East Asia
This invention from the Song Dynasty helped sailors navigate using Earth’s magnetic field.
The compass
This Byzantine emperor is known for creating a famous law code called the Justinian Code.
Justinian I
This river was a major source of trade, farming, and transportation in West Africa.
Niger River
This invention, created by Johannes Gutenberg, made books easier and cheaper to produce.
Printing press
This map-making skill became very important during the Age of Exploration.
Cartography
This leader founded the Yuan Dynasty after conquering China.
Kublai Khan
This religion was practiced in the Byzantine Empire and led by the patriarch in Constantinople.
Christianity
This city in the Mali Empire became a major center of learning and Islamic scholarship.
Timbuktu
This document by Martin Luther criticized the Catholic Church and helped start the Reformation.
The 95 Theses
This exchange of plants, animals, people, and disease between the Old and New Worlds is called this.
The Colombian Exchange
This famous traveler wrote about his journeys on the Silk Road and helped spread knowledge of Chinese innovations to Europe.
Marco Polo
This city became the capital of the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome.
Constantinople
This group of storytellers preserved West African history, genealogy, and culture through oral tradition.
Griots
This wealthy family supported artists like Michelangelo and Leonardo da Vinci in Florence.
The Medici Family
This system gave Spanish settlers control over Native American labor in exchange for protection and Christian instruction.
The encomienda system
This religion spread more easily across China after reunification before the Tang Dynasty.
Buddhism
This massive church built in Constantinople was originally a cathedral and later became a mosque.
The Hagia Sophia
This ruler of Mali is famous for his pilgrimage to Mecca and his display of wealth.
Mansa Musa
This English monarch broke away from the Catholic Church to form the Church of England.
Henry VIII
This explorer led Spain’s expedition that completed the first circumnavigation of the world
Ferdinand Magellan
This large desert in northern China and Mongolia limited travel and interaction with other regions.
Gobi Desert
This term describes the preservation and blending of Greek, Roman, and Christian traditions in the Byzantine Empire.
Cultural diffusion
This system of trade across the Sahara connected West Africa to North Africa and beyond.
Trans-Saharan trade network
This Spanish institution was used to enforce Catholic beliefs and punish heresy.
The Inquisition
This Spanish conquistador defeated the Aztec Empire in present-day Mexico.
Hernan Cortes