Trade Cities
This city's wealth came from controlling trade between Europe and the East, and its streets weren't streets at all.
What is Venice?
The empire ruled by Mansa Musa, famous for a pilgrimage that accidentally destablized the prices of gold.
What is Mali?
This empire expanded its influence through a tribute system that supplied their capital with goods ranging from textiles to cacao, which was by its merchants who traveled long distances under imperial protection.
What is the Aztec Empire?
This dynasty expanded civil service exams and oversaw major advances in gunpowder and printing.
What is the Song Dynasty?
Frequently cited as a gunpowder state, this empire relied on an elite infantry formed through a child-levy system (also known as janissaries) to secure its expansion.
What is the Ottoman Empire?
Foreign merchants once called this port "Canton", and it linked China to the Indian Ocean world. It became a gateway through which new religious ideas, like Buddhism, entered the East.
What is Guangzhou?
The inland city grew wealthy by controlling trade routes that connected interior gold cources to coastal Swahili ports.
What is Great Zimbabwe?
This empire used a diverse network of runners to send messages across thousands of miles and relied on a state labor system that required communities to contribute work rather than taxes.
What is the Inca Empire?
This dynasty restored local rule after Mongol domination and sponsored massive building projects, including defensive fortifications.
What is the Ming Dynasty?
This empire based in the Persian plateau made Shi’a identity central to its political legitimacy.
What is the Safavid Empire?
This port city became well-known to both Muslim merchants and early European voyagers seeking access to what the Indian Ocean world had to offer.
What is Calicut?
This Central African state made early diplomatic ties with Portugal before relationships grew violent.
What is the Kingdom of Kongo?
This city served as the political and spiritual center of an Andean empire and was connected by an extensive road system.
What is Cuzco?
Founded by peoples from the northeast, this dynasty incorporated these people's culture while ruling over one of the largest land empires in Chinese history.
What is the Qing Dynasty?
This colony’s economy depended on alliances with Indigenous groups and participation in the fur trade.
What is New France?
Marco Polo described this Song-era city as one of the most luxurious places he had ever seen, famous for its silk markets.
What is Hangzhou?
This dynasty oversaw the Islamic Golden Age, supporting scholars in cities like Baghdad who preserved and expanded classical knowledge.
What is the Abbasid Caliphate?
This colonial territory granted settlers the right to draw labor from Indigenous communities, while its silver exports fueled commercial networks from the Americas to Asia.
What is New Spain?
This ruling power introduced Persian cultural influences into northern India long before the arrival of the Mughals.
What is the Dehli Sultanate?
This palace became the center of court culture under Louis XIV, who used rituals to keep nobles dependent on him.
What is Versailles?
This capital’s central marketplace drew merchants from several different nearby regions, and its chinampa system helped sustain one of the most densely populated cities of this time period.
What is Tenonchtitlan?
Not known for its markets, but scholars travelled here for manuscripts to study, even though it sat on a major gold-salt route.
What is Timbuktu?
This early settlement nearly collapsed until it adopted a cash crop that tied it into trans-Atlantic trade networks.
What is Jamestown?
Rulers of this empire used grand architectural projects to legitimize their rule and demonstrate a blending of Persian and Indian influences.
What is the Mughal Empire?
This imperial project, initiated by a ruler mourning his beloved wife, became an iconic representation of Mughal architectural achievement.
What is the Taj Mahal?