Sunday, November 24, 2013

Agenda: Nov. 24-25

Happy Thanksgiving:

Use the following YouTube video to annotate your DBQ...
 Annotating your DBQ

Agenda:  November 24th-25th

Learning Targets Chapter 10

CLICK HERE for Notes regarding Chapter 10

 Crash Course Christianity
Crash Course: Christianity

 Crash Course Fall of Rome
Crash Course: Fall of Rome

 Crash Course: Dark Ages
Crash Course: Dark Ages

 Crash Course: Crusades
Crash Course: The Crusades


 Crash Course Venice and the Ottoman Empire
Crash Course: Venice and the Ottomans

 Crash Course Russia
Crash Course: Russia




Saturday, November 16, 2013

Agenda: Nov.18th-Nov. 22nd

Agenda: Nov. 18th-22nd

Week at a Glance:
Monday-
Tuesday-
Wednesday-
Thursday-
Friday-



World History AP with Mr. Mers
Unit 3  AN AGE OF ACCELERATING CONNECTIONS 500–1500
CHAPTER 11 The Worlds of Islam  Afro-Eurasian Connections, 600–1500
Chapter Learning Targets
  • To examine the causes behind the spread of Islam
  • To explore the dynamism of the Islamic world as the most influential of the third-wave civilizations
  • To consider the religious divisions within Islam and how they affected political development
  • To consider Islam as a source of cultural encounters with Christian, African, and Hindu cultures
  • To increase student awareness of the accomplishments of the Islamic world in the period 600–1500 C.E.
Big Picture Questions
1. What distinguished the first centuries of Islamic history from the early history of Christianity and Buddhism? What similarities and differences characterized their religious outlooks?
2. How might you account for the immense religious and political/military success of Islam in its early centuries?
3. In what ways might Islamic civilization be described as cosmopolitan, international, or global?
4. “Islam was simultaneously both a single world of shared meaning and interaction and a series of separate and distinct communities, often in conflict with one another.” What evidence could you provide to support both sides of this argument?
5. What changes did Islamic expansion generate in those societies that encountered it, and how was Islam itself transformed by those encounters?
Margin Review Questions
1. In what ways did the early history of Islam reflect its Arabian origins?
2. How does the core message of Islam compare with that of Judaism and Christianity?
3. In what ways was the rise of Islam revolutionary, both in theory and in practice?
4. Why were Arabs able to construct such a huge empire so quickly?
5. What accounts for the widespread conversion to Islam?
6. What is the difference between Sunni and Shia Islam?
7. In what ways were Sufi Muslims critical of mainstream Islam?
8. How did the rise of Islam change the lives of women?
9. What similarities and differences can you identify in the spread of Islam to India, Anatolia, West Africa, and Spain?
10. Why was Anatolia so much more thoroughly Islamized than India?
11. What makes it possible to speak of the Islamic world as a distinct and coherent civilization?
12. In what ways was the world of Islam a “cosmopolitan civilization”?
Key Terms
Abbasid caliphate: Dynasty of caliphs who ruled an increasingly fragmented Islamic state from 750 to 1258, eventually becoming little more than figureheads. (pron. ah-BASS-id)
Andalus, al-: Arabic name for Spain (literally “the land of the Vandals”), most of which was conquered by Arab and Berber forces in the early eighth century c.e. (pron. al-AND-ah-loos)
Anatolia: Ancient name of Asia Minor, part of the Byzantine Empire that was gradually overrun by the Turks and that now is the Republic of Turkey. (pron. an-ah-TOLE-ee-yah)
Battle of Talas River: Arab victory over the Chinese in 751 c.e. that checked Chinese expansion to the west and enabled the conversion of Central Asia to Islam. (pron. tah-las)
Bedouins: Nomadic Arabs. (pron. BED-wins)
dhimmis: “Protected subjects” under Islamic rule, non-Muslims who were allowed to practice their faith as “people of the book” in return for their paying special taxes. (pron. DIM-ees)
Ghazali, al-: Great Muslim theologian, legal scholar, and Sufi mystic (1058–1111) who was credited with incorporating Sufism into mainstream Islamic thought. (pron. al-gha-ZAHL-ee)
hadiths: Traditions passed on about the sayings or actions of Muhammad and his immediate followers; hadiths rank second only to the Quran as a source of Islamic law. (pron. hah-DEETHS)
hajj: The pilgrimage to Mecca enjoined on every Muslim who is able to make the journey; one of the Five Pillars of Islam. (pron. HAHJ)
hijra: The “flight” of Muhammad and his original seventy followers from Mecca to Yathrib (later Medina) in 622 c.e.; the journey marks the starting point of the Islamic calendar. (pron. HIJ-ruh)
House of Wisdom: An academic center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Baghdad in 830 c.e. by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun.
Ibn Battuta: Fourteenth-century Arab traveler (1304–1368) who wrote about his extensive journeys throughout the Islamic world. (pron. IB-uhn ba- TOO-tuh)
Ibn Sina: One of the greatest polymaths of the Islamic world (980–1037), a Persian who wrote prolifically on scientific (especially medical) and philosophical issues; he is often known as “Avicenna,” the Latinized form of his name. (pron. ibn SEE-nah)
 imams: In Shia Islam, leaders with high religious authority; the twelve imams of early Shia Islam were Muhammad’s nephew Ali and his descendants. (pron. EE-mahms)
jihad: Arabic for “struggle,” this term describes both the spiritual striving of each Muslim toward a godly life and armed struggle against the forces of unbelief and evil. (pron. jee-HAHD)
jizya: Special tax paid by dhimmis in Muslim-ruled territory in return for freedom to practice their own religion. (pron. jeez-YAH)
Kaaba: Great stone shrine in Mecca that was a major pilgrimage center for worshippers of many different deities before it was reconsecrated to monotheistic use by Muhammad. (pron. KAH-bah)
madrassas: Formal colleges for higher instruction in the teachings of Islam as well as in secular subjects, founded throughout the Islamic world beginning in the eleventh century. (pron. MAH-dras-ahs)
Mecca: Key pilgrimage center in Arabia that became the birthplace of Islam.
Mozarabs: “Would-be Arabs” in Muslim-ruled Spain, referring to Christians who adopted much of Arabic culture and observed many Muslim practices without actually converting to Islam. (pron. MOH-zah-rabs)
Muhammad Ibn Abdullah: The Prophet of Islam (570–632 c.e.).
Muslim: Literally, “one who submits”; the name was adopted by Muhammad and his followers to describe their submission to God.
Pillars of Islam: The five core practices required of Muslims: a profession of faith, regular prayer, charitable giving, fasting during Ramadan, and a pilgrimage to Mecca (if financially and physically possible).
Polo, Marco: The most famous European traveler of the Middle Ages (1254–1324), whose travel account of his time in China was widely popular in Europe.
Rightly Guided Caliphs: The first four rulers of the Islamic world (632–661) after the death of Muhammad.
Quran: Also transliterated as Qur’án and Koran, this is the most holy text of Islam, recording the revelations given to the prophet Muhammad. (pron. kuh- RAHN)
sharia: Islamic law, dealing with all matters of both secular and religious life. (pron. sha-REE-ah)
shaykhs: Sufi teachers who attracted a circle of disciples and often founded individual schools of Sufism. (pron. SHAKES)
Sikhism: A significant syncretic religion that evolved in India, blending elements of Islam and Hinduism; founded by Guru Nanak (1469–1539). (pron. SEEK-ism)
Sufis: Islamic mystics, many of whom were important missionaries of Islam in conquered lands and who were revered as saints. (pron. SOO-fees)
Sultanate of Delhi: Major Turkic Muslim state established in northern India in 1206. (pron. DEL-ee)
Timbuktu: Great city of West Africa, noted as a center of Islamic scholarship in the fourteenth to sixteenth centuries. (pron. tim-buk-TOO)
ulama: Islamic religious scholars. (pron. oo-leh-MAH)
Umayyad caliphate: Family of caliphs who ruled the Islamic world from 661 to 750 c.e. (pron. oo-MY-ad)
umma: The community of all believers in Islam. (pron. UM-mah)

 Journey to Mecca
Journey to Mecca:  In the Footsteps of Ibn Batuta

 Crash Course Islam

Crash Course: Islam

 Crash Course Indian Ocean

Crash Course:  Indian Ocean Trade



Thursday, November 7, 2013

Ch 9 Targets


These are the targets for chapter 9...they are sloppy and will be fixed over the weekend.

Hooray 4 day weekend....Geronimo!

World History AP

Unit 3 AN AGE OF ACCELERATING CONNECTIONS 500–1500

Chapter 9 East Asian Connections, 300-1300

★ Explain the development of China as “superpower” among the third-wave civilizations.

★ Analyze the impact of China’s deep influence on East Asia.

★ Describe the ways in which interaction with other peoples had an impact on China.

★ Examine modern assumptions about China and determine the root of that perception.

1. In what ways did Tang and Song dynasty China resemble the classical Han dynasty period, and in what ways had

2. Based on this chapter, how would you respond to the idea that China was a self-contained or isolated civilization?

3. In what different ways did nearby peoples experience their giant Chinese neighbor, and how did they respond to it?

4. How can you explain the changing fortunes of Buddhism in China?

5. How did China influence the world beyond East Asia? How was China itself transformed by its encounters with a

1. Why are the centuries of the Tang and Song dynasties in China sometimes referred to as a “golden age”?

2. In what ways did women’s lives change during the Tang and Song dynasties?

3. How did the Chinese and their nomadic neighbors to the north view each other?

4. What assumptions underlay the tribute system?

5. How did the tribute system in practice differ from the ideal Chinese understanding of its operation?

6. In what ways did China and the nomads influence each other?

7. In what different ways did Korea, Vietnam, and Japan experience and respond to Chinese influence?

8. In what different ways did Japanese and Korean women experience the pressures of Confucian orthodoxy?

9. In what ways did China participate in the world of Eurasian commerce and exchange, and with what outcomes?

10. What facilitated the rooting of Buddhism within China?

11. What were the major sources of opposition to Buddhism within China?

An Lushan: Foreign-born general who led a major revolt against the Tang dynasty in 755–763, perhaps provoking China’s

turn to xenophobia. (pron. ahn loo-shahn)

bushido: The “way of the warrior,” referring to the military virtues of the Japanese samurai, including bravery, loyalty, and

an emphasis on death over surrender. (pron. boo-SHEE-doh)

Chinese Buddhism: Buddhism was China’s only large-scale cultural borrowing before the twentieth century;

Buddhism entered China from India in the first and second centuries c.e. but only became popular in 300–800 c.e. through a

series of cultural accommodations. At first supported by the state, Buddhism suffered persecution during the ninth

century but continued to play a role in Chinese society.

chu nom: A variation of Chinese writing developed in Vietnam that became the basis for an independent national

literature; “southern script.” (pron. choo nom)

foot binding: Chinese practice of tightly wrapping girls’ feet to keep them small, begun in the Tang dynasty; an emphasis

on small size and delicacy was central to views of female beauty.

hangul: A phonetic alphabet developed in Korea in the fifteenth century (pron. HAHN-gool)

Hangzhou: China’s capital during the Song dynasty, with a population of more than a million people. (pron. hong-joe)

Heian: Japan’s second capital city (now known as Kyoto), modeled on the Chinese capital of Chang’an; also used to

describe the period of Japanese history from 794 to 1192 c.e. (pron. HIGH-an)

Jurchen: A nomadic people who established a state that included parts of northern China (1115–1234).

kami: Sacred spirits of Japan, whether ancestors or natural phenomena; their worship much later came to be called Shinto.

Khitan: A nomadic people who established a state that included parts of northern China (907–1125). (pron. kee-tahn)

Koryo: Korean dynasty (918–1392). (pron. KAW-ree-oh)

Kumsong: The capital of Korea in the medieval era, modeled on the Chinese capital of Chang’an. (pron. KOOM-song)

Murasaki Shikibu: Perhaps Japan’s greatest author, a woman active at the Heian court who is best known for The Tale of

Genji, which she wrote around 1000 c.e. (pron. moo-rah-SAH-kee shee-KEE-boo)

Nara: Japan’s first capital city, modeled on the Chinese capital of Chang’an. (pron. NAH-rah)

Neo-Confucianism: A philosophy that emerged in Song-dynasty China; it revived Confucian thinking while adding in

Pure Land Buddhism: A school of Buddhism that proved to be immensely popular in China; emphasized salvation by faith

samurai: Members of Japan’s warrior class, which developed as political power became increasingly decentralized. (pron.

Shotoku Taishi: Japanese statesman (572–622) who launched the drive to make Japan into a centralized bureaucratic

state modeled on China; he is best known for the Seventeen Article Constitution, which lays out the principles of this

reform. (pron. show-TOE-koo tie-EESH-ah)

Silla dynasty: The first ruling dynasty to bring a measure of political unity to the Korean peninsula (688–900). (pron. SILL-ah

 Song dynasty economic revolution: A major economic quickening that took place in China under the Song dynasty

(960–1279); marked by rapid population growth, urbanization, economic specialization, the development of an

immense network of internal waterways, and a great increase in industrial production and innovation. (pron. soong)

Sui dynasty: Ruling dynasty of China (581–618) that effectively reunited the country after several centuries of political

Tang dynasty: Ruling dynasty of China from 618 to 907; noted for its openness to foreign cultural influences. (pron. tahng)

tanka: Highly stylized form of Japanese poetry that has been a favored means of expression for centuries. (pron.

tribute system: Chinese method of dealing with foreign lands and peoples that assumed the subordination of all

non-Chinese authorities and required the payment of tribute—produce of value from their countries—to the Chinese

emperor (although the Chinese gifts given in return were often much more valuable).

Trung sisters: Two Vietnamese sisters who launched a major revolt against the Chinese presence in Vietnam in 39 c.e.; the

rebellion was crushed and the sisters committed suicide, but they remained symbols of Vietnamese resistance to China

Uighurs: Turkic empire of the steppes; flourished in the eighth century c.e. (pron. WEE-gers)

Wendi, Emperor: Sui emperor (r. 581–604) who particularly patronized Buddhism. (pron. WEN-dee)

Xiongnu: Major nomadic confederacy that was established ca. 200 b.c.e. and eventually reached from Manchuria to Central

Yi: Korean dynasty (1392–1910). (pron. yee)

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Agenda: Nov. 4th-7th

Agenda:  Nov. 4th-7th

Week at a Glance:
Monday- Go over quiz ch 8/Primary Source study-Ibn Batuta & Marco Polo
Tuesday-  Ibn Batuta & Marco Polo Primary Source activity...Sild/Sea/Sand Road Connections
Wednesday-  TESTING DAY
Thursday-  Ch 8 TEST
Friday-  NO  SCHOOL!

Monday, Nov. 4th 
Quote of the day: “Traveling- it leaves you speechless, then turns you into a storyteller"- Ibn Battuta”

Agenda:  
1.  Go over quiz Chapter 8
2.  Intro to unit 3
3.  Document study- Ibn Batuta & Marco Polo
4.  Notes Chapter 8

 Ibn Batuta
 Marco Polo



 Crash Course: Silk Road













 Crash Course: Indian Ocean













 Crash Course: Mansa Musa
















 Silk Road













 Driving the Silk road















 Legacy of Silk Road