Silk Road Innovation
These roadside inns along the Silk Road provided food, rest, and safety for merchants and their animals.
What are caravanserai?
Born Temujin, he unified the Mongol tribes and was elected "Universal Ruler" in 1206.
Who was Genghis Khan?
The grandson of Genghis Khan who founded the Yuan Dynasty in China.
Who was Kublai Khan?
These seasonal wind patterns allowed sailors to predict when to travel back and forth across the Indian Ocean.
What are Monsoon Winds?
This Muslim admiral led seven massive naval voyages for the Ming Dynasty to demonstrate Chinese power.
Who was Zheng He?
This animal, known as the "ship of the desert," made Trans-Saharan trade possible.
What is the Camel?
This Mali ruler is considered the richest man in history and famously crashed the Egyptian economy with his gold during his Hajj.
Who was Mansa Musa?
This Venetian merchant traveled to the court of Kublai Khan and wrote a famous book about his journey.
Who was Marco Polo?
This explosive Chinese invention reached the Middle East and Europe via Mongol conquests and trade.
What is Gunpowder?
This devastating epidemic spread from China to Europe along trade routes, killing nearly half of Europe's population.
What was the Bubonic Plague (or Black Death)?
Developed in China, this "flying cash" allowed merchants to deposit money in one location and withdraw it in another.
What is Paper Money?
This period of "Mongol Peace" allowed for safer trade and cultural exchange across Afro-Eurasia.
What is the Pax Mongolica?
This khanate, based in Russia, forced local princes to pay heavy tribute for over 200 years.
What was the Golden Horde?
This triangular sail allowed ships to sail against the wind by "tacking."
What is a Lateen Sail?
This strategic strait in Southeast Asia became a wealthy sultanate by taxing ships passing between China and India.
What is Malacca
This invention allowed riders to carry heavy loads and maintain stability while crossing the desert.
What is the Camel Saddle?
This empire succeeded the Kingdom of Ghana and became the dominant power in West Africa during Unit 2.
What was the Mali Empire?
This Moroccan scholar traveled over 75,000 miles throughout Dar al-Islam, documenting the cultures he visited.
Who was Ibn Battuta?
This technique for making writing material moved from China to the Islamic world after the Battle of Talas.
What is Papermaking?
These were the primary "vectors" (carriers) of the plague along the Silk Road.
What are Fleas and Rats?
This written promise by a bank to pay a specific amount of money allowed merchants to trade without carrying heavy coins.
What is a Bill of Exchange?
This was the primary military advantage of the Mongols, who could fire arrows with lethal accuracy while riding.
What is Horse Archery (or Cavalry)?
This khanate, located in Persia, eventually converted to Islam and adopted Persian administrative techniques.
What was the Il-khanate?
This instrument, improved by Muslim scholars, allowed sailors to determine their latitude by measuring the stars.
What is an Astrolabe?
These East African city-states (like Kilwa and Mombasa) traded gold and ivory for Chinese porcelain and Indian textiles.
What are the Swahili City-States?
These were the two most important commodities traded between West Africa and the Mediterranean.
What are Gold and Salt?
This "Lion Prince" was the legendary founder of the Mali Empire.
Who was Sundiata Keita?
This English mystic wrote one of the first autobiographies in English, detailing her pilgrimages to Jerusalem and Rome.
Who was Margery Kempe?
These mathematical symbols were originally developed in India but were spread to Europe by Islamic scholars.
What are Arabic Numerals?
This fast-ripening rice from Vietnam allowed for a massive population explosion in China.
What is Champa Rice?
This European commercial alliance of cities (like Lübeck and Hamburg) dominated trade in the North and Baltic Seas.
What is the Hanseatic League
To manage their empire, Genghis Khan adapted this script from a conquered group to create the Mongol writing system.
What is the Uyghur Alphabet?
This was the name of the Mongol dynasty in China that abolished the Civil Service Exam for a time.
What was the Yuan Dynasty?
This large Chinese ship featured multiple masts and a watertight hull, making it the most advanced vessel of its time.
What is a Junk?
This region in Western India became a major center for manufacturing and trade, connecting East and West.
What is Gujarat?
This famous West African city became a world-renowned center for Islamic learning and trade.
What is Timbuktu?
This empire eventually replaced Mali as the superpower of the West African savanna.
What was the Songhai Kingdom?
This is the primary difference between the travels of Marco Polo and Ibn Battuta.
What is Ibn Battuta traveled primarily within the Islamic world (Dar al-Islam)?
This is the term for the blending of different beliefs and practices into a new, unique culture.
What is Syncretism?
This fruit was introduced to Sub-Saharan Africa from Southeast Asia, providing a vital new food source for the Bantu people.
What are Bananas?
These financial institutions emerged to handle the exchange of different currencies and provide credit to long-distance traders.
What are Banking Houses?
This desert, located in Northern China and Southern Mongolia, was the original home of the Mongol people.
What is the Gobi Desert?
This city, the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate, was brutally sacked by the Mongols in 1258.
What is Baghdad?
These traditional Arab sailing vessels were commonly used by merchants in the western Indian Ocean.
What are Dhows?
The Swahili language is a blend of these two cultural influences, reflecting the diversity of Indian Ocean trade.
What are Bantu and Arabic?
These were large groups of traders traveling together for safety across the Sahara.
What are Caravans?
This ruler of the Songhai Empire was known for his military conquests and administrative efficiency.
Who was Sunni Ali?
This was the impact of Marco Polo’s book on the European public.
What is it increased European interest in Asian luxury goods and trade?
The Mongols were responsible for spreading this style of warfare, which used heavy machinery to break down city walls.
What is Siege Warfare?
This crop, originally from Southeast Asia, was spread by Muslim traders to the Mediterranean and West Africa.
What is Sugar (or Citrus)?
This Chinese city became a massive trade hub and served as the capital of the Song Dynasty during a period of intense Silk Road activity.
What is Hangzhou?
This term refers to the Mongol policy of allowing conquered people to keep their religions, as long as they remained loyal.
What is Religious Tolerance?
This secret society in China helped organize the rebellion that eventually overthrew the Yuan Dynasty.
What was the White Lotus Society?
This innovation on the back of a ship allowed for much greater control and steering in rough waters.
What is the Sternpost Rudder?
This Hindu-Buddhist empire on the island of Sumatra controlled the Strait of Malacca before the rise of the Melaka Sultanate.
What was the Srivijaya Empire?
This was the primary religion spread along the Trans-Saharan trade routes.
What is Islam?
These West African storytellers preserved history and oral traditions for the ruling elite.
Who are Griots?
This term refers to the accounts written by travelers that provided historians with vital info about the post-classical world.
What are Travelogues?
This East Asian philosophy was spread to Vietnam, Korea, and Japan, influencing their government structures.
What is Confucianism?
This was the primary economic effect of the Black Death in Western Europe.
What is the end of serfdom/rise of wages for laborers?
The production of these two durable metals expanded significantly in China to meet the demands of trade and the military.
What are Iron and Steel?
This secret council of Mongol leaders met to elect the Great Khan and decide on major military campaigns.
What is a Kurultai?
This Central Asian khanate was ruled by the descendants of Genghis’s second son and sat between China and Persia.
What was the Chagatai Khanate?
This device uses a magnetic needle to point toward magnetic north, essential for navigating the open ocean.
What is the Magnetic Compass?
These were the two main "export" items from the Swahili Coast that were highly valued in the global market.
What are Gold and Ivory?
This ethnic group from North Africa served as the primary merchants and guides for the desert crossing.
Who are the Berbers?
This early West African kingdom was the first to grow wealthy by taxing the gold-salt trade.
What was the Kingdom of Ghana?
This was the primary reason Margery Kempe’s writings are significant to historians today.
What is they provide a rare perspective on the lives of middle-class women in the Middle Ages?
This medical knowledge was highly advanced in the Islamic world and was transferred to Europe through trade and the Crusades.
What is Greek/Islamic Medicine?
This term describes the process of clearing forests to make room for the expansion of agriculture driven by trade.
What is Deforestation?
This term describes a collection of high-value, non-essential goods like silk and porcelain that drove the Silk Road economy.
What are Luxury Goods?
This major settlement served as the capital of the Mongol Empire, though it was abandoned after the collapse of the empire.
What is Karakorum?
This is the unique feature of the Mongols of the Il-Khanate.
What is their conversion and religious intolerance?
This term describes the scattering of people from their homelands, often seen in merchant communities in trade cities.
What is a Diaspora?
This term refers to the city-states and kingdoms in the Indian Ocean that based their power on maritime trade rather than land conquest.
What are maritime empires?
This term refers to the various stopping points and waypoints found along the way in the Sahara Desert.
What are oases?
This Songhai leader promoted Islam and built a massive bureaucracy to manage his empire.
Who was Askia Muhammad?
This Chinese Buddhist monk traveled to India during the Tang Dynasty to collect sacred texts, inspiring the later "Journey to the West."
Who was Xuanzang?
This is the specific term for the transfer of knowledge, culture, and technology that occurred during the Mongol era.
What is Interregional Exchange?
This environmental period, starting around 1300, led to cooler temperatures and affected agricultural yields across Eurasia.
What was the Little Ice Age?