1.1 East Asia
This Chinese dynasty ruled much of China during the period from 960 to 1279.
Song
This Islamic empire, centered in Baghdad, declined politically but remained an important symbol of Muslim unity.
Abbasid Caliphate
This religion remained the dominant faith in much of South Asia and was closely connected to the caste system.
Hinduism
The Aztec Empire required conquered peoples to provide goods, labor, and other payments through this system.
Tribute
Unlike centralized empires such as Mali, many African communities organized political life around these extended family groups.
Kin-ship groups
This political system was based on relationships between lords and vassals who exchanged land for loyalty and military service.
This famous Venetian traveler journeyed through the Mongol Empire and later described the wealth of China to European audiences
Marco Polo
This Mongol leader united many tribes and began the creation of the Mongol Empire.
Genghis Khan
These seasonal wind patterns helped sailors travel across the Indian Ocean.
Monsoon Winds
These animals made regular trade across the Sahara more practical because they could survive long periods without water.
Camels
This fast-ripening crop introduced from Vietnam helped increase China's food supply.
Champa Rice
Non-Muslims such as Christians and Jews living under Muslim rule often paid this special tax in exchange for protection and the ability to practice their religion.
Jizya
This Muslim state ruled much of northern India beginning in the 1200s.
Delhi Sultanate
The Inca used these knotted cords to record numerical and administrative information.
Quipu
These oral historians preserved genealogies, traditions, and the history of West African societies.
Griots
These peasants were legally tied to the land and owed labor and other obligations to their lord.
Serfs
These roadside inns provided merchants and their animals with food, shelter, and protection.
Caravanserai
This Mongol khanate controlled much of Russia and the western steppe.
Golden Horde
This type of ship, commonly used by Arab and East African merchants, was well suited for Indian Ocean trade.
Dhow
This famous ruler of Mali became known for his enormous wealth and pilgrimage to Mecca.
Mansa Musa
This was used by Chinese dynasties to select government officials based on their knowledge of Confucian teachings.
Civil Service Exams
These formerly enslaved soldiers established a powerful Muslim state in Egypt
Mamluks
This Southeast Asian empire centered at Angkor relied on extensive irrigation systems to support large-scale rice agriculture.
Khmer Empire
The Inca required subjects to perform labor for the government through this labor system.
Mit'a
This large stone city in southern Africa became wealthy through trade in gold and other goods.
Great Zimbabwe
This series of religious wars was launched by European Christians in an attempt to gain control of Jerusalem and other holy sites.
Crusades
Song merchants increasingly used this alternative to heavy strings of copper coins.
Paper Money
This Mongol-ruled dynasty controlled China beginning in 1271.
Yuan Dynasty
This Chinese admiral led massive state-sponsored voyages across the Indian Ocean during the early Ming Dynasty.
Zheng He
This valuable commodity was mined in the Sahara and traded south into West Africa, where it was needed for food preservation and health.
Salt
Japan borrowed Chinese writing and Buddhism but developed this indigenous religious tradition centered on spirits known as kami.
Shinto
This Islamic legal system was based on the Quran, the teachings of Muhammad, and interpretations by Muslim scholars.
Shariah
The blending of Hindu, Buddhist, and local religious traditions in Southeast Asia demonstrates this process of combining different cultural traditions.
syncretism
This Aztec capital was built on islands in Lake Texcoco.
Tenochtitlan
This religion remained a major part of Ethiopian identity even as Islam spread across much of North and East Africa.
Christianity
This document signed by King John in 1215 established the principle that the English monarch was subject to the law.
Magna Carta
This deadly disease spread across the Silk Road routes during the 1300s and killed millions.
Black Death
This Mongol communication system used relay stations and fresh horses to move messages quickly across the empire.
Yam
This narrow waterway between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra became one of the most important commercial chokepoints in Southeast Asia.
Strait of Malacca
This major West African city became an important center of trade and Islamic learning.
Timbuktu
This Confucian principle required children to respect and care for their parents and ancestors.
Filial Piety
This city in Muslim-controlled Spain became a major center of learning, culture, and trade during the Islamic Golden Age.
Cordoba
This massive temple complex, originally dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu, was built by the Khmer Empire and later became an important Buddhist site.
Angkor Wat
This Inca road system stretched thousands of miles across the Andes, connecting the empire and allowing armies, officials, and messengers to travel efficiently.
Carpa Nan
This group spread languages, ironworking, and agricultural techniques across much of sub-Saharan Africa through centuries of migration.
Bantu
This French teenager claimed divine guidance and helped inspire French forces during the Hundred Years’ War.
Joan of Arc
This Central Asian city became an important stopping point for merchants traveling the Silk Roads.
Samarkand
This important Black Sea trading city, controlled by Genoese merchants, became associated with the spread of the Black Death into Europe after a Mongol siege in 1346.
Kaffa
Indian Ocean merchants who settled in foreign port cities while maintaining cultural ties to their homelands formed these types of communities.
Diasporic communities
According to West African oral traditions, this founder of the Mali Empire overcame early hardships before becoming a powerful ruler.
Sundiata