The document summarizes key changes and events in several regions of the world from the 14th to 15th centuries. The Mongol Empire declined after destroying the Abbasid Caliphate in the 13th century. The Byzantine Empire fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453. The Ming dynasty replaced the Yuan dynasty in China and pursued expansionist policies. The Black Death devastated Europe's population in 1348. Western European monarchies grew stronger through the Reconquista of Iberia from Muslims. Prince Henry of Portugal sponsored voyages of exploration along the west African coast in the early 14th century, laying the foundations for wider European exploration.