AP World History Unit 1 Review: Circa 1200 to 1450

Key Concepts:

• State Definition: A politically organized territory under a single government (e.g., United States, Japan).
• Objective: Understand how major civilizations built and maintained states.

Major Civilizations and Their Characteristics:

China (Song Dynasty)

• Period: 960 to 1279
• Methods of Rule: Confucianism and Bureaucracy
  • Neo-Confucianism: Revival of Confucianism, distancing from Buddhism, hierarchical society.
  • Filial Piety: Emphasized obedience and honor within family and society.
  • Position of Women: Subordinate, limited legal rights, practice of foot binding.
  • Imperial Bureaucracy: Hierarchical government, civil service examination based on Confucian texts.
• Economy and Trade:
  • Commercialization: Production of goods (porcelain, silk) for trade across Eurasia.
  • Agricultural Innovation: Introduction of Champa rice leading to population growth.
  • Transportation: Expansion of the Grand Canal facilitated trade.

Dar al-Islam

• Cultural and Political Dynamics:
  • Abbasid Caliphate: Centered in Baghdad, ethnically Arab, declined by 1200.
  • Turkic Empires: Seljuk Empire, Mamluk Sultanate, Delhi Sultanate rose to power.
  • Islamic Influence: Spread through military, merchants, and Sufi missionaries.
  • Sharia Law and Scholarship: Legal systems based on the Quran, preservation of Greek works.
  • Nasir al-Din al-Tusi: Mathematics and trigonometry advancements.

South and Southeast Asia

• Religious Influence:
  • Hinduism: Dominant in India, with some regions converting to Islam (Delhi Sultanate).
  • Bhakti Movement: Emphasized devotion to Hindu gods, challenged traditional hierarchies.
  • Buddhism: Declined in South Asia, influential in Southeast Asia.
• State Building:
  • Delhi Sultanate: Muslim rule in North India.
  • Rajput Kingdoms: Hindu resistance to Muslim rule.
  • Vijayanagara Empire: Hindu empire in South India.
  • Majapahit Kingdom (Java): Controlled trade routes, Buddhist.
  • Khmer Empire (Angkor Wat): Hindu to Buddhist conversion.

Americas

• Mesoamerica (Aztec Empire):
  • Capital: Tenochtitlan.
  • Tribute System: Conquered people provided labor and tributes.
  • Human Sacrifice: Integrated into religious practices.
• Andean Civilization (Inca Empire):
  • Bureaucracy: Centralized control, mita system for labor.
• Mississippian Culture:
  • Monumental Mounds: Cahokia mounds, agriculture-based society.

Africa

• East Africa (Swahili Civilization):
  • Trade: Indian Ocean commerce, Swahili language.
  • Islamic Influence: Conversion due to trade.
• West Africa:
  • Empires: Mali, Ghana, Songhai, trade-driven, Islam among elites.
  • Hausa Kingdoms: City-states, trans-Saharan trade.
• Great Zimbabwe:
  • Economy: Gold trade, maintained indigenous religion.
• Ethiopia:
  • Religion: Christian state, hierarchical society.

Europe

• Christianity:
  • Eastern Orthodox: Byzantium, Kievan Rus.
  • Roman Catholicism: Linked decentralized Western Europe.
  • Minority Religions: Islam in Iberia, Jewish communities.
• Feudalism and Manorialism:
  • Feudal System: Lords and vassals, land in exchange for military service.
  • Manorial System: Serfs worked the land, under lord's protection.
• Political Fragmentation: Decentralized states, growing monarchic power post-1000 CE.