Unit 2 Network of Exchange (1200-1450) Flashcards
The only indigenous aspect of Japanese culture during the Heian era was
Shinto
Heian
capital of Japan during feudalism artistic culture 1200-1450
Asian Steppes
- steppes are vast belts of dry grassland
- Eastern Steppe: (present-day Mongolia) was home to the Huns, Turks and Mongols
- Marked by little rainfall and short, hardy grasses
Pastoralists
def- herders of domesticated animals
- they lived in portable tents called yurts
- depended on their animals for food, clothing and housing
Nomads Vs. Settled Societies
The steppe nomads always lived near settled societies for purposes of trade
- they traded animal products in exchange for grain, metal cloth, and tea
- weakened cities were targets for them to plunder and raid
Rise of Genghis Khan (Temuijn)
elected khagan (supreme leader) at a kuriltari (meeting of all Mongol chieftains)
Conquests under Genghis Khan
he moved west toward the Kara Khitai Empire (Mongolian-speaking people) and the Khwarazm Empire
Mongol capital at Karakorum
What made Genghis so successful?
- trained from youth to ride, hunt and fight
- fire bows with accuracy while riding horseback
- military promotion was based on skill and leadership
- adapted battle techniques
Genghis Khan Brutal Ways
-all conquered territories were required to pay tribute to the Mongol conquerors
Genghis Khan Tolerant Ways
- spared the lives of famous scholars, and artisans with useful skills
- employ these people as advisors and administrators
- since their religion was connected to their land (Shamanistic), they were tolerant of other religions
Death of Genghis Khan
his sons and grandsons continued the campaign of conquest and divided the empire into khanates which are regional Mongol kingdoms
4 Khanates
- Khanate of the Great Khan (Mongolia & China)
- Khanate of Chagatai (Central Asia)
- The Ilkhanate (Persia)
- Khanate of the Golden Horde (Russia)
Fall of Baghdad
- By the 1200s the Abbasid Caliphate had no real power outside of its capital in Baghdad
- In 1258 Hulagu Khan attacked Baghdad mosques, hospitals. libraries and palaces
- the end of the Islamic Golden Age
Peace under the Mongol Empire
- trade routes were made safe and secure, including the Silk Road
- Pax Mongolica
The Mongol Assault on the Middle East
led to the conversion of the Mongols in the area to Nestorian Christianity
Mongols in Russia
- Russian called the Mongols Tatars (or Tartars) meaning “people from hell”
- the Mongols carried out only successful winter invasion in Russian history
The Golden Horde
Batu (Genghis Khan son)
- in 1240, the Mongols destroyed the city of Kiev
- Novgorod agreed the Mongol demands for tribute, and the city was spared
Russian Isolation from Europe
- Mongols dominated Russia for 2 and a half centuries
- Russian princes served as vassals and paid tribute to the Golden Horde
- Rise of serfdom
- the Mongols protected Russia from European kingdoms but also isolated it so it developed a culture separate from Western Europe
Rise of Moscow
- By 1328 it served as tribute collector for the Mongols khans and benefitted from increased trade
- Moscow soon became the seat of the Russian Orthodox Church
Why would Christians in Western Europe initially support the Mongol khans?
According to legend, Prester John was a mythical Christian monarch whose kingdoms was cut off from Europe by Muslims conquests
Mongols turn their eye toward Europe
- Mongol attack on Muslim states convinced European Christians that Genghis Khan might be Prester John
- Batu Khan attempted to invade Hungary and fought against Christians knights in 1240
Retreat from Europe
- The death of the khagan Ogedei in 1241 forced Batu to withdraw in preparation for the struggle for succession
- The conquest of Europe was never resumed
Mongols in the Islamic Heartland
Hulegu Khan (another grandson)- the ruler of the Ilkhanate in Persia -a Mongol victory over the Seljuk Turks in 1242 opened Asia Minor to conquest by a different Turkic-speaking people - the Ottomans
Egypt
- Mamluks: Muslim slaves who rebelled and placed their own ruler on the throne in 1254
- The Mamluk resistance to Mongol invasion received Christian support and ultimately prevented Mongol spread to Africa
Ottoman Turks
- a Turkish chieftain named Osman would a campaign against the Seljuk Turks
- his descendants would call themselves Osmanlis
- By 1453 the Ottoman Sultan Mehmed II would capture the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, renaming it Istanbul
- they would control all of Greece and the Balkan region
Russia’s defeat by the Mongols
led to 250 years of Mongol dominance
Mongols in China
the Mongols began their campaign in China from 1235 to 1279
-demanded tribute from the Song dynasty rulers
Rise of Kublai Khan
Kublai (or Kubilai) Khan : Genghis Khan grandson
-he gave the Mongol regime in China a Chinese dynastic title, calling it the Yuan Dynasty
The Imperial City
- unlike previous Mongol rulers, Kublai moved into the settled areas under his control
- capital of the Yuan Dynasty at Dadu (present-day Beijing)
- Chinese advisors (Buddhists, Daoist, and Confucian), as well as nomadic and Muslim allies (Persians/Turks)
Why would Kublai establish the policies below?
-Mongols were forbidden to marry ethic Chinese
-Mongol military forces remained separate from the Chinese
Although he respected Chinese culture, Kublai attempted to preserve the distinction between Mongol and Chinese to prevent assimilation
Admission under the Mongols
- a Mongol encampment of yurts was set up outside the city where the Mongols would live
- the Yuan Dynasty got rid of the civil service system and ended the privileges of the Confucian scholars
Chabi
- close advisor to Kublai and promoted Buddhist interests in China
- he refused to adopt the social customs of Chinese women
Marco Polo
- There he invited to Kublai Khan’s court and served as an administrator for 17 years
- enhanced European interest in Asia
Mongol Expansion in Asia
Kublai launched several invasions of Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma- however Mongol forces did not adapt to the humid. tropical jungles of southeast Asia
Decline of the Yuan
- In the 1350s, the government could not protect locals from a widespread famine, and corrupt administrators continued to raise higher taxes, which enraged the peasant class
- White Lotus Society
Rise of the Ming
Zhu Yuanzhang became a military commander and forced the Mongols out establishing the Ming Dynasty
Which of the following is true of commerce in the Indian Ocean during the time period 600-1450 CE?
Indian Ocean commerce flourished and was conducted by a mixture of Asian, Middle Eastern. and East African merchants
Silk Road Revival
- by the 8th and 9th centuries, Arab merchants from the Abbasid Empire revived the land route of the Silk Road as well as sea routes in the Indian Ocean
- Tang China exported the compass, paper, gunpowder, porcelain, tea and silk
- they imported cotton, precious stones, pomegranates, dates, horses and grapes
Impact of Mongol Empire
- the most significant cause for the revival of the Silk Road trade network was the rise of the Mongol Empire
- this trade network was unified under one system for the first time
- the Mongols improved roads and punished bandits, and established new trade channels between Asia, the Middle East, Africa and Europe
New Transportation Technologies
- travelling with others in caravans was sager than traveling alone
-saddles for camels
-used magnetic compass, improved rudder to help ship control
Junk ships- similar to the Southwest Asian dhow
Effects of Growth of Exchange Networks
- cities along Silk Road became thriving centers of trade
- Kashgar, Samarkand
- Caravanserai- inns built for travelers often 100 miles apart
Commercial Innovations
flying cash - allowed merchants to deposit paper money in one location and withdraw the same amount in another location
bills of exchange - document stating the holder was legally promised payment later in the future
Which of the following factors helps explain the rise of urban centers and the increase in trade in Afro-Eurasia during the second half of the thirteenth century?
the availability of safe and reliable transport along land-based trade routes
Trans-Saharan Trade Network
- had become famous throughout Europe and Asia
- introduction of camels and different types of saddles
- gold was the most precious commodity
- in exchange for gold, ivory and slaves, foreign traders brought salt, textiles, and horses
- also led to spread of Islam
Expanding Role of States
- growth of trade led to the rise of the Ghana and Mali empires
- Founder of Mali, Sundiata
- By the late 1400s, the Songhai Kingdom had taken over the weakening Mali Empire
Griot
West African storytellers tasked with passing down oral histories through poems or music
Spread of Cultural Traditions
As merchants traded along the various networks of exchange, they spread religious beliefs, some of which combined with local traditions
EXAMPLES
Buddhism- spread to East Asia (Tang Dynasty)
Neo-Confucianism to Japan , Vietnam and Korea
Hinduism and Buddhism spread to Southeast Asia (Khmer Empire)
Islam spread to sub-Saharan Africa/Asia
Technological Innovations
- Islamic scholars translated Greek literary classics into Arabic
- Gunpowder will spread throughout Asia/Middle East/Europe
- Improvements in agriculture spread from India to Vietnam and China leads to population growth
- Papermaking leads to rise of literary
Travelers within Afro-Eurasia
Marco Polo- wrote about high levels of urbanization & trade-related matters (merchants point of view) Ibn Battuta- wrote from Muslim point of view Margery Kempe- English mystic; described pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, Germany and Spain and firsthand account of middle-class medieval woman's life
Diffusion of Crops
Champa rice- grown in Southeast Asia, offered to Chinese as tribute; drought and flood resistant, yielded 2 crops a year, led to people migrating southward
Bananas- cultivation of sugar, cotton & citrus crops
Spread of Epidemic Diseases
- Bubonic plaque
- some historians believed the caravanserai may have contributed to the spread of disease
- Europe : population declined, led to end of feudalism, demand for higher wages
- 25 million Chinese and other Asians died between 1332-1347
- South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa spared because there were few trading ports in those regions
