📅Weekly Schedule and Objectives: Africa, East Asia, and the Mongols

Topic: Africa

Weekly Schedule
Due Date	Activity
July 21	Read and examine this week's module Textbook: Chapters 13-15 Watch: All Videos
July 21	Discussion Assignments
July 21	Homework Assignments
July 21	Review Quizzes

Image: Chieftain and Warriors of Benin

Summary:

Africa is correctly recognized as the cradle of our human origins. But most people outside the continent assume that there is little diversity in the cultural structures of Africa. However, Africa has always enjoyed a rich geographic and cultural variety. The societies in the north are as separate from those in the south as if they lived in entirely different continents. Though most of Africa's early history was passed on through oral traditions, their long memory and cultural values have preserved much of their story. Archaeology, linguistics, and anthropology continually add to our understanding of African roots.

It is equally important to examine the size and scope of Africa in order to appreciate the experiences of each region. Much of Africa has had contact with the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean trade networks for thousands of years, and the local cultures reflect this eclectic mix of native and outside traditions. If we wish to understand who we are as humans, we must first know where we came from and value the fascinating history of Africa.

Islam in Africa

Early African societies were as varied as the continent's geography and climate. Despite this diversity, commonalities, especially those spread by the Bantu migrations, connected many African regions. As the Bantu migrations came to an end, Islamic connections spread. Africans adapted their cultures and societies to local topographical and climate conditions. African political life revolved around families, clans, and kingdoms. Most African societies were polytheistic and African religion was closely tied to artistic and cultural expression.

Prior to the arrival of Islam, North Africa remained on the margins of Mediterranean civilization. But when Africa became part of Islamic civilization early in the eighth century, its orientation changed completely. Islam connected North Africa to Southwest Asia. The advent of Umayyad Spain brought into being a vibrant, cosmopolitan cultural synthesis. In Egypt, the Fatimids introduced Shi'ite Islam and contributed to the creation of Egypt's unique Islamic culture.

Saharan trade accelerated once camels were introduced from Central Asia. Trade was transformed once again by the Islamic conquest of North Africa. Once this happened, Saharan trade became part of a huge commercial and cultural network extending from Persia to Spain. The effects on West Africa were profound. First, it introduced Islam into the region. Second, it made African gold available to a broad market. Third, it stimulated the growth of the slave trade. Finally, it urbanized West Africa and transformed clusters of villages into kingdoms.

East Asia

The fall of the Han dynasty led to five centuries of political instability and even chaos, known as the Age of Disunity. The Three Kingdoms era (220–280) was followed by the Xiongnu conquest of the north, which brought about another century of chaos and ruin. This era came to an end in 439 when the Toba, a Mongolian nomadic tribe, gained control over the entire northern region. The Toba established a dynasty called the Northern Wei and restored a semblance of stability to northern China. Meanwhile, the turmoil in the north prompted mass migrations to the south and Buddhism became popular as an answer to the age’s difficulties.

In 589, Yang Jian ended the Age of Disunity by conquering all of China and founding the Sui dynasty. The Sui dynasty paved the way for the much longer-lived Tang dynasty (618–907). Starting in 907, China entered a new period of disunity, which came to an end in 960 when Zhao Kuangyin reunified China and founded the Song Dynasty. The Song resisted the temptation to conquer new lands, focusing instead on controlling China itself. In this context, the Song initiated a series of important governmental reforms. The Song also promoted commerce, making China an economic giant. Once again, however, China was disrupted by nomadic invasions, this time by the Jurchen in 1114. The Song were driven from the north and forced to regroup in the south. The Song survived and thrived in the south until the Mongol conquest.

The Tang and the Song brought stability and security that strengthened Chinese commerce. Farming advances also contributed to population growth and commercial power. Technological innovations enhanced international trade. Stability and prosperity, in turn, stimulated spiritual, intellectual, and cultural creativity, centered mainly in the cities. China’s peasant population, however, knew little of the splendors of the city. Chinese society, both urban and rural, remained intensely patriarchal.

Vietnam, Korea, Japan

For most of the first millennium, Vietnam was ruled by China. Thus, unlike the rest of Southeast Asia, where Indian culture was the main foreign influence, Chinese influences dominated in Vietnam. The result was a uniquely Vietnamese synthesis. In 939 the Vietnamese managed to regain their political autonomy. Vietnam then expanded southward along the Southeast Asian coast.

Like the Vietnamese, the Koreans developed a distinctive language and culture, and then came under Chinese rule in the second century b.c.e. Also like the Vietnamese, the Koreans adapted Chinese ideas and institutions to their local culture. Eventually the Koreans too, regained their political autonomy. Unlike the Vietnamese, however, for centuries Korea continued to pay tribute to China’s emperors and retained close cultural ties.

Largely isolated, the Japanese were the last of the East Asian peoples to develop a complex culture based on farming settlements. By 300 c.e., Japan was dominated by native warrior clans and, by 500 c.e., one of these clans, the Yamato, had brought most of Japan under its control. The Yamato established itself as the first ruling dynasty, tracing their descent from the Shinto sun goddess. The Korean introduction of Buddhism to Japan in the mid-sixth century ushered in a period of extensive borrowing from China. This was followed by the Heian era (794–1185), during which Japan developed a new culture that blended Japanese and Chinese ways. By the twelfth century, local warlords and samurai armies, who brought an end to the political power of the Heian court, dominated Japan. The Minamoto came to rule as shoguns, leaving the emperor in a ceremonial position.

The Mongols

From the first explosion of military might from the steppes of central Asia in the early 13th century, the Mongols made a stunning appearance on the center stage of world history. Their invasions and expansion ended or interrupted many of the great empires of the medieval period and also extended the trade network that had increasingly defined the prosperity of Asia. Under Genghis Khan, the Mongols and their nomadic neighbors were forged into one of the mightiest war machines the world had ever seen. With astonishing rapidity the Mongols conquered central Asia, northern China, and much of eastern Persia. Genghis Khan's heirs added the rest of China, Tibet, Iraq, and southern Russia to the empire. Although much of what the Mongols did was destructive, their conquests also produced beneficial consequences; the relative peace and stability of the Mongol territories allowed for the spread and exchange of prosperity, material goods, technology, organisms, and new ideas that flowed along the trade routes protected by Mongol armies. In many ways, the Mongols laid the foundations for the modern world.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this week's module, students will be able to:

Examine the major historical events in Africa to 1500 CE
Analyze the history and cultures of the diverse societies in Africa
Critically analyze major historical events in East Asia, such as

The rise and fall of Chinese dynasties
The connections between China and Vietnam and Korea
Japanese history and culture by 1400

Analyze the reasons for the success of the Mongol conquests and their lasting influence
Explain the period of relative peace and prosperity initiated by the Mongols