1. How did the Song Dynasty in China continue the pattern of technological and cultural progress?

2. What happened to the Abbasid Caliphate, and what new Muslim states emerged to replace it?

3. How did the Mali Empire differ from the Ghana Kingdom it succeeded?

4. What were the key differences between the Aztec and Inca approaches to building empire in the Americas?

1. How was Confucianism connected to the Song Dynasty's system of government and state-building?

2. How did Neo-Confucianism spread to Korea and Japan, and what role did it play in those regions?

1. How did Islam provide legitimacy for rulers across West Africa to Southeast Asia?

1. How did rulers in South and Southeast Asia use Hinduism and Buddhism to strengthen their states?

1. How did the relationship between the Roman Catholic Church and state-building in Europe differ from other regions?

2. Why did the Church sometimes become a rival power to emerging European states between 1200 and 1450?

1. How did missionary activity by Islam, Buddhism, and Christianity affect local religions in Sub-Saharan Africa, Southeast Asia, and East Asia?

2. What role did trade networks play in spreading major religions during this period?

3. How did military invasion and trade contribute differently to the spread of Islam in South Asia?

1. How did the spread of Champa rice from Vietnam to China strengthen the Song Dynasty?

2. What manufacturing products increased in production during the Song Dynasty and how did this support state-building?

1. How did the spread of paper manufacturing from China to Europe around the 13th century affect literacy and learning?

2. What advances in mathematics and medicine resulted from increased intellectual focus in Islamic centers of learning?

1. How did contact with the Middle East and Asia contribute to state-building in Europe between 1200 and 1450?

2. What factors slowed European state-building during this period compared to the rapid changes that would occur after 1450?

1. How did Mongol rule create political stability that expanded trade and cross-cultural interaction across Eurasia?

2. What was significant about the direct contacts between Europe and China that occurred during Mongol rule?

1. How did Turkish empire-building differ from the Mongol approach to creating their empire?

2. What regions did the Seljuk, Ottoman, and other Turkish groups dominate during this period?

1. Why did the role of nomads in commerce and cross-cultural exchange diminish by the end of this period?