Crash Course World History #14: The Dark Ages

How/what did the Tang/Song Dynasties contribute to technological and cultural transfers between regions?

Tang: art, sculptures, poetry; Song: plows for agriculture, porcelain, paper money, gunpowder

Explain how China was different from Western Europe, yet similar to Dar al Islam, during the "Dark AgeS

China and Islam had different faiths yet they were both spread through the silk road. Also, China was having a Golden Age of its own. The Tang Dynasty made China's government more of a meritocracy.

How did the political system of Europe change following the fall of the Roman Empire in the West? Describe how the new system operated.

Europe went from very powerful governments (centralism) to feudalism. Which included the reciprocal relationships between lords and vassals. Then the knights who were above peasants who did the all the work.

What caused the urban to rural shift in Europe during this period?

Feudalism. It was also an economic system, which worked off of the land that the peasants worked so it would work better in a rural situation.

What new governance style was adopted in Dar al Islam? *

Persian-style monarchy that the Abbasids set up.. That tolerance and curiosity ushered in a golden age of Islamic learning.

Discuss the Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties roles in the Middle East and North Africa during the so called "dark ages".

The Umayyad Dynasty then expanded the empire west to Spain and moved the capital to Damascus, because it was closer to the action, empire-wise but still technically in Arabia. That was really important to the Umayyads because they'd established this hierarchy in the empire with Arabs like themselves at the top and in fact they tried to keep Arabs from fraternizing with non-Arab Muslims throughout the Empire. The there was the Abbasid who kept the idea of a hereditary monarchy, but they moved the capital of the empire to Baghdad, and they were much more welcoming of other non-Arab Muslims into positions of power. And under the Abbasids, the Dar al Islam took on a distinctly Persian cast that it never really lost.

Why is the period between 600-1450 CE referred to as the Dark Ages? Were they "dark" globally? If not, give examples. *

The dark ages refers to the period between the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Modern Age. Globally it was not as dark as you would think. Outside of europe it was truly an age of enlightenment. Whereas, in europe the cities and poetry were very dark

List and describe the new systems of labor that were established in Europe during this period?

The new social system in medieval Europe, is when the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants (villeins or serfs) were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.

Describe how the social structure in Europe changed during this period? What mutual obligations were exchanged?

The small scale, local nature of the feudal system was perfect for a time and place where the threats to people's' safety were also small scale and local. But of course, this system reinforces the status quo - there's little freedom and absolutely no social mobility. Peasants could never work their way up to lords, and they almost never left their villages.

How was Dar al Islam different from Western Europe during the "Dark Ages

Things were certainly brighter in the Islamic world, or Dar al Islam. So when we last left the Muslims, they had expanded out of their homeland in Arabia and conquered the rich Egyptian provinces of the Byzantines and the entire Sassanid empire, all in the space of about 100 years.

How/what did the Abbasids contribute to technological and cultural transfers between regions? *

the Abbasids oversaw an effervescence of culture unlike anything that had been seen since Hellenistic times. Arabic replaced Greek not only as the language of commerce and religion, but also of culture. Philosophy, medicine, and poetry were all written in Arabic (although Persian remained an important literary language). And Baghdad became the world's center of scholarship with its House of Wisdom and immense library.