2. 1. How did Muhammad and Islam address the fundamental
problems in bedouin society?
• Ended conflict between clans
• Bedouin society was made up of nomadic peoples who migrated
through the deserts to find grass and water for their animals.
The Bedouin organized themselves in family and clan groups.
Individuals and their immediate families depended heavily on their
larger kinship networks for support.
Because the Arabian desert was such a harsh environment to live,
cooperation with kin often made the difference between death and
survival.
Bedouin people developed a strong sense of loyalty to their clans.
Clan identities and loyalties survived for centuries after the
appearance of Islam.
3. 2. What were the basic beliefs of Islam?
• 5 pillars: declaration of faith - alms - prayer -
pilgrimage to Mecca - fasting during Ramadan
• Montheistic- Allah, Suprmeme God,
Muhammad his prophet
• People were not forced to convert to Islam,
they could pay a tax to keep their own religion
• Teaches equality - no priesthood
• Jihad - "to struggle" - word of Muhammad and
Allah in the Koran
4. 3. What motivations led Islam to transform itself from a
nomadic society to a global civilization? In what sense was it a
global civilization by 850?
• Islam needed to provide for its ppl. That was the
calpih
• Spread rapidly through trade/military expansion
• also started attacking others to prevent intra-clan
conflict - became more cosmopolitan as the
empire grew - especially in cities such as Baghdad
• It was global by 850 since it expanded through
Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. At this time,
no one knew abut the Americas, so that was as
global as a religion could get
5. 4. What were the major characteristics of the Abbasid
Caliphate?
• Golden Age; changed capital to Baghdad
• Arts and Sciences
• used paper money, also receipts and bills, etc.
• Economy greatly expanded, fought the Crusades,
preserved Western culture
• increased trade; central location
• merchant class highly valued
• They also copied the Greek and Roman scripts
• Medicine/literature/development of mathematics
(algebra, Arabic numerals, decimal system, zero
6. 5. How did the position of women in Islamic Society
change from Muhammad to the Abbasid Empire?
• The Islams were introduced to the Persian
culture- +veiling
• Introduction of harems
• Women were gradually getting treated worse
after Muhammad's rule. But still equal in eyes
of Allah
• Society became increasingly patriarchal -
women's primary role was to be loyal to and
care for husband/family
7. 6. What was Islam's attitude towards slavery?
• According to Wikipedia - only children of
slaves or non-Muslim prisoners of war could
enter slavery - Muslim slaves were held higher
than non-Muslim free men
• Slaves shipped along Indian Ocean trade
routes
• Mamluks were also slaves
8. 7. To what extent was Islam successful in converting India to
Islam? Sutheast Asia? Sub-Saharan Africa?
• India - converted mainly lower classes in the northern areas
• Islam was not successful in converting all of India.
• Southeast Asia - peaceful conversion - spread by Muslim traders
• And Muslims did not succeed in converting Sub-Saharan Africa to Islam
• Between 600 C.E. and 1200 C.E., India was not unified. The Gupta Empire, the last state to provide
any sort of unity, collapsed in 550 C.E.
Muslim invaders reached the Indus Valley and Afghanistan in the 700’s and converted it to Islam.
In 1022, Muslim armies began the conquest of northern India.
In 1206, the Muslims captured the city of Delhi and most of northern India fell into their hands.
Muslim generals established the Delhi Sultanate.
Islam did not displace earlier faiths like Hinduism and Buddhism but joined them as one of the
country’s major religions
• As the coastal trade and shipping of India came to be controlled (from the 8th century onward)
increasingly by Muslims, elements of Islamic culture began to filter
into Southeast Asia.
Almost everywhere in the islands of the region, trading contacts paved the way for conversion.
Muslim merchants and sailors introduced local peoples to the ideas and rituals of the new faith and
impressed on them how much of the known world had already been converted.
The first areas to be won to Islam in the last decades of the 13th century were several small port
centers on the northern coast of Sumatra.
There were large Muslim communities in the cities, but not in the rural areas due to the trade
networks
• Ghana fought a holy war against a Muslim group - led to its decline - eventually sub-Saharan Africa
converted (Mansa Musa and his pilgrimage...)
• Islam arrived in the 7th century for Sub-Saharan Africa- Trans-Saharan trade
9. 8. What were the major characteristics of the Sudanic states,
Great Zimbabwe, and the Swahili city-states? What impact did
Islam have upon them?
• Zimbabwe was named after the Zimbabwe, a
stone enclosure
• Dominated Africa from 9th-16th century
• Sudanic states were dominated by the gold and
salt trade - included Ghana/Mali/Songhai
• Great Zimbabwe traded raw materials to the
ports on the Swahili coast - built giant stone
enclosures known as zimbabwes
• Trade led to the rise of Sudanic states
• Swahili city states - controlled Indian Ocean trade
routes - mix of Arabic and Bantu cultures led to
rise of new language (Swahili) - gold/slaves/ivory
10. 9. What were the major characteristics of the
Byzantine Empire?
• Constantine established Constantinople, 2nd Rome, as capital. Greek=official language
• Geography helped prevent them from nomadic invasions
• Justinian- Byzantine conquered most area during this time
• similar to earlier patterns in china, women could serve as emperor, emperor was head of church as
well as head of state
• System of government bureaucracy similar to China's
• Justinian created Justinian code
• Arabs cnquered parts of Byzantine Empire. Survived partly because of Greek fire
• Built Hagia Sophia - famous for mosaics - monoplized silk trade
• Fell in 1453 with capture of Constantinople by Ottoman Turks
• Churches, were Catholics
• Seperated from the West; Great Schism(1054)
• Dispute over use of icons
• West=Icon; East=No icon: because of low literacy rates in West
• Catholics spoke Latin; pope was leader; most important holy day=Christmas (Easter for Orthodox
Christians - used local languages in services)
• Held chariot races that caused the burning down of Constantinople
• And the Crusaders sacked Byzantine at the start of the 13th century
11. 10. What events led to the creation of the Orthodox
Church in 1054?
• Great Schism(1054); excommunication
• debate over use of icons; whether priest could
marry
• eventually caused Russia to become culturally
different from the rest of western Europe
• Interestingly enough - in 1965 the leaders of
the two churches "un-excommunicated" each
other
12. 11. What accounts for the decline of the Byzantine
Empire?
• The Crusades; Ottoman Turks
• Sack of Constantinople by the Venetians
during the 4th Crusade, invasions by Seljuk
Turks, civil wars, rise of the Ottomans
13. 12. How did the Byzantine Empire influence Russia?
• Converted Russia to Orthodox Christianity (St.
Cyril and Methodius)
• prince Vladimir converted to Christianity.
Served as Russia's religion
14. 13. Explain manorialism and feudalism
• "Manorialism was the organizing principle of
rural economy"- Wikipedia (Pretty much
Manorialism is the exchange of loyalty for
portection, with sometime money thrown in)
• manorialism is an economic structure, feudalism
is a set of "legal and military customs"
(Wikipedia)
• Whole thing considered "feudal society“
• Feudalism dealt mainly with upper classes
(lords/vassals/fiefs) - manorialism was what
bound peasants to the lord's land
15. 14. What was the role of the Catholic Church during
the Middle Ages?
• It acted as a powerful social force that united
the disconnected people of Western Europe -
also sponsored education
• Knowledge kept alive in monasteries - later
became first universities
16. 15. What was the role of the women during the Middle Ages?
• Islam- Women were viewed equally in eyes of Allah. After confrontations with the
Persians and other regions, women were veiled and some of their rights were
taken away
• Europe- they were seen as property
• And before Islam, women were viewed as property of men
• Europe - seen as needed to be protected due to their feminine traits (beauty, etc.)
• China- were treated as completely insignificant and were forced to observe the
painful practice of foot-binding.
• In the Byzantine empire, Justinian's wife Theodora held power. So therefore
women could hold power in the empire
• India - pretty much the same as China (according to the AP book) due to the
patriarchal caste system
• Mongol women were treated fairly well, if I remember correctly
• Aztec made them grind corn? They could also inherit property.
• Inca and Aztec societies they were supposed to look after the household and
played a big part in textiles
• Africa - relatively equal to men - many societies matrilineal/matriarchal - seen as a
valuable source of wealth (bride price instead of dowry)
• The women in Japan helped to create the Japanese culture-tale of Genji
• And the women in Japan held a more prominent role in society, but the women in
the elite's family did not hold as much freedom
• The Trung sisters in Vietnam held great power in the military and led Vietnam to
freedom.
17. 16. What were the causes for the Crusades? What was the
impact of the Crusades on Europe?
• The Crusades spread Christianity through Europe.
• Pope Urban wanted to recapture the holy land
from the Muslims.
• Exposed Europe to Asian/Islamic
influences/culture/technology
• Holy land= Jerusalem.
• The later Crusades were prompted more by
money then the spread of religion or culture
• GOLD!!! Economic incentives as well
18. 17. What were signs of economic and cultural revival in
Western Europe after 1000?
• Feudalism helped to defend the lands.
• Agriculture expanded – urbanization
• Specialization of labor
• trade, merchant class becomes more valuable
• Trade increased (Hanseatic League) - rise of middle class
• crop rotation and 3-field system helped with agricultural economy
• Population growth was directly tied with the expansion of
agriculture
• new technology- plow, new horse collar and new horseshoe (also
helped economy in agricultural purposes)
• Aristotle's works were rediscovered.
• And that helped to spread the Greek culture. Thomas Aquinas.
Ancient Roman culture was also spread this way
19. 18. What were the basic characteristics of the Olmec, Maya,
Aztec and Inca? Cmpare the Aztec and Inca
• Aztecs- women milled corn. Worked in the house most of the time. Same as Inca women
• Okay, they all believed in paying tribute to the Gods, whether that be through human sacrifice or by
killing animals.
• Inca-grew potatoes
• Aztec conquered land for human sacrifices
• Aztec - expanded through conquest - capital at Tenochtitlan - founded on island in Lake Texcoco
• Economy was based on agriculture
• Inca - used llamas - quipu (knots) used for record-keeping - founded 1450
• Both had rulers that were seen as near-gods - also both conquered by Spanish in 16th century
• Aztec wasn't a bureaucracy but Inca was
• Aztecs had city-states
• Religious system was tied to warfare because of sacrifices
• Roads/bridges built by Inca
• Inca had the system of split inheritance, where the oldest son got the power and the wealth was
divided between younger sons.
• Aztecs - used chinampas
• Inca involved in not very little trading
• Incas had capital @ Cuzco
• In the Inca, the nobles ran the bureaucracy
• They were all polytheistic.
20. 19. What were the basic characteristics of the Tang and Song
dynasties? How did they change from the Han Dynasty?
• Tang had paper money and developed receipts, credit, etc...
• China had a golden age during these periods
• China also expanded greatly during the Tang (military-wise)
• Neo-Confucianism developed/greatly influenced Song
• They completed repairs on the Great Wall as well
• Buddhism introduced during the Tang dynasty - blamed for problems
• used a scholar-gentry for political purposes
• Song where marriage was put off for the scholar-gentry
• 1st and only empress of China -Wu Zhao - during Tang dynasty
• The Tang was brought to its end by Emperor Xanzong and his concubine Yang Guifei
• Eventually conquered by Mongols
• Neo-Confucianism did not like new technology
• Silk roads reopened!
• Song paid tribute to nomads to avoid being overthrown, did not work
• Many countries paid tribute to the Tang (Vietnam, Korea, Tibet, central Asian kingdoms)
• Civil service exams integrated more during Song dynasty. 3 classes; district, provincial, and imperial.
Took test every 3 years
• In the Song, the land was broken up among the peasants so the nobles lost their power.
• Increase of taxes to pay for military. People didn't like that
• Song became rump state! haha :P ... after north attacked
• Introduction of Champa rice from Vietnam allowed for increase in food supplies/population
21. 20. Discuss the status of women during the Tang-Song era.
• It was AWFUL. Footbinding, no rights, heavily
subordinate to men.
• in some cases, noble women could divorce,
but it was very strict
• Footbinding was to decrease mobility which
shows that the men didn't allow them to do
much.
• Chinese Women made silk
22. 21. What innovations were made during the Tang-Song era?
• junks, compass, gunpowder
• Moveable type
• Abacus/Bridges
• paper money, credit, receipts, etc...
• Song produced iron like no other... A
whopping 120,000 tons annually
• WATER CLOCK
• flying money
23. 22. What was Neo-Confucianism? How did it change the
political and social nature of China?
• Basically New-Confucian Did not like new technology
• Very conservative - emphasized rank and
obligation/morality
• Did not like foreigners ideas or other ideas
• They stressed tradition.
• It affected China because it became their dominant
cultural system. And it spread through China's
conquering in the Tang dynasty
• Also emphasized gender divisions. Sorry women... :/
• Promoted individual and creative thought
24. 23. Describe Japan during the Heian era.
• Rise of women that created Japanese culture. Tale of Genji
• developed their own culture. Moved away from Chinese culture
• And Japan developed a new writing system called kana
• Didn't they hold on to the belief that pedigree> ability?
• Developed feudal system (similar to Europe's)
• And the Heian ended because of the rise of military clans. Gempei
Wars
• Emperor became figurehead
• Minamoto!
• Rise of the shogun
• Code of Bushido – Samurai
• The whole samurai thing started at the very end of the Heian period
- just when all the clans started fighting
25. 24. Compare and contrast European and Japanese
feudalism.
• Same purpose>> Protection for services
• Europeans=Knights; Japanese=Samurai
• The samurai had to commit seppuku if they
failed as a warrior. The knights battle armor
was harder to move in and they weren't as
elaborate as the samurai's.
• Code of Bushido similar to Code of Chivalry
26. 25. Compare and contrast the degree of Sinification in Japan,
Korea, and Vietnam
• Vietnam wasn't having any of that! Trung
sisters=Independence
• Japan - almost identical copy of China (before Heian, at
least)
• Korea learned pottery from Chinese, but shortly exceeded
them at their own art
• Korea - copied some things (bureaucracy, Confucianism to
an extent, Buddhism) - served as a vassal state to China
• Vietman- their earlier traditions differed, such as women
having more status than in China.
• So basically it's Japan<-Korea<-Vietnam, in order of
increasing Sinification from right to left... (In order of most
to least influenced by China)
27. 26. How was Genghis Khan able to build one of history's largest
empires?
• Fast moving and well organized army
• Used scouts/messengers/maps
• He organized the Mongols into tumens of 10,000
warriors. Divide and conquer
• He brought unity to the Mongols and patronized artists
and intellectuals of conquered lands
• Flow of culture/technology between Europe and Asia
• They didn't really force the people to change culture, it
was either listen to us or die, so they would rather keep
their culture and live than imminently die if they
refused.
28. 27. What was the impact of the Mongol conquest of Russia?
Islamic heartland? China?
• The Mongol invasion of Russia set Russia apart from other countries
• Mongols prevented Russia from unifying quickly like Europe did
• China - founded new dynasty (Yuan), But later taken back.... so not
too much impact overall in China
• Plus they didn't force assimilation, so China held on to their beliefs.
• Islamic heartland - something about Baghdad - Baibars was also the
first person to defeat Mongols (Ain Jalut - 1260)
• Mongol invasion promoted hegemony in Russia
• hegemony-"leadership or predominant influence exercised by one
nation over others, as in a confederation." (Dictionary.com)
29. 28. What were the positive impacts of the Mongol conquests?
Negative impacts?
• Pax Mongolica was a definite +. Meant peace for
the conquered lands of the Mongols
• Postive- we were given insight on a lot of Asian
culture.
• Negative-it isolated Russia from the rest of
Europe
• Negative- Many people died in the wars and
conquering. Prevented Russia from having
contact with Europe
• The Mongols united people under a single ruler
