Landholding Aristocracies in the Post-Classical Era Aristocracy means the highest social class in certain societies: people who have

special titles (such as duke and duchess ), who typically own land, and who traditionally have more power than the other people in a society

In the Post-Classical era, landholding aristocracies tended to be the dominant class In fact, the power of landholding aristocracies was an important continuity in the

social structure of states and empires in the period 600 B.C.E. to 1450 C.E. Empires and within empires, landowners were powerful – it would be many years

later when this would change But for much of history, landowning aristocrats were people of wealth and power

Athenian Dramas Theater, plays, myths and art – these endeavors are not always factual rather

inspired by imagination – yet a person’s imagination is influenced by his/her culture and the time and place within which the person lives

And thus historians can benefit from studying dramas, comedies, and the arts of a people

For example, a historian of ancient Greece would probably find Athenian dramas to be most useful as a source of information about Greek religious beliefs and moral values

Art is often a reflection of culture Artistic activities reveal a great deal about a people’s culture

Foot Binding Foot binding is a practice that dates from the Song era In Song China, a small foot was considered a beautiful foot – at least, on a woman However, a small foot was not possible without breaking the bones of a girl’s foot

and then binding the foot improperly to create the appearance of a small foot – but actually, the foot was painfully deformed

Foot Binding was a reflection of patriarchal attitudes A Chinese saying stated: “If you love your daughter, bind her feet; if you love your

son, let him study.” A daughter with bound feet would be attractive to a man and would marry – and

that was what a daughter in a patriarchal culture was to do – to grow up, marry, and give birth to and raise sons

Causes of the Medieval Crusades The Crusades were a series of holy wars between Christians and Muslims over

Jerusalem and the holy land between 1095 and 1291 The reasons medieval popes launched the crusades was to fight Muslims, convert

non-Catholics, and wipe out heresy Heresy means adherence to or following a religious opinion that is contrary to

church dogma or church teachings The Crusades were “successful failures” for the Europeans The Europeans never permanently regained control of the holy land

But Europeans gained new ideas from Muslims (the Islamic world was experiencing a golden age) and rekindled an interest in trade as they encountered new products like coffee, sherbet, dates, apricots, lemons, and sugar

Medieval European Culture The Medieval period in Europe – also known as the Middle Ages – is generally dates

from 476C.E. to 1500 C.E. It was a period between the fall of Rome and the birth of the modern era – thus, in

the middle Medieval European culture was a fusion of Germanic and Roman cultures – the

Germanic invaders (Barbarians according to the Romans) established kingdoms in Europe but also converted to Roman Catholicism – there was a blending of their cultures

Yes, the following statement best characterizes the ethnic development of Europe during the Early Middle Ages: It was a mix of Celts, Latins, the many peoples the Romans had conquered, and Germanic and Asiatic tribes migrating from north and east contributed to Europe’s ethnic composition

Medieval culture reflected the history and groups of the region

Impact of New Varieties of Rice in East Asia An important long-term demographic impact of the spread of new rice varieties in

East Asia during the period 600 C.E. to 1200 C.E was a rapid increase of East Asian populations

Now – first, it is important to know the meaning of demographic: relating to population

Then it is important to think of a long-term impact or an effect over time New rice varieties had to be better than old rice varieties – so, what would make a

new rice variety better? – perhaps it grew better or grew even when there was drought or a lack of rain – perhaps it produced more rice

Thus, if the new rice was better than it would flourish even when there was less rain and it would produce more rice and then more people could eat and then fewer people would die of starvation and then population would increase

Benefits of Neolithic Revolution 10,000 years ago, some people learned to farm and domesticate animals This period of learning to farm was called the Neolithic Revolution because it began

during the New Stone Age and it occurred at several locations independently There were many benefits to farming – first of all, crops don’t run like buffalo do

and so people could settle – they could stay in one location and farm – they did not have to move from place to place in search of food

Second, population increased – farmers produced more food and did not have to carry toddlers and babies as nomads – so, they could have more children

Yes, there were many benefits that the discovery of agriculture bestowed upon early societies such as a greater ability to affect the environments in which they lived – humans could clear the land for farming and build irrigation canals

Humans had a more reliable way of obtaining a more diverse supply of food

Humans had the ability to establish permanent communities and the reasons to do so

And humans increased the tendency to cooperate and form more cohesive societies – it takes a village to build an irrigation canal

Champa Rice Champa rice was one of those new varieties of rice Champa rice was the crop that dominated Korean and Vietnamese agriculture in

the 1400s Because this variety of rice was relatively more drought-resistant, it could be grown

in places where older varieties had failed, especially on higher land and on terraces that climb hilly slopes, and it ripened even faster than the other early-ripening varieties already grown in China

This made double-cropping possible in some areas, and in some places, even triple-cropping became possible

The hardiness and productivity of various varieties of rice were and are in large part responsible for the density of population in South, Southeast, and East Asia

Confucianism Confucius was a philosopher during the Zhou Dynasty – particularly during the

“Age of Warring States” period of the Zhou Dynasty During this time of warfare and chaos, Confucius sought a philosophy that would

restore peace and harmony to China He concluded that an orderly society was a harmonious society – this meant that

individuals had to know their roles in society and act accordingly Superiors had to set good examples and rule benevolently or kindly and inferiors

had to respect and obey superiors The following statement best encapsulates Confucian thought: social harmony is

attained when superiors treat those below them with kindness, while inferiors respect those above them

Status of Merchants in Han China The rulers of the Han Dynasty in China adopted Confucianism as the official

philosophy of China According to Confucius, merchants were social parasites – or individuals who

profited off of the hard work of others – they did not make goods; they moved and sold goods

Merchants were also considered of low status to Confucius because they violated filial piety – the Confucian concept of honoring and obeying parents and ancestors – merchants travelled far from home and thus could not properly honor parents and ancestors

Yes, in Han China, merchants and traders placed in a lower social class than even farmers and artisans

Merchants and traders were not considered productive members of societyIslamic Culture

The following statement accurately characterize Islamic culture during the tenth through the thirteenth centuries – the level of scientific knowledge was much higher than in Christian Europe

Yes, the Islamic world was experiencing a golden age – a time of great mathematical, scientific and literary achievements

And yes, Omar Khayyám composed the poetic cycle known as the Rubaiyat And most definitely, Muslim philosophers, physicians, and architects had a great

impact on the development of medieval European culture And undoubtedly, Muslim scholars were conversant with the learning of the ancient

Greek All of these statements are accurate

Monasticism Monasticism – yes, it is related to monasteries and monks or nuns Monasticism is an institutionalized religious practice whose members attempt to live

by a rule that requires responsibilities that go beyond those of ordinary followers of the religion

Monks or nuns are usually celibate – without sexual relations and without families – and dedicate their lives to the religious life

Monasticism is a characteristic of Catholicism and Buddhism There are Roman Catholic monks and nuns and Buddhist monks and nuns

Neo-Confucianism Neo-Confucianism means the new Confucianism – the name commonly applied to

the revival of Confucian philosophy in the middle of the 9th century and reached new levels of intellectual creativity in the 11th century in the Northern Song Dynasty

This Confucianism was blended with elements of Daoism and Buddhism Daoism and Buddhism had gained in popularity after the collapse of the Han

Dynasty and so by the time of the Song Dynasty – many years later – these beliefs could not simply be replaced – rather Daoism and Buddhism were incorporated into Confucian philosophy

So, Neo-Confucianism incorporated ideas from Buddhism and Daoism as these belief systems that had grown in popularity in China?

T’ang Dynasty The T’ang Dynasty was part of the golden age of China (the T’ang and Song

Dynasties); it was also highly centralized and had an organized bureaucracy (government officials in charge of different aspects of government)

The Byzantine Empire was the former Eastern Roman Empire and it too was highly centralized with an emperor and an organized bureaucracy

Thus, the following statement is accurate about the T’ang and the Byzantine: both of their governments consisted of bureaucrats who received a standardized education

In T’ang China, government officials had to pass the examination In the Byzantine Empire, there existed one of history’s most elaborate

bureaucracies

Trained in Greek classics, philosophy, and science in a secular school system that paralleled but contrasted with church education for the priesthood, Byzantine bureaucrats could be recruited from all social classes

As in China, aristocrats predominated, but there was some openness to talent among this elite of highly educated scholars

Bureaucrats specialized in various fields of government

Code of Hammurabi and Justinian Code The following statement about the Code of Hammurabi and the Justinian Code are

accurate: The importance of each was that they attempted to organize laws in ways that people could understand

The Code of Hammurabi was one of the earliest written law codes – written in Babylon, the Code protected property, had harsh punishments, and had class divisions in that it punished people differently according to class

In the Code of Hammurabi, a rich man could sometimes pay a fine as punishment but a poor man experienced “eye for an eye” justice

In the Byzantine Empire, the Code of Justinian was a codification of Roman laws – it had concepts like innocent until proven guilty and equality before the law

Both codes organized laws, were written law codes, and stated clearly what the laws and punishments were

Alexander the Great After the Peloponnesian War, the Macedonians took control of Greece and spread

Greek culture throughout much of the known world under the leadership of Alexander the Great

The Peloponnesian War was a war between the Greek city-states [alliances supporting Athens or Sparta]

As the Greeks fought among themselves, they weakened their cities thereby allowing King Philip II of Macedon to conquer the Greek city-states

When Philip died, his son, Alexander the Great, took command and reconquered the Greek city-states (the Greeks had tried to rebel)

Then Alexander conquered a great empire that included Greece, Egypt, Persia, Afghanistan and even a bit of India – but in the Indian subcontinent, his men demanded to return home

Although Alexander died on the journey home, he managed to spread Hellenism or Greek culture to the lands he conquered

Ironically, Alexander conquered the Greeks but preserved Greek culture – if not for Alexander, much of classical Greece would have been lost to future generations

A Major Difference between Roman and Islamic Civilizations A major difference between the classic periods in Rome and the Islamic civilizations

was that while Roman society had strict social class delineations and little mobility, Islam was egalitarian with few barriers to social mobility

Yes, in Roman society, a man was born a patrician – a landowning aristocrat or a plebeian – a free working man, or a slave

Birth determined a lot of what a Roman could do or could become

But in Islam, all believers are considered equal in the eyes of Allah and there was a greater opportunity to rise in the society – there were few barriers to social mobility

If birth determines status, then the society lacks social mobility and has many barriers to social mobility but if a person’s ability determines status, then social mobility occurs

Zhou Dynasty The Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty and claimed that it had

overthrown the Shang because it had the Mandate of Heaven Yes, the Zhou rulers were the first Chinese rulers to speak of a Mandate of Heaven

or the belief that the gods selected the ruler to rule and that the ruler kept the mandate or right to rule as long as he ruled effectively and well

Of course, a ruler could lose the mandate – as the Zhou claimed the Shang ruler had – a ruler lost the mandate when he ruled poorly – evidence for poor ruling was found in floods or epidemics or too many wars

Yes, in the Zhou dynasty, the Mandate of Heaven meant that rulers were allowed to keep their power if they ruled justly and wisely

A just and wise ruler had the Mandate of Heaven whereas a corrupt or ineffective ruler lost the Mandate of Heaven

The Vikings The Vikings were a seafaring people from Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway, and

Sweden) The Vikings set sail from their homelands of Scandinavia and engaged in pillaging

(attacking villages and monasteries in England and France) and trading in the Middle Ages

From the late eighth to the late 11th centuries, the Vikings dominated Europe and spread across the world, from the far reaches of Russia to the eastern coast of North America

Yes, the Vikings settled in England, France, Greenland and even Sicily But the Vikings NOT settle in the Arabian Peninsula Though their raids, often directed against religious targets, were undoubtedly

brutal, many Vikings also traded, farmed and settled peacefully; making their mark on nearly every region and civilization they touched

Perhaps the most striking of Viking achievements was their state-of-the-art shipbuilding technology, which allowed them to travel greater distances than anyone before them – their signature longboats were faster, lighter, more flexible and more easily maneuverable than other ships of the time

The Viking also left their mark on the English language - the word “berserk” comes from the Old Norse (Viking) word berserker, meaning “bear shirt” or “bearskin” – these Viking warriors worshipped Odin, the god of war, and whipped themselves into a frenzied state before and during battle

In the year 1000 C.E., the ancient Norsemen abandoned their pagan gods and converted to Christianity

Islamic Art

The following is an accurate statement about Islamic art and architecture: Islamic art focused on abstract geometric patterns and ornate calligraphy in Arabic

The term Islamic art not only describes the art created specifically in the service of the Muslim faith (for example, a mosque and its furnishings) but also characterizes the art and architecture historically produced in the lands ruled by Muslims, produced for Muslim patrons, or created by Muslim artists

As it is not only a religion but a way of life, Islam fostered the development of a distinctive culture with its own unique artistic language that is reflected in art and architecture throughout the Muslim world

Islamic art seeks to portray the meaning and essence of things, rather than just their physical form

Calligraphy is a major art-form – writing has high status in Islam Geometry and patterns are important People do not appear in specifically religious art So Islamic art focuses on the spiritual representation of objects and beings, and not

their physical qualities; the Muslim artist does not attempt to replicate nature as it is, but tries to convey what it represents.

Five Relationships In China, Confucianism emphasized the idea that harmony could be achieved by the

proper behavior of each member of the family or society It is important to remember the Confucius lived during the “Age of Warring States”

period of the Zhou Dynasty – in this time of disorder and warfare, Confucius wanted to restore peace and harmony to China

Confucius believed that order was the key to developing peace and harmony in society

Thus, each person had to know his place and act accordingly In the Five Relationships of Confucianism (Emperor and subject, Father and son,

Husband and wife, Elder brother and younger brother, and Friend and friend), superiors set good examples and rule benevolently and inferiors respect superiors and obey

By acting according to the appropriate role in society, peace and harmony ensued – at least, according to Confucius

Status of Women in Medieval Europe Women in medieval Europe had some legal protections, but their rights often

depended on where they lived and which class they belonged to The law, set by men, also greatly limited the freedom of women Women were not allowed to marry without their parents’ consent, not allowed to

divorce their husbands, and could not own property of any kind unless they were widows

Wives from rich families usually did not look after their children Women from a poor families not only had to look after the children but had to

continue doing work both in the home and on the land Many women from poor families did not live past the age of forty Producing a male heir within a rich family was considered vital

So many women spent a great deal of their married life pregnant However, childbirth was dangerous as medical care was so poor; it is thought that

as many as 20% of all women died in childbirth and it was the most common cause of death among young women

Daoism Daoism is one of the three great philosophies of China that developed during the

“Age of Warring States” period of the Zhou dynasty – a time of disorder and warfare when philosophers sought ways of restoring peace and harmony to China

Daoist thought centered on the idea of living naturally and close to nature Yes, Daoist thought tends to emphasize harmony with nature When people live according to their true natures and in harmony with nature, peace

and harmony ensue It is only unnatural living that creates disharmony

Feudalism Feudalism was the political and military system of the Middle Ages in Western

Europe Under feudalism, land was exchanged for military service Kings were weak in the Middle Ages and needed help from lords to control their

kingdoms – kings therefore gave land to lords (the lord receiving land became a vassal to the king) and lords, in return, gave loyalty and knights to the king when needed

Of course, an accurate statement about feudalism in Europe was that feudalism led to major class differences in society

Yes, the medieval hierarchy or ranking system was King, Lords (Vassals), Lesser Lords (Vassals to Lords), Knights, Monks, Serfs

In a feudal society, each person has a fixed position and has responsibilities and obligations to superiors in the system

A vassal must be loyal to his lord and a serf must work for his lord in return for protection

The Causes of the Crusades The Crusades were a series of holy wars between Christians and Muslims for

control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from 1095 to 1291 The following are causes of the Crusades: racial and religious prejudice, geopolitical

conflict between Europe and the Middle East, religious fervor, and the personal greed of many Europeans to gain wealth and land

But the Black Death was NOT a cause of the Crusades The Black Death occurred long after the Crusades Of course, knowing chronology or the order of events helps – the Black Death

entered Western Europe in 1347 1347 is many years after the time period: 1095 to 1291

Pre-Islamic Arabia Pre-Islamic Arab society is best characterized as pastoral nomadic

Arabia is mostly a desert and for much of its history, the people of Arabia were pastoral nomads – raising animals and moving from oasis to oasis

There were trading centers and settled populations but most people were nomadic Of course, it was due to Arabia’s location on important trade routes that its history

changed Yet still geography dictated what many people in the peninsula could do and could

not do – in desert lands, nomadic life is the norm

Status of Women in Islam In many ways, the Prophet Muhammad greatly increased the status of women in

Arabia and ultimately, in Islam The Prophet forbade female infanticide or the killing of unwanted female infants in

the pursuit for a son The Prophet allowed women to inherit and daughters could inherit not just sons –

although daughters only inherited half of what sons inherited And of course, the Prophet limited the number of wives a man could have to four

wives Thus, the following belong in a list describing the status of Muslim women in the

early Islamic period: male adultery was condemned in the Koran, female infanticide was forbidden, female inheritance rights were strengthened and divorce rights for women existed

However, the following statement does NOT belong in a list describing the status of Muslim women in the early Islamic period: females and males both were allowed multiple spouses

In Islam, a man is allowed four wives but a wife is only allowed one husband

Sunni and Shi’a The religious schism or split that stemmed from disputes over legitimate succession

of leadership after the death of its key or founding figure was the schism between Sunni and Shia

The Prophet Muhammad died unexpectedly and without naming an heir The Prophet also did not have any sons that had survived to adulthood Thus, a problem arose in the umma or Islamic community: Who was the rightful

ruler of the umma? Sunni Muslims concluded that any pious or worshipful Muslim man could lead the

community The Shi’a disagreed – they believed that only a descendant from the Prophet’s

family through his son-in-law ‘Ali could rule The vast majority of Muslims are Sunni Muslim However, Iran is a Shi’a country And in some countries like Iraq, there are Sunni and Shi’a Sunni and Shi’a disagree greatly over this point of succession

Umma Umma is the Arabic term that refers to the “community of the faithful”

Hijab is the traditional covering for the hair and neck that is worn by Muslim women

Hajj is the pilgrimage to Mecca Hadith refer to the words and sayings of the Prophet Muhammad Zakat is charity Only the word “Umma” refers to the “community of the faithful”

Constantinople Constantinople was the capital of the Byzantine Empire Today, the city is called Istanbul – it was renamed when the Ottoman Turks

conquered Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire in 1453 Yes, throughout most of its history the capital of the Byzantine Empire was

Constantinople The city had a great location for trade and was located on the crossroads of trade

between Europe and Asia The city was originally called Byzantium but the Roman Emperor Constantine

moved his capital to the area and the city was renamed Constantinople – after the emperor

Byzantine Emperor Justinian Justinian is considered to be the most significant emperor of the Byzantine Empire

by many historians Yes, Justinian was an early Byzantine emperor that had the longest lasting impact

on civilization in the eastern Mediterranean and beyond Justinian was the emperor of the Byzantine Empire between 527 and 565 Justinian pushed to reclaim land in the west While he was unable to reclaim the entire Roman Empire, he did make considerable

gains to the west His expansion reached as far west as Macedonia in Europe and halfway through

Libya in North Africa Before Justinian, Constantinople was ravaged by riots due to high taxes and in

order to reestablish order, Justinian codified Roman law – the Code of Justinian – and thus helped preserve Roman culture in the eastern portion of the Empire

Justinian ordered construction of the Hagia Sophia, a new church dedicated to Christianity – its characteristic dome an engineering marvel of the time

Language of the Byzantine Empire After the fall of the western portion of the Roman Empire, the official tongue of

Constantinople shifted from Latin to Greek This was not surprising as Greece was part of the Byzantine Empire and Rome had

been lost to the Germanic invaders Constantinople was always closer to Greece than Rome Of course, in Western Europe, Latin was still the language of the Roman Catholic

Church and in the Byzantine Empire, Greek was the language of the Orthodox Christian church

Thus, language separated the two regions and two churches – creating a further division between the two

Location of the Byzantine Empire The Byzantine Empire flourished as a crossroads of trade between the

Mediterranean, the Middle East, and Asia Yes, the location of the Byzantine Empire included lands in the Eastern

Mediterranean and the Middle East or Southwest Asia and North America And because the Byzantine Empire controlled the Eastern Mediterranean sea, it

also controlled the end of the Silk Road trading network and thus, trade with Asia This great location greatly benefitted the Byzantines By controlling the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, the Byzantine Empire prospered

economically

Civilizations in the Americas The many societies of the Americas are considered unusual because they reached an

advanced state of civilization without developing systems of writing Yes, in the Americas, there were great civilizations before the arrival of Columbus –

these pre-Colombian civilizations like the Incas and Aztecs flourished but often lacked writing systems

Generally, writing is considered a characteristic of civilization but in the Americas, many societies lacked writing

This is partially due to geographic isolation – the Sumerian writing system known as cuneiform spread to many lands and as such, many writing systems in Asia, Europe, and Africa had their roots in cuneiform

But isolation in the Americas led to being cut off from this kind of diffusion

Pueblos in the Southwest The peoples of the Southwest lived in complex dwellings called pueblos Pueblo Indians are Native American Indians who live in pueblos and have a long

tradition of farming; Pueblo Indians who lived long ago are sometimes called the “ancestral Pueblo” because they are the ancestors of today’s Pueblo people

Another name for the ancestral Pueblo people is Anasazi Pueblo is the Spanish word for “village” or “town” In the Southwest, a pueblo is a settlement that has houses made of stone, adobe, and

wood and the houses have flat roofs and can be one or more stories tall

Christianity in Ethiopia Ethiopia remained Christian despite the spread of Islam on the African continent The adoption of Christianity in Ethiopia dates back to the fourth-century reign of

the Aksumite emperor, King Ezana His kingdom was located along major international trade routes through the Red

Sea between India and the Roman Empire The story of Ezana’s conversion has been reconstructed from several existing

documents, the ecclesiastical histories of Rufinus and Socrates Scholasticus

Both recount how Frumentius, a youth from Tyre, was shipwrecked and sent to the court of Aksum – Frumentius sought out Christian Roman merchants, was converted, and later became the first bishop of Aksum

At the very least, this story suggests that Christianity was brought to Aksum via merchants

Ezana’s decision to adopt Christianity was most likely influenced by his desire to solidify his trading relationship with the Roman Empire

Christianity afforded the possibility of unifying the many diverse ethnic and linguistic peoples of the Aksumite kingdom, a goal of Ezana’s leadership

Aksum was one of the earliest states to develop a coin system in order to service its sophisticated and prosperous economy

Emperor Ezana was the first world leader to put the cross on coins that are the earliest examples of Christian material culture from Ethiopia

The Silk Roads The longest and most vital overland trade route before 1000 C.E. was the Silk Road The Silk Road is the modern name for the trade route between the eastern coast of

the Mediterranean Sea and China The first users of the road must have lived in the first half of the first millennium

B.C.E. Its most famous traveler lived more than twelve hundred years later: Marco Polo of

Venice (1254-1324) Chang’an was the capital of China under the rule of the emperors of the Han

dynasty (206 BCE - 220 CE) Under the emperor Wu Di (141-87), the Silk road was really opened The Silk Road was a relay trade where goods were exchanged from one merchant to

the next and when goods arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean, they were quite expensive

Thus, the Silk Road was a luxury trade route

Origin of Human Species The following statement about early humans most scholars today would agree is

accurate: Humans originated in Africa, then migrated to other continents The “Out of Africa” thesis is a well-supported theory that argues that every living

human being is descended from a small group in Africa, who then dispersed into the wider world displacing earlier forms such as Neanderthals

Yes, most scholars today believe that human life evolved in Africa And from Africa, humans migrated to inhabit every habitable land in the world Africa is the birthplace of humanity – according to this thesis

Differences between Serfdom and Slavery Slavery is defined as the state of a person who is a chattel or property to another A serf is a person bound to his lord’s land – a serf is not property but cannot leave

his lord’s land Both serfs and slaves are part of coerced labor systems – or labor systems where

individuals are forced to work and the conditions are fairly miserable

But a serf is treated slightly better than a slave because a serf cannot be sold to another lord and thus a serf cannot be separated from his children

So, how did serfdom differ from slavery? – Technically, serfs had more freedoms than slaves

To be a slave was to be without any rights – property has no rights – and so a slave could watch as his children were sold away to another master – never to be seen again – to be a slave was to have a broken heart and to be treated horribly

A serf was treated terribly but he had some rights like a right to a family

Classical China The following were developments in classical China (before 1000 C.E.) that had

long-lasting implications for Chinese civilization: the supreme ruler was an emperor; Han rulers installed an effective bureaucracy, postal service, and tax-collecting system; an improved infrastructure and fortifications helped defend China from invasion; and trade expanded greatly during the T’ang dynasty

Yes, an emperor ruled as the supreme ruler Yes, the Han created the examination system and an imperial academy to train

future scholar-gentry in the arts of China’s bureaucracy or government service Yes, the Great Wall was built to prevent invasions And trade greatly expanded – the T’ang dynasty was part of China’s golden age –

and trade flourished on the Silk Roads when a successful and strong dynasty ruled

Athens In Athens, a Greek city-state, democratic government emerged In Athens, free men born in Athens voted and participated in government – indeed

direct democracy existed in Athens in that all male citizens participated in making all governmental decisions

However, women, slaves, and foreigners could not vote So, Athenian democracy was quite different from modern democracy Only one-third of Athenian population could actually vote But still, citizens participating in government through voting first occurred in the

Greek city-state of Athens

The Indian Caste System The caste system is a fixed social class system of Hinduism A person is born into a caste and remains in that caste throughout the course of a

lifetime Hindus believe that a person’s past life and past deeds determine the caste into

which the person is born The four castes are Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and Sudras A person who belongs to no caste is an untouchable Yes, an accurate statement about the Indian caste system is that there was virtually

no social mobility – a person could not change his caste in this lifetime

The fall of Chinese Dynasties

The fall of Chinese dynasties between 600 and 1450 C.E. was often aided by peasant revolts

It is important to remember that the Mandate of Heaven was an important concept during this time period – the Chinese believed that the gods had given the emperor the mandate or right to rule but could remove this right to rule – this would be made evident through floods, famine, war and disasters

When it appeared that an emperor had lost the mandate, the people were justified in rebelling

The majority of people in this time period were peasants and peasants suffered the most when disasters befell China; so, it is not surprising that peasants rebelled when it appeared that the Mandate of Heaven had been lost

Yes, peasant rebellions often led to the fall of Chinese dynasties

Merchant Diaspora Communities The word “diaspora” means a scattering of people The dictionary defines “diaspora” as a group of people who live outside the area in

which they had lived for a long time or in which their ancestors lived Merchants, of course, are travelers – they travel to new lands to trade and

sometimes, they settle in these new lands However, even though they settle in new lands, they still maintain many of their

previous cultural ways Yes, in the period 600 C.E. to 1450 C.E., merchant diaspora communities, such as

those of Muslims in India, Chinese in Southeast Asia, and Jews in the Mediterranean, had the following in common: they generally introduced their own cultural practices into the local cultures

Yes, merchants were a vector for spreading cultural ideas – when merchants settled in new lands, they introduced their religions and cultural ways to new lands

Nuns in Buddhism and Christianity A monastic is an individual who gives up family life for the religious life In Buddhism and Roman Catholicism, monastic life is an alternative to marriage Both Buddhists and Roman Catholics allow women to lead monastic lives as nuns The establishment of communities of nuns in both Christian and Buddhist societies

by 600 C.E. allowed nuns to exercise power within their communities more extensively than in their respective societies

Yes, a nun had a certain amount of autonomy or freedom in a convent – first, she lived only with women in the convent and as such, within the convent, women made many of the rules for the community

In family life, a woman’s husband made many of the rules So, not only did Buddhism and Christianity provide alternatives to marriage for

women; these religions also provided monastic women or nuns greater freedom in convents than in traditional married life

Guild A guild is an association of crafts workers – like bakers or carpenters

The guild sets the standards for the work and goods produced and also controls who can enter the guild – first as an apprentice then as a journeyman and finally as a master craftsman

The medieval guilds were generally one of two types: merchant guilds or craft guilds Merchant guilds were associations of all or most of the merchants in a particular

town or city; these men might be local or long-distance traders, wholesale or retail sellers, and might deal in various categories of goods

Craft guilds, on the other hand, were occupational associations that usually comprised all the artisans and craftsmen in a particular branch of industry or commerce. There were, for instance, guilds of weavers, dyers, and fullers in the wool trade and of masons and architects in the building trade; and there were guilds of painters, metalsmiths, blacksmiths, bakers, butchers, leatherworkers, soapmakers, and so on

Guilds performed a variety of important functions in the local economy They established a monopoly of trade in their locality or within a particular branch

of industry or commerce; they set and maintained standards for the quality of goods and the integrity of trading practices in that industry; they worked to maintain stable prices for their goods and commodities; and they sought to control town or city governments in order to further the interests of the guild members and achieve their economic objectives

Yes, organizations of merchants and craftspeople in European cities were called guilds

Role of the Medieval Catholic Church In Western Europe, during the Middle Ages, the only Christian church was the

Roman Catholic Church – indeed, Catholic means universal As most Western Europeans were Catholics, the Roman Catholic Church was very

powerful in the Middle Ages; it was the largest landowner and a very wealthy institution that individuals believed determined whether a man’s soul was saved

The main unifying institution in medieval Europe was the Roman Catholic Church In Medieval times, the Church dominated society Catholics were taught that the only way they could get to Heaven was by obeying

the dictates of the Roman Catholic Church Catholics were required to pay 10% of what they earned in a year to the Church

(this tax was called a tithe) Tithes could be paid in either money or in goods produced by peasant farmers

The Order or Chronology of the Monotheistic Faiths Judaism, Christianity and Islam are the monotheistic faiths Judaism is the earliest monotheistic faith Christianity evolved from Judaism And Islam is the youngest of the monotheistic faiths In what order did these three monotheistic faiths come into being? – Judaism,

Christianity, Islam

Monastics

In both Buddhism and Roman Catholic Christianity, monasticism is an alternative to marriage and family life

Monks and nuns may dedicate their lives to the religious life and forsake family life In Buddhism, a Bhikku is a monk or an individual who has renounced worldly life

and joined a monastic community The term bhikku in Buddhism comes from a verbal root meaning “to beg” – thus, a

Buddhist monk or nun is marked primarily by his or her practice of poverty and nonattachment to the material world

Originally, bhikkus were the followers of the Buddha who had left their families and worldly pursuits in order to meditate and to apply the Buddha’s teachings to their everyday life

Bhikkus tended to live as a group in forest retreats near villages and towns; in exchange for food, the monks taught the townspeople the ways of religious righteousness (dhamma; Sanskrit: dharma)

Four monastic rules, if broken, result in lifelong expulsion from the order – these prohibit (1) having sexual relations, (2) taking or ordering the taking of life, (3) taking something as one’s own that has not been freely given, and (4) making claims regarding one’s spiritual attainments, powers, or degree of enlightenment

Catholic monks have similar yet different rules but all monks forsake family life for the religious life

Yes, two religions that encouraged the monastic life were Buddhism and Christianity

The Maya The Maya were Mesoamerican Indians and occupied a nearly continuous territory

in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and northern Belize Before the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Central America, the Maya possessed

one of the greatest civilizations of the Western Hemisphere They practiced agriculture, built great stone buildings and pyramid temples,

worked gold and copper, and used a form of hieroglyphic writing that has now largely been deciphered – the Maya were an advanced pre-Columbian civilization

The strongest basis of the Mayan economy was agriculture, which produced maize, beans, and cocoa

The Maya developed independent city-states – much like the ancient Greeks – they were not unified with one king but rather had competing city-states

The rise of the Maya began about 250 C.E. and lasted until about 900 C.E. Some important Mayan cities were Tikal, Uaxactún, and Copán Each city had a population between 5,000 and 50,000