Unit 3: The World from 500-1500
10. Rise of Islam: From Muhammad through the Abbasid Caliphate
Muhammad, Islam, Muslim, Ka’ba, Abraham, Ishmael, hajj, Hegira, Five Pillars of Islam, Qur’an, Conquest of Mecca, Medina, Caliphate, Abbasids, Ummayads, Spanish Umayyads, Seljuk Turks, Battle of Yarmuk, Abode of Submission (Dar al-Islam), Land of War (Dar al-Harb), Umma, Fatimid caliphate, Baghdad, Damascus, Tamerlane, Cordoba, Quraishi clan, Shari’a, Diwan, Charles Martel, Battle of Tours (Poitiers), Battle of manzikert, Ibn Rashd, Ibn Sinna, Mahmud Ghazni, Sultanate of Delhi, Shrivijaya Empire, Jihad
11. African Civilization from its Origins through the Eve of the Age of Exploration
Bantu, Iron making, Nile, Sahara desert, Kalahari, Zambezi River, Great Zimbabwe, Meroe, Napata, Transhumant lifestyle, Phoenecians, Nok, Ethiopia, Adulis, Axum, Ghana, Kumbi Saleh, Soninke people, Mali, Sundiata Mali, Mansa Musa, Timbuktu, Benin, Congo
12. The Americas before Columbus
Bering Strait, Anasazi, Olmec, San Lorenzo, Monte Alban, teotihuacan, Maya, Palenque, Chichan Itza, Pacal, Quetzalcoatl, Milpa, Uxmal, Toltec Confederation, Tenochtitlan, Calpulli, Aztecs, Tequiua, Tecuhtli, Maceualtin, Tlalmaitl, Berdaches, Inca, Ayllu, Curacas, Mitima, Machu Picchu, Mound Builders
13. Trends in South Asia, Southeast Asia, and East Asia from 500 CE to 1400 CE
Gupta dynasty, White Huns, Kingdom of Chola, Sri Lanka, Srivijaya, Mahmud Ghazni, Delhi Sultanate, Tamerlane, Funan, Vietnam, Thailand, Burma, Pagan dynasty, Angkor Wat, Khmer Kingdom, Sumatra, Palembang, Jurchen people, Sui dynasty, Sui Yangdi, T'ang dynasty, Song dynasty, Civil service examination system, Lungmen Buddhist caves, The Silk Road, Foot binding, Ghengis Khan, Ogedai, Karakorum, Chaghadai Khanate, Samarkand, Khanate of Persia, Baghdad, Khanate of Kipchak or the Golden Horde, Koryo dynasty, Prince Shotoku Taishi, Kamajura Shogunate, Minamoto Yoritomo, Ashikaga Shogunate, Shoen, Bakufu tent system, Kamikaze, Daimio
14. The Western Middle Ages
Monasticism, Eremitical monasticism, Cenobitic monoasticism, St. Benedict of Nursia, Justinian, Battle of Manzikert, Merovingian dynasty, Pepin the Short, Battle of Poitiers (Tours), Charlemagne, Carolingian Renaissance, Feudal society, Manorialism, Treaty of Verdun, Battle of Hastings, Magna Carta, Henry II, Thomas a Becket, Philip II Augustus, Ottonians, Investiture Controversy, Gregory VII, Concordat of Worms, Cluny, Citeaux and the Cistercians, Twelfth Century Renaissance, Peter Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, Hanseatic League, Hildegard of Bingen, Heloise, Urban II, Saladin, Battle of Hattin, Conquest of Jerusalem, People's Crusade, First Crusade, Third Crusade, Fourth Crusade, Richard the Lionhearted, Scholasticism, Gothic style, Norsemen
15. The Late Middle Ages
The Black Death, Bubonic plague, Mongols, Yersinia pestis, Flagellants, Revolt of the Jacquerie, Peasants' Revolt, Philip IV, Boniface VIII, Unam Sanctam, Babylonian Captivity, The Great Schism, Marsilius of Padua, Execrabilis, The Hundred Years' War, Battle of Crecy, Battle of Agincourt, Salic Law, Edward III, Henry V, Charles VII, Joan of Arc
16. The Renaissance
Renaissance, studia humanitatis, uomo universale, Gutenberg printing press, Gugers, Neoplatonic Academy, Michelangelo, Revolt of the Ciompi, Battle of Lepanto, Three Crowns of the Holy Roman Empire, War of the Roses, Slavery, Vernacular Languages, Dante, Petrarch, Hans Baron, Jacob Burckhardt, Civic humanism, Humanism, Gonzagas, Borgia, Sforza, Medici, Duomo in Florence
17. The Age of Exploration
Columbus, Ferdinand and Isabella, New monarchs, Lateen sail, Caravel, Prince Henry the Navigator, Magellan, Cabot, Diaz, da Gama, Cartier, Treaty of Tordesillas, Conquistadores, Black Legend, Encomienda system, the Inca, the Aztecs, The Colombian Exchange, The Price Revolution, Zheng He, Mestizo, Mulatto, Castas, Peninsulares, Creoles, Gun and Slave Cycle
18. The Reformation
Justification by Faith, Council of Trent, Peace of Augsburg, Martin Luther, Protestantism, 95 Theses, Diet of Worms, Schmalkald League, Exsurge domine, Zwingli, Calvin, Marburg Colloquy, Weber Thesis, Presbyteries, Geneva, Transubstantiation, Consubstantiation, St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, Edict of Nantes, Act of Supremacy, Henry VIII, Thomas More, Index of Prohibited Books, Peace of Westphalia, Thirty Years' War, Witchcraft
Unit 3: Focus Readings
Islamic Expansion and World Trade Patterns
The Islamic world was master of vast trading networks that helped to increase its wealth and aid its spread to other regions. Muslim domination of trade in the Mediterranean area resulted in the final collapse of the last vestiges of the Roman economy and civilization. Muslims traded with southern Europe, transporting goods across the Mediterranean.
More important than the Mediterranean, though, were routes that began in Cairo and connected the Islamic world with other parts of the world. During the Abbasid caliphate, Muslim traders succeeded in restoring trade routes that declined following the fall of the Roman Empire in the West in the fifth century C.E. and the collapse of the Han Dynasty in China in the third century CE. The creation of the Abbasid caliphate and the T'ang and Song dynasties of China provided stability needed to revive the long dormant trade routes that once connected Europe, Africa and Asia. As trade increased, demand for handicrafts also increased, fueling the growth of urban areas. Egypt became a center for trade in the Islamic world following the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate, as Cairo replaced Baghdad as a center of trade. Merchants traveled from Cairo south to Aswan along the Nile River, where they then formed caravans to transport their goods by camel to the Red Sea. From here, ships carried the goods down to Aden in southern Saudi Arabia and then via ocean routes east to India. Muslim creativity in technology helped to increase trade. Muslims built larger ships than their European counterparts using teak obtained in India.
In fact, the desire to protect trading interests was the pretext for the initial conquest of parts of India during the Umayyad caliphate.
More important than the Mediterranean, though, were routes that began in Cairo and connected the Islamic world with other parts of the world. During the Abbasid caliphate, Muslim traders succeeded in restoring trade routes that declined following the fall of the Roman Empire in the West in the fifth century C.E. and the collapse of the Han Dynasty in China in the third century CE. The creation of the Abbasid caliphate and the T'ang and Song dynasties of China provided stability needed to revive the long dormant trade routes that once connected Europe, Africa and Asia. As trade increased, demand for handicrafts also increased, fueling the growth of urban areas. Egypt became a center for trade in the Islamic world following the collapse of the Abbasid caliphate, as Cairo replaced Baghdad as a center of trade. Merchants traveled from Cairo south to Aswan along the Nile River, where they then formed caravans to transport their goods by camel to the Red Sea. From here, ships carried the goods down to Aden in southern Saudi Arabia and then via ocean routes east to India. Muslim creativity in technology helped to increase trade. Muslims built larger ships than their European counterparts using teak obtained in India.
In fact, the desire to protect trading interests was the pretext for the initial conquest of parts of India during the Umayyad caliphate.
Islam in Africa
By the seventh century CE, followers of Muhammad were spreading their faith and their control west across the northern shores of Africa and south along the eastern regions of the continent. Egypt, which had previously been a Byzantine province, quickly became an Arab state in 641 CE. For many of the commoners, life improved, and partially as a result, many Egyptians willingly converted to the new faith of Islam. The Arab conquerors established a new capital at Cairo and used it as a base for further expansion into Africa.
By the early eigth century, much of western north Africa, called the Maghrib, meaning "west", was under Arab control. From here, they spread across the Mediterranean into Spain and southwards into Africa across the Sahara. The end result was that Axum remained one of the few non-Muslim states in northern and eastern Africa. Axum provided shelter and refuge for many Muslims during the early history of Islam, when Muslims were driven out of Mecca. Out of respect for this help, Muslims never attempted to conquer Axum. Muslims later did control the trade routes, which weakened the kingdom, and despite the cosmoplitan and eclectic nature of Axumite society, the Axumites never converted to Islam. Despite later crises over the succession, and later colonization efforts by Europeans, Axum continues to be largely Christian today and is known as the nation of Ethiopia.
A key result of the Islamic conquest of large portions of Africa was the establishment of a vast trading network. As we saw in the chapter on Islam, port cities arose along the east coast and facilitated contact with the Arabian peninsula and even settlements near the Indian Ocean. Ghana and later Mali in western Africa eventually became linked with this trading network, becoming influential partners through their lucrative gold trade. Moreover, many societies along the trade routes had mostly oral rather than written traditions. The introduction of the written Arabic language, as well as Arabic laws, allowed local rulers greater authority and improved administration over their subjects.
By the early eigth century, much of western north Africa, called the Maghrib, meaning "west", was under Arab control. From here, they spread across the Mediterranean into Spain and southwards into Africa across the Sahara. The end result was that Axum remained one of the few non-Muslim states in northern and eastern Africa. Axum provided shelter and refuge for many Muslims during the early history of Islam, when Muslims were driven out of Mecca. Out of respect for this help, Muslims never attempted to conquer Axum. Muslims later did control the trade routes, which weakened the kingdom, and despite the cosmoplitan and eclectic nature of Axumite society, the Axumites never converted to Islam. Despite later crises over the succession, and later colonization efforts by Europeans, Axum continues to be largely Christian today and is known as the nation of Ethiopia.
A key result of the Islamic conquest of large portions of Africa was the establishment of a vast trading network. As we saw in the chapter on Islam, port cities arose along the east coast and facilitated contact with the Arabian peninsula and even settlements near the Indian Ocean. Ghana and later Mali in western Africa eventually became linked with this trading network, becoming influential partners through their lucrative gold trade. Moreover, many societies along the trade routes had mostly oral rather than written traditions. The introduction of the written Arabic language, as well as Arabic laws, allowed local rulers greater authority and improved administration over their subjects.
Impact of the Grand Canal on Trade and Migration Patterns
Most of the Chinese lived in the south, where they produced rice. Those living in the north produed millet. Rivers were the easiest way to transport goods, but they ran from west to east. As in other parts of the world, it was difficult, time consuming, and costly to transport goods over land. The Grand Canal linked the north witht he south, and when the south quickly grew to be the most productive in crops, the Grand Canal became essential to move the goods between regions. During the T'ang dynasty, trade in silkworms and tea flourished as a result of easier access to regions made possible by the Grand Canal. Tea eventually spread to Japan during the ninth century and also to Korea. During the late T'ang and later Song dynasties, migration continued to flow southwards in search of new lands to cultivate.
Trade and the Mongols
The Mongols had both a positive and negative impact on trade. Trade was important to them and Mongol rulers tended to protect trading routes in their realms. It became safer for merchants to travel land routes, and there were routes from the Mediterranean to China. One of the beneficiaries of the increased safety of travel was Marco Polo. On the other hand, the khanates often were at war with one another, which could just as often disrupt trade. One aspect of trade that was not much affected by the Mongol conquest was the thriving Indian Ocean Trade, which was extensively developed during the Islamic period. Trade via sea was much more practical than over land, and the conquest did not threaten this trade nor change it in any appreciable way.
During the Age of Exploration, there was a tremendous exchange of biological materials. The Mongols may have unwittingly transmitted the Black Plague. As they rode through desert areas like the Gobi Desert, they came into contact with rodents, which carried the fleas that also carried the plague. When Mongols laid seige to the Black Sea port of Kaffa and threw infected bodies over the walls with their catapults, the Genoese sailors there fled, and then took the plague with them to Siciliy, from whence it spread throughout Europe. The Black Death devasted the population of Europe.
During the Age of Exploration, there was a tremendous exchange of biological materials. The Mongols may have unwittingly transmitted the Black Plague. As they rode through desert areas like the Gobi Desert, they came into contact with rodents, which carried the fleas that also carried the plague. When Mongols laid seige to the Black Sea port of Kaffa and threw infected bodies over the walls with their catapults, the Genoese sailors there fled, and then took the plague with them to Siciliy, from whence it spread throughout Europe. The Black Death devasted the population of Europe.
Economic Changes of the Central Middle Ages
The Central Middle Ages were a period of revitalization of medieval Europe, from the economy, to town life, to trade, to intense religious reform movements. The invasion of the ninth century had destroyed much of the coastal areas of Europe and had disrupted government. The Carolingian Empire then disintegrated and was eventually divided among Charlemagne's heirs. By the eleventh century, though, an agricultural revolution had occurred, leading to increased production. The use of the horse collar, which was padded, contributed to more efficient agricutlure, as horses could pull more weight than oxen. The use of horses in farming became more widespread after the twelfth century, and by the thirteenth century, horses were used to take goods to markets. Combined with the open field system of agricultre, production leveles rose dramatically.
Increase in agricultural production contributed to a rise in population, and eventually city life was revived. many of the first new cities had at one point been importatnt Roman towns. A new class of artisans arose in the towns, mainly from peasant stock. Peasants who migrated to towns and lived there for one year and one day could earn their freedom from feudal restricutions. By the twelfth centruy, artisans organized themselves into guilds, which regulated their activities. Trade between areas also was revived , and cities such as Venice, located on the sea, played an important role. Venetian goods went to Constantinople and many other areas. Italian merchants traded in North Africa in places such as Cairo, in Damascus, and even went as far away as India and China. Flanders was an importnat outlet for English wool, an economic alliance that played a role in the Hundred Years' War. There was a thriving trade between Italian cities and Flanders, and fairs were set up in places a,long the way from one region to the other, such as France, to sell goods. Leagues of cities were formed, such as the Hanseatic League in the north, granting exemptions from tolls and other privileges. Hanseatic member cities had areas in other countries that served as trading bases known as factories. These changes that began in the eleventh century CE were an extremely important commercial revolution that saw the rise of a money economy and the creation of a system of credit and capitalistic enterprise in Europe. The economic changes also elevated the status of many peasants who otherwise would have been doomed to life on a manorial estate. Women also benefited from this shift, as many women engaged in business enterprises. The changes also began a shift away from the landed aristocracy of early medieval Europe towards a commercial class. This would peak in the Italian Renaissance.
Increase in agricultural production contributed to a rise in population, and eventually city life was revived. many of the first new cities had at one point been importatnt Roman towns. A new class of artisans arose in the towns, mainly from peasant stock. Peasants who migrated to towns and lived there for one year and one day could earn their freedom from feudal restricutions. By the twelfth centruy, artisans organized themselves into guilds, which regulated their activities. Trade between areas also was revived , and cities such as Venice, located on the sea, played an important role. Venetian goods went to Constantinople and many other areas. Italian merchants traded in North Africa in places such as Cairo, in Damascus, and even went as far away as India and China. Flanders was an importnat outlet for English wool, an economic alliance that played a role in the Hundred Years' War. There was a thriving trade between Italian cities and Flanders, and fairs were set up in places a,long the way from one region to the other, such as France, to sell goods. Leagues of cities were formed, such as the Hanseatic League in the north, granting exemptions from tolls and other privileges. Hanseatic member cities had areas in other countries that served as trading bases known as factories. These changes that began in the eleventh century CE were an extremely important commercial revolution that saw the rise of a money economy and the creation of a system of credit and capitalistic enterprise in Europe. The economic changes also elevated the status of many peasants who otherwise would have been doomed to life on a manorial estate. Women also benefited from this shift, as many women engaged in business enterprises. The changes also began a shift away from the landed aristocracy of early medieval Europe towards a commercial class. This would peak in the Italian Renaissance.
Impact of the Plague on Art, Society, Economy and Politics
In the wake of the Black Death, the shortage of workers created a demand for higher wages and prices. Peasants' revolts occurred throughout Europe, the most famous being the Peasants' Revolt in England in 1381 and the Revolt of the Jacquerie in 1356. In England, Wat Tyler and John Ball led the peasants against nobles and the Church. The leaders of these revolts were yeoman farmers, more wealthy than the typical peasant but not of noble lineage. many historians maintain that the plague weakened the feudal system by creating a shortage of labor.
Corruption also increased in the Church, as priests, bishops, and other officials died in great numbers. Many who had no particular vocation or calling to the priesthood entered the ranks of the Church. The Dominican order, for example, prided itself on learning, but was forced to admit many uneducated brothers into the order. The decline of learning in the Church perhaps contributed to the rise of superstition and herey prior to the Reformation; it helped to create the conditions that led Martin Luther and other reformers of the sixteenth century to attempt to reform and later to separate from the Catholic Church.
Art reflected the omnipresence of death in medieval Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Art becam more stilted, less naturalistic, and more focused on death. The art of Sienna, Italy, in paritcular, is very dark and gloomy.
The Danse macabre also became an important cultral phenomena in Europe following the Black Death. Macabre describes the interaction of the dead or death with the living. The dance of death first originated as a set of frescoes at the Cimetiere des Innocents in Paris in 1424 and other examples are later found on cemeteries, family vaults, and churches throughout Europe. Death appears as a skeleton chastsing sinners for wanton sexual practice, excessive riches, and other sins. Kings and emperors were chastised no less than ordinary people. Even the leaders of the Church were not exempt.
Death reigned triumphant in European art and culture in the wake of the Black Death. In 1490 hieronymous Bosch painted Death and the Miser, an allegory about life and death in which the miser must make a choice between the crucifix and a purse full of riches given to him by a devil. In The Four Knights of the Apocalypse (1498) Albrecht Durer portrayed four riders that represent, from left to right, Death, Famine, Discord, and War. An angel watches while the last three figures tread on men and women from all social classes. Death rides a skeletal horse and throws a bishop in the mouth of a dragon emerging from the bowels of the Earth.
Many scholars argue that the Black Death has been with humans for centuries prior to the outbreak in the fourteenth century. Plague struck Pelusium, Egypt, in 540 CE and reached Constantinople in 542 CE. Procopius of Caesarea described that plague that ravaged Byzantium in 542 CE. During the next ten years, that disease, then called "the plague of Justinian," spread into Europe and Asia. Some historians think the disease that killed the ancient Athenians while they were under siege by Spartans in the Peloponnesian War was plague. Some even maintain that many instances of "plagues" in the Bible might have been the Black Death. Just as historians and scientists hotly debate the exact cause of the reported deaths and symptoms of the fourteenth century, so too, they debate the identification of these other historic events with Yersinia pestis.
The medievals regarded the Black Death as a mysterious vistitor; in many ways, the modern world continues to regard the historic instances of outbreak as mysteries that science and history have yet completely to resolve.
Corruption also increased in the Church, as priests, bishops, and other officials died in great numbers. Many who had no particular vocation or calling to the priesthood entered the ranks of the Church. The Dominican order, for example, prided itself on learning, but was forced to admit many uneducated brothers into the order. The decline of learning in the Church perhaps contributed to the rise of superstition and herey prior to the Reformation; it helped to create the conditions that led Martin Luther and other reformers of the sixteenth century to attempt to reform and later to separate from the Catholic Church.
Art reflected the omnipresence of death in medieval Europe in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries. Art becam more stilted, less naturalistic, and more focused on death. The art of Sienna, Italy, in paritcular, is very dark and gloomy.
The Danse macabre also became an important cultral phenomena in Europe following the Black Death. Macabre describes the interaction of the dead or death with the living. The dance of death first originated as a set of frescoes at the Cimetiere des Innocents in Paris in 1424 and other examples are later found on cemeteries, family vaults, and churches throughout Europe. Death appears as a skeleton chastsing sinners for wanton sexual practice, excessive riches, and other sins. Kings and emperors were chastised no less than ordinary people. Even the leaders of the Church were not exempt.
Death reigned triumphant in European art and culture in the wake of the Black Death. In 1490 hieronymous Bosch painted Death and the Miser, an allegory about life and death in which the miser must make a choice between the crucifix and a purse full of riches given to him by a devil. In The Four Knights of the Apocalypse (1498) Albrecht Durer portrayed four riders that represent, from left to right, Death, Famine, Discord, and War. An angel watches while the last three figures tread on men and women from all social classes. Death rides a skeletal horse and throws a bishop in the mouth of a dragon emerging from the bowels of the Earth.
Many scholars argue that the Black Death has been with humans for centuries prior to the outbreak in the fourteenth century. Plague struck Pelusium, Egypt, in 540 CE and reached Constantinople in 542 CE. Procopius of Caesarea described that plague that ravaged Byzantium in 542 CE. During the next ten years, that disease, then called "the plague of Justinian," spread into Europe and Asia. Some historians think the disease that killed the ancient Athenians while they were under siege by Spartans in the Peloponnesian War was plague. Some even maintain that many instances of "plagues" in the Bible might have been the Black Death. Just as historians and scientists hotly debate the exact cause of the reported deaths and symptoms of the fourteenth century, so too, they debate the identification of these other historic events with Yersinia pestis.
The medievals regarded the Black Death as a mysterious vistitor; in many ways, the modern world continues to regard the historic instances of outbreak as mysteries that science and history have yet completely to resolve.
Questions to Consider
Before answering the questions below, be sure to understand the readings by defining unknown words, researching allusions, and using prior knowledge to make connections with the broader strokes of history. This set of excerpts can be used for further study of the Commodities lecture at: http://demott.weebly.com/commodities-lecture.html
1. Explain the underlined passages. If necessary, supply an additional example in your explanation.
2. What was consistent with all of the passages in regards to the pros and cons of different types of trade routes?
3. Compare and contrast Islamic, Asian and European trade as exemplified in the passages above.
1. Explain the underlined passages. If necessary, supply an additional example in your explanation.
2. What was consistent with all of the passages in regards to the pros and cons of different types of trade routes?
3. Compare and contrast Islamic, Asian and European trade as exemplified in the passages above.