AP REVIEW 600AD – 1450AD
STAY FOCUSED ON THE BIG PICTURE 
As you review the details of the civilizations in this chapter, stay focused on the big-picture concepts and ask yourself some questions, including the following: 
1.	Do cultural areas, as opposed to states or empires, better represent history? Cultural areas are those that share a common culture, and don't necessarily respect geographical limitations. States, like city-states and nation-states (countries), and empires, have political boundaries, even if those boundaries aren't entirely agreed upon. 

2.	How does change occur within societies? As you review all the information in this chapter, you'll notice a lot of talk about trading, migrations, and invasions. Pay attention to why people move around so much in the first place, and the impact of these moves. And, don't forget, sometimes change occurs within a society because of internal developments, not because of external influences. Pay attention to that too. 

3.	How similar were the economic and trading practices that developed across cultures? Pay attention to monetary systems, trade routes, and trade practices. How did they link up? 
REVIEW OF HISTORY WITHIN CIVILIZATIONS FROM 600-1450 C.E. 
A. THE RISE OF ISLAM 
In the seventh century, Islam took hold in the Middle East. This faith was monotheistic, like Judaism and Christianity. The followers of Islam, called Muslims, believe that Allah (God) transmitted his words to the faithful through Mohammad, whose followers began to record those words in what came to be called the Qur'an (to recite; also spelled Koran). Muslims believe that salvation is won through submission to the will of God, and that this can be accomplished by following the Five Pillars of Islam. These five pillars include: (1) confession of faith (There is no God but God and Mohammad is his messenger), (2) prayer five times a day, (3) charity to the needy (almsgiving), (4) fasting during the month-long Ramadan, and (5) pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during one's lifetime. 
Islam shares a common history with Judaism and Christianity. It accepts Abraham, Moses, and Jesus as prophets (although it does not accept Jesus as the son of God), and holds that Mohammad was the last great prophet. Like Christians, Muslims believe that all people are equal before God and that everyone should be converted to the faith. Early on, Islam split into two groups: Shia (Shiite) and Sunni. The split occurred over a disagreement about who should succeed Mohammad as the leader (caliph) of the faith. 
Allah Be Praised: Islam Tokes Hold 
Growing up in the city of Mecca in the Arabian desert (present-day Saudi Arabia), Mohammad was exposed to many different beliefs, in part because Mecca lay on the trade routes between the Mediterranean and the Indian Ocean. He was exposed to both Judaism and Christianity as a child, as well as the many polytheistic faiths that had traditionally influenced the region. Once he began preaching the monotheistic religion of Islam he came into conflict with the leaders of Mecca, who had both a religious and economic interest in wanting to maintain the polytheistic shrines that attracted pilgrimages and brought wealth to the community. Persecuted, and threatened with death, Mohammad and his followers fled to Medina in 622 C.E. in what is known as the hijra (which also marks year 1 on the Muslim calendar). Mohammad and his followers found support in Medina and, in 630, he returned to Mecca and destroyed the pagan shrines-except for the Ka'ba, which became the focal point of Muslim pilgrimage. 
From there, Islam spread throughout the Arabian Peninsula and beyond. Islam came to be officially practiced in Muslim culture, similar to the way the tenets of Christianity were practiced in the Roman and Byzantine Empires. As Islam spread rapidly through the Middle East and Africa, and toward Europe, Christian leaders became increasingly alarmed. 
The Empire Grows as the Religion Splits 
When Mohammad died unexpectedly in 632, Abu Bakr, one of his first followers in Mecca, became caliph, the head of state, military commander, chief judge, and religious leader. The caliph as a sort of emperor and religious leader in one. He ruled an empire, but he also made pronouncements on religious doctrine. The Islamic empire was what's known as a theocracy, a religious government. It was ruled by a caliph, tat is why the theocratic Islamic Empire was referred to as a caliphate. In these early years, the growth of Islam was inextricably linked to the growth of this empire. 
As time went on the caliphs began to behave more like hereditary rulers, like those in a monarchy, except that there was no clear line of succession, which caused a great deal of trouble down the road. The fourth caliph, Ali, was assassinated and was succeeded by his son, Hasan. But under pressure from a prominent family in Mecca, Hasan relinquished his title, making way for the establishment of the Umayyad Dynasty. This dynasty would enlarge the Islamic Empire dramatically, but it would also intensify conflict with the Byzantine and Persian Empires for almost a century. 
During the Umayyad Dynasty, the capital was moved to Damascus, Syria, although Mecca remained the spiritual center. Also during the Umayyad reign, Arabic became the official language of the government; gold and silver coins became the standard monetary unit; and conquered subjects were" encouraged" to convert to Islam in order to establish a common faith throughout the empire. Those that didn’t convert were forced to pay a tax. 
The Islamic Empire grew enormously under the Umayyads. Numerous times during the early eighth century, the Umayyads attacked the Byzantine capital of Constantinople, but failed to overthrow that regime. That didn't stop them from going elsewhere, and in 732 C.E., the Islamic Empire began to make a move on Europe, by way of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain). At the time, Muslims held parts of southern Iberia and southern parts of Italy, while Christians dominated all the regions to the north. Charles Martel, a Frankish leader, stopped the Muslim advance (Battle of Tours) in its tracks as it tried to advance toward Paris, and so the Islamic Empire never flourished in Europe beyond parts of Spain and southern Italy. (More on the Franks and their activities a little later in this review.) 
Despite the success of the Umayyad Dynasty (the Dome of the Rock was built in Jerusalem during this time), problems with succession started to emerge. Eventually, the Muslims split into two camps, Shi'ite and Sunni. Shi'ite (Shia) Islam holds that Mohammad's son-in-law, Ali, was the rightful heir to the empire, based on Mohammad's comments to Ali. Sunnis, in contrast, though they hold Ali in high esteem, do not believe that he and his hereditary line are the chosen successors; rather, they contend that the leaders of the empire should be drawn from a broad base of the people. This split in Islam remains to this day. 
As the Shia began to assert themselves more dramatically, the Umayyad Dynasty went into decline, and ultimate demise. In a battle for control of the empire, the Umayyad Empire was defeated (punctuated by the slaughter of some members of the family). It was replaced by the Abbasid Dynasty. 
The Abbasid Dynasty: Another Golden Age to Remember 
The Abbasid Dynasty reigned from 750 to 1258, that is, until the Islamic Empire was defeated by the Mongols (more on them later). Throughout this time, like all major empires, the Abbasids had many ups and downs, but they oversaw a golden age, from the early to mid-ninth century, during which the arts and sciences flourished. The Abbasids built a magnificent capital at Baghdad, which became one of the great cultural centers of the world. 
Like most of the other ancient civilizations we've discussed so far, the Islamic Empire was built around trade. The merchants introduced the unique idea of credit to the empire's trade mechanisms to free them of the burden-and the danger- of carrying coins. Manufacturing played an important role in the expansion of the Islamic Empire. Steel, for example, was produced for use in swords. Islamic advancements were also seen in the medical and mathematics fields. Mohammad al-Razi, for example, published a massive medical encyclopedia, which was unlike anything compiled before it. And Islamic mathematicians expanded the knowledge they had learned from India; their contributions are especially noteworthy in algebra. 
It might surprise you to learn that the Islamic Empire is also often credited with playing a significant role in preserving Western culture (the Byzantines did this too.) In contrast to European civilizations during the Middle Ages, which were highly decentralized and dismissive of their ancient past, the Arabs kept the western heritage of the region alive. For example, when the Muslims encountered the classic writings of ancient Athens and Rome, including those of Plato and Aristotle, they translated them into Arabic. Later, when Muslims and Christians battled for control of the Levant (present-day Israel, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon and points north and south) during the European Crusades, Europe found its own history among the other treasures preserved in Arabic libraries and museums. This again demonstrates how the interaction between two peoples (even when violent) can lead to trade and cultural exchange. 
The Muslims, similar to the Romans, were often tolerant of the local customs of the areas they conquered-although Christians and Jews were often persecuted. More flexibility in this area contributes to rapid growth of an empire. The Sufis, Islamic mystics, were its most effective missionaries.  By allowing, and even encouraging, followers to practice their own ways to revere Allah, and by tolerating others who placed Allah in the framework of other beliefs, the Sufis succeeded in converting large numbers of people to Islam.
Women and Islam: For Better, for Worse 
Before Islam in Arabia, women traditionally did not have property rights or inheritance rights; rather, women were essentially viewed as property themselves-of men. This institutionalized low status for women eventually led to a culture in which baby girls were seen as less valuable than baby boys. Tragically this often translated into female infanticide, the killing of an unwanted baby girl.  
The Qur'an, the sacred book of Islam, established between 651 and 652, changed much of this. 
Although women remained subservient to men and under their direction and control, they began to be treated with more dignity, and were considered equal before Allah. If a man divorced his wife, he would have to return her dowry to her. More important, infanticide was strictly forbidden. And women gained influence within the home-and in early Islamic society, women sometimes had influence outside it. Khadija, Mohammad's first wife and boss, had been a successful businesswoman, 
Men were permitted to have as many as four wives, as long as they were able to support them and treated them equally. Legally, women were treated unequally; a woman's testimony in court, for example, was given only half the weight of a man's. Restrictions for women even included what they wore: They had to be veiled in public-although this custom began in Mesopotamia and Persia, Islamic society adopted and adapted it. Over time, Islamic society became more structured and more patriarchal. Notice that as most societies become more structured women get the shaft.
The Fall of the Islamic Empire: The Mongol Menace 
The Islamic Empire regularly endured internal struggles and civil wars, often arising from the differences between the Sunni and Shi'ite sects. But the Muslims also faced external problems, caused by the Persians, Europeans, and the Byzantines. It would be their most distant enemy, however, the Mongols, who would defeat them. In 1258, the Mongols overran the Islamic Empire and destroyed Baghdad, thereby signaling the end of the Abbasid Dynasty. Its people would flee to Egypt, where they remained intact but powerless. Eventually, the Ottoman Turks would reunite Egypt, Syria, and Arabia in a new Islamic state, which would last until 1918. 
B. DEVElOPMENTS IN EUROPE AND THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE 
Developments in Europe became quite complicated during the Middle Ages, which is the period after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance. The Roman Empire, and eventually Christianity, was divided into two factions that split. Ultimately, the eastern Roman Empire, centered in Constantinople, became the highly centralized government known as the Byzantine Empire; whereas, in the west, the empire collapsed entirely, although the religion retained a strong foothold (absence of government=strong religion). 
As you review the events in this region, the important points to remember are: (1) the Byzantine Empire was a lot more centralized and organized than the western empire, and (2) both practiced Christianity, though not in the same way. 
The Byzantine Empire: The Brief Details 
The Byzantine Empire was distinct from the Roman Empire. It used the Greek language; its architecture had distinctive domes; its culture in general had more in common with Eastern cultures like those of Persia; and its brand of Christianity became an entirely separate branch known as Orthodox Christianity. 
 Contrasting Issue: Europe at the time was fragmented into small feudal kingdoms with limited power and less cultural and intellectual advancement. The Byzantine Empire, like the Islamic Empire to the south, was significantly different. The Byzantine emperors ruled by absolute authority, especially over the economy. The Byzantines also used coined money.
Under Justinian, who reigned from 527 to 565, the former glory and unity of the Roman Empire was somewhat restored in Constantinople. The region flourished in trade and the arts. Constantinople and Baghdad rivaled each other for cultural supremacy. The Justinian period is perhaps most remembered for two things: (1) the Justinian Code, a codification of Roman law that kept ancient Roman legal principles alive, and (2) the flowering of the arts and sciences, evident in the construction of major buildings and churches, most notably Hagia Sophia. The Byzantines are also remembered and admired for their mastery of the mosaic art form they used to decorate churches.
Roman Catholicism and Byzantium disagreed over the sacrament of communion and whether priests should be allowed to marry, and the use of local languages in church. They also disagreed over the placement of icons during worship. In 1054 C.E., unable to reconcile their differences, the pope excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople, who did the same to the pope. From this point forward, Orthodoxy influenced the East and Roman Catholicism influenced the West. 
Impact of Orthodoxy on Russia & Why Russia Would Be Culturally Different from Western Europe
In the ninth century, the Slavic peoples of southeastern Europe and Russia were converted to Christianity by St. Cyril, an Orthodox Christian, who used the Greek alphabet to create a Slavic alphabet (Cyrillic Script) that to this day is used in parts of the region.  Most of these areas were not part of the Byzantine Empire itself, but were influenced by it. When Vladimir, a Russian prince from Kiev, abandoned the traditional pagan religion and converted to Christianity, he also considered Islam, Judaism, and Roman Catholicism. Rumor has it that he chose Orthodoxy because its churches were so beautiful and the religious placed no restrictions on when or what he could and could not eat. 
The dominance of Christian Orthodoxy in this region is significant because while Western Europe followed one cultural path, Eastern Europe followed another, and this had a tremendous impact on the development of Russia. The Russian Orthodox Church was aligned with Byzantine, not Roman traditions. As a result of this, and the Mongol invasion (coming up soon), Russia became culturally different from the other great powers of Europe, which grew out of the Roman Catholic tradition (shows cultural diffusion along different lineage).
Meanwhile Out West: The Franks versus the Muslims 
The best place to begin a discussion of political developments in Western Europe in the Middle Ages is with the Franks. After the classical Roman Empire fell apart, due in part to invasions from Germanic tribes, these tribes settled throughout Western Europe. Most of the tribes converted to Christianity relatively quickly, though politically they continued to run their own programs. They formed alliances and expanded, sometimes enough to be considered kingdoms. The most significant of these early kingdoms was the Franks. 
The Franks were a Germanic tribe that united under the leadership of King Clovis in the late fifth century. He built a rather large empire that stretched from present-day Germany through Belgium and into France. He converted to Roman Catholicism.  His new empire did help the various peoples of Western Europe solidify under a common· culture, which made it easier for them to unify against Muslim invasions, which in the eighth century took over parts of Spain. Charles “The Hammer” Martel led the revolt against the advancing Muslim armies defeated them at the Battle of Tours in 732.  This is a significant battle because it permanently halted the Muslims as they never moved further north after this point in history.  
Martel then founded the Carolingian Dynasty. When it came time for his son, Pepin “The Short”, to take the reins, Pepin chose to have his succession certified by the pope, a significant step that sent the clear signal that an empire's legitimacy rested on the Roman Catholic Church's approval. 
Charlemagne: The Empire Strikes Back 

Holy Roman Empire: Central Europe around the Thirteenth Century 
In the centuries following the breakup of the Roman Empire, no true empire existed in Western Europe. The Franks had built a large kingdom, but it could hardly be considered an empire by historical standards. It would be Pepin's son, Charles, who would revitalize the concept of the empire in Western Europe. Like his father, Charles was crowned by the pope in 800 and became known as Charlemagne ("Charles the Great"). 
The empire Charlemagne built would come to be called the Holy Roman Empire upon the coronation of Otto the Great in 962. It's important to point out that this empire had little in common with the original Roman Empire, other than the fact that power was once again centralized and Rome began to think of itself again as a world center. It was relatively small compared to the original Roman Empire. It included northern Italy, Germany, Belgium, and France. Nevertheless, it marked the beginning of Western European ambition in terms of empire-building, especially among those in the church. 
Under Charlemagne, a strong focus was placed on the arts and education with a much more religious tone. Much of this effort centered in the monasteries under the direction of the church. Although Charlemagne was very powerful, his rule was not absolute. Society was structured around Feudalism (more on feudalism shortly). Charlemagne had overall control of the empire, but the local lords held power over the local territories. Because Charlemagne did not levy taxes, he failed to build a strong and united empire. After his death the empire was divided among his three grandsons according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843. 
During this time, Western Europe continued to be attacked by powerful invaders, notably the Vikings from Scandinavia (the Vikings in particular were fierce warriors and seamen). Remarkably, however, in spite of the Viking’s regular victories they, too, were converted to Christianity. This continued in a pattern of invading tribes assimilating to a common civilization in Western Europe because of religion, not political power. By the middle of the Middle Ages, the Catholic Church had become the most powerful institution in Western Europe and one of the most powerful institutions in the world. 
European Feudalism: Land Divided 
Feudalism, the name of the European political and social system of the Middle Ages, had a strict hierarchy. At the top was a king, who had power over an entire territory, called his kingdom. Beneath him were the nobles, who in exchange for military service and loyalty to the king were granted power over sections of the kingdom. The nobles, in turn, divided their lands into smaller sections under the control of lesser lords called vassals. Below the vassals were peasants, who worked the land. For this system to work, everyone had to fulfill obligations to others at different levels in the hierarchy: to serve in the military, produce food, or serve those who were at a higher level. 
The estates that were granted to the vassals were called fiefs, and these later became known as manors. The lord and the peasants lived on the manor. The mutually beneficial relationship between the lord and the peasant became known as manorialism.  The peasants worked the land on behalf of the lord, and in exchange the lord gave the peasants protection and a place to live. Many of the manors were remarkably self-sufficient. Food was harvested, clothing and shoes were made, and so on.  Advances made in the science of agriculture during this time helped the manors to succeed. Such advances were called the three-field system (one for the fall harvest, one for the spring harvest, and one not-seeded) and the mold-board plow. In this way, manors were able to accumulate food surpluses and build on the success. 
Conflicts erupted between feudal lords on a regular basis (this is where the term feud comes from). The etiquette of these disputes and rules of engagement was highly refined and flowed from the code of chivalry, an honor system that strongly condemned betrayal and promoted mutual respect. Most of the lords (and knights, who were also considered part of the nobility) followed the code of chivalry. 
Inheritance, Women, & Serfs
The feudal system, as most of the civilizations we've discussed so far, was male-dominated. Land equaled power, and only males could inherit land, so women were pretty much powerless. Specifically, when a lord died under the feudal system his land and title passed down via primogeniture, to the eldest son. Even noblewomen had few rights. They could inherit a fief, but they could not rule it. And their education was limited to only domestic skills. As usual in most early societies, women were admired and valued as property, to be protected or displayed. 
Peasants (called serfs) in the feudal social system, whether male or female, had few rights. As manorial life evolved, an increasing number of peasants became tied to the land quite literally; they couldn't leave the manor without permission from their lord. Peasants were not quite slaves, but not free either. Ironically, however, it was this "imprisonment" on the land that led to the serfs becoming highly skilled workers. In short, they learned how to do whatever it took to make the manor on which they worked self-sufficient.
Height of the Middle Ages: Trading and Crusading 
Given the new importance of trade, early urban centers or towns with wealthy merchants grew near the largest and most powerful manors. Like their manorial predecessors, the towns had a great deal of independence within the empire. Eventually, towns formed alliances, not unlike a city-state structure. One of the most significant alliances, the Hanseatic League, had an economic basis; it controlled trade throughout much of northern Europe. You can see how these alliances and interdependence of the towns started the drive toward the growth of nations.
Among the greatest artistic achievements of the Middle Ages was its architecture, specifically its cathedrals. In the early Middle Ages, churches were built in the bulky Romanesque style; later architectural advancements led to what came to be called the Gothic style. Gothic cathedrals were designed to draw worshippers closer to God. To achieve this, architects of the day used "flying buttresses," which gave support for tall windows and vaulted ceilings. The Church sponsored artists to adorn the inside of cathedrals with paintings and sculpture. 

		

Trade Routes of the Hanseatic League in the Thirteenth to Fifteenth Centuries
European contact with the Muslim world began in two ways: 1) The Crusades.  The Crusades were military campaigns undertaken by European Christians of the eleventh through the fourteenth centuries to take over the Holy Land and convert Muslims and other non-Christians to Christianity. 2) Trade routes helped spur new thought and broadened the perspective of these previously inward-looking people. 
An important effect of people thinking more openly was the founding of universities, where men (not women) could study philosophy, law, and medicine, and learn from the advances made in Muslim cultures. In science, the ideas of Aristotle, Ptolemy, and other Greeks were brought to Europe through contacts with Islamic and Byzantine Empires (again, via trading and crusading). This progression, called scholasticism, sometimes came into conflict with the church, as it relied on reason rather than faith as its basis. 
Doubts about the true religious motives behind The Crusades began to arise.  For example: a fourth and ultimately unsuccessful Crusade was attempted. During this crusade, which seemed motivated by greed, the Crusaders conquered-and sacked-the already Christian Constantinople, and declared a Latin Empire. (This empire was shortlived, lasting only some fifty years, at which point the Byzantines overthrew the Latins). A few years later, Pope Gregory IX set into motion the now-notorious Inquisition, a formalized interrogation and persecution process of heretics. Punishment for so-called nonbelievers ranged from excommunication and exile to torture and execution. 
Late in the thirteenth century, St. Thomas Aquinas, a famous Christian realist of this period, made significant inroads in altering Christian thought. He wrote Summa Theologica, which outlined his view that faith and reason are NOT in conflict, but that both are gifts from God and each can be used to enhance the other. His writings had a major impact on Christian thought, although the Church remained a strict guardian of its own interpretations. 
The Emergence of Notion-States: Power Solidifies (VERY IMPORTANT STUFF!!!)
Keep in mind that during the Middle Ages, western Europe wasn't organized into countries (nation-states); rather it was broken up into feudal kingdoms. But by the close of the Middle Ages, western Europe began to organize along cultural and linguistic lines. People who spoke French aligned themselves with France. Those who spoke English united under the banner of England. We'll be talking a lot more about this, but for now, just keep this general concept in mind. 
The various parts of Europe took different paths to achieve statehood during the thirteenth century. Germany and Italy became decentralized in a group of strong and independent kingdoms. In this environment, merchants and trades people became more powerful. In northern Germany, for example, the Hanseatic League (the influential association of merchants mentioned earlier) led the region's progress in international trade and commerce. 
England unified much more quickly. Since the time of William the Conqueror, England had followed a tradition of a strong monarchy. But during the rule of King John, powerful English nobles rebelled and forced him to sign the Magna Carta (1215 C.E.). This document reinstated the feudal rights of the nobles, but also extended the rule of law to other people in the country, namely. the growing middle class. This laid the foundation for the Parliament. After a trial period, The Parliament was divided into two branches: the House of Lords (nobles and clergy) and the House of Commons (knights and wealthy burghers). The House of Lords presided over legal issues and advised the king; the House of Commons was concerned with issues of trade and taxation. The result was that England established its identity pretty early on. 
The formation of France was intertwined with England. In 987, King Hugh Capet ruled only a small area around Paris; for the next couple of hundred years, subsequent French kings expanded the territory. But beginning in the twelfth century, England began to claim large parts of present-day France. The English occupation of the French-speaking territories led to revolts and, eventually, to French statehood.  This squabble was called the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453).  This effort would be spearheaded by an unlikely candidate. 
As a teenager, Joan of Arc, a farm girl, claimed to have heard voices that told her to liberate France from the English, who had by the early fifteenth century claimed the entire French territory. Remarkably, this uneducated youngster somehow managed to convince French authorities that she had been divinely inspired to lead men into battle, and they supplied her with military backing. With her army, she forced the British to retreat from Orleans, but was later captured by the French, tried by the English, and burned at the stake by the French. Nevertheless, she had a significant impact on the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) between England and France, which eventually resulted in England's withdrawal from France.  After the Hundred Years' War, royal power in France became more centralized. Under a series of monarchs known as Bourbons, France was unified and became a major power on the European continent. 
Around the same time, Spain was united by Queen Isabella, the ruler of Castille (present-day central Spain). Power in the Spanish-speaking region of Europe had been divided up until this point for a few reasons.  
1) Castille was one of three independent Spanish kingdoms, and therefore no single ruler controlled the region.
2) The peasants were split along religious lines (mostly Christian and Muslim), due to the lasting influences of the Muslim conquest of the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. 
Remedy: Isabella married Ferdinand, heir to the Spanish Kingdom of Aragon, thus uniting most of Spain in a single monarchy. Isabella and Ferdinand, both Christians, enlisted the Catholic Church as a strong ally. Spanish statehood thrived under the new monarchy and the alignment with the Catholic Church effectively ended religious toleration in the region. The result was that non-Christians (predominantly Muslim and Jewish people) were forced to convert to Christianity or leave the country. This marked the beginning of the Spanish Inquisition. Newly unified and energized, Spain embarked on an imperial quest that lead to tremendous wealth and glory, eventually resulting in the spread of the Spanish language, Spanish customs, and Christianity to much of the New World. 
What About Russia? 
Recall that Eastern Europe and Russia at this time were very different from the west. In 1242, Russia surrendered to the Tatars (what the Russians called the Mongols from the east) under Genghis Khan. The Tatars ruled a large chunk of Russia for two centuries, leading to a cultural rift that further split isolated Russia from Western Europe. 
By the fourteenth century the Mongol power started to decline and the Russian princes of Moscow grew in power. By the late 1400s, Ivan III expanded Moscow’s territory into much of modern-day Russia and declared himself Czar, the Russian word for emperor or Caesar. As the center of the Eastern Orthodox Church, Moscow was declared the Third Rome, after the real Rome and Constantinople. By the mid-1500s, Ivan the Terrible had centralized power by killing the boyars (Russian nobility). 
We will go more into each of these new nations.  This was just an introduction of how by this time, nationalism in Western Europe and Russia was well underway. 

C. DEVELOPMENTS IN CHINA, JAPAN, AND INDIA 
1. China and Nearby Regions 
Although we won't go into the details of Korea, Vietnam, and nearby parts of Asia again, you should understand that when we speak of China, we're actually talking about its influence throughout much of East and Southeast Asia. Remember that we called this Sinification in class. We'll talk more specifically about Korea, Vietnam, and Cambodia later. For now, you just need to understand that China had an enormous impact on cultural and political developments in other Asian civilizations. 
A Quick Review of the Rise and Fall and Rise and Fall and Rise 
The Tang Dynasty ruled China beginning in 618 C.E., the Tang expanded Chinese territory into parts of Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet, and Korea. By 907, however, the empire had become so large that local warlords gained more and more power, and the Tang dynasty collapsed. In 960, after a brief era of restlessness, China was reunified under the Song Dynasty. After a long period of peace and prosperity, the Song eventually fell to the Jurchen (northern peoples) and then the Mongols until finally in 1279, the Mongols established the Yuan Dynasty in its place. That dynasty didn't last long. The Mongols were driven from China, and in 1368 the Ming Dynasty restored traditional Chinese rule to the empire until 1644. 
The Tang and then the Song Dynasties in China were accomplished in virtually every category of human endeavor-art, architecture, science, philosophy, porcelain-making, silk-weaving, construction of transportation systems, and more. Today, Tang poetry tells us about daily life in China during that time. The Song built on the Tang Dynasty's talent for poetry with more practical applications of words, in the form of encyclopedias and histories. Under the Song Dynasty, China developed printing processes (woodblock), which facilitated the spread of its literary accomplishments throughout Asia, and later influenced the development of literature in Korea and Japan. 
At the height of both the Tang and Song Dynasties, China was relatively stable. One of the many reasons for the stability was the bureaucratic system that was based on merit through the use of the civil service examinations (remember which dynasty created it? (The Han Dynasty) The civil service examination kept focus on Confucian principles, which created a large core of educated, talented, and loyal government workers. The Tang and Song also built an extensive transportation and communication network, including canals. They developed new business practices, including the introduction of paper money (flying money) and letters of credit (hmmm ... where have we seen these before?... Abbasid Dynasty). All of this led to increased trade and cultural diffusion. 
Even during Mongol rule in China, the underlying bureaucracy remained in place. The Mongols brought in foreign government administrators, but the lower-level support and service jobs were kept by locals. Thus the system stayed intact and returned. 
During the Song Dynasty, new technologies were applied to the military. Gunpowder started to be used in primitive weapons. The magnetic compass made the Chinese Junks (trading vessel) more reliable.  Between 800 and 1100, iron production increased tenfold to about 120,000 tons per year, rivaling the British production of iron centuries later (in the 1700s). 
The introduction of Champa rice from Vietnam, a fast-ripening rice, linked with new agricultural techniques, increased food supplies. This led to a rapid population rise from 600 to 1200 C.E. China's population more than doubled, increasing from 45 million to 115 million. The urban centers expanded greatly. 
Chinese Women: One Bound to Lead, Most Bound to Bleed 
One of the more incredible events during the Tang Dynasty was the rise of Empress Wu, who became the first (and to date, only) Empress of China at the death of her husband. An able ruler, she was both ruthless toward her adversaries and compassionate toward peasants. The vast majority of women in China never any kind of power. Highly patriarchal, Chinese men considered women inferior, and like European men of the Middle Ages, they considered a women's beauty and femininity as virtues worth protecting. During the Song Dynasty, foot binding became a widespread practice. A female's feet would be bound shortly after birth in an effort to keep them small-if kept bound for a long enough time, they wouldn't grow even as the rest of the body did. Large feet were considered masculine and ugly. This practice, which lasted for centuries among elite families, was painful and deforming and sometimes crippling. 
Religion in China: Diverse Beliefs 
Following the fall of the Han Dynasty, there were a number of different religious influences in China, but the religion that had the greatest impact by far was Buddhism, especially in two of its forms: Mahayana and Zen. Mahayana Buddhism appealed to the peasants because of its emphasis on a peaceful and quiet existence and salvation. With its emphasis on meditation and appreciation of beauty, Zen Buddhism, won converts in the educated classes, who generally followed the tenets of Confucianism. 
Both the Confucians and the Daoists reacted strongly to the spread of Buddhism. Many Confucians saw Buddhism as a drain on both the treasury and the labor pool, especially because Buddhism dismissed the pursuit of material accumulation. The Daoists saw Buddhism as a rival religion that was winning over many of its adherents. A wave of persecutions destroyed thousands of monasteries and reduced the influence of Buddhism in China. 
2. Japan 
Because Japan consists of four main islands off the coast of mainland Asia, it was relatively isolated for thousands of years. The rate of cultural diffusion between Japan and the rest of Asia was relatively limited. Only in recent centuries has Japan allowed Western influences. 
Little is known of early cultures in Japan prior to 400 C.E., except that they were influenced by Korea and China. The first important ruling family was the Yamato clan, who emerged as leaders in the fifth century. One of the unique things about Japan is that the Yamato clan was both the first and the only dynasty to rule it. The current emperor is a descendent of this same clan. 
Early on, the Shinto religion took hold in Japan. Under Shinto, which means "the way of the gods," the Japanese worshipped the kami, which refers to nature and all of the forces of nature, both the seen and unseen. The goal under Shinto is to become part of the kami by following certain rituals and customs. The religion also encourages obedience and proper behavior. The Yamato clan claimed that the emperor was a direct descendant of the sun goddess, one of the main forces in the Shinto religion. This claim helped the Yamato stay in power-if you believe that the emperor is divine; you're probably going to want to keep him around. 
Can't Get Enough of China? Go to Japan. 
In the sixth century, the influence of China in Japan increased dramatically. In 522, Buddhist missionaries went to Japan and brought with them Chinese culture (missionaries first!). In no time, things Chinese were all the rage. Buddhism spread quickly, but interestingly, it didn't impact the number of faithful Shinto followers. Instead, most Japanese adopted Buddhism while also hanging on to their Shinto beliefs. In other words, they followed both religions simultaneously. 
Japan barrowed bureaucratic and legal reforms, which were modeled on the successes of the Tang Dynasty in China. These reforms were enacted as the Taika Reforms (645 C.E.). In the eighth century, when the Japanese built their new capital, they modeled it on the Tang capital. At the risk of giving the impression that Japan became a "Little China," you should keep in mind one thing: the Japanese largely rejected Confucianism, as well as the idea of the civil service examination. Why? Both of these systems held the educated in high esteem. In Japan, education wasn't nearly as important as birth. The noble classes were hereditary, not earned. 

Here Come the Fujiwara: At Home in Heian 
In 794, the capital was moved to Heian, and a new era of Japanese awareness began. The Chinese influence decreased, while the power of aristocratic families increased. One of the most powerful families, the Fujiwara, intermarried over several generations with the emperor's family and soon ran the affairs of the country. The emperor remained as a figurehead, but the real power had shifted to members of the Fujiwara family. 
By the twelfth century, power in Japan spread among a larger and larger pool of noble families, and soon they were fighting with each other for control over their small territories. In other words, Japan had devolved into a feudal system not unlike the one in Europe. 
Feudal Japan: Read all about it!
The interesting thing about feudalism in Japan is that it developed at around the same time as feudalism in Western Europe, but it developed independently. 
In 1192, Yoritomo Minamoto was given the title of chief general, or shogun, by the emperor. As with the Fujiwara family, the emperor was the figurehead but he didn't hold the real power. The real power was in the hands of the shogun. 
Below the shogun in the pecking order were the daimyo, huge landowners, or the counterparts of the lords of medieval Europe. The daimyo were powerful samurai, which were like knights. They were part-warrior, part-nobility. They, in turn, divided up their lands to lesser samurai (vassals), who in turn split their land up again. Peasants and artisans worked the fields and shops to support the samurai class. Just as in European feudalism, the hierarchy was bound together in a land-for-loyalty exchange. But in Japan, loyalty was of extreme value!
The samurai followed a strict code of conduct known as the Code of Bushido (way of the warrior), which was very similar to the code of chivalry in Europe. The code stressed loyalty, courage, and honor, so much so that if a samurai failed to meet his obligations under the code, he was expected to commit suicide (seppuku). 
Unlike European feudalism, women in Japan were not held in high esteem. Remember that in Europe, noblewomen were given few rights, but they were adored, at least to the extent that they were beautiful and possessed feminine traits. In contrast, Japanese women lost any freedom they had during the Fujiwara period and were forced to live harsher, more demeaning lives. 
3. India
As you already reviewed, India was the birthplace of two major religions: Hinduism and Buddhism. In the tenth century, another major religion made its way to the Indus valley: Islam. 
The Sultan Ate at the Deli? Yes, the Delhi Sultanate 
After defeating the disorganized Hindus, the Islamic invaders set up shop in Delhi under their leader, the sultan. Hence, this kingdom is referred to as the Delhi Sultanate. For over two hundred years, Islam spread throughout much of northern India. While many Hindus held on to their religious beliefs, the sultans were highly offended by Hinduism's polytheistic ways and did their best to convert them. Like non-Muslims under the Umayyads in Arabia, non-Muslims under the sultans in India had to pay a tax. But more than that, the sultans were capable of religiously motivated destruction. Hindu temples were sometimes destroyed, and occasionally violence erupted in communities. 
Despite the differences, an amazing amount of progress occurred in India under the sultans. Colleges were founded. Irrigation systems were vastly improved. Mosques were built, often with the help of Hindu architects and artists. And many Hindus in northern India converted. Sometimes the conversions were genuine, at other times they just made life easier. While a considerable number of Hindus in northern India converted to Islam, the vast majority of Hindus in southern India held on to their traditions. 
Another Mongol Invasion: Timur Wasn't Timid 
In addition to invading Russia, Persia, Central Asia, and China, the Mongols also found time on their itinerary for a layover in India. They swept in under their leader, Timur-I-Lang (or Tamerlane), who destroyed just about everything in sight and massacred thousands, and then just as quickly swept out. The sultanate was destroyed, but after Tamerlane’s Mongols pulled out the sultanate was restored. Islam continued to grow in India for the next few centuries under the Mogul Empire.  More on this later. 
D. THE RISE AND FALL OF THE MONGOLS 
The Mongols are the epitome of a nomadic culture. The Mongols were superb horsemen and archers and probably could have been a world power early on in the development of major civilizations. However, rivalries between tribes and clans kept them from unifying, so for centuries they fought with each other and remained fairly isolated from the rest of the world.
In the early 1200s, all that changed. Using his tremendous military and organizational skills, Genghis Khan (also spelled Chingiss Khan) unified the Mongol tribes and set them on a path of expansion that would lead to the largest empire the world had ever seen. 
Genghis Khan unified several nomadic tribes of Mongolia and led the Mongol invasion of China in 1234, which was the beginning of the enormous Mongolian conquests. The Mongol Empire eventually spanned from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe. The empire was split into hordes, or small, independent empires. The Golden Horde conquered the region of modern-day Russia. In China, Kublai Khan ruled. Mongols destroyed cities and were ruthless warriors, but once their domain was established, the empire was relatively peaceful, sometimes called the Pax Mongolica. The continuous empire allowed for the SAFE exchange of goods, ideas, and culture from one distant region to another. Mongols, who were illiterate, nomadic people prior to their conquests, eventually became assimilated into the cultures of the people they defeated. 
Warning! You Are Now Entering a Golden-Age-Free Zone 
One of the most striking things about the Mongols is that their civilization was one of territory and conquest, but not one of "culture." Clearly the Mongols were a group of people with shared traits and commonalities. But most of those commonalities involved things like killing, maiming, and destroying. They lacked culture in the way we know it; the phrase "Mongol Empire" applies, while the phrase "Mongol Civilization" does not. This is particularly strange because the Mongol Empire was so enormous and conquered so many different kinds of civilizations. You'd think that with so much power and mass, the Mongol Empire would have had a huge impact on world culture. In some ways it did, for example as a channel, which other cultures exchanged thoughts and ideas across. In other ways, however, the Mongol Empire had a profoundly negative impact on culture, stifling cultural growth rather than contributing to it. 
As a group of primarily illiterate people, arts and sciences had no place for the Mongols. History books don't rave about Mongol architecture or poetry. A Mongol religion doesn't have a place among the great faiths. The Mongol “culture” is strange... Huge? Yes. Powerful? Definitely. Culturally significant? Not really. 
How the Mongols Did It: No Rest Until Conquest 
Imagine that you live in a village that lies in the path of an advancing Mongol horde. You've heard the stories. If you put up a fight, they'll pummel you. If you retreat to your house, they'll burn it. If you organize a resistance in your place of worship or civic building, they'll level it. You've also heard that if you just give in, they might spare your city, but they also might not. They're not really interested in changing your culture since they don't really have one of their own. So your only real choice, if you want to stay alive, is to give in. If you do, you may or may not be able to keep your life and your culture, but if you don't, you'll suffer a certainly grotesque death. What would you do? 
In the 1200s and 1300s, a lot of people gave in. And those that didn't met their death. They knew how to fight. They were also highly organized and highly mobile. Unlike the much-feared Roman army, which in its heyday could cover about 25 miles per day, the Mongol horsemen could cover about 90. Their bows launched from horseback had a range of up to 300 yards. Their armies were highly organized into units, divided into light and heavy cavalries and scouting units. They were extremely motivated-Genghis Khan punished traitors swiftly and rewarded the courageous generously. They were stealthy-they had an extensive network of spies that scouted their enemies before battle. Finally, their goals were made unmistakably clear-the consequences of putting up a fight against the Mongols meant certain destruction of the entire village, so most learned not to resist. 
In short, they were really, really good at what they did: conquering. 
The Mongol Impact 
The Mongols were great diffusers of culture, but not great contributors to it. Mongols were usually assimilated by those they conquered. In Persia, most Mongols became Muslim. Elsewhere, Mongols either couldn't absorb those they conquered or intentionally didn't. In China, for example, Khublai Khan, the grandson of Genghis, dismissed the Confucian scholars, forbade marriage between Mongols and Chinese, and wouldn't allow the Chinese to learn the Mongol language. Because the Chinese weren't allowed to Mongolize, they didn't. They kept their own identity, and when they finally kicked the Mongols out in 1368, the Chinese were able to establish the Ming Dynasty under traditional Chinese practices, which they had never lost. 
There were two major consequences of Mongol rule. The first is that Russia, which was conquered by a largely illiterate Mongol clan called the Golden Horde, didn't unify or culturally develop as quickly as its European neighbors to the west. The second and globally more important impact was that world trade, cultural diffusion, and awareness grew. Think about it: the Mongol empire touched Europe and very nearly touched Japan. It stretched southward to Persia and India making possible not only trade but also the transmission of the Black Plague in the fourteenth century. This one empire touched nearly all the major civilizations of the day. So, strange as it sounds, the often brutal, illiterate, and uncultured Mongols, in their own way, brought the world together. By 1450, as the Mongol Empire was well into its decline, the world would never again be disconnected. 
E. DEVELOPMENTS IN AFRICA 
African Empires 
The most significant early civilizations in Africa for AP purposes were Egypt and Carthage, both of which were discussed in the previous review. Both of these civilizations were located in North Africa along the Mediterranean, north of the Sahara Desert. But there were other civilizations in Africa too. Some of them existed long before 600 C.E., but they are included here in this section so that you can study them as a group. 
Interaction with Egypt: Kush and Axum 
The Kush and Axum civilizations developed to the south of Egypt in the upper reaches of the Nile River. Kush developed at about the same time as ancient Egypt, and at one point around 750 B.C.E. actually conquered it. Less than a hundred years later, however, Kush retreated southward, where it became a center for ironworks and trade. 
After the Kush decline around 200 C.E., another empire, Axum, rose to greatness (in modern-day Ethiopia). Although Axum never conquered any other civilization, it traded with them frequently, especially ivory and gold. Conversions to Christianity in the 4th century and Islam in the 7th century illustrate that the people of Axum were in contact with the empires of the Mediterranean world. 
The Other Side of the Sand: Ghana, Mali, and Songhai 
Kush and Axum were in eastern Africa, along the Nile River and near the Red Sea. Therefore, they had easy access to other cultures. The cultures of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai, however, were in west Africa, south of the Sahara and somewhat isolated. 
When the Muslim Empire spread across North Africa in the seventh and eighth centuries, these African kingdoms began trading with the larger Mediterranean economy. Islamic traders penetrated the unforgiving Sahara desert and reached the fertile wealthy interior of Africa, called sub-Saharan (beneath the Sahara). The desert had acted as one gigantic barrier, so people typically didn't try to cross it. When the African kingdoms encountered the Islamic traders along the salt road, they started trading for a lot more than just salt. The consequence was an explosion of trade. 
The Islamic traders were interested in trading with West African kingdoms because in Ghana and Mali, there was tons, and I mean tons, of gold. A little sand in your eyes was probably worth some gold in your hand. So the Islamic traders kept coming. The constant trade brought more than just Islamic goods to Ghana and Mali; it brought Islam. 
For Ghana the result was devastating. The empire was subjected to a Holy War led by an Islamic group intent on converting (or else killing) them. While Ghana was able to defeat the Islamic forces, their empire fell into decline. By the time the Mali came to power, the region had converted to Islam anyway, this time in a more peaceful transition. 
One of the greatest Mali rulers, Mansa Musa, built a capital at Timbuktu and expanded the kingdom well beyond the bounds of Ghana. In 1307, Musa made a pilgrimage to Mecca (remember the Five Pillars of Islam?) complete with an entourage of hundreds of gold-carrying servants and camels. The journey was so extravagant and so long and so impressive to everyone who saw it, that Musa became an overnight international sensation. 
But the largest empire in West Africa was formed in the mid-fifteenth century, when a man conquered the entire region and established the Songhai Empire. During its reign, Timbuktu became a major cultural center, complete with a university that drew scholars from around the Islamic world. 
The Arts in Africa 
Oral literature was an important part of life in most African communities. History and stories were passed from one generation to the next, not through written texts, but through storytelling. The stories were told the same way for so many generations that people knew the lines. Sub-Saharan African cultures are also known for their sculptures, particularly out of pottery and bronze.

F. DEVELOPMENTS IN THE AMERICAS 
There were three great civilizations in present-day Central America and South America that developed before the arrival of the Europeans. One of the civilizations, the Maya, actually began around the time of the major classical civilizations discussed in the previous review. The other two civilizations, the Incas and Aztecs, were conquered by the Europeans after 1450. They will be discussed· again in the next chapter. That said, we are including all three of them in this review so that you can evaluate the cultural characteristics of these three civilizations in one place. We'll talk about their conquests in the next review. 
Mayan Civilization: In Search of More Slaves 
From about 300 B.C.E. to about 800 C.E., Mayan civilization dominated present-day southern Mexico and parts of Central America. Interestingly, like the Egyptians, the Maya were pyramid-builders, and also wrote using hieroglyphics. The Maya produced many great works of scholarship and developed a complex calendar system, but we know the most about its architecture and city planning because many remains have been discovered. The Maya built tremendous cities- Tikal, the most important Mayan political center, may have been populated by more than 100,000 people. 
The Maya believed that the gods maintained agricultural cycles in exchange for honors, sacrifices, and bloodletting rituals. 
Mayan warfare was generally conducted not to gain territory, but to acquire slaves, who were used in large-scale building projects and in agricultural production (the Mayans had no large animals, so humans were their primary source of labor). Similar to most agricultural societies, the majority of the people were peasants or slaves. Kings, priests, and hereditary nobility were at the top of the social pyramid. Merchants also enjoyed a high status. 
The Maya used advanced agricultural techniques.  Cotton and maize were widely cultivated; the Mayans are known for their elaborate cotton textiles. Significantly, the Mayan calendar, based on a number system that included zero (remember which civilization came up with the concept of zero in the other hemisphere? Indus) was among the most accurate for its time. 
Nobody's sure what led to the decline of the Mayan civilization, but there's lots of speculation. Some say disease or drought. Others say internal unrest. Whatever the reasons, the Mayans started to desert their cities in the 800s, and the great civilization fizzled out. 
The Aztecs: Trade and Sacrifice 
The Aztecs, also known as the Mexica, arrived in central Mexico in the mid-1200s and built their capital at Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico City). More than anything else, the Aztecs are known for their expansionist policy and professional army, which allowed them to dominate nearby states and demand heavy taxes and captives. Warriors were the elite in the Aztec social structure (the majority of the people were peasants and slaves). Through conquest and alliances, the Aztecs built an empire of some twelve million people. But despite the huge size, they didn't use a bureaucratic form of government. The conquered areas were generally allowed to govern themselves, as long as they paid the tribute. Roads were built to link the huge empire, and trade flourished. 
Aztec women had a subordinate public role but could inherit property. Like women in virtually all other traditional civilizations, Aztec women were primarily charged with running the household, but they were also involved in crafts, especially weaving, and to some extent in commerce. 
Notably, the Aztec religious system was tied to the military because one of the purposes of the military was to obtain victims for human sacrifice. Tens of thousands of men and women were killed annually; many would be sacrificed simultaneously for an important religious occasion, such as the dedication of a new temple. 
The Incas: My land Is Your land 
The Inca Empire, set in the Andes Mountains in Peru, was also expansionist in nature. At its zenith, it is thought to have controlled more than 2,000 miles of South American coastline. The Incas controlled this territory using a professional army, an established bureaucracy, a unified language, and a complex system of roads and tunnels. 
Like the Maya (and the Aztecs), the Incas had no large animals, so the prime source of labor was human. A large proportion of the population was peasants, who worked the land or on construction projects. 
Incan women were expected to help work the fields, weave cloth, and care for the household. They could pass property on to their daughters and even played a role in religion. The Incas were polytheistic, but the sun god was the most important and was at the center of the state religion. Like the Egyptians, Incan rulers were mummified after death and became intermediaries between the gods and the people. 
For the Incas, private property as a concept didn't exist. In class we called it “Inca Socialism”, because once a group was conquered the resources were redistributed.  The military was very important because each new ruler needed to ensure his place in eternity by securing new land, and that meant conquest. Remember the concept of split inheritance.  One descendent would become the new king (Inca) and the other side of the family would keep the resources in order to preserve and care for the mummy of the last Inca ruler.   There was a state bureaucracy, manned by the nobility, which controlled the empire by traveling on a complex system of roads. 
The Inca were excellent builders, stone cutters, and miners. The stone temples of Machu Picchu were so impressive because there was no mortar used between the huge blocks of stone. They never developed a system of writing. However, they were able to record census on quipu, a set of knotted strings. 

IV. REVIEW OF INTERACTION AMONG CULTURES FROM 600-1450 (.E. 
The purpose of this section is to help you pull together the history from this time period and view it from a global perspective. 
A. TRADE NETWORKS AND CULTURAL DIFFUSION 
Trade has always been a big deal historically speaking. Getting stuff and buying stuff is a huge incentive behind interactions. If you have everything you need and want, you can live in isolation. If you don't, and somebody else down the road has what you want, you've got two choices: take it or trade for it. 
From 600 to 1450, trade exploded onto the world scene-----so much so that the world after 1450 is inseparable from global interaction. Let's quickly review the global trade routes that you read about in this chapter: 
•	The Mediterranean Trade between western Europe, the Byzantine Empire, and the Islamic Empire 
•	The Hanseatic League 
•	The Silk Road (used heavily again from about 1200 CE. until about 1600 CE.) 
•	The land routes of the Mongols 
•	Trade between China and Japan 
•	Trade between India and Persia 
•	The Trans-Saharan trade routes between west Africa and the Islamic Empire 
Remember that trade was not only aided by better boats and better roads, but also by monetary systems, lines of credit, and accounting methods. Record-keeping and money management is key. 
The trade routes are important, of course, not just because of their impact on business, but also because of their role in cultural diffusion. It is over the trade routes that religions and languages spread. It is over the trade routes that literature and art and ideas spread. And, unfortunately, it is over the trade routes that disease and plague sometimes spread. The Bubonic Plague (also called the Black Death) started in Asia in the fourteenth century and was carried by merchants along the trade routes all the way to Europe, where it destroyed entire communities and killed as many as one out of every three people in western Europe. The plague quickened the decline of feudal society because many manors weren't able to function. 
In addition to the trade routes mentioned above, there's one that we haven't mentioned yet-the Indian Ocean Trade. It's important, so we'll go into it in some detail. 
Indian Ocean Trade 
Throughout the period covered in this chapter, the Persians and the Arabs dominated the Indian Ocean Trade. Their trade routes connected ports in western India to ports in the Persian Gulf, which in turn were connected to ports in eastern Africa. Since sailors often married the local women at the ends of their trade routes, cultures started to intermix rapidly. Many sailors took foreign wives home and created bilingual and bicultural families. 
More on the Silk Rood 
You already know that the Silk Road connected China to the Mediterranean cultures even way back in the early days of the Roman Empire. You also need to know that the Silk Road was used heavily again from about 1200 C.E. until about 1600 C.E., during the reign of the Mongols. 
The important thing to know about the Silk Road is that it carried so much more than silk. It carried porcelain and paper. It carried military technologies. It carried religions, such as Buddhism, Islam, and Christianity. It carried food. Since it extended so far and was used for so long, it's safe to say that East met West on the Silk Road. It's impossible to have a discussion about international trade and cultural diffusion without mentioning it by name. 
More on the Hanseatic League 
As you already know, the Hanseatic League was a collection of city-states in the Baltic and North Sea regions of Europe that banded together in 1241 to establish common trade practices. It worked for a few hundred years. More than 100 cities joined the league. The result was enormous for two reasons. First, it resulted in a substantial middle class in northern Europe, a development that would drive changes in that region in later centuries (more on that in the next chapter). Second, it set a precedent for large, European trading operations that profoundly affected the Dutch and the English, which would also deeply affect the world in later centuries. 
Was There a Global Trade Network? 
If you think about it, after about 1200 C.E. or so, the world was very interconnected. Europe was trading with the Islamic world and Russia. The Islamic world was trading with Africa, India, and China. India was trading with China and eastern Africa. China was trading with Japan and southeast Europe. If you link up all the trade routes, goods could make their way from England to Persia to India to Japan. They could also travel to points north and south, from Moscow to Mali. 
The global network was more like a web of interconnected but highly independent parts. It required people to be linked up through third parties. No one person was managing it, and yet almost all major civilizations (except those in the Americas) were a part of it. 
B. EXPANSION OF RELIGION AND EMPIRE: CULTURE CLASH 
One of the most significant influences on cultural interaction and diffusion has been the expansion of empires and the intentional diffusion of religion. Keep in mind that when we say intentional expansion of religion, we mean methods like missionary work or religious warfare. This is opposed to the natural spread of religious ideas that occurs when people come into contact with each other, like over the trade routes. 
Here's a quick listing of some of the examples discussed in this chapter. 
•	The Mongol expansion into Russia, Persia, India, and China 
•	The Germanic tribes into southern Europe 
•	The Vikings' expansion from Scandinavia into England and Western Europe 
•	The Islamic Empire's push into Spain, India, and Africa 
•	The Crusades 
•	Buddhist missionaries to Japan 
•	Orthodox Christian missionaries into eastern Europe 
The bulk of this chapter is about two things: 1) the expansion of religion and empires leading to cultural contact and 2) the relative isolationism that resulted under the feudal systems in Europe and Japan. 
The Playground Isn't Big Enough for Two Bullies: More on the Crusades.
We've talked a lot about the efforts of expansionists that succeeded. We need to give you some more details about the efforts of some expansionists that didn't succeed, namely, the crusaders. You'll recall that in the Middle Ages, the Islamic Empire expanded, and the Moors conquered much of Spain. The Christians felt threatened by the expansion of the Muslims, especially as Islam became entrenched in the areas that the Christians identified with historically. So, in 1096 C.E. Pope Urban initiated the First Crusade in response to the success of the Seljuk Turks, who took control of the Holy Land (present-day Israel and Palestine). The Pope wanted Jerusalem, the most important city in Christianity, to be in the hands of Christians. He was also hoping that the efforts would help reunite the Roman Catholic Church with the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople, which had split apart 50 years before the start of the crusades. The crusaders immediately set out to conquer the Holy Land, and initially captured several cities, including Antioch and, most important, Jerusalem. However, both cities quickly fell back into the hands of the Arabs. 
Through the year 1204 C.E., a total of four crusades failed to produce results, and the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church separated even further (five more crusades followed, but were not successful in achieving major goals). Most of the region remained in the hands of the Muslim Arabs, and the whole mess led to centuries of mistrust and intolerance between Christians and Muslims. 
The Crusades were not only motivated by religious beliefs and purposes. There were economic and political motives as well. No doubt there were some who fought for religious reasons, especially in the early crusades, but the lure of empire and wealth was certainly a major factor for many. 
Because the religiously devout are sometimes willing to be martyred for their beliefs, intentional religious expansionism can be just as devastating and powerful as a politically driven military invasion. 
The Crusades prove that even the efforts of conquest and expansion that fail to reach their goals still have a major impact on world history: They lead to interaction between cultures that might not otherwise interact. That interaction fueled trade and an exchange of ideas. It also led to Western Europe's rediscovery of its ancient past, which was being preserved by the Byzantine and Islamic Empires. That rediscovery fueled huge changes in Europe, like the renaissance.
v. PULLING IT ALL TOGETHER 
•	In the previous section, I hope that you were able to pull a lot of the history from this time period together in some meaningful ways, especially as it relates to cultural interaction. 

•	There's no question that the spread and growth of religion had enormous consequences during this time period. That should be clear to you. 

•	In modern times, we have clear boundaries between countries. But in addition to using those political boundaries, we talk of cultural regions all the time. We'll say things like "the West" or "the East." That's fine, but where's the dividing line? Is modern-day Russia part of the East or the West? What about Saudi Arabia? What about Japan? This kind of stuff is a big deal for the AP test writers. Sometimes it's easier to think about and write about history in terms of cultural areas, rather than political boundaries. "The Muslim World," for example, would mean not just countries that are predominately Muslim, but communities or individuals within non-Muslim countries who participate in the culture of Islam. Or think about the "Jewish community." In the time period covered by this chapter, Jews were scattered throughout Europe, Africa, and Asia. There was no Jewish state, only a Jewish culture. Yet, the Jewish culture maintained its identity. 

•	In terms of the era that you've just reviewed, you might want to think of the world in terms of major cultural divisions, take religions for example: You can think of developments in the Christian sphere, the Islamic sphere, the Hindu sphere, and the Buddhist sphere. But then don't forget that some of these spheres overlap and some of them coexist with other religions or belief systems (Confucianism and Buddhism, for example). Or even more generally, think of the world in terms of cultures that interacted and those that didn't. 
	. 
•	However you choose to think about the world in terms of cultural areas or structural similarities, the important thing is that you try to analyze history. Doing so will force you to make comparisons and contrasts among the cultures. And doing that will get your brain cranking in the way the AP exam will expect you to demonstrate. The more you think about how these cultures can be organized, the more familiar you'll be with world history.