POSTCLASSICAL AGE 6 th century CE to 1450

POST-CLASSICAL AGE 6 th century CE to 1450 CE Began with rise of Islam First trans-regional civilization Spans Eurasia and Africa Era of two great powers: Islam, China Ended due to Turks, Mongols, Black Death Characteristics Spread of universalizing religions, philosophies Saw rise of new civilization centers Emergence of network of global contacts Ages of Faith, Aristocracy, Increasing Inequalities

State Structure THEMES Most systems were aristocratic in nature Most systems were decentralized Influence of system was often more important Agents of Change Often trade or economic Pastoral nomads and migration less important Universalizing Faiths World System or Global Contacts No world system yet (Americas, Oceania not included) Afro-Eurasia was a system though Women in the Era Less Centralized states: women have more influence Less Aristocratic states: women have more influence Increasing institutionalization means fewer rights

INTERREGIONAL NETWORKS An Age of Faiths: Religions and Missionaries Christianity Roman Catholicism Orthodoxy: Cyril and Methodius Buddhism Merchants spread it to East Asia, Southeast Asia Pilgrimages to South Asia Islam Pilgrimage Dar al Islam as created by the vast conquests Sufi missionaries and merchants Jews and Nestorians Southeast Asia: Spread of Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam Trading Patterns Muslim system including Sub-Saharan Africa Indian Ocean Systems: East Africa to Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia: The Silk Road and Nomads Western European – Mediterranean and North Sea

THE ISLAMIC WORLD Bedouin Origins Muhammad and Early Islam The Orthodox Caliphs Dhimmi status and “People of the Book” The Sultan and Vizier The Roles of the Turks and Mongols Other Muslim Worlds The Caliphate The Sunni-Shia Split The Umayyads and Abassid The Quran, The Jihad The Sharia and Ulama The Five Pillars Muslims in Spain Muslims in Central Asia Muslims in Africa Muslims in Southeast Asia Structural Change: Fragmentation: , Sultans, Viziers, Harem Dar al Islam provides cultural, religious unity to region

THE PERIPHERIES Sub-Saharan Africa Sahel: Ghana, Mali, Songhai East Africa: Swahilis, Ethiopia Southern Africa: Kongo, Zimbabwe Tribute empires, syncretic blending South Asia Post-Harsha: Regional divisions, caste stability From Muslims to the Sultanate of Delhi Arabs conquer Al-Sind, raid, trade into N. India Turks establish a Mameluk Sultanate Southern India: A Hindu Renaissance, commercial Vaisaya caste expands with commere

CHUNG KUO: CHINA The 2 nd Warring States Period 220 – 589 CE Sui Dynasty reunited China; the Grand Canal Tang Dynasty Merchants have upper hand Great technological and commercial innovation Gunpowder, compass, porcelain, movable type printing Why was China so strong The Golden Age of China Bureaucracy and Civil Service through Confucian exams Scholar Gentry Song Dynasty Nomadic conquerors intermixing with sedentary Chinese Spread of Buddhism Twice flowering rice increased harvests Settlement of marginal lands, use of terraces Capitalism as opposed to mercantilism Currency based economy Neo-Confucianism blends Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism

ON CHINA’S PERIPHERY Sinification vs. Indigenous Development Tribute System vs. Annexation Japan Yamato Clan unifies Japan (Shinto) Nara: Prince Shotoku copies Chinese style of state (Confucianism) Buddhism enters through contacts Heian: Japanese develop their own culture Court Elite vs Rural Elite vs majority of population Military elite assumes increasing power not scholar gentry Korea Korguyo; Silla unifies Korea Confucian but not as rigid; Buddhism as balance Slavery continues to exist in large numbers Vietnam Chinese attempts to control area until 1000 CE Vietnamese independence: Sinified elite different from commoners Women have great influence at court, in local matters

SOUTHEAST ASIA Transition between Indian Ocean, China Decentralized State Structures, Feudalism, Tribute Funan Khmer Empire Srivijayan Empire Malacca Interactions Commerce and Trade Spread of Religions: Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam Syncretism Hierarchical Systems Different: Gender

THE BYZANTINES AS BUFFERS The Byzantines Insulated Europe from Arabs, Turks Civilized, Christianized the Slavs especially Russians Preserved Greco-Roman Culture Helped spread Arabic learning to the west Monasticism was an Eastern development The Schism A contest of wills between the pope, emperor When west was young, pope was weak As west emerged, pope got stronger The split was over the authority of the pope What occurred in 1054 was many centuries in coming

DEVELOPMENTS IN EUROPE Blending Traditions The Structures from 5 th century to 1000 CE From Kingdoms to the Franks to the Holy Roman Empire The Roman Catholic Church Feudalism Manorialism including serfdom, manors, autarky Caesaro-papism or Papal Supremacy The Investiture Crisis Monasticism Aristocracy, reciprocity, and primogeniture Local rule, local self-defense, fiefs, vassals Vikings: Raid, Trade, Settle, New States A Changing Europe: After 1000 CE Christianity, Germanic Custom, Roman Law Rise of Towns and with it the rise of the bourgeoisie Commerce and Great Fairs: use of money rather than barter Scholasticism and Chivalry The Black Death leads to labor shortages Peasant Rebellions Wars devastate the aristocracy Rise of centralizing monarchs using law, taxes not custom The Crusades as Contacts for Change

THE 14 TH CENTURY IN EUROPE Expanded Warfare The New Monarchy and Nationalism Centralizing royalty vs. decentralized feudalism Spain, England, France The Babylonian Captivity and Great Schism 100 Years War: Technology vs. Aristocratic Chivalry Reconquista in Iberia The papacy was undermined by squabbling Never theological but was always political People began to question need for the pope Heresies occurred as did some attempts to reform church The Renaissance An expression of commercial prosperity Began in Italy in the 1300 s with emphasis on arts The “We/Sacred” gave way to “I/Secular” Glorification of the Classical produced new ideas Humanism and Science

THE END DISRUPTIONS The Impact of the Mongols Destroyed all existing state structure Destroyed agriculture in some areas Left a vacuum upon collapse, helped create new systems Forced states, peoples to adapt, adopt to survive Increased contacts between distant Eurasian parts Spread Diseases Exchanged Technologies Movement of Peoples

DISCONNECTED: THE AMERICAS Paleolithic, Neolithic Peoples Existed During this period Americas also had these phases, which lasted longer Nomadic hunters, gatherers, fishers Settled agricultural communities in many places of Americas Subsistence vs. surplus; Irrigation systems Differentiated labor systems and hierarchy Ceremonial centers and pyramids Americas Post-Classical Civilizations Centers Mesoamerica Toltecs Mayans Aztec Andean South America Chimu, Mohica Incas Contacts Between Centers Limited but corn did spread Technology had not changed much over millennia Roles of Merchants, Roles of Diplomats

URBAN CENTERS Cities Cosmopolitan cultures Centers of exchanges and commerce Dar al Islam and China Both civilizations were centered on cities, urban cultures Had most of the world cities with large populations Geographic World China: Chang-an (Xian), Hangzhou, Canton Central Asia: Samarkand West Africa: Timbuktu East Africa: Swahili Cities Dar al Islam: Baghdad, Cairo, Cordoba Western Europe: Venice, the Hansa Southeast Asia: Srivijaya, Malacca Southern Asia: Calicut Eastern Europe: Kiev, Constantinople, Novgorod Meso-Americas: Teotihuacan, Tikal, Tenochitlan

DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES Cultural Diffusion through migration or Indigenous Development Migrations Agricultural Peoples: Bantus Comparable to Germanic migrations (but Bantu were usually not invaders) Settlement of East, Central, Southern Africa Diffusion of iron-making, farming, herding State building: Kongo, Swahili trading cities Nomadic Peoples Comparable to Hunnic and Indo-European migrations Arab Bedouins Turks: Seljuk and Ottoman Disrupted Abbasids, Byzantines, Central Asia Introduced mameluk armies, Sultans Produced the first European crusades Mongols and Mughals Disrupted most of Eurasia Created a power vacuum Contacts as Migration Pilgrimage: Buddhist, Muslim, Christian Commercial contacts along caravan and sea routes Scholarly exchanges between Muslim and non-Muslim worlds

DEMOGRAPHY: DISEASES Demographic Shift A change in demographic patterns Abrupt decrease in population due to illness 6 th century Bubonic Plague Preceded spread of Arabs Strongest impact was in SW Asia, East Africa Black Death or 14 th Century Bubonic Plague Originated in China Spread by Mongols throughout Eurasia Spread throughout Mediterranean by contacts Results Labor Shortages: fostered growth of free, paid labor Attacked old elites in cities producing new urban elites Broke back of Mongols, small states Forced states to create new means of taxation, military formations

SOCIAL HIERARCHY Aristocracies: Called Gate Keepers The Peasants: Those Who Work European classes of “those who fight” and “those who pray” Capulis of the Aztecs and the nobles of the Mayans Brahmins and Kshatriyas of South Asia The landed scholar gentry (shi) of China The daimyos and samurai of Japan Shudras and Pariahs of South Asia The Peasants of East Asia The Serfs and peasants of Western Europe, Eastern Europe The serf like capulis of Aztecs, Mayan caste peasants The sharecroppers and tenant farmers of the Arab world The commercial classes are agents of change Gender Roles The patriarchical system increases with aristocratic societies, warrior societies Increasing examples of subordination of women Footbinding in China; painted faces in Japan Veils, purdah in SW Asia and India; suttee in India Women as legal minors, disenfranchised in Western Europe Women as baby factories: Aztecs Exceptions to the Rule Women in the Catholic Church: renounce sexuality and acquire equality Women in Bantu Africa – farmers, merchants, some rulers, matrilineal descent Women in Southeast Asia – merchants, commerce, some rulers, matriarchy

DEVELOPMENTS IN ARTS & SCIENCES The Muslims including South Asia The Chinese and Japanese Icons, Hagia Sofia, Cyrillic Western Europe Golden Age of Art and Poetry under Tang and Song The Heian Age in Japan – first novels, pillow books Ming tend to preserve culture or turn the clock backwards The Byzantines Preserved Past Learning Especially the Greeks Created New Learning Spread other civilizations‘ accomplishments Science, Math, Geography, History, Philosophy Romanesque and Gothic Architecture Epics and Romances Scholasticism Mesoamerica Higher mathematics Astronomy and Calendars BUT: Most of Technology remained borderline Neolithic

CC ESSAY TOPICS Compare and contrast Japanese and Western European feudalism. (Note you might want to consider adding Zhou feudalism). Compare and contrast political and social institutions in Western and Eastern Europe. Analyze the roles and functions of cities in major cultures (Islamic, West European, East Asia, Western Africa, Eastern Africa).

CC ESSAY TOPICS Compare trading alliances and patterns of trade in any two of these regions: Northern Europe (Hansa) Mediterranean (Venice, Genoa) Abbasid Muslim world The Silk Road of Central Asia Trans-Saharan Trade Route East Africa/ Swahili cities The Indian Ocean. Compare the roles of politics, social classes, and gender in Christianity and Islam.

CC ESSAY TOPICS Analyze gender and social systems and any changes over time as caused by interactions and religions such as the impact of Islam and Neo-Confucianism. Compare the Aztec and Inca Empire. Compare European, Sub-Saharan African, Southeast Asian and South Asian contacts with the Islamic world.

CC ESSAY TOPICS Compare the impact of the Mongol Empire on cultures and institutions in Eastern Europe, Middle East, and East Asia. Compare the impact of Turkish invasions on the Byzantines and Islamic worlds. Compare the Christian Crusades and Islamic Jihads.

CC ESSAY TOPICS Compare schisms in Christianity (Roman Catholic-Orthodox) and Islam (Sunni-Shia). Compare interactions in any two regions during this time period: Pre-Columbian Americas Eastern Europe Western Europe Sub-Saharan Africa Islamic World South Asia Southeast Asia

CCOT ESSAY TOPICS Trace the change and continuities of interactions between from 600 to 1450 CE in any historical region: Latin America; North America; Sub-Saharan Africa; SW Asia and North Africa; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; Central Asia; Southeast Asia; and East Asia. Trace the changes and continuities in world trade from 500 BCE to 1000 CE in any one of the following regions: the Mediterranean, the Silk Road (Central Asia, East Asia, Southwest Asia), the Indian Ocean, Sub-Saharan Africa.

CCOT ESSAY TOPICS Trace the changes and continuities in world trade from 500 to 1500 CE in any one of the following regions: North Africa and SW Asia; Western Europe; Mesoamerica; Sub-Saharan Africa; the Indian Ocean; Central Asia; East and Southeast Asia. Trace the transformation in functions and structures of states from 600 to 1450 CE in one region: Western Europe; Eastern Europe; SW Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa; East Asia; Southeast Asia; South Asia. Trace the demographic changes from 600 to 1450 in any one region: Latin America, Western Europe, North America, Sub-Saharan Africa, Southern Asia, Southeast Asia, or East Asia.

CCOT ESSAY TOPICS Trace the transformation and impact of technology including manufacturing, transportation and communications from 600 to 1450 in any one region: North America; West Europe; East Europe; Sub-Saharan Africa; Southwest Asia and North Africa; South Asia; and East Asia. Trace the transformation of religion and philosophy from 600 to 1450 in any one region: East Asia; Southwest Asia and North Africa; Western Europe; Eastern Europe; Southeast Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa. Trace the intellectual and artistic transformation from 600 to 1450 in any one region: East Asia; Southwest Asia; West Europe; East Europe.

CCOT ESSAY TOPICS Trace the transformation of social structures including gender and inequalities from 600 to 1450 in any one region: West Europe; Southwest Asia; Sub-Saharan Africa; South Asia; East Asia, and Southeast Asia. Trace the transformation in gender roles from 600 to 1450 CE in any one region: the Muslim world, the Christian world, the Hindu world, the Confucian world, the Buddhist world, the world of the Central Asian nomad, in Mesoamerica, or in Sub-Saharan Africa.