History Final

5. Analyze the rise and fall of Mongol power in Eurasia. How would you explain the success of the Mongol armies? How were conquered territories ruled and exploited by the victorious Mongols? Why were Mongol Khanates so short-lived? Which new powers emerged in their wake?

BATTLE: the basic unit of mongol society was the tribe, which was divided into kin-related clans whose members camped and herded together on a regular basis. when threatened by external enemies or preparing for raids on other nomads or invasions of sedentary areas, clans and tribes could be combined in great confederation.depending on the skills on their leaders, these confederations could be held together for months or even years. but when the threat had passed or raiding was done, clans and tribes drifted back to their own pasturelands and campsites. at all organizational levels, leaders were elected by the free men of the group. although women exercised influence within the family and had the right to be heard in tribal councils, men dominated leadership positions. courage in battle, usually evidenced by bravery in the hunt, and the ability to forge alliances and attract dependents were vital leadership skills. a strong leader could quickly build up a large following of chiefs from other clans and tribal groups. if the leader grew old and feeble or suffered severe reverses, his subordinates would quickly abandon him. he expected this to happen, and the subordinates felt no remorse. their survival and that of their dependents hinged on attaching themselves to a strong tribe leader. TEMUJIN: soon after his victory kabul khan died (ill). his successors could neither defeat their nomadic enemies nor hold the mongol alliance together. divided and beaten, the mongols fell on hard times. chinggis khan, who was a youth named temujin, was born in the 1170s into one of the splinter clans fought for survival in the decades after the death of kabul khan. temujin's father was an able leader who built up a decent following and negotiated a promise of marriage between his eldest son and the daughter of a stronger mongol chief. temujin's father was then poisoned by a rival nomadic tribe. suddenly, temujin, who was still a teenagers, was thrust into a position of leadership. but most of the chiefs who had attached themselves to his father refused to follow a mere boy, whose prospects of survival appears to be slim. threatened and attacked by a rival tribe, taken prisoner in 1182, locked in wooden collar rejoined his mother and brothers and found refuge for his followers deep in the mountains he and his people then joined a more powerful mongol chieftain who had once been aided by his father he then avenged the insults of the clan who enslaved him and another than had raided his camp for horses and women success then began to win him allies 1206 at a kuriltai, or meeting of all the mongol chieftains, temujin-renamed chinggis khan- was elected the khagan, or supreme ruler, of the mongol tribes probably not yet 40 years old. at that point he was the supreme ruler of nearly one half million mongols and 1 to 2 million more nomads who had been defeated by his armies or had allied with him by the year of his death 1227, the mongols ruled an empire that stretched from eastern persia to the north china sea mongols war skills: trained from youth on how to ride, hunt, and fight, they were physically tough, mobile, and accustomed to killing and death used lances, hatchets and iron maces, and powerful short bows mongol armies were entirely calvary meant that they moved so rapidly that their advances alone could be demoralizing to enemy forces the old quarrels and vendettas between clans and tribes were overridden by loyalty to the khagan. thus energies once devoted to infighting were directed toward conquest and the forcible exaction of tribute the mongol forces were divided into armies made up of basic fighting units called tumens, each consisting of 10,000 warriors each tumen was further divided into units of 1000, 100, and 10 warriors commanders at each level were responsible for training, arming, and disciplining the cavalrymen under their charge tumens were also divided into heavy cavalry, which carried lances and wore some metal armor, and light cavalry, which relied primarily on the bow and arrow and leather helmets and body covering even more lightly armed were the scouting parties that rode ahead if mongol armies and using flags and special signal fires, kept the main force informed of the enemies movements execution of a warrior who deserted his unit special unit supplied mongol armies with excellent maps of the areas they invaded spies and informers helped create the maps 13th century they were among the best armed and trained and the most experienced, disciplined, and mobile soldiers in the world soon invented of siege weapons; battering rams, catapults, and bamboo rockets that spread fear in besieged towns towns people were slaughtered or sold into slavery towns that surrendered without a fight were spared this fate, but were required to pay tribute to their conquerors peace: interested in others cultures tolerated all religions developed a legal code, aimed at ending the divisions and quarrels creativity was freely expressed trade routes made for prosperous and wealthy cosmopolitan cities fall of power: conquered russia with the armies of the golden horde( one of the four khanates into which the mongol empire was divided at the time of chinggis khan's death) rule was then overthrown by the russian princes known as battle of kulikovo timur-i lang, turkic nomad outdid the mongol empire with his ferocious campaigns rule was brief as it was violent with his passing, the last great challenge of the steppe nomads to the civilizations of eurasia came to an end

4. Analyze Indian society during the Gupta Age, focusing on the theme of religious rivalry. Explain the decline of Buddhism and the "renaissance" of Hinduism, elaborating on the resulting "Way of Worship."

During the Gupta empire Buddhism starts to decline. Buddhism declines because monks began to focus more on their wealth. Monks obtained their wealth from the donations of the indian people, that being said the monks then favored the people who provided them with that wealth. The monks would use the money they were given by creating large and excessively lavish monasteries. Monks became secluded from the people and eventually the people became unconnected to the buddhist monks teachings. Hinduism emerges and causes the indian people to convert to this new religion. Brahmans introduce hinduism to the indian people. The indian people believed the new religion of hinduism was more appealing than buddhism. Hinduism appealed to the people more because it didn't require them to give extensive monetary donations, and the brahmans were actively involved in the community. The brahmins became involved in many ways, they held child naming ceremonies, marriage ceremonies, and also funeral ceremonies. Those ceremonies enhanced the peoples connection with the brahmans, which then strengthened the hinduism religion. The indian people had a different way of worshiping hinduism than the previous religion of buddhism. Hinduism was worshiped by the people through personal worship. The people would give small offerings of food and prayers everyday to the gods. Hinduism put a heavy emphasis on the devotion to the gods. The most popular gods were Shiva "the destroyer", his female counterpart kai and Vishnu and his wife Lakshmi. Different groups worshiped heavily on different gods, for example merchant groups commonly would worship the god ganesh.

1. Analyze the historical origins of Buddhism in India. Be sure to include a discussion of Late Vedic society and religion, the life of the historical Buddha, his teachings, his disciples, and the development of the Theravada and Mahayana schools.

Historical buddha: Buddha previously named siddhartha gautama was born into a powerful family. There was a prophecy that he would deny his father's throne and would become a wandering ascetic. To stop the prophecy Buddha's father confined him to the palace and provided him with everything he could possibly want in life, but buddha wasn't happy. Buddha then snuck out of the palace to see the rest of the world. On his path he encounter a corpse, an elderly person, a ill person, and a wandering ascetic, this is called the 4 encounters. The 4 encounters made buddha realize that he can't escape from sickness, old age, and death. After the encounters buddha then escapes from the castle and becomes a wandering ascetic, this is referred to as the great renunciation. Buddha gave up his wealth, family, and formally changed his name to buddha. On his travels as a wandering ascetic, buddha practiced with many teachers, he chanted, did yogic exercises, and almost fasted to death. After his collapse due to the extreme fasting buddha then turned to meditation, this allowed him to achieve enlightenment and he discovered the four noble truths. Teachings: The 4 noble truths are the truth of suffering, truth of the cause of suffering, truth of the end of suffering, truth of the path. It is believed that one can only escape these sufferings from eliminating desire and attachments of the world, this can be done by the 8 steps process called the eightfold path. The eightfold path consists of understanding, thought, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, meditation; following this path is then believed to help one achieve enlightenment also known as nirvana. After buddha's death his teachings were passed down orally for generations, which then were written down on palm leaves by monks from memorization. The texts compose the pali canon also called tipitaka and are divided into three baskets. Disciples/students and followers: Those who followed these teachings were householder and monastics (nuns and monks). Monastics left their families, changed their names and shaved their heads. The monastics also had to beg for their food, the food is given to them by the householders. Householders practice buddhism as well, but they don't go as far as the monastics do in their worship. The householders don't leave their families or give up their possessions as the monks do. Theravada and Mahayana schools: The teachings of Buddhism has split into two different schools, the Theravada and the Mahayana. Theravada Buddhism is called southern Buddhism it is popular in Sri Lanka, Cambodia, Thailand, etc. Mahayana Buddhism is sometimes called northern Buddhism it is popular in china, japan, Korea, Nepal, etc. Both schools have developed their own interpretations of Buddha's message. Theravada teachings are the most original as they stick to Buddhist beliefs more closely, they only accept the pali canon as their text. The Mahayana also accept the pali canon, but they accept other texts as well. Mahayana promotes liberation from suffering for all beings, while Theravada promotes personal liberation from suffering. Another difference is that Mahayana Buddhists are often vegetarians, and Theravada Buddhists aren't.

2. Analyze state and society during the Han dynasty. Why did the Han dynasty's founders choose the Qin bureaucratic-centralization model? How did Confucianism legitimize that model? What role did civil-service examinations play in the genesis of the scholar-gentry

The fall of the Qin dynasty led into the creation of the Han dynasty. The han dynasty was lead by Liu Bang who was a former peasant that had lead himself to a higher rank. During his rule he would change the governmental system, this brought success for the han dynasty and its confucian beliefs would then be popular for its following years. To teach its beliefs the imperial university was founded and that would create the scholar gentry. Liu Bang the founder of the Han dynasty wanted to establish a more centralized imperial administration during his rule. The bureaucratic centralization focused on improving the shi advisors responsibilities and training. This system forbade vassals to pass on their property to their adopted heirs, if a noble died without having a successors, his property was then taken by the government, and it required that a nobles property was to be divided amongst his sons after his death rather than the eldest son inheriting it all. During the Han dynasty most were followers of confucius, and they resented legalism. Because majority resented legalism liu bang moves towards carrying out his role by representing confucianism. Liu Bang banned the work of legalism, its followers were kicked out of court and some were even killed. Remaining legalists ended up creating ideology, which was the main ideas of legalism blended with philosophy. confucianism became increasingly popular and the imperial university was founded. In order to become employed or move up in the government one was encouraged to attend the university. At the imperial university students studied many fields, such as memorizing and interpreting confucian classics. the students would then take exams, these exams could then lead them into obtaining a government job. In order to pass these exams children of higher ranking families were tutored at young ages, and then enrolled in schools to learn to write and memorize confucian texts. Only males were allowed to take the exams, so they were the ones who received the education. Many families put a great emphasis of teaching their sons, because passing the exams could rise their families rank in the society. The success from the sons then lead into the creation of the scholar gentry. the scholar gentry is the class of landholders and office holders who were then linked by marriage. the marriage of these two groups allowed families to maintain their wealth, rank, and allowed them to continue to educate their children. the scholar gentry class lived in compound walls with inner gardens, their housework work was done by their servants, they dressed in silks, and were transported by horse drawn carriages.

3. Analyze the Islamic faith from the "Night of Power and Excellence" until the founding of the Umayyad Caliphate. Be sure to include a discussion of the life of the Prophet, belief and practice as stated in Quran, and the impact of Islam on the peoples of the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding territories.

life of the prophet at around 570 ce muhammad was born into the well respected and powerful quraysh tribe. his father had died before he was born and his mother died only some years later, muhammad's uncle then acted as his protector and support system. in his later years muhammad went on caravan journeys, on these journeys he encounter a variety of different peoples, and then later on he worked for a widow named khadija, who then became his wife. muhammad became unhappy with his life and went to the hills regularly for meditation. the hills muhammed regularly visited were where he then received the word of god from the angel gabriel. it is believed that gabriel took muhammad to heaven to and t muhammad then became the last prophet of god. the messages muhammad received from god then would create the quran. muhammad began to preach the word of god, this put him in danger because he was seen as a threat to the umayyad. Muhammad then flees to medina, this voyage begins the start of the islamic calendar. muhammad encounters many attacks, but later then a treaty was formed that allowed him to visit the kaba. muhammad then returns home and proclaims the worship of one god allah by smashing the previous idols of worship. belief and practice as stated in the quran the monotheism of islam united the people who were once divided into groups of the deities they ruled. islam provided an ethical system that promoted moral behaviors, such as it was forbidden that the rich try to make a profit from the poor by charging extremely high rents. the islam religion not only stressed on the belief of monotheism, but they also believe that there are not saint and the angels act only as messengers of god, also it stressed that there are no intermediaries (priests) between one and god. the islamic religion is composed of five 5 pillars and in order to become apart of this religion one must accept and follow them. the 5 pillars consist of faith, which was the confession that allah is the only god and muhammad is the messenger; prayer- praying 5 times a day; fasting- sundown to sunset,month long; almsgiving- donate portion of income (zakat); and hajj- pilgrimage to the city of mecca (required once in a lifetime). impact of islam on the peoples of the arabian peninsula and surrounding territories united the people promoted ethical behavior

7. Analyze the causes, course, and consequences of the Reformation. What was the nature of the Catholic Church's crisis? Why did Martin Luther's theology comprise a threat to the Church's monopolization of spiritual life? What were the political ramifications of the religious turmoil?

origins (causes) nailed to door problem, loss of spiritually authority of church not acting different from secular powers, expensive, indulgences/ why popular "surplus merit", almsgiving, crusades luther challenged- god is all powerful, "scripture only", 95 these, develop new ways of worshiping god, translation of bible (german) why he escaped, what the church did to eliminate him, supporters (press) stop at the end of the 30 year war book: in the 16th century, religious upheaval and a new commercial surge began to define the directions of change more fully. in 1517, a german monk named martin luther issued a document containing 95 theses or propositions. he was publicly protesting claims made by a papal representative in selling indulgences, or grants of salvation, for money, but in fact his protest went deeper. luther's readings of the bible convinced him that only faith could gain salvation. church sacraments were not the path, for god could not be manipulated. luther's protests, which was rebuffed by the papacy, soon led him to challenge many catholic beliefs, including the authority of the pope. luther would soon argue that monasticism was wrong, that priests should marry as he did, and that the bible should be translated from latin so ordinary people could have direct access to its teachings. luther did not want to break christian unity, but the church he wanted should be on his terms luther picked up wide support for his views during the mid 16th century and beyond. many germans, in a somewhat nationalist reaction, resented the authority and taxes of the roman pope. german princes saw an opportunity to gain more power. their nominal leader, the holy roman emperor remained catholic. thus. princes who turned protestant could increase their independence and seize church lands. the lutheran version of protestantism urged state control of the church as an alternative to papal authority, and this had obvious political appeal. there were reasons for ordinary people to shift their allegiance as well. some german peasants saw luther's attack on authority as a sanction for their own social rebellion against landlords, although luther's specifically renounced this reading. some townspeople were drawn to luthers approval of work in the world. because faith alone gained salvation, lutheranism could sanction moneymaking and other earthly pursuits more wholeheartedly than did traditional catholicism. unlike catholicism, lutherans did not see special vocations as particularly holy; monasteries were abolished, along with some of the christian bias against moneymaking. once christian unity was breached, other protestant groups sprang forward. in england, henry vIII began to set up an anglican church, initially to challenge papal attempts to enforce his first marriage, which had failed to produce a male heir. henry was also attracted to some of the new doctrines, and his most durable successor, his daughter elizabeth I, was protestant outright. still more important were the churches inspired by jean calvin, a french theologian who established his base in the swiss city of geneva. calvinism insisted on god's predestination, or prior determination, of those who would be saved. calvinist ministers became moral guardians and preachers of god's word. calvinists sought the participation of all believers in local church administration which promoted the idea of a wider access to government. they also promoted broader popular education so that more people could read the bible. calvinism was accepted not only in part of switzerland but also in portions of germany, in france (where it produced strong minority groups), in the netherlands, in hungary, and in england and scotland. ny the early 17th century, puritan exiles brought it to north america. the catholic church did not sit still under protestant attack. it could not restore religious unity, but it defended southern europe, austria, poland, much of hungary, and key parts of germany for the catholic faith. under a catholic reformation, a major church council revived catholic doctrine and refuted key protestant tenets such as the idea that priests had no special sacramental power and could marry. they also attacked popular superstitions and remnants of magical belief, which meant that catholics and protestants alike were trying to find new ways to shape the outlook of ordinary folk. a new religious order, the jesuits, became active in politics, education, and missionary work, regaining some parts of europe for the church. jesuit fervor also sponsored catholic missionary activity in asia and the americas the end of christian unity in the west: the protestant and catholic reformations had several results in europe during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. most obvious was an important series of bloody religious wars. france was a scene of bitter battles between calvinists and catholic forces. these disputes ended only with the granting of tolerance to protestants through edict of nantes in 1598, although in the next century french kings progressively cut back on protestant rights. in germany, the thirty years war broke out in 1618, pitting german protestants and allies such as lutheran sweden against the holy roman empire, backed by spain. the war was so devastating that it reduced german power and prosperity for a full century, cutting population by as much as 60 percent in some regions. it was ended only by the 1648 treaty of westphalia, which agreed to the territorial tolerance concept: some princely states and cities chose one religion, some other. this treaty also finally settled a rebellion of the protestant netherlands against spain, giving the former its full independence.

6. "In general, the Aztec system was a success because it aimed at exerting political domination and not necessarily direct administrative or territorial control. In the long run, however, the increasing social stresses created by the rise of the nobles and the system of terror and tribute imposed on subject peoples were internal weaknesses that contributed to the Aztec Empire's collapse." Discuss.

tell the story, set up the state, vassals in constant fear, to politically dominate but did not overthrown their kings (success) by focusing on conquest, created enemies, hernan cortes exploit feelings of resentment, historical memories of being free ( only ran for 200 years) Book: later mesoamerican peoples, such as the aztecs, had some historical memory of the toltecs and thought of them as the givers of civilization. the aztecs rise to power: the toltec empire lasted until about 1150, when it was destroyed by nomadic invaders from the north, who also seem to have sacked tula about that time. in the unstable world of post-toltec mesoamerican, various peoples and cities jockeyed for control of the lakes. the winners of this struggle, the aztecs-or, as they called themselves, the mexica- eventually built a great empire, but when they first emerged on the historical scene, they were the most unlikely candidates for power the aztec rise to power and formation of an imperial state was as spectacular as it was rapid. according to legends the mexica had once inhabited the central valley and had known agriculture and the "civilized" life but had lived in exile to the north in a place called aztlan. other sources indicate that the aztecs were simply one of the nomadic tribes that used the political anarchy, after the fall of the toltecs, to penetrate the area of sedentary agricultural peoples what seems to be clear is that the aztecs were a group of about 10,000 people who migrated to the shores of lake texcoco in the central valley of mexico around 1325. after the fall of the toltec empire, the central valley was inhabited by a mixture of peoples. in this period, the area around the lake was dominated by several tribes or peoples organized into city-states. much like medieval europe, this was a world of political maneuvers and state marriages, competing powers and shifting alliances. these political units claimed authority on the basis of their military power and their connections to toltec culture. many of these peoples spoke nahuatl, the language the toltecs had spoken. the aztecs also spoke this language, a fact that made their rise to power and their eventual claims to legitimacy more acceptable. the aztecs were distrusted and disliked by dominant powers of the area, but their fighting skills could be put to use, and this made them attractive as mercenaries or allies. in a period of warfare, the aztecs had a reputation as tough warriors and fanatical followers of their gods, to whom they offered human sacrifices. this reputation made them both valued and feared. their own legends held that their wanderings would end when they sae an eagles perched on a cactus with a serpent in its beak. supposedly, this sign was seen on a marshy island in lake texcoco, and there, on that island and one nearby, the mexica settled. the city of tenochtitlan was founded about 1325 from this secure base the aztecs began to take a more active role in regional politics. serving as mercenaries and then as allies brought prosperity to the aztecs, especially to their ruler and the warrior nobles, who took lands and tribute from conquered towns. by 1428, the aztecs had emerged as an independent power. in 1434, tenochtitlan created an alliance with two other city-states that controlled much of the central plateau. in reality, tenochtitlan and the aztecs dominated their allied and controlled the major share of the tribute and lands taken. the aztec social contract: subject peoples were forced to pay tribute, surrender lands, and sometimes do military service for the growing aztec empire aztec society had changed in the process of expansion and conquest from a loose association of clans, the mexica had become a stratified society under the authority of a supreme leader. the histories were rewritten and the mexica were described as a people chose to serve the gods. human sacrifice, long a part of mesoamerican religion, greatly expanded into an enormous cult in which the military class played a central role as suppliers of war captives to be used as sacrificial victims. a few territories were left unconquered so that periodic "flower wars could be staged in which both sides could obtain captives for sacrifice. whatever religion motivations of this cult, the aztec rulers manipulated it as an effective means of political terror. by the time of moctezuma III, (1502-1520) the aztec state was dominated by a king who represented civil power and served as a representative of the gods on earth. the cult of human sacrifice and conquest was united with the political power of the ruler and the nobility. religion and the ideology of conquest: aztec religion incorporated many features that had long been part of the mesoamerican belief system. religion was a vast, uniting, and sometimes oppressive force in which little distinction was made between the world of the gods and the natural world. the traditional deities of mesoamerica- the gods of fire, rain,water, corn, the sky, the sun, many of whom had been worshipped as far back as the time of teotihuacan-were venerated among the aztecs. there were at least 128 major deities, but there seemed to be many more. the god were supported by a round of yearly festivals and ceremonies that involved feasting and dancing along with penance and sacrifice. huitzilopochtli, the aztec tribal patron, became the central figure of this cult. the aztecs identified him with the old sun god, and they saw him as a warrior in the daytime sky fighting to give life and warmth to the world against the forces of the night. to carry out that struggle, the sun needed strength, and just as the gods had sacrificed themselves for humankind, the nourishment the gods needed most was what was most precious: human life in the form of hearts and blood. the great temple of tenochtitlan was dedicated to both gods (rain and sun). the tribal deity of the aztecs and the ancient agricultural god of the sedentary peoples of mesoamerica were thus united. feeding the people: the state controlled the use and distribution of many commodities and redistributed the vast amounts of tribute received from subordinate peoples. tribute levels were assigned according to whether the subject people had accepted aztec rule or had fought against it. those who surrendered paid less. fall: the empire was never integrated, and local rulers often stayed in place to act as tribute collectors for the aztec overlords. in many ways the aztec empire was simply an expansion of long-existing mesoamerican concepts and institutions of government, and it was not unlike the subject city-states over which it gained control. these city-states, in turn, were often left unchanged if they recognized aztec supremacy and met their obligations of labor and tribute. tribute payments served both an economic and political function, concentrating power and wealth in the aztec capital. there were many revolts against aztec rule or a particular tribute burden, which the aztecs often put down ruthlessly.