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Early Modern Cultures - Coggle Diagram
Early Modern Cultures
Europe
Rise of the Church
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The Roman Catholic Church remained after the fall of the Roman empire. They did this by negotiating with the barbarians before the empires fall
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Charlemagne
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He created the largest empire since Rome, and helped bring unity to Europe.
Prince of the Franks, wanted to unite all of Europe. Embarked on 50 campaigns to unite Europe.
Collapse of Rome
Germanic tribes took advantage of this weakness and by 476, the last Roman ruler was removed from power.
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The collapse of the Roman Empire led to the creation of numerous kingdoms formed by various Germanic tribes. Kings had little power and relied on support of lords.
Invasions
Magyars
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Came from Western Russia and were excellent horsemen. They could even shoot while riding, similar to the Huns.
Vikings
Most just raided for food, treasure, women, and slaves, but some settled permanently like in Normandy.
They were feared the most due to their brutality and speed of attacks. They were the largest threat to the empire.
After Charlemagne's empire fell invasions began. The most feared group was the Vikings, who began conducting raids due to overpopulation.
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Urban Growth & City Life
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Due to agricultural improvements, the population began booming.
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Black Death
Most common form was Yersinia Pestis which was spread by fleas and rats. It spread from Sicily to the rest of Europe in a few years. People believed that it was god's wrath.
Middle age cures like donating gold to the church, self-flagellation, and draining blood did nothing.
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Middle East
Umayyad Dynasty
Vast expansion of Arab Empire began. By 725, most of Spain had become a Muslim state, with its center at Cordoba. In 732, Muslim forces were defeated by Charles Martel and the Franks preventing the spread of Islam further into Europe.
After losing to the Franks, the empire declines. It continues to get weaker due to internal corruption and is taken over by Abu al-Abbas.
Mu’awiyah becomes caliph. He moves the Islamic capital from Medina to Damascus and made the office of caliph hereditary in his own family. This marks the start of the Umayyad dynasty.
Abbasid Dynasty
Seljuk Turks captured Baghdad and took command of the Empire in 1055. He became the Sultan. Caliph still existed but lost its power.
The empire fought the Byzantines and pushed them back to greece. Then they fought in the crusades. Empire ended when Mongols attacked.
Abu al-Abbas takes over and moves the capital to Baghdad. The focus was shifted from military to scholarly works.
Abu Bakr
The Bedouins had superior military skills, from years of fighting each other, which resulted in a strong Islamic army.
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Africa
Mali
Most people were farmers who grew grain and lived in villages led by local rulers. These local rulers sent tax revenue collected in the village to the king.
Mansa Musa
One of the most powerful kings of Mali. He doubled the size of Mali and he centralized the government and split power to governors.
He was a devout muslim and became most famous for his pilgrimage to Mecca. His caravan contained thousands of people and he gave out so much gold that the value dropped in many places.
He brought back many muslim scholars, architects, and merchants and built mosques and spread islam throughout the kingdom.
Extending from the Atlantic coast to the city of Timbuktu, Mali became wealthy and powerful because of the gold and salt trade.
Decline of Mali
People left West Africa and moved to less populated areas. These were called the Bantu Migrations because the people that migrated shared elements of the language Bantu.
People who migrated east began taking part in trade on the Indian Ocean. Trade cities were created and over time some Arab and African ideals mixed and formed the Swahili culture.
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Ghana
First great trading cite, gained prominence in 800
Most people lived in villages and worked under a local ruler. The combination of these villages was Ghana.
Ghana had large quantities of gold, which it traded for salt. Salt was important since it made food taste better and helped replace salt lost through sweating.
Trade was carried out by nomadic berbers who used camels to travel long distances in the desert. Camels were used because of how adept they are at surviving in a desert. Caravans were slow and typically had ~100 camels.
Ghana's traders usually became very wealthy. This was also good for the king since he could tax for more wealth.
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China
Tang
Agriculture and trade through silk road and Indian Ocean trade network. Trade stretched from Japan to Africa. Such wide trade networks helps Buddhism spread.
New agricultural technologies were made during this time. Heavy iron plows were created and oxen and water buffaloes were harnessed for labor. Extensive irrigation systems were created which included reservoirs, dams, pumps, and water wheels. A new type of rice was discovered which ripened faster which lead to a rapid population growth.
Population growth led to a more urbanized China and the growth of cities. During the Tang Dynasty, the imperial capital of Chang’an was the world’s most populous city with ~2 million residents.
Trade grew so rapidly during the Tang and Song era that copper coin shortages occurred. Letters of credit were used as an alternative. This enabled merchants to deposit goods and money at one location and get equivalent money or goods somewhere else. The search for alternatives to copper coins also led to the invention of paper money. In the late ninth century merchants began accepting cash from their clients and issuing them printed notes that the clients could redeem.
Tang also revived Civil Service Exams. All men were allowed to take exams, but only the rich could afford the necessary education to take the exams. Merit was based on performance on the exams. Most officeholders won their posts on the basis of intellectual ability which made it so most leaders were intelligent.
Printing became common in Tang era. The earliest printers used block-printing techniques. By the eleventh century, printers began to use movable type. This sped up the process and allowed printers to make revisions and corrections. It also facilitated production and distribution of texts quickly, cheaply, and in large quantities.
Song
Neo Confucianism created as a combination of Buddhist and Confucianist beliefs. This ideology also spread to Japan and Korea.
By the tenth-century, the Song military was using gunpowder in “fire lances,” a kind of flame thrower made with bamboo. By the eleventh century they had invented a primitive form of bombs.
Rulers didn't trust the military and therefore placed emphasis on civil administration. Due to this the empire became vulnerable to military aggression. The government at this time became more centralized.
Sui
Reign was very brief, 581 CE to 618 CE
Grand Canal.
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Built to facilitate trade between northern and southern China, but because China’s rivers generally flow east to west an artificial waterway had to be built to facilitate trade between the north and south of China.
The canal was ~1,240 miles, reportedly forty paces wide, with roads running parallel to the canal on either side.
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India
Muslims
In the 700s, Islam became popular in Northwest India while india was in a state of disunity.
Mahmud invades the Hindu kingdoms of India. Delhi sultanate forms in northern India as an Islamic state.
Muslims in India were intolerant of the Hindus they were ruling over. Conflict between these groups goes on even today.
Hindus
Hindu states from the south unite to form the Vijayanagara Empire. Foreign trade thrived in the south
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Resistance against the advances of Mahmud and his successors into northern India was led by the Rajputs.
Americas
Incas
Their leader was descended from the sun god and the nation was split into four parts ruled by a governor. The parts were also split up and ruled by governors. The lives of the people were closely controlled by the government. Labor was periodically required by every citizen.
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Aztecs
Aztecs believed in many gods and that the world had ended 4 times and would again. Believed they had to appease the gods with human sacrifice.
Aztecs built temples and cities for the next 100 years. The kingdom wasn't centralized but was instead ruled by local lords.The Aztec ruler supported the lords in exchange for tribute. Ruler claimed he was descended from gods.
People who migrated to the valley of Mexico in the 1000s. Established their capital as Tenochtitlán.
In 1519, the Spanish found the Aztec empire. This would lead to the end of the Aztecs through disease.