Unveiling the Millennium: 500-1500

1. UNIT 3: Defining a Millennium 500-1500

2. Defining the Millennium • Most classical civilizations fell • Transatlantic voyages of 15th century define next era • How are we to understand the thousand years between the end of the classical era and the beginning of the modern world? • Difficulty to define this millennium's identity • Medieval—too Euro centric • “third wave civilizations”—ones following river valley, and classical

3. Defining the Millennium • Not easy to identify clearly defined features that encompass all the major civilizations during this period • Several patterns are true • Greater cultural interactions • Wholly new but small civilizations arose where none existed before • Swahili City States, KievanRus (Eastern Europe), Japan Korea and Vietnam witnessed new centers of civilization…

4. A New Player on the World Stage • Largest, most expansive and widely influential new third wave civilization was Islam • Began in Arabia 7th century • Arab people built an enormous empire based on new, attractive religion • Islam defined this new civilization • Encompassed vast area—East Africa, Spain, Southeastern Europe, Persia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Persia, interior Africe

5. The Old Civilizations • The Byzantine empire—eastern Roman Empire/continued Christianity lasted until 1453 • China—Sui, Tang, Song unified China under reasserted Confucian tradition • India retained caste and Hinduism along with cultural diversity –some fell under Muslim rulers • West Africa—Ghana, Mali, Songhay sustained trans Saharan trade. • Collapse of the Roman Empire and Western Europe—kings abdchurch leaders sought to maintain links with the older Greco-Roman-Christian traditions of classical Mediterranean civilizations. • Decentralized societies emerged • Became a backwater compared to rest of the world • Competition • Mesoamerica—Mayan collapse • Mexico saw the birth of the Aztecs • South America—Inca