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World History Unit 1: The global tapestry (c. 1200–1450)

Between 1200 and 1450, states across Afro-Eurasia and the Americas built on older traditions to create powerful, connected societies.

Covers: Song China, Dar al-Islam, South and Southeast Asia, the Americas, Africa, Europe

Study guide

In East Asia, the Song dynasty (960–1279) used Confucianism and a civil service examination system to run a large bureaucracy. Neo-Confucianism blended Confucian ethics with Buddhist and Daoist ideas. The Song economy grew through Champa rice, the Grand Canal, paper money and inventions like gunpowder and the compass, and its influence spread to Korea, Japan and Vietnam. Filial piety and foot binding reinforced patriarchal family structures.

In Dar al-Islam (lands under Muslim rule), the Abbasid Caliphate declined and new Turkic states, like the Seljuks, and later the Delhi Sultanate, rose. Muslim scholars preserved and advanced Greek learning, made gains in mathematics, astronomy and medicine, and Baghdad's House of Wisdom became a center of translation. Sufi missionaries and merchants spread Islam. In South Asia, Hinduism and Buddhism shaped states like the Vijayanagara Empire, and the Bhakti movement emphasized devotion. In Southeast Asia, Srivijaya controlled sea trade, the Majapahit kingdom was Hindu-Buddhist, and the Khmer Empire built Angkor Wat.

In the Americas, the Mexica (Aztecs) built Tenochtitlan and collected tribute, the Inca ran a road system and a labor tax called mit'a, and the Mississippian culture built mound cities like Cahokia. In Africa, Mali grew rich from gold and the trans-Saharan trade under Mansa Musa, Great Zimbabwe traded through the Indian Ocean, and Christian Ethiopia built rock-cut churches. Europe was politically decentralized under feudalism and manorialism, with the Catholic Church as the main unifying force. Serfs worked land for lords, while towns and trade revived late in the period.

In South Asia, the Hindu caste system ranked people by birth into groups tied to occupation and ritual purity, which shaped work, marriage and social life. Buddhism, which rejected caste distinctions, had largely faded in India by 1200 but stayed strong in Southeast and East Asia. The Mongols destroyed Baghdad in 1258, ending the Abbasid Caliphate, after which Islamic political authority was split among regional sultanates. In Egypt the Mamluks, enslaved Turkic soldiers who seized power, stopped the Mongols at Ain Jalut (1260) and ruled as patrons of Islam and trade.

The Crusades (1095–1291) were Christian campaigns to control the Holy Land. They failed in the long run but increased Europe's contact with the Middle East and its demand for Middle Eastern goods. Through Muslim Spain (al-Andalus), Arabic numerals, algebra and Arabic translations of Greek works reached Latin Europe. Madrasas (religious colleges) trained the ulama, scholars of Islamic law who gave Muslim societies a shared legal culture. Many mosques, schools and hospitals were funded by charitable endowments called waqf.

Japan was ruled by shoguns and regional warrior lords served by samurai, a feudal system similar to Europe's. Japan still borrowed Chinese writing, Buddhism and Confucian ideas.

Key ideas

• Song China used Confucianism and a civil service exam to govern.
• Islamic states advanced science, math and learning and spread through trade.
• Hindu and Buddhist traditions shaped South and Southeast Asian states.
• The Aztecs and Inca built large empires with tribute and labor systems.
• Feudal Europe was decentralized, with the Church as its unifying force.

Formulas and rules

Common mistakes

• Thinking Europe was the most advanced region in 1200; Song China and Dar al-Islam were far more developed.
• Mixing up Aztec tribute with the Inca mit'a labor system.

Words to know

Song dynasty

Chinese dynasty (960–1279) known for bureaucracy, trade and innovation.

Neo-Confucianism

A blend of Confucian ethics with Buddhist and Daoist ideas.

Civil service exam

Chinese test that chose officials based on Confucian learning.

Filial piety

Confucian duty to respect and obey one's parents.

Champa rice

Fast-ripening rice from Vietnam that increased China's food supply.

Dar al-Islam

Lands under Muslim rule.

House of Wisdom

Baghdad center for translating and studying ancient texts.

Sufism

A mystical form of Islam that helped spread the faith.

Delhi Sultanate

Muslim state in northern India.

Bhakti movement

Hindu devotional movement emphasizing love of a god.

Srivijaya

Southeast Asian empire that controlled sea trade through the Strait of Malacca.

Khmer Empire

Southeast Asian empire that built Angkor Wat.

Mexica (Aztecs)

Mesoamerican empire based in Tenochtitlan that collected tribute.

Mit'a

Inca system of required labor for the state.

Mali Empire

West African empire rich from gold and trans-Saharan trade.

Feudalism

System of lords granting land to vassals for military service.

Manorialism

Economic system of serfs working a lord's land.

Sample practice questions

5 more questions like these, from level 1 to 5, are in the practice set.