Major Civilizations and State-Building (1200-1450)

Overview

This lecture covers major civilizations and state-building in Afro-Eurasia and the Americas from 1200 to 1450, focusing on political structures, belief systems, social hierarchies, and economic developments.

What Is a State?

• A state refers to a politically organized territory under a single government, not like U.S. states.
• Unit 1 focuses on how major states formed, justified, and maintained power globally.

China: The Song Dynasty

• The Song Dynasty (960–1279) emphasized Confucianism, reviving it as Neo-Confucianism.
• Neo-Confucianism reinforced social hierarchies and filial piety (respect/obedience to parents and elders).
• Women's rights declined, including limited property rights and practices like foot binding.
• The Imperial bureaucracy expanded, with officials selected by civil service exams based on Confucian classics.
• Exam system favored wealthy men who could afford education.
• Song economic growth was fueled by commercialization, porcelain and silk trade, Champa rice (drought-resistant, multiple harvests), and Grand Canal expansion.
• Chinese cultural influence spread to Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Belief Systems in East and Southeast Asia

• Buddhism split into Theravada (monks, mostly Sri Lanka) and Mahayana (broader participation, more common in East Asia).
• Buddhism influenced by local cultures as it spread, e.g., bodhisattvas in Mahayana aiding others.
• Neighboring regions adopted Chinese bureaucratic methods and Buddhism.

Dar al-Islam (The Islamic World)

• Dar al-Islam refers to regions governed by Islamic principles; included major religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.
• Abbasid Caliphate (ethnically Arab, Baghdad) declined by 1200, replaced by Turkic empires (Seljuk, Mamluk, Delhi Sultanate).
• Military and Sharia law remained organizing principles.
• Significant scholars: Nasir al-Din al-Tusi advanced mathematics (trigonometry).
• Muslim scholars preserved Greek/Latin knowledge (House of Wisdom).
• Islamic expansion by military conquest, merchant activity, and Sufi missionary work.

South and Southeast Asia: Religion and State Building

• Three main religions: Hinduism (dominant), Islam (second most important), and Buddhism (declined in India).
• Bhakti movement in Hinduism emphasized personal devotion to one god, challenging traditional hierarchies.
• Delhi Sultanate (Muslim-ruled, N. India) faced resistance (e.g., rajput, vijayanagara).
• Southeast Asia featured Buddhist (Majapahit, Java) and Hindu/Buddhist (Khmer, Angkor Wat) states influenced by Indian and Chinese trade.

The Americas: State Building

• Mesoamerica: Aztec Empire (tribute system, human sacrifice, decentralized administration).
• Andes: Inca Empire (highly centralized, mit'a labor system for state projects).
• Mississippian culture: large towns, mound-building, hierarchical society.

Africa: States and Society

• East Africa: Swahili city-states (trade-based, Muslim influence, Swahili language).
• West Africa: Ghana, Mali, Songhai (centralized, trade-driven, ruling elites converted to Islam).
• Hausa kingdoms: city-states, trade brokers, less centralized.
• Great Zimbabwe: powerful, wealth from gold trade, maintained indigenous religion.
• Ethiopia: trade-based, Christian monarchy, hierarchical society.

Europe: Christianity and State Structure

• Two branches of Christianity: Eastern Orthodox (Byzantine, Kievan Rus') and Roman Catholic (Western Europe).
• Western Europe was politically fragmented, organized by feudalism (land exchanged for loyalty/service).
• Economic/social life centered on manorialism (lords/peasants/serfs).
• Rising monarchies would later centralize power.
• Small Jewish and Muslim communities existed, facing discrimination.

Key Terms & Definitions

• State — A politically organized territory under a single government.
• Neo-Confucianism — Revived Confucianism in the Song Dynasty, blending other philosophies.
• Filial piety — Respect and obedience owed to parents and ancestors.
• Bureaucracy — Hierarchical organization of government workers.
• Tribute system — Conquered people provide goods/labor to ruling state.
• Mit'a — Inca system of mandatory public service.
• Dar al-Islam — Lands under Islamic rule.
• Sharia law — Islamic legal code based on the Quran.
• Feudalism — System of land exchange for loyalty and service in medieval Europe.
• Manorialism — Economic/social system based on lords’ landholdings and peasant labor.

Action Items / Next Steps

• Review comparative features of major states (China, Dar al-Islam, South Asia, Americas, Africa, Europe).
• Study key terms and their significance.
• Practice identifying how belief systems shaped societies and state-building across regions.