Unit 1: The Global Tapestry

Question 1

Dynastic Cycle

Answer 1

• important political theory in Chinese history
• each dynasty of China rises to a political, cultural, and economic peak and then, because of moral corruption, declines, loses the Mandate of Heaven, and falls, only to be replaced by a new dynasty.

Question 2

Mandate of Heaven

Answer 2

• established the idea that a ruler must be just to keep the approval of the gods
• believed that natural disasters, famines, and astrological signs were signals that the emperor and the dynasty were losing the Mandate of Heaven.
• justified the overthrowing of many rulers

Question 3

Confucianism

Answer 3

• a system of philosophical and ethical teachings founded by Confucius
• emphasized personal and governmental morality, correctness of social relationships, justice, kindness, and sincerity
• part of the Chinese social fabric and way of life; to Confucians, everyday life was the arena of religion

Question 4

neo-Confucianism

Answer 4

• evolved in China between 770 & 840
• syncretic system, combining rational thought with Daoism and Buddhism
• Incarnation of Confucianism emphasized ethics rather than the mysteries of God and nature
• Popular in Japan, Korea, and Vietnam

Question 5

Buddhism

Answer 5

• came to China via the Silk Roads from its birthplace in India
• especially popular during the Tang dynasties
• three forms of Buddhism came to shape Asia:
  
  • Theravada Buddhism: focused on personal spiritual growth through silent meditation & self-discipline, strongest in Southeast Asia
  • Mahayana Buddhism: Focused on spiritual growth for all beings and on service, became strongest in China & Korea
  • Tibetan Buddhism: focused on chanting, strongest in Tibet
  • all three embrace the Eight-Fold Path, the precepts (ie: right Speech, livelihood, effort, & mindfulness) that can lead to enlightenment/nirvana

Question 6

scholar-gentry

Answer 6

• bureaucratic expansion created this new social class
• they were educated in Confucian philosophy and became the most influential social class in China
• soon outnumbered the aristocracy (wealthy landowners)

Question 7

bureaucracy

Answer 7

-a system of government in which most of the important decisions are made by a vast organization of state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Question 8

meritocracy

Answer 8

• China’s bureaucracy system known as a meritocracy

- officials obtained their positions by their performance on civil service exams

Question 9

artisans

Answer 9

• skilled craftworkers
• In China, they produced steel and other products in smelting factories supervised by the government
  
  • manufactured porcelain & silk and traded them through vast networks, especially by sea (porcelain highly desired)

Question 10

foot-binding

Answer 10

• at a very young age, girls had their feet wrapped so tightly that the bones did not grow naturally (very painful)
• constraint on women’s activities
• signified social status, common among aristocratic families during the Song Dynasty (started towards the end of the Tang Dynasty)
• banned in 1912

Question 11

paper money

Answer 11

• invented in China during the Song Dynasty
  
  • they invented paper in the 2nd century CE
  • they developed a system of printing in the 7th century

Question 12

Song Dynasty

Answer 12

• (960-1279)
• leading example of diversity and innovation in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas during the 18th century
• replaced the Tang dynasty and eventually fell to northern invaders and was replaced by the Jin Empire
• reign was prosperous and arts flourished
• expanded Bureaucracy in china
• expanded educational opportunities to young men of lower economic classes, so they could score well on the civil service exams
• lots of agricultural experimentation took place, in three centuries of Song rule, new developments in food production led China’s pop increased from 25% of the total world pop. to 40%
• during rule, China experienced a period of proto-industrialization, people in rural areas started producing more goods than they could sell
• promoted growth of commercial economy
• at the height of this dynasty, China was the most urbanized land in the world
• invented paper, a system of printing, and the first guns
• more tolerant towards Buddhism, but emphasized China’s native traditions
• foot-binding became very popular among elite females

Question 13

feudalism in Japan and how it differs from feudalism in Europe

Answer 13

• Vassals offered their loyalty and services (military or other) to a lord in exchange for access to a portion of land and its harvest
• Japan had been a feudal society without a centralized gov. for hundreds of years
• the daimyo, landowning aristocrats, battled for control of the land while majority of people worked as rice farmers
• similar to European feudalism, both featured little social mobility and systems built upon hereditary hierarchies
• peasants in Japan, known as serifs, were born into lives of economic dependency, while samurai were born into their roles as protectors, & daimyo born into lives of privilege
  
  • In Europe these three groups were serifs, knights, and nobles
• daimyo in Japan enjoyed more power than the nobility in Europe did
  
  • ruled over vast stretches of land
  • more powerful than either the Emperor or the shogun
  • Europe’s hierarchy placed monarch above nobility-> power structure of European feudalism would not change until the Modern Industrial Era
• In Europe the ideal knight held to the code of chivalry, with duty to countrymen, duty to God, and duty to women (expressed through courtly love and virtues of gentleness and graciousness)
• In Japan, the code was known as Bushido and stressed frugality, loyalty, the martial arts, and honor until death

Question 14

Shogun/Shogunates

Answer 14

military ruler

Question 15

samurai

Answer 15

• member of the Japanese warrior caste
• hereditary military nobility
• code of samurai: bushido
  
  • stressed fragility, loyalty, the martial arts, and honor until death

Question 16

Champa rice

Answer 16

• a fast ripening and drought-resistant strain of rice from the Champa kingdom
• developed in the 11th century by the Song Dynasty
• greatly expanded agricultural production in China

Question 17

Grand Canal

Answer 17

• in expensive, efficient internal waterway transportation system
• extended over 30,000 miles
• enabled China, under the Song Dynasty, to become most populous trading area in the world

Question 18

Empress Wu

Answer 18

• only Chinese empress to rule alone
• searched for outstanding individuals to attract to her court
• built new irrigation systems
• Buddhism favored
• appointed cruel and sadistic ministers to seek out her enemies

Question 19

woodblock printing

Answer 19

• started during the Tang/Song Dynasties
• allowed for more accessible education, more educated people in Chinese society
• used the technology to make books
• helped convey pieces of information more easily

Question 20

astrolabe

Answer 20

• a type of early scientific instrument used for reckoning time and for observational purposes
• reached China by the thirteenth century

Question 21

agricultural techniques

Answer 21

• agricultural experimentation, especially during the Song Dynasty, contributed to agricultural success
• led to the development of Champa rice, greatly expanded agricultural production in China
• ex: trying to farm were rice could not grow
• allowed farmers to grow two crops of rice per year
• Chinese farmers put manure on fields to enrich soil
• built elaborate irrigation system to increase productivity
• New heavy plows pulled by water buffalo or oxen
• led to an abundance of food-> pop. increased from 25% of the total world pop. to 40% in three centuries of Song rule

Question 22

gunpowder

Answer 22

• invented during the Tang Dynasty
• the Song dynasty used it to make the first guns
• tech of making gunpowder spread to all parts of Eurasia via traders on the Silk Roads

Question 23

Chan Buddhism

Answer 23

• Buddhism doctrines combined with elements of Daoist traditions to create the syncretic, or fused, faith of Chan Buddhism
• asserts that enlightenment can be attained through meditation, self-contemplation, and intuition rather than through faith and devotion

Question 24

Zen Buddhism

Answer 24

• like Daoism, the fusion with Daoism made Buddhism very popular in China
• emphasized direct experience and meditation as opposed to studying scripture

Question 25

filial piety

Answer 25

• Confucian ideal

- duty of family members to subordinate their desires to those of the male head of the family and to the ruler

Question 26

syncretic

Answer 26

• Syncretism is the combining of different beliefs and various schools of thought.
• When an idea is syncretic, it was probably the result of the fusion of other ideas.

Question 27

Heian period

Answer 27

• 794 to 1185 in Japenese history
• Japan started to emulate Chinese traditions in politics, art, and literature
• began when emperor Kammu moved the capital was moved to Kyoto (Heian-kyō at the time) and Japanese culture flourished

Question 28

Dar al-Islam

Answer 28

-territory where Muslims are free to practice their religion, Islamic term for the Muslim regions of the world

Question 29

jiyzha

Answer 29

historically, a tax paid by certain non-Muslim minorities to rulers in Muslim states

Question 30

5 Pillars

Answer 30

The Five Pillars of Islam:

1. The Shahada- declaration of faith
2. The Salat- The mandatory prayers performed 5 times a day (muezzin calls prayer)
3. The Zakat- Giving to Charity
4. The Sawm- Fasting
5. The Hajj- Pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in your lifetime

Question 31

Sunni

Answer 31

• “traditionalists”

- accepted the legitimacy of early Islamic caliphs

Question 32

Shia

Answer 32

• supported Ali

- last caliph and son in law of Muhammad

Question 33

mosques

Answer 33

a Muslim place of worship.

Question 34

Muhammad

Answer 34

• angel Gabriel appeared to a man named Muhammad in 700 BCE
• People believed that Muhammad was sent convert people to the “one true religion”, Islam
• Islam spread rapidly from Arabia after the death of Muhammad in 632
• Qur’an continued Muhammad’s teachings
  
  • contained the word of God

Question 35

Qur’an

Answer 35

Islamic sacred book, believed to be the word of God as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic.

Question 36

Allah

Answer 36

The name for God, the Supreme Being, in the Arabic language; the common name for God in Islam.

Question 37

Medina

Answer 37

• the place from which Muhammad established the Muslim community (ummah) after his flight from Mecca
• second holiest city in Islam

Question 38

Mecca

Answer 38

• considered the spiritual center of Islam because it was where the Prophet Muhammad is said to have received his first revelations in the early 7th century
• Muhammad, the founder of Islam, was born in Mecca

Question 39

caliph

Answer 39

In Islamic history “caliph” means the ruler of the Muslim community.

Question 40

jihad

Answer 40

means:

1. a holy war waged on behalf of Islam as a religious duty
2. a personal struggle in devotion to Islam especially involving spiritual discipline
3. a crusade for a principle or belief

Question 41

sharia

Answer 41

the code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Muhammed

• set of laws, principles, and guidelines determined by Islamic legal scholars
• Islam’s legal system

Question 42

hadiths

Answer 42

record of the traditions or sayings of the Prophet Muhammad, revered and received as a major source of religious law and moral guidance, second only to the authority of the Qurʾān, the holy book of Islam

Question 43

Abbasids

Answer 43

• dynasty of caliphs (750–1258) ruling the Islamic empire especially from their capital Baghdad and claiming descent from Abbas the uncle of Muhammad.
• consolidated Islamic rule and cultivated great intellectual and cultural developments in the Middle East in the Golden Age of Islam.

Question 44

Seljuk Turks

Answer 44

• Muslims
• central Asia
• challenged the Abbasids
• 11th century: began conquering parts of the Middle East, power extended as far east as west China
• Sultan: Seljuk leader
  
  • reduced role of highest-ranking Abbasid from caliph to chief of Sunni religious authority

Question 45

merchants

Answer 45

• person who trades in commodities produced by other people, especially one who trades with foreign countries.
• Islamic society viewed merchants as more prestigious than other societies at the time
  
  • Muhammad and his first wife had been merchants
  • could grow rich with trade on Silk Roads
  • esteemed as long as they dealt fairly and gave to charity in accordance with Islamic pillars of faith
  • some sent as missionaries

Question 46

House of Wisdom

Answer 46

• Abbasid caliph Harun al-Rashid founded the House of Wisdom in Baghdad during his reign (786-809)
• center of learning, academy of knowledge
• included a society of scientists and academics, a translation department and a library that preserved the knowledge acquired by the Abbasids over the centuries.

Question 47

Mamluks

Answer 47

Egyptian Mamluks:

• enslaved people, usually Turks from Central Asia
  
  • Arabs often purchased them to serve as soldiers and later bureaucrats
  • had more opportunities for advancement than most other slaves
• Seized control of gov. in Egypt, establishing the Mamluk Sultanate (1250-1517)
• declined in power when the Portuguese and other Europeans developed new sea routes for trade

Question 48

Crusaders

Answer 48

• Abbasids allowed Christians to visit their holy sites in Jerusalem
• Seljuk Turks limited Christian travel
• European Christians organized groups of soldiers, Crusaders, to reopen access

Question 49

Mongols

Answer 49

• fourth group to attach the Abbasid Empire
  
  • among the most famous conquerors in history
  • in Asia their military strength created the largest land-based empire in world history
• came from Central Asia like Seljuks and Mamluks
• 1258: fully conquered Abbasid Empire and ended Seljuk rule
• continued westward but were stopped by Mamluks in Egypt

Question 50

Sufis

Answer 50

• contrast between Muslims and Sufis
  
  • Muslims focused on intellectual pursuits
  • Sufis emphasized introspection to grasp truths that they believed could not be understood through learning
• Sufi missionaries important in the spread of Islam
  
  • did missionary work in east Asia
  • tended to adapt to local cultures, interweaving local religious elements into Islam-> won many converts

Question 51

Sinification

Answer 51

• means the assimilation of Chinese traditions and practices
• During the Tang and Song dynasties, Chinese civilization became so dynamic and powerful that it influenced, or sinicized, several prominent areas around it
  
  • Japan Korea, and Vietnam had to confront sinification

Question 52

Korea

Answer 52

• location gave it a very direct relationship with China
  
  • countries shared a land boundary
  • China extended North and South of Korea
• emulated many aspects of China’s politics and culture
  
  • centralized gov. in the style of the Chinese
  • adopted both Confucian and Buddhist beleifs
• educated elite studied Confucian classics and Buddhist doctrine attracted peasants
• adopted Chinese writing system-> proved to be very awkward b/c the languages are structured differently, developed its own writing system in the 15th century
• powerful Aristocracy
  
  • landed aristocracy more powerful in Korea than in China
  • Korean elite were able to prevent certain Chinese reforms

Question 53

Vietnam

Answer 53

• traded with and learned from China
• more adversarial relationship with China
  
  • at times would launch violent rebellions against Chinese influence
  • strong capacity for guerrilla warfare in their fights against China (b/c they had deep knowledge of their own land)
• Vietnamese women enjoyed greater independence in their married lives than Chinese women in the Confucian tradition
  
  • Vietnamese women resented their inferior status in China (especially customs of foot-binding and practice of having more than one wife at a time)
• Chinese lived in extended families, the Vietnamese preferred nuclear families (just a husband, wife, & their kids)
• villages operated independently of a national gov.
  
  • political organization nonexistent
• adopted a merit-based bureaucracy of educated men, but did not function like the Chinese scholar-bureaucracy
  
  • Instead of loyalty to the emperor, scholar-officials in Vietnam owed ore allegiance to the village peasants
  • Vietnamese scholar-officials often led revolts against gov. if they deemed it too oppressive
• despite efforts to maintain the purity of their own culture sinification did occur

Question 54

tribute state

Answer 54

• Tributary system: arrangement in which states had to pay money/provide goods to honor the Chinese emperor
  
  • cemented China’s economic and political power over several foreign countries
  • created stability and stimulated trade for all involved
  • origins existed in the Han Dynasty
• by the time of the Song Dynasty, Japan, Korea, and Kingdoms throughout southeast Asia were tributary states
• Emperor expected representatives from tribute states to demonstrate their respect by performing a kowtow, a ritual in which anyone greeting the Chinese emperor must bow their head until it reached the floor
• Chinese emperor sent out large fleets to demonstrate his power and to receive tribute

Question 55

Delhi Sultanate

Answer 55

• refers to the five short-lived Muslim kingdoms of Turkic and Pashtun (Afghan) origin that ruled the territory of Delhi between 1206 and 1526
• principal Muslim power in north India from the 13th to the 16th century
  
  • 13th century: Islamic forces conquered city of Delhi and much of the northern portion of South Asia
  • brought Islam to India
• Some Hindus converted to Islam, some resented
  
  • interaction between Islam and Hinduism in Northern India dominated political history of era
  • one factor: Delhi Sultanate imposed a tax (jizya) on all non-Muslims in the empire
• Delhi Sultanate never organized an efficient bureaucracy in they style of the Chinese
  
  • sultans had difficulty imposing policies in such a vast and diverse land
• Sultans wanted to extend South, but had to focus on defending themselves from the Mongol army in the Northwest
  
  • Delhi Sultanate prevented Mongol from conquering South Asia
  • 1526: sultans lost control of empire to the Mughals who traced their ancestry to the Mongols

Question 56

Sufism

Answer 56

• Sufism began as a mystical response to the perceived lore of luxury by the early Umayyad Caliphate
• mystical form of Islam, a school of practice that emphasizes the inward search for God and shuns materialism.
• Islamic mystics who focused more on an individual’s personal connection to a higher power, as opposed to a strict doctrine
• appealing to many Indians, therefore, increases conversion to Islam

Question 57

Hinduism

Answer 57

• goal of religion: performing one’s dharma to end birth/rebirth cycle
• prayed to many gods
• associated with hierarchical caste system
• several sacred texts
• provided some unity throughout the region of South Asia after the Gupta Dynasty collapsed
• Hindu kingdoms led by leaders of many clans who were often warring with each other (no centralized gov.)
  
  • lack of centralized power made kingdoms vulnerable to Muslim attacks
• when Islam conquered land there, it began interactions between Islam and Hinduism that would dominate political history of the era and shape the future

Question 58

Aztecs

Answer 58

• aka Mexicans
• hunter-gatherers who migrated from the north to central Mexico in the 1200s
  
  • founded Tenochtitlan in 1325
  • over the next 100 years, they conquered surrounding peoples and created an empire stretching from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean
• developed a tribute system to insure their dominance, even without administrative control
  
  • conquered people forced to pay tribute, surrender lands, and perform military service
  • tribute included: food, cloth, firewood (practical goods), feathers, beads, and jewelry (luxury items)
  • local rulers became tax collectors
• conquered people gained Aztec protection
• grouped city-states into provinces to administer the empire
  
  • moved warriors and their families to each province’s capitol to make sure the province remained under Aztec control
  • Aztec officials stated in the capitols to collect tributes from local officials
• Gov. was a theocracy- rule by religious leaders
  
  • emperor known as the “Great Speaker” at the top of society and the political ruler and divine representative of the gods
• special merchant class, called “pochteca”, traded in luxury goods
• enslaved who didn’t pay their debts or committed crimes could be used as sacrifices in religious ceremonies
• religion center of Aztec society
  
  • hundreds of deities
  • many rituals, feast days, and human sacrifices
• Human sacrifices also had a political component of demonstrating the might of the Aztec Empire in a dramatic fashion
• Aztec women important in the tribute system
  
  • made valuable cloth demanded as part of regular tribute
  • as demand for cloth increased, me might obtain more wives in order to pay tribute
• Most Aztec women worked in their homes, some became priestesses, midwives, healers, merchants, or scribes
• late 15th century: Aztec Empire in decline
  
  • low level of tech
  • commitment to military and desire for more sacrifices led to more land than they could reasonable govern
  • extraction of tribute and sacrifices angered conquered people
  • 1519: Spaniards arrived and tribes conquered by the Aztecs rebelled

Question 59

Incas

Answer 59

-1438: tribal leader called Pachacuti began conquering tribes near present day Cuzco Peru
-military victories combined the small tribes into a full-fledged state, the Incan Empire
-empire extended from (Present-day) Ecuador to Chile
-empire split into 4 provinces, each with its own governor land bureaucracy
-conquered people under Inca did not pay tribute, they were subject to the mit’a system
-name Inca means “People of the Sun”, sun god most important
-honoring of the Sun and royal ancestor veneration are two critical elements other Incan religion
-royal ancestor veneration extended rule of a leader
-serious events called for human sacrifices
-religion included some animism
Achievements:
-Mathematics: the quipu
-Agriculture: Agricultural terraces
-good builders of bridges and roads
-constructed a massive roadway system called the Carpa Nan, 25,000 miles of roads used mainly by gov. and military
Decline:
-1532: arrival of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro, Incan Empire in midst of a civil war after death of emperor Huayna Capac
-civil war weakened empire and made it easier for Pizarro’s forces to prevail
-diseases introduced by Europeans could have also weakened them
-1533: Spanish conquered core of the empire

Question 60

chinampas

Answer 60

• floating gardens, notably built in Tenochtitlan (Aztec capitol) on Lake Texcoco
• served to increase space for food production

Question 61

Mayans

Answer 61

-civilization reached height between 250 & 900 CE
-city-states stretched over southern Mexico
-each city-state ruled by a king
-consist of a city and its surrounding territory
-most rulers men, but when no male heir was available or old enough Mayan women ruled
-kings claimed to be descended from a god
-wars between city-states were often- @ times some were overthrown
-fought to gain tribute (payments from conquered) not to control territory
-common people required to pay taxes or provide labor/military service to gov.
-no central gov. ruled all Mayan lands
-sometimes sacrificed war captives to their gods
Achievements:
-incorporated concept of zero into their numerical system
-developed complex writing system
-learned how to make rubber
-used calendars to decide when to practice religious ceremonies or whether to go to war
-make very precise astronomical observations atop pyramids
-priests could be male or female

Question 62

Cuzco

Answer 62

• -1438: tribal leader called Pachacuti began conquering tribes near present day Cuzco Peru
  
  • military victories combined the small tribes into a full-fledged state, the Incan Empire
• the religious and administrative capital of the Inca Empire
  
  • location of the Temple of the Sun

Question 63

agricultural terraces

Answer 63

• developed by the Incan empire
• sophisticated terrace systems for the cultivation of crops
• used “waru waru” technique: raised beds that captured and redirected rain the avoid erosion during floods and store water

Question 64

Andes Mountains

Answer 64

• The Incan empire was located in this region (southeastern Peru) and used it to protect themselves from invaders
• The Incan empire also developed extensive roadway systems to make traveling across such a mountainous region easier

Question 65

Temple of the Sun

Answer 65

• formed core of Incan religion

- in Cuzco

Question 66

tribute empire

Answer 66

-Mayans and Aztecs required payments (practical goods and luxury items) from conquered people as well as captives to use as human sacrifices in religious ceremonies

Question 67

quipu

Answer 67

system of knotted strings used to record numerical info for trade and engineering and for recording messages to be carried throughout the Incan empire

Question 68

swahili

Answer 68

• In East Africa, traders blended Bantu and Arabic languages to from swahili
• still spoken today in various African groups

Question 69

syncretic religions

Answer 69

-religions that have resulted from the fusion of diverse religious beliefs and practices.

Question 70

Coptic Christians

Answer 70

• Kingdom of Axum developed in present-day Ethiopia
  
  • prospered by trading goods obtained from India, Arabia, the Roman Empire, and interior of Africa
• 12 century: new Christian led kingdom in Ethiopia emerged
  
  • rulers expressed power through architecture, created massive churches from rock
• 12th-16th centuries: Ethiopia island of Christianity in Africa
  
  • separated from Roman Catholic Church and Orthodox Church of eastern Europe
  • Ethiopian Christianity developed independently
  • combined traditional faith traditions (ie: ancestor veneration, belief in spirits) with Christianity
• also present in Egypt

Question 71

swahili city-states

Answer 71

• Muslim and cosmopolitan
• politically independent
• never an empire
• trade linked Arabia and India
• cities like competitive companies
• exported: ivory, sandalwood,ebony and gold (later slaves)

Question 72

salt-gold trade

Answer 72

• Kingdoms in Africa (ie: Mali, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Ethiopia, swahili city-states) thrived due to this trade
• salt & gold are the two most important trading goods
• took place on the trans-Saharan trade

Question 73

Mali

Answer 73

• 12th century: wars with neighboring societies had permanently weakened the Ghanaian state. New trading societies arose in its place, Mali being the most powerful.
• thriving gold (-salt) trade
• founding ruler: Sundiata, Mali prospered

Question 74

Mali

Answer 74

• 12th century: wars with neighboring states had permanently weakened the Ghanaian state
  
  • New trading societies arose in its place, Mali most powerful
• founding ruler: Sundiata

Question 75

Timbuktu

Answer 75

• the Center of trade in Mali

- location of the House of Wisdom

Question 76

Sundiata

Answer 76

• founding ruler of Mali
• Muslim, brought Islam to Mali
• used connections with others of his faith to establish trade relationships with North African and Arab merchants
• cultivated thriving gold trade in Mali
• Mali’s wealth grew tremendously under his lead
• Nephew, Mansa Musa, made a pilgrimage to Mecca where lavish displays of gold left a lasting impression
  
  • devout Muslim
  • Mali grew twice the size of Ghana b/c of him
  • Timbuktu became center of trade

Question 77

Ghana

Answer 77

• kingdom of Ghana not in the same location as modern nation of Ghana
  
  • between Sahara and tropical rainforests of the West African coast
• founded during the 5th century
  
  • two centuries before time of Muhammad
  • peak of influence from the 8th to the 11th centuries
• salt-gold trade with Muslim traders
  
  • sold gold & Ivory, bought salt and other goods
• capitol city: Koumbi Saleh
• King ruled a centralized gov. from capitol
  
  • aided by nobles
  • army equipped with iron weapons

Question 78

Zimbabwe

Answer 78

• East Africa, situated between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers in modern-day Zimbabwe and Mozambique
• 9th century: chiefs had begun to construct their “zimbabwes”, Bantu for “dwellings” with stone
  
  • word became the name of one of the most powerful kingdoms in all of East Africa between 12th & 15th centuries (Zimbabwe)
• prospered on a mix of agriculture, grazing, trade, and gold
• had rich gold fields (like Ghana & Mali) and taxes on the transport of gold made the kingdom wealthy
• traded with coastal city-states such as Mombasa, Kilwa, and Mogadishu
  
  • Zimbabwe was tied to Indian Ocean trade, which connected East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and East Asia
• In East Africa traders blended Bantu and Arabic and formed swahili
• 13th century: massive wall of stone, 30ft tall x 15ft thick surrounding capitol city
  
  • known as the Great Zimbabwe
  • 1st large one on the continent that people built without mortar
  • Inside wall, most of the royal city’s buildings were made of stone
• (late) 15th century- nearly 20,000 people resided within the Great Zimbabwe
• overgrazing damaged surrounding environment, residents abandoned the city by the end of the 1400s
• wall still stands in the modern country of Zimbabwe

Question 79

Bantu migration

Answer 79

The migration of the Bantu speaking people from their origins in southern West Africa saw a gradual population movement sweep through the central, eastern, and southern parts of the continent starting in the mid-2nd millennium BCE and finally ending before 1500 CE.

Question 80

kin-based networks

Answer 80

-Sub-Saharan Africa did not centralize power under one leader/central gov.
-Instead, communities formed kin-based networks in which families governed themselves.
-The kins were ritually isolated.
Led by a chief, a male head of the network.
-as pop. grew, kin-based networks became more difficult to govern
-competition between neighbors increased
-increased fighting among villages and districts
-Kin-based networks continued to exist in Sub-Saharan Africa until the 19th century
-larger kingdoms grew in prominence, particularly after 1000

Question 81

chief

Answer 81

• male head of a kin-based network
• mediated with neighboring groups
• group of chiefs decided among themselves how to solve the districts problems

Question 82

trans-Saharan trade

Answer 82

• a network of trading routes across the great desert (Sahara Desert in Africa)
• The Hausa kingdoms in present-day Nigeria benefited from this trade

Question 83

griots

Answer 83

• literature was oral in Sub-Saharan Africa
• Griots, or storytellers, were the way of passing on history for a community
  
  • possessed encyclopedic knowledge of family lineages & lives and deeds of great leaders
  • adept at music, sang stories accompanied by instruments (drums, 12-string harp called the korg)
• Griots held the power of language and story
  
  • venerated and feared
  • could sing your success or downfall
• preserved a peoples’ history
  
  • passed stories down generation to generation
• kings often sought their counsel
• women served as griottes
  
  • sang at special occasions
  • provided women with a sense of empowerment in a patriarchal society

Question 84

fiefs

Answer 84

• important to the political system of feudalism
• A monarch (king) granted tracts of land, called fiefs, to lords. In return, a lord became a king’s vassal, a person who owed service to another of higher status

Question 85

feudalism

Answer 85

-European civilization

Question 86

feudalism

Answer 86

• European civilization in the Middle Ages characterized by a decentralized political organization
  
  • based on a system of exchanges of land and of loyalty known as feudalism
• lacking a strong gov. people needed some protection from bandits, rival lords, and invaders
• core of feudalism was a system of mutual obligations
  
  • a monarch granted tracts of land, called fiefs, to lords. In return, a lord became a king’s vassal, a person who owed service to another of higher status
  • lords provided land to knights-> knights became vassals of the lord and pledged to fight for lord or king
  • lords provided land and protection to peasants-> peasants obligated to farm the lord’s land, provide lord with crops and livestock, and obey the lord
• Feudalism provided some security for peasants, equipment for warriors, and land to those who served a lord
• system based on agriculture
  
  • wealth measured in land, not cash
• system incorporated a code of chivalry
• women did not have many rights

Question 87

code of chivalry

Answer 87

• the feudalism system in Europe incorporated a code of chivalry: unwritten set of rules of conduct
  
  • focused on honor, courtesy, and bravery
  • way to resolve disputes
  • women were to be protected, code put them on a pedestal without investing them with any significant additional importance

Question 88

manorialism

Answer 88

• large fiefs/estates also referred to as manors
• provided economic self-sufficiency and defense
• manor produced everything the people lived there needed
  
  • limited need for trade/contact with outsiders
  • made serfs spend their entire lives on a single manor
• manor grounds: small villages that usually included a church, blacksmith shop, mill, wine press, and homes of peasants known as serfs
• climate and tech improved-> arable/farmable land increased
  
  • agriculture more efficient towards end of the Middle Ages
• Tech developments: windmills, new plows
  
  • promoted pop. growth

Question 89

serfs

Answer 89

• peasants in Europe during the middle ages known as serfs
• In the manorial system, serfs were not slaves, but they were tied to the land
  
  • could not travel without permission from the lord
  • also needed lord’s approval to marry
  • in exchange for protection, they paid the lord with crops, labor, or coins
  • Children of serfs also became serfs

Question 90

three-field system

Answer 90

In the time of manorialism in Europe, the three field system, where crops were rotated through 3 fields, came into use

• 1 field was planted with wheat/rye, crops that provided food
• 2nd field was planted with legumes (ex: peas, beans, lentils), made soil more fertile by adding nitrogen
• 3rd field was allowed to remain fallow, unused, each year

Question 91

Estates-General

Answer 91

• Not until Philip IV (ruled 1285-1314) that the first Estates-General met
  
  • it was a body to advise the king that included representatives from each of the three legal classes, or estates
• French kings consulted this Estates-General when necessary but did not exact regular taxes on upper two classes
  
  • estates general had little power, clergy and nobility didn’t feel much responsibility to protect a gov. they didn’t finance
  • problem increased up to the eve of the French Revolution of 1789

Question 92

estates

Answer 92

• estates were the name for the three legal classes in the Late Middle Ages in Europe
• three legal classes in France: the clergy, nobility, and commoners
• representatives from each of the estates formed a body to advise the king (estates-general)

Question 93

The Holy Roman Empire

Answer 93

• German King Otto I: crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 962, hearkening back to Charlemagne’s designation as Emperor
  
  • successors survived the power struggle with the papacy over the lay investiture controversy of the 11th and 12th centuries
• remained vibrant until virtually destroyed during the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)
  
  • lingered on, but with little power
• Came to a formal end when French leader, Napoleon, invaded central Europe in 1806

Question 94

Charlemagne

Answer 94

• crowned emperor in 800 CE
  
  • ruled much of Western Europe
• greatly expanded empire
• Spread Christianity through missionaries and violence
• Divided this large empire into counties
  
  • regularly visited each part of his kingdom
• began schools for church members
• limited authority of nobles-> strengthened his own power
• Died in 814, and left behind very weak successors

Question 95

lay investiture controversy

Answer 95

• occurred in the 11th and 12th centuries in the Holy Roman Empire
• dispute over whether a secular (non-religious) leader, rather than the pope, could invest bishops with the symbols of office
• resolved in the Concordat of Worms of 1122, when the church achieved autonomy from secular authorities

Question 96

Magna Carta

Answer 96

• In Norman England many English nobles objected to the power of William the Conqueror who had successfully invaded England in 1066 as well as his successors
  
  • nobles forced limits on that power
  • 1215: forced king John to sign the Magna Carta
• required the king to respect certain rights (ie: right to jury trial)
• also won right to be consulted on the issue of scutage: a tax paid on a knight who wanted to pay money instead of provide military service

Question 97

English Parliament

Answer 97

• first English Parliament formed 1265
  
  • increased rights of English nobility, not the general pop.
• first full parliamentary meeting in 1264, the House of Lord represented the nobles and Church hierarchy, while the House of Commons was made up of elected representatives of wealthy townspeople
  
  • power of two legislative bodies in England became stronger than that of similar bodies on the European continent

Question 98

Hundred Years’ War

Answer 98

• 1337-1453
• rival monarchies of England and France fought a series of battles
• English archers armed with longbows helped win early victories
• by the end of the conflict, the English retained only the port of Calais in France
• Results:
  
  • on each side, serving under a monarch fostered a since of unity among soliders who often spoke differend languages/dialects
  • demonstrated the spreading use of gunpowder weapons invented in China

Question 99

Crusades

Answer 99

• Christian crusades
• Byzantine emperor asked for help against the Muslim Turks
• 4 main Crusades
• Pope Urban II issued a call for a “holy war” to gain control of the Holy land
• Economic opportunities for knights and merchants
  
  • crusades ride the kingdoms of quarrelsome knights
  • promised a “spot in heaven for their duty”
• 1097- “first Crusade”
  
  • setting: Constantinople
  • Goal: Capture Jerusalem
  • Outcome: 12,000 troops captured a very think strop of land, including Jerusalem, in 1094
• 2nd Crusade
  
  • Outcome: Defeated
    
    • only to have Turks retake power in 1144
• 3rd Crusade
  
  • Philip Augustus (Fr. Went home early)
  • Frederick I (“Barbarosa”- drowned)
  • Richard the Lionhearted (called a truce with Muslim leader)
• 4th Crusade
  
  • Outcome: Looting a permanent split of the Western and Eastern Catholic Church
  • never made it to Jerusalem

Question 100

reconquista

Answer 100

• in spain
• long effort to drive the Moors (Muslims) out of Spain
• 1492: Granada falls Ferdinand and Isabella’s army, which wipes out Muslims in Spain
• used to unify Spain under Christianity and to consolidate power under Ferdinand and Isabella

Question 101

Great Schism

Answer 101

-The Great Schism split the main faction of Christianity into two divisions, Roman Catholic (west) and Eastern Orthodox
Comparison between Eastern & Western Europe:
-No central government that controlled all of western Europe, eastern Europe had a stable government ruled by one Emperor
-Each manor in the west was mostly self-sufficient, not much need for trade, but in the east, the Byzantine Empire grew wealthy and prosperous from trade

Question 102

primogeniture

Answer 102

• factor in the Christian Crusades
• Social and Economic trends of the 11th century added pressure among Europeans to invade the Middle East
• rules of primogeniture, under which the eldest son in a family inherited the entire estate, left a generation of younger sons with little access to wealth and land
  
  • landed nobles saw a military campaign as a way to direct the ambitions of restless nobles and unemployed peasants

Question 103

Marco Polo

Answer 103

• Italian native from Venice
• late 13th century: he visited court of Kublai Khan in Dadu
  
  • Polo’s captivating descriptions of the customs of the people he met, intrigued Europeans (ex: how Muslims had multiple marriages)
• curiosity about Asia skyrocketed, stimulating interest in cartography, or mapmaking

Question 104

antisemitism

Answer 104

• anti-Jewish sentiment

- popular among Christians

Question 105

Venetian merchants

Answer 105

• Italian cities’ desire for more commercial power was a cause of the fourth crusade (1202-1204)
• Venice had a contract to transport Crusaders to the Middle East, an area known as the Levant
  
  • but they did not pay all of what was due so Venetians persuaded Crusader debtors to first sack Zara, then Constantinople, a major trade competitor of Venice
• the Crusaders ended up never making it to the Holy Land
• eventually Islamic forces prevailed in Levant

Question 106

Medici family

Answer 106

• the House of Medici first attained wealth and political power in Florence in the 13th century through its success in commerce and banking
  
  • Medici family is one of the most powerful and influential groups in European history
• major impacts on Southern Renaissance
  
  • used their money to support painters, sculptors, and architects
  • their major innovations in banking, art, and architecture persist today

Question 107

Renaissance

Answer 107

• expansion of trade, agricultural surplus, and rise of middle class able to patronize artists sparked creativity in Europe
• period characterized by revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman literature, art, culture, and civic virtue
• 1439: developed Johannes Gutenberg’s movable-type printing press-> revolution in print tech
  
  • fostered growth in history
  • rapid growth of ideas
• interest in humanism
• cultural changes in Renaissance (ie: increased use of vernacular languages), propelled rise of powerful monarchies, centralization of governments and birth of nationalism

Question 108

humanism

Answer 108

• grew rapidly during the Renaissance
• the focus on individuals rather than God
• sought education and reform
• Humanists began to write secular literature

Question 109

Scholasticism

Answer 109

attempt to reconcile the beliefs and values of Christianity with logical Greek reasoning, e.g. Thomas Aquinas

Question 110

vernacular language

Answer 110

• The native language or native dialect of a specific population
• up until the Renaissance, it was mostly used for speaking rather than in formal writing

Question 111

Gothic cathedrals

Answer 111

• as popes established their authority in Europe, the Church’s wealth could be seen everywhere, especially in Cathedrals
• Romanesque style
  
  • 800-1100: thick walls and pillars
• Gothic Style
  
  • ex: Brunelleschi, Dome of the Cathedral of Florence
• combined new architecture, painting, sculpture, carving, stained glass, music, and literature

Question 112

Bubonic Plague

Answer 112

• aka: The Black Death
• occurred during the Middle Ages in Europe
• A contagious, often fatal epidemic disease
• transmitted from person to person or by the bite of fleas from an infected host, especially a rat
• Lots of deaths
• Impacted social and family life- people learned to avoid symptomatic people
• Art: focused more on death
• Economic loss b/c is spread along trade routes & made trading in market places difficult

Question 113

Caliphates

Answer 113

the political-religious states comprising the Muslim community and the lands and peoples under its dominion in the centuries following the death (632 ce) of the Prophet Muhammad.