It’s Giving Feudalism...
This Frankish king organized his empire by using royal inspectors called missi dominici and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor in 800 CE.
Who was Charlemagne?
Sweeping through Europe in the mid-1300s, this pandemic killed 30%–60% of the population and ultimately destroyed the economic foundation of feudalism.
What is the Black Death (Bubonic Plague)?
This foundational mathematical field was developed by Islamic mathematician Al-Khwarizmi, whose name gives us the word "algorithm."
What is algebra?
Ghana, Mali, and Songhai grew into wealthy empires largely by controlling trade routes built around these two crucial commodities.
What are Gold and Salt?
Located on the Bosporus Strait between Europe and Asia, this capital city was the strategic, highly fortified heart of the Byzantine Empire.
What is Constantinople?
While European knights lived by the code of Chivalry, Japanese Samurai followed this strict honor code that emphasized absolute loyalty to their lord.
What is Bushido?
Cold weather and heavy rains caused this multi-year disaster starting in 1315, weakening Europe's population right before the Plague struck.
What is the Great Famine?
Fasting during Ramadan, praying five times daily, making a pilgrimage to Mecca (Hajj), giving charity, and declaring faith make up these core tenets of Islam.
What are the Five Pillars of Islam?
According to timeline charts, this West African kingdom was the very first of the great regional trading states to emerge.
What is the Kingdom of Ghana?
Emperor Justinian codified centuries of Roman law into this single legal system that profoundly influenced modern Western legal principles.
What is Justinian's Code (Corpus Juris Civilis)?
Signed in 1215 by King John, this "Great Charter" established the radical idea that even the king is not above the law.
What is the Magna Carta?
This long-running medieval conflict between England and France changed warfare through the use of the longbow and inspired French nationalism under Joan of Arc.
What is the Hundred Years' War?
The fundamental disagreement over who should lead the Muslim community after the death of the Prophet Muhammad led to this major division in Islam.
What is the split between Sunni and Shia?
Unlike its West African neighbors who converted to Islam, this East African kingdom uniquely adopted Christianity in the 4th century CE.
What is Aksum (or Axum)?
Meaning "Holy Wisdom," this iconic architectural masterpiece in Constantinople featured a massive central dome.
What is the Hagia Sophia?
When Pope Urban II launched the First Crusade in 1095, he famously promised this spiritual reward to anyone who fought.
What is the forgiveness of sins / direct passage to Heaven?
Because the Black Death created a massive shortage of farm laborers, surviving peasants gained this unexpected economic leverage over lords.
What is the ability to demand higher wages / land ownership freedom?
Unlike a "Dark Age," this term describes an era of peace, economic prosperity, scientific innovation, and flourishing arts—like Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate.
What is a Golden Age?
As ruler of Mali, this famous figure transformed Timbuktu into a major center of Islamic learning and made a legendary pilgrimage to Mecca.
Who was Mansa Musa?
Over-expansion, economic exhaustion, foreign invasions, and this 1054 event that split Christianity into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox all led to the Byzantine Empire's gradual decline.
What is the East-West Schism (Great Schism of 1054)?
On a Japanese feudal diagram, this regional land-owning noble held a position equivalent to a European feudal lord.
Who is a Daimyo?
dispute over who was the legitimate pope led to this 1378 crisis, leaving Western Europe with multiple competing popes in Rome and Avignon.
What is the Great Schism?
Located in Abbasid Baghdad, this famous grand library and intellectual hub brought together Christian, Jewish, and Muslim scholars to translate classic Greek and Roman texts.
What is the House of Wisdom?
When global traveler Ibn Battuta visited Mali, he noted that the people were extremely devout Muslims, yet they still preserved some of these long-standing local practices.
What are pre-Islamic customs/traditions?
While the Western Roman Empire collapsed in 476 CE due to invasions and instability, the Eastern Roman Empire survived for another thousand years under this name.
What is the Byzantine Empire?