World History Blog

In chapter 12, Strayer discusses how the world is connecting during the 15th century. The Paleolithic people changed over time and the Europeans arrived to Australia in the 18th century. In North America, complex gathering hunting cultures rose and the 15th century numbers contracted greatly as the Agricultural Revolution unfolded across the planet. The Igbo usually had small village based communities organized in terms of kingship relations. They traded cotton, fish, copper, and other things between themselves. The Igbo people ended when the slave trade started. In Central Asia and West Africa, the Turkic leader, Timur, brought immense devastation again to Russia, Persia, and India. He hosted an elite culture, combining Turkic and Persian elements. Their homelands were defeated by the expanding Russia and Chinese Empires. In Europe, there were processes of demographic recovery, political consolidation, and cultural flowering. Western Europe survived the Mongol invasion, but they could...

In chapter 11, Strayer explains the Mongol empire and why they were so important. The mongols didn't create elaborate cities but left an indelible mark on the historical development of the Afro-Eurasian Empire. Societies usually lived in small and scattered encampments of related kinfolk rather than in villages. The people organized themselves into clans, and lived solely on animals and manufactured goods. The Turkic language and culture spread rapidly all over Asia, and the Turks converted to Islam. They brought Islam and Turkic culture to Anatolia, and then created the Ottoman Empire. The Mongol Empire was enormous and destructive of the process and the networks of exchange and communication numbering 700,000 people. They left a cultural imprint, but didn't leave a new language, religion, or civilization. Their religion was centered around rituals invoking ancestors. The Mongols conquered, defeated, subordinate and exploited people. The Black Death reached Egypt in 1350, and ...

In chapter 8, Strayer discusses the impact China has on the world. The history of China has been very impressive, but hasn't changed much over time. The collapse of the Han dynasty brought in over 3 centuries of political fragmentation in China. It signaled the risen of local, powerful families. When Chinese people moved South toward the Yangzi river, it created a disunity, and opened the door to a greater acceptance of Buddhism and Daoism among the elite. China regained their unity under the Sui Dynasty because the emperors solidified the unity of the vast extension of the country's canal system. The Sui emperors campaigned to conquer Korea exhausted the state's resources and soon the dynasty was overthrown. The Tang and Song dynasties took over and renewed unity and called this the "golden age." China's prosperity was its rapid growth population, it from 50 million during the Tang Dynasty to 120 million by 1200. China was the most urbanized country in the wo...

In chapter 10, Stayer explains the different types of Christianity and the religion as a whole. Christianity in Asia challenged Islam and created Nestorian Christians. In Africa, there were Nubian and Ethiopian Christians. The Byzantine state was like a smaller Roman Empire and there was wealth and slender of the court. They went under attack from the East and West in 1085 and it lasted until 1453. The Byzantine Empire had conflicts with the Persians, Arabs, and Turks. They used the trade routes to exchange coins and silk. The Byzantines were trying to preserve the Greek learning by using their teachings. Charlemagne became the emperor of Rome in 800 and became in charge of rebuilding the empire. During the rebuilding of the Roman Empire, there were conflicts between the church and state, and this was caused by the spreading of religion. In the West, there were new security in the High Middle Ages and a revival of long distance trade. Opportunities for women would rise and fall during ...