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6th century CE to 1450 CE
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Began with rise of Islam
 First trans-regional civilization
 Spans Eurasia and Africa
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Era of two great powers: Islam, China
Ended due to Turks, Mongols, Black Death
Characteristics
Spread of universalizing religions, philosophies
 Saw rise of new civilization centers
 Emergence of network of global contacts
 Ages of Faith, Aristocracy, Increasing Inequalities
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State Structure
Most systems were aristocratic in nature
 Most systems were decentralized
 Influence of system was often more important
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Agents of Change
Often trade or economic
 Pastoral nomads and migration less important
 Universalizing Faiths
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World System or Global Contacts
No world system yet (Americas, Oceania not included)
 Afro-Eurasia was a system though
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Women in the Era
Less Centralized states: women have more influence
 Less Aristocratic states: women have more influence
 Increasing institutionalization means fewer rights
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An Age of Faiths: Religions and Missionaries
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Christianity
 Roman Catholicism
 Orthodoxy: Cyril and Methodius
Buddhism
 Merchants spread it to East Asia, Southeast Asia
 Pilgrimages to South Asia
Islam
 Pilgrimage
 Dar al Islam as created by the vast conquests
 Sufi missionaries and merchants
Jews and Nestorians
Southeast Asia: Spread of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam
Trading Patterns
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Muslim system including Sub-Saharan Africa
Indian Ocean Systems: East Africa to Southeast Asia
East Asia
Central Asia: The Silk Road and Nomads
Western European – Mediterranean and North Sea
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Bedouin Origins
Muhammad and Early Islam
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The Quran, The Jihad
The Sharia and Ulama
The Five Pillars
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The Caliphate
The Sunni-Shia Split
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Dhimmi status and “People of the Book”
The Sultan and Vizier
The Roles of the Turks and Mongols
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Muslims in Spain
Muslims in Central Asia
Muslims in Africa
Muslims in Southeast Asia
The Orthodox Caliphs
The Umayyads and Abassid
Other Muslim Worlds
Structural Change: Fragmentation:,Sultans, Viziers, Harem
Dar al Islam provides cultural, religious unity to region
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Sub-Saharan Africa
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Sahel: Ghana, Mali, Songhai
East Africa: Swahilis, Ethiopia
Southern Africa: Kongo, Zimbabwe
Tribute empires, syncretic blending
South Asia
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Post-Harsha: Regional divisions, caste stability
From Muslims to the Sultanate of Delhi
 Arabs conquer Al-Sind, raid, trade into N. India
 Turks establish a Mameluk Sultanate
Southern India: A Hindu Renaissance, commercial
 Vaisaya caste expands with commere
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The 2nd Warring States Period 220 – 589 CE
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Nomadic conquerors intermixing with sedentary Chinese
Spread of Buddhism
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The Golden Age of China
Bureaucracy and Civil Service through Confucian exams
Scholar Gentry
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Merchants have upper hand
Great technological and commercial innovation
Sui Dynasty reunited China; the Grand Canal
Tang Dynasty
Song Dynasty
Why was China so strong
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 Gunpowder, compass, porcelain, movable type printing
Twice flowering rice increased harvests
Settlement of marginal lands, use of terraces
Capitalism as opposed to mercantilism
Currency based economy
Neo-Confucianism blends Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism
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Sinification vs. Indigenous Development
Tribute System vs. Annexation
Japan
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Yamato Clan unifies Japan (Shinto)
Nara: Prince Shotoku copies Chinese style of state (Confucianism)
Buddhism enters through contacts
Heian: Japanese develop their own culture
Court Elite vs Rural Elite vs majority of population
Military elite assumes increasing power not scholar gentry
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Korea
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Korguyo; Silla unifies Korea
Confucian but not as rigid; Buddhism as balance
Slavery continues to exist in large numbers
Vietnam
 Chinese attempts to control area until 1000 CE
 Vietnamese independence: Sinified elite different from commoners
 Women have great influence at court, in local matters
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Transition between Indian Ocean, China
Decentralized State Structures, Feudalism,
Tribute
Funan
 Khmer Empire
 Srivijayan Empire
 Malacca
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Interactions
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Commerce and Trade
Spread of Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam
Syncretism
Hierarchical Systems Different: Gender
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The Byzantines
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Insulated Europe from Arabs, Turks
Civilized, Christianized the Slavs especially Russians
Preserved Greco-Roman Culture
Helped spread Arabic learning to the west
Monasticism was an Eastern development
The Schism
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A contest of wills between the pope, emperor
When west was young, pope was weak
As west emerged, pope got stronger
The split was over the authority of the pope
What occurred in 1054 was many centuries in coming
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Blending Traditions
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Christianity, Germanic Custom, Roman Law
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From Kingdoms to the Franks to the Holy Roman Empire
The Roman Catholic Church
The Structures from 5th century to 1000 CE
 Caesaro-papism or Papal Supremacy
 The Investiture Crisis
 Monasticism
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Feudalism
 Aristocracy, reciprocity, and primogeniture
 Local rule, local self-defense, fiefs, vassals
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Manorialism including serfdom, manors, autarky
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Rise of Towns and with it the rise of the bourgeoisie
Commerce and Great Fairs: use of money rather than barter
Scholasticism and Chivalry
The Black Death leads to labor shortages
Peasant Rebellions
Wars devastate the aristocracy
Vikings: Raid, Trade, Settle, New States
A Changing Europe: After 1000 CE
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Rise of centralizing monarchs using law, taxes not custom
The Crusades as Contacts for Change
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Expanded Warfare
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The New Monarchy and Nationalism
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Centralizing royalty vs. decentralized feudalism
Spain, England, France
The Babylonian Captivity and Great Schism
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100 Years War: Technology vs. Aristocratic Chivalry
Reconquista in Iberia
The papacy was undermined by squabbling
Never theological but was always political
People began to question need for the pope
Heresies occurred as did some attempts to reform church
The Renaissance
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An expression of commercial prosperity
Began in Italy in the 1300s with emphasis on arts
The “We/Sacred” gave way to “I/Secular”
Glorification of the Classical produced new ideas
Humanism and Science
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The Impact of the Mongols
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Destroyed all existing state structure
Destroyed agriculture in some areas
Left a vacuum upon collapse, helped create new systems
Forced states, peoples to adapt, adopt to survive
Increased contacts between distant Eurasian parts
Spread Diseases
Exchanged Technologies
Movement of Peoples
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Paleolithic, Neolithic Peoples Existed During this period
Americas also had these phases, which lasted longer
 Nomadic hunters, gatherers, fishers
 Settled agricultural communities in many places of Americas
 Subsistence vs. surplus; Irrigation systems
 Differentiated labor systems and hierarchy
 Ceremonial centers and pyramids
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Americas Post-Classical Civilizations
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Centers
 Mesoamerica
 Toltecs
 Mayans
 Aztec
 Andean South America
 Chimu, Mohica
 Incas
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Contacts Between Centers Limited but corn did spread
Technology had not changed much over millennia
Roles of Merchants, Roles of Diplomats
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Cities
Cosmopolitan cultures
 Centers of exchanges and commerce
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Dar al Islam and China
Both civilizations were centered on cities, urban cultures
 Had most of the world cities with large populations
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Geographic World
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China: Chang-an (Xian), Hangzhou, Canton
Central Asia: Samarkand
West Africa: Timbuktu
East Africa: Swahili Cities
Dar al Islam: Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba
Western Europe: Venice, the Hansa
Southeast Asia: Srivijaya, Malacca
Southern Asia: Calicut
Eastern Europe: Kiev, Constantinople, Novgorod
Meso-Americas: Teotihuacan, Tikal, Tenochitlan
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Cultural Diffusion through migration or Indigenous Development
Migrations
Agricultural Peoples: Bantus
 Comparable to Germanic migrations (but Bantu were usually not invaders)
 Settlement of East, Central, Southern Africa
 Diffusion of iron-making, farming, herding
 State building: Kongo, Swahili trading cities
 Nomadic Peoples
 Comparable to Hunnic and Indo-European migrations
 Arab Bedouins
 Turks: Seljuk and Ottoman
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 Disrupted Abbasids, Byzantines, Central Asia
 Introduced mameluk armies, Sultans
 Produced the first European crusades
 Mongols and Mughals
 Disrupted most of Eurasia
 Created a power vacuum
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Contacts as Migration
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Pilgrimage: Buddhist, Muslim, Christian
Commercial contacts along caravan and sea routes
Scholarly exchanges between Muslim and non-Muslim worlds
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Demographic Shift
A change in demographic patterns
 Abrupt decrease in population due to illness
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6th century Bubonic Plague
Preceded spread of Arabs
 Strongest impact was in SW Asia, East Africa
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Black Death or 14th Century Bubonic Plague
Originated in China
 Spread by Mongols throughout Eurasia
 Spread throughout Mediterranean by contacts
 Results
 Labor Shortages: fostered growth of free, paid labor
 Attacked old elites in cities producing new urban elites
 Broke back of Mongols, small states
 Forced states to create new means of taxation, military formations
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Aristocracies: Called Gate Keepers
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The Peasants: Those Who Work
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European classes of “those who fight” and “those who pray”
Capulis of the Aztecs and the nobles of the Mayans
Brahmins and Kshatriyas of South Asia
The landed scholar gentry (shi) of China
The daimyos and samurai of Japan
Shudras and Pariahs of South Asia
The Peasants of East Asia
The Serfs and peasants of Western Europe, Eastern Europe
The serf like capulis of Aztecs, Mayan caste peasants
The sharecroppers and tenant farmers of the Arab world
The commercial classes are agents of change
Gender Roles
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The patriarchical system increases with aristocratic societies, warrior societies
Increasing examples of subordination of women
 Footbinding in China; painted faces in Japan
 Veils, purdah in SW Asia and India; suttee in India
 Women as legal minors, disenfranchised in Western Europe
 Women as baby factories: Aztecs
Exceptions to the Rule
 Women in the Catholic Church: renounce sexuality and acquire equality
 Women in Bantu Africa – farmers, merchants, some rulers, matrilineal descent
 Women in Southeast Asia – merchants, commerce, some rulers, matriarchy
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The Muslims including South Asia
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Preserved Past Learning Especially the Greeks
Created New Learning
Spread other civilizations‘ accomplishments
Science, Math, Geography, History, Philosophy
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Golden Age of Art and Poetry under Tang and Song
The Heian Age in Japan – first novels, pillow books
Ming tend to preserve culture or turn the clock backwards
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Icons, Hagia Sofia, Cyrillic
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Romanesque and Gothic Architecture
Epics and Romances
Scholasticism
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Higher mathematics
Astronomy and Calendars
BUT: Most of Technology remained borderline Neolithic
The Chinese and Japanese
The Byzantines
Western Europe
Mesoamerica
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Compare and contrast Japanese and Western
European feudalism. (Note you might want to
consider adding Zhou feudalism).
Compare and contrast political and social
institutions in Western and Eastern Europe.
Analyze the roles and functions of cities in
major cultures (Islamic, West European, East
Asia, Western Africa, Eastern Africa).
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Compare trading alliances and patterns of
trade in any two of these regions:
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Northern Europe (Hansa)
Mediterranean (Venice, Genoa)
Abbasid Muslim world
The Silk Road of Central Asia
Trans-Saharan Trade Route
East Africa/ Swahili cities
The Indian Ocean.
Compare the roles of politics, social classes,
and gender in Christianity and Islam.
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Analyze gender and social systems and any
changes over time as caused by interactions
and religions such as the impact of Islam and
Neo-Confucianism.
Compare the Aztec and Inca Empire.
Compare European, Sub-Saharan African,
Southeast Asian and South Asian contacts
with the Islamic world.
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Compare the impact of the Mongol Empire on
cultures and institutions in Eastern Europe,
Middle East, and East Asia.
Compare the impact of Turkish invasions on
the Byzantines and Islamic worlds.
Compare the Christian Crusades and Islamic
Jihads.
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Compare schisms in Christianity (Roman
Catholic-Orthodox) and Islam (Sunni-Shia).
Compare interactions in any two regions
during this time period:
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Pre-Columbian Americas
Eastern Europe
Western Europe
Sub-Saharan Africa
Islamic World
South Asia
Southeast Asia
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Trace the change and continuities of interactions
between from 600 to 1450 CE in any historical region:
Latin America; North America; Sub-Saharan Africa;
SW Asia and North Africa; Western Europe; Eastern
Europe; Central Asia; South Asia; Southeast Asia; and
East Asia.
Trace the changes and continuities in world trade
from 500 BCE to 1000 CE in any one of the following
regions: the Mediterranean, the Silk Road (Central
Asia, East Asia, Southwest Asia), the Indian Ocean,
Sub-Saharan Africa.
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Trace the changes and continuities in world trade from 500
to 1500 CE in any one of the following regions: North
Africa and SW Asia; Western Europe; Mesoamerica; SubSaharan Africa; the Indian Ocean; Central Asia; East and
Southeast Asia.
Trace the transformation in functions and structures of
states from 600 to 1450 CE in one region: Western Europe;
Eastern Europe; SW Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa; East Asia;
Southeast Asia; South Asia.
Trace the demographic changes from 600 to 1450 in any
one region: Latin America, Western Europe, North
America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia, Southeast
Asia, or East Asia.
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Trace the transformation and impact of technology
including
manufacturing,
transportation
and
communications from 600 to 1450 in any one region:
North America; West Europe; East Europe; SubSaharan Africa; Southwest Asia and North Africa;
South Asia; and East Asia.
Trace the transformation of religion and philosophy
from 600 to 1450 in any one region: East Asia; South
Asia; Southwest Asia and North Africa; Western
Europe; Eastern Europe; Southeast Asia and SubSaharan Africa.
Trace the intellectual and artistic transformation from
600 to 1450 in any one region: East Asia; South Asia;
Southwest Asia; West Europe; East Europe.
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Trace the transformation of social structures
including gender and inequalities from 600 to 1450 in
any one region: West Europe; Southwest Asia; SubSaharan Africa; South Asia; East Asia, and Southeast
Asia.
Trace the transformation in gender roles from 600 to
1450 CE in any one region: the Muslim world, the
Christian world, the Hindu world, the Confucian
world, the Buddhist world, the world of the Central
Asian nomad, in Mesoamerica, or in Sub-Saharan
Africa.