East Asia
Q: What was the civil-service exam used to create in Song China?
A merit-based bureaucracy that allowed social mobility. (Image: Song exam hall or scholar-gentry)
What was the Abbasid House of Wisdom?
A Baghdad learning center that preserved and translated classical knowledge.
Who was Mansa Musa?
Mali’s ruler famous for wealth and his 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca.
Q: What was feudalism based on?
Land exchanged for loyalty and protection.
Name two major post-classical trade networks.
Silk Roads; Trans-Saharan Routes; Indian Ocean Trade Routes
What crop from Vietnam transformed Chinese agriculture? & why is it important?
Champa rice — a drought-resistant, fast-ripening variety.
Who ended the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258 C.E.?
The Mongols.
What African city’s ruins show trade-based power?
Great Zimbabwe
What event limited the king’s power and led to Parliament?
Magna Carta (1215)
Compare the roles of women in Song China and the Islamic world.
China – restricted (foot binding); Islam – spiritual equality, some rights.
Who made up the new educated class under Song Taizu?
The scholar-gentry, educated in Confucian philosophy. (Image: Confucian scholars)
What was the jizya?
A tax on non-Muslims (“People of the Book”).
What was the mit’a system?
Mandatory public service in the Inca Empire
What was the Great Schism of 1054?
Split between Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox Churches.
Explain one result of African Trade.
Spread of Islam via merchants
What practice symbolized women’s subordination in Confucian culture?
Foot binding, symbolizing confinement to the home. (Image: silk shoes, Song art)
Name two Islamic innovations spread to Europe.
Algebra and papermaking.
What was unique about Mississippian culture?
Matrilineal inheritance and mound-building
What was the Hundred Years’ War?
Conflict between England and France that fostered nationalism. (
How did religion unify and divide medieval Europe?
Catholicism unified but schisms and Crusades divided
How did Japan and Korea differ in adopting Chinese culture?
Japan selectively borrowed; Korea mirrored China but created Hangul.
Who was Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and why was he significant?
A Persian scholar who advanced astronomy, ethics, and mathematics.
What allowed the Khmer Empire to prosper?
Advanced irrigation and drainage near Angkor Wat
How did the Renaissance change Europe?
Renewed classical learning and emphasis on humanism.
What innovation most changed warfare by 1450?
Gunpowder Weapons