Post-Classical,+500CE-1450CE

Note: Two good places for review materials are [|World History for Us All](the PowerPoints on the "Big Eras" are here--look at Big Eras 5 for this period) and [|Bridging World History](videos, a couple of which we have seen in class). And don't forget this really cool, and informative, [|map of the Indian Ocean trading regime.]dk



The Inca Empire's quipu is depicted in the first image. Considering that the Inca did not have a system of writing, they relied heavily on the quipu for record-keeping. Each knot on the quipu had a numerical significance. The Inca also made use of the base-ten number system, developed by the Gupta. Quipus were interpreted by Quipucamayocs who were the equivalent of Inca accountants. They would use the quipu to carry out basic arithmetic operations, namely addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division. Practically, the Quipucamayocs would need the quipu to keep records on the mita (labor draft), other forms of taxation, as well as economic output, and a census of their population.

The map in the second image has nothing to do with the Inca. Instead, it depicts the extensive reach of China's Tang Dynasty in the Post-Classical era. Previously, the farthest into the West that China traveled was to India, under the Han. However, as China grew more technologically adept under the Sui and specifically under the Tang, they began venturing farther into the Indian Ocean. Beginning in the bustling port of Guangzhou, Tang merchants would travel through the Straits of Melacca, along the coast of India, into the Persian Gulf and East Africa. The Tang also made it up to Mesopotamia by means of the Euphrates River and even into the Mediterranean Sea. The map above delineates Tang maritime travel in blue and overland travel in red, across the Silk Road.

Louis Segall The Uighurs were Turkic nomadic people that had a powerful empire between 744 and 850 centered in present-day Mongolia. The rise of the Uighurs coincided with the demise of the Tang dynasty (map of the extense of the Tang dynasty is above). The Uighurs actually aided the Tang during the An Lu-shan rebellion in 755-763. After the victory, they received silk and Chinese products. When the Uighur empire broke up, some moved towards the west and formed a state called Kocho near the Taklamakan desert that survived until the 13th century. This was near the northern branch of the Silk Roads. The prosperity and culture of the two Uighur states are important to the history of the Silk Roads. In their first empire, the state religion of the Uighurs, Manichaeism, was spread along these trading routes by Sodigan merchants. In the second empire, Buddhism reached them and Buddhist temple decoration below is evidence of the transformation of Buddhist art along the Silk Roads that led from India to China. In the post below, their is a map of diseases spreading along the Silk Roads. Here, religionand culture spread. In the 9th century, the Uighurs frequently patronized Buddhist temples by banner paintings. This double-sided banner depicts an Uighurian noblemen with a three-ponged crown, traditional robes, and riding boots. The circular bird patterns show that the robes were made out of Chinese silk. The banner most likely was made for a deceased relative since the noblemen has flowers in his hands.

- [] -[] CAMILA MOSCOSO

http://www.numenware.com/img/quipu2.jpg http://www.pasthorizons.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/12/Chinamap.jpg The map above displays the vast trade networks emerging in Asia due to the powerful Tang Dyansty in China and the improved technologies facilitating Silk Road trade as well as overseas trade. However, while the Silk Roads and maritime trade spread created a market for many specialized goods, silk and porcelein in the case of China, it ultimatley facilitated the spread of “The Black Death,” or the Bubonic Plague, throughout Asia, and eventually into Europe. It is interesting to note that the map depicting the spread and outbreak of the Black Death is extremely similar to that of the Silk Road and the Maritime Silk Road displayed in the post above. Due to these advances in trading methods, the Black Death was easily spread throughout the length of the Post-Classical period, causing widespread famine, malnutrition and population decline throughout Eurasia and beyond. The Silk roads not only served as a vehicle for trade goods and diseases, but as a catalyst for the expansion of religious ideas as well, as noted in the post below. Due to this heightened religious “zeal” spread across Eurasia during the time, popular belief at the time viewed God as the true cause of the plague, as noted in the image. This divine connection formed with the plague stands as testament to the increase in organized religion emerging during this time period. http://0.tqn.com/d/historymedren/1/0/Y/9/msAsiaBDa.gif http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/4e/Smallpox01.jpg Luka Ciklovan

The Image is a block print of Saint John from a German Bible printed around 1470 CE. Block Printing was a very useful method because it allowed for the spread of Christianity to the illiterate masses. Saint Johns book is the last book in the bible and is based on letters written to church members in Asia minor, which is shown on the map to later have become Islamic. It is interesting that although Europe did have a written language, unlike the Inca, most of its inhabitants were illiterate, and sometimes even clergy members were illiterate. The map shows the expansion of Islam from 661 CE. Islam was spread through trade routes, like the silk roads, and through trade in the Indian ocean with Africa, that brought Islam to eastern Africa. All of what was the Persian empire and much of the roman empire became Islamic.

Sources: http://www.wdl.org/en/item/368/?ql=eng&a=500&b=1499&view_type=gallery http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/suttonlink/340ismap.gif

- Mariana Pavia

like Islam, the Mongols spread very quickly because of their ability to move very quickly and fight very effectively on horseback. The Mongol tribes were united under Genghis Khan. They expanded quickly, first invading China and then the Islamic empire. There was a war of succession after khan Ogedei died, and the Mongol empire was divided into four khanates. The Mongols were tolerant towards conquered peoples, but any disobedience was met with massive slaughtering. -Mark Simon http://thebesttraveldestinations.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/Great-Wall-of-China-02.jpg []



The Mongolian military power is clearly shown by their ability to conquer most of the land between the Mediterranean and the Pacific. How they acheived such a feat is a more complicated matter. As Mark said, the Mongolian Military consisted mostly of calvery that could be mobilized very quickly. Each Mongolian soldier had 3 or 4 horses so that they could ride for faster and longer by switching horses. It has been said that the Mongolian Army could cover 100 miles of ground per day. The primary weapon of a Mongolian soldier is the Mongol bow. 60% of the army consisted of light cavalry who used the bow as their primary weapon. The other 40% of the army was heavy cavalry. The Mongols would fire arrows at the enemy in order to spread them out and cause disarry. Then the heavy cavalry would finish the enemy off. When confronting European forces that mostly consisted of heavy cavalry the Mongols would not directly attack but instead target the enemy horses with there bows. Once the horse went down the heavily armoured soldier would be isolated. The Mongols ability to create a strategy that is based off of its terrain and weapons allowed it to conquer most of Eurasia. [] []

This map reveals in many ways the regional effects of the rapid expansion of the Mongols. The fortification and extension of the Great Wall, especially at the end of the Han dynasty, reflects the Chinese fear of the militarily powerful Mongols and the strong Chinese notion of "us and other". The Great Wall isolated China in a way that reinforced their strong sense of pride in a Chinese identity in contrast with their distate for the "barbarians". As stated before, the rapid expansion of the Mongols also mirrors the rapid expansion of Islam. Ivy Sokol http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ancient-great-wall-of-china.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/Map_of_the_Great_Wall_of_China.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ancient-great-wall-of-china.com/great-wall-of-china-map/&usg=__sCCGB8ErVgh-PncsK2kmLQDXjKs=&h=2133&w=2652&sz=1638&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=fV8tgrL2MzbQHM:&tbnh=157&tbnw=195&ei=H0GyTYXUIOPh0QHPwpGwDw&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dgreat%2Bwall%2Bchina%2Bmap%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1426%26bih%3D883%26tbm%3Disch&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=732&vpy=140&dur=2182&hovh=201&hovw=250&tx=97&ty=84&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0__//

//__A key impact of the spread of islam (above) islamic traders (below) was the spreading of islam to africa. The introduction of Islam in africa increased literacy rates, led to the building of educational institutions, and fostered a robust trading relationship. However, it came at a price. Islam oftentimes restructured traditional social and political orders, usually restricting the rights of women. But, overall, the africans held fast to their culture and beliefs. Below is a religious map of Africa and an african mosque- Daniel Silberwasser__// //__The map is one that depicts the trade that existed in the Indian Ocean during the Post-Classical Era. Trade expanded from Africa to India to China, seeing a great increase during the early years of Islam. It resembles the previous map in that the places that Islam expanded to were places that trade expanded to as well. Maritime trade played a huge role in the Post-Classical Era, as the silk roads were falling due to the collapse of the Roman Empire and another major trade route was needed. The oil painting was made by Charles Robertson in the mid-to-late 1800s. It depicts Arab Traders in Cairo bargaining. If one looks at the items in the shop, a few vases and various types of pottery are seen, indicating that these must have come from India or the Middle East, as these items were not commonly produced in Egypt. Also, based on the skin tone of these people, one can see that the people bargaining in this picture are most likely from the Middle east and not from Egypt. Both of these pictures do a good job of demonstrating the amount of trade that existed in the Arab Empires.__//

//__Sources: http://www.art-prints-on-demand.com/a/robertson-charles/arab-traders-cairo.html__// //__http://jbapwoh.wikispaces.com/file/view/IndianOceanMaritimeRoutes.gif/63079862/IndianOceanMaritimeRoutes.gif__//

//__- Josh Cohen__//

As Josh mentioned, global trade during the post-classical period developed quickly and profitably. China's Tang Dynasty enjoyed the fruits of this trade by establishing not only an economic powerhouse but also by introducing a "golden age" of Chinese culture where arts and literature flourished. This painting by famous Chinese artist Han Gan was created during the Tang Dynasty and reflects the economic and cultural prosperity of the time that can be attributed to the immense expansion of global trade. Horses are also often thought to symbolize wealth and power, which reflects nicely the nature of the Chinese "golden age". Ivy Sokol //__[|http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http:]__//__www.daylilyart.com/DESIGN/A_design/overview/hangan_horses.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.daylilyart.com/DESIGN/design.php%3Fid%3Da2&usg=___mn-PVt0hxrffMifhON_cFTcFnA=&h=450&w=558&sz=77&hl=en&start=0&zoom=1&tbnid=o-4oKAiAWmTYIM:&tbnh=131&tbnw=153&ei=AUSyTcXWLt_Y4waUrMGQDA&prev=/search%3Fq%3Dchina%2Btang%2Bdynasty%2Bart%26um%3D1%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1426%26bih%3D883%26tbm%3Disch0%2C517&um=1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=817&vpy=176&dur=86&hovh=202&hovw=250&tx=128&ty=131&page=1&ndsp=41&ved=1t:429,r:38,s:0&biw=1426&bih=883

Similar to the Chinese Golden Age, the Islamic Golden Age which occured during the Abbasid Caliphate in the 8th Century achieved great success in the arts and literature. However in addition, it appears that there is a clear connection between economic prosperity and progressive philosophical thought. Islamic philosophers expanded on the ideas of Aristotle and their philosophy was not concerned with religion. In addition, Islamic philosophy taught the individual to question everything, and the Islamic Golden Age played a vital role in transitioning Classical Antiquity to the West, and without the Golden Age, perhaps the Renaissance wouldn't have occured. This map shows the full extent of the Abbasid Caliphate and their expansion into the mediterranean may indicate why Classical thought fluourished in the Empire.

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-Raphael Correa