Unit 1 The Global Tapestry 1200-1450 Flashcards
How did the Song Dynasty maintain and justify its rule?
Confucianism and imperial bureaucracy
Revival of Confucianism
The rise of Buddhism and Daoism led to the decline of Confucianism. The Tang Dynasty revived Confucianism which continued into Song rule.
Neo-Confucianism
Sought to revitalize Confucianism by incorporating elements of Buddhism and Daoism.
Confucianism
Emphasized hierarchical relationships to achieve social harmony.
Filial Piety
Honoring one’s parents and ancestors → filial children became loyal subjects.
Women in Song China
Women were subordinate to men → stripped of legal rights and endured social restrictions such as foot-binding.
Imperial Bureaucracy
Government officials carried the emperor’s policies over vast territory→grew in scope under the Song Dynasty.
Meritocracy & Civil Service Examination
Bureaucratic jobs were earned based on merit → most qualified people got the jobs.
China’s Influence on Korea
- Similar civil service examination
- Adopted Buddhism
China’s Influence in Japan
- Adopted a centralized government → weakened during the Heian Period.
- Zen Buddhism
China’s Influence on Vietnam
- The elite adopted Confucianism and Buddhism.
- Rejected certain practices such as foot-binding and polygyny.
Buddhism
Centered on the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path to reach enlightenment → spread to China from India via the Silk Roads.
What are similarities between Buddhism and Hinduism?
Reincarnation & Enlightenment
How did Buddhism change as it spread to new places?
- Theravada Buddhism in Sri Lanka → confined Buddhism to monks and monasteries.
- Mahayana Buddhism in East Asia → broader participation in Buddhist practices.
New forms of Buddhism arose as it interacted with local cultures.
Commercialization of the Song Economy
Manufacturers and artisans began to produce more goods than they consumed → sold those good such as porcelain and silk in markets.
Champa Rice
Drought-resistant rice that could be harvest multiple times a year → more food which led to population growth.
Grand Canal
Facilitated trade and communication among China’s regions.
Tributary System
States acknowledged China’s power by sending tributes to honor the emperor → gave China great influence and facilitated trade.
Korea, Japan, and Vietnam were all tribute states.
Monotheistic Religions
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
Abbasid Caliphate
Ethnically Arab empire known for its Golden Age of Islam → began to break up and lose its power as the center of the Islamic world.
Baghdad
The capital city of the Abbasid Caliphate → center of learning, trade, and culture.
Mamluk Sultanate
Located in Egypt → Cairo became a center of Islamic culture and learning.
Seljuk Empire
Established in Central Asia as by Seljuk nomads.
Delhi Sultanate
Located in North India → marked the rise of Islam in the region.
The Mongols
Sacked Baghdad in 1258 → marked the end of the Abbasid Caliphate.
How did the the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate represent change and continuity?
The new empires were ethnically Turkic, not Arab (change).
The new empires established sharia law and had militaristic rule (continuity).
Cultural & Scientific Innovations in Dar al-Islam
- Nasir al-Din al-Tusi made significant advances in mathematics.
- Muslim scholars preserved the works Greek philosophers such as Plato and Aristotle by translating them into Arabic.
The House of Wisdom
Renowned center of learning in Baghdad during the Golden Age of Islam.
How did Islamic rule expand?
- Military expansion
- Muslim merchants
- Sufi missionaries
What were the three main religions fighting for dominance in South and Southeast Asia?
Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam.
Bhakti Movement
Began in South India as an innovation on traditional polytheistic Hinduism → emphasized devotion to one Hindu god.
It challenged social and gender hierarchies in Hindu India.
How was the Delhi Sultanate ineffective?
They had difficulty imposing a total Muslim state among the majority Hindu population.
Rajput Kingdoms
Rival and warring Hindu kingdoms → resisted Islamic rule.
Vijayanagara Empire
Established as a failed attempt to extend Muslim rule in South India.
Sea-based Empires
- Majapahit Kingdom → Buddhist kingdom that maintained its influence by controlling trade routes.
- Srivijaya Empire → Buddhist kingdom that gained wealth by taxing ships entering the Malacca Strait.
Land-Based Empires
- Khmer Empire → Converted to Buddhism → Angkor Wat combines Hindu & Buddhist elements.
- Sinhala Dynasties → centers of Buddhism.
Aztec Administration
Created a system of tribute states → conquered people were required to provide labor goods, and human sacrifices.
Inca Adminstration
Created an elaborate bureaucracy and had a rigid hierarchy of officials spread throughout the empire.
Mit’a System
Required people to provide labor on state projects.
Carpa Nan
Extensive network of roads that allowed Inca military to maintain rule over a vast territory.
Difference between Aztec & Inca administration:
Aztecs → decentralized, while the Incas → highly centralized.
Mississippian State Building
Large towns dominated smaller, satellite settlements.
Known for their large earth mounds → Cahokia.
Swahili Civilization
Series of city-states that gained influence through trade in the Indian Ocean trade.
Swahili Administration
Politically independent with a common social hierarchy → put merchants above commoners.
Deeply influenced by Muslim traders → Swahili language.
Mali Kingdom
High centralized kingdom established by Sundiata → used connections with Muslim traders to cultivate a thriving gold trade.
Hausa Kingdoms
Series of city-states that shared a common culture and language.
Grew powerful through land-based trade on the trans-Saharan trade.
Zimbabwe
Grew wealthy through farming cattle herding, and gold exports.
Zimbabwe never converted to Islam and maintain indigenous religion.
Kingdom of Ethiopia
Had a hierarchical structure with the monarch on top.
Only Christian state.
Christianity in Europe
Eastern Orthodox and Roman Catholicism.
Byzantine Empire
Eastern part of the Roman Empire → Orthodox Christianity (continued by the Kievan Rus).
States in Western Europe were . . .
Tiny, decentralized states that emerged after the fall of the Roman Empire → united under Roman Catholicism.
The Roman Catholic Church
Held significant influence over society, culture, and politics.
Spain
The Umayyads conquered Spain and ruled from Cordoba → center of Islam.
Anti-Semitism
Jewish persecution that pushed Jews to the edge of society.
European Adminstration
Decentralization and political fragmentation → feudalism and manorialism.
Feudalism
A system of allegiances between powerful lords, monarchs, and knights → vassals received land from their lords in exchange for military service.
Manoralism
A system in which serfs worked on lands owned by lords in exchange for protection.
Who held political and economic power in Europe?
Landowning lords (nobility) → monarchs gained powers and states became highly centralized.
