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Africans used Iron tools for farming.
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Maya (200 - 400)
Aztec (1325 - 1521)
Inca (1440 - 1537) -
Muhammad was born in Mecca in the year 570. Starting out as a child of a merchant family, he traveled in his uncle’s caravans. He then married a woman who ran a wealthy business when he was 25. When he was 40, Muslims believe that he had an encounter with an angel, telling him that he was the prophet of God.
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Muhammad (570 - 632)
Abu Baker ( ? - 634)
Mehmed II (1432 - 1481)
Suleyman I (1520 - 1566) his rule
Omar Khayyám (Famous poet) -
Prince Shotoku ( 573 - 621 )
Lady Murasaki Shikibu ( around 1000 )
Oda Nobunaga ( 1534 - 1582 )
Tokugawa Ieyasu ( 1543 - 1616 ) -
After the Period of Disunion, China is once again reunified under the rule of Yang Jian in 589 AD. The Sui Dynasty did not last long, as it ended in 616 AD. During the dynasty, the Grand Canal was built, linking northern and southern China. After the Sui Dynasty came the Tang Dynasty. The Tang Dynasty is also known as the Golden Age of Chinese civilization. One of the greatest rulers included Taizong, and Empress Wu, who was the only female to rule China.
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Sui Dynasty (589 - 618)
Tang Dynasty (618 - 918)
Song (960 - 1279)
Yuan Dynasty (1279 - 1368)
Ming Dynasty (1368 - 1644) -
Prince Shotoku served as a regent for the empress, and worked to bring Chinese ideas to Japan. He had always admired Chinese culture, so he sent scholars to study Chinese society. Confucianism and and Buddhism began to spread. People wanted to keep their tradition religion, Shinto, but due to Prince Shotoku's efforts, it became more popular.
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In the Tang Dynasty, they developed a new type of teachings called Neo Confucianism, with Neo meaning "new". Neo Confucianism has many of the same teachings as Confucianism, except with an emphasis on spiritual matters.
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After the death of Muhammad, Abu Bakrwas chosen to be his successor. Directing a series of wars,he began to unite Arabia. The conquered people were allowed to continue practicing their religion freely and were did not have Islam forced upon them.
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The Soninke, one of the first West Africans, banded together for protection. This was the beginning of Ghana. Ghana then grew stronger; by 800AD, they had control over West African’s trade routes. They taxed all the traders, and with the overwhelming amount of traders, they soon became rich.
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Ghana (800 - 1200)
Mali (1230 - 1500)
Songhai (1400 -1591) -
Although people don’t know what caused the decline of the Mayan civilization. Historians have many theories. One such theory was that there was a rebellion led by the common people, or the increased warfare with other cities that were fighting for power.
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In the Song Dynasty, they developed new irrigation techniques, such as digging underground wells. They invented a dragon backbone pump, which allowed farmers to scoop water into irrigation canals.
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Lady Murasaki Shikibu, one of the greatest writers in Japanese history, wrote what is considered the first full-length novel called The Tale of Genji. Its about a prince who is on a conquest for love, and the story describes court life in great detail.
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Bushido is the code of honor for samurai. Bushido means the way of the warrior. Both men and women had to follow it. Both men and women samurai learned how to fight. Loyalty and honor are the two most important values to a samurai. Zen Buddhism was popular among samurai.
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The Ottomans, who were Muslim Turkish warriors began to take over the Christian Byzantine Empire. Their key to success was their military unit, called the Janisseries, who were Christian boys trained and converted into Islam.
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Genghis Khan was well known for his conquests and murder. He had a powerful army and had conquered a large part of Asia. In 1211, he decided to invade China, and they began fighting their way south, killing entire towns. By the time of his death, all of northern China was under Mongol rule.
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Being a fairly devout Muslim, Mansa Musa left on a pilgrimage to Meca. On the journey, he shared his immense wealth with the Islamic world, spreading Mali’s fame.
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The Aztecs were polytheistic, and often conducted rituals that included human sacrifice. They would use battle captives and cut out their hearts as a blood offered get to their gods. They sacrificed around 10,000 people per year.
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Foreigners who visited Ghana often wrote about it. The most famous one, Ibn Battutah, wrote a detailed account in politics and cultural lives of the West Africans.
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Pizarro arrived at the Inca Empire as Atahualpa was on his way to be crowned king after winning his brother. He caught word that Spanish soldiers had arrived and went to check it out. When he went to meet them, the conquistadors attacked and caught them by surprise. The conquistadors killed thousands of the Incan soldiers and captured Atahualpa. The Incans offered 24 tons of gold in exchange for Atahualpa, but Pizarro took the gold and killed Atahualpa anyways.
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Using Greek and Indian knowledge of medicine, they built on those ideas and made their own discoveries. The first pharmacy was built to educate people on how to make medicine, and a scholar from Baghdad discovered how to treat smallpox. Also, another doctor had written a medical encyclopedia.
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The Five Pillars of Islam are Shahadah, Salah, Zakat, Sawm, and Hajj. These Pillars have not changed since then, and Muslims all over the world are required to follow these.
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Animism was the belief of many in ancient Africa. Even though it has lost much of its influence, many Africans nowadays declare themselves Judaic, but still practice some Animism practices. Around 10% of Africans nowadays still practice Animism.
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In the Tang Dynasty, was the magnetic compass. It was improved from the one the Hans had used. The compass allowed sailors to navigate more accurately.
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The Mayans were one of the first people to use the number zero. The number zero is now very commonly used in mathematics.
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Japan had an emperor in the olden days, but the emperor was merely a figurehead; the Shogun had the most power. Japan still has emperor nowadays.