States & Empires (Political Developments)
This dynasty ruled China from 960–1279 and expanded the civil service exam system.
What is the Song Dynasty?
This branch of Buddhism became popular along the Silk Roads and blended local traditions.
What is Mahayana Buddhism?
This “peace” under Mongol rule revitalized the Silk Roads.
What is the Pax Mongolica?
This Chinese cash-crop from Vietnam boosted population growth.
What is Champa rice?
He was the most famous Venetian traveler who wrote about the Mongol Yuan court.
Who is Marco Polo?
This West African empire grew rich from gold and salt trade and was ruled by Mansa Musa.
What is Mali?
This monotheistic religion, founded in the 7th century CE in the Arabian Peninsula by the Prophet Muhammad, spread into West Africa through merchants, not conquest.
What is Islam?
This innovation allowed merchants to travel across deserts with heavier loads.
What is the camel saddle?
This Chinese invention revolutionized warfare and spread to Europe.
What is gunpowder?
This Ming Dynasty admiral led seven voyages across the Indian Ocean. His missions aimed to expand Chinese influence, establish tributary relations, and promote trade rather than to conquer territory.
Who is Zheng He?
This empire replaced the Abbasids in Persia and was ruled by Mongol khans.
What is the Ilkhanate?
This philosophy blended Confucian ethics with Buddhist and Daoist ideas.
This North African traveler described Mali as wealthy and well-organized during his visit, providing one of the most detailed outsider accounts of West Africa.
Who is Ibn Battuta?
Developed by Greek astronomers and later improved by Islamic scholars during the medieval period, this navigation tool helped sailors determine latitude.
What is the astrolabe?
This city in West Africa became a center of Islamic learning, with libraries and universities that attracted scholars from across the Muslim world.
What is Timbuktu?
This Southeast Asian empire built Angkor Wat as both a Hindu and later Buddhist site.
What is the Khmer Empire?
This Buddhist tradition, which emerged in China, emphasized meditation and discipline, blending elements of Daoism with imported Mahayana ideas.
What is Zen Buddhism?
This Indian port city was a key hub in Indian Ocean trade, attracting merchants from across Afro-Eurasia.
What is Calicut?
This technological transfer from the Mongols to Europe revolutionized record-keeping and communication, helping lay the foundation for the Renaissance.
What is paper-making / printing technology?
This Southeast Asian maritime kingdom (7th–13th c.) controlled the Strait of Malacca and grew wealthy by taxing passing ships before being replaced by Majapahit.
What is Srivijaya?
Established in the early 13th century after the decline of the Rajput kingdoms, the Delhi Sultanate is notable for introducing centralized Islamic rule in northern India, employing slave-origin rulers, expanding trade networks, and leaving a lasting influence on Indian architecture, administration, and the spread of Islam. This was how long the empire lasted (Must be within 50 years)
What is 320 years?
This man, also known as Moses ben Maimon or by the acronym Rambam, was a Jewish philosopher, physician, and legal scholar who became one of the most influential figures in medieval Judaism.
Who is Maimonides?
This is a wealthy and powerful Swahili city-state located on an island off the coast of present-day Tanzania. From about the 10th to the 16th centuries, it flourished as one of the most important trading hubs along the East African coast.
What is Kilwa?
The lateen sail uses triangular sails to harness monsoon winds. Unlike square sails, which caught wind from behind, they could pivot, allowing ships to sail against the wind (tacking). This was the century in which they were most likely invented.
What is the 2nd Century CE?
Once a key hub of the Timurid Empire, this Central Asian city thrived as a cultural, commercial, and intellectual center, famed for its madrasas, Islamic architecture, and as a stopping point for merchants transporting goods such as silk, paper, and precious stones along the Silk Roads.
What is Samarkand?