1. Unit 4B
THE MIDDLE AGES IN AFRICA AND ASIA
600-1450

2. Origins, Central Ideas, and Spread of Islam
 Muhammad-Born in or about 570-considered the
founder of Islam
 Muslims-Those who worship Allah and recognize
Muhammad as the final prophet
 Mecca-The Holy City of the Islamic faith
 Allah-Monotheistic deity-also recognized as the God
of Abraham and the Jewish people (and Christians)

3. Origins, Central Ideas, and Spread of Islam
 Hajj-Pilgrimage to Mecca that each Muslim is
required (health permitting) to take within their
lifetime
 Qur'an- The holy book of Islam-contains the
revelations received by Mohammad
 Jihad (Holy Struggle)-The expansion of the Islamic
state and control
 Trade and the Spread of religion-Silk Roads, Indian
Ocean Trade

4. Interactions…
 People conquered by Muslims chose to accept Islam
b/c they were attracted to the religious message as
well as not having to pay a tax
 Forced conversion was forbidden by the Qur’an, so
conquered people could keep their own religion
 Christians and Jews served as officials, scholars, and
bureaucrats in Muslim states
 Extensive trade network (Europe, Asia, and N.
Africa)

5. Interactions…
 Cultural blending leads to achievements in art and
science in Muslim-controlled cities in
Asia, Europe, and N. Africa
 Crusades
 As Islam spreads to N. Africa, the Berbers (originally
Christian and Jewish) convert to Islam. They are
important in the African gold-salt trade.

6. Interactions…India
 Muslim tribes invade starting in NW India in the
600s.
 Muslim minority ruling a Hindu majority (Delhi
Sultanate and Mughal Empire)
 Sikhism develops

7. Political, Economic, and Social Impact of Islam
on Asia
 Mongol invasions of Baghdad-End of Abbasids and a
unified Islamic empire
 Ottomans (Turkey), Safavids (Persia), and Mughals
(India)
 Growth of Islam in non-Arab cultures

8. Political, Economic, and Social Impact of Islam
on Africa
 Arab settlers in port cities in East Africa
 Bantu languages blend with Arabic-Swahili
 Introduction of the slave trade in Africa
 Growth of commerce in East Africa leads to spread of
Islam to other parts of the continent
 Gold-Salt trade between North African Muslims and
empires of West Africa lead to spread of Islam in
West Africa

9. Turning Points in World History 600-1450
 Expansion of Islam into N. Africa and Spain
 Umayyad caliphate: Damascus
 Sunni/Shi’a split
 Abbasid caliphate: Baghdad
 Fatimid caliphate: Cairo
 Golden Age in mathematics and science, including
chemistry, scientific method, and medicine

10. Turning Points in World History 600-1450
 Mongol Invasions
 13th century-spread across Eurasia to create one of
the world’s largest empires
 Brutal conquest of the Abbasids and Russia
 Pax Mongolia-supported trade along Silk Road
 Kublai Khan-Yuan dynasty in China

11. Tang China (618-907 A.D.)
 Political developments
 Add territory in Manchuria and Vietnam
 Chinese influence in Korean peninsula
 Restoration of bureaucracy started during Han dynasty
 Scholar-officials take civil service exams to work in
government jobs
 Economic Developments
 Foreign trade increases-Silk Roads
 New inventions; porcelain, mechanical clocks, block
printing, gunpowder
 Tea from S.E. Asia

12. Tang China (618-907 A.D.)
 Cultural Developments
 Spread of Buddhism through trade to Japan, Korea, and
Vietnam
 Greater social mobility (move up in society)
 Urbanization-movement to cities
 Decline in women’s status-footbinding

13. Song China (960-1279)
 Political Developments
 Rule limited to Southern China
 Economic Developments
 Introduction of fast-growing rice from Vietnam-population growth
 Movable type spreads to Japan and Korea
 Paper money leads to economic growth
 Advances in sailing technology (magnetic compass) lead to growth in
ocean trade
 Cultural Developments
 Art-landscapes in black ink
 Population at 100 million with ten cities having at least 1 million

14. Development of Slave Trade
 First major development-7th Century when Islamic
traders trade goods for Africans and transport them
to S.W. Asia
 Muslim African rulers enslave non-Muslims on the
Islamic belief that they could be bought and sold as
slaves
 4.5 million Africans transported as slaves to S.W.
Asia from 650-1000 A.D.
 Slaves in African and Muslim societies had legal
rights and opportunity for social mobility

15. Trade and New Ideas…
 Silk Road-China to Rome-spices and silk from east
transported west.
 Indian merchants are middlemen and become
wealthy
 Cultural diffusion (Buddhism and Islam)
 African Gold-Salt Trade- Arab and Berber traders
took salt from Sahara to West Africa in exchange for
gold. West African traders also traded gold for salt in
N. Africa
 Cultural diffusion (Islam)

16. Trade and New Ideas…
 Indian Ocean Trade
 Arab traders spread Islam to East Africa
 Arab slave trade along East African coast
 Piracy
 Monsoon winds

17. Impact of Mongols
 Russia
 Fall of Kiev
 Religion and culture permitted to continue as long as high
tributes were paid
 Isolation from western Europe-no spread of new ideas and
inventions
 Moscow emerges as major city
 Ivan III takes title of czar-throws off Mongol rule

18. Impact of Mongols
 China
 Northern China conquered 1234
 Kublai Khan completes capture of Southern China in 1279 and
establishes the Yuan dynasty
 China united for 1st time in 300 years (after the fall of the
Tang)
 Mongol control over most of Asia opens China to foreign
contacts and trade (Marco Polo)

19. Impact of Mongols
 Islamic World
 Baghdad (Abbasid caliphate) sacked and 10,000 killed
 Poorly administered by the Mongols and leads to way to the
rise of the Ottoman Turks

20. Diffusion of Ideas
 Islamic World
 House of Wisdom in Baghdad-translated scientific and medical
documents into Arabic
 Astrolabe
 Algebra
 Optics
 Tang China
 Porcelain
 Movable type
 Gunpowder
 Mechanical clock
 Paper Money
 Magnetic compass

21. Influence of Islam on Law and Government in
the Islamic World
 Shari’a-Islamic law-Regulates family life, moral
conduct, and business matters
 Religious matters are not separate from criminal or
civil matters
 Islamic judges (qadis) apply the law and imams
(religious leaders) interpret the law
 Regulation of human behavior (5 Pillars of Islam)
 Dietary/Clothing restrictions
 Sunni/Shi’a split