Belief Systems & Texts
This world religion that originated in the Arabian Peninsula is explicitly monotheistic.
What is Islam?
The pilgrimage to Mecca that binds diverse communities to a common tradition.
What is Hajj?
As much as 65% of the world's muslim population now lives in this part of the world.
What is South East Asia?
The Aztec Empire was founded by this 1428 alliance of Tenochtitlan, Texcoco, and Tlacopan.
What is the Triple Alliance?
A bumper crop—originating in Southeast Asia—that enabled population growth through double-cropping.
What is Champa rice?
In Hindu thought, the endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth.
What is samsara (reincarnation)?
This was the prophet Muhammad's occupation.
What is a merchant?
This contributed to the spread of Islam in the Indian Ocean.
What is maritime trade?
Conquered peoples under the Mexica owed their overlords this regular payment in goods and labor.
What is tribute?
The moral duty of children to respect and care for parents—central to social order and politics.
What is filial piety?
According to the Qur’an, these two figures from earlier traditions are honored as great prophets.
Who are Moses and Jesus?
This is the birthplace of the prophet Muhammad.
What is Mecca?
These Muslim mystics—known for approachable devotional practices—were especially effective in spreading Islam in South and Southeast Asia.
Who are the Sufis?
The Inca “labor tax” that required communities to work on state projects like roads and terraces.
What is mit’a?
A meritocratic pathway to office that sorted talent using classics, history, and essay writing.
What are the civil service examinations?
Buddhist teachings had big social implications in South Asia because they challenged this social hierarchy.
What is the caste system?
After Islam’s spread into Africa, organized Christian communities notably persisted in these two regions.
What are Egypt and Ethiopia?
Emphasizing personal devotion to a chosen deity, this movement helped Hindu ideas resonate across social boundaries in South Asia.
What is the Bhakti movement?
The administrative and ritual capital of the Inca Empire.
What is Cuzco?
A network of ritualized diplomacy that brought gifts and affirmed Chinese supremacy in foreign relations.
What is the tributary system?
This form of Buddhism was one of the possible reasons for the decline of the Khmer empire.
What is Therevada Buddhism?
These are the 5 pillars of Islam.
What is declaration of faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and Hajj.
Blending Confucian ethics with metaphysical ideas from Buddhism and Daosim, this intellectual tradition spread from China to Korea and Japan via scholarship and diplomacy.
What is Neo-Confucianism?
The Mexica engineered these “floating gardens” on Lake Texcoco to boost crop yields near their capital.
What are chinampas?
This brought political stability and a steady flow of taxable long-distance trade.
What is agricultural surplus or artisanal output (silk/porcelain)?