East & Southeast Asia
This fast-ripening, drought-resistant crop imported from Vietnam caused a massive population boom during the Song Dynasty.
Champa Rice
Non-Muslim subjects living under Islamic caliphates were required to pay this special tax in order to practice their own faith.
Jizya
This grand-nephew of Sundiata and devout Muslim king of Mali displayed immense wealth during his 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca.
Mansa Musa
Known as "floating gardens," this Mesoamerican agricultural technique utilized fertile land built on shallow lake beds to grow crops.
Chinampas
This decentralized political and social system was based on a hierarchy of military service and loyalty pledges between lords and vassals.
Feudalism
This maritime empire dominated the critical point of Indian Ocean trade from 670 to 1025 by taxing passing trade ships.
Srivijaya Empire
Established in Abbasid Baghdad, this academic center focused on translating Greek texts and preserving classical philosophy during the Golden Age of Islam.
House of Wisdom
The introduction and spread of this agricultural crop during the Bantu migrations allowed African populations to grow significantly.
Bananas
The Inca Empire used this system of knotted strings to record numerical information and administrative data.
Quipu
King John of England was forced to sign this document, which limited the monarch's power and gave nobility rights regarding trials and taxation.
Magna Carta
This Song Dynasty practice involved tightly wrapping young girls' feet to break the bones, serving as a symbol of female beauty and elite status.
Foot binding
The initial division between these two major branches of Islam arose over whether leadership should pass to Abu Bakr or Ali.
Sunni & Shia
Construction began in the 11th century on this massive stone city in southeastern Africa that served as a royal palace and political seat.
Great Zimbabwe
In lieu of paying money, Incan citizens fulfilled their obligation to the state through this mandatory labor tax system, which built extensive roads.
mit'a system
This agricultural innovation allowed medieval European farmers to leave only one-third of their land unplanted each year to regain fertility.
3 field system
Syncretism
These mystical Islamic missionaries used music, chanting, and personal experiences of the Divine to spread Islam along frontier trade routes.
Sufi missionaries / sufis
Instead of relying on a centralized bureaucracy, these early Bantu village structures were governed through family and marriage relationships headed by a male family lead.
Kin-based society
Located near modern-day East St. Louis, this massive earthen mound structure was built by the Mississippian culture.
Cahokia
Rather than reaching Jerusalem, Christian Crusaders during the Fourth Crusade in 1204 infamously attacked and sacked this major Christian city.
Constantinople
This empire constructed the temple complex of Angkor Wat dedicated to the Hindu god Vishnu before converting to Theravada Buddhism in the 14th century.
Khmer Kingdom
Name one of the two major Arab physicians credited with diagnosing diseases like smallpox, measles, and hay fever, as well as performing cataract operations.
al-Razi OR Ibn Sina
Name TWO of the independent, Muslim coastal city-states along the East African coast that grew wealthy from Indian Ocean trade.
Kilwa, Malindi, Gedi, Pate, Comoros, or Zanzibar
Unlike the Aztecs who required human sacrifices from conquered subjects, the Inca sacrificed these pack animals instead.
Llamas
his centuries-long military movement aimed to expel Muslims from the Iberian Peninsula (Spain) to make it Christian.
Reconquista