AP World History: Modern Exam — Period 1 Notes (1200-1450)

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AP World History: Modern Key Takeaways — Period 1 (1200-1450)

1. The spread of religion, aided by the increase in trade, often acted as a unifying social
force. Throughout East Asia, the development of Neo-Confucianism solidified a cultural
identity. Islam created a new cultural world known as Dar al-Islam, which transcended
political and linguistic boundaries in Asia and Africa. Christianity and the Catholic Church
served as unifying forces in Europe.
2. Centralized empires like the Arab Caliphates and the Song Dynasty built on the
successful models of the past, while decentralized areas (Western Europe and Japan)
developed political organization to more effectively deal with their unique issues. The
peoples of the Americas saw new, large-scale political structures develop, such as the
Inca Empire in the Andes and the Mississippian culture in North America.
3. The movement of people greatly altered the world politically and demographically.
Traveling groups, such as the Turks and Mongols, disrupted much of Asia’s existing
political structure. Turkic peoples founded the Mumluk and Delhi Sultanates. The
recovery from the Mongol period introduced political structures that defined many areas
for centuries to follow.
4. There was tremendous growth in long-distance trade. Technological developments such
as the compass improved shipbuilding technology, and gunpowder shaped the
development of the world. Trade through the Silk Road, the Indian Ocean, the trans-
Saharan routes, and the Mediterranean Sea led to the spread of ideas, religions, and
technology. Interregional cultural exchanges, represented by early world travelers like
Ibn Battuta and Marco Polo, increased due to the Mongol Conquests.
5. War, disease, and famine caused massive social and political upheaval throughout
Eurasia. The Black Death killed over a third of the European population, and the
resulting labor shortfall increased the bargaining power of peasants, diminishing the
system of feudalism. The Mongol Conquests led to a massive death toll from Korea to
Russia to the Middle East, weakening many regions for centuries to come as European
powers expanded outward.
6. Western Europe and China saw significant economic and political recoveries. The Italian
city-states grew prosperous enough to support the burgeoning Renaissance, which was
partly inspired by ancient Greek works recovered from Islamic scholars. The Ming
Dynasty experienced a cultural flowering that resulted in great works of art. The Ming
also supported major naval expeditions by Zheng He.

Key Terms: Period 1 (1200-1450)

Remember that the AP World History exam tests you on the depth of your knowledge, not just
your ability to recall facts. While we have provided brief definitions here, you will need to know
these terms in even more depth for the AP exam, including how terms connect to broader
historical themes and understandings.

Cultural Developments and Belief Systems

● Neo-Confucianism: Popular during the Tang Dynasty; fused elements of Buddhism and
Confucianism.
● Catholic Church: The largest of the three main branches of Christianity; centered in
Rome and led by the pope; found most often in Europe, the Americas, sub-Saharan
Africa, and parts of East Asia.
● Eastern Orthodox Church: The third largest of the three main branches of Christianity;
originally based in the Byzantine Empire; found most often in Russia, Eastern Europe,
the Balkans, and parts of Central Asia.
● Shi’a: One of the two main branches of Islam; rejects the first three Sunni caliphs and
regards Ali, the fourth caliph, as Muhammad’s first true successor; most commonly
found in Iran, but otherwise constitutes 10 to 15 percent of Muslims worldwide.
● Sunni: One of the two main branches of Islam; commonly described as orthodox and
differs from Shi’a in its understanding of the Sunnah and in its acceptance of the first
three caliphs; is by far the most common branch of Islam worldwide.

Civilizations in the Americas

● Chinampa: A form of Mesoamerican agriculture in which farmers cultivated crops in

rectangular plots of land on lake beds; hosted corns, beans, chilis, squash, tomatoes,
and more; provided up to seven harvests per year.
● Mit’a: A mandatory public service system in the Inca Empire requiring all people below
the age of 50 to serve for two months out of the year; not to be confused with the mita, a
forced labor system practiced by conquistadors in the former Inca Empire.

Civilizations in East Asia

● Mandate of Heaven: Ancient Chinese concept stating that the right to rule was granted
by the heavens; used to explain the rise of every Chinese dynasty, including the Qing in
1644.
● Grand Canal: World’s longest canal, connecting the fertile Huang He River to the highly
populated cities in the north; allowed grain to be shipped easily.
● Champa rice: Introduced to China from Vietnam; allowed the Chinese to have two
harvests per year, dramatically improving output; combined with an improved
infrastructure, led to a significant growth of the Chinese population.

Islamic Golden Age

● Al-Andalus: Islamic state located in modern-day Spain; led by the Berbers; renowned
for its achievements in science, mathematics, and trade.
● Astrolabe: Introduced to the Islamic world in the 700s, where it was perfected by
mathematicians; used by astronomers and navigators to determine latitude through
inclination.
● Trans-Saharan trade: Trade network starting in the 400s and 500s; thrived due to an
organized network of camel caravans carrying gold, salt, cloth, slaves, and other
valuables; allowed the kingdoms of Ghana and Mali to thrive, and as Islam spread to
Africa, allowed its teachings to impact the lives of kings and traders.

Europe during the Late Middle Ages

● Feudalism: Political and economic system that developed as a result of the

decentralization and collapse of the Western Roman Empire; lords, usually noblemen,
protected vassals in exchange for mandatory labor or military service; vassals received a
fief, or grant of land.
● Bills of exchange: Written guarantees of payment that were essentially the forerunners
of modern-day bank checks; helped facilitate trade; known as sakk in the Islamic world;
also used in China during this period.
● Crusades: Holy wars launched by Pope Urban II in 1095 that called for Christians to
reclaim the Holy Land of Israel from Muslims; its four campaigns, lasting over 100 years,
were unsuccessful; stimulated European-Muslim trade and reintroduced Europeans to
wisdom that had been last taught during the Classical period.

Nomadic and Traveling Empires

● Ottomans: Group of Anatolian Turks who, in their dedication to Islam, attacked the
weakening Byzantine Empire and captured Constantinople in 1453; expanded to create
an empire in the Middle East and Southeast Europe; collapsed after World War I.
● Mongols: Group of Central Asian nomads from Mongolia who, under the leadership of
Genghis Khan, conquered large portions of the Asian continent; four empires, centered
on Russia, China, Persia, and the Central Asian steppes, were led by Khan’s successors
until the Mongol Empire collapsed into disunity and civil war.
● Genghis Khan: Mongol clan leader who united the clans and made the Mongols the
most feared force in Asia; under his leadership, the Mongol Empire expanded greatly
into China, Persia, Central Asia, and Tibet; sons ruled the Four Khanates that followed;
grandson, Kublai Khan, became leader of the Yuan Dynasty in 1271.

Civilizations in Africa

● Mansa Musa: Ruling from 1312 to 1337, he was the most famous of the Mali emperors;
capital city, Timbuktu, was a center of trade, culture, and education; most famous for
going on pilgrimage to Mecca (a practice that few Muslims in his time actually did)
carrying a large caravan with satchels of gold, which he used to fund schools and
mosques across North Africa.
● Swahili city-states: Cities in East Africa (present- day Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania)
that became bustling ports due to interchanges between Bantu and Arab mariners; in an
effort to facilitate trade, the Bantus created a hybrid language, Swahili, that allowed them
to communicate with the Arabs (a language that is still spoken by over 80 million East
Africans).

Interregional Economic and Cultural Exchange

● Melaka: Located in modern-day Malaysia; port city that became a waystation for sea
traders from China and India in the fourteenth century.
● Bubonic plague: Disease that spread from China to Europe through rats and decimated
Europe’s population; ended the feudal system and led many people to question religion;
also known as the Black Plague or the Black Death.
● Ibn Battuta: Islamic traveler who, in the four- teenth century, visited the kingdom of
Mansa Musa in the Mali Empire; his writings stimulated an interest in African trade.
● Marco Polo: Venetian merchant who spent over 20 years traveling the Silk Road
through the Mongol Empire, where he actually served on the court of its ruler, Kublai
Khan; his efforts stimulated interest in trade with China.

Recovery and Renaissance in Asia and Europe

● Renaissance: A period of artistic and scien- tific self-discovery and relearning of Classi-
cal wisdom, particularly from the fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries; stimulated
by the Crusades and soldiers’ exposure to Muslim advances in math, science, and the
arts; also led to questioning of the nature of religion and natural phenomena.