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Period: 500 to Feb 4, 1450
Byzantine Empire
The Byzantine Empire was an extremely powerful force during the Middle Ages. It established the Eastern Orthodox Church. It also spread its empire into Russian land. Created Constantinople as a major trading hub of that time. It also influeced the world around it, esoeciialy Russia. Byzantine's greatest achivement was the fact that it was able to last for close to 1000 years. The empire eventually collapsed due to invading forces. -
Period: Feb 2, 600 to Feb 3, 1450
Middle Ages
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Feb 3, 600
Fall of the Gupta Dynasty
The fall of the Gupta Dynasty left India in a state of disorganization. Many different regional kingdoms came to power. -
Feb 3, 622
Beggining of Islam
Islam came to be a very important religion based upon the Quran and the teachings of Muhommad. The spread shows how trade routes were significant in the diffusion of culture. -
Feb 3, 645
Taika Reforms
The Taika reforms in Japan lead to the rise of feudalism, similiar to the feudalism in medieval Europe. Shows how societies extremely far away developed similiar ways of life. -
Period: Feb 4, 661 to Feb 4, 750
Umayyad Caliphate
The Umayyad was a very powerful Islamic caliphate. They expanded into much of Europe with their army but was eventually stopped at the Battle of Tours. They spread their Islamic culute while expanding their empire. The decline of the Umayyad can be attributed to increasing civil war. -
Period: Feb 4, 700 to Feb 4, 1100
Ghana
The abundance of gold and salt was very important in the success of Ghana. Being a major supplier of minerals, Ghana came to be a very important trade city in Africa. At first Ghana, meaning "king of god and had absolute power", was goverened by a single ruler but as time went on nobles rose up to eventually establish a bureacracy. -
Period: Feb 4, 700 to Feb 4, 1100
Mali
Mali, one of twelve kingdoms under the rule of Ghana, broke away and became a center of trade and Islamic learing. Mali economy was based on trading and diffused muslim teachings through its trading. -
Period: Feb 4, 700 to Feb 4, 1156
Toltecs
Took powerover central Mexico after the decline of Teotihuacan. They were nomadic like people and loved war. Eventually their empire extended to the Yucatan Peninsula. The Toltec's adopted much of their culture fromt the previous south american civilizations. They were defeated by the Chichimecs arounf 1156. -
Feb 3, 732
The Battle of Tours
The Frank led by Charles Martel defeated the invading Islamic army. This victory was extremely important in the success of Christianity due to the fact that the defeat of the Islamic army halted the spread of Islam into Europe. -
Period: Feb 4, 750 to Feb 4, 1258
Abbasid Caliphate
The rise of the Abassid Caliphate lead to stablization of Islamic power. This lead to political, social, technological and economical advancements. All these advancements sparked the Golden Age of Islam. Trade was also increased during the Abassid rule. The social class of merchants and artisans was uplifted during this time. The fall of the Abassid was due to the inability to govern such a large area of land and broken regional alliances. -
Feb 4, 1050
Chinese Moveable Type
The invention of movebale type led to many advancements. It made it much easier to duplicate written text. This meant that records of different thigns could be kept and duplicated. It also allowed for the duplication of many different books which allowed people to obtain more information about various topics. -
Feb 3, 1054
The Great Schism
The differences between many religious officlals led to the Great Schism. The schism resulted into the two branches of christianity. In the east the Eastern Orthodox Church prevailed and in the west the Romacn Catholics dominated. -
Feb 3, 1066
Norman Conquest
William the Conquerer led hsi French soldiers into England. They conquered much of England -
Feb 3, 1096
Start of the Crusades
The Crusades were holy wars between the Christians and the Muslims over Jerusalem. Many believe the Pope used a fight for religion as motivation for Christians to fight thus expanding his territory. -
Period: Feb 4, 1206 to Feb 4, 1526
Delhi Sultanate
A bureacracy was established during this period. Their greatest achievement was being able to hold off the Monguls until Timur. -
Feb 3, 1236
Establishment of the Goldne Horde Khanate
In 1236 the Russian aristocracy could no longer hold off hte Mongols or Tatars. This led to the formation of hte Golden Horde Khanate under the Bantu Khan. The khanate created an era of peace throughout Asia that tolerated religions and encouraged trade. -
Feb 3, 1240
Sundiata the Lion Prince
Created Mali social structure and organized clans and kingodms of Mali. He also formed a permanent army and made Niani, the capitol. -
Period: Feb 4, 1250 to Feb 4, 1517
Mamluk Dominance in Egypt
THe Mamluks were able to assert their dominance in Egyot during this time. They established their empire in both Egypt and Syria. In 1260 they defeated the almighty Mongols. -
Feb 4, 1260
Battle of Ain Jalut
The Mamluks were able to defeat the mighty Mongols. -
Feb 4, 1294
Kublai Khan Death
The death of Kublai Khan forces Mongol troops to return back to Asia, saving Europe from Mongol destruction. -
Feb 4, 1300
Black Plague
The Bubonic Plague was a devastating disease that hit Europe the hardest. Many historians believe that it was spread to Europe becuase of the silk road trading network that thrived under the Mongol rule. -
Period: Feb 4, 1300 to
Songhai
Songhai was once a kingdom of Mali but then refused to pay tribute and broke off. Under Sunni Ali Songhai was organized by clans and expanded. -
Feb 3, 1324
Mansa Musa's Hajj
Mansa Musa was a wealthy Islamic leader from Mali. He made a very extravagent and enriching journey to Mecca. He traveled with a large caravan carrying exquisite goods and lots of riches. This over the top hajj made people think of Islam as a very rich and satifying religion. His pilgrimmage showed Islam as a powerful religion and caused people to convert. -
Period: Feb 4, 1337 to Feb 4, 1453
100 Years War
The 100 years war began between France and England. France ended up winning the war. From the war weapon technology increases, fuedalism breaks down, and nationalism is born. This war was a major turning point in European power. -
Period: Feb 4, 1345 to Feb 4, 1520
Aztecs
These savage like people migrated from Atzlan to Lake Texococ around 1325 C.E. They were ruled by a single king and then below the king were calpulli. The empire as divided into city states and many strict laws were imposed on the Aztec people. They were extremely religious and worshipe d many dieties. They also practiced human sacrifice and cannabalism. Disease brought by spanish explorers is what most likely destroyed the Aztec civilization. -
Vladimir I converts to Christianity.
By converting to Christianity, Vladimir brought was essential in the diffusion of Christianity into Russian culture. He ordered his people to convert aswell. -
Sacking of Rome
In 846 Arab raiders invaded and sacked Rome. The destruction of Rome led to the "Reconquista" of Spain. -
Mayan Empire
Powerful empire in south America. Their cities were located around religious temples where many different animistic dieties were honored. The Mayans were a mysterious empire in the americas and where quite successful. -
Viking Ship Innovations
The advancements in ships allowed many important things too happen.Th vikings could now take longer trips by sea meaning that they can trade with outside lands. Also, this eventually led to the discovery of the Americas by the vikings. -
Crowning of Charlemagne
Charlemagne was crowned by Pope Leo III. This shows how the church had indirect control over the Frankish Empire. -
Period: to Feb 4, 617
Sui Dynasty
Notable leaders like Wendi and Yangdi were responsible for many of the Sui's accomplishments. The Sui was a bureacracy, it standardized coins, and expanded the silk road. The Sui most likely fell due to unsucessful military campaigns. -
Period: to Feb 4, 1185
Heinan Period
Period of Japanese history when the capitol was at Heian. The imperial court was very influential. The Fujiwara ruled indirectly through the Emporer. This period began the Bushi period and increased clan strength. -
Period: to Feb 4, 1276
Song Dynasty
With the Tnag out of the picture, commander Taizu reunited China under the Song Dynasty. The Song strengthened the scholar-gentry class and imposed the exam system to balance the power. They promoted merit over family ties and riches. Neo-Confucianism was a big part of the Song religion. The empire was smaller than the Tang but the population increased from 45 mil - 115 mil. Women were not treated anywhere near the status of men. The Song Dynasty had been taken over by the Mongols by 1276. -
Period: to
Tang Dynasty
The Tang Dynasty was one of the most successfull Chinese Dynasties. It was established by Li Yuan. They expanded their territory, but by doing so they came into more conflict with the Middle East and India. Their political advancements include the rebuilding of imperial bureacracy and the use of the civil service exam. On the technological side the Grand Canal was extended to be 1240 miles long. The Tang also influenced Korea and Japan greatly. The eventual decline was caused by corruption.