Renaissance
This wealthy banking and merchant family from Florence effectively "bought" the Renaissance by using their massive fortune to hire and sponsor artists like Michelangelo.
Who is the Medici family?
Although the people of the Byzantine Empire spoke Greek, they considered themselves a continuation of the old empire and called themselves by this name.
Who are the Romans?
This Byzantine capital fell in 1453, due to a sustained barrage from the largest canon ever made.
What is Constantinople?
This legendary ruler of the Mali Empire controlled the trans-Saharan trade routes and is widely celebrated as one of the richest people in human history.
Who is Mansa Musa?
Frequently dubbed "the world's factory," this country functions as a Socialist Market Economy and holds the rank of the second-largest economy in the world.
What is China?
In his book The Prince, this Renaissance author advised monarchs to concentrate their power and famously suggested that "the end justifies the means".
Who is Nicolo Machiavelli?
In 1204 AD, instead of traveling to the Holy Land, Western European forces shocked the Christian world by attacking and looting this capital city.
What is Constantinople?
Once the ancient capital of the Byzantine Empire, this largest city and port in Turkey became the official name of the city in 1923 after the creation of the Turkish Republic.
What is Istanbul?
This West African empire accumulated immense wealth by taxing the gold and salt moving through its borders and was known as the "Land of Gold".
What is the Ghana Empire?
Despite being an island nation with very little farmable land and few natural resources, this country is a world leader in high-tech electronics and robotics.
What is Japan?
This revolutionary inventor created the movable type printing press, which made books and other written materials accessible to the general public.
Who is Johannes Gutenberg?
In 800 AD, Western leaders claimed the imperial throne was "vacant"—giving them an excuse to crown this ruler—because the Byzantine Empire was ruled by Empress Irene.
Who is Charlemagne?
After the Sultanate of Rum collapsed, Anatolia fractured into these tiny rival kingdoms, one of which eventually expanded into the Ottoman Empire.
What are Beyliks?
Located near the Red Sea in modern-day Ethiopia and Eritrea, this powerful trade center linked the Roman Empire with India and built towering stone obelisks.
What is the Aksum Empire?
By opening up its economy through liberalization in 1991, this nation became a massive producer of affordable generic medicines, earning it the nickname the "pharmacy of the world".
What is India?
This brilliant architect designed the cathedral dome in Florence, creating the largest free-standing dome since the ancient Roman Pantheon.
Who is Filippo Brunelleschi?
The Levant slipped away from Byzantine control forever after legions were blinded by intense desert storms during this decisive battle.
What is the Battle of Yarmouk?
The Ottoman Empire was named after this specific leader, whose strategic territory right next to Byzantine land attracted elite warriors to his tribe.
Who is Osman I?
This thriving Southern African civilization was famous for its spectacular city surrounded by massive, curving stone walls constructed entirely without mortar.
What is Great Zimbabwe?
Because severe international sanctions restrict its global trade, relies on China as its primary trading partner.
What is North Korea?
Because of its geographic location, Italy served as this type of commercial "middleman" for Asian silks and spices, bringing massive wealth to cities like Florence and Venice.
What is a trade hub?
Diplomacy completely failed in 1054 AD during this event, when the Pope and the Patriarch excommunicated each other and split the Christian world into two rival camps.
What is the Great Schism?
The Ottomans secured their first permanent foothold in Europe when an earthquake crumbled the fortress walls of this city, letting them step through the ruins.
What is Gallipoli?
Centered along the Niger River, this civilization was the largest of the three great West African empires and utilized a powerful professional navy.
What is the Songhai Empire?
Because of declining oil reserves, this west-Asian nation is diversifying away from a petroleum-based economy?
Wat is Saudi Arabia?