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Key Concept 3.1 Expansion and
Intensification of Communication
and Exchange Networks
 How did trade networks in
the post-classical era
compare (remember—
similar and different!) to
those in the classical era?
Overview

What new technologies,
governmental policies, and
merchant activities
accompanied these
developments?

What role did pastoral and
nomadic groups play in
these trade networks? in
general
Discuss the expansion of
Afro-Eurasian trade
networks in the postclassical era.


What classical era trade
Answer
Concepts and Relevant Factual Examples in underline
“Facts”
The post-classical era saw more regular and newer trade networks that connected
Africa, Asia, and Europe. They promoted the growth of powerful new trading cities.
Improved transportation technology led to the widening and expansion of the geographical
range of trade networks. As a result trade intensified in this period, and there was a higher
volume of international trade. The Mediterranean Sea and the Indian Ocean were trade
hubs which brought western Africa, Japan, and northwestern Europe into the east-west
trade between Egypt and China. The Americas developed quickly and exchanges in the
Americas grew and trade networks deepened. The same trades, like the Silk Road and
Indian Ocean trade still existed, but were expanded on.
The camel saddle was a technological innovation used predominantly in transSaharan trade that allowed traders to sit on top of the hump of a camel more comfortably
and tie more baggage to the saddle, making trade easier. Innovations in ships like the
Chinese junks and the Arabian, lateen sailed dhow, as well as the Chinese compass
made the Indian Ocean easier to navigate. Governmental military policies were increased
along the trade Silk Road, specifically by the Mongols and Byzantines, by the addition of
military outposts that ensured the safety of traders. Merchants traveled along the safer
roads and Indian Ocean networks, and started making the use of flying money. They also
spread cultures to different areas.
Pastoral and nomadic groups played a very important role in the trade networks.
These groups played the role of middlemen, and controlled the volume of trade along the
Silk Road. Arabian nomads helped support trade by buying and selling items.
Dar-al Islam, consisting of the land of Umayyad and Abbasid caliphates, controlled the
Middle Eastern trade networks. Its lands went from the Iberian Peninsula to the islands in
southeast Asia. The Islamic caliphates spread Islamic ideas to Africa, including northern
Africa, the Sudanic states, the Swahili coast as well as southeast Asia. The Swahili coast
had many trading ports, and due to the Islamic influence, there was more promotion of
long distance trade in the Indian Ocean. The Byzantine Empire traded in the
Mediterranean region. The Byzantines also extended their contact with the Kievan
Russians who had a very prosperous trading center. Another key asset in the AfroEurasian trade was the Mongols. The Mongols provided many goods along the Silk Road
and made ensured the safety of the network, making the route safer and trade more
voluminous. Western Europe after 1000 CE entered the Afro- Eurasian networks with
banks to facilitate trade. Europeans developed a taste for Asian spices and even received
metal, cloth, and grain from Italy. Mediterranean trade also redeveloped.
Trade networks that continued during the post-classical era included the Silk Roads,

Byzantines, Dar-al
Islam(Umayyad
and Abbasid
caliphates, Swahili
coast, Sudanic
states),Kievan
Russia, Mongols,
Changes in
Western Europe
after 1000

Kiev, Novgorod,
Timbuktu, Swahili
city-states,
Hangzhou,
Baghdad, Melaka,
networks continued during
the post-classical era? What
new cities were added to
each network?

What new technologies
enabled the growth of interregional trade networks?

What factors encouraged
commercial growth?

How did the expansion of
empires and trade networks
affect the relationship
between peoples inside v.
outside those “zones”?

What migrations occurred
during the post-classical
era?
trans- Saharan trade networks, Mediterranean Sea trade, and the Indian Ocean trade,
although in the post-classical era, they expanded. Growing trade led to the addition of
more cities in the trade including Timbuktu, which was a Malian commercial exchange
center. Kiev and Novgorod were Russian cities that trade with the Byzantine’s capital city
Constantinople. Hangzhou, the capital of China during the Song dynasty, was located
near the Yangtze delta, allowing East China Sea traders to prosper here. Hangzhou also
participated in Silk Road trade. The capital of the Abbasid caliphate, Baghdad, traded in
Indian Ocean trade and Mediterranean trade. Venice in Italy, where the Renaissance
began, was strong in banking and trade. Mexico’s Tenochtitlan was not involved in
European trade, but traded with other Mesoamerican cities. Merchants were important for
the Aztecs because not only were they merchants, but also spies called the Pochteca.
One of the new technologies that enabled the growth of interregional trade networks
was the dhow. These small trading vessels that were propelled by lateen, triangular sails.
From Spain to China thousands of dhows carried the bulk of Muslim commerce. Many of
the dhows transported Muslim holy men, Sufis to India, Java, Malaya, and the Philippines.
The caravanserai also helped facilitate trade in that they were rest stops that travelers and
merchants could rest safely at. The astrolabe, an instrument that determined latitude by
the positioning of the stars, aided in navigation across the Indian Ocean. The junk was a
Chinese trade ship that had stern-post rudders, gunpowder rockets, and watertight
bulkheads, allowing the Chinese to become the dominant force in the ocean. The Chinese
credit instrument, flying money, gave credit vouchers to traders and merchants, so at the
end of a voyage, it may be redeemed. Using flying money and checks reduced the danger
of robbery.
A factor that facilitated commercial growth included the use of paper money. Paper
money made trade more feasible, for people did not have to barter and could manage it
easier. The formation of the Hanseatic League, an organization of northern Germany and
southern Scandinavian cities established a commercial alliance that protected trade. The
Sui created the Grand Canal. This canal linked northern and southern China as well as
rivers, subsequently allowing trade to further develop.
The expansions of empires caused people both in and out of the empire to trade and
communicate with each other. New peoples began to cooperate in the economies and
trade networks of their conquerors. Under a unified empire and strong, tolerant ruler,
many different outsider ethnic groups were able to assimilate with the peoples in the
empire. This specifically happened with several different ethnic groups of the Mongols.
The Bantu migration was a southeastern migration from western Africa, specifically
Niger and Congo, that lasted over 1,000 years. These people moved through Central
Africa’s rain forests then eventually moved to Africa’s southeastern savannas. The
Vikings, originally from South Scandinavia, disrupted life in Ireland as they trekked to
Sicily. Their migration was marked by their attacks, and with weak rulers who could not
stop the invasions, they began to settle. They settled from England to coastal Spain and
the Mediterranean. They emerged in the Slavic lands next to the Byzantine Empire and
traded with them. The Mongols were a nomadic group that started out in the Mongolian
steppe in central Asia. Having conquered and migrated to parts of Persia, China, and
Russia, the Mongols became known as the largest continuous land empire. The
Polynesian migrations, starting from approximately 2500 B.C, were from western Oceania
Venice,
Tenochtitlan

caravanserai,
astrolabe, dhow??,
junk, flying money,
checks

paper money,
Hanseatic League,
Grand Canal

Bantu (continued
from before),
Arabs, Vikings,
Turks, Mongols,
Polynesian

How did some of these
groups use their own
understanding of the
environment and available
technology in order to
migrate and/or trade?

What were some of the
environmental effects of the
Bantu and Polynesian
migrations?

What were some of the
linguistic effects of
migrations?

How/why/where did Muslim
trade networks change?

How did merchants
themselves help foster both
trade and cultural diffusion—
what “diasporic” merchant
communities were
established and where were
they established?

Which inter-regional
travelers illustrated both the
and the Philippines. Polynesians were expert navigators and traveled to the East to
Samoa, Fiji, Tahiti, and Hawaii. The Turkic Migrations saw the movement of Turkic
peoples throughout Central Asian to the Middle East and Eastern Europe. Arabs migrated
to Southeast Asia and Africa.
As peoples began to partake in more long distance trade, they began to start to better
understand their environments and adapt technology to fit their understanding. The
Mongols used their experience with horse technology to conquer other territories and
travel throughout the steppes. Iron technology and agricultural practices were introduced
to new parts of Africa, specifically Sub-Saharan Africa, as the Bantu speaking people
migrated. Polynesian peoples domesticated animals and cultivated foods in agricultural
and fishing villages as they migrated. Also, they used outrigger canoes that could travel
very long distances. Arabians used camels and camel saddles to more comfortably trade
as they walked across dangerous terrain.
Having brought iron technology and agricultural practices, the Bantu peoples
cultivated and grew crops. The Polynesians also cultivated crops, but domesticated
animals. Some of these animals, like pigs, destroyed many plant species unique to
Hawaii.
A linguistic effect was the diffusion and mixture of languages. The Bantu speaking
people spread their language to various parts of Africa, and Swahili was influenced by this
language. People who had contact with the Polynesian peoples adopted the Polynesian
language as well.
Muslim trade networks changed as Muslim traders and migrants carried Islamic faith
to South Asia, Southeast Asia, and Africa. The Muslim invasions of Muhammad ibn Qasim
and Muhammad of Ghur seized much of northern India, causing the spread of Islam to
these areas.
Merchants traveled thousands of miles, spreading their religions, ideas, and
country’s goods with them. They formed “diasporic” communities that fostered the
diffusion of their culture. Christian missionaries and merchants traveled to Japan, although
they were resisted, China, and India. Muslim merchants traveled alongside Sufi mystics,
who were Muslim holy men, and went to Southeast Asia, where Islam grew. The Sogdian
merchants were one of the groups that dominated trade on the Silk Road trade. Their
“diasporic” communities were based off of cross cultural exchanges with the Turks and the
Chinese. The Jewish merchants traveled throughout the Mediterranean and Silk Road.
Chinese merchants did not foster as much cultural diffusion, but participated in trade
across the Silk Road and in the Indian Ocean Basin.
Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, and Xuanzang all helped people of the post classical world
gain insight into the cultures of other places. Ibn Battuta was a Muslim Moroccan who

Muslim, Chinese,
Sogdian, Jewish

Ibn Battuta, Marco
extent and the limitations of
inter-cultural knowledge and
understanding?

How did post-classical trade
affect the diffusion of literary,
artistic, and cultural
traditions?

How did post-classical trade
affect the diffusion of
scientific and technological
traditions?

What were the biological
effects of post-classical
trade? What new foods,
crops, and agricultural
practices diffused? What
diseases and pathogens
also spread via postclassical trade networks?
Key Concept 3.2 Continuity and
Innovation of State Forms and
their Interactions
 How did state formations
develop in the post-classical
era? Which states preserved
old ideas? Where were there
innovations? Overview
traveled Muslim lands. He went to northern Africa studying Islam’s syncretic forms. The
Italian Marco Polo who was from Venice went to the land of the Mongols and reported life
at the court of Kublai Khan. Xuanzang went to India to study Buddhist scripture. Xuanzang
translated many of these scriptures into Chinese and made Buddhism’s popularity in
China grow.
Post classical trade caused the spread of Neo-Confucianism, which was a progressive
form of Confucianism that incorporated some Buddhist and Daoist ideas into Confucian
ideologies. Buddhism was also spread to China through trade contacts. Buddhist temples
began to be made here. Islam diffused to parts of Africa, like Mali and Ghana, and
southeast Asia, leading to the construction of mosques with Islamic geometric patterns.
The Inca adopted the ideas of terrace farming from trade, and the Toltecs passed down
many cultural traditions to the Mexica, or Aztecs.
Polo, Xuanzang

Neo-Confucianism
and Buddhism,
Islam,
Toltec/Mexica,
Inca

Greek science and
the Islamic world
(including alAndalus) and
Chinese
technology

bananas, champa
rice, the Muslim
Agricultural
Revolution
bubonic plague
and the Black
Death
Post-classical trade spread scientific and technological traditions to other areas around
the world. Ancient Greek Science was expanded on by the Islamic world. The al-Andalus,
which was a Muslim nation in the Iberian peninsula, diffused scientific thought throughout
Europe once again. Chinese technology like gunpowder and printing press, as well as silk
technology spread into Islamic lands and Europe.
The biological effects of the classical period were an increase in healthier, well fed
people due to trading of food, and the sickness and disease that was spread throughout
the Eurasian continent. Champa rice from Vietnam that went to China and bananas from
Africa were spread as part of the Muslim Agricultural Revolution. In the revolution, there
were better irrigation and farming techniques for Muslim farmers. The three field system
and the moldboard plow were helpful farming innovations. The most notable disease that
was spread along trade routes was the bubonic plague, also known as, the Black Death.
This disease originated in eastern Asia, and due to European contact with the Asian
traders, the disease spread rapidly and widely.

“Facts”
Answer
Concepts and Relevant Factual Examples in underline
State formations developed from political stability, economic development, and
religious passion (as in the Islamic Empire). Some states preserved old ideas like eastern
Europe. Eastern Europe preserved many of the ideas of the Roman empire. In the Middle
East, the birth and spread of the new Islamic religion presented the political position of the
caliphate. The American empires, including the Mayans, Aztecs, and Incans took
advantage of being able to conquer the people around them, so that they could
economically profit. The Aztecs, for example, made the peoples they conquered pay them
tribute. Trading and agricultural innovations like the different ships and the horse collar


reconstituted
empires?
caliphate,
American empires

How did post-classical states
try to avoid the mistakes of
the classical era?

What new forms of
governance emerged and in
what places? (that can be
new to that place!)

How and where did
governmental diffusion
occurs?

How did states in the
Americas develop?

What technological and
cultural exchanges did states
encourage?
made development easier. The Incans had an empire that reconstituted itself, as did the
Byzantine Empire. The Chinese dynasties, starting with the Sui, then the Tang, and then
the Song, kept reconstituting and building off of each other, even with some changing
policies.
After the collapse of classical states, post classical states tried to avoid the same fate.
Some traditional values were kept and combined with more progressive innovation, such
as the development of new tributary systems, new methods of taxation, and an adaption
of the religious systems. Religious tolerance practiced by Chinese dynasties and the
Byzantine Empire prevented some conflict. Early Islamic Empires allowed people of the
book of dhimmi, who were Christians and Jews to continue their religious practices,
although they had to pay the jizya head tax. Tributes had to pay money to their
conquerors as well under the Mongols and Aztecs.
Empires began to revolve more around religion. Religion unified the peoples and
affected the states’ governmental values. Islamic Muslims in the Middle East and their
caliphate-based political government as well as the Byzantine Empire’s Christianity in
eastern Europe oriented empire had religiously centered governments. The Mongols
formed the largest land empire in the steppes, and in South Asia, the Dehli Sultanate
formed. Western Europe and Japan had feudalism emerge. Under Western feudalism,
regional lords protected peasants who gave them agricultural goods and provided labor.
Governmental diffusion occurred when different states and empires synthesized or
borrowed certain traditions. Japan adopted Chinese governmental ideas and Persian
ideas were adopted by Muslims. Trade and migrations brought Chinese into rulers into
contact with the Japanese. Japan leaders in the 7th century then announced that they
were in full imitation of the Chinese. They adopted a similar bureaucratic system and
adopted the Confucian ideals. Islamic caliphs adopted Persian administration methods.
The caliphs adopted Persian methods of administration.
Through the military, American states were able to conquer other, smaller states and
expand their size. The Aztec’s rise to power was rapid. They migrated to Lake Texcoco in
the Mexican central valley in 1325 and claimed authority from their military power. They
formed an empire with Tenochtitlan as their central city. Requiring tribute and making
other groups fearful, the Aztecs became a dominant power. The Incans grew in South
America, next to the Andes mountains. Through military conquest, although not as brutal
as the Aztecs, and by using techniques that ensured obedience, the Incans were able to
create a bureaucracy. The Incan’s put emphasis on administrative practices and made
conquered peoples serve in the army and give the Incans tribute.
Baghdad borrowed many technological, cultural, and scientific ideas from India,
ancient Greece, and Persia. It became a center of learning. Tang China gave silk,
medicine, and presented Buddhism to the Abbasid Muslims. The Mongol empire, due to
their lack in intellectual professionals, took technological professionals from the people
they conquered. Siege weapons that helped the Mongols conquer others were
constructed by peoples by people from other places. The Crusades allowed there to be an
interchange of warfare technology, such as the damascene sword that was copied by the
Europeans.

tributary systems,
new methods of
taxation,
adaptation of
religious systems

Synthesized
and/or borrowed
traditions--Persian
to Islamic, Chinese
to Japan

culminates with
Aztecs and Inca

Between Tang
China and the
Abbasids? Across
the Mongol
empire? Resulting
from the
Crusades?
Key Concept 3.3 Increased
Economic Capacity and Its
Consequences
 What were the overall
worldwide economic trends?
What new crops and
technologies affected
agriculture in the postclassical era?
Answer
Concepts and Relevant Factual Examples in underline
The trade routes had in increase in the volume of trade as the carrying capacity of these trade
networks increased. Agriculture and textiles were being produced at a level not previously known to
the world. Demographic changes such as the growth in population and decline in population and
urbanization came with the increase in production. Although in eastern Europe, Constantinople and
the Byzantine Empire were thriving, western Europe struggled with its feudal political and economic
system. The Tang and Song dynasties had large urban centers, great economic production, and
better trade systems. Baghdad in the Middle East flourished as a cosmopolitan city that was also
connected through trade routes. The overall trend was that the successful economic centers had
access to better trade.
Since champa rice grew so quickly, China experienced population growth. In China, the
wheelbarrow eased harvesting tasks. The horse collar increased the efficiency of horses by
preventing the collar from choking the horse, thus increasing the work output of the horses. The
western Europe moldboard, a curved iron plate, allowed deeper turning of the soil. The Aztecs made
use of a brilliant system of irrigation by building chinampas. Chinampas were beds of aquatic mud,
earth, and weeds that were placed in frames of cane and rooted to the bottom of the lake in order to
create “floating islands”. These islands were about 17 feet by 100 to 330 feet and yielded a high
amount of agriculture. The waru waru agricultural techniques of South America combined the raised
beds with irrigation channels in order to prevent erosion. Terracing was the technique the Incans
used to grow crops on the side of a mountain with different crops growing at different altitudes.

How and why did crops
“migrate”? review
again…what crops

Discuss productivity
regarding textile, porcelain,
and iron production.
India was the major producer of cotton textiles. Silk textiles were mainly produced by
China. Steel and iron production was beginning to be expanded in China. Iron was also
produced in Bantu migrations and spread across Africa. Porcelain spread from India to
European nations and throughout the Indian Ocean network.

Which urban areas (cities)
declined and which
prospered and grew? Why
did some decline? Why did
other prosper and grow?
While cities in general continued to play the roles they had played in the past as
governmental centers and commercial centers, many older cities declined at the same
time that numerous new cities emerged to take on these established roles. Western
Europe’s urban areas declined after the fall of Rome and went into the Dark Ages. Charles
Martel, who defeated the Muslims at the battle of Tours in 732, and Charlemagne then
started to establish a substantial French and German empire in 800, in hope of a
recovery. This empire, however did not last, for the empire split into three parts. In the 14th
century the Black Death, which had travelled from Asia led to a decrease in population,
and caused economic and social problems. The Little Ice Age reduced agricultural output
and continued to lower population. The declines in urban areas were overall marked by
“Facts”




champa rice
chinampas and
waru waru
terracing
horse collar

remember—this is
the period
BEFORE the
Columbian
Exchange, but yes
crops were carried
from one region to
another

Europe—down
then up then down
again. You should
know ALL about
this!! Dark Ages,
recovery, then
Little Ice Age and
Black Death
Dar-al Islam
“Pax Mongolica”
Crops migrated due to the want to trade between areas. Crops migrated as peoples
from one place with one crop traded with other peoples. Also, they migrated with the
peoples that migrated. Champa rice was a food that went to China from Vietnam. Champa
rice grew much faster than normal rice, so China enjoyed this crop. Quinoa, potatoes, and
maize were staple crops in the Americas. Bananas moved from Malaysia to Africa.


disease, a decline in agriculture, invasions, and the Little Ice Age. Dar al Islam grew and
prospered due to the scientific developments made in Baghdad. The “Pax Mongolica” was
the height of the Mongol Empire in which there was economic growth, stability, cultural
fusion, and, relative peace. Constantinople was successful due to it being a trade center
and being a continuation of Roman society.

What roles did cities play in
their societies? Choose two
major cities of the period and
briefly discuss the cultural,
religious, commercial, and
governmental function of
each

How did social and labor
systems develop during the
post-classical era?
Social and labor systems developed as a result of political problems and were shaped
by class and caste hierarchies. Religion also led to the development of social status and
labor.
What pre-existing labor
systems continued?
Systems of labor that were continued from the Classical Period included, nomadic
pastoralism, which was the herding of animals from place to place, free peasantry, or the
unforced labor of peasants, and guild systems, which were merchants who came together
to set prices.
What NEW labor systems
developed?
Different types of coerced labor in which government imposed labor taxes or military
obligations developed. The mit’a system in Incan South America was a system that
developed in which the Incas exacted labor on lands. They were an important part of
Incan control in which conquered peoples would work on assigned political and religious
land. Serfdom was another labor system in which peasants called serfs were given
protection from the landlords for their agricultural products and for their stay on the land.
This labor was a type of manorialism, which was a system with there were economic and
political ties between landlords and laborers.
Peasants resisted governments in the Byzantine Empire due to raises in taxes.
Peasants also did not want military obligations. In China, free peasants rebels resisted
In what areas did free
peasants resist governments

Constantinople


free peasantry
nomadic
pastoralism
guilds
types of
coerced/unfree
labor including
government
imposed labor
taxes & military
obligations,
serfdom, mit’a
Cities helped culturally, politically, and economically unify societies. They are the
centers of political and economic activities and represent the cultural and religious values
its people. Constantinople was the most vigorous center of the Byzantine Empire.
Emperor Constantine had Christian Eastern Orthodox churches built in this city and
Justinian had the Hagia Sophia built here as well. This city extended Roman culture and
civilization. It also has an elaborate bureaucracy and emperor. Constantinople was a
commercial center that participated in trade with the Silk Road. Tenochtitlan was a city
founded in Mexico as the capital of the Aztec empire in 1325. The Aztecs began to take
an active role in politics from this city. They served as mercenaries then as allies to
different peoples. The nobles and ruler then took lands and tribute from conquered places.
Human sacrifice expanded to a cult in which the military supplied war captives as
sacrificial victims to be sacrificed at Tenochtitlan. Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid
caliphate. It was a governmental center and major center of the arts and sciences.
Breakthroughs in the sciences were made here as Greek and Roman knowledge was
presented. It was also an important Silk Road trade center.


and stage revolts?

What developments
occurred with respect to
social and gender
hierarchies? Where did
women have relatively more
power and influence?

How did some gender roles
and family structures
change?
when they believed that an imperial family lost the divine right to rule based on the
mandate of heaven. Also, in western Europe, peasants revolted after the bubonic plague
due to the various economic and social problems presented like inflation, low wages,
coerced labor, and taxing.
Most societies were still patriarchal societies. Class and caste structures also
continued to determine social hierarchies. Women had relatively more power and
influence in Western Africa, as with Sudanic societies and their matrilineal customs. Also,
some Islamic African women did not have to wear a veil. In Mongol society, women did
not adopt foot binding, as women in China did. They instead retained rights to property,
freedom to move around, and control in their household. Muhammad in Islamic society
gave women legal rights to inheritance and divorce. He also proclaimed gender equality,
thus giving women permission to pursue many, although not all, of the jobs men had.
Women in the Abbasid era of Islamic civilization had a declining position in the family
and society. The veil and harem represented women’s subjugation to men and
confinement to the household. Many women were made slaves, performing domestic
services in homes, and concubines to the caliphs.