies
• Stronger monarchs gathered large armies
• William of Normandy (the Conqueror)
• The Hundred Years War

The Impact of the Crusades

• Western European states expanding by 11^th century
• Population increases
• Missionary zeal of Christians
• Crusades
• Request from Byzantine emperor Alexius I
• Urban II calls upon knights
• Remission of sins, place in Heaven, god wills it
• Series of attacks that lasted for two centuries
• First crusade won Jerusalem from Turkish armies
• Saladin took it back in 12^th century
• Venice turned Fourth Crusade into attack on commercial rivals in Constantinople
• Ultimately the Crusaders failed to accomplish their goals

The Impact of the Crusades (cont.)

• Crusades laid the foundation for the emergence of European countries in the next era
• Put them into direct contact with oldest areas of world civilizations
• As Crusaders returned they brought back silks, porcelains, carpets, perfumes, spices, and preservatives
• Europeans would not be content to remain in isolated, drafty castles; a whole new world awaited them

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Economic Developments

• Genoa and Venice benefitted from the Crusades
• Carried knights and goods to and from the Holy Land; grew wealthy
• Brought ideas about banking to the West
• Merchants invested in trading ships
• Internal trade grew
• Hanseatic League (north) formed to facilitate trade
• Kings sold charters/feudal ties severed
• Kings received revenue from towns and built armies gaining power over aristocrats
• Guilds formed
• Merchant class develops
• Social class structure more complex; serfs became craftsmen, etc

Economic Developments (cont.)

• Growth of trade and banking formed the basis of western capitalism
• Church against usury (charging interest); bankers were Jews
• Church eventually eased its policies and became landholder and money lender
• European Christians discriminated against Jews who lived in segregated communities (ghettos)
• Limited there occupations
• In 13^th C English and French kings seized property
• Pogroms drove Jews to eastern Europe

Economic Developments (cont.)

• As life became more complex women faced more restrictions
• In early Germanic societies women had considerable freedoms and gained respect. Many joined monastic life
• As cities grew, women were excluded from guilds and their role in commerce decreased.
• Women seen as subservient and were encouraged to be docile and obedient.

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Culture and Arts

• As wealth grew rise in specialized

occupations

• Charlemagne brought teachers to his

court and opened a school for clergy

and officials (Carolingian Renaissance)

• After the 1^st Crusade universities established in Italy
• Others follow; most established for clergy
• Combination of Christian learning and the classics which had been preserved in the Middle East
• Thomas Aquinas, Albertus Magnus, and Peter Abelard tried to reconcile values of Christianity with reason (scholasticism - Aquinas)

Culture and Arts (cont.)

• Development of vernacular
• Previous literature written in Latin
• Dante’s Divine Comedy written in vernacular; began to replace old Roman language
• Chaucer wrote Canterbury Tales; provided insight into medieval life in England
• Others follow and by end of 14^th C Latin no longer the preferred written language

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Culture and Arts (cont.)

• Cathedrals combined
• Architecture
• Painting
• Sculpture
• Inlay
• Stained glass
• Music
• Literature
• Painting became more sophisticated after 13^th C
• Most formal art produced for the Church or clergy
• Renaissance reached full flower during 15^th and 16^th centuries

The Byzantine Empire

• Lasted almost 1000 years after the Western Empire fell
• Controlled the eastern Mediterranean
• Inherited Roman authority, roads, communications, imperial institutions
• Economic powerhouse with manufactured goods and silks
• Influenced by the Slavic people of eastern Europe and Russia
• By 12^th C weakened with the Islamic states to the east and Slavic people to the north and Western Europe gaining strength.
• Survived until 1453; fell to Ottoman Turks and renamed Istanbul

Byzantine Empire: �Political Developments

• East wealthier and better fortified than the western empire
• Sassanids threaten to the east
• Constantine claimed divine favor and sanction for his rule
• Emperor in the east intervened in theological disputes
• Used position to define orthodox (accepted/true) beliefs and condemn others as heretical (false/dangerous)
• Political and religious power: caesaropapism (caesar and pope)

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Byzantine Empire: �Political Developments

• Most important of early emperors: Justinian
• Hagia Sophia – one of the most important examples of Christian architecture in the world
• Major military campaigns to win back lost lands of the Roman Empire
• Most important contribution codification of Roman Law; corpus juris civilis (basis for civil law codes that developed throughout much of western Europe)
• Empire under almost constant attack
• Greek fire

Economic and Social Distinctions

• Economy centrally controlled (Constantinople)
• Large peasant class
• Food prices kept low for urban lower class; hardship for peasants
• Location ideal for defense and trade
• Brisk silk production
• Manufactured cloth
• Carpets
• Luxury products
• Merchants did not have political power (like Chinese)
• Merchants in western Europe had greater power

Economic and Social Distinctions

• Women found themselves confined to the home
• May have concealed their faces when they left home under veils
• Only men they socialized with were family members
• Empress Theodora had great influence over Justinian

Cultural Achievements

• Greek replaced Latin
• Influence of classics
• Education valued for children of wealthy; peasants and urban workers no formal education
• Literacy widespread
• Many converted to Eastern Orthodox Christianity
• Russia
• Romania
• Serbia
• Bulgaria
• Greece
• Cyrillic alphabet
• Schism in 1054

Byzantium and Russia

• Kiev – thriving trading center
• Princes sought alliances with Byzantine rulers
• Prince Vladimir conversion brought Byzantine influences (marker event)
• Art
• Cyrillic alphabet
• Architecture
• Law codes
• Missions
• After Constantinople fell Byzantine influences lived on in Russia

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As 600 – 1450 came to an end..

• Western Europe on the rise
• Byzantium headed for fall
• Leaves lasting imprint on the world’s history through
• Law codes
• Distinctive architecture
• Religion
• Organizational structure

The Americas

The emergence of two great empires in this era which unified Mesoamerica and the Andes Mountains area

Western Hemisphere Civilizations

• Nomadic groups and subsistence farmers in North America
• Complex civilizations in Mesoamerica and around the Andes in South America
• Olmec society replaced by the Maya, the people of Teotihuacan, the Toltecs, and eventually the Aztecs
• In South America the Chavin was replaced by the Mochica and the Chimu state.
• At the end of the era the people of the Americas were in their last days of isolation from the east before the devastation that the 16^th century would bring

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Societies in Mesoamerica

• Classical period ends about 900
• Post-classical ends 1450
• Note difference from Eastern Hemisphere!
• Classical civilizations:
• include Maya and people of Teotihuacan
• Post-classical:
• Toltecs and Aztecs

Classical Mesoamerica: Maya

• Heirs of Olmecs were Maya
• Ceremonial center at Kaminaljuyu which fell under control of Teotihuacan
• Maya moved to poorly drained Mesoamerican lowlands
• Built large ceremonial centers with
• Pyramids, palaces, and temples, stelae (memorial pillars)
• Large cities with peasant populations on the periphery

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Classical Mesoamerica: Maya (cont.)

• Slash and burn (shifting) agriculture
• Terraced farming
• Maize
• Cotton
• Cacao
• Cities were religious and administrative centers
• Social stratification
• Rulers and elite serving priestly and political functions
• Tattoos and feathers; elaborate costumes
• Kings not divine but communicated with ancestral spirits
• Rituals included blood letting and hallucinogenic trances
• Large numbers of people to build altars and temples; did not use wheels or metal tools.

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Classical Mesoamerica: Maya (cont.)

• Religion was central
• Pantheon of gods
• Human sacrifice
• POW – especially elite
• Priests had magical powers giving them access to underworld; nine levels of hell
• Gods believed to interfere in human affairs, possessing both human and animal traits (jaguar)
• Please the gods through bloodletting – victims lacerated before being decapitated to produce more blood

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Classical Mesoamerica: Maya (cont.)

• Priests constructed elaborate calendars
• Solar based on agricultural cycle (365 days) and ritual (260 days)
• Wrote inscriptions on temples/monuments and books on paper or vellum
• Mayan began to leave cities about 800 CE and within 100 years the cities disappeared
• Civil war, epidemic disease, foreign invasions?

Classical Mesoamerica:�Teotihuacan

• Teotihuacan develops in the highlands to the north of the Maya
• Large lakes
• Center of religious ritual and government administration
• Pyramidal monuments
• Pyramids of the Sun and Moon among largest masonry structures ever built
• City laid out in barrios

(quarters) for ordinary people.

• Also temples, palatial residences,

markets and workshops for craftsmen

Classical Mesoamerica:�Teotihuacan (cont.)

• No written records; the story is in the stone
• Paintings and murals suggest priests important (similar to Maya)
• Priests kept calendars for agriculture (similar to Maya)
• Cities were centers of extensive trade
• Evidence of centralized planning
• Collapsed about 750 CE
• Walls suggest that later days not as peaceful as earlier
• Violent murals
• Temples and houses burned

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Post- Classical Mesoamerica

• Regional states arose; conflicts led to more emphasis on military organization
• Capitals on well-defended hills
• Art illustrated warriors

Post- Classical Mesoamerica:�Toltecs

• Toltecs first to unify central Mexico after the people of Teotihuacan
• Agriculture included maize, beans, peppers, tomatoes, chiles, and cotton
• Centralized state based on military power
• Buildings decorated w/warriors and scenes of human sacrifice
• Two rulers; most famous was Topiltizin, a priest associated with god Quetzalcoatl (forced into exile)
• Replaced by Mexica – the Aztecs

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Post- Classical Mesoamerica:�Aztecs

• Tenochtitlan built where an eagle perched on a cactus with a snake in its mouth
• Large city, position on small island in Lake Texcoco, connected by causeways
• Chinampas – floating gardens; boosted agricultural production
• Tribute system on conquered peoples

Post- Classical Mesoamerica:�Aztecs (cont.)

• Aztecs rose through military might
• Aggressive expansion
• Semi-divine king top of social structure
• Officials (military heroes) ruled conquered people like feudal lords
• Warriors
• Free people
• Serfs and slaves
• Patriarchal society
• Women received high honor for bearing warrior sons
• Spirits of women who died helped the sun on his journey through the sky each day

Post- Classical Mesoamerica:�Aztecs (cont.)

• Powerful group of priests
• Advisers to the king and officials
• Elaborate religious rituals
• Chief god, Huitzilopochtli needed blood which came from frequent human sacrifices
• Thousands taken captive for that purpose
• Cut the heart from a live victim’s chest (with large obsidian knife) which was eaten by the nobility

Mesoamerican Ball Game: Continuity

• All enjoyed ball games
• Olmec to Aztecs
• Large courts in cities with long alleys and side-walls for bouncing balls
• Similar to racquetball or volleyball; keep the ball in play
• Often featured human sacrifice
• Some representations show the balls to resemble human heads

Change Over Time:�Classical and Post-Classical Mesoamerica

Classical (Maya, Teotihuacan)

Post-Classical (Toltec, Aztec)

• Lower Population
• Land less intensively farmed
• Warfare among groups frequent
• Small armies, relatively simple forms of government

• Population density increased, large cities and overall larger populations
• Agriculture intensified (partly due to population increase)
• Warfare intensified, more frequent and involved more people as competition for land increased
• Centralized, strong governments maintained large armies

Andean Civilizations: Moche

• After Chavin declined the Moche thrived in the region
• Extensive irrigation systems
• Cultivated maize, beans, manioc, sweet potatoes, and coca
• Stratified society
• Wealth and power in hands of priests and military
• Wealthy adorned with rich clothing, jewelry, and headdresses
• No written records; evidence from tombs reveals ceramics, gold ornaments, jewel, and textiles
• Decline not well understood; natural disasters and drought

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Andean Civilizations: Comparisons

• Unique partly due to their relative isolation to others and the natural environment
• Sea coasts
• High mountain valleys
• Jungles
• Only beasts of burden were llamas and alpacas
• 1. No written language. Records kept on khipus (quipu)
• 2. Mit’a labor system – workers responsible for certain tasks each year; developed for public works

Andean Civilizations: Inca

• Most powerful to occupy region after Moche
• Began about 1100
• Strong, ambitious leaders began aggressive expansion
• Empire 2500 miles north to south
• Possible due to agricultural advances: increased food supply
• Metal tools
• Fertilizers
• Irrigation systems
• Dams and canals
• Terraced farming
• Used alpacas and llamas
• Surpluses were stored
• Mit’a system meant all owed compulsory labor services
• Khipu system kept trace owed by communities (alyllus)

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Andean Civilizations: Inca (cont.)

• Ruler was considered a deity descended from the sun: The INCA
• Senior wife a link to the moon
• The Inca owned everything in theory; governed as absolute ruler
• Status as god-king reflected in elaborate dress (special clothing every day)
• Aristocrats and priests led privileged lives with large ear spools
• Priests highly educated; many rituals
• No distinct merchant class; Inca self-sufficient

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Andean Civilizations: Inca (cont.)

• Polytheistic
• Sun god most important: king was representative on earth
• Deceased rulers mummified and displayed during festivals
• Each new Inca needed to secure lands in order to support the dead Inca’s mummy for eternity; reason for expansion
• Temple of the Sun was center of state religion; mummies of past Incas kept there
• Well-organized military and road system
• Runners carried messages
• Quechua language

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Comparisons: Aztec and Inca

The People of North America

• No major civilizations
• Variety of people with various lifestyles and languages
• Many nomadic
• Some agriculture
• Anasazi
• Multi-storied stone and timber villages connected by roads
• Kivas were ritual enclosures for ceremonies

The People of North America (cont.)

• Agricultural societies emerged east of the Mississippi
• Earthen mounds built as stages for ceremonies, platforms for dwellings, and burial sites
• Cahokia – most impressive
• No writing and information from archaeological discoveries
• Kinship based groups
• Alaska to South America nomadism was common

The Aztecs and the Incas were all that stood in the way of the Spanish conquerors when they arrived in the Western Hemisphere in the 16^th century

Central and East Asia: the Revival of China and the Impact of the Mongols

After the fall of the Han Empire

• Beset by nomadic invasions; fell in the 3^rd century
• Fragmented into regional kingdoms; 400 years
• Era of Division saw bureaucracy collapse, position of scholar gentry decline, large landholders vied for power
• Non-Chinese nomadic warlords ruled much of China
• Buddhism gained popularity challenging Confucianism
• Great Wall poorly defended
• Trade and city life declined (similar to Warring States period)
• Sui Dynasty established by northern Chinese noble family and reunited China

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The Sui-Tang Era

• The Sui paved the way for the Tang Dynasty
• Sui emperor Wendi was murdered by his son
• The Duke of Tang held the empire together and became the first of the Tang emperors
• Descended from the Turks who had small states in China after the Han era
• Upheld Confucian values
• Influenced by cultures of central Asia, including Buddhism
• Strong military organization
• Capital at Chang’an
• One of the most brilliant epochs of China’s long history

Political Organization

• Extended borders
• Placated nomadic people; played groups off each other and took control
• Repairs to the Great Wall
• Made leaders of Turkic tribes vassals to Tang rulers
• Rulers took title “heavenly khan”
• Defeated kingdoms on the Korean peninsula
• Tribute from Silla Kingdom
• Elaborate bureaucracy needed for the expansion of the empire
• Scholar gentry helped offset the power of the land-holding aristocrats; filled most govt positions
• Examination system expanded

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Political Organization (cont.)

• Established regional hegemony through establishment of tributary system
• Called empire “The Middle Kingdom”; central to the world around them
• Envoys delivered goods with a kowtow
• Chinese returned favors with gifs of their own
• Ceremonies established diplomatic contacts and encouraged trade and cultural exchanges

Economic Changes and Social Distinctions

• Equal field system restricted inheritance of land checking the power of the aristocrats and improving lot of average peasants
• Emphasis on scholar-gentry elevated status of bureaucrats
• Bright commoners could enter the university (usually with sponsorship)
• Birth and family connections continued to be important
• Chang’an grew in size
• Grand Canal built by Sui linked the Yellow and Yangzi as key component to internal trade

Cultural Developments

• Shaped by Turkik and Chinese culture
• Continued Confucian exam system
• Valued horsemanship
• Massive statues of Buddha carved on cliff sides
• Tang artists and sculptors focused on horses and camels along the silk road
• Literature described foreign foods, music, and customs
• Polo popular
• Gentlemen expected to write poetry
• Li Bo and Du Fu, famous poets, lived during Tang era

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Cultural Developments (cont.)

• Buddhism influential
• Buddhist monk Xuanzang brought hundreds of Buddhist texts from India he used to help people understand Buddhism in China
• Monasteries were established
• Chan(Zen) emphasized importance of meditation to reach nirvana
• Monasteries and temples often provided banking services
• Owned land and profited from wealthy patrons

Cultural Developments (cont.)

• Mid 9^th C Confucian and Daoist rivals attacked Buddhism
• Convinced Tang rulers that monasteries were an economic challenge to the government (also couldn’t be taxed)
• Under Emperor Wuzong thousands of monasteries and shrines destroyed; lands divided among landlords and peasants
• Buddhists never again had as much political influence and Confucianism emerged as the central ideology of Chinese civilization

The Decline of the Tang Empire

• Mid-700’s dynasty began to decline; neglectful emperor inspired a rebellion
• Troubles began along the northern borders; Uighurs sacked Chang’an and Luoyang
• Tang emperors gave more and more power to regional military commanders and gradually lost control of the empire by 907.
• China again fell into chaos with warlords competing for regional power. Three states competed to replace the Tang
• Liao Empire: pastoral nomads related to Mongols. NE frontier
• Xi Xia (Tanggut Empire) in Western China
• Song Empire – reunited much of China under central imperial rule.

Song Empire

• Constant pressure from northern and western empires
• Paid tribute to Liao Empire
• Jurchens (northern people) destroyed Liao and exacted tribute from Song
• Song relocated capital
• Invasion of Jurchens marks division of Northern Song and Southern Song

Political Development of the Song Empire

• Never matched the Tang in political or military strength
• Subordinated the military to civilian administrators of the scholar gentry class to keep military from becoming too powerful
• Rotated military commanders from region to region to weaken power
• Scholar gentry filled bureaucracy; political power flowed from aristocrats and Buddhist rivals to Confucian scholar-gentry
• Large bureaucracy strained treasury; peasants rebelled when emperors tried to raise taxes
• Increased need for military action and increased the debt
• Scholar bureaucrats lead the armies with little military education; vulnerable to defeat

Economic Developments of the Song Empire: Industry and Production

• Paper-making/book production
• Salt and tea processing
• Ceramics
• Iron industry (military equipment) and tools, nails, etc
• Gunpowder
• Printing (re-usable, movable type)

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Economic Developments of the Song Empire: Commerce

• Built off the Sui and Tang
• Capital city, Kaifeng, center of trade, guilds
• Paper money facilitated trade
• Large oceangoing ships
• Compass
• In the south Hangzhou largest trading city and capital of Southern Song
• Silk, copper coins, ceramics

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Economic Developments of the Song Empire: Agriculture

• Harvests increase during the Song/Southern Song
• New strains of rice
• Fertilizers
• Improved farm tools
• Advanced water control
• In the south – not disturbed by Jurchen invasion of the north
• Contrast to coal and iron industries in the north

Cultural Change in Song China

• Appeal of Buddhism led to Neo-Confucianism
• Emphasis on the importance of social life and rejection of withdrawal through meditation
• Formal education in morals and arts and sciences
• Traditions reinforced class, age, gender

Cultural Change in Song China

• During Tang and early Song women had more rights
• Empress Wu Zhao only woman to rule in her own name in Chinese history
• Turned to Buddhism for legitimacy (claimed to be an incarnation)
• Over time Confucian writings expressed contempt for powerful women
• Created laws that favored men
• Late Song the practice of foot binding
• Ensured that women would not venture far from home
• Lives managed by husbands or male guardians

Other East Asian Societies: Korea, Vietnam, and Japan

• All involved in world trade patterns influenced by Chinese political, economic, and cultural developments
• Chinese armies invaded Korea and Vietnam
• Merchants traded with all three
• Buddhism spread
• These societies emphasized links to China more than to the wider world
• Tended to isolate Korea and Japan
• Vietnam had strategic location in the Indian Ocean Trade Basin

Korea

• Buddhism became chief religion
• Silla kingdom took control of the peninsula
• Tributary state to Tang China
• Studied Confucianism; prefer Buddhism
• Political control in hands of royal family and aristocracy
• Aristocratic elite filled the bureaucracy (different from China with examination system)
• Artisans seen as servants to elite
• No distinct social class for merchants/traders
• Replaced by the Koryo Dynasty
• Chinese influence peaked
• Create pale green glazed bowls and vases: celadon
• Superb woodblocks
• Experimented with movable type

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Vietnam

• Resistance and resentment to Chinese conquerors
• Absorbed Chinese culture
• Agriculture and irrigation
• Confucian texts
• Some tributary relationships
• Buddhism came from China
• More devout
• Language not related to Chinese
• Women had greater influence and freedom than Chinese
• Distinct literature
• Chinese considered the differences ‘barbaric’
• Vietnamese win independence 939 CE

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Japan

• Developed in isolation
• Mountainous; small states developed dominated by aristocratic clans
• Isolation meant language and belief system developed unrelated to China
• Shintoism
• Animistic; nature and spirits
• Yamato clan centralized power and established a court modeled on the Tang

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Fujiwara Rule

• By mid 8^th C Confucianism and

Buddhism well established;

• Shintoism remained
• Centralized government at Nara and Kyoto
• Fujiwara family controlled power and protected the empire
• Ruling dynasty didn’t change much; didn’t wield much power
• Heian Era saw Fujiwara family as the power behind the throne
• Elegant lifestyle
• Tale of the Genji
• Female author Murasaki Shibuku
• View of lives of nobility
• Struggles for power ensue
• Two powerful families; Taira and Minamoto struggle
• Minamoto installed as shogun and dominated political life for the next 4 centuries

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Japanese Feudalism

• Minamoto established bakufu (tent) government
• Feudal order developed
• Military talent valued
• Samurai support lords
• Bushido
• Seppuku
• Era characterized by in-fighting
• Rival lords clashed over and shogun’s power challenged (even floors had devices to warn of intruders)
• Loyalty emphasized

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Japanese Feudalism (cont.)

• Western:
• More emphasis on written contracts
• European knights received land and became lords themselves
• Japanese:
• ideals of honor, not contracts
• Samurai granted land rights, didn’t own land; kept the social division clear
• Both had intricate loyalty relationships with Europe’s being the most baffling

The Rise and Fall of the Mongols

• Nomadic peoples united under Muslim leaders to conquer territories from Spain to the Middle East, becoming sedentary themselves
• Of the many nomadic groups, perhaps the most impressive was the Great Mongol Empire which formed the larges, if not longest lasting, empire of all times

Genghis Khan and the Rise of the Mongols

• Strong horsemen
• Yurts
• Temujin
• Sought vengeance (father poisoned)
• Reputation for ferocity and brutality
• Shrewd diplomat who understood loyalty to allies
• Ruled all of the Mongol tribes; universal ruler – Genghis Khan
• Organized troops into pyramids of officers (units)
• Broke up alliances based on tribes or clans
• Highest officials were family members
• Armies divided into light and heavy cavalry
• Light moved more swiftly
• Promotion usually based on merit

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Genghis Khan and the Rise of the Mongols

• Genghis took the Jin capital (Beijing) and conquered the Xi Xia
• Mastered weapons of siege warfare, the mangonel and trebuchet that could catapult huge rocks, giant crossbows mounted no stands, and gunpowder launched in bamboo tubes
• Faked retreats
• Excellent with bows and arrows
• Also went west, conquering vast areas

The Mongols after Genghis Khan

• Mongols drove the Teutonic Knights of German back to Vienna (from Russia)
• Death of the Great Khan Ogodei (Genghis’ son) spared Europe
• Leaders in army called back to elect a new leader
• Persia and Iraq not as fortunate
• Hulego (grandson) defeated the last Baghdad caliph
• Caliph’s relatives fled to Egypt and continued under the protection of the Mamluk Sultanate
• Kublai completed the conquest of China (grandson)
• Empire stretched from the Pacific to Eastern Europe
• After Genghis’ death, the vast realm divided into four regional empires

The Mongols after Genghis Khan

• Khanate of the Great Khan
• Seen as successor to Genghis Khan
• In China, called the Yuan Dynasty
• Khanate of Jagadai (Chagatai)
• In central Asia
• Leader Tamerlane
• Khanate of the Golden Horde
• Southern Russia
• Batu (grandson)
• Il-Khan
• Hulegu (grandson)
• Captured Abbasids capital
• Mongol expansion made possible by the superior bows.
• Used enlisted men from conquered territories

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The Fragmentation of the Empire

• Empire split along ethnic lines
• Distance between the capital and borders made it impossible to maintain unity for long (similar to large empires before)
• Lands separated, weakened and divided by distance and feuds
• Mongol rulers also tended to adopt the cultural preferences of the people they conquered (Buddhism, Eastern Orthodox, Islam)

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Impact of the Mongols

• After the shock of the Mongol attacks, Pax Mongolica was established
• Lines of direct communication were established and people traded between east Asia and Western Europe
• Goods, people, ideas, and diseases traveled faster than ever before
• After the empire broke up, trade along the Silk Road ended and many turned to Indian Ocean trade
• Black Death caused millions of deaths and in many ways brought more devastation than the Mongol attacks
• Disruptions it caused in Eurasian societies was a factor in the breakup of the Mongol Empire

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The Mongols and Islam in the Middle East

• Hulegu’s troops stormed Baghdad
• Rolled last Abbasid caliph in rug and horses trampled (custom regarding spilling the blood on the ground)
• Muslims shocked/outraged; tension in the empire
• Il-Khan ruler Ghazan converts to Islam and eventually the Il-Khans declare themselves protectors of Islam
• All Mongols ordered to convert
• Supported education and scholars
• Contributed to the Golden Age of Islam
• “Mongols civilized by the Islamic culture”
• Illustrates the power of religion as the glue that held societies together at this time

The Mongols and Islam in the Middle East (cont.)

• Timur (aka Tamerlane) from the Khanate of Jagadai broke the peace
• Attacked area between India and Moscow
• Ruled from Samarkand
• Ruled through tribal leaders
• Turk; opened the door for more Turkish migrations
• Osman migrated and settled in Anatolia
• Gathered a following
• Ottoman Turks
• His successors captured Constantinople

The Mongol Impact on Russia

• Area divided into kingdoms who didn’t cooperate
• Easy to defeat
• Kiev in decline
• Novgorod agreed to pay tribute and survived
• Mongols dominate; Russian princes as vassals of the Golden Horde
• Peasants sought protection of nobles and bound themselves to the land
• Russians benefitted from the Pax Mongolica through trade
• Moscow became tribute collector and spread control over towns who didn’t pay dues; grew wealthier and more powerful
• As Mongol power declined, the Moscow princes stepped in to claim power

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The Mongol Impact on Russia (cont.)

• Russia already shaped by Orthodox Christianity when the Mongols arrived
• Cut Russia off from Christian lands to the west, cementing Russian isolation
• Europe entering Renaissance Era
• Mongols did protect Russia from the Teutonic Knights (military crusading Christian order)
• Believed Orthodox Christianity to be heresy

China under Mongol Control

• China (Southern Song) militarily and politically weaker than during the Tang
• Song paying tribute to Jin Empire of the Jurchens
• Song held off the Mongols until Kublai Khan came to power and established the Yuan Dynasty
• Never conquered Vietnam or other SE Asian kingdoms
• Kublai failed twice trying to attack Japan
• Kamikaze (divine winds)
• China very ethnically diverse
• Confucian scholars saw Mongols as intruders
• Kublai kept Mongols as top officials
• Dismantled examination system
• Scholar gentry greatly reduced in status
• Confucians resented Mongols and reasserted their power when Mongols weakened
• Many in the Yuan Dynasty were Buddhist and threated deep Confucian roots of China (similar to Tang break-up)

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China under Mongol Control (cont.)

• Yuan favored merchants
• Confucians saw them as inferior
• Yuan elevated status of physicians
• Confucians saw them as technicians
• Yuan encouraged the sharing of Chinese medical and herbal knowledge
• Kublai passed laws keeping the Mongol and Chinese identities separate
• Chinese forbidden from learning Mongol script
• Mongols not allowed to marry ethnic Chinese

China under Mongol Control (cont.)

• Kublai was fascinated by Chinese civilization
• Retained Chinese rituals and music in his court
• Used Chinese calendar
• Sacrifices to ancestors
• Expanded Forbidden City
• Confucianism tolerated
• Welcomed emissaries from many lands, including Marco Polo

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The Decline of the Yuan and the Rise of the Ming

• Failure to defeat Vietnam and Japan undermined strength of Mongols
• Successors were weak and bureaucracies characterized by greed and corruption
• Scholar-gentry encouraged rebellion against ‘barbarian’ oppressors
• Banditry widespread in countryside
• Piracy in the open seas
• China fell into chaos

Rise of the Ming

• Ju Yuanzhang (peasant) founded Ming (brilliant) Dynasty
• Renamed Hongwu, the first Ming emperor
• Established government model of traditional Chinese dynasties
• Revived Confucian educational system and examinations system
• Centralized authority at Nanjing
• Ming emperors suspicious of non-Chinese
• Insisted on absolute obedience
• Relied on mandarins and eunuchs

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Rise of the Ming (cont.)

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• Belief that contact with others weakened China and were cautious in trade with outsiders
• Trade products included porcelain
• Focus on rebuilding the empire to be independent
• Repaired irrigation system
• Great Wall
• Internal trade connections
• Promoted Chinese culture
• Education
• Built a strong China that kept intruders out

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Comparison: Customs and attitudes of Mongol and Chinese Women

Mongol

Chinese

• Patriarchal
• More freedom and independence
• Wouldn’t bind feet
• Formed hunting parties
• Wrestled
• Advisers to husbands
• Politically savvy

• Patriarchal
• Foot binding

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Tropical Africa and Asia

Including Sub-Saharan Africa, India, and SE Asia

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Islam

• After the fall of the Abbasid Caliphate Islam continued to flourish
• At times spread quietly and others violently
• In tropical areas peoples were linked by this common religion and also by increasingly complex long-distance trade networks
• The tropical environment:
• Temperate climates, monsoon winds, diverse geography

Sub-Saharan Africa

• Islam provided external contact between Sub-Saharan Africa and the world
• Centers of civilizations arose building from the Bantu migrations
• Some very connected with the world
• Sudanic empires of Mali, Ghana, Songhay
• City states of Swahili coast
• Stateless society common and continued to thrive but large states developed and connected economically and politically with other parts of the world

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Empires of the Western Sudan

• Camels traveled across the Sahel
• Ghana
• gold for salt and dates (taxed salt and gold exchanged)
• Rulers converted to Islam; improved relationship with Muslim merchants and nomads
• After decline, Mali grew to dominate the area, followed by Songhay.
• The Hausa states became powerful to the east
• People of the Sudanic states
• farmers (soil sandy/shallow) and fishers
• Polygamy common – larger families could farm larger areas of land

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The Kingdom of Mali

• Ghana fell into decline due to Berber defeats and less gold
• Regional leaders battle; Sundiata emerges
• Lion-king founded Mali
• Stories told by griots
• Successive kings made wise alliances
• Courageous in battle
• Mali successful as trading state
• Reached its peak during reign of Mansa Musa
• Pilgrimage to Mecca
• Market cities included
• Timbuktu, Gao, Jenne

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Timbuktu

• Large population
• Great mosque
• Library and university
• Muslims; provided protection, lodging and services for merchants
• Encouraged spread of Islam

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Songhay (Songhai)

• As Mali declines, Songhay rose
• People mostly farmers, herders, fishers
• Kings controlled trade
• New sources of gold brought wealth
• Sunni Ali best known leader
• Successors continued to build mosques, support book production
• Muslim army from Morocco arrived with muskets; Songhay had no chance

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Similarities in Sudanic States of Africa�

• While they had different periods of greatness, there were commonalities.
• Led by patriarch or council of elders
• Usually states centered on people speaking common language
• Rulers sacred/legitimacy reinforced by rituals and traditions
• Rulers converted to Islam, population follows native/animistic faith
• Oral traditions/griots highly valued
• Connected the region w/the long-distance trade networks of the Eastern Hemisphere

Swahili States

• Swahili Coast named for common language
• Bantu speaking people and people from across the Indian Ocean settled
• Language was Bantu based but Arabic influenced
• Cities growing wealthy from trade across Indian Ocean
• Chinese porcelains and silks, Indian cotton and glass beads
• African Iron, timber, ivory, animal hides, shells and gold.
• Kilwa became especially wealthy
• Trading cities stretched the length of the coast.
• Cosmopolitan cities, mosques, plumbing, multi-storied buildings, wealthy citizens could afford silks, porcelain.
• City states were economically connected; no central government

Great Zimbabwe

• Inland; traded great quantities of gold with Sofala
• Shipped across Indian Ocean
• Magnificent stone complex
• Walled enclosure
• Cone shaped tower
• King controlled and taxed trade
• Inhabitants not Muslims

Ethiopia

• Christian
• Ruling elites in Axum may have wanted to enhance relations with Christian Egypt
• Islam spread after the decline of Axum until a new ruling dynasty promoted Christianity again
• Muslims surround the region; Christians basically cut off from Christians in other lands
• Beliefs reflect native African religions
• Existence of evil sprits
• Carry amulets for protection
• African Islam also reflects native religions
• Portuguese introduced Roman Catholicism to the Kongo but for the most part, Islam continued to grow

The Spread of Islam to India and SE Asia

• Gupta disintegrated
• India fragmented into regional kingdoms
• Social and cultural conditions were the ‘glue’ that held Indian society together (like the Church in Europe)
• Caste system and Hindu religion gave the region its own identity
• The arrival of Islam was much more violent than in West Africa or the Swahili Coast

The Delhi Sultanate

• 11^th C Afghan warlords invade
• Mahmud of Ghazni leader
• Looted Hindu and Buddhist temples; established mosques or Islamic shrines
• Successors eventually established the Delhi Sultanate; 1^st Muslim empire on Indian subcontinent – not an extension of a Middle Eastern or Persian Empire
• Sultans fought Hindu princes for control
• Large armies and extravagant courts

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Southern India escaped the invasions (small states)

Vijayanagar in the south was an independent empire

The Delhi Sultanate (cont.)

• Indians allowed to keep their native religions
• Buddhism dwindled
• Muslim communities increased
• Merchants were the main carriers of the faith; especially Sufis
• Welcomed Indians of lower castes
• Avoid head tax/marriage
• Many remained Hindu; some Muslim princes adopted Hindu customs at court (along caste lines – Muslims leaders on top)

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The Delhi Sultanate (cont.) �Difficult to reconcile Hinduism and Islam�

Islam

Hinduism

• Equality
• Submissive to one god
• Muslim ulamas warned against the pollution of Islam by Hindu practices and tried to promote unity in the Muslim community to oppose majority Hindu population
• Met stiff resistance by Hindu elites (compare to Africa)

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• Hierarchical caste system
• Many gods
• Brahmins denounce Muslims as destroyers and meat eaters
• Many believed their religion was superior to Islam; tensions built (compare to Africa)

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Southeast Asia

• Expansion of Islam to India set the stage for spread to SE Asia; trade routes across the region
• Previously Buddhism and Hinduism; Muslim traders now influence region
• Buddhist Shrivijaya trading empire on the decline; helped Islamic influence – Muslim trading centers become established
• Most contact peaceful
• Spread from Malacca; converts wanted to strengthen ties and prove common basis in Muslim laws
• In other areas Sufis allowed natives to keep rituals and local beliefs If paid homage to Allah and followed Islamic doctrine

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Two Travelers

• Long distance trade increasing by 1000
• Encouraged by Vikings, Turks, and Mongols
• May have brought destruction, but also new ideas and knowledge
• Invaders tended to settle
• Pax Mongolica and Dar al-Islam (House of Islam) made travel more appealing
• Dar al-Islam
• United tropical lands; religious motives were the driving factor
• Spoke Arabic/communication
• Shared obligation of hajj

Marco Polo

• Travels to China and enters the service of the Great Khan (court of Kublai Khan)
• Close to twenty years
• Captured by soldiers from rival city state Genoa and spends time in prison
• Produces a book of his travels
• Enjoyed exaggerations; questions as to validity
• Sparked great interest in a world beyond Europe
• Sense of adventure sets the stage for Europeans to embark on major exploration

Ibn Battuta

• Traveled over 73,000 miles
• Constantinople, Mesopotamia, Persia, India, Burma, Sumatra, Spain, Mali, and perhaps southern China
• Most within cultural area of Dar al-Islam (unified by religion)
• Narrated his experiences for a book
• Invaluable information about life in Islamic lands

Long Distance Trade and Travel: Patterns, Motivations, and Consequences

• Long distance trade at this time relied primarily on the Silk Road and the Indian Ocean
• Trade across Sahara increasing
• Light luxury goods usually on the Silk Road
• Silks and precious stones for example
• Bulkier goods by ship
• Steel, stone, coral, building materials
• Motivations for travel
• Trade, diplomacy and missionary activity

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Motivations for Long Distance Travel

• Diplomacy examples
• Byzantine Emperor called on the

Roman Catholic Pope for help

defending the Holy Land

• Crusades
• Changed Europe forever
• Mongols destroyed Abbasid dynasty
• Pope Innocent IV sent diplomats inviting Mongols to convert
• Ibn Battuta took government positions

Motivations for Long Distance Travel

• Missionary examples
• Sufi mystics
• would tolerate worship of traditional deities but must be pious and devoted to Allah
• Roman Catholics
• Mongols
• China (John of Montecorvino)
• Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox in Russia

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Consequences of Interregional Networks and Contacts�

• Technological and Agricultural Diffusion
• Magnetic compass
• Could sail long stretches of water without getting lost
• Gunpowder
• Used by Mongols to catapult bombs cannons developed; Mongols mainly responsible for quick spread
• Food: citrus fruits and Asian rice
• Muslims learned to crystallize sugar from cane
• Europeans enjoy sugar cubes in their tea and coffee

Consequences of Interregional Networks and Contacts

• Spread of Disease
• Black Death
• 60 – 70% of those infected died
• Millions in China
• Europe lost 25% of population
• Disrupted society
• In western Europe workers demanded higher wages; rebellions when wages frozen

Consequences of Interregional Networks and Contacts

• Demographic Changes
• Urban population levels recovered

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• Tremendous growth of cities along trade routes
• Khanbalik, Hangzhou, Samarkand, Baghdad, Cairo, Constantinople, Venice, Kilwa, and Timbuktu

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• Many merchants traveled the whole distance in pursuit of profit
• Nomadic population didn’t recover as easily
• Groups never again had the kind of power of the Mongols and Turks
• Sedentary people could resist nomadic peoples invasions

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Comparisons: Communal vs. Convergent Cities

Communal

Convergent

• Uniqueness of cities as they represent the culture of the territories around them
• Europe at this time
• Paris is uniquely French
• London - English

• Places where many people of different ethnicities come together to trade, sell arts and crafts, and visit government centers
• Emphasize the commonalities
• Islamic and Chinese cities

Comparisons: Communal vs. Convergent Cities

• Neither theory is completely accurate but they do focus on the fact that European cities were less connected to world trade circuits than Islamic and Chinese cities
• London and Paris were not yet the cosmopolitan centers that they would become