Download Unit Two Overview - “After” the Classical Era Islam, Byantium, and

Unit Two Overview - “After” the Classical Era
Islam, Byantium, and China Rule While Western Europe Plays the Fool
After the fall of the classical civilizations, West Europe descended into a decentralized mess called feudalism.
This phase in European history is often called the “Middle Ages” or “Dark Ages” because it is a period of
darkness in between the classical and early modern eras… eras that went really well for Europeans! Luckily,
other Eurasian societies picked themselves up, dusted themselves off, and rebuilt powerful centralized
imperial bureaucracies. Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) lived on in the Eastern Mediterranean. In the
Middle East an explosive new religion gave birth to two of the most powerful and fastest growing empires in
human history… the Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties. In East Asia the Sui restored order, paving the way for
two of the most important dynasties in Chinese history… the Tang (pronounced Tong) and Song (pronounced
Sung). All these post-classical empires learned how to govern from their classical predecessors and many even
improved upon classical political techniques! For example, like Han Wudi, the Tang and Song dynasties
continued to use Confucian Universities to educate their administrators, however they also began to place
them in positions based on the results of their test scores! The smart ones get the important positions… those
who failed got sent home!
Asia and Africa Made Bank While West Europe Sank
With political stability restored, trade soared! Post-Classical trade flowed all throughout Asia and Africa (not
Western Europe though… remember they are eating dirt and living in the “Dark Ages” ). Large cosmopolitan
trade cities flourished, like Baghdad, Venice, Timbuktu, Hangzhou, Samarkand, Tenochtitlan, and Melaka.
Classical trade routes (silk roads & Indian Ocean) got way bigger and way better. Merchants even journeyed
across the Sahara desert to trade gold and slaves in West Africa. Like the Han and Romans before them, Tang
China and the Byzantine Empire made trade easier at their ends of the Silk Road. But new maritime
technologies like the compass and rudder made trade in the Indian Ocean WAY easier. If it’s easier, that means
more people will do it. Not surprisingly then, trade increased dramatically in the Indian Ocean during the post
classical period! This would have a huge impact on “the Indian Ocean World.”
As always, merchants not only moved trade goods around Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Europe, and Asia), they
also moved ideas and diseases. For example, Islam (the new religion on the block) would spread all over AfroEurasia in the post classical era, becoming world history’s fastest growing religion. This happened for three
reasons: 1. Trade and Islam go hand in hand (Muhammad was a merchant after all!), 2. the Middle East is
centrally located in Afro-Eurasia, so many merchants and travelers went through there, and 3. Islam’s message
of equality is very appealing to the lower classes. As a result, the dar al Islam (House of Islam) would include
the Middle East, West Africa, East Africa, South Asia, and Southeast Asia. There were even small Muslim
communities in China!
Mongol Destruction Brought Renewal
Late in the post classical period, Genghis Khan and his clan united and totally dominated Eurasia for 100 years.
They used horse-riding skills, rapid attack, intimidation, and total annihilation to amass the largest land empire
ever in world history! After destroying cities and cultures, they rebuilt them and absorbed the best features of
each place, often leading to improved systems of law, exchange, and taxation for conquered subjects. They
were even really tolerant of other people’s religion. While the Christians and Muslims were fighting holy wars,
the Mongols were allowing all religions to live peacefully in their empire! After toppling weak Islamic and
Chinese governments, the Mongols united Eurasia in trade and exchange more than ever before in human
history. Because trade was so important to the Mongols, they established police forces to protect Silk Roads
networks. This helped land based trade flourish, facilitating the rapid diffusion of goods, technologies, and
disease. Yeah… disease will spread again near the end of the post classical era. Remember… increased
interaction and exchange isn’t always a good thing! In fact the “Black Death” (as this round of plagues is called)
would kill up to half of the Eurasian population!
Unit Two Overview - “After” the Classical Era
Islam, Byantium, and China Rule While
Western Europe Plays the Fool
After the fall of the classical civilizations, West Europe descended
into a decentralized mess called feudalism. This phase in European
history is often called the “Middle Ages” or “Dark Ages” because it is
a period of darkness in between the classical and early modern
eras… eras that went really well for Europeans! Luckily, other
Eurasian societies picked themselves up, dusted themselves off,
and rebuilt powerful centralized imperial bureaucracies.
Byzantium (the Eastern Roman Empire) lived on in the Eastern
Mediterranean. In the Middle East an explosive new religion gave
birth to two of the most powerful and fastest growing empires in
human history… the Umayyad and Abbasid Dynasties. In East Asia
the Sui restored order, paving the way for two of the most
important dynasties in Chinese history… the Tang (pronounced
Tong) and Song (pronounced Sung). All these post-classical
empires learned how to govern from their classical predecessors
and many even improved upon classical political techniques! For
example, like Han Wudi, the Tang and Song dynasties continued to
use Confucian Universities to educate their administrators,
however they also began to place them in positions based on the
results of their test scores! The smart ones get the important
positions… those who failed got sent home!
Unit Two Overview - “After” the Classical Era
Asia and Africa Made Bank While West Europe Sank
With political stability restored, trade soared! Post-Classical trade
flowed all throughout Asia and Africa (not Western Europe
though… remember they are eating dirt and living in the “Dark
Ages” ). Large cosmopolitan trade cities flourished, like Baghdad,
Venice, Timbuktu, Hangzhou, Samarkand, Tenochtitlan, and
Melaka. Classical trade routes (silk roads & Indian Ocean) got way
bigger and way better. Merchants even journeyed across the
Sahara desert to trade gold and slaves in West Africa. Like the Han
and Romans before them, Tang China and the Byzantine Empire
made trade easier at their ends of the Silk Road. But new maritime
technologies like the compass and rudder made trade in the Indian
Ocean WAY easier. If it’s easier, that means more people will do it.
Not surprisingly then, trade increased dramatically in the Indian
Ocean during the post classical period! This would have a huge
impact on “the Indian Ocean World.”
As always, merchants not only moved trade goods around
Afro-Eurasia (Africa, Europe, and Asia), they also moved ideas and
diseases. For example, Islam (the new religion on the block) would
spread all over Afro-Eurasia in the post classical era, becoming
world history’s fastest growing religion. This happened for three
reasons: 1. Trade and Islam go hand in hand (Muhammad was a
merchant after all!), 2. the Middle East is centrally located in AfroEurasia, so many merchants and travelers went through there, and
3. Islam’s message of equality is very appealing to the lower classes.
As a result, the dar al Islam (House of Islam) would include the
Middle East, West Africa, East Africa, South Asia, and Southeast
Asia. There were even small Muslim communities in China!
Unit Two Overview - “After” the Classical Era
Mongol Destruction Brought Renewal
Late in the post classical period, Genghis Khan and his clan united
and totally dominated Eurasia for 100 years. They used horseriding skills, rapid attack, intimidation, and total annihilation to
amass the largest land empire ever in world history! After
destroying cities and cultures, they rebuilt them and absorbed the
best features of each place, often leading to improved systems of
law, exchange, and taxation for conquered subjects. They were
even really tolerant of other people’s religion. While the Christians
and Muslims were fighting holy wars, the Mongols were allowing
all religions to live peacefully in their empire! After toppling weak
Islamic and Chinese governments, the Mongols united Eurasia in
trade and exchange more than ever before in human history.
Because trade was so important to the Mongols, they established
police forces to protect Silk Roads networks. This helped land
based trade flourish, facilitating the rapid diffusion of goods,
technologies, and disease. Yeah… disease will spread again near
the end of the post classical era. Remember… increased
interaction and exchange isn’t always a good thing! In fact the
“Black Death” (as this round of plagues is called) would kill up to
half of the Eurasian population!