Chapter 2 - Varieties of Civilizations Flashcards
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Islamic Empires and Cultural Exchange:
1) The Islamic world, spanning from Spain, north Africa, Mediterranean to India, facilitated vast trade networks and intellectual exchanges. Scholars from diverse religious backgrounds, including Muslims, Christians, and Jews, collaborated in fields like astronomy, medicine, and philosophy.
2) In al-Andalus (Spain), Muslims, Christians, and Jews coexisted, contributing to a high culture before Christian reconquest intensified religious tensions.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
The Crusades:
The Crusades (1095-1291) were military campaigns between Christian Europe and the Muslim world, primarily over control of the Holy Land. This led to conflict but also cultural and economic exchanges between Europe and the Middle East.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Mongol Empire and Religious Tolerance:
The Mongol Empire (13th-14th centuries) promoted religious tolerance, allowing Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and others to practice freely. Their vast empire enabled the exchange of ideas, trade, and technologies across Eurasia.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Hindu-Muslim Interactions in India:
The Mongol Empire (13th-14th centuries) promoted religious tolerance, allowing Buddhists, Christians, Muslims, and others to practice freely. Their vast empire enabled the exchange of ideas, trade, and technologies across Eurasia.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Hindu-Muslim Interactions in India:
In northern India, the rise of Muslim dynasties like the Delhi Sultanate led to interactions between Hinduism and Islam, resulting in cultural syncretism in areas like architecture, language (Urdu), and religious movements (e.g., Sufism and Bhakti).
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Christianity in Europe:
In Europe, the Catholic Church was a dominant force, but growing interactions with the Muslim world through trade, the Crusades, and Muslim Spain exposed Europe to Islamic science, mathematics, and philosophy.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Buddhism in East Asia:
In China and other parts of East Asia, Buddhism continued to influence culture and politics, coexisting with Confucianism and Daoism. The spread of Buddhism along the Silk Road facilitated religious and cultural exchange.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Africa and Islam:
Islam spread across North and West Africa via trade routes, especially in the Mali Empire. Muslim scholars like Ibn Battuta documented the fusion of African and Islamic traditions.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
The Silk Road and Religious Exchange:
The Silk Road served as a conduit for the exchange of not only goods but also religious ideas. Buddhism, Islam, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism spread along these routes, facilitating interactions between distant civilizations.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Africa
Between 1200 and 1450, Africa saw the spread of Islam through trade, particularly in West African empires like Mali, where cities such as Timbuktu became centers of Islamic learning.
On the Swahili Coast, Islamic city-states thrived through Indian Ocean trade, blending Islam with local Bantu traditions.
In East Africa, Christianity remained strong in the Ethiopian Empire, while traditional African religions persisted across much of Sub-Saharan Africa, often blending with Islamic practices.
Key notes - Civilizations 1200-1450
Americas
In the Americas, Aztec and Inca civilizations practiced polytheistic religions with gods tied to nature and cosmic order, often involving elaborate ceremonies and human sacrifices. The Maya continued their religious practices linked to astronomy, while the Mississippian culture in North America focused on mound-building and worship of nature spirits. Religion in the Americas was deeply intertwined with agriculture, rituals, and maintaining harmony with the natural world.
Q: When did the Song Dynasty rule China?
A: From 960 to 1279, the Song Dynasty ruled over large parts of Chinese civilization.
Q: What was the Song Dynasty known for?
A: The Song Dynasty is known as a golden age of arts, literature, and an economic revolution that made China the richest and most populous country on earth.
Q: How was the Song Dynasty’s bureaucracy organized?
A: It operated under a highly organized bureaucracy fueled by schools and colleges that prepared candidates for rigorous exams.
Q: Could commoners participate in the Song Dynasty exams?
A: Normally, candidates came from privileged backgrounds, but there were rare occasions when those from common backgrounds passed the exams.
Q: What was the capital of the Song Dynasty, and how large was its population?
A: The capital, Hangzhou, was home to more than a million people.
Q: What industrial developments occurred during the Song Dynasty?
A: By the 11th century, industrial production was in full swing, with China producing armor, arrowheads, coins, tools, and construction materials.
Q: How did the Song Dynasty facilitate internal trade?
A: China had an immense network of internal waterways, stretching 30,000 miles, which facilitated the movement of goods and allowed peasants to specialize in crops for sale.
Q: What was foot binding in Song Dynasty China?
A: Foot binding was the practice of tightly wrapping young girls’ feet, causing pain and breaking bones, as it was associated with ideals of female beauty and frailty.
Q: What were traditional views of women during the Song Dynasty?
A: Women were expected to be docile, weak, delicate, and fragile, in contrast to men who were seen as resolute. However, their property rights expanded during Song Dynasty.
Q: How was masculinity defined among Song Dynasty elites?
A: Masculinity was defined less by athleticism and more by refined pursuits like calligraphy, scholarship, painting, and poetry.
Q: How did Korea and Vietnam interact with China?
A: Korea and Vietnam developed under the influence of China but retained their distinctive identities.
Q: How did Korea adopt Chinese family models?
A: Korea adopted Chinese models of family life and female behavior based on Confucian concepts.
Q: How did Confucian pressure affect Korean women?
A: While Korean women originally had more freedom, Chinese pressure led to full adherence to Confucian gender roles in Korea.