AP World History: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450 CE

AP World History: Modern
Period 1: 1200-1450 CE

1.1 Developments in East Asia
● Sui, Tang Dynasties reunited China after centuries of war.
○ Song Dynasty, starting in 960 CE, built on stability, helped advance the government
of China.
● Chinese government unique for era, as large bureaucracy was based on merit.
■ Meritocracies formed based on the abilities of people versus wealth and
nobility.

● Civil Service Exam system reemerged; Chinese men spent years learning the
Chinese classics like The Analects by Confucius.
○ Based on abilities, they would take series of exams to award them greater power,
influence.
● Stability of Tang, Song Dynasties allowed for China to economically develop;
based on new technologies, regional trade, and growing dominance.
○ Gunpowder, champa rice, coal, paper, porcelain, silks, etc.
○ Grand Canal - canal linked southern Yangtze River with northern Yellow River
promoting interregional trade

● Social structure based on hierarchy (people ranked according to status)
○ (1) emperor (2) scholar gentry; nobility (3) peasants (4) merchants
○ Society was patriarchal (men dominate); foot-binding
● Japan - religion of shintoism; Tale of Genji; feudalism (shogun, daimyo,
samurai - bushido)
● Korea - adopted confucianism, Buddhism, civil service exam; no social mobility
or unity in peninsula
● Vietnam - no hierarchical society - life dominated by villages, family; limited
impact of confucianism and buddhism.

1.2 Developments in Dar al-Islam
● Islam founded, spread in 600s; Muhammad believed to be last prophet of Allah.
○ Built upon principles of Judaism and Christianity, Islam blended role of religion and
government together.
○ Islamic world is often referred to as Dar al-Islam, or House of Islam.
● Islamic expansion across N. Africa, through Middle East saw more connections
because of trade.
● Muslim caliphates conquered, tolerated different beliefs as long as non-
Muslims paid tax (jizya).

● Islamic region of Spain was referred to Al-Andalus.
○ Architecture of Cordoba the iron work of Toledo directly related to this era of Islamic
expansion.
● Women in Dar al-Islam enjoyed more freedom than counterparts in
Christendom.
○ Could divorce, own land, pass on property; conservative elements in Islam saw increased role
of harems, facial coverings.

● Umayyad and Abbasid Caliphates helped develop, spread Islam from Spain to
India.
○ As the Abbasid Caliphate falls to the Mongol invaders, new Islamic powers emerge:
● Egyptian Mamluks - Mamluks are slave soldiers that won political control of
several Muslim states during the Middle Ages. Mamluk generals used their
power to establish a dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria from 1250 to 1517.
● Seljuk Turks - Seljuk Turks ruled parts of Central Asia and Middle East from
the 1000s-1300s. Seljuks migrated from northern Iranian provinces in Central
Asia into mainland Iran (Persia).
● Delhi Sultanate - Central Asian Turkish warlords established Muslim kingdom
in northern India at turn of 1200s; continued until their conquest by Mughals.

1.3 Developments in South and Southeast Asia
● Hindu caste system - hierarchy of power that was religious, inherited.
○ Hindus, born into a caste, typically had to remain in that caste until their death and hopeful
reincarnation.
○ Promoted stability, though it also allowed for the stagnation that emerges when there is no
competition for power.
○ Generally, a woman within the Hindu caste system had more in common with men of her
caste than women in other castes. As Islam spread to the region, social roles became more
gendered.

● Since fall of Mauryan, Gupta Empires, South Asia broke into various kingdoms.
○ Hindu Rajput Kingdoms emerged in northern India, keeping centralized power from
emerging for hundreds of years.
■ Competed and allowed for Islamic armies to start to expand into Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
○ Delhi Sultanate emerged from this expansion as a powerful kingdom for nearly 300 years.
■ United by Islam, funded by Silk Road, Delhi Sultans were able to hold back Mongol
expansion into South Asia.

● Predominantly Hindu but also largely impacted by Buddhism and Islam.
○ Hinduism is polytheistic faith best known for belief in samsara, or reincarnation; vast majority
of Indians are Hindu.
○ Hinduism is very decentralized.
■ Islam, spreading from Middle East, is a monotheistic faith that is more cohesive since it blended political leadership
with religion.
● By 1450, Islam has spread to northern India and helped Delhi Sultanate create a
stable regional empire; South Asia saw many world religions because of
position on both land, sea trade routes.

● Before modern-states of Southeast Asia, there were various
empires, both land-based and sea-based, that helped unite the
people politically, economically, and religiously.
● Khmer Empire was a powerful state in Southeast Asia, lasting
from 802 CE-1431 CE.
○ At its peak, the land-based empire covered much of what today is Cambodia,
Thailand, Laos, and southern Vietnam. Its capital, Angkor Wat, was originally a
Hindu temple, developed over time into a vast Buddhist temple.

● Srivijaya Empire was a Indonesian Hindu empire based on
Sumatra, which influenced much of Southeast Asia.
○ Srivijaya was an important center for trade between China and India and as for
expansion of Buddhism from 8th-12th century.
● Majapahit Kingdom was smaller Javan Buddhist kingdom that
controlled shipping lane leading to and from Strait of Malacca.
● Southeast Asia benefited economically from Indian Ocean Trade
Network, while it also became very diverse.

● Islamic merchants and Sufi (mystical sect of Sunni Muslims)
missionaries brought faith to Indonesia, making it the most
populated Islamic nation in the world today.
○ This trade network and the missionaries traveling with it is one of the most
important factors in the spread of Islam in Southeast Asia.

1.4 State Building in the Americas
● Mississippian culture is a civilization in modern-day southeastern United States,
known for large earthen mounds demonstrating their unity to build large
monumental structures.
● Maya and Aztec dominated Mesoamerica; Maya thrived in rainforest of
Yucatan peninsula; kingdom of city-states that worked for mutual benefit, Maya
built large temples, cities, trade networks.
○ Because of internal conflict and lack of food, Maya empire collapsed around 900 CE.
○ Before collapse, Maya thrived, building accurate calendar, complex writing system, pyramids.

● Aztec capital, Tenochtitlan (Mexico City) was enormous, housing 200,000
people; built series of pyramids in city, demonstrating power, authority; built
on Lake Texcoco; built chinampas (floating gardens).
● Aztecs practiced human sacrifice in temples; people sacrificed were captured in
battle or tributes given by neighbors that did not want to be attacked; often
sacrificed to sun god, Huitzilopochtli.
○ Process of human sacrifice was both part of their polytheistic religion and part of the political
rule of the region. The Aztecs were very militaristic, had a thriving merchant class, and
promoted education for many of its men.

● Inca dominated north to south region along Andes Mountains; clear contrasts
with Aztecs:
○ Much more united monarchy, while Aztecs were largely a city-state empire controlled by
Tenochtitlan.
○ While the Aztecs had a vast trade network, Inca believed in state-led economy.
○ Aztecs had city-states pay tribute in humans to Tenochtitlan; Inca required labor tax called
mit’a; roads to capital of Cuzco built by Incans who would work for 1-2 years, not slaves, but
instead paid tax with labor instead of money.
○ Aztecs never formed a written language, Inca created a system of knotted strings used to
record numerical info called quipu.

● Aztec, Inca were animists, polytheists. Animism is a religious belief that objects,
weather possess distinct spiritual essence. Polytheism - belief in many gods:
both the Aztecs and Inca had hundreds of gods.

1.5 State Building in Africa
● Africa largely tribal or clan-based; clans are kin-based networks where many
people within the community are related.
○ Led by a chief, these smaller communities work with and have conflict with other
communities in their area.
● 1000 CE and later, empires emerge; brought unity, continuity, complexity to
regions they controlled.
● Ghana - 300 CE-1000 CE, western Africa; trade gold for salt with North
African Berbers who were middle men with Europe.

● Mali - Mansa Musa, famous and powerful king, built mosques and libraries in
Timbuktu (capital). Mansa Musa travels the Trans-Saharan Trade Network on
his hajj to Mecca, exposing those along way to Mali’s wealth, power 1200 CE -
1400 CE, replaced Ghana; Islam unites Mali.
● Songhay - 1400-1500, replaced Mali, Conquered Mali and then collapsed
because of slave trade
● Swahili Coast - region along eastern coast of Africa; city-states united in trade
and variations of the Bantu language; largest city-state, Great Zimbabwe,
protected by large wall demonstrating unity of people.

● Ethiopia - eastern kingdom was lone Christian kingdom in a region converting
to Islam
● African societies have many shared characteristics; family, communal
activities were centerpiece of clan, village; music, dancing common way of
entertainment, veneration of the dead.
○ Most Sub-Saharan societies did not have a written language rather passed on their
history, literature, and culture through oral tradition. Griots were storytellers who
would make kings famous for generations.

1.6 Developments in Europe
● Western Europe dominated by small kingdoms, regional powers; 1200-1450,
states were formed as powerful kingdoms replaced localism.
● Feudalism is a political, economic, social hierarchy which helped organize land,
work, and people's roles.
○ At top is monarch; “owned” all land and would grant land, called fiefs, to elites called lords.
The lords would then grant some of their own land to other individuals. Those who were
granted land were called vassals. Vassals owed food, labor, military service to lords. Many
kings and lords, as well as the church, would hire knights to protect their wealth and power.
○ Serfs were not slaves but were tied to the fief; serfs and manors they worked on would
practice the three-field system, where the farmers were careful to not overuse the soil by
rotating wheat, beans, and/or let land lay fallow during the harvest.

● 1200-1450, regional kingdoms of France, England, Holy Roman Empire
became solidified; each power was tied to Catholic Church and feudal.
● Holy Roman Empire (Germany) was regional kingdoms with powerful princes
and church had a lot of power versus central government.
○ Concordat of Worms allowed Pope of Catholic Church to appoint bishops in HRE but gave
king ability to veto those choices.
● English kings were checked by nobility when King John was forced to sign
Magna Carta, giving people more rights in trials and taxation.
○ English Parliament formed to be strong legislative body.

● Over time, competition for trade, land, resources led English and French to
war; Hundred Years War; created a new spirit of nationalism and an end to
feudalism.
● Predominantly Christian Europe saw spread of Islam up Iberian peninsula as a
threat; Charles “The Hammer” Martel stopped advance at Battle of Tours in
southern France. By 1492, the Catholic Church had expelled the Muslims from
Spain in the Reconquista.

● Catholic Church started Crusades to take Holy Land back from Muslims; saw
Crusaders also attacking Orthodox Christians in Constantinople; Crusades
failed to win back Jerusalem, weakened Catholic Church and increased power
of regional monarchs.
○ Slowly awoke Europe to science and mathematics of Islamic world.
● By 1450, Europe saw an increase in literacy, urbanization, connection to the
global community; before,only literate people of Europe were monks and other
men tied to Church - Gutenberg’s printing press will change this.

● Renaissance, or “rebirth”, European cultural, artistic, political economic activity
following Middle Ages taking place from 1300s through 1600s; Renaissance
promoted rediscovery of classical philosophy, literature, art.
○ Some of the greatest authors, scientists and artists in human history thrived during this era,
while global exploration opened up new lands and cultures to European commerce.

1.7 Comparison in the Period from 1200-1450 CE
● While Song China had a large bureaucracy to rule, Japan was very feudal and
regional.
● While the Abbasid Caliphate used religion to help solidify its power,
Western European kingdoms were separate from the power of the Roman
Catholic Church.
● While the Swahili Coast was very interconnected to trade routes, Western
Europe was very slow to develop because it was outside these trade routes.
● While the Silk Road connected large empires of Song China and the Abbasid
Caliphate, Western Europe had no land-based trade routes to help it
develop.

1.7 Comparison in the Period from 1200-1450 CE
● In Europe, the three-field crop rotation, and Champa rice in China
promoted larger populations
● Both the Mali Kingdom and the Abbasid Caliphate used Islam to unite
peoples who were not united before.
● Both Song Dynasty and northern India kingdoms saw an increase in
religious diversity.
● Both Song Dynasty and northern India kingdoms saw an increase in
religious diversity causing political and religious conflict.
● Both Christianity and Buddhism saw various divisions in their faiths causing
political and religious conflict.

By 1200 C.E. Improved agricultural technology had spread throughout much of sub-
Saharan Africa primarily through the
A. development of oxen immune to diseases carried by the tsetse fly
B. discovery of gold that provided a means of exchange among groups
C. expansion of the Sahara Desert, which forced Berber peoples to move south
D. migration of Bantu-speaking peoples with their knowledge of ironworking

MARIA, COUNTESS OF BÉARN,* ACCOMPANIED BY SEVEN OF
HER MALE COURTIERS, SWEARS HOMAGE TO HER
OVERLORD, KING ALFONSO II OF ARAGON, ILLUSTRATION
IN A MANUSCRIPT PRODUCED FOR THE ROYAL COURT OF
ARAGON CIRCA 1175 C.E.
*The lordship of Béarn was located in present-day southwestern
France.
The act of the countess of Béarn in the image is most closely identified
with which of the following political systems?
A. Manorialism
B. Serfdom
C. Monasticism
D. Feudalism
Archivo de la Corona de Aragon, Barcelona, Spain Mithra-
Index/Bridgeman Images.

MARIA, COUNTESS OF BÉARN,* ACCOMPANIED BY SEVEN
OF HER MALE COURTIERS, SWEARS HOMAGE TO HER
OVERLORD, KING ALFONSO II OF ARAGON,
ILLUSTRATION IN A MANUSCRIPT PRODUCED FOR THE
ROYAL COURT OF ARAGON CIRCA 1175 C.E.
*The lordship of Béarn was located in present-day southwestern
France.
The image most directly illustrates which of the following features
of the political development of medieval Europe?
A. Its bureaucratization, as European rulers developed
sophisticated systems of record keeping to strengthen their
authority.
B. Its decentralization, as European rulers frequently delegated
authority to local subordinates.
C. Its reliance on Roman traditions, as European rulers used
ancient customs to demonstrate their legitimacy.
D. Its ethnic and cultural diversity, as European rulers granted
ethnic and religious groups the right to use their own laws
and traditions. Archivo de la Corona de Aragon, Barcelona, Spain Mithra-
Index/Bridgeman Images.

“One of the things that struck me most in Peru was its great, splendid highways, and I wondered how many
men it must have required to build them and what tools and instruments were used to level the mountains
and cut through the rock to make them as broad and good as they are. It seems to me that if the king of
Spain wanted to build a highway from Quito to Cuzco, I do not think that he could do it even with all of
his power unless he followed the method that the Inca employed.
When an Inca king decided to build one of these highways, all he needed to do was give the command.
Then, the inspectors would go through the provinces, laying out the highway’s route and assigning Indians
to help build the road. In this way, the road was built in a short time from one boundary of the kingdom to
the other. The Inca rulers built many of these roads and were so full of pride that when one ruler died, his
heir would build his road larger and broader if he intended to set out on a conquest.” – Pedro Cieza de
León, Spanish soldier and historian, Chronicles of Peru, 1553
Which of the following pieces of evidence most strongly supports the author’s arguments about the quality
of the highways described in the passage?
A. They were built by men with tools.
B. They were very broad, and some extended across the entire kingdom.
C. There were many roads throughout the kingdom.
D. Their construction was supervised by government officials.

2.1 The Silk Roads
● Empires were rapidly expanding; growing empire came a growing desire for
goods.
● Rich especially wanted goods that the empires often couldn’t afford; main
reason most trade routes traded mostly luxury goods, such as sugar, gold,
porcelain, silk.
● Profit-seeking merchants began to build off of old trade technology to make it
work for this much bigger trade network.
○ Caravanserai, roadside inns, bills of exchange, banking houses, etc.

2.1 The Silk Roads
● Trading cities such as Kashgar and Samarkand grew massively as merchants
began to exchange their goods from all over the world; economies of countries
trading expanded as demand for their goods increased.
● Textile production dramatically increased across Eurasia as well as steel in
China; Song rapidly expanded as demand for silk grew; began to rely on
peasant and artisanal labor to fuel their commercializing economy.
● Ideas of merchants carrying goods travelled along roads; religions like
Christianity, Buddhism, Islam, Hinduism, and Chinese customs spread via trade
routes, along with goods such as Champa rice.
● Disease also spread along the Silk Road - bubonic plague (black death),
Justinian plague, plague of Cypria

2.2 The Mongol Empire and the Making of the Modern World
● Originally pastoral people in Central Asia, until leadership of Chinggis
(Genghis) Khan consolidated Mongols into a fearsome fighting force; already
well acquainted with horses, bows, allowing them to travel quickly; had siege
weapons, which could bypass castle walls, cause destruction inside.
○ Rumor of wave of death spread past armies, so by the time the Mongols arrived at their
targets, many cities would simply surrender rather than fight.
● Largest contiguous land empire, from Eastern Europe to Russia to Abbasid
Caliphate to Song Dynasty.

● When Genghis Khan died, Mongol Empire split up into four khanates:
○ Chagatai: Central Asia, where the Mongols began. As you can imagine, not much changed
here, since it had been populated by the same people for a long time.
○ Khanate of the Golden Horde: Beginnings of Russia; far away from everything; Mongols let
people pick their own rulers ,so long as they paid a fixed tribute; Golden Horde would be last
to throw off Mongol rule.
○ Yuan Dynasty: China, previously Song Dynasty. When the Mongols, led by Kublai Khan, took
over, they took on many of governmental procedures and positions already in place; Mongols
were not allowed to intermarry with Chinese.
○ Ilkhanate: Mongols took area by capturing Baghdad in 1258, cut off Abbasid Caliphate,
Golden Age of Islam; many Mongols converted to Islam, Persia remained moderately
unchanged.

● More accepting and religiously tolerant (let everyone practice their own
religion freely)
● Treated women relatively more fairly than most empires; women were still
considered inferior
● Revolutionized trade with huge contiguous empire, easy to trade since without
borders or foreign raiders; trade across Mongol Empire was so serene that this
period of trade across the Mongol Empire was called Pax Mongolica.
○ Standardized weights and measures across much of Eurasia
● Technological, cultural transfers; Greco-Roman, Islamic medical knowledge
came west to Europe.

2.3 Exchange in the Indian Ocean
● Indian Ocean largest sea-based trade network from 1200-1450; traded “regular
goods”, in bulk and at a lower cost; much easier to carry huge quantities of
high-demand goods on water than on a camel’s back on land.
○ Ex: timber, frankincense, ivory, sandalwood
● Faced unexpected obstacles, like unpredictable wind patterns, monsoons;
knowledge of monsoon winds vital to trade
● Improvements of maritime technologies like lateen sails, dhow ships and the
astrolabe helped sailors navigate safely, consistently throughout Indian Ocean.

● Diasporic communities were set up by merchants to introduce their own
cultural traditions into other cultures; examples are Arab and Persians in
Eastern Asia, Chinese merchants in Southeast Asia, Malay communities in the
Indian Ocean basin.
● States formed from the Indian Ocean trade on the edge of the water.
○ Along Swahili coast, city-states not far departed from Greek formed and grew rich
from trade, along with state of Gujarat in India and sultanate of Malacca (an island
forming a very thin strait in between itself and East Asia) controlled strait and
became incredibly wealthy, since Chinese merchants often had to travel through it
to get to the riches of the Indian Ocean Basin.

● As all trade networks did, Indian Ocean trade fostered exchange of ideas
(Buddhism to Southeast Asia, and Islam across Eurasia); famous travelers such
as Marco Polo, Ibn Battuta, Ming Admiral Zheng He utilized key routes, and
their records would soon spread to much of the world.

2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
● Trans-Saharan trade route transformed West Africa by connecting it to larger
parts of the world; required human adaptation and innovation over vast
desert area.
● Technology helped spur this trade network - Camel saddles helped traders
(mostly Berber nomads) ride the camels ( only pack animals equipped to
survive in desert without water for long periods of time) without injury, so it
was easy to carry goods faster. Caravans were groups of traders traveling
together, which often protected them from desert raiders.
○ These technologies made this route far safer and easier to travel, and thus trans-Saharan
trade flourished, carrying salt, gold, slaves, and cowrie shells, the last of which were used as
currency.

2.4 Trans-Saharan Trade Routes
● Biggest religion that spread across this trade route was Islam.
○ Over time, if African states weren’t already taken over by the Islamic caliphate, they may
have converted voluntarily, with much help from the Arab Berber traders, many of whom
were already converted to Islam.
● Empires with valued goods (gold, salt, etc) expanded rapidly during
flourishing of trade route (Mali, Ghana, Songhai)
● Mali in West Africa became one of the richest empires due to large supply in
gold-- so rich, in fact, that when their king Mansa Musa made his pilgrimage
(hajj) to Mecca every place he stopped along the way became so flooded with
gold that their economies inflated drastically.

2.5 Cultural Consequences of Connectivity
● Merchants carried their traditions with them; three major religions spread -
Buddhism into East, Southeast Asia, Hinduism into Southeast Asia, Islam into
sub-Saharan Africa and Asia.
○ Due to trade with China and India, Japan adopted a version of Buddhism (Zen Buddhism)
that blended traditional Shinto with Buddhism.
○ Buddhism spread by travelers, especially Xuanzang, a Buddhist Chinese monk that was living
proof of Buddhism’s spread into East Asia. Along with being a storied traveler who wrote
down his observations, Xuanzang helped spread Buddhism wherever he went.
○ Neo-Confucianism rose in response to Buddhism. Buddhism had gotten pretty powerful in
China and Confucianists wanted to put Confucianism back into power. So they adapted
Confucianism to take on a few Buddhist characteristics.

○ Hinduism traveled throughout Southeastern Asia; Angkor Wat (Hindu temple) in Cambodia.
○ Islam spread in sub-Saharan Africa, Asia; Muhammad himself was a trader, trade in Islamic
caliphate widely encouraged; Islam spread rapidly.
■ Great Mosque of Djenne and Islam became powerful in many states.
● New technological innovations spread - Papermaking was convenient since
paper was much lighter and easy to make-- and most importantly, cheaper.
Paper money helped encourage increased trade along various routes.
○ Gunpowder had huge effects; originally made by a pacifist Daoist attempting for fireworks;
people quickly realized that it could be weaponry; Chinese developed guns and using them to
wage war, followed by Europe.

● As trade routes got bigger, it became safer and easier for the average person to
see the world and report back.
○ Ibn Battuta; Muslim Berber from Morocco, traveled seventy-five thousand miles from Spain as
far east as the very eastern corners of China. Since he was Muslim, a lot of his writings are
comparing the different versions of Islam around the world; The Travels of Ibn Battuta.
○ Marco Polo; Venetian, traveled Europe, went to China (Yuan); The Travels of Marco Polo;
used Silk Roads to travel
○ Margery Kempe; born in England; religious mystic; traveled all of Europe, completing
pilgrimages to holy places such as Jerusalem and Rome; The Book of Margery Kempe
considered first-ever English-language autobiography.

2.6 Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
● Bubonic Plague spread through infected rats off ships from Indian Ocean trade;
name Black Death, came from swollen glands in a person’s neck, armpits,
thighs that turned black.
● Plague started in China around 1300, swept into Europe, via trade routes,
causing decimation of ½-⅔ of population.
● Mongols used biological warfare to spread plague to Europe-- to conquer
neighboring territories, Mongols would load infected people into catapults and
launch them over walls; resulting spread of disease would kill people inside,
weaken city and allow Mongols to take over more efficiently.

2.6 Environmental Consequences of Connectivity
● Many crops diffused throughout these roads:
○ Bananas originated in Pacific region, Southeast Asia; Arab traders utilized Indian Ocean trade
network to bring them everywhere, especially Africa, where cultivation became lucrative.
○ New rice varieties (champa rice) spread from Southeast Asia to China (Vietnam was under
Chinese control through the tribute system); drought-resistant, early-ripening; perfect rice to
grow, since it produced more in a much faster amount of time. China quickly adopted it;
champa rice became a staple of the Chinese diet.
○ Citrus originated in Southeast Asia, similar to bananas, and through the Indian Ocean and
Silk Road trade networks to the Mediterranean.

2.7 Comparison of Economic Exchange
● All respective trade networks demonstrated an exchange of cultural,
technological, and biological diffusion within and between various societies
○ Buddhism along the Silk Roads, Hinduism in the Indian Ocean, Islam in trans-Saharan
routes
● Commercial improvement led to an increase in the volume of trade among
these networks which expanded trade networks
○ Trade networks promoted new trading cities
● Innovations in pre-existing transport and commercial technologies impacted
the growth of trade. Innovations such as the caravanserai, forms of credit, and
the development of money economies

2.7 Comparison of Economic Exchange
● Types of exports that these trade networks had were significantly different
○ Silk Roads traded luxury items while Indian Ocean trade common goods in bulk
● Trade networks produced items that were symbolic to their respective regions
● Changes in trade routes were a result of increasing productive capacity, with
the vital role of social and gender structures and environmental occurrences.
● The need for luxury goods increased in Afro-Eurasia
● Chinese, Persian, Indian merchants expanded the supply of textiles and
porcelains for export
● Production of iron & steel expanded in China

The Mongol conquests of much of Eurasia in the thirteenth century tended to
encourage trade along the Silk Roads primarily by
A. opening large new markets for both European and East Asian goods in Central
Asia
B. increasing the demand for military supplies needed by the Mongol armies that
occupied various regions
C. decreasing the risk of bandit attacks and reducing the number of local rulers
collecting tribute from trade caravans
D. discouraging seaborne trade along the Indian Ocean routes that competed with
the Silk Roads

The map to the right indicates
that
A. Mali was a major source and
hub of the gold trade
B. Europeans had begun to
make inroads in West Africa
C. Mali remained isolated from
Europe and the Middle East
D. Atlantic ports were crucial
for the transportation of salt
and gold

“After leaving India, we arrived in Sumatra. It is a fertile area, in which coco-palm, clove, Indian aloe, mango, and sweet
orange trees grow. Local commerce is facilitated by tin and Chinese gold. The sultan was informed of our visit and sent the
judge and experts on Islamic law to meet me. The sultan is an illustrious and generous ruler and a patron of religious
scholars. He is constantly waging war against the non-Muslims of Sumatra, but is a humble man who walks on foot to
Friday prayers. The non-Muslims of the area must pay a poll-tax to obtain peace.
One Friday after leaving the mosque, the sultan mounted an elephant and we and his entourage rode with him on horses
until we reached the palace. Male musicians came into the audience hall and sang before him, after which they led horses
into the hall. The horses were embroidered in silk and wore golden anklets and danced before the sultan. I was astonished,
even though I had seen the same performance at the court of the Delhi sultan in India*. My stay at the sultan’s court lasted
fifteen days, after which I asked his permission to continue my journey to China because it is not possible to sail to China at
all times of the year.
We then traveled to a kingdom on the Malay Peninsula aboard a Chinese ship. This kingdom is inhabited by non-Muslims
and contains great quantities of aromatic spices and aloes. The merchants sell Indian aloe for a roll of cotton cloth, which is
dearer to them than silk. The ruler is a non-Muslim. We then left the Malay Peninsula and sailed to another non-Muslim
kingdom in Southeast Asia. After seventeen days at sea, with a favorable wind and sailing with maximum speed and ease,
we reached the land of China.” - Ibn Battuta, Muslim traveler from North Africa, account of his journey to China, circa 1345
*The Delhi Sultanate was a Muslim state in northern India that was ruled by a Turkic elite.
The purpose of Ibn Battuta’s account was most likely to
A. glorify himself by exaggerating the influence he had obtained over local rulers in Southeast Asia
B. warn Muslim merchants that China was beginning to dominate commerce in the Indian Ocean
C. encourage fellow Muslims in North Africa to participate more in maritime commerce
D. inform his audience about the cultural, political, and economic characteristics of the places he visited

Short Answer Question (SAQ)
Don’t forget to “spill the TEA” to the AP reader!
● T - Topic Sentence - answer the prompt with a clear,
declarative statement
● E - Evidence - name a specific piece of historical evidence
and explain it
● A - Analysis - demonstrate how your evidence proves your
topic sentence
Do this for parts A, B, and C!

“There are scores of rich Muslim merchants from the Kingdom of Srivijaya [in Southeast Asia] who are living or
were born in our city of Quanzhou [in southern China]. Among them is a man called Shi Nuowei, who is a
Muslim. He is famous for his generosity among his fellow foreign residents in Quanzhou. The building of a
cemetery for foreign merchants is but one of his many generous deeds. This cemetery project was first proposed by
another Srivijaya foreigner, but he died before he could finish it. Shi then built the cemetery on the hillside to the
east of the city. The cemetery is covered with a roof, enclosed by a wall, and safely locked at night. All foreign
merchants who die in Quanzhou are to be buried there.
Shi’s kind deed allows the foreign merchants in our city to not have to worry about being able to be buried
according to the requirements of their own religions. Shi’s kindness will certainly promote overseas trade and
encourage more foreigners to come to Quanzhou, where they could live and conduct their business in harmony. I
have included this story here so that news of it will be widely circulated overseas.” - Lin Zhiqi, Chinese
government customs inspector in the port of Quanzhou, description of the city and its surroundings, circa 1170
In your response, be sure to address all parts of the question. Use complete sentences; an outline or bulleted list
alone is not acceptable. Use the passage to answer all parts of the question that follows.
A. Identify ONE historical process in South or Southeast Asia that accounts for the religion of the Srivijaya
merchants in Quanzhou, as reported in the passage.
B. Explain ONE aspect of the economic development of China under the Song dynasty that led to the
flourishing of commerce that is reflected in the passage.
C. Explain ONE way in which the author’s point of view, purpose, or intended audience may have influenced his
assessment of the events described in the passage.

AP World History: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450 CE

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AP World History: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450 CE