AP Prep Sessions

1. AP Prep Sessions Period 3: Regional and Trans-regional Interactions, c. 600 C.E to c. 1450.

2. Big Picture Questions How does change occur within societies? (trading, migrations, and invasions. Also, internal and external developments) How similar were the economic and trading practices that developed across cultures? (monetary systems, trade routes, and trade practices) How does the environment impact human decision making? (do they move or send out raiding parties? Are the responses quick enough?)

3. Middle East, c. 600-1450

4. The Rise of Islam • Islam – 7th century, monotheistic • Muslims – Followers of Islam • Muhammad – Allah sent his words through him to the faithful. • Quran – holy book containing Allah’s words • Jihad – “to struggle” to be a better Muslim and against non-believers

5. The Rise of Islam Five Pillars of Faith • Confession • Prayer five times a day • Charity • Fasting • Pilgrimage to Mecca Commonalities/Differences • Accepts Abraham, Moses and Jesus as prophets • Muhammad was last prophet • All equal before god • Sunni / Shia split

6. The Rise of Islam • Muhammad preached Islam in Mecca • Leadership wanted to hold onto polytheistic shrines to make money off of pilgrimage • Muhammad was persecuted and fled to Medina in 622 (hijra). • Returned to Mecca and destroyed the pagan shrines except for the Ka’ba • Ka’babecame the main site for Muslim pilgrimages

7. The Caliphate • Caliph – head of state, military commander, chief judge and religious leader • Theocracy • Caliphate • Tolerant of local customs of conquered peoples Umayyad Dynasty • Capital moved to Damascus, Syria • Mecca was spiritual center • Arabic was official language • Conquered peoples encouraged to convert • Charles Martel stopped the advance of Muslims into Europe

8. Umayyad Dynasty Split in Islam (Problems with succession) • ShiaIslam – Muhammad’s son in law, Ali, is rightful heir • Sunnis – leader should be chosen within the Islamic community • Sufis - Islamic mystics, most effective missionaries. Stressed personal relationship with Allah. Personalized way of revering Allah and tolerance/blend of other religions allowed Islam to expand. • Umayyad replaced by the Abbasid Dynasty, 750.

9. Abbasid Dynasty, p 136 Golden age of Islam • 750-1258, defeated by the Mongols • Capital at Baghdad • Built around trade, used credit to replace carrying coins, receipts and bills. This system would spread to Europe and elsewhere. • Built museums and filled them with scholarly works (Western civilization works: Athens and Rome survived despite violent clashes) • Medical encyclopedia, algebra

10. Women and Islam • Muhammad created rules that protected women and gave them some control over their property and right to divorce. • Muslim men could have up to four wives • Quran also states that they must all be cared for equally. • Spiritually, women who were devout and had good morals would receive Allah’s blessing just as men would. after the prophet’s death, there were increased restrictions on elite women. • Veiling was keeping with earlier pre-Islamic practices in this part of the world, and most were difficult and impractical to apply to lower class women.

11. Eastern Europe, 600-1450

12. The Byzantine Empire A smaller but more organized Roman Empire • Byzantium was really the eastern section of the Roman Empire, becoming the sole heir to Rome after it fell in 476. • Byzantium never regained control over the western Mediterranean (except for a brief period under Emperor Justinian, 527–565) • much smaller in terms of territory • strong administration and could mobilize its wealth for warfare

13. The Byzantine Empire Wealth and splendor of the court • Sitting astride the trade routes between the East and West, the empire was extremely wealthy. The empire had a decidedly Greek character but also influences from Persian court ceremonies, such as high officials in silk robes. Political power was centralized in the figure of the emperor. Under attack from the West and East, 1085–1453 • The empire sustained some four centuries of assaults from hostile Western states such as Venice, Catholic crusaders, and Muslim Turkic armies before Constantinople finally fell to the Ottoman forces in 1453

14. The Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Church and Christian Divergence • Caesaropapism: Byzantine emperor was head of the church and the state. • Intense internal theological debates: in the Orthodox faith, there were debates over the nature of Jesus and his relationship to the Trinity and whether or not icons should be used as representations of God and Jesus. Many of these disputes led to violence within Byzantium. • Orthodox/Catholic divide: While both Western and Eastern Europe were Christian and had many similarities stemming from a shared faith, they each interpreted the faith in their own manner and were extremely suspicious of and hostile to the other faith. When the Roman Pope declared that he was the head of all Christians, the Byzantine emperor who was head of state and the church strongly disagreed. In 1054, representatives of both churches excommunicated each other, thus saying that the other faith was not truly Christian.

15. The Byzantine Empire Impact of the Crusades • When the Crusades started in 1095, things went from bad to worse as Catholic troops behaved poorly, if not violently, in Byzantine lands. • The Fourth Crusade of 1204 plundered Constantinople and held the city for several decades. • The Crusades marked an irreparable divide between east and west • The Crusades did give Western Europeans exposure to new goods such as sugar and spice and ideas from Islamic technology to Greek learning.

16. The Byzantine Empire Conflicts with Persians, Arabs, and Turks • Byzantium continued the Roman Empire’s conflict with the Persian Empire, which in turn weakened both of them and allowed the Arabs to seize Persia. • Byzantium held out against the Arab attacks, using such technology as “Greek fire,” Long-distance trade, coins, and silk production • the empire became very wealthy due to trade. Its coins were used as currency and even jewelry throughout the Mediterranean for some five centuries. Preservation of Greek learning • Byzantine libraries preserved Greek texts from the golden age of Hellenic thought at a time when such learning was lost in the West. These texts would later be introduced to the West

17. Conversion of Russia KievanRus • This was a state in present Russia and the Ukraine. • Composed of diverse people including Finns, Vikings, and Balts as well as Slavs, the area engaged in long-distance trade networks along its rivers that linked Scandinavia to Byzantium. • The region had a diverse religious make-up with various nature gods and small numbers of Jews, Christians, and Muslims. Prince Vladimir of Kiev • decided against Islam as his people were fond of drinking—perhaps a little too fond, some might say. • Eastern Orthodoxy was attractive as the Byzantine state was wealthy and powerful and a marriage alliance sealed the decision. Doctrine of a “third Rome” • Rus borrowed from Byzantium, (icons, architectural style, a monastic tradition, and imperial control of the church). • When Constantinople fell in 1453, the Rus declared that they were the “third Rome” as the first Rome had abandoned its faith and the second fell to the Muslims.

18. Western Europe, 600-1450

19. Political Life in Western Europe, 500–1000 What was lost with the fall of Rome? • With overthrow of the last Roman emperor in the West in 476, Rome officially fell. • this was merely a moment in a long-term decline of central authority and civilization in the West. Central political authority collapsed, cities shrunk and decayed, literacy was lost, roads fell apart, trade broke down, barter replaced a standard currency, and diseases spread among desperate people. What aspects of Rome survived? • Germanic peoples, once viewed as barbarians by Romans, adopted Roman law and military organization. Charlemagne as a Roman emperor, 800 • The survival of the dream of Rome is best seen in the crowning of King Charlemagne (r. 768–814) as a new Roman emperor by the Pope in 800. • As king of the Carolingian Empire, he sought to re-establish a standard imperial infrastructure, bureaucracy, and system of weights and measures. • Later Otto I of Saxony (r. 936–973) would take the title of Holy Roman Emperor

20. Society and the Church • Feudalism and Serfdom • political and military system that created political, economic, and social power of isolated land estates or manors. • Manors fell into the hands of wealthy warriors. • As these warrior elites were in constant competition with each other, lesser knights and lords swore loyalty to the stronger warriors. • Frequently they would receive land and loot for their military service. • peasants were increasingly not personal property but were tied to the land on which they worked and not free to leave. • In return for access to land, they had to pay some of their crops and other produce to the lord. In return they also received protection.

21. Role of the church: • The Roman Catholic Church, with its hierarchical organization of priests, bishops, and cardinals, was the only surviving institution of the Roman past. • Its organization allowed it to administer the faith, in Latin, and also to amass wealth via taxation. • Spreading the faith • The church worked to convert pagan Europeans to Christianity in a long and sometimes slow process. • Often pagan practices, sites, and holidays were remade as Christian rituals, churches, and sacred days. • On occasion, force was used to spread the faith. • Conflicts between church and state • With the church being the only pan-European institution and relatively weak kings eager to build power within their realms, secular sacred tensions flared over wealth and the right to appoint bishops.

22. Accelerating Change in the West • New security after 1000 • After centuries of Muslim, Viking, and Magyar attacks, security settled into Europe. • High Middle Ages (1000–1300) • This era of economic, political, and demographic growth is known as the High Middle Ages. • Revival of long-distance trade • Essential to economic growth was the revival of trade routes. Regional routes connected the British Isles to the coast and onto the Baltic Sea, rivers connected the coasts to the interior, and the cities of the Mediterranean established circuits of commerce.

23. Urbanization and specialization of labor • Substantial growth in the cities saw a specialization of labor and professions. • Guilds served as a method of organizing and monitoring specific professions. • Territorial kingdoms, Italian city-states, and German principalities • With the new security and economic growth, the states became more powerful. • City-states characterized Italy • numerous small states dominated the German lands. • Rise and fall of opportunities for women • men reasserted control and either removed women from certain trades or downgraded their role. • Women also lost control over certain church to men from the clergy

24. Catching Up Backwards Europe • Western Europe was behind the great civilizations of Eurasia. • Visitors to Europe saw them as barbarians, and Europeans who went abroad realized their poverty. New trade initiatives • When the Mongols conquered the entire Silk Roads, European merchants such as Marco Polo ventured all the way to China and brought back tales of wealth and sophistication. Agricultural breakthroughs • Europe’s growth lay in its agricultural revolution. • New plows, horse harnesses, and crop rotation techniques increased grain production, which allowed for population growth, developed of a surplus, and labor specialization. • Europeans used wind and water mills to grind grain but also power the production of crafts goods from tanned hides to beer. • A variety of technologies came from China, India, and the Arab world, and Europeans incorporated and built upon them. • Development of cannons and the use of magnetic compasses, shipbuilding, advances in sails and rudders, and navigations techniques that allowed Europeans to start to project power overseas.

25. Reason and Faith Connections to Greek thought • In the early years of Christianity, Greek philosophy was part of the explanation and understanding of faith. • with the post-Roman decline, access to these texts and ideas was lost. Autonomous universities • universities were established in various cities. • they maintained a high degree of independence and intellectual freedom. A new interest in rational thought • new interest in applying reason to explain the world and to explain the Christian faith. • This was first seen in subjecting theology to critical inquiry, and later rational inquiry was applied to the natural world. Search for Greek texts • Scholars got ahold of texts from centers of learning in these cultures. Direct access to these texts spurred further study and the development of philosophical activity.

26. Developments in Asia, 600-1450

27. Golden Age” of Chinese Achievement Sui (589–618), Tang (618–907), & Song (960–1279) • While both Han and Rome collapsed, China was reunified under the Sui. • The Sui marked many achievements such as dramatic expansion of the canals • short-lived dynasty as their emperors were harsh and warlike. • The Tang and Song built upon the achievements of the Sui and established a state system that would last over a thousand years. • The Tang and Song were noteworthy for their political achievements but also for their cultural vibrancy and economic dynamism. Bureaucracy and exam system • These dynasties formalized and expanded the Confucian-based exam system. • In theory, they cracked down on cheating, and the exams were open to all regardless of class. • However, there were irregularities, and the wealthy elite had an economic advantage in that they could pay for schooling and tutors. • Nonetheless, schools and colleges grew in number, and the system that trained the efficient bureaucracy that governed China was an apparent success.

28. Economic boom, population growth, and urbanization • the canal system allowed the cheap transportation of rice and wheat over long distances, there was a major economic boom in this period. • Chinese farmers could produce specialized crops for specific markets. • More food meant more people, and China more than doubled its population in this period. • Cities saw tremendous growth and the development of increasingly productive and sophisticated industries. • environmental consequences with much of China’s forest being cut down for fuel. • Hangzhou: With a population of over one million, was the world’s largest city.

29. Women in the Song Dynasty • Tang freedoms, Song patriarchy: While elite women enjoyed various freedoms in the Tang dynasty (due to its cultural influences from the nomadic steppes), the Song era saw a renewed patriarchy based on a very conservative reading of Confucius. • Weak and distracting: In the Song, men were to be scholars and administrators and women were viewed as weak and distracting. • Foot binding: The practice grew in popularity under the Song. While associated with a construction of frail beauty, the practice also restricted the freedom of women. • Changing job opportunities: With the commercialization of weaving, many were pushed out of the textile labor force. However, they found new jobs in other professions such as domestic service, retail, and entertainment (including work as concubines). Women did see an increase in their property rights, as well as new access to education.

30. Coping with China: Comparing Korea, Vietnam, and Japan Korea and China 1. Silla (688–900), Koryo (918–1392), and Yi (1392–1910): With aid from the Tang dynasty, the Silla were the first Korean state to unite the warlike leaders of the peninsula. While they did receive Tang aid, they fiercely guarded their independence. 2. Tribute, Confucian students, and Confucian patriarchy: The new Korean state did agree to be a tribute state and sent many students to China to study the Confucian classics. Later, Confucian schools were developed in Korea. A very orthodox interpretation of Confucianism led to serious restrictions on Korean women. 3. Yet distinctly Korean: While there was a strong Sinitic influence on the Korean elite, little of this made its way down to the poor Korean peasants, living in serf-like conditions. The elite also maintained their language and culture, even developing an alphabet called hangul rather than using Chinese characters

31. Vietnam and China • 1,000 years of Chinese rule (111 B.C.E.- 939 C.E.): The Han conquered the Vietnamese heartland around the Red River and ruled it as part of China for 1,000 years. Many Chinese migrated south, bringing Confucianism, culture, and administrative systems. • Sinicizationof the elite: This prolonged contact thoroughly sinicized the elite. The Vietnamese elite lived as part of the greater Chinese world and were a cultural distinct from the lower classes. • Independent tribute state: While independence was won from a fierce rebellion, the new Vietnamese state became a tribute state of China and used Chinese systems and symbols in its statecraft. • Many Southeast Asia cultural practices: While the elite were very much in the Chinese cultural world, the lower classes were part of a greater Southeast Asian world, enjoying cockfighting, the betel nut, and greater freedoms for women.

32. Japan and China • Voluntary and selective borrowing: Because of Japan’s physical distance from China, it was never conquered. This allowed the Japanese to voluntarily and selectively borrow what they wanted from China without having anything forced on them. • ShotokuTaishi (572–622): A prominent aristocrat who led the movement to study the Chinese political system and use it as a model for the new Japanese state. He launched several large missions where students, monks, scholars, and artists visited China to learn what they could and bring it back to Japan. • Decentralized state creates the Samurai: The Japanese never created the fully centralized Chinese-style state system. As the emperor was often more ceremonial, the real power fell into the hands of the regional warriors. • Buddhism and Shinto: While Buddhism was a Chinese import, it did not replace the indigenous veneration of kami or local spirits. Indeed, many Japanese blended Buddhism with Shinto spirit worship. • Relative freedom of elite women: Compared to Korean women, Japanese elite women enjoyed much more freedom. Property rights and divorce regulations were much more favorable. This may be because the Japanese studied China during the more liberal Tang dynasty. There were many great works of literature written by elite Japanese women.

33. Spillovers: China’s Impact on Eurasia • Salt making, paper, and printing: China’s innovations spread far past its borders and were adopted in the Islamic world and Europe. Paper was a huge innovation and spread through the Islamic world very quickly. While Muslim cultures valued calligraphy and did not take to printing, Europeans would develop printing when they began to use paper (it is unclear if there was a Chinese influence on European printing). Paper and printing allowed for the spread of literacy in Europe, stimulating important changes in the coming centuries. • Gunpowder and the compass: Other technologies were modified and expanded upon. Gunpowder, for example, was refined as a key component of warfare by Muslim armies that made cannons and Europeans who would develop personal firearms. Sailors around the world tinkered with the technology of the compass, adapting it to their specific needs. • Finished goods from China, commodities to China: The Chinese economy produced finished goods such as textiles and porcelains for export to distant markets. In return, Chinese began to consume commodities such as spices from the islands of Southeast Asia. This process served to build mutually dependent markets of consumers and producers

34. Making Buddhism Chinese • Foreignness of Buddhism: When Buddhism first came to China via the Silk Roads during the Han dynasty, it was perceived as too foreign and un-Chinese. The emphasis on individual salvation and withdrawal into monasteries conflicted with the Confucian emphasis on the family and social obligations to be engaged in making the world a more harmonious place. Buddhists’ discussions of infinite time fell on deaf ears to a culture that measures time by generations and dynasties. • Social instability and Buddhist comforts: Once the Han dynasty began to crumble and then collapse, Buddhism quickly made inroads into Chinese society as Confucianism was discredited and the world became an unstable and dangerous place. While Buddhist teachings gave meaning to a world in chaos and explained suffering as a part of life, monks provided shelter for travelers and refugees. Soon Chinese from all levels of society turned to the Buddha’s message, and elite Chinese began to sponsor monasteries and other institutions.

35. Translating words and concepts: Buddhist monks also made a concerted effort to translate the terms and concepts of the faith into a meaningful and acceptable message for Chinese society. For example, there was a greater emphasis on patriarchy. • Mahayana and the Pure Land School: With its emphasis on relics, rituals, and deities, the Mahayana branch of the faith spread in China. A popular form of Buddhism was the Pure Land School, which taught that simply repeating the name of an earlier Buddha, Amitabha, would lead to rebirth in a land of paradise. Salvation by faith rather than intensive meditation or study made Indian Buddhism a popular and more Chinese faith. • Sui emperor Wendi and state support: Under the Sui dynasty, emperor Wendi built monasteries at China’s five sacred mountains and used it as a rationale for his reign and military campaigns. With state support, monasteries became important commercial enterprises and amassed great wealth. The state supervised the exam system for entry into the monkhood and kept other forms of state control over the Buddhist institutions.

36. Losing State Support: The Crisis of Chinese Buddhism • Resentment of wealth, withdrawal, and foreignness: Many resented Buddhism for a variety of reasons. The tax-exempt wealth that the monasteries amassed due to their commercial activities drew jealousy from many quarters, not the least the state, who saw lost revenues. Others did not like Buddhist ideas about withdrawing from society and celibacy as they conflicted with Confucian emphasis on the family. Others disliked the foreign origins and nature of the faith. • An Lushan rebellion (755–763): The rebellion against the Tang dynasty was led by a general of foreign origin and increased Chinese xenophobia.

37. Losing State Support: The Crisis of Chinese Buddhism Han Yu’s Confucian counterattack (819): He launched a counterattack on Buddhism, telling the emperor that the Buddha spoke a foreign language, not that of the Chinese kings. Imperial persecution (841–845): A series of decrees ordered hundreds of thousands of monks and nuns to return to a normal, tax-paying life. Temples and monasteries were destroyed or taken over by the state, and Buddhists could not use precious metals and gems in their art work.

38. The Mongols • Desperate and poor childhood: After his father was murdered, his resourceful mother led the immediate family through a marginal existence. But as he won a series of battles and forged alliances based on loyalty and not kinship, Temujin steadily built up a powerful force. • Generous to friends, ruthless to enemies: In this process, he gained a reputation for destroying his enemies but rewarding those loyal to him. He also incorporated warriors from defeated tribes into his army. • Supreme leader of a Great Mongol Nation, 1206: A tribal assembly made him the great leader and gave him the title of Chinggis Khan. • Started five decades of expansionist wars, 1209: To build more power but also to hold the Mongol alliance together, he started a series of expansionist wars that eventually conquered China and Central Asia. The empire was only checked in Eastern Europe, the Levant, the jungles of Southeast Asia, and the Sea of Japan. He set in motion the building of the world’s largest land based empire and it was run by a population of only 1,000,000.

39. Explaining the Mongol Moment • No plan or blueprint: Like the Romans, but growing much bigger much faster, the Mongols created objectives, strategy, and ideology as they expanded. They were only checked when they turned around in Eastern Europe, were defeated in the Levant and the jungles of Southeast Asia, or hit by typhoons when invading Japan. • Weak enemies and a strong army: The Mongols were lucky in that both the Chinese and Arab empires were in a weak and divided condition when they attacked. They also succeeded by organizing a superior army with a clear command and control structure. • Discipline, loyalty, and charisma … and loot!: The army faced severe discipline, including the death penalty for desertion, but loyalty was greatly rewarded. Chinggis Khan had great charisma, eating and fighting with his troops. The Mongol people also became very wealthy from the loot of the empire. • Incorporation of useful conquered people: The Mongols made good use of conquered people who had skills, such as artisans and technicians.

40. Explaining the Mongol Moment • Ruthless and terrifying: When attacking or taking revenge against an insult, the Mongol army was ruthless and engaged in huge massacres and the enslavement of women and children. This had a clear psychological impact on cities faced with a coming Mongol horde. • Strong administration and systematic taxation: Despite their ruthlessness in battle, the Mongols showed excellent administrative skills after the conquest. With a system of riders for communication and well-organized taxation, the Mongol Empire had the resources and infrastructure to govern itself. • Favorable conditions for merchants: Recognizing the value of a vibrant economy, the Mongols ensured profits and safe conduct for merchants. • Religious toleration: With no interest in religious imperialism, the Mongols tolerated various religions and even improved the conditions of some minorities such as Christians.

41. China and the Mongols • 70 years of conquests, 1209–1279: China was the main target of the Mongols and in 1209, Chinggis Khan launched an attack on this wealthy and prosperous region. After a series of campaigns lasting some seven decades, the Mongols were victorious. While the Mongols were brutal and destructive in the north of China, they were much more accommodating in the south. • Yuan Dynasty and Kublai Khan (r. 1271–1294): The Mongols did adopt some aspects of Chinese statecraft in order to rule the region more effectively and withdraw as much wealth as possible. They went so far as to establish a Chinese-style dynasty. Kublai Khan, the grandson of Chinggis Khan, listened to the council of his favorite wife Chabi and adopted policies that encouraged agricultural production in order to generate more wealth. The Mongols adopted some aspects of Chinese ancestor veneration and built roads, canals, and other forms of infrastructure to promote commerce. • A foreign and exploitative occupation: While the Mongols did try to accommodate their Chinese subjects, they were foreign occupiers who were there to extract as much wealth as possible and were thus resented by the Chinese. Mongols’ disregard of the exam system and their reliance on foreigners such as Muslims from Central Asia and the Middle East to administer the empire irked many. The Mongol elite kept many of their traditional practices such as sleeping in tents even when in the capital. • Collapse of Mongol rule and rise of the Ming Dynasty: Factionalism among the Mongols, rising prices, and a series of natural disasters weakened the their hold on power and allowed some space for rebels to challenge their authority. The Yuan Dynasty was overthrown in 1368, and the new Ming Dynasty sought to eliminate the memory of the Mongols

42. Persia and the Mongols • ChinggisKahn (1219–1221) and Helugu (1251–1258): Two brutal attacks brought down the Persian Empire, falling much faster than China. These attacks were much more intense and devastating than earlier assaults from Turkic invaders. They were also more psychologically devastating, because unlike the Turks, the Mongols were not Muslims but pagan barbarians. • Damage to agriculture: Out of a lack of respect for agriculture and because of the damage caused by the Mongols’ herds, there was serious damage to the region’s farmland. Important underground irrigation systems fell apart, leading to desertification of some areas. • Persian civilization of barbarian Mongols: The Persians had a much more significant impact on the Mongols than the Chinese did. The invaders quickly realized the importance of the Persian bureaucracy and used it for their own purposes. They also began to rebuild damaged cities and road systems. When the dynasty fell in the 1330s, the Persians did not expel the Mongols but rather assimilated them into Persian culture.

43. Russia and the Mongols • Brutal invasion of a disunited KievanRus (1237–1240): Using technology such as catapults and battering rams gained from campaigns in China and Persia, the invasion of the KievanRus was an impressive assault on a weak and disunited people. • Khanate of the Golden Horde: This was the Russian term for Mongol rule. • Exploitation without occupation: While the invasion was impressive and devastated some areas, the Mongols chose not to occupy the relatively poor and isolated Rus. Instead they settled nearby on the steppes and pastoral lands north of the Caspian and Black Seas. They put them within striking distance of the cities from which they extorted tribute. • Resistance and collaboration: Some cities chose to resist and faced brutal retaliation. Kiev, for example, was razed. Others collaborated and helped the Mongols collect tribute and taxes and wound up doing very well for themselves. • Rise of Moscow and expansion of the church: Moscow rose as the core of a new Russian state that adopted Mongol weapons, diplomacy, taxation, court system, and a draft. The Russian Orthodox Church enjoyed Mongol tolerance and tax exemption and spread its reach deeper into the countryside.

44. Toward a World Economy • Not producers or traders but promoters of commerce: While the Mongols did not make anything or engage in trade, they did promote production and commerce in the regions they controlled, providing tax breaks for merchants and sometimes paying high prices to attract commerce to their cities. • Security on the Silk Roads: The most important contribution was an unprecedented security on the Silk Roads. This allowed for a dramatic increase in trade throughout Central Asia, with many individuals making the entire journey from west to east and back. Marco Polo was the most famous but many others used guidebooks on their trips. • Connected to the larger world system: The Mongol trade circuit connected to other trade networks throughout the rest of Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Middle east, Africa, and Europe, doing much to forge a global economy.

45. The Plague: An Afro-Eurasian Pandemic • The Black Death: A mutation of the Yersinia Pestis, or bubonic plague, spread quickly and killed large numbers in areas of dense populations. The death spread during the increase of trade, from fleas that lived on rats. • China, 1331, Europe, 1347, and East Africa, 1409: Starting in China, the disease followed the world trade routes and savaged cities across Afro-Eurasia. Some estimate that 50 percent of Europeans may have perished. • The end of the world? In a prescientific era of high religiosity, some in the Christian and Islamic worlds saw it as the end days. • Social changes in Europe: With so many dead, there were labor shortages that provided new opportunities for skilled workers, women, and peasants. This mass death set in motion several important social changes. There was also a rise in labor-saving devices, spurring new technological innovations in Europe. • Demise of the Mongol Empire: The biggest victim of the Black Death was the Mongol Empire itself. With trade disrupted, the economic heart of the empire failed. Mongol wealth decreased and rebellions increased.

46. After the Yuan: The Ming Ming Dynasty China • Emperor Yongle (r. 1402–1422): This emperor sponsored a number of important projects to get China back on track after the Mongols, including public works, building a new capital complete with new temples and courts, overseas missions, and the writing of an enormous Encyclopedia. • Confucianism and anti-Mongol policies: In a move to wipe out the Mongol legacy and rebuild the Chinese state system, Yongle and others promoted Confucianism and the exam system as a form of re-sinicizing China. • Economic boom: As the Ming repaired infrastructure and fields damaged by the Mongols, the state set in motion substantial economic growth. • Zheng He’s voyages (1405–1433): One of the most remarkable moments in the Ming Dynasty were the massive fleets sponsored by Yongle and commanded by Admiral Zheng He. For several decades, hundreds of ships with 27,000 men sailed the China seas and the Indian Ocean, demonstrating Chinese power. However, this was not a mission to colonize or conqueror, but rather a trade mission that encouraged the expansion of the tribute state system. The fleet was suddenly recalled and scuttled in the 1430s, and the Ming turned away from sending merchants out to the world and, instead, let the world come to China.

47. The Islamic World, 600-1450.

48. In the Islamic Heartland: The Ottoman and Safavid Empires 1. Ottoman size, strength, and longevity: The Ottoman Empire is one of the great empires in world history. Its scale, power, and age, as well as its cultural achievements, place it in the same category as China. 2. 1453: Turkish threat to Europe: While the Crusades marked a period where Christendom was on the offensive against Islam, the Turks built a massive military that ended the Byzantine Empire in 1453 with the taking of Constantinople, making them the heirs to Rome. The Ottoman Turks would then lead a series of military campaigns into Europe, laying siege to Vienna in 1529. 3. Shia Safavids versus Sunni Ottomans: After 1500, the Safavids emerged as a rival to the Ottomans. Based in Persia, they promoted the Shia branch of Islam and thus fueled a sectarian conflict with the Sunni Ottomans.

49. On the Frontiers of Islam: The Songhay and Mughal Empires • Islam and the trans-Sahara trade: Islam came to West Africa via the trans-Sahara trade. The Songhay Empire was an Islamic successor to previous empires in the region. On the edge of the Muslim world, the Songhay spread Islam but also blended African traditions into their practice and culture. • Political unity and religious diversity in India: The Mughals brought a rare moment of political unity to India. Ruling over a mostly Hindu population, they were initially very tolerant of non-Muslims and created a diverse and vibrant cultural world. • Muslim merchants and Sufi mystics in Southeast Asia: The Muslims empires promoted both the expansion of trade and the faith by sending merchants into Southeast Asia and on to China. Sufi mystics helped to spread Islam in maritime Southeast Asia. • Malacca: Sitting at one of the key trade routes in the world, Malacca was an Islamic city-state that became famously wealthy and cosmopolitan thanks to its access to trade and by providing safe and reliable port facilities

50. Developments in Africa, 600-1450.