White Plains Public Schools



Landholding Aristocracies in the Post-Classical EraAristocracy 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 societyIn the Post-Classical era, landholding aristocracies tended to be the dominant classIn 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 changeBut for much of history, landowning aristocrats were people of wealth and powerAthenian DramasTheater, 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 livesAnd thus historians can benefit from studying dramas, comedies, and the arts of a peopleFor 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 valuesArt is often a reflection of cultureArtistic activities reveal a great deal about a people’s cultureFoot BindingFoot binding is a practice that dates from the Song eraIn Song China, a small foot was considered a beautiful foot – at least, on a womanHowever, 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 deformedFoot Binding was a reflection of patriarchal attitudesA 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 sonsCauses of the Medieval CrusadesThe Crusades were a series of holy wars between Christians and Muslims over Jerusalem and the holy land between 1095 and 1291The reasons medieval popes launched the crusades was to fight Muslims, convert non-Catholics, and wipe out heresyHeresy means adherence to or following a religious opinion that is contrary to church dogma or church teachingsThe Crusades were “successful failures” for the EuropeansThe Europeans never permanently regained control of the holy landBut 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 sugarMedieval European CultureThe 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 middleMedieval 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 culturesYes, 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 compositionMedieval culture reflected the history and groups of the regionImpact of New Varieties of Rice in East AsiaAn 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 populationsNow – first, it is important to know the meaning of demographic: relating to populationThen it is important to think of a long-term impact or an effect over timeNew 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 riceThus, 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 increaseBenefits of Neolithic Revolution10,000 years ago, some people learned to farm and domesticate animalsThis period of learning to farm was called the Neolithic Revolution because it began during the New Stone Age and it occurred at several locations independentlyThere 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 foodSecond, population increased – farmers produced more food and did not have to carry toddlers and babies as nomads – so, they could have more childrenYes, 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 canalsHumans had a more reliable way of obtaining a more diverse supply of foodHumans had the ability to establish permanent communities and the reasons to do soAnd humans increased the tendency to cooperate and form more cohesive societies – it takes a village to build an irrigation canalChampa RiceChampa rice was one of those new varieties of riceChampa rice was the crop that dominated Korean and Vietnamese agriculture in the 1400sBecause 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 ChinaThis made double-cropping possible in some areas, and in some places, even triple-cropping became possibleThe 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 AsiaConfucianismConfucius was a philosopher during the Zhou Dynasty – particularly during the “Age of Warring States” period of the Zhou DynastyDuring this time of warfare and chaos, Confucius sought a philosophy that would restore peace and harmony to ChinaHe concluded that an orderly society was a harmonious society – this meant that individuals had to know their roles in society and act accordinglySuperiors had to set good examples and rule benevolently or kindly and inferiors had to respect and obey superiorsThe following statement best encapsulates Confucian thought: social harmony is attained when superiors treat those below them with kindness, while inferiors respect those above themStatus of Merchants in Han ChinaThe rulers of the Han Dynasty in China adopted Confucianism as the official philosophy of ChinaAccording 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 goodsMerchants 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 ancestorsYes, in Han China, merchants and traders placed in a lower social class than even farmers and artisansMerchants and traders were not considered productive members of societyIslamic CultureThe following statement accurately characterize Islamic culture during the tenth through the thirteenth centuries – the level of scientific knowledge was much higher than in Christian EuropeYes, the Islamic world was experiencing a golden age – a time of great mathematical, scientific and literary achievementsAnd yes, Omar Khayyám composed the poetic cycle known as the RubaiyatAnd most definitely, Muslim philosophers, physicians, and architects had a great impact on the development of medieval European cultureAnd undoubtedly, Muslim scholars were conversant with the learning of the ancient GreekAll of these statements are accurate MonasticismMonasticism – yes, it is related to monasteries and monks or nunsMonasticism 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 religionMonks or nuns are usually celibate – without sexual relations and without families – and dedicate their lives to the religious lifeMonasticism is a characteristic of Catholicism and BuddhismThere are Roman Catholic monks and nuns and Buddhist monks and nunsNeo-ConfucianismNeo-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 DynastyThis Confucianism was blended with elements of Daoism and BuddhismDaoism 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 philosophySo, Neo-Confucianism incorporated ideas from Buddhism and Daoism as these belief systems that had grown in popularity in China?T’ang DynastyThe 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 bureaucracyThus, the following statement is accurate about the T’ang and the Byzantine: both of their governments consisted of bureaucrats who received a standardized educationIn T’ang China, government officials had to pass the examinationIn the Byzantine Empire, there existed one of history’s most elaborate bureaucraciesTrained 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 classesAs in China, aristocrats predominated, but there was some openness to talent among this elite of highly educated scholarsBureaucrats specialized in various fields of government Code of Hammurabi and Justinian CodeThe 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 understandThe 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 classIn the Code of Hammurabi, a rich man could sometimes pay a fine as punishment but a poor man experienced “eye for an eye” justiceIn 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 lawBoth codes organized laws, were written law codes, and stated clearly what the laws and punishments wereAlexander the GreatAfter 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 GreatThe 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-statesWhen 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 homeAlthough Alexander died on the journey home, he managed to spread Hellenism or Greek culture to the lands he conqueredIronically, Alexander conquered the Greeks but preserved Greek culture – if not for Alexander, much of classical Greece would have been lost to future generationsA Major Difference between Roman and Islamic CivilizationsA 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 mobilityYes, in Roman society, a man was born a patrician – a landowning aristocrat or a plebeian – a free working man, or a slaveBirth determined a lot of what a Roman could do or could becomeBut 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 mobilityIf 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 occursZhou DynastyThe Zhou Dynasty overthrew the Shang Dynasty and claimed that it had overthrown the Shang because it had the Mandate of HeavenYes, 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 wellOf 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 warsYes, in the Zhou dynasty, the Mandate of Heaven meant that rulers were allowed to keep their power if they ruled justly and wiselyA just and wise ruler had the Mandate of Heaven whereas a corrupt or ineffective ruler lost the Mandate of HeavenThe VikingsThe 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 AgesFrom 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 AmericaYes, the Vikings settled in England, France, Greenland and even SicilyBut the Vikings NOT settle in the Arabian PeninsulaThough 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 touchedPerhaps 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 timeThe 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 battleIn the year 1000 C.E., the ancient Norsemen abandoned their pagan gods and converted to ChristianityIslamic ArtThe following is an accurate statement about Islamic art and architecture: Islamic art focused on abstract geometric patterns and ornate calligraphy in ArabicThe 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 artistsAs 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 worldIslamic art seeks to portray the meaning and essence of things, rather than just their physical formCalligraphy is a major art-form – writing has high status in IslamGeometry and patterns are importantPeople do not appear in specifically religious artSo 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 RelationshipsIn China, Confucianism emphasized the idea that harmony could be achieved by the proper behavior of each member of the family or societyIt 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 ChinaConfucius believed that order was the key to developing peace and harmony in societyThus, each person had to know his place and act accordinglyIn 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 obeyBy acting according to the appropriate role in society, peace and harmony ensued – at least, according to ConfuciusStatus of Women in Medieval EuropeWomen in medieval Europe had some legal protections, but their rights often depended on where they lived and which class they belonged toThe law, set by men, also greatly limited the freedom of womenWomen 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 widowsWives from rich families usually did not look after their childrenWomen 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 landMany women from poor families did not live past the age of fortyProducing a male heir within a rich family was considered vitalSo many women spent a great deal of their married life pregnantHowever, 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 womenDaoismDaoism 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 ChinaDaoist thought centered on the idea of living naturally and close to natureYes, Daoist thought tends to emphasize harmony with natureWhen people live according to their true natures and in harmony with nature, peace and harmony ensueIt is only unnatural living that creates disharmony FeudalismFeudalism was the political and military system of the Middle Ages in Western EuropeUnder feudalism, land was exchanged for military serviceKings 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 neededOf course, an accurate statement about feudalism in Europe was that feudalism led to major class differences in societyYes, the medieval hierarchy or ranking system was King, Lords (Vassals), Lesser Lords (Vassals to Lords), Knights, Monks, SerfsIn a feudal society, each person has a fixed position and has responsibilities and obligations to superiors in the systemA vassal must be loyal to his lord and a serf must work for his lord in return for protectionThe Causes of the CrusadesThe Crusades were a series of holy wars between Christians and Muslims for control of Jerusalem and the Holy Land from 1095 to 1291The 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 landBut the Black Death was NOT a cause of the CrusadesThe Black Death occurred long after the CrusadesOf 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 1291Pre-Islamic ArabiaPre-Islamic Arab society is best characterized as pastoral nomadicArabia is mostly a desert and for much of its history, the people of Arabia were pastoral nomads – raising animals and moving from oasis to oasisThere were trading centers and settled populations but most people were nomadicOf course, it was due to Arabia’s location on important trade routes that its history changedYet still geography dictated what many people in the peninsula could do and could not do – in desert lands, nomadic life is the normStatus of Women in IslamIn many ways, the Prophet Muhammad greatly increased the status of women in Arabia and ultimately, in IslamThe Prophet forbade female infanticide or the killing of unwanted female infants in the pursuit for a sonThe Prophet allowed women to inherit and daughters could inherit not just sons – although daughters only inherited half of what sons inheritedAnd of course, the Prophet limited the number of wives a man could have to four wivesThus, 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 existedHowever, 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 spousesIn Islam, a man is allowed four wives but a wife is only allowed one husbandSunni and Shi’aThe 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 ShiaThe Prophet Muhammad died unexpectedly and without naming an heirThe Prophet also did not have any sons that had survived to adulthoodThus, 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 communityThe Shi’a disagreed – they believed that only a descendant from the Prophet’s family through his son-in-law ‘Ali could ruleThe vast majority of Muslims are Sunni MuslimHowever, Iran is a Shi’a countryAnd in some countries like Iraq, there are Sunni and Shi’aSunni and Shi’a disagree greatly over this point of successionUmmaUmma 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 womenHajj is the pilgrimage to MeccaHadith refer to the words and sayings of the Prophet MuhammadZakat is charity Only the word “Umma” refers to the “community of the faithful”ConstantinopleConstantinople was the capital of the Byzantine EmpireToday, the city is called Istanbul – it was renamed when the Ottoman Turks conquered Constantinople and the Byzantine Empire in 1453Yes, throughout most of its history the capital of the Byzantine Empire was ConstantinopleThe city had a great location for trade and was located on the crossroads of trade between Europe and AsiaThe city was originally called Byzantium but the Roman Emperor Constantine moved his capital to the area and the city was renamed Constantinople – after the emperorByzantine Emperor JustinianJustinian is considered to be the most significant emperor of the Byzantine Empire by many historiansYes, Justinian was an early Byzantine emperor that had the longest lasting impact on civilization in the eastern Mediterranean and beyondJustinian was the emperor of the Byzantine Empire between 527 and 565Justinian pushed to reclaim land in the westWhile he was unable to reclaim the entire Roman Empire, he did make considerable gains to the westHis expansion reached as far west as Macedonia in Europe and halfway through Libya in North AfricaBefore 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 EmpireJustinian ordered construction of the Hagia Sophia, a new church dedicated to Christianity – its characteristic dome an engineering marvel of the timeLanguage of the Byzantine EmpireAfter the fall of the western portion of the Roman Empire, the official tongue of Constantinople shifted from Latin to GreekThis was not surprising as Greece was part of the Byzantine Empire and Rome had been lost to the Germanic invadersConstantinople was always closer to Greece than RomeOf 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 churchThus, language separated the two regions and two churches – creating a further division between the twoLocation of the Byzantine EmpireThe Byzantine Empire flourished as a crossroads of trade between the Mediterranean, the Middle East, and AsiaYes, 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 AsiaThis great location greatly benefitted the ByzantinesBy controlling the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, the Byzantine Empire prospered economicallyCivilizations in the AmericasThe many societies of the Americas are considered unusual because they reached an advanced state of civilization without developing systems of writingYes, 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 systemsGenerally, writing is considered a characteristic of civilization but in the Americas, many societies lacked writingThis 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 cuneiformBut isolation in the Americas led to being cut off from this kind of diffusionPueblos in the SouthwestThe peoples of the Southwest lived in complex dwellings called pueblosPueblo 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 peopleAnother name for the ancestral Pueblo people is AnasaziPueblo 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 tallChristianity in EthiopiaEthiopia remained Christian despite the spread of Islam on the African continentThe adoption of Christianity in Ethiopia dates back to the fourth-century reign of the Aksumite emperor, King EzanaHis kingdom was located along major international trade routes through the Red Sea between India and the Roman EmpireThe story of Ezana’s conversion has been reconstructed from several existing documents, the ecclesiastical histories of Rufinus and Socrates ScholasticusBoth 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 AksumAt the very least, this story suggests that Christianity was brought to Aksum via merchantsEzana’s decision to adopt Christianity was most likely influenced by his desire to solidify his trading relationship with the Roman EmpireChristianity afforded the possibility of unifying the many diverse ethnic and linguistic peoples of the Aksumite kingdom, a goal of Ezana’s leadershipAksum was one of the earliest states to develop a coin system in order to service its sophisticated and prosperous economyEmperor Ezana was the first world leader to put the cross on coins that are the earliest examples of Christian material culture from EthiopiaThe Silk RoadsThe longest and most vital overland trade route before 1000 C.E. was the Silk RoadThe?Silk Road?is the modern name for the trade route between the eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea and ChinaThe 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 openedThe 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 expensiveThus, the Silk Road was a luxury trade routeOrigin of Human SpeciesThe following statement about early humans most scholars today would agree is accurate: Humans originated in Africa, then migrated to other continentsThe “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 AfricaAnd from Africa, humans migrated to inhabit every habitable land in the worldAfrica is the birthplace of humanity – according to this thesisDifferences between Serfdom and SlaverySlavery 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 landBoth serfs and slaves are part of coerced labor systems – or labor systems where individuals are forced to work and the conditions are fairly miserableBut 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 childrenSo, how did serfdom differ from slavery? – Technically, serfs had more freedoms than slavesTo 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 horriblyA serf was treated terribly but he had some rights like a right to a familyClassical ChinaThe 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 dynastyYes, an emperor ruled as the supreme rulerYes, the Han created the examination system and an imperial academy to train future scholar-gentry in the arts of China’s bureaucracy or government serviceYes, the Great Wall was built to prevent invasionsAnd 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 ruledAthensIn Athens, a Greek city-state, democratic government emergedIn 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 decisionsHowever, women, slaves, and foreigners could not voteSo, Athenian democracy was quite different from modern democracyOnly one-third of Athenian population could actually voteBut still, citizens participating in government through voting first occurred in the Greek city-state of AthensThe Indian Caste SystemThe caste system is a fixed social class system of HinduismA person is born into a caste and remains in that caste throughout the course of a lifetimeHindus believe that a person’s past life and past deeds determine the caste into which the person is bornThe four castes are Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaisyas and SudrasA person who belongs to no caste is an untouchableYes, 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 lifetimeThe fall of Chinese DynastiesThe fall of Chinese dynasties between 600 and 1450 C.E. was often aided by peasant revoltsIt 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 disastersWhen it appeared that an emperor had lost the mandate, the people were justified in rebellingThe 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 lostYes, peasant rebellions often led to the fall of Chinese dynastiesMerchant Diaspora CommunitiesThe word “diaspora” means a scattering of peopleThe 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 livedMerchants, of course, are travelers – they travel to new lands to trade and sometimes, they settle in these new landsHowever, even though they settle in new lands, they still maintain many of their previous cultural waysYes, 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 culturesYes, merchants were a vector for spreading cultural ideas – when merchants settled in new lands, they introduced their religions and cultural ways to new landsNuns in Buddhism and ChristianityA monastic is an individual who gives up family life for the religious lifeIn Buddhism and Roman Catholicism, monastic life is an alternative to marriageBoth Buddhists and Roman Catholics allow women to lead monastic lives as nunsThe 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 societiesYes, 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 communityIn family life, a woman’s husband made many of the rulesSo, 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 lifeGuildA 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 craftsmanThe medieval guilds were generally one of two types: merchant guilds or craft guildsMerchant 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 goodsCraft 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 onGuilds performed a variety of important functions in the local economyThey 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 objectivesYes, organizations of merchants and craftspeople in European cities were called guildsRole of the Medieval Catholic ChurchIn Western Europe, during the Middle Ages, the only Christian church was the Roman Catholic Church – indeed, Catholic means universalAs 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 savedThe main unifying institution in medieval Europe was the Roman Catholic ChurchIn Medieval times, the Church dominated societyCatholics 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 farmersThe Order or Chronology of the Monotheistic FaithsJudaism, Christianity and Islam are the monotheistic faithsJudaism is the earliest monotheistic faithChristianity evolved from JudaismAnd Islam is the youngest of the monotheistic faithsIn what order did these three monotheistic faiths come into being? – Judaism, Christianity, IslamMonasticsIn both Buddhism and Roman Catholic Christianity, monasticism is an alternative to marriage and family lifeMonks and nuns may dedicate their lives to the religious life and forsake family lifeIn Buddhism, a Bhikku is a monk or an individual who has renounced worldly life and joined a monastic communityThe 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 worldOriginally, 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 lifeBhikkus 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 enlightenmentCatholic monks have similar yet different rules but all monks forsake family life for the religious lifeYes, two religions that encouraged the monastic life were Buddhism and ChristianityThe MayaThe Maya were Mesoamerican Indians and occupied a nearly continuous territory in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and northern BelizeBefore the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Central America, the Maya possessed one of the greatest civilizations of the Western HemisphereThey 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 civilizationThe strongest basis of the Mayan economy was agriculture, which produced maize, beans, and cocoaThe 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 CopánEach city had a population between 5,000 and 50,000 ................
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