Asia
This Imperial Chinese dynasty ruled from 960-1279 and presided over a golden age of wealth, technology and merit-based governance.
What is the Song Dynasty?
The Mesoamerican empire that built its Capital, Tenochtitlan, on a Lake and used Chinampas for farming.
Who are the Aztec's (Mexica)
This desert animal was adapted for Trans-Saharan trade caravans, vastly improving cargo capacity across dry terrain.
What is a camel?
Born as Temujin, this leader united the Mongol clans and expanded them into an Empire in 1206.
Who is Genghis (Chinggis) Khan?
The horrific pandemic that spread due to the Mongols and roughly killed 1/3rd of Europe
The Bubonic Plague or Black Death
What is Neo-Confucianism
The mandatory public labor service system used by the Inca Empire to build infrastructure rather than demanding monetary tribute.
What is the mit'a system?
Sailors across the Indian Ocean relied heavily on studying these predictable, seasonal wind patterns to plan safe voyages.
What are monsoon winds?
The Mongols originated from these vast, dry grasslands in East Asia that are also known as the steppelands.
What is the Gobi Desert?
Famous Italian traveler whose accounts of his journeys across Asia expanded European knowledge of the East.
Who is Marco Polo?
The system used in China to staff government offices through competitive tests on Confucian texts.
What is the Civil Service Exam?
Professional oral storytellers and musicians in Sub-Saharan Africa who preserved history and traditions.
Who are Griots?
These roadside inns along the Silk Road gave travelers and their animals a sage place to rest and resupply.
What is a caravanserai?
Meaning "Mongol Peace," this period of stability secured travel and trade across Afro-Eurasia for 100 years.
What is the Pax Mongolica?
The loss of population from the Black Death created a labor shortage which ended this social and economic system in Europe.
What is the feudal system?
This language developed in South Asia by combining Hindi grammar with Arabic and Farsi vocabulary
What is Urdu?
The Christian Kingdom in East Africa famous for carving churches out of solid rock
What is Ethiopia?
This Muslim admiral commanded seven massive naval voyages across the Indian Ocean for the Ming Dynasty.
Who is Zheng He?
The rapid communication and mail system created by the Mongols using relay stations and horses.
What is the Yam system?
Triangular sails that caught the wind in multiple directions and first used a long the Indian Ocean route.
What are lateen sails?
The massive Hindu temple complex built in modern-day Cambodia by the agricultural Khmer Empire
What is Angor Wat?
The system of knotted strings used by the Inca to record numerical data and keep administrative records.
What is the quipu?
The devout Muslim ruler of Mali who undertook a famous, gold-filled pilgrimage to Mecca.
Who is Mansa Musa?
The Mongols brought an end to the Abbasid Caliphate by destorying this major capital city.
What is Baghdad?
This devout Muslim from Morroco traveled the Silk Roads and recorded his experiences and give us many primary sources of how the Silk Road worked in this time period.
Who is Ibn Battuta?