CHAPTER 3: REGIONAL
CIVILIZATIONS, AD 400-1500
Dome of the Rock
Great Zimbabwe
Charlemagne
Text pgs. 86-123
Genghis Khan
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
A. THE ARABS
• The Arabian Peninsula (modern-day Saudi
Arabia, Yemen and Oman) is a harsh place,
dominated by deep-sand deserts with very little
vegetation. The people who live there, the
Arabs, are closely related to the ancient
Israelites and Assyrians.
• The Arabs were nomadic people who herded
goats, sheep and later camels. For mutual
support, they organized themselves into
extended-family tribes.
• The Arab people claim descent from Abraham’s
second son, Ishmael, who is supposed to have
built a temple in Mecca to honor Allah (“the allpowerful”). The centerpiece of this temple is
the Black Stone.
• In ancient times, the Arabs worshipped a
variety of gods in addition to Allah.
The Kaaba at Mecca
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
B. MUHAMMAD
The Angel Gabriel
The Quran
• Muhammad was born some time in the late 500s AD, in the
city of Mecca. He was a member of a merchant family, and he
was expected to go into the caravan business. He was
troubled, though, and often went into the mountains to pray.
• On one of his prayer vigils, he was visited by the angel Gabriel,
who told him that God’s revelation was not complete. Moses
and Jesus had been prophets, among others, but Muhammad
would be the final prophet.
• Muhammad wrote down the wisdom given to him by the
angel, and these writings would later be collected into the
Quran, the holy scripture of Islam.
• Followers of this new faith are called Muslims. In Arabic, the
official language of Islam, “Muslim” means “peace through
submission to the will of Allah.” Islam is a monotheistic
religion which worships Allah alone. The Old Testament
prophets are revered, as is Jesus, but the most important
prophet is Muhammad.
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
B. MUHAMMAD
• Muhammad’s new religion was unpopular in his
hometown of Mecca, so he and some of his closest
followers left for the nearby city of Medina in AD 622.
This relocation is remembered as the Hijrah, and it
marks Year One on the Muslim calendar. Muhammad’s
preaching was much more popular in Medina, and by
AD 630, he had thousands of followers.
• Early Islam was also a political movement, and
Muhammad created a private army of ten thousand
men. With this force, he returned to Mecca, where the
people surrendered and most of them converted to
Islam.
• Muhammad declared the Kaaba in Mecca to be a holy
site. Today, Muslims are encouraged to make a
pilgrimage there, called a hajj, at least once in their
lives.
• Muhammad died in Mecca in AD 632.
Mosque at Medina
The Hajj
The Hijrah
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
C. ISLAM
• Muslims worship Allah, another name for the God of Judaism
and Christianity. Allah is the creator of the universe and the
guarantor of the afterlife.
• Muslims do not consider Muhammad to be divine. He is a
prophet, like Moses or other Old Testament teachers. He is not
the son of God.
• Muslim spiritual life is based on the Five Pillars of Islam:
• 1. Shahada – A declaration of faith. “There is no god but Allah,
and Muhammad is his prophet.”
• 2. Salat – Daily prayers. Good Muslims are expected to pray
towards Mecca five times a day.
• 3. Zakat – Acts of charity. Muslims donate 2.5% of their income
to the poor and charitable work.
• 4. Ramadan – Month of fasting. During the month of
Ramadan, Muslims do not eat or drink from sunrise to sunset.
• 5. Hajj – Pilgrimage. Once in their lives, Muslims should visit
Mecca and Medina.
How to bow for
Daily prayers
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
D. CREATION OF AN EMPIRE
Battle of Yarmuk
• Following Muhammad’s death, spiritual and political leadership was given to his
father-in-law, Abu Bakr. Abu Bakr ruled as the first caliph, or successor to the
Prophet.
• As the Muslim faith spread throughout the Middle East, Abu Bakr’s armies
conquered the territory through military campaigns. At the Battle of Yarmuk in
AD 636, the Arabs defeated a much larger Byzantine army by attacking during a
dust storm. By AD 650, Arab armies had taken all of Syria from the Byzantines and
conquered Persia, Egypt and North Africa.
• Arab soldiers fought with uncommon bravery and disregard for danger. This was
partially because the Quran promised heavenly rewards for all who died in defense
of the Faith.
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
E. THE UMAYYAD DYNASTY
Umayyad Mosque, Damascus
Battle of Tours
• Abu Bakr died in AD 634, leaving no obvious heir.
Various men who had been close to the Prophet
became caliph, including his son-in-law Ali.
• The fifth caliph, Mu’awiyah, had been the
governor of Syria. He moved the capital of the
empire to Damascus, in his home territory. He also
made the caliphate a hereditary position, passing
it on to his son un his death in AD 680. His family
ruled as the Umayyad Dynasty from AD 661-750.
• Under the Umayyad caliphs, the Arab Empire
extended its control over the Berber people of
North Africa. They invaded and conquered most of
Spain, but were prevented from invading France
at the Battle of Tours in AD 732. An Arab fleet also
attacked Constantinople in AD 717, but it was
defeated. Arab expansion had been halted for the
time being.
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
F. THE ABBASID DYNASTY
• A descendant of Muhammad’s uncle, Abu al-Abbas, overthrew
the last of the Umayyad caliphs in AD 750. al-Abbas established
his own caliphate, the Abbasid Dynasty, which lasted until 1258.
• The Abbasid Dynasty was a period of prosperity for the Arab
Empire. Al-Abbas moved the capital east to Baghdad, where
the trade routes from India and China converged. The empire
grew wealthy from international commerce and from the
agricultural production of former Roman provinces in Asia
Minor and North Africa.
• The greatest of the Abbasid caliphs was Harun al-Rashid (ruled
AD 786-809). He used the wealth of the empire to aid the poor
and support artists and writers.
• During the Abbasid dynasty, Baghdad’s control of the farther
provinces became lax, and several broke away to found their
own dynasties. A family called the Fatimids established
independent rule over Egypt from their capital at Cairo in AD
973.
Abu al-Abbas
Harun al-Rashid
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
G. THE SELJUK TURKS
Seljuk soldiers
• The Fatimid Dynasty in Egypt became prosperous in
the 900s AD by controlling trade from the
Mediterranean to the Red Sea and India. They used
their wealth to build a large army composed of nonArab Muslims, including the Seljuks.
• The Seljuk Turks came from Central Asia and had
converted to Islam in the late 800s. They made
exceptional soldiers in the Abbasid armies, but they
were politically ambitious. They came to dominate
the eastern provinces of Armenia and Persia.
• As the Abbasid caliphs became weaker, the Seljuk
Turks took over more territory and authority. In AD
1055, the Seljuks captured Baghdad and their leader
Kutalmish declared himself sultan (“holder of
power”). The Abbasid caliph remained as the
spiritual head of state, but all political and military
decisions were made by the sultan.
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
H. THE MONGOLS
• The Mongol Empire originated in
northern China around AD 1175
under its first leader, Genghis Khan
(real name: Temujin). They spread
rapidly westward, and by AD 1258,
they had reached Baghdad.
• The new khan, Hülegü, conquered
and destroyed the Abbasid
caliphate and established a Mongol
state in the Middle East. Hülegü,
who hated Islam, destroyed the
entire city of Baghdad.
• Later khans converted to Islam and
adopted other local customs, but
the Arab empire had been broken
and replaced. The center of Islamic
culture and power shifted to the
Fatamid kingdom of Egypt and its
capital in Cairo.
Mongol Horse-Archers
Hülegü Khan
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
I. ECONOMICS AND SOCIETY
• The Arab empires prospered through
international trade. Ships and camel
caravans visited the Byzantine Empire,
India, China, southeast Asia and Africa.
• Exports: Grain from Egypt; linen, dates
and gems from Iraq; textiles from
western India.
• Imports: Gold, ivory and slaves from
Africa; silk and porcelain from China;
spices and rare woods from India and
southeast Asia.
• Prosperity led to urbanization. The great
cities of the Empire, especially Baghdad
and Cairo, were some of the largest and
most beautiful population centers in the
world. Wealthy merchants patronized
artists, scientists and philosophers.
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
J. PHILOSOPHY AND SCIENCE
• The works of Classical Greek philosophers like
Aristotle and Plato were forgotten by Europeans
during the Dark Ages, but Arab scholars
preserved them. Ibn-Rushd included his own
learned commentaries with his translation of
Aristotle, which were later translated into Latin.
• Arab mathematicians adopted the number
system of India, including the concept of zero.
This, too, was passed on to Europe.
• Muslim astronomers observed the sky and
determined that the earth was round. They
invented the astrolabe, an important tool for
navigation.
• Ibn Sina, a philosopher and doctor, wrote a
medical encyclopedia which was used as a
textbook in European universities for hundreds of
years.
Indian numerical system
Astrolabe
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
K. ART AND ARCHITECTURE
Great Mosque at Samarra
Mosque at Cordobá
• In the Islamic tradition, it is a blasphemy to
draw or paint human figures. It is especially
insulting to display a picture of Muhammad or
Allah.
• Architecture is the most recognizable
expression of Islamic art. The style is a
combination of Arabic, Turkish and Persian
elements that focus on geometric shapes and
fine detail.
• The Great Mosque at Samarra is famous for its
unique minaret. The 90-foot tower features an
exterior staircase.
• Built in the 800s AD, the mosque in Cordobá,
Spain includes a “forest” of double arches and
decorative columns.
I. ISLAMIC EMPIRES:
HOMEWORK
• Answer each question in a half-page response with
complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete.
Due tomorrow.
• 1. What elements does Islam share with Judaism and
Christianity? What are some key differences? (Pgs. 90-91)
• 2. Read the “Opposing Viewpoints” box on pgs. 92-93. Can
the two explanations both be true? What do you find
surprising about the two opinions? Which one do you
think is more likely?
• 3. Name and describe three ways that Islamic art and
science contributed to the culture of the West. (Pgs. 9495)
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
A. EARLY STATES
• Africa is the most geographically
diverse continent. It is nearly 5000
miles from north to south and
features vast rain forests near the
equator, two extensive grasslands,
and temperate zones at the north
and south coasts. The continent is
almost completely surrounded by
oceans and seas.
• The earliest agricultural civilization
in Africa was Egypt, closely followed
by Kush and Axum. Later, several
regional kingdoms formed in the
equatorial zone.
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
B. KUSH
• As early as 2000 BC, the people of Nubia were trading and interacting with their
Egyptian neighbors to the north. For a long time, Nubia was dominated by Egypt,
but in 1000 BC, they achieved their independence and became the kingdom of
Kush.
• Kush conquered Egypt for a brief period of time (727-653 BC), but the glory days
of the kingdom came later, from 250 BC to AD 150. During this period, Kush
controlled trade into and out of Central Africa.
• Kush was eventually displaced by Axum.
Pyramids at Menoe, Sudan
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
C. AXUM
Axum obelisk: AD 300, 79 ft. tall
Coin showing King Ezana
• Axum began as a colony of Arab settlers around
1000 BC. They occupied the mountains and
highlands of the Horn of Africa, in modern-day
Ethiopia. Their influence spread and by the
second century AD, they controlled much of
East Africa.
• In AD 330, the king of Axum, Ezana, converted
to Christianity. Over the next several
generations, most of the population also
converted. Ethiopia is a predominantly Christian
country today.
• In AD 641, Muslim Arabs invaded and conquered
Egypt and much of the Red Sea coast. For 500
years, Muslims and Christians lived in harmony
in East Africa, but in the twelfth century AD,
Muslim merchants began to move inland and
compete with Axum’s ancient trade routes.
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
D. KINGDOM OF GHANA
• The first in a series of wealthy West
African kingdoms, Ghana was founded
around AD 500. The nation was located
along the Niger River south of the
Sahara Desert.
• Ghana controlled abundant gold mines
and produced much of the gold
circulated in the Middle Ages. They
traded their mineral wealth to Arab
merchants across the Sahara for horses,
metal tools, cloth and salt. This trade
was carried across the desert by Berber
middle-men who used camel caravans.
• The kings of Ghana ruled without any
formal laws. They held power by
maintaining a large, professional army.
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
E. KINGDOM OF MALI
Sankore Mosque,
Timbuktu
Mansa Musa
• As Ghana began to weaken in the 1100s AD,
one of the new kingdoms that grew in its
shadow was the southern kingdom of Mali.
• Under its first ruler, Sundiata Keita, Mali
united and defeated Ghana, capturing the
capital in 1240 AD. Mali took over the
profitable gold and salt trade.
• A later king, Mansa Musa (ruled AD 13121337), doubled the size of Mali. Mansa Musa
was a devout Muslim who encouraged the
building of mosques and establishment of
schools. He built the trading center at
Timbuktu.
• When he went on hajj to Mecca, Mansa Musa
took with him an entourage of thousands.
This display of wealth and power gave Mali
the reputation of being an important African
nation.
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
F. KINGDOM OF SONGHAI
Muhammad Ture
• As the authority of Mali began to wane in the 1400s AD, yet another kingdom
arose to replace it. Sunni Ali, the first king of Songhai, came to power in AD 1464.
He spent nearly his entire reign waging war against Mali and other neighbors.
• At its height under Muhammad Ture, Songhai controlled an empire that covered
over 1000 miles along the Niger River. It controlled the same lucrative gold and
salt economy of West Africa.
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
G. EAST AND SOUTH AFRICA
• As early as 1000 BC, people speaking dialects of the
Bantu language family began to move from West
Africa into the east coast and the Congo River
basin. These were settlers, not conquerors, and
their colonization continued peacefully for
hundreds of years.
• Beginning in the 700s AD, Arab colonists
established trading cities along the east and south
coasts of Africa. These cities included Mogadishu,
Mombasa, and Kilwa. They traded for gold and
slaves from the interior.
• From AD 1300 to 1450, the kingdom of Zimbabwe in
South Africa established another trade empire. The
capital, now called Great Zimbabwe, was a fortified
hilltop city surrounded by huge granite walls. At its
height, Great Zimbabwe had perhaps 10,000
occupants.
Great Zimbabwe
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
H. SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Spirit possession ceremony
Bronze statue made at Ife
• The African concept of kingship was different
from that in Europe. African kings would hear
the complaints and suggestions of their
people.
• African society was based around lineage
groups, or systems of extended families,
which managed local leadership and organized
community labor projects.
• African religious practices vary widely from
one region to another. Most indigenous
religions are polytheistic, ancestorworshipping and practice divination.
• West African art uses a variety of media,
including painting, weaving, and woodcarving.
Artisans at Ife and Benin produced beautiful
bronze and iron sculptures in the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries.
II. AFRICAN CIVILIZATIONS:
HOMEWORK
• Answer each question in a half-page response with
complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be
complete. Due tomorrow.
• 1. What products did Ghana, Mali and Songhai export?
What did they import? Why were camels necessary to this
trade? (Pgs. 98-101)
• 2. What does Sundiata Keita’s name mean? What did he
overcome as a young man? Why did he maintain
traditional religious beliefs in addition to Islam? (“People
in History” box, pg. 98)
• 3. What do the walled enclosures tell us about the
kingdom of Zimbabwe? (Pg. 100)
III. ASIA:
A. CHINA REUNIFIED
• After the Han dynasty fell in AD 220,
China had 360 years of chaos and
civil war. Nobody was in charge, and
little historical evidence remains of
this period.
• In AD 581, a new imperial dynasty,
the Sui, managed to assert its
authority over China. The Sui only
lasted 39 years (to AD 618), but they
reformed the empire and paved the
way for further dynasties.
Coins of the Sui era
III. ASIA:
B. THE TANG DYNASTY
Uighur cavalry
• The next dynasty of imperial China, the Tang, ruled from AD 618-907. Tang rulers
worked to stabilize the nation through reforms. They brought back the civil
service exams created under the Qin dynasty. They took land away from wealthy
magnates and gave it to peasant farmers. They also extended China’s borders to
the edge of Tibet.
• In the late 700s AD, the Tang dynasty began to lose control over their nation. They
hired Uighur mercenary soldiers from central Asia to protect themselves, but by
AD 907 they had lost the Mandate of Heaven.
III. ASIA:
C. THE SONG DYNASTY
Moveable type
• After a brief period of civil war, the
Song dynasty took control of China in
AD 960. They ruled the nation until AD
1279, a period of prosperity and
cultural development.
• During the entire Song period, China
was menaced by northern neighbors.
The Manchurians attacked and forced
the Song emperors to move their
capital south to Hangzhou.
• In the 1200s AD, the Mongols of
central Asia began to attack Song
China. Under the leadership of
Genghis Khan (see III.E, F), the
Mongols conquered China and created
a vast empire.
III. ASIA:
D. GOVERNMENT, ECONOMY AND
SOCIETY
• Under the Sui, Tang and Song dynasties, China reestablished a central monarchy and large state
bureaucracy based on Confucian principles.
• During this 700-year period, the Chinese economy
diversified. The agricultural base expanded and
became more efficient. Chinese technicians
invented moveable type, gunpowder, steel, and a
type of flame thrower.
• Trade was renewed with the West, largely because
the Arab empires had unified the West and reopened the Silk Road. Cities in China grew and
prospered. This is the China that Marco Polo visited
in 1274.
• While the majority of people continued to live in
agricultural villages, society became more
complex. New middle classes and the displaced
poor contributed to a less clearly stratified society.
Fire-Lance
Marco Polo
III. ASIA:
E. THE MONGOL EMPIRE
The Mongol Hordes
• The Mongols were a horse-raising
nomadic people from the central Asian
steppes. In AD 1206, they elected as their
leader (or “khan”) a young man named
Temujin. He was given the title Genghis
Khan, and he spent the next 20 years
conquering all of the Mongols’ neighbors.
He created the largest land empire in
history, including all of Asia and part of
eastern Europe.
• Genghis’s death in AD 1227 meant that his
empire was split between his sons,
creating competing khanates that
continued to conquer territories. In AD
1231, the Mongols attacked Persia. In 1258,
they sacked Baghdad and destroyed the
Abbasid Empire. By 1279, they had
defeated Song China.
III. ASIA:
F. THE MONGOL DYNASTY IN CHINA
• Kublai Khan, a grandson of Genghis,
invaded and conquered China in AD
1279. He deposed the Song emperor
and established his own family as the
Yuan Dynasty. He built a new capital in
the north of China called Khanbaliq.
Today it is called Beijing.
• Kublai Khan sent military expeditions
to conquer Vietnam, Java, Sumatra,
and twice against Japan. Only Vietnam
was conquered, and then only for a
while.
• The Yuan Dynasty ruled China
effectively and prosperously until AD
1368. A peasant named Zhu Yuanzhang
raised an army, defeated the Mongols,
and established his own Ming Dynasty.
Kublai Khan
Bronze statue
Fine China
III. ASIA:
G. RELIGION
• During the Sui and Tang dynasties, Confucianism had lost favor with the ruling
class, although it continued to influence the government. Instead, emperors and
their courts followed Buddhism and Daoism.
• The Mongol rulers preferred the old ways. They reinstated Confucian principles at
court and favored its practice amongst the population.
• Confucianism continued to be the official state philosophy until the middle of the
twentieth century.
Confucianism
Buddhism
Daoism
III. ASIA:
H. A GOLDEN AGE IN ART AND
LITERATURE
• The period from AD 618 to 1644, which
coincides with the Tang, Song, Yuan and
Ming dynasties, was the most productive
period for art in Chinese history.
• Influenced by Daoism, painters of this
era created landscapes that attempt to
balance the earth and sky. Features are
not drawn realistically, but rather ideally.
Blank spaces are left to show that the
whole truth is unknowable.
• The printing press made literature more
available than in any previous era. Poetry
was the highest form of Chinese writing.
Poets wrote about nature, the shortness
of life and the sorrow of parting.
“Beside my bed the bright moonbeams bound
Almost as if there were frost on the ground.
Raising up, I gaze at the Mountain moon;
Lying back, I think of my old home town.”
-- Li Bai, AD 710-762
III. ASIA:
I. THE RISE OF THE JAPANESE STATE
Shokoto Taishi and Friends
• The course of Japanese history has been very
different from that of China, largely for
geographical reasons. Japan is a chain of
islands, the four largest of which are
Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu and Shikoku. This
means the populations are somewhat
isolated and there is very little agricultural
land to go around.
• In the early 600s AD, a prince of the Yamato
clan, Shotoko Taishi, attempted to unify
Japan for the first time. Initially, his plan was
only to repel Chinese invaders, but eventually
he developed a centralized government.
• Taishi’s government, modeled on the Chinese
plan, made the emperor a supernatural
figure. This solidified the Yamato rule and
weakened the power of regional aristocrats.
III. ASIA:
J. THE NARA PERIOD
Great Buddha at Nara
An early Yamato emperor
• Shokoto Taishi died in AD 622. Subsequent emperors were still from the Yamato
clan, and began to use the title “son of heaven,” but they were used as
figureheads for the real ruling family, the Fujiwara clan.
• The Fujiwaras moved the capital to their own territory, the city of Nara. With the
emperor in their control, they collected national taxes for themselves.
• The emperor and the central government were unable to exert control over the
aristocrats. By AD 794, they had virtually no influence.
III. ASIA:
K. THE HEIAN PERIOD
• In AD 794, the capital was again moved to
Heian (present-day Kyoto). The emperor
continued to be a puppet of the Fujiwara
clan, and central authority continued to
erode.
• Real power in this era increasingly rested
with local lords, who owned tax-exempt
farmland. With no government to
preserve law and order, these lords
created and maintained private armies.
• These armies were composed of samurai,
or “those who serve.” Like European
knights, the samurai were loyal to their
feudal masters and provided military
service. They were expected to live by a
strict moral code, called Bushido (“the
way of the warrior”).
Samurai in the 19th century
III. ASIA:
L. THE KAMAKURA SHOGUNATE
Kamikaze
Tokugawa Ieyasu
• By AD 1192, Japan had experienced hundreds of years of
civil war between the aristocratic families. Finally, a
powerful noble named Minamoto Yoritomo was able to
defeat his neighbors and establish a new capital at Tokyo.
• Minamoto Yoritomo established a period of rule by
powerful generals, or shoguns. During this period, called
the Kamakura Shogunate, the emperor became an
entirely ceremonial function.
• The shogunate worked well enough to help guide Japan
through a serious crisis. In AD 1281, Kublai Khan sent a
Chinese fleet to invade Japan, but it was completely
destroyed by a typhoon.
• By AD 1331, central authority had again broken down.
Powerful families, now called daimyo, ran their provinces
as they saw fit. From AD 1477-1487, all of Japan was
consumed in yet another destructive civil war.
III. ASIA:
M. LIFE AND CULTURE IN EARLY
JAPAN
• Most people in early Japan made their living by
fishing or rice farming. During the Kamakura
Shogunate, manufacturing and other types of
industry arose in the cities. Japan exported
worked iron, paper and raw materials to China
and Korea in exchange for silk, porcelain, books
and copper.
• The early Japanese practiced a form of folk
spirituality based on ancestor worship and
nature spirits, called kami. These beliefs
evolved over time into a state-supported
religion called Shintoism, which is still practiced
today.
• Japanese painting and architecture feature
decorative landscapes, including koi ponds and
sculptured shrubs.
Golden Pavilion, Kyoto
Shinto priest and arches
III. ASIA:
N. INDIA AFTER THE GUPTAS
Rajputs on war elephant
• When the Indian Gupta Empire came to an
end in AD 554, there was no new power to
take over. Instead, hundreds of small Hindu
states warred with each other for hundreds
of years.
• When the Muslim empire expanded in the
late 600s and early 700s AD, they occupied
what is now Afghanistan. In AD 997, a group
of Muslim Turkish slaves and their leader
Mahmud of Ghazni invaded Pakistan .
• A group of Hindu warriors, the Rajputs,
attempted to defend India from the Muslim
invaders, but their old-fashioned tactics
were no match for Turkish cavalry.
• By AD 1200, the Muslim invasion had
conquered all of northern India, which came
to be called the Sultanate of Delhi.
III. ASIA:
O. THE IMPACT OF TIMUR LENK
• By the 1380s AD, the Sultanate of Delhi had
begun to decline. It was no longer the military
power it had once been, and was unable to
effectively defend itself when a Mongol warlord
named Timur Lenk invaded.
• Timur Lenk (called Tamerlane in Europe) was
the leader of a Mongol horde based in
Samarkand. Between AD 1369 and 1405, Timur
Lenk conquered all of the territory between
Samarkand and Constantinople. When he
attacked the city of Delhi, he executed over
100,000 Hindu prisoners outside the gates.
• When Timur Lenk died in the midst of his
conquests, he left a power vacuum in India. It
was eventually filled by the Moguls from within
and Portuguese merchant-adventurers from
without.
Timur Lenk
III. ASIA:
P. ISLAM AND INDIAN SOCIETY
Jama Maszid, Delhi
• The Muslim rulers of India maintained a strict separation between themselves
and the Hindu population. They used mostly peaceful means to encourage Hindus
to convert to Islam, but they still imposed Islamic customs on the country and its
people.
• From very early on, Muslim-Hindu relations were characterized by mutual
suspicion and dislike. This prevented the nation from cooperating across religious
lines.
III. ASIA:
Q. CIVILIZATION IN SOUTHEAST ASIA
• Southeast Asia is a term that covers
two geographical regions. The first is a
peninsula that extends southeast
from between India and China. It
includes the modern nations of
Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand,
Burma and mainland Malaysia.
• The other region in Southeast Asia
encompasses an archipelago of
hundreds of islands. These include the
modern nations of Indonesia, New
Guinea, the Malaysian islands and the
Philippines.
• Positioned between the advanced
civilizations of India and China,
Southeast Asia became a cultural
melting pot and a destination for
international traders.
III. ASIA:
R. THE FORMATION OF STATES
• Individual nations emerged in
Southeast Asia between AD 500 and
1500. Most of these states followed
Chinese or Indian models, but with
unique local adaptations.
• Vietnam had been conquered by
China in 111 BC, but quickly threw out
the invaders. Two nations, called Dai
Viet and Champa, emerged, which
practiced Confucianism .
• In the 700s AD, a ruler named
Jayavarman established an empire
over the Khmer people of modern
Cambodia. He and his successors
kept their capital at Angkor Thom.
III. ASIA:
R. THE FORMATION OF STATES
• The Angkor Empire was displaced in AD
1432 by the Thai people from the north.
They established a new capital at
Ayutthaya, where they ruled for more than
400 years.
• The Burman people of the west founded
the Pagan civilization beginning in the
eleventh century AD. Their state followed
an Indian pattern of government and
religion.
• The Malay Peninsula and the islands of the
eastern Indian Ocean were never unified as
a single state, though they mostly shared a
Malay heritage and similar languages. Each
island retained its own unique culture,
though they were frequently contacted by
Chinese and Indian traders.
Ayutthaya, Thailand
Pagan, Burma
III. ASIA:
S. SOCIETY AND CULTURE
Vietnamese rice paddy
Angkor Wat
• Southeast Asian society was heavily
stratified. At the top of the hierarchy were
aristocratic landlords. They lived in palaces
and manors in the larger cities and
controlled the central government.
• The majority of the population lived in
small villages in the countryside. They
made a living through rice agriculture,
fishing or small-scale trade. Most paid
heavy taxes or rents and barely had
enough to eat.
• As with government and religion, much of
Southeast Asian architecture is influenced
by either Indian or Chinese styles. The great
temple complex at Angkor Wat in
Cambodia is a combination of Indian forms
with local inspirations.
III. ASIA:
HOMEWORK
• Answer each question in a half-page response with
complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete.
Due tomorrow.
• 1. What reforms did the emperors of the Tang Dynasty
enact? What internal problems were they trying to solve?
(Pgs. 103-104)
• 2. Why were Japanese emperors unable to maintain a
central government? What happened to the position of
emperor as a result? (Pgs. 107-108)
• 3. How did the development of the Malay Peninsula and
the Indonesian Archipelago differ from development
elsewhere in Southeast Asia? (Pgs. 110-111)
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
A. GERMANIC KINGDOMS
• After the fall of the western Roman Empire in
AD 476, Europe broke up into a dozen or so
minor kingdoms. These states were united to
one another in three ways: They were all
Germanic, they all shared some of the cultural
tradition of the Roman Empire, and after a
period of time, they were all Christian.
• These states developed over the medieval
period, or Middle Ages, which lasted from AD
500 to 1500.
• Of these early medieval states, the only one
which lasted was the Frankish Kingdom of
France and western Germany. Founded around
AD 500 by Clovis, the Merovingian dynasty ruled
until AD 768 and managed to repel the Muslim
invasion of the Pyrenees Mountains at the Battle
of Tours (AD 732).
Clovis I
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
B. THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Pope Sylvester I
Benedictine copyists
• After Theodosius the Great (AD 378-395) declared that
Christianity was the official religion of the Roman
Empire, the Church rapidly expanded its influence and
organization throughout Europe. When the Empire
collapsed 100 years later, the Church was left to
preserve civilization.
• Small Christian communities, called parishes, were led
by priests. Several parishes were gathered together in a
diocese, under the leadership of a bishop. Over the first
300 years of Church history, the bishop of Rome
asserted his authority over the western Church, and
was eventually recognized as the Pope (Latin “papa” =
“father”).
• A later development in Church organization was the
development of monasticism, or communities of monks
(and later nuns). Monks served as copyists, teachers
and healers.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
C. CHARLEMAGNE
• In AD 768, a new ruler known as
Charlemagne (Charles the Great) took
over the Frankish Kingdom. He was a
patron of the arts and a devout
Christian.
• Charlemagne expanded his kingdom
into Germany, Holland and Italy. He
established the Carolingian Empire
and, on Christmas day AD 800, he had
the Pope crown him as the first Holy
Roman Emperor.
• The three themes of Western
civilization (Germanic kingship, Roman
heritage and Christianity) were
brought together under Charlemagne.
These themes were emulated by every
other ruler in Europe for 1200 years.
Charlemagne
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
D. FEUDALISM
• When Charlemagne died in AD 814, his empire passed to his
son, Louis the Pious. Upon his death in AD 840, the empire
was split between his three sons: Lothair I, Louis the
German and Charles the Bald. These three spent their reigns
fighting with one another.
• The Empire, and Europe in general, was so divided and weak
that there was virtually no resistance when the Vikings
began to raid in the eighth and ninth centuries. The Vikings
were Germanic peoples from Norway, Sweden and Denmark
who made a living by pillaging cities and churches . Their
raids were so terrifying and destructive that a ninth-century
Catholic hymnal included the prayer, “Protect us, O Lord,
from the wrath of the Northmen.”
• While emperors and kings were powerless to defend
against the Vikings, people turned to local lords for safety.
In exchange for military protection, these lords required
taxes and other obligations. This established the socioeconomic system known as feudalism.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
E. KNIGHTS AND VASSALS
• The Germanic concept of vassalage was an oath sworn
by a warrior to his leader. He promised to be loyal and
to fight for his lord, and in exchange the lord would
provide for his warriors economically.
• Armor, weapons and war horses were expensive. As
time passed, military technology improved and became
even more expensive. A feudal lord would grant his
warriors land so that they would have an income and
be able to afford the best gear. Land ownership was the
basis of the lord’s power and the key to the feudal
system.
• By the 800s AD, military tactics and technological
advancements had transformed barbarian warriors into
medieval knights. They wore coats of chainmail and
plate armor. They fought with sword, shield and lance
from atop specially bred war horses. Until AD 1485,
these knights dominated warfare in Europe.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
F. THE FEUDAL CONTRACT
William, Duke of Normandy
• The relationship between a lord and
his vassal was governed by a system
of largely unwritten rules, called the
feudal contract. In this agreement, the
lord provided prestige, land and other
economic support in exchange for the
vassal’s military service for 40 or so
days per year.
• As central political authority eroded in
the ninth century AD, the only system
of law and defense left was the local
lord and his warrior entourage (his
comitatus). A lord was technically the
vassal of a king or emperor, who had
granted him his lands in the first
place, but in practical terms a lord was
a law unto himself.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
G. ENGLAND
• Under the Anglo-Saxon kings of
England, monarchy continued
to be a weak institution. But in
AD 1066, the Duke of
Normandy, William the
Conqueror, defeated Harold II at
the Battle of Hastings and took
the throne for himself. He and
the other early Norman kings of
England established a strong
central government.
• Henry II (AD 1154-1189)
expanded royal authority over
the legal system, created new
courts of law, and oversaw the
formation of the English
Common Law.
William the Conqueror
The Battle of Hastings
Henry II
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
G. ENGLAND
Magna Carta
Parliament in the 1600s
• English nobles resented the expansion of royal
authority in the eleventh century AD. In 1215, King
John pressed his nobles too far when he raised taxes
and attempted to seize private lands. At a field
called Runnymede, a group of rebellious barons
forced John to sign Magna Carta. He tried to break
the contract the following year.
• Magna Carta is a document that legally recognized
the lords’ rights to property and access to justice. By
the fourteenth century, it had been reinterpreted to
apply to all citizens.
• In the reign of Edward I (AD 1272-1307), Magna Carta
was used to establish the English Parliament, a
council of great lords who make laws, collect taxes
and advise the king. Eventually, the council was
reorganized into the House of Lords and the House
of Commons.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
H. FRANCE
• The Carolingian Empire fell apart with the death
of Louis the Pious in AD 843. The western section
became the Kingdom of the Franks, and later
France. In AD 987, the people of France chose as
their king a lord named Hugh Capet, who
established the Capetian Dynasty.
• The Capetian kings (ruled AD 987-1328) held
direct control over the area of Paris only, while
powerful barons ruled the rest of the country as
independent fiefs.
• Philip II Augustus (AD 1180-1223) waged a series of
successful wars against the English and their
holdings in France. He greatly increased the size
of the monarch’s domain and the power of the
king over the nation. By the beginning of the
fourteenth century, France was the largest and
best-run monarchy in Europe.
The first Capetian monarchs
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
I. THE HOLY ROMAN EMPIRE
• The eastern third of Charlemagne’s empire,
modern-day Germany, came under the control
of the powerful Dukes of Saxony in the 900s
AD. In recognition for protecting the Pope,
Duke Otto I was made Emperor of the Romans
(Holy Roman Emperor) in AD 962.
• The emperors Frederick I (Barbarossa, AD 11551190) and Frederick II (AD 1220-1250) attempted
to gain control of Italy as well as Germany. They
were opposed by the popes, and the two sides
struggled for control of the region for hundreds
of years.
• While the emperors were occupied in Italy, the
German barons split off and established their
own semi-independent domains.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
HOMEWORK
• Answer each question in a half-page response with
complete sentences. Be accurate, be specific, be complete.
Due tomorrow.
• 1. What was the significance of Charlemagne’s coronation
as Holy Roman Emperor? How did it unify the themes of
medieval Europe? (Pgs. 117-118)
• 2. What social and political conditions led to the
establishment of feudalism? (Pgs. 118-119)
• 3. Describe how English kings William the Conqueror,
Henry II and John contributed to the development of the
medieval state. (Pgs. 119-120)
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
J. THE SLAVIC NATIONS
• The Slavic peoples of Eastern Europe organized themselves
into three separate groups: the Western Slavs (Poles,
Czechs), the Southern Slavs (Croats, Serbs, Bulgarians), and
the Eastern Slavs (Romanians, Ukrainians, Russians). The
Poles, Czechs, Croats and the non-Slavic Hungarians all
became Catholic, while the rest followed the Eastern
Orthodox Church of Byzantium.
• Swedish Vikings settled in Russia and the Ukraine starting in
the 800s AD. In the tenth century, a leader named Oleg
established a base at Kiev, from which he and his successors
dominated the Eastern Slavs. The Kievan Rus ruled over the
territory between the Baltic and Black seas and the Volga
and Danube rivers.
• The Kingdom of Kiev was beset by civil wars. In AD 1169, the
Mongols invaded and occupied Russia for the next 300 years.
They elevated a local lord, Alexander Nevsky of Novgorod, to
be Grand Prince. His family ruled Russia for the Mongols.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
K. THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE
Justinian, military & religious advisers
• The Eastern Roman Empire, centered on
Constantinople, did not fall to the
barbarians in the fifth century AD. It
survived as the Byzantine Empire, and under
Emperor Justinian I (AD 527-565), it
reconquered much of the western half as
well.
• Justinian’s military conquests did not last
long after his death. His major contribution
was the simplification of Roman legal
practice into The Body of Civil Law.
• Under pressure from Arab attacks, the
Byzantine Empire shrank until, in the early
800s AD, all that remained was Asia Minor
and the Balkans. Within the empire, the
common language was Greek and the
common faith was Orthodox Christianity.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
L. CONFLICTS AND PROBLEMS
Alexius Comnenus
Battle of Manzikert
Pope Urban II
• In the tenth and eleventh centuries, the Byzantine Empire was ruled by a family of
dynamic, aggressive emperors called the Macedonians (ruled AD 867-1081). By AD
1025, they had regained much of their lost territory.
• Expansion brought the Byzantines into conflict with the Seljuk Turks in eastern
Asia Minor. The two fought the Battle of Manzikert in AD 1071, where the
Byzantines were badly beaten. Emperor Alexius Comnenus wrote to the nations of
Western Europe, asking for help against the Turks.
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
M. THE CRUSADES
• Pope Urban II (AD 1088-1099) responded to Alexius
Comnenus’s plea for help by organizing the First Crusade
(1096-1099), a vast military expedition to save
Constantinople from the Turks and liberate Jerusalem.
Urban’s plan was to simultaneously unify the Christians of
Europe behind a single cause and give the warring lords
something else to do with their soldiers.
• The First Crusade was composed largely of Norman knights
from France and southern Italy, with some German forces
and commoners as well. The leaders of the various factions
did not get along well and the armies were disorganized.
• Instead of saving Constantinople, they marched on the Holy
Land and besieged the cities of Nicaea, Antioch and
Jerusalem. The Turks were unprepared for war, and the
cities fell one by one. When Jerusalem was captured, the
Christians established a kingdom there under Godfrey of
Lorraine.
Siege of Jerusalem
Godfrey of Lorraine
IV. EUROPE AND BYZANTIUM:
M. THE CRUSADES
Richard the Lionheart
Saladin the Magnificent
• The gains of the First Crusade did not last long. The Christian
kingdoms were surrounded by Muslim states, and in AD 1187,
Sultan Salah al-Din (Saladin) of Egypt reconquered the region.
• Over the next 100 years, eight more Crusades were launched.
The Third Crusade (AD 1189-1192), led by King Richard the
Lionheart of England, managed to assault Jerusalem but not
capture it. The Fourth (AD 1202-1204) was just a Byzantine
coup backed by the Venetians. The Eighth (AD 1270) was
defeated by uncommonly hot weather in North Africa.
• One unofficial campaign in AD 1212 (the Children’s Crusade)
saw thousands of German teenagers die of cold crossing the
Alps. Those who survived and made it to Marseilles were sold
into slavery.
• By AD 1272, Christian kings and popes had given up on
reconquering the Holy Land. The Crusades were a devastating
time for both Europe and the Middle East, but the cultural
contact that was made enriched both civilizations.