AP World History AMSCO Guided Notes
0.3: Postclassical Civilizations, c. 600 C.E. to 1200 C.E.
AP World History Guided Notes
AMSCO 0.3 - Postclassical Civilizations, c. 600 C.E. to 1200 C.E.
I. The Spread of Islam
1. What were the circumstances in the Middle East that led to the emergence of Islam in the 7th century?
A. The Teachings of Islam
1. What are the Five Pillars of Islam and what is sharia?
2. How did Islamic law differ from Roman law in its treatment of religious and civil matters?
B. Sunnis and Shi'as
1. What disagreement over succession to Muhammad created the division between Sunni and Shi'a Muslims?
2. Where are Sunni and Shi'a Muslims strongest today, and which branch forms the majority?
C. Expansion of Islam
1. How rapidly did Islam spread after Muhammad's death, and what region became known as Dar al-Islam?
D. The Abbasids
1. What accomplishments made the Abbasid Caliphate a golden age of Islamic culture?
2. How did the Abbasids facilitate trade and the exchange of ideas across Afro-Eurasia?
3. What policies did the Abbasids implement regarding religious toleration and women's rights?
II. China
1. What period of instability preceded China's recovery, and which dynasty ended this period of turmoil?
A. Sui Dynasty
1. What was the Grand Canal and how did it contribute to China's economic growth and unity?
B. Tang Dynasty
1. How did the Tang Dynasty expand China's territory and what agricultural innovation supported population growth?
2. What technological innovations did the Tang develop and how did they affect trade?
3. What was the tributary system and how did it reflect Chinese views of their place in the world?
C. Song Dynasty
1. How did the Song Dynasty's meritocratic system and manufacturing capabilities make China a world leader?
2. What was Neo-Confucianism and what technologies did the Song export to other regions?
III. Japan
1. What cultural achievements characterized Japan's golden age between 800 and 1200?
2. How did the political structure of Japan change during this period, and what social hierarchy emerged?
3. What religions were practiced in Japan during this time and how did they coexist?
IV. Africa
1. How did Bantu migrations between 1000 B.C.E. and 1500 C.E. shape sub-Saharan African societies?
A. West Africa and Ghana
1. What developments in government and technology enabled long-distance trans-Saharan trade?
2. How did the kingdom of Ghana become wealthy and what role did Muslim merchants play in the region?
3. How did trans-Saharan trade affect the religious composition of West Africa?
B. East Africa and Indian Ocean Trade
1. What goods did African merchants trade on the Indian Ocean, and what goods did they import?
C. Great Zimbabwe
1. What was Great Zimbabwe and what factors may have contributed to its decline?
V. South Asia and Southeast Asia
1. What factors kept southern India unified despite political decentralization after the fall of the Gupta Empire?
2. How did India's geography and monsoon winds make it a hub of Indian Ocean trade?
A. Religion and Trade in Southeast Asia
1. How did Buddhism, Hinduism, and Islam spread to Southeast Asia during this period?
2. What does the Temple of Borobudur reveal about religious interaction in Southeast Asia?
VI. Europe
1. How did the decline of the Western Roman Empire affect Europe's political structure and participation in long-distance trade?
A. Christianity and European Unity
1. How did Christianity serve as a unifying force in politically divided central and western Europe?
2. What was the significance of the 1054 split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church?
B. The Crusades
1. What were the Crusades and what was their ultimate military outcome?
2. How did the Crusades affect European awareness of other regions and their intellectual development?
VII. The Americas
1. What factors caused the decline of the Mayan golden age by 900 C.E.?
2. What were the Mississippian and Toltec civilizations and what was their significance in the Western Hemisphere?
3. How did the Toltecs influence later civilizations in Mesoamerica?
VIII. The World in 1200
1. What trade networks connected Africa, Europe, and Asia by 1200?
2. Which regions served as leading centers of learning and innovation by 1200?
3. How did political systems differ between regions by 1200, and which regions remained isolated from each other?
Key Terms
Indian Ocean trade networks
trans-Saharan trade routes
networks of exchange
Islam
Muhammad
Sunnis
Shi'a
Dar al-Islam
Abbasid Caliphate
jizya
Sui Dynasty
Tang Dynasty
Grand Canal
Song Dynasty
shogun
daimyo
Shinto
kin-based networks
chiefdom
Bantu
Ghana
Mali
Great Zimbabwe
monsoon winds
Roman Catholic Church
Orthodox Church
Crusades
Mississippian
Toltecs