Chapter 9 (The Worlds of Islam)

In the homeland of Islam, there were tribal feuds and trading centers in the Arabian Peninsula. The people there recognized many gods, ancestors, and nature spirits. They highly appreciated oral poetry, which is interesting to me because I didn't think poetry existed back then. Mecca came to occupy a major role in Arabia. It was the home of the Kaaba and the Quraysh. Muhammad Ibn Abdullah who was born in Mecca, was the catalyst for the birth of new religion. It became a revolutionary message of monotheism. But tensions in Mecca and the Hijra started to arise, building the Umma in Medina. Soon war and alliances entered Mecca. Majority of the Peninsula was now under a unified Islamic state.

Intro to Part Three & Ch 7

The overall picture of chapter 7 was about trade. Trade had influenced civilizations by this time period. Trade was so big beause it didn't just had to do with trading goods but also technologies, cultures, and ideas were being thrown around. The growth of silk roads across Eurasia were expanding and this made connections between empires. The goods that were transported and traded were luxurious such as silk and women were producers and consumers of this. China was the main center of silk production. But a downside to trading was diseases being spread such as smallpox and measles but an upside to this was culture and religion was also being passed on. Sea roads were also a way of trading through the Indian Ocean. Many different types of voyages and roads were created for trade like Sand roads.

Chapter 6

Chapter 6 focused on Africa and the Americas. It begins by explaining commonalities and variations. Continental comparisons were made, agriculture revolutions and complex societies were mentioned, uneven dsitribution of humans and domesticated animals, variation in metallurgy and literacy, and American isolation versus Africa in contact. It goes on to talk about civilizations of Africa. The major points of this were, Continuing a Nile Valley Civilization, The Making of a Christian Kingdom, and Along the Niger River: Cities without States. The Nile Valley civilization was Egypt and Nubia, there were kings and queens of Meroe. There was agriculture and long-distance trade and lasted for 1,000 years. The making of a Christian kingdom had plow agriculture and trde through the Indian Ocean. Monumental buildings and court culture and spread and conversions to Christianity and imperial expansian had also occurred. Along the Niger river, urbanization without imperial or bureaucratic systems were mentioned, iron working, and a regional West Africa trade system was created. Civilizations of Mesoamerica came about as well. The Mayas were a great civilization that started on 2000 BCE. Civilizations of the Andes also came about and brought great movements, such as religion.

Readings for the week

The readings begin with Culture and religion in Eurasia/North Africa. China has a tradition of state building. In 1122 B.C.E., the Zhou dynasty took power and the Mandate of Heaven had taken root. But by the 18th century, the Zhou dynasty had weakend and the overall unity of China was cpmpletetly gone. A bunch of Chinese thinkers were trying to find solutions to the problem. The Legalist answer was layed out by rules and laws. High rewars but heavy punishments. Qin and Shihuangdi dynasty were in charge but it did not last very long. Then Confucius thought he found the answer to the problems of China's disorders. But no actual opportunity came to him. The reading then goes on with trying to find the "right" answer for their problems. Religion was mentioned a lot. Buddhism came about when the founder Siddhartha Gautama introduced it (566- 486 B.C.E.). It was related to Hinduism and it had a popular appeal. Though it had restrictions and opportunities for women. The readings continue on to Judaism, Zoroastrianism, Classical Greece, birth of Christianity, and the spread of new religions. Chapter 5 then proceeds with societies in China there was a caste in China and India that restricted some people from wealth and power. The people at the top which where the land owners and the elite class had all the power while everyone else suffered and experinced unfairness. Slavery came about in Greece and patriarchy.