AP World History: Unit 3

AP World History: Unit 3

• Environmental Variations :
• North Africa: manufactured goods
• Sahara: copper, salt, dates
• Agricultural South: crops, gold
• Earliest Trade: Sudan agricultural people w/ urban clusters (Jenne-jeno) early centuries CE
• West Africa:
• Turning Point: camel -> could now cross the Sahara
• Trans-Saharan commerce by 300-400 CE
• Merchants wanted West African gold
• Huge caravans

• Encouraged new & larger political structures (Ghana, Mali)
• Rep for riches
• Slavery
• First, among women
• Male slaves for officials, miners, agricultural laborers
• Came from raids in the south
• Most sold in North Africa ( few to Europe; Europe had Slavic-speaking slaves; common in Europe in 1440s)
• Urban/Commercial Centers ( Koumbi-Saleh, Jenne, Timbuktu)
• Manufacturing
• Islam established in towns

• Mediterranean: commerce since Phoenicians
• Linked Europe to Indian Ocean
• Indian Ocean Network: World’s most important until 1500
• Cheaper by sea
• Bulk goods
• Understanding of monsoons
• Between towns rather than states
• Start: First Civilizations
• Tempo increased early centuries CE w/ understanding of monsoons
• Roman Empire -> southern India & East African coast; spread Christianity
• Eastern Indian Ocean & South China Sea
• Fulcrum: India (spread of Hinduism & Buddhism in SE Asia)
• Encouragers for Indian Ocean Trade:
• Economic/political revival of China: Tang & Song unified China; vast market
• Rise of Islam (7th cen CE): supported trade; Arab Empire from Atlantic to India; trade communities from East Africa to southern China; international maritime culture by 1000CE

• Transformed Southeast Asia( political change & religious ideas)
• between China & India -> Malay opened all-sea route & competitive small ports
• Srivijaya: Malay Kingdom
• Emerged from competition
• Dominated trade 670- 1025CE
• Gold, spices, taxes of ships -> resources for powerful state
• Local belief + Indian politics + Buddhism (became center for Buddhism)
• Sailendras Kingdom (central Java)
• Indian influence (Hindu & Buddhist centers)
• Burma: Khmer state of Angkor (Indian culture)
• Islam came later
• Transformed East Africa
• Swahili: Bantu + commercial life of Indian Ocean
• Urban; each city politically independent w/ a king
• Sharp class distinctions
• Participation in Indian Ocean trade: visited by Arabs and Indians; Arabic influence in script; Islam
• Culture did not spread to interior
• Trade w/ interior for gold -> Great Zimbabwe

• Highly fragmented society ​
• Local variation​
• Landowning elite had power​
• Serfs- owned services & goods to lords, lived on small farms​
• Catholic church gave stability​
• High Middle Ages: time of growth and expansion​
• New land from cultivation​
• Growth from long-distance trade from two major centers: northern Europe, northern Italian towns​

• New opportunities for women​
• Europe Outward Bound: Crusading Tradition​
• Expansion of Christendom after 1000​
• Crusades: wars at God’s command​
• Aimed to regain Jerusalem & holy places​
• Little impact in Middle East, had significant impact on Europe​
• Hardened cultural barriers​
• Europe developed passion for technology

• In 1500 they're were many types of societies such as gatherers and hunters to empires
• They're were many gathering and hunting societies all throughout Australia, Siberia, the artic coastlands, and parts of America and Africa
• These societies started to interact with each other overtime
• In the coast of North America they used the environment to their advantage, and they had a more permanent society

• Agricultural Village Societies:
• were dominant in North America, Africa(south of the Equator), parts of the Amazon River Basin and Southeast Asia
• Their societies avoided harsh authority, class inequalities, and seclusion of women
• In present-day southern Nigeria there were three different political patterns that had developed
• In the central New York State the agricultural village societies became fully agricultural around 1300, and there was a rise of warfare and it triggered the creation of the Iroquois confederation
• Following the 1400 the steppe nomads' homeland was taken to expand the Russian and Chinese empires
• African pastoralists remained independent until the late nineteenth century

• Ming Dynasty China
• Disrupted by Mongol rule and the plague
• Reestablishing of the civil service examination system
• A highly centralized government was created

• In Europe
• Expansion occurred in western Europe
• the population began to rise in 1450
• the renaissance occurred which reclaimed classical Greek traditions

• Maritime Voyaging
• In 1492 Columbus reached the Americas
• Vasco da Gama sailed around Africa to India from 1497 to 1498
• European voyagers were seeking wealth, converts
• Europeans used violence to create and adjust empires

• The Ottoman Empire lasted from the 14th to the 20th century
• Safavid Empire emerged in Persia
• Established after 1500
• The Shia Islam was the official religion of the state
• The Sunni Ottoman Empire and the Shia Savavid Empire fought often between 1534 and 1639

• The Songhay Empire rose in West Africa between 1450-1500
• Islam was limited to urban elites
• It was a major center of Islamic trade/learning
• The Mughal Empire in India was created by a Turkic group that invaded India in 152

• The Aztec Empire:
• The Mexica were a seminomadic people who migrated from Northern Mexico
• The Triple Alliance in 1428 was the uniting of Mexica and two other city-states
• They were loosely structured and an unstable conquest state
• Their trade included slaves who were intended for sacrifice
• They also created an important philosophical/poetic tradition that mainly focused on the fragility of human life

• The Inca Empire
• Established along the length of the Andes by Quechua speakers
• More Bureaucratic and centralized than the Aztecs
• Attempted cultural integration
• A majority of the citizens of the empire had to preform labor services (mita) for the Inca state
• Both the Aztec and the Inca Empire practiced "gender parallelism"
• Men and women lived in "separate but equivalent spheres"
• Women's household tasks were not seen as inferior
• Men still had the top positions in religious and political life

Western Christendom

• Removed from world trade routes​
• European geography made political unity different​
• Moderate climate=population rises

Byzantine Advantages

With Roman Collapse

• Centralized rule=gone​
• Pop. Fell by 25% because war & disease​
• Diminuition of urban life​
• Long-distance trade outside Italy=gone​
• Decline in literacy​
• Germanic rulers adopted Roman-styled law​
• Tried to recreate roman-style unity​
• Many revivals of Roman Empire (Christmas Day; coronation of Charlemagne, coronation of Otto 1)​

• Wealthier, more urbanized​
• Defensible capital (Constantinople)​
• Stronger military​
• Preserve Roman ways​
• Greek fire (flammable liquid)​
• Emperor ruled as God’s representative on Earth​
• Caesaropapism- church was closely tied to state​
• East: Latin, West: Greece​
• Persia conquered by Islam

Conversion to Islam

After Roman Collapse

Reason vs. Faith

Silk Road

• Islam was known for "social conversion"
• -Islam also favored commerce
• -The Islamic World was divided
• sunni/shia split Islam
• A. Sunni's: religious authority comes from the community (especially from the scholars (ex. ulama))
• B. Shia's: the imams have religious authority
• -Women and Men in Islam
• spiritually: Quran states that women/men are equals
• socially: Quran: viewed women as "subordinate" (especially in marriage)
• *Quran helped women by giving women control over their own property, right of inheritance, consent to marriage and women's right to sexual satisfaction

The Birth of Islam

Comparing Islam- Culturally

• Control:
• Roman & Chinese Empires
• Belt: Byzantine Empire, Abbasid Dynasty, Tang Dynasty (7th & 8th cen)
• Mongol Empire (13th & 14th cen)
• Steppe products<--> agricultural & manufactured goods
• Luxury goods for elite
• Camel
• High transportation cost
• Symbolized by silk (Chinese monopoly/ currency in Central Asia/ high status/sacred in Buddhism & Christianity)
• Small volume of trade
• Peasants in Yangzi: market goods>crops
• possibility of Individual profit
• Spread of culture>spread of goods

• Tension between faith and reason​
• Search for classical greek texts (Aristotle)​
• Aristotle's writing become basis of university education​
• Didn’t happen in Byzantine Empire​
• Islam had deep impact on Greek thought​
• Caused debate among Muslim thinkers on faith and reason

• Buddhism:
• Popular among: Central & East Asia, merchants, oasis cities, slowly among Central Asian pastoralists
• Voluntary conversion: founding monasteries provided rest stops
• Central Asian cities: centers for learning & commerce
• China: religion of foreign merchants or rulers
• Transformed during spread: monasteries-> rich & semi-secular, Mahayana flourished, Greek influences
• Disease: long-distance trade=exposure to unfamiliar diseases
• Smallpox & measles -> Roman & Han empires
• Bubonic Plague from India -> Mediterranean (kept Byzantine from regaining Italy & made it hard for Christians to resist Islam spread)
• The Black Death: spread bc Mongol united much of Eurasia (13th - 14th cen)
• Death of 1/3 of population in Europe; similar death toll in China & parts of Islamic world
• Bad effect in Central Asian Steppes (Mongol power dropped)
• Gave Europeans an advantage in Western Hemisphere after 1500 (due to lack of immunity in Americas)

Trade

Sand Roads

• Arab Empire
• Islam continued to expand
• Turkish speaking invaders brought Islam to India and to settle in Anatolia
• soon after there was a destruction of the Byzantine society in Anatolia
• Islam became peaceful traders (not by conquest)
• religious toleration was breaking down by the 10th century
• *the Islamic world was history's first "global civilization"
• *Islam became "networks of exchange"
• -Islam exchanged...
• goods, technology, and ideas
• -Islam was now the central location for trade, with the different trades came...
• Muslim conquest of India brought rice, sugarcane, sorghum, hard- wheat, cotton, fruits, and vegetables
• technology
• -Writings of Islam show that Islam was the "central fact" (1254- 1324)

In the 2nd half of the 20th century, Islam was seen as a growing international influence in the world:

• -Birth of a new religion
• religion came new teachings -> monotheistic
• wanted to create a new society of social justice, equality, and care for others (the umma's)
• *Jihad "struggle": can be considered the 6th pillar
• "greater" jihad: personal striving
• "lesser" jihad ("jihad of the sword"): the armed struggle against unbelief and evil
• -Transformation of Arabia
• created Islamic communities in Medina (also broke into Judism)
• *rapid expansion throughout Arabia
• military successes led to alliances
• large scale conversions
• ~Islam did NOT separate into state
• -Arab Empire on the rise
• *reasons for expansion:
• economical: captured trade routes
• wealthy/ social promotion
• communal: helped the umma community
• religion: helped the government to conquer

• altered consumption of a variety of goods
• -> specialization of a product -> alliances among countries
• social mobility
• prestige goods for elites
• Spread of religion, technology innovations, animals, plants and diseases
• 500-1500 CE: increase in long distance trade; mostly indirect
• Separate American Web
• best when large states provided security for trade

American Web

• Less dense
• Limitations: lack of large domesticated animals & geographical obstacles (North/South Orientation)
• Local & regional trade; not long distance
• Loose web from Great Lakes to Andes:
• At least indirect
• Center: Cahokia
• Mesoamerica
• Maya & Teotihuacan by land
• Maya by sea (dugout canoes)
• Aztecs: pochteca (merchants)
• Andes
• Inca: trade run by state

Islamic Civilization

Spain

India

• Arab and Berber forces conquered most of Spain (al-Andalus) in the early 8th century
• High degree of interaction between Muslims, Christians, and Jews
• Some Christians converted to Islam while Christian Mozarabs adopted Arabic culture
• Religious toleration started breaking down by late 20th century with increasing war with Christian states and limitations on Christians resulting Christian reconquest in 149

• Turkic-speaking invaders brought Islam to India
• Establishment of Turkic ad Muslim regimes in India beginning in 1000
• Muslim communities emerged because Buddhists and low-caste Hindus found Islam attractive, it lightened tax burden, and Sufis fit mold of Indian holy men, encouraged conversion
• Between Hindus and Muslims, Sikhism was formed as a mix between the two religions

Silk

Sea Roads

Networks of Faith

• Location: Eurasia
• Chinese monopoly on silk (became a symbol for upper class)
• Mongol Rule
• Active from 100BCE-approx. 800BCE; disrupted until 1200CE & flourished until late 1400s
• Commodities: silk, gold, spices
• High transportation cost

Anatolia

• Islamic Civilization was held together by Islamic practices and beliefs that were transmitted by the ulama
• Madrassas (formal colleges) that taught religion, law, and some secular subjects arose in the 11th century
• Branches of Sufism gathered around shaykhs (teachers) by 10th century with Sufi teachings, practices, and writing spreading widely

• By 1500, 90% of population was Muslim due to Turkish conquest
• Compared to India, Anatolia had a smaller population, discrimination against Christians, more Turkic speakers, and a deeper destruction of the Byzantine society

• Camel
• Luxury goods for elite

Networks of Exchange

Spread of Buddhism

West Africa

• altered consumption of a variety of goods
• -> specialization of a product -> alliances among countries
• social mobility
• prestige goods for elites
• Spread of religion, technology innovations, animals, plants and diseases

• Islam came through trade spreading mostly in urban areas
• By 16th century, several West African cities were Islamic centers with libraries, schools and major mosques

• Islamic world was an immense arena for exchange of goods, technology, and ideas due to their location, Islamic teaching, and urbanization
• Exchange of agricultural products and practices between regions
• Developments in math, astronomy, optics, medicine, and pharmacology

• Location: Sahara (North Africa to the Mediterranean Sea)
• Spread of Islam
• Oaises
• Commodities: gold, salt, ivory, kola nuts, slaves
• Caravans
• Trade->new and larger political structures

• Location: Indian Ocean
• Cheaper by sea
• Bulk goods
• Understanding of monsoons
• Spread of Christianity, Hinduism, Buddhism, & Islam
• Huge boats and ships
• Commodities: spice, ivory, minerals

Sand

Sea

Spread of Islam

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 8

Chapter 13

Chapter 12

Chapter 9

Kyra Taveras, Madison Novak, Kendall Bryant, Asharde Ward, Charlotte Holland

China vs. Europe

Culture

Economic

• Had a "Golden Age" of arts and literature
• Also birth of Neo-Confucianism (Confucian revival with added elements of Buddhism and Daoism)
• Nomads who ruled parts of China often adopted Chinese ways

• Invention of printing, gunpowder, and shipbuilding technology; use of paper money
• Learned cotton and sugar cultivation and processing from India
• By 1000, introduction of rice strains from Vietnam
• Chinese textile, metallurgical, and naval technologies stimulated imitation and innovation

The Worlds of the 15th Century

Korea & China

The Islamic World

China 500-1300

Social

Political

• Tang dynasty had greater freedom for elite women in the north
• Song dynasty tightened patriarchal restrictions on women (foot binding)
• More women were educated

• Han dynasty collapsed around 220 C.E
• Sui dynasty was overthrown; Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) was built on Sui foundations

• Most enduring interaction was with nomads of the north
• "Tribute system" emerged; non-Chinese authorities would present tribute to Chinese emperor and would get trading privileges and "bestowals" (worth more than tribute
• Steppe states took over parts of northern China; Khitan (907-1125) and Jurchen (1115-1234)

• Temporary Chinese conquest of northern Korea; led to channel of Chinese culture in region
• Silla kingdom allied with Tang dynasty China to bring some political unity; caused military resistance
• Under a succession of dynasties (Silla 688-900, Koryo 918-1392, Yi 1392-1910), Korea maintained its political independence while participating in China's tribute system
• Korean students sent to China to study Confucianism, natural sciences and the arts
• Confucian values and Chinese culture had negative impact on women

Interaction

Americas

Webs of Connection

Vietnam & China

China & Buddhism

• Adopted Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, administrative techniques, the examination system, and artistic and literary styles (just like Korea)
• Cultural heartland in the Red River valley was fully incorporated into China for over 1000 years (111 B.C.E.-939 C.E.) (longer than Korea)
• Heavy pressure of the Chinese presence created a Vietnamese elite schooled in Chinese culture and periodic rebellions
• Weakening of Tang dynasty in early 10th century enabled a large rebellion to establish Vietnam as a separate state.

• Large political systems brought together culturally different people
• Religion divided and united different groups of people
• The Christian religion divided into Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy
• Buddhism linked the people in Korea, China, Japan, Tibet, and parts of Southeast Asia
• Islam was rather good at bringing its people together
• In the 15th century trade was almost everywhere
• The Silk Road network was shrinking
• Ocean trade in the west Atlantic/Indian Ocean picked up

• Only large scale cultural borrowing in Chinese history (before Marxism)
• Entered through Silk Road
• Collapse of the Han dynasty (200 C.E.) brought chaos and discrediting of Confucianism
• Finally took root 300-800 C.E.
• Mahayama Buddhism became popular
• Sui and early Tang dynasties gave state support to Buddhism
• Growth of Chinese Buddhism provoked resistance and criticism
• Chinese state began direct action against foreign religions in 841-845

Japan & China

Masai of East Africa

• Never successfully invaded or conquered by China; borrowing from China was voluntary
• Issued the Seventeen Article Constitution; Japanese ruler is becomes a Chinese- style ruler
• By 10th century, deliberate efforts to absorb additional elements of Chinese culture diminished
• Buddhism didn't replace the native beliefs and practices

• Nomadic cattle-keepers​
• Masai interacted and invited people into their society from other societies​
• Depended on hunters and farmers​
• Farmers adopted elements of Masai culture and military​
• Hairstyles​
• Cattle terms​
• Name for High God​
• Long spear​
• Practice of drinking cow’s milk before battle

Pastoral Societies

The Mongol Empire

• Created greatest land-based empire in history following their breakout from Mongolia​
• Created greater contact between Europe, China and Islamic world ​
• Did not make major cultural impact on world​
• Temujin -> Chinggis Khan​
• Temujin created Mongol Empire​
• Before Temujin Mongols were unstable collection of feuding tribes​
• Mongols recognized Temujin as Chinggis Khan (“universal ruler”)

• Developed in:​
• Grasslands of Eurasia and sub-Saharan Africa​
• Arabian and Saharan deserts​
• Subartic regions, Tibetan plateau​
• Not in Americas: lack of large animals for domesticating​
• Women usually had higher status than in sedentary societies​
• Mobility-nomads​
• Formation of nomadic states was difficult​
• Ruler Modun revolutionized nomadic life​ (Xiongnu)
• Created more centralized, hierarchical political system​
• Divinely sanctioned ruler​
• Distinction between “junior” and “senior” clans became important​
• Exacted tribute from other nomads and from China​
• Camel saddles: ​
• Made control of trade routes through Arabia possible​
• Camel nomads were shock troops of Islamic expansion

Mongol Moments:

Mongol Moments Cont.

• Mongols were vastly outnumbered by their enemies​
• Reputation for brutality and destructiveness​
• Ability to mobilize resources​
• Census taking and systematic taxation​
• Good system of relay stations for communication and trade​
• Centralized bureaucracy began​
• Encouraged commerce​
• Gave lower administrative posts to Chinese and Muslim officials​
• Practiced religious toleration​
• China and the Mongols:​
• Mongol conquest of China was difficult​
• Mongols unified a divided China, made many believe that the Mongols had been granted the Mandate of Heaven​
• Mongols used Chinese practices​
• Mongol rule was harsh, exploitative, and foreign

• Persia and Mongols​
• Conquests of Persia​
• Massive impact of invasion​
• Damage to Persian/Iraqi agriculture​
• Increase in wine and silk production​
• Mongol dynasty collapsed in 1330s​
• Russia and Mongols:​
• Mongol devastation of Russia​
• Mongol rulers of Russia were less assimilated or influenced​
• Russian princes adopted Mongol weapons, diplomatic rituals, court practices, tax system, and military draft

• 1200s-1600s: Silk Road
• 1204: Crusaders sack Constantinople
• 1206: Delhi Sultanate in India; Temujin gains title of Chinggis Khan (“universal ruler”)
• 1206-1227: Reign of Chinggis Khan
• 1209: Beginning of Mongol conquests
• 1209- 1279: Conquest of China
• 1219- 1221: Initial assault on Persia (Mongols)
• 1237- 1240: Conquest of Russia (Mongols)
• 1271-1368: Yuan dynasty
• 1274: failed Mongol attacks on Japan
• 1279-1368: Mongol rule in China
• 1281: failed Mongol attacks on Japan
• 1295: Conversion of Il-khan Ghazan to Islam

• 100BCE-900CE: Silk Roads
• 200s- 1400s: Sea Roads
• 220-581: Political Fragmentation of China; Buddhism takes root; incursion of nomads
• 300s- 1400s: Sand Roads
• 300-500: Beginnings of trans-Saharan trade
• 330: Founding of Constantinople
• 395: Roman Empire -> east & west
• 476: End of western Roman Empire

• 600s: loss of Syria/ Palestine, Egypt, and North Africa to Arab forces
• 600s-700s: Introduction of Islam & Arab culture in North Africa
• 604: Seventeen Article Constitution in Japan
• 610: Beginning of Muhammad’s revelations
• 618-907: Tang Dynasty; golden age of Chinese culture; expansion into Central Asia; high point of Chinese influence in Japan
• 622: Hijra (emigrations from Mecca -> Medina)
• 632-661: Rightly Guided Caliphs
• 636-637: Arab victories against Byzantine & Persian forces
• 640: Islamic conquest of Egypt
• 650s: Quran compiled
• 656: Emergence of Shia Islam
• 661-750: Umayyad caliphate
• 670-1025: Srivijaya domination of Indian Ocean Trade
• 688: Withdrawal of Chinese military forces from Korea; Three Korean dynasties: Silla, Koryo,Yi
• 690-705: Reign of Empress Wu; China’s only female emperor

• 1000: Gunpowder invented in China
• 1000: Venice emerges as a center of commerce
• 1000: Viking colony in Newfoundland
• 1000: Tale of Genji (Japan)
• 1000: Completion of Bantu migrations
• 1000-1200: New monarchies in Western Europe
• 1000-1500: Flourishing of Swahili civilization
• 1054: Mutual excommunication of pope & patriarch
• 1059-1154: Investiture conflict (Western Civilization)
• 1095: Launching of First Crusade
• 1099: Crusaders seize Jerusalem

• 1400s: Portuguese voyages along West African coast
• 1400: Aztec Empire established
• 1405-1433: Ming dynasty maritime expeditions in the Indian Ocean w/ Zheng He
• 1438-1533: Inca Empire along the Andes
• 1440s: beginning of Atlantic slave trade
• 1450: Inca Empire established
• 1450-1591: Songhay Empire
• 1453: Ottoman Empire conquers Constantinople; end of Byzantine Empire
• 1453: Turks capture Constantinople
• 1462- 1505: End of Mongol rule in Russia; reign of Ivan the Great
• 1464- 1591: Songhay Empire in West Africa
• 1467-1568: Civil War in Japan
• 1492: Arrival of Columbus in the Carribean
• 1496: John Cabot sails across North Atlantic to North America
• 1497- 1498: Vasco da Gama enters Indian Ocean and reaches India
• 1497- 1520s: Portuguese attacks on Swahili cities; establishment of Fort Jesus at Mombasa; Portuguese contact w/ Christian Ethiopia

• 800s: state action against Buddhism (China)
• 800: Charlemagne crowned as new “Roman Empire”
• 800-1000: Emergence of Sufism
• 845: Suppression of Buddhism in China
• 850: Collapse of Maya civilization
• 868: First printed book in China

700s

500s

900s

1100s

1300s

1500s

<-500s

600s

800s

1400s

1200s

1000s

• 1501: founding of Safavid Empire in Persia
• 1520-1523: Magellan’s voyage to Asia via the Americas; first circumnavigation of the globe
• 1520-1530s: Spanish conquest of Aztecs & Incas
• 1526: Mughal Empire established in India

• 900s: Kings of Ghana convert to Islam
• 900-1250: Cahokia
• 907-960: Political Breakdown between dynasties (China)
• 912-961: Reign of Abd al-Rahman III in Spain
• 939: Vietnam establishes independence from China
• 950-1150: Flourishing of Toltec civilization
• 988: Conversion of Kievan Russia to Christianity
• 960-1279: Song Dynasty China; China’s economic revolution; northern China ruled by peoples of nomadic background (Khitan, Jurchen)
• 962: Otto I crowned as Holy Roman Empire

• 1100s-1200s: centuries: translations of Greek & Arab works available in Europe
• 1100s-1500s: centuries: Christian kingdom of Ethiopia
• 1100-1350: Chucuito & Chimu kingdoms in the Andes
• 1142(?): Iroquois confederation established
• 1162: Birth of Temujin

• 1345- 1521: Aztec Empire in Mesoamerica
• 1346-1350: Black Death in Europe
• 1368-1644: Ming Dynasty; Chinese rule resumed; end of Mongol rule in China
• 1370-1406: Conquests of Timur
• 1398: Timur’s invasion of India

• 700s: Swahili emerged
• 711: Muslim conquest of Spain
• 726-843: Iconoclasm in Byzantium
• 750-900: High point of Abbasid dynasty
• 750- 1258: Abbasid caliphate

• 500: Flourishing of Teotihuacan
• 527-565: Justinian rules Byzantine Empire; attempted reconquest of western empire
• 534-750: Bubonic plague in Europe
• 570-632: Life of Muhammad
• 581-604: Reign of Emperor Wendi; state support for Buddhism
• 589-618: Sui Dynasty; reunification of China