Professional Documents
Culture Documents
KBP 1
Feudalism
WHAP: AP Review
KBP 2
Science/Math
Technology
Islamic World
Arabesque design
Poetry
1001 Arabian Nights
Mosques
Medical treatises
Astronomy
Algebra
Decimal system
Numeral system and
zero (from India)
Improved astrolabe
Steel swords
Europe
Narrative poems:
Beowulf, Chanson de
Roland
Gutenberg Bible
Italian Renaissance
Medicine - quarantine
Water mill
Horse collars
Saddle
Printing press
Tang/Song China
Pottery
Plays
shi
poetry
Astronomy
Medicine
Paper money
Lighter weight porcelain
Iron and steel
metallurgy
Gunpowder
Moveable type printing
Magnetic compass
Iron plow
Trade Routes
Trans-Saharan trade
: Trade of gold, ivory, slaves and spices from Sub-Saharan Africa with salt,
cloth and metal ware from the Sahara. Aided the rise of African empires and kingdoms in West
Africa and spread Islam through West Africa.
Indian Ocean trade
: Slaves, ivory, gold and iron from Africa; porcelain from China; pottery from
Burma; cloth from India. Major route between East Africa and Asia made possible by the monsoons.
Traded with China through Arabs, Indians, Malayans and Indonesians which lasted until the 1400s
when direct trade was established. Brought prosperity to East Africa through the development of
trading networks into the interior of the continent and set the stage for the rise of African trading
cities such as Sofala and Kilwa.
Silk Road
: Silks and porcelain from China; woolen and linen cloth, glass, horses, ivory from other
trading partners. Spread Buddhism and Christianity and spurred European interest in finding a
water route to China.
Americas trade
: Thanks to empires like the Maya and Aztec as well as the rise of Amerindian
cultures like the Mississippian and Anasazi trade increased exponentially during this time period.
There is archaeological evidence of trade throughout the entire Americas although tribes from South
and North America may have not have interact their goods will spread through intermediaries. The
rise of trading cities is also seen in the Americas with the major city being that of Cahokia which had
its height in 1200 had a population that would have been as large or larger than any European city.
Islamic Empires
Islam:
A monotheistic religion that incorporates traditions of Judaism and Christianity. The founder is
Muhammad who is believed by Muslims to be the last prophet. The core tenets of Islam reside in what is
WHAP: AP Review
KBP 3
known as the Five Pillars: statement of faith, prayer 5 times daily, alms, fasting during Ramadan and the
hajj. Their holy book is the Quran. Eventually Islam will split into Sunni and Shiite.
Empires:
Muhammad was a religious, political and military leader and thus during his lifetime helped
conquer lands for the new faith. Islam spread quickly through the Middle East, North Africa and even into
Europe after Muhammads death. The political system was known as the caliphates or later as a sultanate.
Originally the empires were ruled by those of Arab descent however ultimately with the Mamluks, Ottomans
and Safavids you have non-Arab Islamic empires. Notable Islamic empires are the Umayyad Caliphate,
Abbasid Caliphate, Mamluk Caliphate, Ottoman Empire, Safavid Empire and Mughal Empire.
The Mongols
Organization:
The Mongol invasions disrupted all major trade routes, but Genghis Khans son and
grandsons organized the vast empire in such a way that the routes soon recovered. They formed four
Khanates, or political organizations each ruled by a different relative, with the ruler of the original empire in
Central Asia designated as the Great Khan. Once the Mongols defeated an area generally by brutal tactics,
they were generally content to extract tribute from them, and often allowed conquered people to keep many
of their customs. The Mongol khans were spread great distances apart and they soon lost contact with one
another. Most of them adopted many customs, even religions, of the people they ruled. For example, the
Il-khan that conquered the last caliphate in the Middle East eventually converted to Islam and was a great
admirer of the sophisticated culture and advanced technologies of his subjects.
Impact:
Created the largest land empire in the world
Spread other cultures
Improved trade throughout Asia and Eastern Europe
Paper money, banking and letters of credit
Once areas were conquered a period of extended peace normally resulted -
pax Mongoliana
WHAP: AP Review
KBP 4
Religious Diffusion/Interaction
The new religion, Islam, like Christianity and Buddhism had a missionary outreach. All three religions sent
missionaries traveling through Asia but the religions interacted and diffused in other ways as well. Islam and
Buddhism interacted through the Silk Road while Islam and Christianity interacted through the Crusades
which ultimately resulted in trade between the two.
The Americas
Civilization
Political
System
Social
System
Culture
Decline
Maya
(250 to
900)
City-states
Patriarchy
Language:
Hieroglyphic
writing
Art/Literature:
stepped
pyramids, jade artwork
Science/Technology:
zero,
astronomy, calendars
Religion:
polytheism,
shamans, blood sacrifice,
cyclical time, ritual ballgame
Diverse
explanations for
causes:
environmental,
overuse of
resources, warfare
Aztec
(1250 1521, empire from
1427 - 1521)
Emperor
Tributary
states
Military
empire
Capital:
Tenochtitlan
Rigid class
system
Patriarchy
Slaves from
war
Language:
pictographic
Art/Literature:
Poetry
highly regarded, jade work,
monumental architecture
Science/Technology:
chinampas
Religion:
polytheism,
shamans, human sacrifice,
cyclical time, ritual ballgame
Lack of immunity
to Afro-Eurasian
diseases like
smallpox
Tributary states
allied with Spanish
Inca
(1438-1533)
Dynastic
emperor
Military
empire
Capital:
Cusco
Rigid class
system
Patriarchy
Language:
quipu primary
for record keeping
Art/Literature:
monumental architecture
(Machu Picchu)
Science/Technology:
roads, astronomy,
mathematics, medicine
Religion:
polytheism,
shamans, human sacrifice,
cyclical time, reincarnation,
textiles
Lack of immunity
to Afro-Eurasian
diseases like
smallpox
Tributary states
allied with Spanish
Demographic changes
Nomadic Peoples
Areas Conquered
Impact
Arabs
WHAP: AP Review
KBP 5
Roman culture
Turks
Islam
Defeated Byzantine Empire
(1453)
Unified region
Mongols
Improved trade
Spread cultures
pax Mongoliana
Slavs
Trading
Orthodox Christianity
Aztecs
Central Mexico
Vikings
Two Travellers
Much of our knowledge of the world in the 13th and 14th century comes from two travelers, Ibn Battuta and
Marco Polo, who widened knowledge of other cultures through their writings about their journeys.
Ibn Battuta
: This famous traveler and prolific writer of the 14th century spend many years of his
life visiting many places within the Islamic empires. He was a Moroccan legal scholar who left his
home for the first time to make a pilgrimage to Mecca. After his hajj was completed, he traveled
through Mesopotamia and Persia, then sailed down the Red Sea and down the East African coast as
far south as Kilwa. He later traveled to India, the Black Sea, Spain, Mali, and the great trading cities
of Central Asia. He wrote about all of the places he traveled and compiled a detailed journal that has
given historians a great deal of information about those places and their customs during the 14th
century.
Marco Polo
: In the late 13th century, Marco Polo left his home in Venice, and eventually traveled
for many years in China. He was accompanied by his father and uncle, who were merchants anxious
to stimulate trade between Venice along the trade routes east. Polo met the Chinese ruler Kublai
Khan (Genghis Khans grandson), who was interested in his travel stories and convinced him to stay
as an envoy to represent him in different parts of China. He served the khan for 17 years before
returning home, where he was captured by Genoans at war with Venice. While in prison, he
entertained his cellmates with stories about China. One prisoner compiled the stories into a book
that became wildly popular in Europe, even though many did not believe that Polos stories were
true. Europeans could not believe that the fabulous places that Polo described could ever exist.