Chapter Seven, Main Idea: A review of history from 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E.
Summary: A. The Rise of Islam, B. Developments in Europe and the Byzantine Empire, C. Developments in China, Japan and India, D. The Rise and Fall of the Mongols, E. Developments in Africa, F. Developments in the Americas.
Notes: A. The Rise of Islam.
1. In the seventh century a monotheistic religion called Islam started in the Middle East.
2. The followers of Islam are called Muslims, they believe that Allah sent Mohammad to preach Islam to the faithful.
3. The words Mohammad spoke were recorded in the Qu'ran.
4. Muslims believe that salvation is won through submission to the will of God, and that this could be accomplished by following the Five Pillars of Islam. These pillars include: confession of faith, prayer five times a day, charity to the needy, fasting during the month long Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during ones lifetime.
5. When Mohammad died in 632, Abu Bakr became caliph (the head of state, military commander, chief judge, and religious leader).
6. The four caliphs were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. Ali was assassinated and his son, Hasan as the successor. But under pressure, he gave up his position, making way for the Umayyad Dynasty.
7. During the Umayyad Dynasty, the capital was moved to Damascus, Syria, Arabic became the official government language; gold and silver coins became the standard monetary unit; and conquered subjects had to convert to Islam, or else had to pay a tax.
8. The Islamic Empire grew enormously under the Umayyads, stretching from northern Africa and into Spain, where they rules the southern Iberian peninsula.
9. In 732 the Islamic Empire began to move into Europe via Spain. Charles Martel, a Frankish leader, stopped the Muslim advance in its tracks when it tried to move into Paris, and so the Islamic Empire never flourished in Europe beyond Spain.
10. Problems with succession in the Islamic Empire began to emerge, and eventually the Muslims split into two groups, the Shia and the Sunni.
11. Because of the fighting between the Shia and the Sunni, the Umayyad Empire fell into decline and around 750, it was replaced by the Abbasid Dynasty in all areas except Spain.
12. The Abbasid Dynasty lasted from 750 to 1258. In the ninth century, arts and sciences flourished and the Abbasids built a magnificent capital in Baghdad.
13. The Abbasid Dynasty flourished around trade, and introduced the idea of credit to the empires trade mechanisms, to free them of the burden and dangers of carrying coins.
14. The Islamic Empire also made great advances in metal working, medical and mathematics.
15. Mohammad al-Razi published a massive medical encyclopedia, which was unlike anything compiled before.
16. In 751 an Abbasid army defeated a T'ang Chinese army for control over the Silk Road trading posts. The Chinese POWs were carrying paper money, which allowed the Muslims to find out how to make paper.
17. In Arabia, women did not have property or inheritance rights, they were more viewed as property by men. So if a baby girl was born, this sadly could end in infanticide, and if a man divorced a woman he would keep her dowry.
18. The Qu'ran, that was established between 651 and 652, allowed women to have some rights, and were considered equal in the eyes of Allah, and infanticide was strictly forbidden. However they were still considered lower then men.
19. The Islamic Empire was defeated by the Mongols. In 1258 during the crusades, the Mongols overran the Islamic Empire and destroyed Baghdad.
Notes: B. Developments in Europe and the Byzantine Empire.
1. The Middle Ages is the time after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance.
2. When Rome split into East and West, it was focused on Constantinople, which is in the eastern side, and the eastern half of Rome became the Byzantine Empire. Whereas in the west, the empire collapsed.
3. The Byzantine Empire was a lot more centralized and organized then the western Roman empire.
4. The Byzantine Empire practiced a branch of Christianity known as Orthodox Christianity.
5. The Byzantine Empire used the Greek language.
6. Under Justinian, who reigned from 527 to 565, the former glory of the Roman Empire was somewhat restored in Constantinople. The region flourished in trade and arts.
7. The Justinian period is perhaps most remembered for two things: the Justinian Code, which was a code of laws and legal principles alive, and Hagia Sophia, an enormous cathedral that still stands today.
8. The Western Empire were Catholics, while the Eastern Byzantines were Orthodox Christians. In 1054 C.E., unable to reconcile their differences, the pope excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople, who in turn did the same to the pope.
9. In the ninth century, the Slavic peoples of southeastern Europe and Russia were converted to Christianity by St. Cyril, an Orthodox Christian who used Greek alphabet to create a Slavic alphabet that is still used in parts of the region.
10. 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 stretching from present day Germany through Belgium and into France.
11. King Clovis was converted to Roman Catholicism.
12. After King Clovis died his empire was divided amongst his sons, after which it declined in influence.
13. Charles Martel founded the Carolingian Dynasty and tried to reunite the region under his control.
14. Charles Martel's son, Pepin chose to have his succession certified by the pope.
15. Pepin's son, Charles also had his succession certified by the pope in 800, and became know as Charlemagne.
16. The empire Charlemagne built would come to be known as the Holy Roman Empire upon the coronation of Otto the Great in 962.
17. Because Charlemagne did not levy taxes, he failed to build a strong and united empire. After his death, and the death of his son Louis, the empire divided among his three grandsons according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843.
18. Beginning around 800, the Vikings used their highly maneuverable boats to raid well beyond their borders up and down the North Atlantic coast, with monasteries as their prime targets.
19. The Vikings were also merchants and fishermen, and developed some of the earliest commercial fisheries in northern Europe.
20. Because they were merchants and fishermen, and raiders they set up settlements in places like Newfoundland, Canada around 1000 C.E., inland Russia and northern France.
21. Feudalism, the name of European social, economic, and political system of the Middle Ages, had a strict hierarchy.
22. At the top of the feudal social structure was the king, who had the power over an entire territory known as his kingdom. Beneath the king were the nobles, who were given sections of the kingdom for loyalty the the king. The nobles in turn split up their small kingdoms into smaller sections, under the control of lesser lords called vassals. The vassals could then split up their small portion and give the pieces of land to subordinate vassals, and so on. Below vassals were peasants, who worked the land.
23. The estates that were granted to the vassals were called fiefs, and later became known as manors. The lord and peasants lived on the manor, the peasants worked on the manor in exchange for protection and a place to live.
24. There were often conflicts between the different lords. The etiquette on these fights and rules of engagement was highly refined and flowed from the code of chivalry, an honor system.
25. In the late thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas, a famous christian realist Wrote Summa Theologica, a book about faith and reason.
26. In 1215, powerful English nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta.
Summary: A. The Rise of Islam, B. Developments in Europe and the Byzantine Empire, C. Developments in China, Japan and India, D. The Rise and Fall of the Mongols, E. Developments in Africa, F. Developments in the Americas.
Notes: A. The Rise of Islam.
1. In the seventh century a monotheistic religion called Islam started in the Middle East.
2. The followers of Islam are called Muslims, they believe that Allah sent Mohammad to preach Islam to the faithful.
3. The words Mohammad spoke were recorded in the Qu'ran.
4. Muslims believe that salvation is won through submission to the will of God, and that this could be accomplished by following the Five Pillars of Islam. These pillars include: confession of faith, prayer five times a day, charity to the needy, fasting during the month long Ramadan and pilgrimage to Mecca at least once during ones lifetime.
5. When Mohammad died in 632, Abu Bakr became caliph (the head of state, military commander, chief judge, and religious leader).
6. The four caliphs were Abu Bakr, Umar, Uthman and Ali. Ali was assassinated and his son, Hasan as the successor. But under pressure, he gave up his position, making way for the Umayyad Dynasty.
7. During the Umayyad Dynasty, the capital was moved to Damascus, Syria, Arabic became the official government language; gold and silver coins became the standard monetary unit; and conquered subjects had to convert to Islam, or else had to pay a tax.
8. The Islamic Empire grew enormously under the Umayyads, stretching from northern Africa and into Spain, where they rules the southern Iberian peninsula.
9. In 732 the Islamic Empire began to move into Europe via Spain. Charles Martel, a Frankish leader, stopped the Muslim advance in its tracks when it tried to move into Paris, and so the Islamic Empire never flourished in Europe beyond Spain.
10. Problems with succession in the Islamic Empire began to emerge, and eventually the Muslims split into two groups, the Shia and the Sunni.
11. Because of the fighting between the Shia and the Sunni, the Umayyad Empire fell into decline and around 750, it was replaced by the Abbasid Dynasty in all areas except Spain.
12. The Abbasid Dynasty lasted from 750 to 1258. In the ninth century, arts and sciences flourished and the Abbasids built a magnificent capital in Baghdad.
13. The Abbasid Dynasty flourished around trade, and introduced the idea of credit to the empires trade mechanisms, to free them of the burden and dangers of carrying coins.
14. The Islamic Empire also made great advances in metal working, medical and mathematics.
15. Mohammad al-Razi published a massive medical encyclopedia, which was unlike anything compiled before.
16. In 751 an Abbasid army defeated a T'ang Chinese army for control over the Silk Road trading posts. The Chinese POWs were carrying paper money, which allowed the Muslims to find out how to make paper.
17. In Arabia, women did not have property or inheritance rights, they were more viewed as property by men. So if a baby girl was born, this sadly could end in infanticide, and if a man divorced a woman he would keep her dowry.
18. The Qu'ran, that was established between 651 and 652, allowed women to have some rights, and were considered equal in the eyes of Allah, and infanticide was strictly forbidden. However they were still considered lower then men.
19. The Islamic Empire was defeated by the Mongols. In 1258 during the crusades, the Mongols overran the Islamic Empire and destroyed Baghdad.
Notes: B. Developments in Europe and the Byzantine Empire.
1. The Middle Ages is the time after the fall of Rome and before the Renaissance.
2. When Rome split into East and West, it was focused on Constantinople, which is in the eastern side, and the eastern half of Rome became the Byzantine Empire. Whereas in the west, the empire collapsed.
3. The Byzantine Empire was a lot more centralized and organized then the western Roman empire.
4. The Byzantine Empire practiced a branch of Christianity known as Orthodox Christianity.
5. The Byzantine Empire used the Greek language.
6. Under Justinian, who reigned from 527 to 565, the former glory of the Roman Empire was somewhat restored in Constantinople. The region flourished in trade and arts.
7. The Justinian period is perhaps most remembered for two things: the Justinian Code, which was a code of laws and legal principles alive, and Hagia Sophia, an enormous cathedral that still stands today.
8. The Western Empire were Catholics, while the Eastern Byzantines were Orthodox Christians. In 1054 C.E., unable to reconcile their differences, the pope excommunicated the patriarch of Constantinople, who in turn did the same to the pope.
9. In the ninth century, the Slavic peoples of southeastern Europe and Russia were converted to Christianity by St. Cyril, an Orthodox Christian who used Greek alphabet to create a Slavic alphabet that is still used in parts of the region.
10. 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 stretching from present day Germany through Belgium and into France.
11. King Clovis was converted to Roman Catholicism.
12. After King Clovis died his empire was divided amongst his sons, after which it declined in influence.
13. Charles Martel founded the Carolingian Dynasty and tried to reunite the region under his control.
14. Charles Martel's son, Pepin chose to have his succession certified by the pope.
15. Pepin's son, Charles also had his succession certified by the pope in 800, and became know as Charlemagne.
16. The empire Charlemagne built would come to be known as the Holy Roman Empire upon the coronation of Otto the Great in 962.
17. Because Charlemagne did not levy taxes, he failed to build a strong and united empire. After his death, and the death of his son Louis, the empire divided among his three grandsons according to the Treaty of Verdun in 843.
18. Beginning around 800, the Vikings used their highly maneuverable boats to raid well beyond their borders up and down the North Atlantic coast, with monasteries as their prime targets.
19. The Vikings were also merchants and fishermen, and developed some of the earliest commercial fisheries in northern Europe.
20. Because they were merchants and fishermen, and raiders they set up settlements in places like Newfoundland, Canada around 1000 C.E., inland Russia and northern France.
21. Feudalism, the name of European social, economic, and political system of the Middle Ages, had a strict hierarchy.
22. At the top of the feudal social structure was the king, who had the power over an entire territory known as his kingdom. Beneath the king were the nobles, who were given sections of the kingdom for loyalty the the king. The nobles in turn split up their small kingdoms into smaller sections, under the control of lesser lords called vassals. The vassals could then split up their small portion and give the pieces of land to subordinate vassals, and so on. Below vassals were peasants, who worked the land.
23. The estates that were granted to the vassals were called fiefs, and later became known as manors. The lord and peasants lived on the manor, the peasants worked on the manor in exchange for protection and a place to live.
24. There were often conflicts between the different lords. The etiquette on these fights and rules of engagement was highly refined and flowed from the code of chivalry, an honor system.
25. In the late thirteenth century, Thomas Aquinas, a famous christian realist Wrote Summa Theologica, a book about faith and reason.
26. In 1215, powerful English nobles forced King John to sign the Magna Carta.
27. As a teenage, Joan of Arc claimed to hear voices that told her to liberate France from the English. Somehow she managed to convince French authorities that she was divinely chosen to lead men into battle, and they supplied her with military backing. She managed to push the English out of Orleans, but was then captured by the French, tried by the English and burned at the stake as a witch by the French.
Notes: C. Developments in Asia
1. The T'ang Dynasty ruled China beginning in 618 under Emperor Xuanzong, the T'ang expanded Chinese territory into Manchuria, Mongolia, Tibet and Korea. By 907, the empire began to grow so large that local warlord gained more and more power and the T'ang Dynasty collapsed.
2. After a small period after the T'ang Dynasty fell, China was reunified by the Song Dynasty and Emperor Taizu. After a time of peace and prosperity, the Song eventually fell to the Jurchen, and then the Mongols, and in 1279, the Mongols set up the Yuan Dynasty in the Songs place.3. From the 700's to the 1300's, the T'ang and the Song were accomplished in just about every category of human endeavor. Art, architecture, science, philosophy, porcelain-making, silk-weaving, construction of transport systems and more.
4. T'ang poetry is unique, it tells us about daily life, back during their dynasty. The Song built off of the T'ang poetry and made encyclopedias and histories.
5. The Song established their capital at Hangzhou, at the southern end of the Grand Canal.
6. By the 1100's the Song were an urban population with some of the largest cities in the world. Their wealth came from their strong navy, and participation in international trade.
7. Between 800 and 1100, the Song's iron production increased tenfold to about 120,000 tons per year.
8. From 600 to 1200 C.E., the Chinese population more then doubled, from about 45 million to 115 million.
9. During the T'ang Dynasty, a woman called Wu Zhao became the first and only Empress of China after the death of her husband, Emperor Gaozong.
10. Foot binding became a widespread practice and trend with noble girls. Women with large feet were considered ugly, so shortly after they were born a woman's feet would be bound so that they would stay small. This was very painful, and often ended with deforming and crippling.
11. Mahayana Buddhism emphasises meditation, and appreciation of beuty, and having a peaceful, quiet existence. Zen Buddhism was popular with the educated classes, who generally followed the tenets of Confucianism.
12. In the fifth century, the Yamato clan emerged as leaders in Japan.
13. The Japanese practiced Shinto, a religeon that means, "The way of the gods." Which encourages obediance and proper behaviour.
14. In 522 Buddhist missionaries from China went to Japan and brought the Chinese culture with them. Buddhism spread quickly, but didn't replace Shinto, most Japanese people practiced both.
15. Prince Shotoku in Japan, borrowed bureaucratic and legal forms that were modeled on the T'ang Dynasty in China. These reforms were enacted after his death as the Taika Reforms in 645 C.E.
16. The feudalism in Japan developed the same way as in Europe, but it developed independently
17. In 1192, Yoritomo Minamoto was given the title of Shogun. Below the Shogun were the daimyo, huge landowners. The daimyo were powerful samurai, like knights, and they divided their land up and gave it to lesser samurai. The samurai followed a strict code of conduct called the Code of Bushido, which was like the code of chivalry in Europe.
18. 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 Delhi Sultanate.
19. For over two hundred years starting in 1206, Islam spread through northern India. The sultans were highly offended by the Hindus polytheistic ways and tried to convert as many of them as possible.
20. In addition to invading Russia, China, Persia, and Central Asia, the Mongols found time on their way to invade India. Under the leadership of Timur Lang, the Mongols wiped out everything in sight and massacered thousands.
21. In the early 1200s, Genghis Kahn unified the Mongol tribes and set out on a path that would lead to the largest empire the world has ever seen. The Mongol Empire eventually spanned from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe.
22. The Golden Horde conquered the region of modern day Russia, and Kublai Kahn ruled China.
23. In the 1200s and 1300s, many people simply gave in before the Mongols attacked their villages. Those that tried to resist were killed.
24. The Chinese finally kicked the Mongols out of China, and established the Ming Dynasty in 1368.
25. By 1450, the Mongol Empire was far into its decline.
Notes: E. Developments in Africa.
1. The Kush and the Axum civilizations developed in the south of Egypt, in the upper reaches of the Nile.
2. In the fourth century, the Axum were converted to Christianity. In the seventh century, many were converted to Islam. 3. After lots of trading with the Muslims, and eventually, Islam spread throughout most of East Africa.4. The Ghana, Mali and Songhai civilizations were in Western Africa.
5. Islamic traders were very interested in trading with the western African kingdoms, because in Ghana and Mali, there was TONS of gold.6. The constant trade with the Muslims and Ghana and Mali brought more then just Islamic items, it brought the religeon over.
7. The Ghana and Mali were forced to convert to Islam, or else they would be killed.
8. One of the greatest Mali rules, Mansa Musa, built a capital at Timbuktu, and expanded his kingdom far beyond the Ghana.
9. The largest empire in west Africa was formed in the mid 1500s, when Songhai rules, Sonni Ali conquered the entire region and established the Songhai Empire. The empire lasted till around 1600 C.E.
10. Oral literature was an important part of life in most African communities. History and stories were passed down, from one generation to the next through stories.
11. The Benin culture lived near present day Nigeria, and they mastered bronze sculpting. They made a clay mould around a wax sculpture, melted the wax, filled the mould with bronze, and then broke the clay mould.
Notes: F. Developments in the Americas.
1. The three great civilizations in Central and South America, were the Incas, Aztecs and Mayans.
2. The Mayan decline is still a source of debate. They began to abandon their cities at around 800 C.E., many reasons could have been the source of this. Which is why it is still a source of debate.
3. The Aztecs arrived in central Mexico in the mid 1200s, and built their capital at Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico city).
4. The Aztec women had a subordinate public role, but could inherit property.
5. The Aztec military was tied in with its religious beliefs, they would raid nearby villages and and take hostages which would be used as human sacrifices.
6. The Inca Empire was set up in the Andes Mountains, Peru. At its zenith, it is thought to have controlled more than 2000 miles of South American coastline.
7. The Incan women were expected to help in the fields, weave cloth and and care for the household.
1. In Europe, the upper classes of women were veiled.
2. In the Islamic Empire, women were veiled in public.
2. The Mayan decline is still a source of debate. They began to abandon their cities at around 800 C.E., many reasons could have been the source of this. Which is why it is still a source of debate.
3. The Aztecs arrived in central Mexico in the mid 1200s, and built their capital at Tenochtitlan (modern-day Mexico city).
4. The Aztec women had a subordinate public role, but could inherit property.
5. The Aztec military was tied in with its religious beliefs, they would raid nearby villages and and take hostages which would be used as human sacrifices.
6. The Inca Empire was set up in the Andes Mountains, Peru. At its zenith, it is thought to have controlled more than 2000 miles of South American coastline.
7. The Incan women were expected to help in the fields, weave cloth and and care for the household.
1. In Europe, the upper classes of women were veiled.
2. In the Islamic Empire, women were veiled in public.
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