Aim: How were the Roman Empire and the Han Dynasty in China similar?

I. Qin Dynasty

  • Replaced the Zhou Dynasty 221 BCE
  • Qin Shi Huang reunited China
  • centralized gov’t with a bureaucracy
  • Became Legalists
  • expanded territory to the south (northern Vietnam)
  • Achievement was public works
  • Early stages of the Great Wall of China (1,400 Miles)

II. Han Dynasty

  • 206 BCE- 220 CE
  • Liu Bang founded the Han
  • Strong central government with bureaucracy
  • expanded territory south and west (central Asia, Korea, Indochina)
  • Allowed civil service exams: pick officials by merit
  • PaxSinica = Chinese period of peace
  • Shi: scholar class, promoted education
  • Han Wudi created an even larger empire
  • Technology increased, iron, paper, ships, acupuncture, canals, water power and compass
  • Confucianism became the basis for Han gov’t
  • civil service examinations: gov’t employees became more qualified
  • Confucianism preserved patriarchal social structures/gender roles

III. Silk Road

  • Linked Asia, Europe and India
  • Middlemen were the Greeks and the Jews
  • Religion spreads: Buddhism into China, Christianity to Europe
  • Disease spread along Silk Road

IV. Decline

  • Land unequally divided between rich and poor
  • Han surrounded by barbarians
  • Han dynasty paid them tribute
  • Weak rulers follow Wudi
  • Weak economy
  • Trade declined
  • Peasant revolts
  • Invasions led to a collapse in 220 CE

Led to 400 years of turmoil and division of the empire

AIM: What factors led to the rise and spread of Islam?

I. Arabian Peninsula

a)Harsh desert

b)Bedouins: nomads that herded camels and goats

c)Clans were the basis of society

d)Led by Sheikh: the patriarch of a tribe or family

e)Strife and rivalry between clans

II. Muhammad

a)Born 570 CE in Mecca a leading commercial center

b)Founder of Islam

c)610 has his first revelation, met an angel Gabriel

d)considered a prophet of God

III. Mecca to Medina

a)In Mecca he was seen as a threat

b)Muhammad’s flight from Mecca and to Medina in 622 called the Hijra

c)Organizes the umma: Islamic communities that accept him as a messenger

d)629 mawali: non-Arab converts to Islam

e)630 makes trip back to Mecca

f)632 dies without a successor...But all of Arabia is under Muslim control

IV. Beliefs of Islam

a)Monotheistic

b)Allah the one true god

c)Koran or Quran the Islamic holy book

d)Shariah: The code of law based on the Koran.

e)Five Pillars of Islam: Faith in Allah, Prayer 5 times a day facing Mecca, Fasting: daylight hours of Ramadan, Give Alms: charity and the Hajj: one pilgrimage to Mecca during lifetime

V. After Muhammad’s Death

  1. 632: Abu Bakr becomes first caliph or successor of Muhammad
  2. 634 Arabia under the caliph’s control
  3. Caliph was a spiritual leader of Islam
  4. Issue of succession caused division

AIM: Elaborate on the previous question (What factors contributed to the rise and spread of Islam?) with the following information

VI. Umayyads

  1. 656-661 Ali had become the fourth caliph
  2. He was assassinated
  3. 661 Mu'awiyah becomes new caliph
  4. Umayyads rule all of Arabia
  5. Move capital from Mecca to Damascus
  6. This caused a permanent shift is Islam
  7. Shi’a: only follow Ali and his descendants
  8. Sunni: Follow all caliphates
  9. Umayyads: tax the mawali
  10. They could not serve in army or in government
  11. Dome of the Rock is built
  12. Allow for religious toleration with Jews and Christians

VII. Decline

iLuxurious living for the caliphates

iiRevolts began

iiiCivil wars between Shi’a and Sunni

ivAbbasids take over in 750

VIII. Differences between Sunnis and Shia’s

SUNNI MUSLIMS / SHIA MUSLIMS
90 % of all Muslims / 10 % of Muslims
Sunni comes from “Sunnah” means the custom or “way of the prophet / Shi’a comes from shi’at’ ali Which means partisans of Ali
Will recognize all caliphates / Will not recognize all caliphates, only followers of Ali
Less emphasis on imams / Imam means spiritual “leader”
For the shia, only imams can interpret the Qur’an

Both interpret the Qur'an differently

Shi’a idealize suffering and martyrdom

Ashura is a Shi’a tradition and it marks the anniversary of the martyrdom of Husayn

Further Division

•split between Sunni, Shia has remained bitter

•Third group developed within Islam—the Sufis

•Sufis seek mystical, personal connection with God, using range of practices including breath control and meditation in rituals

IX. Abbasids

  1. Take over in 750 CE led by Abu Abbas and the Shi’a
  2. Good administrators, efficient bureaucracy
  3. 762 CE move the capital to Baghdad
  4. Large and growing population
  5. Cities were urban centers
  6. Merchants traded with Africa, Russia and India
  7. Supported the integration of the mawali
  8. Actively supported conquered areas to convert to Islam
  9. Abbasids invited all to join in, turned Islam into universal religion, attracted people of many cultures

X. Women in the Abbasid Dynasty

a)Beginning of Islam women had rights

b)They could inherit property, own business, divorce men, get an education

c)By the late 7th century male dominance was enforced by the Qur’an

d)Abbasids create the use of the veil and the harem

e)Wives of caliphs were concubines kept in secluded quarters

f)Women were always chaperoned

XI. Achievementsof the Abbasid

iGolden Age of Islam began in 750 and lasted until ca. 1400

iiMawali became integrated into the empire, no special taxes, worked in gov’t

iiiCreation of universities of Cordoba and Baghdad

ivLiterature: 1001 Arabian Nights

vTraded with numerous countries

viUsed Steel swords and a credit based economy

viiAdvances in arts, sciences, medicine and math

viiiAl-Razi treated diseases: small pox and measles

ixInfluenced by Western culture

XII. Decline

1)Mid 9th century

2)Empire became too big to control

3)Many civil wars

4)Peasants rebellions

5)Empire became divided into separate states

6)Mongols invaded from Asia

7)The empire fell in 1258

XIII. al-Andalus

•711 CE: Berbers (peoples from North Africa) conquer Iberian Peninsula

•Al-Andalus refers to the areas on the Iberian Peninsula (Spain & Portugal) governed by the Muslims (known as Moors)

•Failed expansion into Europe 732 CE

•capital at Cordoba

•preserved Greco-Roman traditions + blended them with new advances from the Muslim world

XIV. Mamluk Dynasty

-13th century: Mamluks (slaves turned soldiers) establish control over Egypt after fall of Abbasids

-Mamluks: converts to Islam, strict observance of Islam

-Maintained trade routes through Egypt

Aim: What is the significance of the Byzantine Empire to the civilization of Europe?

I. Byzantine Empire

a)Consisted of Eastern Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East

b)Lasted for 1000 years

c)Continued Roman practices

d)Impacted Russia, Ukraine and Belarus

II. Origins

a)4th century Constantine moved capital to Constantinople

b)Used Hellenistic culture

c)Prosperous economy, trade and location

III. Justinian

a)527 becomes emperor

b)Was head of church and state

c)Reconquered some parts of the west

d)Replaced Latin with Greek

e)Reformed taxes

f)Built the church Hagia Sofia

g)Created Justinian’s Law Code, similar to Roman laws

h)Wife was Theodora and gave women rights

i)Some women were educated and became physicians

IV. Weakness

a)565 Justinian dies

b)Plague hits and constant outside invasions

c)1071: Seljuk Turks overran the empire

d)1300’s empire was extremely weak and destroyed by Mongols

e)1453 the Ottoman Turks finally end the Byzantine Empire

Aim: How did the Byzantines impact Russia?

V. Byzantine Christianity

a)Emperor controlled both the Church and State

b)Patriarch: highest church official

c)They reject the pope

d)Priests can marry

e)Speak Greek language

VI. Controversy

a)Use of Icons: religious images

b)Byzantine people worshipped icons and images

c)But in the 700s the Byzantine emperor outlawed the worshipping of icons

d)People broke into churches and destroyed icons

e)The Pope excommunicated the emperor and patriarch

f)This caused a split between east and west in 1054

g)Called the Great Schism: Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church

VII. Geography of Russia

a)Located in Eurasia

b)Different climates, south warmer and farmable, north cold and snowy

c)Southern steppe helped spread trade and migration

d)Kiev was the capital of Russia 882-1169

VIII. Russia

iRejected Islam because of the rule against alcohol

iiRejected Judaism because God lacked political power

iiiVladimir the Great (Vladimir I) adopts Eastern Orthodox

ivForced baptism on his subjects

vBorrowed saints, icons and architecture from the Romans

viTraded with the Byzantine Empire

viiGave them slaves

viiiByzantine missionaries Cyril and Methodius create the Cyrillic alphabet

IX. Kiev Decline

a)In the 12th century princes rivaled over power

b)13th century invaded by Mongols

c)Orthodox church survives due to Mongol tolerance

Aim: How did Africa develop its own culture, trade and civilizations?

I. The Geography of Africa

a. North Africa

•Mountain Ranges (Atlas Mountains)

•Sahara desert (world’s largest)

b. West Africa

•Grasslands

•Most populated

c. East Africa

  • Mountainous
  • Plateaus
  • Grasslands
  • Hills

d. South Africa

  • Namib & Kalahari Deserts

e. Central Africa

  • Equator
  • Rain forests

f. Desertification

  • Desertification – The spreading of a desert region
  • The region of Sahel is most affected by the spreading desert.

g. Rivers

•Nile River – world’s longest (4,000 + miles)

•Congo River – Central Africa – through rain forests, 2,720 miles long

•Niger River – Africa’s third longest- 2,600 miles long. Begins in West Africa (Guinea)

II. Early African Culture

a. Family Ties

•Farming and herding societies consisted of extended families

•Kinships created strong bonds and a sense of community

b. Structure of African Society

•Kinship – Relationship to individual relatives

•Family – Related members of a group

•Clan – Group made up of related families

•Tribe – Group made up of related clans

c. African Religions

•Oral traditions and myths

•Ancestors could help or harm them

•Every object on earth was filled with a living spirit (Animism)

III. Early African Civilizations

a. Bantu Migration

•Ca. 2000 BCE: the Bantu begin to migrate southward into Sub-Saharan Africa lasted until 1500 CE

•spread agriculture, knowledge of ironworking

•Millions of Africans speak related languages, known as Bantu languages.

b. Kingdoms of Axum and Kush

•Approximately 300 A.D. – 900 A.D.

•Important center of trade

•traded with Egypt, Rome, Persia, and India

c. The Gold – Salt Trade

•Traveling caravans crossed the vast Sahara desert to the Middle East

•Travelers looked to profit from the desert crossing with large trades

•The savanna lands of West Africa lacked salt, which is essential to survival

•In West Africa, salt was more valuable than gold

d. The Sudanic States

  • All three kingdoms are in West Africa
  • Ghana: 300-1150
  • Mali: 1230-1450
  • Songhai: 1350-1600
  • Traded gold and salt
  • Spread trade throughout North Africa

1. Empire of Ghana

•300A.D. to 1100A.D.

•Ghana developed in West Africa and grew rich because of trade.

•Ghana collected taxes from traders who passed through the kingdom.

•Ghana had few natural resources except gold.

•They were also very good at making things from iron.

•First powerful West African Kingdom

•The emperors power rested in his gold trade

•$ = power to buy goods and weapons

•Each trading caravan that entered or left Ghana had to pay a tax

2. The Empire of Mali

•1200 A.D. – 1450 A.D.

•Strongest and most powerful during the rule of Mansa Musa.

•Mansa Musa – Greatest leader of Mali

2a. Influence of Islam

•Muslim traders carried religion across West Africa

•Mansa Musa adopted a new faith

•As a faithful Muslim he made a pilgrimage or hajj to Mecca

•He built many mosques in Mali

3. Kingdom of Songhay (Songhai)

•1450A.D. – 1600A.D.

•The Golden Age of Africa

3a. Sunni Ali

•By 1464 – Sunni Ali, gained power in Gao

•Sunni Ali conquered Timbuktu, and the other major cities of the Mali.

3b. The Fall of Songhay

•Songhai fell in 1591 to invaders from Morocco

•They were attracted to wealth

•The Morocco soldiers won because they had guns and cannons

4. The Forest Kingdom of Benin

•Arose in a thickly forested area near the equator

•Developed in the delta region of the Niger River

•Best known for their Bronze art

5. East African Trading Cities

•Indian Ocean trade grew on the East coast of Africa

•Arab and Persian merchants arrived between the 9th and 12th centuries

•Known as the Swahili trading kingdoms

•Spoke Swahili which mixed Bantu and Arabic

•Trade flourished between 1200 and 1500

•The chief exports were ivory, sandalwood, ebony, and gold

•Trade spread through the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf

•Connected the East Indies, China, India, the Arab lands, Persia, and East Africa

•Brought prosperity to East Africa

•Most notable trading cities were Mogadishu, Sofala, Kilwa, Mombasa, and Zanzibar

•The cities were a cultural mix of Bantu, Islamic, and Indian influences

•The advent of Portuguese trade made the Swahili commercial centers obsolete

Aim: Explain the causes and course of (events of) Western Europe’s Dark Ages?

I. The Dark Ages (500-1500)

  1. Early Middle Ages
  2. 500-1000
  3. Period of backwardness (lacking in technology and advances)
  4. Political decentralization
  5. areas were undeveloped
  6. Economic struggles
  7. High Middle Ages
  8. 1000-1300
  9. European revival
  10. Nations and economy became a lot stronger
  11. Knowledge and education improved
  12. Late Middle Ages
  13. 1300-1500
  14. Period of social unrest and warfare
  15. Black Plague
  16. Renaissance

II. Germanic Kingdoms

i400-700 no cities and no written laws

iiLocal chiefs ruled small kingdoms throughout western Europe

iiiClovis became leader of the Franksthat ruled Gaul in the 490’s

ivConverted to Christianity

vBuilt churches and monasteries for monks and nuns

viBenedictine Order: 520 followers live a life of poverty, charity and obedience

viiChurch dominated over secular (worldly) issues

III. Carolingian Dynasty

a)Rules Gaul from 733-987

b)Muslims wanted to control Western Europe and destroy Christianity

c)Charles Martel met and defeated the Muslims at the Battle of Tours in 732

d)The battle is significant because it stopped the spread of Islam in Europe

e)Pepin the Short accepted the title of king in 751 from the Pope

f)Gave land to the Pope that became the Papal States

IV Charlemagne

iCharlemagne’s rule was the peak of Frankish power

iiRuled for 46 years

iiiExpanded the Frankish Empire

ivPope Leo III crowned him Holy Roman Emperor

vMissiDominici: Imperial officers, took records and spread education

viSet up schools

vii814 Charlemagne dies

viiiLouis the Pious (814-840) rule is full of civil wars and chaos

ixTreaty of Verdun (843): Kingdom divided into 3 among Louis’s sons

xThe empire as now weak and chaotic

xiNew system of gov’t  to feudalism

Aim: What was life like on the manor?

V. Manorialism

  1. Basic unit of feudal landholding
  2. trade diminished, estates became self-sufficient
  3. Manorialism = Economic system
  4. Serfs bound to the manor + had no say in gov’t
  5. Laws/punishments favored upper classes over lower
  1. Feudalism
  2. Feudalism: system based in Europe during the Middle Ages
  3. Land or a fief is given to a lord and they in turn give it to a vassal in return for homage, and legal and military service of tenants
  1. Feudal Roles
  2. Vassal
  3. Vassal had to pledge homage or loyalty to the people above them
  4. Ex. Lord is vassal to the king, knights are vassals to the lords, peasants are vassals to the knights
  5. In return for their loyalty, they received protection
  6. King
  7. Granted land to lords
  8. Lords were vassals to only the king
  9. Lord
  10. owned estates
  11. made laws and provided justice
  12. Knight
  13. Educated at a young age in chess, manners, and dancing
  14. 18-21 becomes knighted
  15. Chivalry: preached bravery, honor, respect for women
  16. Peasant
  17. Lived in villages in huts with no windows
  18. Lived with livestock
  19. Average lifespan 30 years
  20. They were illiterate
  21. Serf
  22. Not a slave but bound to the land
  23. They could not own land
  24. did not have to fight

Aim: What was the Role of the Catholic Church during the Middle Ages?

  1. Catholic Church
  2. the most powerful institution during the Middle Ages
  3. Provided hope, salvation, education, and services
  4. Pope was the central figure and had political influence
  1. Role of Church
  2. POLITICAL
  3. The pope crowned rulers
  4. Canon Law: Rules of the Church
  5. Performed sacraments and other religious rituals
  6. Had the power of excommunication
  7. Ex. Pope Gregory VII excommunicated King Henry IV
  8. Holy Inquisition: investigated any act of heresy against the Catholic Church
  1. ECONOMIC
  2. Church paid no taxes
  3. Tithe: worshippers paid one tenth salary
  4. Great monasteries and Cathedrals were built in Gothic style and
  5. Lent money without interest, they forbid usury
  6. Usury is a loan with high interest
  7. **Reason for success was because many others who lent money had a USURY, which was an illegally high interest rate which made the Church a better option
  8. The Jews charged interest on loans
  1. SOCIAL
  2. The Parish Church was the center of every town
  3. Religious figures were educated and literate and provide guidance
  4. Preserved Greek and Roman culture
  5. Jews were prejudiced and targets, they were forced to live in ghettos

Aim: What was the purpose of and results of the Crusades?

  1. Causes for the Crusades
  2. 1071 the Holy Land is conquered by the Seljuk Turks
  3. Byzantine Emperor calls of the Pope for help
  4. 1095 Pope Urban II calls for the crusades or holy wars
  5. Pope Urban II hoped to use this to reunite the eastern and western empires
  6. The main goal of the Crusades was to regain the Holy Land
  1. Why did people join?
  2. The Pope guaranteed them all salvation
  3. The promise of glory, landand riches
  4. Took away the taxes of the poor
  1. The Crusades
  2. First Crusade: 1096
  3. They had no knowledge of climate, geography or supply lines
  4. small army reached Jerusalem
  5. This was the only successful crusade
  6. 1099 captured Jerusalem and crusader states Edessa, Tripoli and Antioch

b. Problems after and during the Crusades