Unit 1: The Global T
Regions East Asia
Environment China: Isolated by seas, ocean, desert and
mountains; Huanghe and Chang Jiang deposits
silt
Japan: 4000 islands; most lived on Hokkaido,
Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu; 12% of land
suitable for farming; little natural resources;
natural disasters; separated from China by East
China Sea
Korea: mountainous land; mountainous barrier
next to China
Cultural / religious China: Three major religions (review):
developments Confucianism: five relationships, social harmony
Buddhism: end all desires
Theravada buddhism - personal spiritual growth;
SE Asia
Mahayana Buddhism - spiritual growth for all
beings, service; China and Korea
Tibetan Buddhism - chanting, Tibet
Daoism: withdraws from the world, nature
Syncretic religions, originated in Tang:
Chan (Zen) buddhism - Daoism + Buddhism
Neo-confucianism - Confucianism + Daoism +
Buddhism, critical of Daoism and Buddhism
Influenced Japan and Korea
Japan: promoted Buddhism and Confucianism
along with Shinto, respected natural forces and
worship ancestors; emulated Chinese art and
literature during Heian period (792 - 1185); The
Tale of Genji, world’s first novel in 11th century
Korea: adopted Buddhism, Confucianism, and
Chinese writing system
Dar al-Islam
The Arabian Peninsula consists of a large
central plateau, a variety of deserts, marshy
coast lands, and stretches of mountains; It
has a desert climate with little rivers and
lakes.
Crossroads of three continents—Africa,
Europe, and Asia; ancient Iran boasted a
wealth of minerals.
Islam (review):
founded by Muhammad in 7th century in
Mecca
one god - Allah
holy book: Qur’an
Muslims worship in Mosques
Five pillars: faith, prayer, alms, fasting,
pilgrimage
Muslims are tolerant to Christianity and
Judaism, calls them “people of the book”
Branches:
Sunni, all can be elected as caliph, majority Hindu temple using materials from native
Shi’a, caliph must be Muhammad’s relative temples; Urdu melded the grammatical pattern
Sufi, pursue life of poverty and devotion
The Arab tribes and nomadic herders are
called Bedouins.
Literature: Qur’an is the standard, “One
Thousand and One Nights,” “Clear
Inspiration, on Praise of the Trusted One” spread Hinduism, respond to Islam
poem honors Muhammad; Sufi missionaries Vietnam: adopted Chinese writing system and
spread Islam
Art: Calligraphy is the only form of art
because only Allah can create living things,
expressed they gratitude to Allah
Architecture: the huge dome and vaulted
ceiling of the mosque blended Byzantine
architecture with Muslim ideas, shows
cultural blending.
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South and Southeast Asia
South Asia: includes (India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka)isolated by
mountains and deserts; Indo-Gangetic Plain
formed by the Indus and the Ganges river
(unpredictable flooding), south is Deccan
plateau; 10-2, dry winter monsoon from NE;
6-10, moist summer monsoon
SE Asia: Consists of Indochina, the mainland
peninsula that borders China to the north and
India to the west, and the islands, the largest of
which include Sumatra, Borneo, and Java;
warm, humid tropics; Monsoon winds bring
heavy seasonal rains.
Hindu (review):
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The native Hindu and Buddhist religions
initially clashed with Islam, eventually
voluntary. Lower caste Hindus (equality) and
Buddhists (disorganized) converted. Islam
adapted to local culture, e.g. women’s roles.
Melding of cultures: Buildings show artistic
details of Hindu art and the geometric patterns
in Islamic architecture, e.g. Qutub Minar,
towering over a mosque built on top of a
of Hindi, and with the vocabulary of Arabic
and some elements of Farsi
Bhakti Movement: Hindus focused on
relating to a particular deity rather than rituals,
does not discriminate, similar to Sufi muslims,
architecture
Political system China: Imperial bureaucracy and meritocracy,
job based on civil exam
Song: the Northern Song (960-1127), the
Southern Song (1127-1279)
Yuan: 1279-1368
Ming: 1368-1644
Japan: Feudal society (1185 - 1868) after Heian
period, large landowners have great power and
private armies, shogun controls puppet emperor
Korea: centralized government like China; no
merit-based system because of strong elite
Economic system Economy flourished:
Expanded Grand Canal
Jiaozi, world’s first banknote
Innovations increased yields (see below)
Great manufacturing capability
Silk road and south China sea trading, as far as
East Africa
Tribute System with neighboring countries
Social system China: Scholar gentry + aristocracy → farmers, Merchants are prestigious; discrimination
artisans, and merchants → peasants; low status of against non-Arabs; only enslave non-
women - foot binding
Japan: shogun, daimyo, samurai (bushido) and freedom; some but limited female rights,
serfs
Caliphs rules the muslim world. The
“rightly guided” caliphs → Umayyads,
extravagant → Abbasids (750 - 1258),
stable and prosperous
Muslims are tolerant to conquered people
Threats: Christian Crusaders; Mongols;
shifts in trade, new political entities after
the Abbasid Caliphate fragmented:
Mamluk Sultanate in Egypt (1250–1517),
Mamluks are enslaved people, frequently
Turks
Seljuk Empire (1037–1194) influenced by
Turkish, Persian and Arab cultures
Delhi sultanates in the Indian subcontinent
(1206–1526)
al-Andalus: Umayyads invaded Spain from
the south in 711 with Córdoba as capital;
defeated in Battle of Tours (732); ruled for
several more centuries, ended in the
Reconquista of Spain, when Christians
drove Muslims out of Spain, completed by
1492
Slave soldiers: innovation of muslims
Ghilman (Ghulam)
Mamelukes
Janissary, Turkish infantry of Sultans guard
between 14th and 19th centuries
promoted trade, allowing Chinese and
Southeast Asian products to enter into Spain goods, and textiles in the region and brought
and thus into the rest of Europe
monotheistic people, may buy their
could remarry and divorce
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Southern India: Chola Dynasty (850 - 1267),
Vijayanagara Empire (1336–1646) Hindu
Northern India: Gupta Empire; Rajput
kingdoms, multiple Hindu clans, no central
government
Islam invasions: 8th century invaded
Pakistan, limited influence; 11th century
looted Hindu and Buddhist sites while erecting
mosques; 13th century conquered much of the
northern portion of South Asia, forming the
Delhi Sultanate, reigning for 300 years, some
converted, others pay jizya, no efficient
bureaucracy; overthrown by Muhgals of
Mongolian descent
Vietnam: decentralized government; scholar-
officials are loyal to their villages; pushed out
Chinese occupation in 8th century
SE Asia: Sea-based, must control sea routes:
The Srivijaya Empire (670–1025) Hindu,
based on Sumatra; The Majapahit Kingdom
(1293–1520) buddhist, based on Java. Land-
based depends on irrigation systems: Sinhala
dynasties, Sri Lanka, Buddhist embedded,
monks serve as advisers; Khmer Empire (802–
1431), or Angkor Kingdom, with capital at
Angkor Thom, constructed Buddhist temple
Angkor Wat, converted from Hindu to
Buddhist, ended by Sukhothai Kingdom
SE Asia: merchants sold gold, silver, metal
back its fine spices
S and SE Asia: The Hindu caste system
remained because it brings social stability and
accommodates newcomers. Lower castes
failed to escape by conversion.
Vietnam: more women’s rights (rejected foot
binding and polygyny); preferred nuclear
families
Innovation and Song: Woodblock printing, gunpowder, compass
technology Yuan:
Ming: The Compendium of Materia Medica,
Chongzhen calendar
upper classes consumed and produced literature;
agricultural innovations including Champa rice,
manure, irrigation, new plows
Transfer: translated Greek literary classics Transfer with Arabians: absorbed Arabian
into Arabic; studied mathematics texts from math and astronomical knowledge; Indian
India; adopted techniques for paper-making algebra and geometry was translated into
from China → Europe Arabic, creating the “Arabic numerals.”
Cause:
Need astronomy and math for calendar
(religious festivals), pray to Mecca, follow
trading routes
Rulers want qualified physicians
Muhammad valued education
Innovations:
has largest library in the world at the time,
located in Cordoba
the House of Wisdom is combination
library, academy, and translation center
Ibn Rushd wrote on law, secular
philosophy, and the natural sciences
Jewish philosopher Maimonides developed
a synthesis of Aristotle’s reasoning and
biblical interpretation
Built observatories; charted stars; astrolabe
made ground work for trigonometry
many medical advances; licensed doctors
Ibn Khaldun, founder of historiography and
sociology
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 Unit 1: The Global Tapestry
Americas Africa

North: Second largest continent in the world, tribes adapted to varied

Hundreds of Indian tribes with continual warfare - environments
Diversity + Unity
Middle:
Large empire finally grown

North: Most believed in animism. Under outside influence, most continued to

Animism - prayer for good weather, harvests and follow traditional beliefs, while others converted to Islam or
hunting Christianity.
Middle: Muslim spread in North Africa by conquest, in West Africa by trade.
Praise the Sun God - human sacrifice - (God In Ethiopia, Christianity developed independently, blending animism
needed the nourishment of human blood) into it.
Overall:
Polytheistic By 2000BCE-1500CE, bantu-speaking people migrated from south of
the Sahara to S and E Africa. Improved agricultural tools → better
Inca Empire: Built the Temple of the Sun yields → overpopulation → exhaustion of local resources such as
agricultural land, grazing lands, and forests + famines
It has many impacts:
spread of certain foods into new areas such as plantain bananas and
yams
Technology such as iron-smelting and agricultural tools, increase rates
of natural resource depletion
The spread and blending of bantu-language (Along the east coast,
Arabic blended with the Bantu language to create the Swahili language)
the retreat of some indigenous peoples to more remote areas

Keep the history by griots (story teller in oral)

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Maya: African peoples were divided into hundreds of ethnic and linguistic
Organized city-states, each with a king groups, with varied sizes.
Wars for tribute
Inland Africa:
Inca: Communities formed kin-based networks, where families governed
Powerful king themselves.
Wars for conquest The Hausa Kingdoms: Before 1000 in Nigeria, people of the Hausa
Mit’a system - mandatory public service ethnic group formed seven states.
Connected loosely through kinship.
Aztecs: Most of them benefit from trans-Saharan trade.
Powerful king North Africa:
Wars for captives Islam spread through north Africa by conquest, ruling indigenous
System of tribute Berbers. By 670, Muslims ruled Egypt and had entered the Maghrib,
western African Mediterranean coast.

West Africa:
Three empires: Ghana → Mali → Songhai
Mansa Musa’s hajj to Mecca displayed Mali’s wealth
Ibu Buttaka traveled the Islam world for 27 years

East Africa:
many city states. In 1488, the Portuguese took Sofala, Kilwa, and
Mombasa
By the 9th century chiefs had begun to construct their “zimbabwes,”
the Bantu word for “dwellings,” with stone
Zimbabwe: tied into the Indian Ocean trade; speak Swahili
By the end of the 13th century, a massive wall of stone, 30 feet tall by
15 feet thick, surrounded the capital city, which became known as the
Great Zimbabwe was built
Ethiopia: In what is today Ethiopia, the kingdom of Axum developed;
From the 12th through the 16th centuries, Ethiopia was an island of
Christianity on the continent of Africa
Carved rock structures had been a feature of Ethiopian religious
architecture since the 2nd millennium B.C.E.

Mostly agricultural economy West Africa: taxed trade and traded gold and salt, thriving economy
No specific system East Africa: Indian Ocean trade brings profits

Mississippian Culture - Matrilineal society; Family organization is central to African society

Maya: Sub-saharan Africa: based on three structures

City-state — each ruled by a king and consisting of Kinship: Kinship connections allowed people to identify first as
a city and its surrounding territory; members of a clan or family.
Hereditary system; Age: Youngers can do more, but need advice from elders.
Gender: Men dominated most activities that required a specialized
Aztecs: skill. Women generally engaged in agriculture and food gathering.
Grouped city-states into provinces - official was
stationed; Slavery:
Theocracy; Due to the desire of slaves in the Middle East, there comes the Indian
Ocean slave trade.
Inca: Between 869 and 883, East African slaves and many Arab workers
(mentioned above) mounted a series of revolts known as the Zanj Rebellion.

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Maya: Bantu speaking people spreads iron-smelting technology and
Incorporate the concept of ‘zero’ agricultural tools and techniques along their migration
Developed a complex writing system
Learned to make rubber out of liquid collected from Northern Africa and the Nile Valley
rubber plants During the 12th century, the astrolabic quadrant was invented in Egypt.
Astronomy - Precise observations atop pyramids to Medicine:
keep an accurate calendar Around 1100, the ventilator is invented in Egypt.
In 1285, the largest hospital of the Middle Ages and pre-modern era
Inca: was built in Cairo, Egypt, by Sultan Qalaun al-Mansur.
Mathematics: Quipu 结绳记事 Around 1000 AD, cob (tabya) first appears in the Maghreb and al-
Terrace system: Waru waru - captured and redirected Andalus.
rain In 1260, the first portable hand cannons (midfa) loaded with explosive
Carpa Nan - a massive roadway system with some gunpowder, the first example of a handgun and portable firearm, were
25,000 miles of roads used mainly by the used by the Egyptians to repel the Mongols at the Battle of Ain Jalut.
government and military
West Africa and the Sahel
Three philosophical schools in Mali existed during the country's
"golden age" from the 12th to the 16th centuries: University of
Sankore, Sidi Yahya University, and Djinguereber University
They made use of the Julian Calendar.
Astronomy:
Generally speaking, they had a heliocentric view of the solar system.
Diagrams of planets and orbits made use of complex mathematical
calculations.
Scientists developed an algorithm that accurately
oriented Timbuktu to Mecca.
They recorded astronomical events, including a meteor shower in
August 1583
By the 12th century, so-called Moroccan leather, which actually came
from the Hausa area of northern Nigeria, was supplied to Mediterranean
markets and found their way to the fairs and markets of Europe
(Textile)

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Europe

At Middle Age;
Began as the Holy Roman empire declined, as well as the trade and culture;
However, between 1000 to 1450, learning and trade began to revive in Europe. This era is
called the High Middle Ages;
Invaded by Germanic tribes;

Little Ice Age - lasted for 5 centuries

Roman Catholic Church:

Remained powerful in most of Europe from Roman times to the 16th century;
Great Schism in 1054 - split into two branches;
Education and Art: Established first University; Most philosophers, writers, and other
thinkers were religious leaders; All artists worked for the Church;
Church and State: The Church held great power in the feudal system; Church can pressure the
lord in many ways; the Roman Catholic Church had an extensive hierarchy of regional leaders -
Pope > bishop;
Monasticism: The monasteries had the same economic functions of agriculture and protection
as other manors
Reform: Wealth and political power led to corruption during the 13th and 14th centuries,
reformers take stand to shatter the unity of RCC
A Unifying force:
• Church teachings bonded people together
• Provided people with a sense of security and of belonging to a religious community→A stable
force during a time of upheaval
People live harsh lives, but could achieve salvation: The Sacraments
Style of church changed:
Before 1100: the Romanesque style→Gothic
Stained glass windows
Nearly 500 Gothic churches were built between 1170 and 1270

Christian Crusade:
Aim: Reclaim control of the holy land;
Primary purpose: Divert the ambitions of restless nobles (resulted from primogeniture) as
well as unemployed peasants
Four main crusades; From 1096 to 1291

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Feudalism
King > Nobles > Knights > peasants;
The feudal system was based on rights and obligations;
Landowner exchange fief for service;
Code of chivalry: an unwritten set of rules for conduct focusing on honor, courtesy, and
bravery

France:
King Philip II (ruled 1180–1223), was the first to develop a real bureaucracy; It was not until
Philip IV (ruled 1285–1314) that the first Estates-General met;
The clergy and nobility felt little responsibility to protect the government, problem continued to
increase in France up to the eve of the French Revolution of 178

Holy Roman Empire:

The German king Otto I was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962;
Otto’s successors survived the power struggle with the papacy over the lay investiture
controversy of the 11th and 12th centuries;

Norman England:
In 1215, they forced King John to sign the Magna Carta, which required the king to respect
certain rights.
The first English Parliament was formed in 1265

The Hundred Year’s War 百年战争: Between 1337 and 1453, the rival monarchies of
England and France fought a series of battles. By the end of the conflict, the English retained
only the port of Calais in France

Muslim vs Christian: Reconquista

Manors:
Manor grounds were small villages that were self-contained;
They included the homes of peasants known as serfs, who were tied to the land while not
enslaved.

Three social groups: those who fight - nobles and knights; those who pray - monks, nuns,
leaders of the Church; those who work - peasants;
Social class is inherited - hard to improve one’s social class;
Most peasants are serfs - people lawfully bound to place of birth;
Very few serfs were free;

In Late Middle Ages:

Middle class between elite nobles and peasants developed - Known as the bourgeoisie
(burghers), included shopkeepers, merchants, craftspeople, and small landholders.
Social Structure changed due to black death (bubonic plague) - people gave serfs more
bargaining power with lords

Gender roles: Women’s rights declined; One place where women had greater opportunities
to display their skills in administration and leadership was in religious orders

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Three-field system - crops were rotated through three fields, came into use
Gunpowder - Spread by Mongols to Europe from China
Guild - an organization of individuals in the same business or occupation working to improve
Paper mill (13th century)
The first certain use of a water-powered paper mill, evidence for which is elusive in both
Chinese and Muslim paper making, dates to 1282
Blast furnace - cast iron
Compound crank -war machine