Download KC 3.1 Exchanges

KEY Concept 3.1: Expansion
and Intensification of
Communication and Exchange
Networks
(Part 3- Cross-Cultural
Exchanges)
Period 3: 600 CE – 1450 CE
Cross-Cultural Exchanges
 Fostered by the intensification of
existing, or the creation of new,
networks of trade and
communication
Islam
 Developed in the Arabian peninsula
 Based on the revelations of the prophet Muhammad
 Beliefs and practices reflected interactions among
Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians with the local Arab
peoples
 Spread: Military & Trade
Diaspora
 The dispersion of people from their original homeland
 In key places along important trade routes, merchants
set up diasporic communities where they introduced
their own cultural traditions into the indigenous
culture
 MUSLIMS in the INDIAN OCEAN
 CHINESE in SOUTHEAST ASIA
 JEWS in the MEDITERRANEAN
Inter-Regional Travelers
 Writings illustrate both the extent and the limitations
of intercultural knowledge and understanding
Ibn Battuta
 Book: Rihla (Journey)
 Nationality:
Moraccan/Berber
 Religion: Islam
 Distance: 73,000 Miles
(44 Countries)
Marco Polo
 Book: Travels of Marco
Polo
 Nationality:
Venice/Italian
 Religion: Christian
(Catholic)
 Distance: 25,000 Miles
Xuanzang
 Book: Journey to the West
 Nationality: Tang
China
 Religion: Buddhist
(Monk)
 Distance: 1,000s of
Miles
Cross-Cultural Diffusion
Neoconfucianism,
Hinduism,
Buddhism
Southeast Asia
Cross-Cultural Diffusion
ISLAM
Southeast Asia
& Sub-Saharan
Africa
Cross-Cultural Diffusion
Printing &
Gunpowder
from East Asia
Islamic Empires
& Western
Europe
Cross-Cultural Diffusion
Greek &
Indian Math
Islamic
Empires
Cross-Cultural Diffusion
Greek Science
& Philosophy
Back to Europe
via ISLAMIC
EMPIRES
Diffusion of Crops
 New foods and agricultural techniques were adopted
in populated areas
 Bananas in Africa
 New rice varieties in East Asia
 Spread of cotton, sugar, and citrus throughout Dar-al-
Islam and the Mediterranean basin
Diffusion of Pathogens
 Spread of epidemic diseases, including the Black
Death, followed well-established paths of trade and
military conquest