Global Tapestry
This Chinese dynasty is credited with significant advancements in technology and governance during 1200-1450.
What is the Song Dynasty
This pandemic spread along trade routes in the 14th century, significantly reducing the population in Europe and Asia.
What is the Black Death?
Land-based empires like the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals are collectively known by this nickname, highlighting their reliance on firearms.
What are the Gunpowder Empires?
This European empire established a vast colonial presence in the Americas, stretching from Mexico to South America.
What is the Spanish Empire?
This powerful trading empire in West Africa was known for its wealth in gold and its famous ruler, Mansa Musa.
What is the Mali Empire?
This European traveler’s accounts of China under the Yuan Dynasty expanded knowledge of Asia in Europe.
Who is Marco Polo?
This maritime trade network connected East Africa, South Asia, and the Middle East, facilitating the exchange of goods like spices and gold.
What is the Indian Ocean trade network?
This empire, centered in modern-day Turkey, is known for its use of gunpowder weapons and its conquest of Constantinople in 1453.
What is the Ottoman Empire?
This cash crop, introduced to the Americas from Asia, became central to plantation economies in the Caribbean and the Americas.
This Mongol leader unified the Mongol tribes and established the largest contiguous empire in history.
Who is Genghis Khan?
This major trade route facilitated the exchange of goods such as silk, spices, and ideas between East Asia and Europe.
What is the Silk Road?
This navigation tool, originating in China, facilitated maritime trade in the Indian Ocean.
What is the compass?
This system in the Ottoman Empire recruited Christian boys, converted them to Islam, and trained them for military or administrative service.
What is the devshirme system?
This type of ship, developed by the Portuguese, was highly maneuverable and instrumental in transoceanic exploration.
What is the caravel?
This exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Old World and the New World began after 1492.
What is the Colombian Exchange?
This monotheistic religion spread across North Africa and the Middle East through trade, conquest, and missionary efforts.
What is Islam?
This Moroccan explorer traveled extensively across the Islamic world, documenting his observations in a famous travelogue.
Who is Ibn Battuta?
This Safavid ruler used Shia Islam to unify his empire and differentiate it from its Sunni neighbors.
Who is Shah Abbas I?
This Portuguese explorer was the first to reach India by sea, establishing a direct route for the spice trade.
Who is Vasco da Gama?
This empire, which ruled over India from the 16th to the mid-19th century, was founded by Babur and is known for its cultural syncretism and architectural achievements.
What is the Mughal Empire?
This agricultural innovation from Vietnam helped sustain population growth in Song China.
What is Champa rice?
The Mongol Empire established this period of stability and trade across Eurasia.
What is the Pax Mongolica?
This famous mausoleum in India was built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan as a tribute to his wife.
What is the Taj Mahal?
This labor system forced Indigenous peoples in Spanish colonies to work in mines and on plantations.
What is the encomienda system?
This Portuguese prince is credited with advancing navigation and exploration, laying the foundation for Portugal's overseas empire.
Who is Prince Henry the Navigator?