Leaders/Influential People
This Mongol ruler united the nomadic tribes and began an empire that stretched across Eurasia.
Genghis Khan
This religious divide in 1054 split Christianity into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox branches.
The Great Schism
This trade route connected East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia across the sea.
The Indian Ocean Trade Route
This earlier Islamic dynasty expanded the empire rapidly into North Africa and Spain.
The Umayyad Caliphate
This portable and highly accurate instrument, used by Muslim sailors, helped determine latitude at sea.
Astrolabe
This traveler wrote extensively about the Islamic world, including trans-Saharan Africa.
Ibn Battuta
This city was the main religious goal of the Crusaders
Jerusalem
This body of water served as a crucial trade route connecting European, African, and Asian markets during the Classical and Medieval periods.
The Mediterranean
This geographic area is home to the Maya civilization and includes parts of modern-day Mexico.
Yucatán Peninsula
This farming technique involves carving steps into hillsides to allow for agriculture.
Terraced Farming
This pharaoh is known for uniting Upper and Lower Egypt around 3100 BCE.
Narmer
This 476 CE event is traditionally marked as the fall of the Western Roman Empire, starting the Middle Ages.
The Fall of Rome
Gold from Mali and salt from the Sahara were the most valuable items exchanged along this route
Trans-Saharan Trade Network
This Muslim dynasty succeeded the Umayyads and moved the capital to Baghdad.
The Abbasid Caliphate?
This Chinese invention made it easier for traders to record transactions and transport wealth without carrying physical currency
Paper Money
This woman became the Empress of the Holy Roman Empire and was a key figure in medieval European politics. Hint: Byzantine Empire
Empress Theodora
This long conflict between England and France lasted from 1337 to 1453
The Hundred Years' War
This massive trade network connected China to the Middle East and Europe and was revitalized under Mongol rule.
The Silk Roads
This empire was known for using camels and caravans to dominate trans-Saharan trade routes.
Mali Empire
This navigation tool, originally invented in China, helped traders find their direction while sailing across vast oceans.
The Magnetic Compass
This pope called for the First Crusade in 1095 with a speech at the Council of Clermont.
Pope Urban II
This devastating pandemic in the 14th century killed millions and had major social and economic impacts across Europe.
The Black Death
Merchants relied on predictable seasonal monsoon winds to navigate this trade network.
Indian Ocean Trade Route
This system of government jobs was based on Confucian ideas and expanded during the Tang and Song.
The Civil Service Exam
This innovation, vital on land routes like the Silk Roads, allowed merchants to travel in safer, more organized groups.
Caravan System