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Period: 250 to 900
Maya (Classic Period)
Location: Southeastern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, stretching into some parts of El Salvador and Honduras
Fact: The Mayans were polytheistic and believed in over 160 different gods. The main gods they believed in were the ones that would affect a person's daily life such as objects in nature. -
Period: 320 to 550
Gupta Empire
Location: Northern India, and some parts of central and western India
Fact: The Gupta followed more than one religion, Buddhism and Hinduism. -
Period: 330 to 1453
Byzantine Empire
Location: Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and a few parts of North Africa
Fact: For the Byzantine empire, the main religion was Eastern Orthodox. The religion and government worked closely, compared to other empires. They would not only view the emperor as the government leader but as a real life representative of God, and Jesus Christ. -
Period: 618 to
Imperial China
Location: The Korean peninsula in the east all the way to Mongolia in the north, Nanjing to Beijing
Factt: They followed Daoism (Taoism) which was more of the go with the flow and let things happen, and Confucianism which was more of respecting the people around you, and trying to focus on social harmony. -
Period: 632 to 1258
Muslim Empire
Location: Most parts of Southwest Asia, Northern Africa, and Spain
Fact: The Muslims would make pilgrimages to Mecca known as Hajj, where they would perform religious rituals. The Muslims followed 2 different religious texts, the Qur’an, and the Sunnah. -
Period: 794 to
Japan
Location: Heian Kyo, and east coast of Honshu
Fact: The Samurai believed in two different types of Buddhism; Amida Buddhism which was a less popular option, and Zen Buddhism which was more popular among the Samurai. -
Period: 800 to
Holy Roman Empire
Location: Central Western Europe
Fact: The people in the Holy Roman Empire believed in Jesus, and practiced Jewish practices, but started converting over to Christianity. -
Period: 830 to 1235
Ghana
Location: Western Sahel Region, in Africa
Fact: Ghana followed Christianity and Islam. -
Period: 1235 to
Mali
Location: Western Africa
Fact: Most of the population was Muslim but followed Islam practices. -
Period: 1325 to 1521
Aztecs
Location: Central, and Southern Mexico
Fact: There was a Great Temple which had two staircases leading to multiple shrines, one dedicated to the chief god, Huitzilopochtli; and one was dedicated to the rain god, Tlaloc. There were stones outside of the shrines where priests would perform human sacrifices. -
Period: 1438 to 1533
Inca
Location: Located around the Andes Mountains, extending from northern Ecuador all the way to central Chile
Fact: The Inca believed in several different gods which they thought represented different aspects of nature, the sun god, Inti, being the most important. -
Period: 1464 to
Songhai
Location: Western Africa, mostly located around the Niger River
Fact: Most people in Songhai followed Islam but also practiced West African beliefs.