HST 140 Final Exam Review

Where did the early "Silk Road" develop? How important were those trade routes in connecting areas of Afro-Eurasia? Why is the name "Silk Road" (coined later) misleading?

- Developed in the 1st Century BCE, named "Silk Road" in the 19th century, mapped in the 20th century - Many interconnected road systems - Used to transport many goods, such as incense, gemstones, metals, and porcelain. - The exchange of ideas was even more important than trade. - Reshaped the political landscape of Afro-Eurasia as Egypt and Mesopotamia lost much of their initial importance, and became crossroads for the people who lived on either side of them. - The middle east became a commercial middle ground between the Mediterranean and India.

Why do some question the significance of the "fall of Rome"? Did the Roman Empire really fall to invading barbarians? What role did the Christian Church play? Be sure to explain your answer.

- Fall of the Roman Empire: By the third and fourth centuries BCE, the political and economic fabric of the old Roman Empire was dissolving. - "Barbarian Invasions" further contributed to the fall of Rome. Young men from the frontiers of the empire migrated inward to cities. They were violent and chaotic, so the Romans called them barbarians. - These barbarians were drawn to Rome because the empire was in need of soldiers. - Emperor Valens, desperate for manpower, eagerly invited the immigration of the Goths but mistreated them. - Famine and anger over a lack of supplies turned the Goths against Valens. - Adrianople (378 CE) When Valens challenged the Goths, they destroyed him. - This, civil war, and continued over-extension lead to the collapse of the Roman empire in the west. - At this time Christianity was growing, and the church was appealing because it provided continuity and stability as Rome fell apart.

What was the significance of the Roman victory in the First Jewish-Roman War (66-73 CE)? How did Judaism change in its religious practice as a result?

- First Jewish-Roman War out of three rebellions lead by jews in Roman-controlled Judea. -Romans captured Masada which is near the dead sea. The Jewish rebels committed mass suicide. - At this point Judaism changed, leaning away from sacrifice to a more spiritual conception of God.

Your textbook refers to Han China and the Roman Empire as "globalizing empires" - what does that mean? What marks them as globalizing empires? What legacies did Han China bequeath to East Asia, and the Roman Empire to Europe and the Mediterranean? Be ready to discuss specific examples.

- Globalizing Empires are those that covered an immense amount of territory, exert significant influence beyond their borders, including large, diverse populations and work to integrate conquered peoples. - What made the Roman Empire and Han China different than the civilizations that preceded them was their dedication to integrating the people that they had conquered. - Han China: elites shared a common written language based on the confusion classics, commoners shared the elite's belief system of ancestor worship. - Legacies of Han China: ensured that Confucianism became the major value and belief in Chinese culture, spread Buddhism across China, expanded the Chinese territory to Tibet, an era of significant economic and scientific development, after the fall of the Han Dynasty the Chinese people referred to their language as Han - Imperial Rome: changed over time, in the fifth century BCE to be Roman meant being a Roman citizen, speaking Latin, as well as eating and dressing like Latin people. By the second century BCE, anyone with formal membership in the larger empire Rome was building could be Roman. - Legacies of Imperial Rome: government (the concept of the senate), law (lawyers often refer to Roman precedent when studying cases), language (many words in English derived from Latin), architecture (huge public works like the Coliseum), engineering (use of concrete and arches), and religion (Roman Catholicism). After the fall of the Roman Empire, the Roman identity was deeply rooted even in people who didn't speak Latin or live anywhere near Rome, Italy.

What led to the split between Sunnis and Shiites? What were some of the important achievements realized by Muslim scholars, scientists, and artists during the Islamic Golden Age?

- Sunni/Shiite Split: After the death of Muhammad, some believed that a direct descendent of Muhammad should be his successor, those people would eventually become Shiite Muslims. Others believed that a new ruler could be appointed, and those people would become Sunni Muslims. - The Islamic Golden Age: The House of Wisdom (large library and educational center), created algebra, wrote the standard medical encyclopedia, wrote 1,001 Arabian Knights, introduced the world to coffee.

Who were the Bantu people? What was the significance of their migrations across Sub-Saharan Africa? What did they bring with them, and why did some groups thrive better than others?

- The Bantu People: The earliest Bantu people from about 1000 CE lived in the South East of modern Nigeria. Bantu's cleared swaths of land using machetes and controlled burns. They were the most expansionist group of African peoples. - Bantu Migrations: Bantu people migrated out of West Africa in two waves. The first wave migrated to Eastern Africa. This group was relatively prosperous because of their iron tools used for agriculture. The second wave moved South towards the Congo and eventually the Kalahari desert. This group was less successful because they did not have iron tools for agriculture and the tsetse fly killed their livestock.

What were the Crusades? How did they begin, and what was their stated goal? Did they succeed? Who else was affected? Were there any unintended consequences?

- The Crusades began in the year 1095 when pope Urban II sent the violent warrior French nobility to reclaim Jerusalem, the Christian holy land, from Muslim rule. - 60,000 European men marched to Jerusalem in 1097, and the Crusades drew together a range of people under a united purpose. But, none of the coalitions produced lasting Christian kingdoms. Most of the crusaders just went home. - Those who remained were barely a threat to the Islamic heartland. Ultimately the Crusades hardened Muslim's perspective of the Franks, and of the nonwestern Christians living in Egypt and Syria.

How did China change from the fall of Han to unification under the Sui and Tang? What developments from the period of disunity came to be incorporated into the Sui and Tang Dynasties?

- The Han Dynasty, at the end of the first century BCE, was weak due to financial strain due to military expenses, and tax pressure on peasants. Natural disasters lead to crop failures, which lead to landowners being unable to pay taxes. - Wang Mang was the reagent to a child emperor in the year 9 CE, when he claimed the Han had lost the mandate of heaven and assumed the throne. - Wang Mang's idealistic reforms failed miserably. In the year 11 CE the yellow river switched directions, and flooding caused mass deaths. This resulted in violent resistance from peasants and landholders. - Daoist clerics lead the rebel peasants in a march on Wang's capital in Chang'an. Wang was quickly cast out and remembered as a usurper. -Social, political, and economic inequality weakened the Chinese empire. The short-lived Sui Dynasty was overthrown by a governer in 618 CE. -The Tang Dynasty began increasing central power by increasing the number of provinces and government offices.

Why were the Mongols able to create such a huge land empire? What role did climate change play? What were their strategies and advantages? What did they struggle with after conquering so much?

- The Mongol Empire spread from the frontier of the Byzantine Empire in modern Ukraine all the way to Korea. They expanded their reach through conquest, intensified trade, and cultural exchange. - Better at conquering than governing, the Mongols eventually had to yield control to local administrators. The Mongols also struggled against themselves, leading to the collapse of Mongol rule in China and Persia by the fourteenth century. Ultimately their downfall was the plague.

Compare/contrast the "gunpowder empires" that emerged in the Islamic World (Ottomans, Safavids, Mughals). How were they similar or different in religious tolerance, political administration, etc.?

- The Ottomans (early sixteenth century) ruled Anatolia, the Arab world, and much of southern and eastern Europe. The Ottoman Empire was huge and incredibly diverse. Under Chief Osman and his son Orhan, Byzantine Christians, Sufi dervishes, and Shi'ites came together under one, disciplined warrior ethos. The Ottoman Empire absorbed administrative policies from the places they conquered to attract conquered peoples to Ottoman Rule. - The Mughals ruled the northern Indus River Valley. - The Safavids ruled Persia.

What did the Renaissance mean for Europe? Where did its inspiration come from? Did it affect all peoples and all regions of Europe equally? Be ready to discuss specific examples.

- The Renaissance, or rebirth, appeared across Afro-Eurasia following the Black Death. The Renaissance challenged the authority of traditional religious elites. - European's rediscovered Greek and Roman classics, saved by Islamic scholars and drew inspiration from them for architecture, art, philosophy, and political/financial institutions. Western scholars were newly exposed to ancient science predating and developed without pressure from the Catholic Church. - Christian themes such as Jesus's crucifixion and biblical figures such as David and Mary dominated Renaissance art. - Wealthy and well-educated men and women eventually gained the classical knowledge necessary to challenge political and clerical authority.

What made Tang Dynasty China so widely admired in its day? Why do people refer to it as having been "cosmopolitan"? Which neighboring states did it influence, and in what ways?

- The Tang Dynasty promoted a cosmopolitan culture. The capital remained in Chang'an, which boasted a population of one million people. - About a third of the population of Chang'an were immigrants, so the city was incredibly diverse religiously. - Buddhism thrived during this period. - Chinese influence, both direct and indirect, had reached Korea and Japan. - Islam, now exploding in popularity in Afro-Eurasia, replaced the Roman Empire as the counterweight to China's power and wealth. - China became an epicenter for Asian integration and spread its influence into Korea and Japan.

What factors led to the 7th-c. emergence of Islam? What were Muhammad's major teachings and how have those teachings been preserved? What facilitated Islam's rapid spread across Afro-Eurasia?

- The emergence of Islam: The Prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE) was born in Mecca. He wrote the Qur'an ("The Recitation"), which Muslims regard as the word of God. Muhammad himself was not divine. The Hadiths are religious texts that report on the life of Muhammad. At age 40, Muhammad migrated to the city of Medina because he was unhappy with the political/economic situation in Mecca. Muhammad became a religious and political leader in Medina and cemented Islam's emergence as a world religion. - Major Teachings: The five pillars of Islam are 1) The Declaration of Faith, which someone recites when joining Islam, 2) Prayer, which happens for five minutes five times a day, 3) Paying Alms, about 2.5% of invested assets, 4) Fasting in the month of Ramadan from sunrise to sunset, 5) Pilgrimage to Mecca, at least one time in your life. - Spread across Afroeurasia: Followers of Muhammad, the "rightly guided caliphs", who ruled over Muslim peoples and the expanding city-state. Muslim soldiers embarked on imperialistic military conquests and sought to create a large territorial empire.

Mayans

1500 B.C. to 900 A.D. This is the most advanced civilization of the time in the Western Hemisphere. Famous for its awe-inspiring temples, pyramids and cities. A complex social and political order.

Janissaries

30,000 Infantry, originally of slave origin (Christian boys taken from their families around age 8), armed with firearms and constituting the elite of the Ottoman army from the fifteenth century until the corps was abolished in 1826.

Feudalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land.

Teotihuacan

A powerful city-state in central Mexico (100-75 C.E.). Its population was about 150,000 at its peak in 600.

Dynasty

A powerful family or group of rulers that maintains its position or power for some time.

Punic Wars

A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage (264-146 B.C.); resulted in the destruction of Carthage and Rome's dominance over the western Mediterranean.

Monasticism

A way of life in which men and women withdraw from the rest of the world in order to devote themselves to their faith

Five Pillars of Islam

Declaration of faith, prayer, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage

Abbasid

Dynasty that succeeded the Umayyads as caliphs within Islam; came to power in 750 C.E.

Sima Qian

Famous Chinese historian of the early Han dynasty. He is considered the father of Chinese historiography

Fall of Constantinople

Finally overcome by the Ottoman turks in 1453 after constant attack by Germanic/European tribes, Persians and Muslims.

King Zheng

First Emperor of Qin Dynasty, declared himself Shi Huangdi or "First August Emperor" in 221 BCE.

Charlemagne

King of the Franks (r. 768-814); emperor (r. 800-814). Through a series of military conquests he established the Carolingian Empire, which encompassed all of Gaul and parts of Germany and Italy. Illiterate, though started an intellectual revival.

Toltecs

Mesoamerican peoples who filled the political vacuum left by the Teotihuacan's decline. They established a temple-filled capital and commercial hub in Tula.

Rightly guided Caliphs

The first four rulers of the Islamic world (632-661) after the death of Muhammad.

Sinosphere

regions encompassed under heavy Chinese influence

Shia

the branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Julius Caesar

Part of the first triumvirate and eventually became "emperor for life". Chose not to conquer Germany. Was assassinated by fellow senators in 44 B.C.E.

Timbuktu

Port city of Mali; located just off the flood plain on the great bend in the Niger River; population of 50,000; contained a library and university.

Suleiman the Magnificent

The most illustrious sultan of the Ottoman Empire (r. 1520-1566); also known as 'The Lawgiver.' He significantly expanded the empire in the Balkans and eastern Mediterranean.

Faxian and Xuanzang

The most notable pilgrims to visit the land of the Buddha and take notes on it. Xuanzang was world-famous for his sixteen-year pilgrimage to India and his career as a translator of Buddhist scriptures. Faxian was a Chinese Buddhist monk and translator who traveled by foot from Ancient China to Ancient India, visiting many sacred Buddhist sites in Central Asia, the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia between 399-412.

Ulama

The theologians and legal experts of Islam. Best known as the arbiters of sharia law.

Kubilai Khan

(1215-1294) Grandson of Chinggis Khan; commander of Mongol forces responsible for conquest of China; became khagan in 1260; established Sinicized Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1271.

Yuan Dynasty

(1279-1368 CE) The dynasty with Mongol rule in China; centralized with bureaucracy but structure is different: Mongols on top->Persian bureaucrats->Chinese bureaucrats.

Zheng He

(1371-1433) An imperial eunuch and Muslim, entrusted by the Ming emperor Yongle with a series of state voyages that took his gigantic ships through the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to Africa.

Michelangelo

(1475-1564) An Italian sculptor, painter, poet, engineer, and architect. Famous works include the mural on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and the sculpture of the biblical character David.

Qin Dynasty

(221-207 BCE) The first centralized dynasty of China that used Legalism as its base of belief.

Gupta Empire

(320-550 CE) The decentralized empire that emerged after the Mauryan Empire, and whose founder is Chandra Gupta.

Mauryan Empire

(321-185 BCE) This was the first centralized empire of India whose founder was Chandragupta Maurya.

Augustus

(63 BCE - 14 CE) First emperor of Rome (27 BCE - 14 CE) He restored order and prosperity to the Empire after nearly a century of turmoil. Grandnephew to Julius Caesar.

Song Dynasty

(960-1279 CE) The Chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military.

Your textbook refers to Christianity and Buddhism as "universalizing religions" - explain. What made those religions appealing in the 3rd-7th centuries? What was their relationship to empires and political leaders? Did the Silk Road play any role in helping them to spread and win converts?

- A universalizing rel

How did Hinduism emerge from Vedic Brahmanism? What factors led to the changes, and how did the new Hindu faith differ from what came earlier? What was the "Sanskrit Cosmopolis"?

- Brahmanism was a Vedic faith reconstructed to include daily rituals and incorporated Buddhist ideas. They believed that the castes Varnas and Jatis should not intermingle, and that lowborn people should not skew the established hierarchies. - Change from Brahmanism to Hinduism meant the adoption of deities, emphasis on personal devotion, Hinduism was more accessible than Brahmanism because it didn't include the caste system, held the belief of eternal life, and no longer included animal sacrifice. - Sanskrit Cosmopolis: cultural synthesis and the adoption of "New Buddhism" which meant Buddha was regarded as a deity.

Who was Alexander the Great? What were his goals, and what did he accomplish? How did Hellenism spread across Afro-Eurasia? What features mark Hellenistic influence? Did Alexander promote change in other (non-Greek societies), and if so, how?

- Imperialist conqueror from Macedonia who lead his army to the distant regions of Afro-Eurasia - Commanded an army using new military technologies that had developed during the almost constant warfare between greek city-states in fifth and fourth centuries BCE - Sought to connect the western Mediterranean and middle eastern cultures. - Spread Hellenism by exposing formerly Persian lands and people to Mediterranean commodities and cultural ideas - Common language of Koine (greek) - Greek Art (sculpture, theater) - Greek Religion/Philiosophy (cynicism, epicureanism, stoicism, worship of Isis in Egypt) - Redistributed the wealth of the former Persian empire (mostly the wealth found in the old capital of Persepolis) which fueled widespread economic expansion across the Mediterranean city-states, as well as many other, non-greek societies - died young, territories divided by generals into competing regional empires - 1) the Seleucid Empire stretching from Syria to Afghanistan, 2) Macedonia which was ruled by the Antigonids, and 3) Egypt which was ruled by Ptolemies

What facilitated Sub-Saharan Africa becoming better integrated into Afro-Eurasia during the 7th - 11th centuries? What types of evidence confirm greater contact between Africa and Eurasia?

- Islam was carried by traders and scholars well into the African continent. Merchants exchanged weapons and textiles for gold, salt, and slaves. -Ghana (centered on modern day Mali) was the most affluent and prodigious of the political kingdoms that arose due to trade. - East Africa had been visited by muslim seafarers as early as the eighth century CE, and by the tenth century the East African coast featured a combination of African and Arab culture. This lead to the regions evolving Bantu language absorbing arabic words, eventually becoming the modern language Swahili.

Describe some of the differences between Mahayana and Theravada (also known as Hinayana) Buddhism. Consider beliefs as well as areas in which each thrived.

- Mahayana Buddhism: also called "Great Vehicle" Buddhism, a particularly accessible form of the religion that spread along the Silk Road and regarded Buddha and the bodhisattvas a deity. Bodhisattvas were men that chose to forego nirvana to help others achieve enlightenment. Especially prevalent in China, Tibet, Japan, and Korea. - Theravada Buddhism: Believed that Buddha was a god, but did not believe that Bodhisattvas were deities. They are also more loyal to the classic Buddhist texts. Especially prevalent in Sri Lanka, Burma (Myanmar), Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

What would life have been like in the Americas in Teotihuacan or under Mayan rule? What do we know of society, religion, trade, and science/learning? What inhibited the creation of larger, better integrated political empires at that time?

- Mayan Society: The Mayans established political and cultural institutions across a large portion of Mesoamerica. They constructed an elaborate system of roads, and trade connected distant corners of the region. The Mayans practiced blood sacrifice to honor rulers, ancestors, and gods and wrote a religious text called the Popul Vuh that outlined their creation myth. The Mayan empire was made up of several politically independent kingdoms, connected through trade. They created a calendar, charted celestial movements accurately, and marked the passage of time on both solar and lunar calendars. - Teotihuacan: Around 300 BCE, large settlements began to arise in the central plateau. The city of Teotihuacan was the heart of the fertile valley in Mexico and became the largest city until the arrival of the Aztecs almost 1500 years later. Teotihuacan was also home to the Temple of the Feathered Serpent as well as other religious centers where they often practiced human sacrifice. They traded in ceramics, seashells, and ornaments.

How can we account for the rise of Rome from a minor kingdom to a large and powerful republic and then to an empire? What factors contributed to Rome's expansion, success, transformations?

- Rome became a great power that ruled over as many as 60 million subjects. - Stretched from the highlands of Scotland to Sudan, the inner Eurasian steppe in Ukraine to the Atlantic shore of North Africa. - Three factors influenced Rome's imperial expansion: 1) migration of foreign people, 2) Rome's military power, 3) Roman political innovation. - Migration of Foreign People: (450-250 BCE) Celts from Northern Europe migrated to the lands around the Mediterranean which resulted in the permanent dislocation of the Etruscans in Tuscany. Gallic invasions of the Italian Peninsula, though ultimately unsuccessful, weakened the one rival to Roman expansion economically and politically. - Rome's Military Power: Rome conscripted men from the communities that they conquered yearly, and they amassed a huge reserve of manpower. Romans cared a lot about their concept of honor. Roman soldiers were trained harshly, often receiving death sentences for minor infractions. The massive, highly disciplined Roman army destroyed Carthage, winning a decisive battle against Hannibal at Zama in 202 BCE. This gave Rome the island of Sicily and control of most of the Mediterranean. After 200 BCE the Romans conquered the rest of the East Mediterranean kingdoms and annihilated the rest of Carthage. Roman soldiers could be rewarded personally for military conquests. Many were very talented and ambitious men, such as Julius Ceasar in the 50s BCE. Julius Ceasar waged the largest war the region had ever seen, matched nowhere except in China, against the Gauls. - Roman Political Innovation: The Romans referred to their republic as "res publica", which was advised by a senate and governed by popular assemblies of free adult males, who were arranged into voting units based on wealth and social status to elect officers and legislate. They also annually elected ten representatives of the plebs of "common people" to protect their interests against the rich and powerful. In times of severe political consequence, the Romans might elect one many whose word (or dicta, hence dictator) was law for no more than 6 months. These institutions, designed for a city-state, became problematic when applied to an entire empire. Land inequality lead poor Roman citizens to look to their army commanders to provide them with land and income, rather than state institutions. Civil wars between generals and their clans of supporters lasted from 90-30 BCE. Octavian, the adopted son of Julius Ceasar, emerged from these civil wars as the undisputed leader of Rome and began the Pax Romana, or Roman Peace. Pax Romana refers to the period between 25 BCE and 235 CE during which their was peace and economic prosperity.

Compare and contrast the unification of Spain, Portugal, England, France, and Italy during the late fourteenth, fifteenth, and sixteenth centuries.

- Spain experienced expedited economic growth and thus political stability due to its position on the Mediterranean. A new dynasty emerged, one by one the quarreling houses of the Spanish Nobility intermarried, culminating with the marriage of Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon. Their children married into other powerful European families, such as the Hapsburg who ruled over most of central Europe. Terrified by Ottoman incursions, the crown sought to push all non-Catholics out of Spain through the Inquisition. This lack of tolerance for diversity meant that Spain became very homogenous. in 1492, Columbus sailed to the New World, and Spain's economic focus shifted towards the Atlantic not long afterward. - Portugal was also ruled by a monarchy and experienced the same benefits of the Mediterranean as Spain. The Portuguese crossed the Strait of Gibraltar to capture Ceuta in Morocco so that they would have full control of trade. At the end of the thirteenth century, the Portuguese were seeking new territories and trading opportunities in the North Atlantic. Subsequent monarchs maintained the support of aristocrats by granting them capital from conquered lands. - England and France experienced internal feuding, regional warfare, and religious fragmentation that delayed economic recovery after the 100 years war in which the French sought to challenge England's dominance.

Shinto

A Japanese religion whose followers believe that all things in the natural world are filled with divine spirits

Umayyad

A Muslim dynasty that ruled the Islamic world from AD 660 (or 661) to 750 and Moorish Spain from 756 to 1031. The dynasty claimed descent from Umayya, a distant relative of Muhammad.

Humanism

A Renaissance intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focused on human potential and achievements

The Inquisition

A Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy - especially the one active in Spain during the 1400s.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

A branch of Christianity that developed in the Byzantine Empire and that did not recognize the Pope as its supreme leader.

Sunni

A branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Kilwa

A city-state found on east African coast (Zenj); fishing limited trade from 800-1000; turned to agriculture, increased trade in pottery and stoneware; major trading center by 14th century.

Xiongnu

A confederation of nomadic peoples living beyond the northwest frontier of ancient China. Chinese rulers tried a variety of defenses and stratagems to ward off these 'barbarians,' as they called them, and dispersed them in the 1st Century.

Pax Romana

A period of peace and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire, lasting from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180.

Josephus

A first-century Jewish historian, appointed court historian by the Roman emperor Vespasian, whose works The Jewish War and The Antiquities of the Jews are principal resources for information about life in first-century Palestine.

Monarchy

A government ruled by a king or queen.

Junk Ship

A junk is a type of Chinese sailing ship. They were developed during the Song dynasty (960-1279).

Ban Zhao

A major female Confucian author of Han dynasty China (45-116 C.E.) whose works give insight into the implication of Confucian thinking for women.

Dhow Ship

A traditional Arab sailing vessel with one or more lateen sails. It is primarily used to carry heavy items, like fruit, along the coasts of the Arabian Peninsula, Pakistan, India and East Africa. Ships with triangular sails called lateens, maximizing the power of the monsoon trade winds on the Arabian Sea and the wider Indian Ocean.

Genghis Khan

Also known as Temujin; he united the Mongol tribes into an unstoppable fighting force; created largest single land empire in history.

Cahokia

Commercial city on the Mississippi for regional and long distance trade of commodities such as salt, shells, and skins, as well as manufactured goods such as pottery, textiles, and jewelry. The city was marked by massive artificial hills, akin to earthen pyramids, used to honor spiritual forces.

Taika Reforms

An attempt to remake Japanese monarchy into an absolutist Chinese-style emperor; included attempts to create professional bureaucracy and peasant conscript army

Manorialism

An economic system that provided an alternative from feudalism (the hierarchal system of power from kings to lords) in which the 'manor' (all of a lord's land and physical capital) was the basic unit of the economy in western Europe from 1000 to 1300 CE.

Justinian

Byzantine emperor in the 6th century A.D. who reconquered much of the territory previously ruler by Rome, initiated an ambitious building program , including Hagia Sofia, as well as a new legal code

Istanbul

Capital of the Ottoman Empire; named this after 1453 and the sack of Constantinople.

Chang'an

Chang'an was an ancient capital of more than ten dynasties in Chinese history, today known as Xi'an.

Dunhuang

Chinese city located on silk road that transmitted Mahayana Buddhism to China.

Exam system, scholar officials

Chinese imperial examinations were a civil service examination system in Imperial China for selecting candidates for the state bureaucracy. Families often chose one child to prepare for their entire lives for these exams, and only those with the very best scores were employed by the imperial government.

Medina

City in western Arabia to which the Prophet Muhammad and his followers emigrated in 622 to escape persecution in Mecca.

Mecca

City in western Arabia; birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, and ritual center of the Islamic religion.

Samurai

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to a noble in return for land.

Mali Empire

From 1235-1400, this was a strong empire of Western Africa. With its trading cities of Timbuktu and Gao, it had many mosques and universities. The Empire was ruled by two great rulers, Sundiata and Mansa Musa. They upheld a strong gold-salt trade. The fall of the empire was caused by the lack of strong rulers who could govern well.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali (r. 1312-1337). His extravagant pilgrimage through Egypt to Mecca in 1324-1325 established the empire's reputation for wealth in the Mediterranean world.

Vikings

Scandinavian peoples whose sailors raided Europe from the 700s through the 1100s. They sailed in advanced longships that allowed them to travel up rivers, which made them incredibly successful pillagers.

Sufi

The branch of Islam that believes in a more mystical connection with Allah.

Cog Ship

Slow, boxy, deep draft shipped used by Europeans in early exploration. Usually employing a large square sail.

Chimu Empire

South America's first empire, centered at Chan Chan, in the Moche Valley on the Pacific coast from 1000 to 1470 CE, whose development was fueled by agriculture and commercial exchange.

Quanzhou

Starting point of the silk road.This city was established in 718 during the Tang Dynasty (618-907). In those days, Guangzhou was China's greatest seaport, but this status would be surpassed later by Quanzhou. During the Song Dynasty (960-1279) and Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368), Quanzhou was one of the world's largest seaports, hosting a large community of foreign-born inhabitants from across the Eurasian world.

Ming Dynasty

Succeeded Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1368; lasted until 1644; initially mounted huge trade expeditions to southern Asia and elsewhere, but later concentrated efforts on internal development within China.

Empress Wu

Tang ruler 690-705 CE in China; supported Buddhist establishment; tried to elevate Buddhism to state religion; had multistory statues of Buddha created

Tula

The capital city of the Toltec; when it was destroyed, the civilization ended.

Equal field (well field) system

The well-field system was a Chinese land distribution method. It meant that land was distributed in groups of nine equal sized squares, with the outer 8 being private land, and the inner block being public land.Its name comes from Chinese character 井 (jǐng), which means 'well' and looks like the # symbol.

Kiev

Trade city in southern Russia established by Scandinavian traders in 9th century; became focal point for kingdom of Russia that flourished to 12th century.

Byzantium

the eastern portion of the Roman empire; lasted 1000 years after the fall of Western Rome

Quran

the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina