Regional and Transregional Interactions: 600-1450 CE

Introduction

There are certain words that when we hear conjure up certain images. What do you think of when you hear "Mongol" - and don't say the scene from Night at the Museum - those were Huns. Despite the Mongols deadly reputation for causing destruction and mayhem (and this might explain why there is a Great Wall along China's border to the north,) the Mongols were known for their religious tolerance towards those they conquered and were instrumental in trade along the Silk Road.

What do you think of when you hear "Ottoman?" Did you just picture a piece of furniture to put your feet up on while lounging on a couch? (You wouldn't be the first - that is usually the first image that appears if you do an internet search of "Ottoman.") But throw in the word "Empire" and you've got the story of an empire that spanned six centuries and three continents (not bad for something you were picturing resting your feet on.)

And what do you think of when you hear the phrases "Dark Ages" or "Middle Ages?" Are you picturing cave men or knights? Do you have an image in your head of backward times? Do you see barbarians running amok and knights knocking each other off of horses?

Of all the time periods that are covered in this course, the period between 600 and 1450 CE might have the most misleading images in popular culture today. While described as "Dark" or "Middle" the centuries between the 7^th Century and the 15^th Century were neither—they were an important period that saw a great deal of interaction within and between regions of the world—a time when ideas, beliefs, technology and germs were shared worldwide. This unit will cover the increasingly complicated relationships that developed as churches had "schisms," as Europeans went "crusading" (did you think I was going to say "cruising?"), as Ottomans were NOT resting their feet and Mongols were marauding (and/or improving the economy- however you want to "see" it.) This unit will cover how Muslims became the stewards of international scholarship, how the Chinese balked at becoming a world power and at the development of empires in the Western Hemisphere that greeted Europeans upon their arrival.

Icons from left to right: divided arrows, knight's helmet, sword, bow and arrow

Essential Questions

What pulled Western Europe out of the Dark Ages?
What was the domestic political impact of the Christianity and Islam?
What was the effect of the Mongol Empire on Asia?
What was the role of the last Pre-Columbian empires?
In what ways did political, cultural, intellectual and religious transformations prepare the world for the Age of Discovery and Expansion?
What led China to become an influential power within the continent of Asia but prevented it from global expansion?
How did trade bring together the different regions of Afro-Eurasia and what impact did it have on local customs?

Key Terms

"BLACK DEATH" —devastating pandemic in Afro-Eurasia during the14th Century; Bubonic Plague
"DARK AGES" —also known as the Early Middle Ages, time period used in connection with Western European history between the Fall of the Western Roman Empire and the 9^th Century CE
"RENAISSANCE MAN"— a person whose expertise spans a significant number of different subject areas; term originated in the 20^th century CE but epitomized by Leonardo da Vinci
ABBASID DYNASTY —ruling family of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE) over the Islamic World
ABU BAKR —(576-634 CE)Muhammad's father-in-law; first Caliph of Islam following Muhammad's death in 632 CE
ALI —(601-661 CE) Muhammad's son-in-law; fourth Caliph of Islam following Muhammad's death in 632 CE
ARAB —semitic ethnic group originating on the Arabian Peninsula
AZTEC EMPIRE-- (1428-1521 CE) an empire formed through an alliance by three city-states located in modern-day Mexico
BERBERS —ethnic group originating in North Africa before Arab migration into the region
CALIPHATE —area ruled by a caliph or chief Muslim ruler
CHARLEMAGNE-- (c. 74?-814 CE) king of the Franks who, through unifying a large portion of Europe during the Middle Ages, laid the foundations for modern France, Germany, and the Low Countries; first emperor of the Holy Roman Empire
CHARLES MARTEL —(686-741 CE) Frankish statesman known for his defeat of the Moors at the Battle of Tours and marked the conversion of Francia from the Merovingian Dynasty to the Carolingian Dynasty
CHRISTENDOM —historical term to describe the area of geopolitical power by the Christian Church in Western Europe during the Middle Ages
CONCORDAT OF WORMS --(1122 CE) agreement between Pope Calixtus II and King Henry V that ended the power struggle between the Church and State over political control within their domains
CRUSADES— series of religious wars undertaken by the Roman Catholic Church between the 11^th and 15^th Centuries CE to reclaim the Holy Land
DANTE —(1265-1321 CE) Italian poet who emphasized the use of vernacular over Latin in literature to increase the number of potential readers; author of Divine Comedy
DAR AL-ISLAM —historical term used by scholars to describe theocracies of the Islamic World
ERASMUS —(1466-1536 CE) Dutch Humanist theologian whose editions of the New Testament inspired some to begin the Reformation
FATIMID CALIPHATE —(909-1171 CE) Shi'a Islamic Caliphate spanning North Africa into the Levant; claimed descent to Muhammad's daughter, Fatima
FEUDALISM— the principles and practices of the feudal system based on the holding of lands in fief or fee and on the resulting relations between lord and vassal; social and economic system of Medieval Europe
GENGHIS KHAN-- (1162-1227) founder of the Mongol Empire
GHANA-- (300-1200) African empire located in modern-day southeastern Mauritania and western Mali
GREAT SCHISM-- (1054) a split within the Christian Church that separated the Roman Catholic Church from the Eastern (or Orthodox) Church; also known as the East-West Schism
HOLY LAND— an area roughly located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea that also includes the Eastern Bank of the Jordan River; given this name as it is the site of the holiest places for Judaism, Christianity and Islam (the latter including the cities of Mecca and Medina in the Arabian Peninsula)
HOLY ROMAN EMPEROR HENRY IV-- (1050-1106) Holy Roman Emperor whose reign was marked by the Investiture Controversy
HUMANISM —the Renaissance aspiration to know more about the human experience beyond Church doctrine by studying the scholarship of ancient Greek and Romans
IBN BATTUTA-- (1304-1368/9 CE) Moroccan traveler and scholar known as one of the "greatest travelers of all time" and responsible for the introduction of sites visited to the outside world
IBN SINA-- (c. 980-1037 CE) Persian academic known as one of the most significant thinkers and writers of the Islamic Golden Age for his study and work in the field of medicine; also known as Avicenna
INCAN EMPIRE-- (early 13^th century- 1572 CE) largest empire in pre-Columbian America; located in modern-day Peru
INVESTITURE CONTROVERSY --(11^th and 12^th Centuries CE) most significant controversy between Church and State in Medieval Europe as a series of popes challenged the authority of European monarchies; began with dispute between Pope Gregory VII and Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV and resolved by the Concordat of Worms in 1122 CE
KHANATE —area ruled by a khan; associated with Mongol Empire
KORYŎ KINGDOM— Korean dynasty established in 918 CE by King Taejo on the Korean Peninsula
LEONARDO DA VINCI— (1452-1519 CE) Italian Renaissance polymath known for his art and inventions; known as the epitome of the "Renaissance Man"
MAGNA CARTA --(1215 CE) charter agreed to by King John of England that protected certain rights of the Church and nobility
MALI-- (c. 1230-1600) African empire located in West Africa
MANSA MUSA I-- (c. 1280-1337 CE) 10^th sultan of the Mali Empire; known for hajj that demonstrated to the Islamic World (and parts of Europe) the strength and wealth of the Mali Empire in West Africa
MARCO POLO-- (1254-1324 CE) Venetian merchant traveler whose writings introduced Asia to Europeans
MICHELANGELO —(1475-1564 CE) Italian Renaissance artist; example of "Renaissance Man" known for his frescoes and sculptures
MIDDLE AGES-- (6^th to 14^th Centuries CE) also known as the "Dark Ages"; mostly used in connection with Western Europe; dates based on the fall of the Roman Empire and the Rise of the Italian Renaissance
MING DYNASTY —(1368-1644 CE) imperial dynasty of China following the Mongol dynasty (Yuan) that returned dynastic rule to the Han Chinese
MONGOL EMPIRE-- (13^th-14^th centuries CE) largest contiguous land empire in history expanding throughout Asia at its height
MOORS —member of a northwestern African Muslim people of mixed Berber and Arab descent; conquered the Iberian Peninsula in the 8^th Century, but were finally driven out of their last stronghold in Granada at the end of the 15th century
NICCOLÒ MACHIAVELLI —(1469-1527 CE) Italian Renaissance writer known for his themes on political duplicity; often referred to as the founder of modern political science
OTTOMAN EMPIRE-- (1299-1923 CE) ended the Byzantine Empire with a conquest of Constantinople in 1453; also known as the Turkish Empire
PETRARCH —(1304-1374 CE) Italian Renaissance scholar credited with founding Humanism
POPE GREGORY VII-- (1015-1085 CE) reforming pope whose dispute with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV, which began the Investiture Controversy, expanded papal powers in Medieval Europe
PRE-COLUMBIAN —era that describes the time periods within the Americas prior to European exploration
RELIGIOUS SYNCRETISM— the act of blending two or more religious belief systems into a new system, or the incorporation into a religious tradition of beliefs from unrelated traditions; examples found within the spread of Buddhism through Asia and Christianity/Islam through Africa
RENAISSANCE— the intellectual and artistic movement beginning in 14^th Century Florence and extending throughout Europe by the 17^th Century CE that reexamined the scholarship of ancient Greek and Rome
SALADIN —(12^th Century CE) the first Sultan of Egypt and Syria and founder of the Ayyubid Dynasty; reclaimed the Holy Land from the Crusader states
SALT ROAD —trans-Saharan trade routes named after the salt that traveled to West Africa for purchase
SAMURAI —military nobility of early-modern Japan; comparable to knights in Medieval Europe
SHI'A— denomination of Islam, created over the issue of who had the right to be the religious and political leader after Muhammad died; constitutes a minority within Islam
SHINTO —Japanese religion dating from the early 8th century and incorporating the worship of ancestors and nature spirits and a belief in sacred power ( kami ) in both animate and inanimate things
SHOGUN —military dictator of Japan from the 12^th to 19^th Centuries
SONG DYNASTY-- (960-1279 CE) imperial dynasty of China
SONGHAI— African empire that dominated the Sahel in the 15^th and 16^th centuries CE
SULTANATE —area ruled by a sultan; associated with Islam and kingdoms
SUNDIATA-- (1217-1255 CE) founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa
SUNNI— denomination of Islam, created over who had the right to be the religious and political leader after Muhammad died; constitutes a majority within Islam
SWAHILI COAST —collection of East African city-states that grew wealthy and powerful as ports on the Indian Ocean trade routes; name derives from language spoken there
TANG DYNASTY-- (618-907 CE) an imperial dynasty of China preceded by the Sui dynasty and followed by the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period
THALASSOCRACY —a political state composed of primarily maritime realms
UMAYYAD DYNASTY —ruling family of the Umayyad Caliphate (661-750 CE) over the Islamic World
YAMATO DYNASTY —imperial family that established the throne of emperor in Japan in the 7^th Century; oldest hereditary monarchy
YUAN DYNASTY —(1271-1368 CE) Mongol dynasty over China established by Kublai Khan

IMAGES CREATED BY GAVS OR AVAILABLE IN THE PUBLIC DOMAIN