AP World History 600-1450

Capital of Egypt, located on the Nile River.

Known for its ancient history, including the pyramids of Giza and the Sphinx.

Cultural hub w/ Islamic mosques, universities, and libraries

Influenced the Islamic world and was a capital of trade

City in the state of Kerala, India

known for its historic importance as a major trading port for spices and textiles on the Indian Ocean trade route

Byzantium, also known as Constantinople, was the capital of the Byzantine Empire.

Located at the crossroads of Asia and Europe, important location in the Spice Roads

A city in Mali, West Africa, known for its historical significance as a center of learning, trade, and Islamic culture during the medieval period.

Reached its high point under the leadership of Mansa Musa, who sponsored Islamic Scholors in Mali

Ancient African civilizations known for their advanced architecture and trade networks

Kingdom of Aksum converted to Christianity in the 4th century CE (only African empire to convert to Christianity)

Capital of various Chinese dynasties, including the Tang and Song.

Key city along the Silk Road connecting China with Central Asia and beyond.

Capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, located along the Tigris River.

Important center of trade, scholarship, and Islamic culture.

Location of the house of wisdom

Incas used the quipu knot system and their extensive road system for trade. They had a labor tribute system called the Mita system.

The maya traded extensively with far away civilizations for luxury goods

Aztecs also used a tribute system for their conquered territory

Other civilizations include the Toltec and the Taino

Paper money was first used in china

Silver was also used as currency

used by the Byzantine empire, islamic merchants and bankers, chinese and indian merchants, and jewish merchants and moneylenders

Facilitated trade with neighboring regions

Incas used a farming method called terracing, where they dug rows into the mountains where crops were planted

The Aztecs built chinampas, which were man-made floating islands for agriculture.

Al-Andalus refers to the Muslim-ruled territory of Islamic Iberia, encompassing parts of modern-day Spain and Portugal, during the medieval period.

Established following the Islamic conquest of the Iberian Peninsula in the early 8th century, Al-Andalus became a center of Islamic culture, scholarship, and civilization in Europe. The region witnessed a rich synthesis of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish traditions, fostering a diverse and cosmopolitan society known for its tolerance and intellectual exchange.

Al-Andalus thrived under various Muslim dynasties, including the Umayyads, Abbasids, and Almoravids, until its gradual decline and eventual reconquest by Christian kingdoms known as the Reconquista in the late 15th century.

Xuanzang was a Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, and traveler who lived during the Tang dynasty in the 7th century CE.

Best known for his extensive pilgrimage to India, where he visited many Buddhist sacred sites.

When he returned, he translated many of the Buddhist scriptures he had acquired into Chinese, contributing significantly to the spread and development of Buddhism in China.

Diasporic community: a settlement of ethnic people in a location other than their homeland

Arab and persians in east africa, Bantu people, Chinee and Arab merchants, etc.

During the Bantu migrations of Bantu-speaking people around sub-suharan africa, the Bantu language spread (along with agricultural techniques like the slash and burn technique)

In the Swahili city states, the Swahili language developed as a mix of Bantu and arabic because of their involvement in Indian ocean trade/the Islamic world.

mainly in south, southeast, and east asia (India and China)

Believed that we cease suffering and craving by following the eight fold path

Believed and re-incarnation and nirvana (being one with the universe)

a revival of confucianism that happened during the Song dynasty

Combined traditional confucian beliefs (filial piety, mandate of heaven, etc.) with buddhist influences

Xuanzang played a large part in introducing buddhism to china

Very hierarchal (filial piety, mandate of heaven)

Women did not have rights (couldn’t own property, had limited education, foot binding)

Expanded an extensive imperial bureaucracy that was based on merit (civil service exam)

The civil service exam was theoretically open to all men, but studying for the exam required you to not work, so mostly upper class men passed the exam.

The strongest economy in this time period

Song dynasty influenced Korea, Jappan, and vietnam through trade

Commercialization (selling excess goods like porcelain and silk) lead to economic growth

Agricultural innovations like terrace farming (like Incas), irrigation systems, and crop rotation along with the use of Champa rice lead to population boom

Expansion of the grand canal facilitated trade and communication

First to use paper money

Weakened because of the bureaucracy reward system and the unskilled military officials

Stable because of the extensive transportation/communication system, the equal field system, and the bureaucracy of merit

Characterized by a skilled army and extensive military expansion

Declined because of poor leadership

Capital at Chang’an/Xi’an

Math, including Algebra and Trigonometry, has its roots in Dar-Al-Islam

Valued literature (ex:Aishah al-Baunigah, a prolific sufi poet)

Developments in medicine were fundamental to our understanding of disease and anatomy

During the translation movement, they translated many great ancient Greek and Roman works into Arabic, which were stored in the house of wisdom.

Sufi Muslim missionaries were the most skilled/effective missionaries and gained many converts, mostly because they were open to adapting to local beliefs

Emphasized mystical experiences

Spread islam through Central Asia, India, and North and West Africa

considered the golden age of Islam

Much more cosmopolitan than the Ummayed dynasty

Capital at Baghdad (where the house of wisdom was)

Seljuks were invited into the dynasty for military support, but took over while the Abbasid leadership acted as religious figureheads untill the Mongols sacked the city in 1258

monotheistic religion centered aroudn the Quran, believing that Muhammed was the last prophet

Once the ABbasid empire fell, Dar-Al-Islam was made up of ethnically Turkish people (seljuks, malmuks, delhi sultanate)

Arab muslim influence declined while turkic muslim influence increased

Allah and Muhammed are the only God and final prophet

Pray to Allah daily while facing Mecca

Fast during Ramadan

Contribute alms to the weak/poor

Undertake a pilgramage to Mecca

An islamic state in North India, ethnically turkish. Imposed Islam on a majority hindu population.

Didn’t expand much or have a strong political structure, had conflict with neighboring Hindu nations

Rajput kingdoms (hindu) sought to limit the Delhi Sultanates Islamic influence

Delhi sultanate sent emissaries to the south to extend muslim rule

The emissaries converted back to Hinduism and established the vijanayagara empire as a rival Hindu state

Powerful Buddhist state in South East Asia

Gained power by controlling sea trade routes

Declined when China supported its trading rival, the sultanate of Malacca

Polytheistic, believed in reincarnation based on the caste system

Most of southern India was Hindu, expanded to North India later

Hinduism wasn’t adapted widely outside of India because of the rigid caste system

Hinduism is the most widespread religion in South Asia

Bhakti movement: Hindu movement that seeks a personal relationship with a hindu diety, challenged social and gender hierarchies, analagous to Sufism in Islam.

Islam is secondary to Hinduism and is spread because of the Delhi Sultanate

Buddhism is in decline in south asia during this period

Expanded during this time period due to innovations in transportation technology (camel saddle, caravans, compasses and astrolabes for direction)

Trade for salt and gold was popular

Expansion of trade fostered the growth of new states like the Empire of Mali (capital at Timbuktu).

controlled gold and salt trade, which made it very wealthy

Reached its high point under Mansa Musa who sponsered Islamic scholars in Timbuktu and created highly centralized Islamic rule.

Located in South Africa, traded eastern towards the Indian coast which made it extremely wealthy

Built impressive large brick structures

Rulers in Zimbabwe never converted to Islam and maintained indigenous religions

Societies in Africa were hierarchal and grew their economies through trade

Elites in african society converted to islam, but most commoners maintained indegenous religions

North africa is the only region to fully embrace Islam, but it is still greatly influencial in Africa.

The majority of the populations lived in Meso-America

The aztec empire located in central america was a large empire with a capital at tenotitchlan

The inca empire stretched along the west coast of South America

The Americas are largely isolated

capital city at tenotitchlan

Largest city/empire before the arrival of the europeans

Were militarily skilled and agressively expanded

Created tribute states from conquered areas (provided labor, food, animals, building materials, and enslaved people were used as human sacrifices for religion)

Mostly decentrialized

Used chinampa farming

developed an elaborate bureacracy with a rigid hierarchy of officials to keep track of conquered states

Used the Mi’ta system which required people under Inca rule to provide labor services for mining, military, state construction projects, etc

Highly centralized government

Used terrace farming (dug steps into the mountains for agriculture)

a manor was a piece of land owned by a lord which was rented out to peasents who worked the land

Peasents (also known as serfs) were bound to the land and worked it in exchange for protection

Center of political and economic power was in the hands of nobility (land owners)

Europe was decentralized and organized through feudalism

Feudalism was a system of alleigances between powerful lords and less powerful lords called vassals

Vassals received land from their lords in exchange for military service

Larger scale than manorialism

christianity was the dominant religion in europe (Eastern orthodox in the byzantine empire and roman catholicism in western europe

Muslims and jews also had influenc in europe

Europe was decentralized and organized around feudalism

a series of religious wars sanctioned by the Latin Church in the medieval period, primarily between the 11th and 13th centuries.

aimed at reclaiming Jerusalem and other holy sites in the Eastern Mediterranean from Muslim control

The Crusades involved military campaigns, often led by European knights and nobles, against various Muslim powers (seljuks first and then malmuks)