AP World History Unit 1 Study Notes (Circa 1200-1450)
Overview
● Unit 1 focuses on major world civilizations building and maintaining states between
1200-1450.
● A state = a politically organized territory under one government (e.g., USA, Japan).
Song Dynasty (China)
● Ruled 960-1279
● Methods of rule:
1. Neo-Confucianism: Revival of Confucianism emphasizing hierarchical
society—orderly relationships: ruler/subject, men/women, parents/children, etc.
■ Emphasis on filial piety—children honor parents/ancestors.
■ Resulted in increased subordination of women: Loss of legal rights, limited
education, foot binding among elites as a status symbol.
2. Imperial Bureaucracy: Expanded government with civil service exams based on
Confucian texts.
■ Merit-based official recruitment (theoretically open to all men but practically
for wealthy elites).
● Influenced neighboring Korea, Japan, and Vietnam (adoption of civil service exams,
Buddhism).
Buddhism in Song China
● Originated in India; teachings based on Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path to end
suffering.
● Two major branches:
○ Theravada (Sri Lanka): Monastic, focused on monks achieving enlightenment.
○ Mahayana (East Asia): Broader participation, bodhisattvas help others reach
enlightenment.
● Buddhism adapted to local cultures, blending with Confucianism and Daoism.
Economy & Innovations
● Period of prosperity, population explosion due to:
○ Champa rice—fast-growing, drought-resistant, multiple harvests/year.
○ Commercialization: artisans and manufacturers produced surplus goods (porcelain,
silk) for domestic and Eurasian trade.
○ Expanded Grand Canal improved internal trade and communication.
Dar al-Islam (Islamic World)
● Comprised regions where Islam was central (Middle East, North Africa, parts of Asia).
● Faiths coexisted with Judaism and Christianity; all were monotheistic.
● After 1200, the Abbasid Caliphate (centered in Baghdad) declined; Turkic Muslim empires
(Seljuk, Mamluk, Delhi Sultanate) rose.
● Turkic elites controlled military and state; continued use of Sharia law (Quran-based legal
system).
● Flourished in sciences and scholarship:
1. Nasir al-Din al-Tusi contributed to mathematics (trigonometry).
2. Preservation and translation of Greek philosophy in House of Wisdom in Baghdad
(important for later European Renaissance).
● Expansion through:
1. Military conquest (Seljuks, Delhi Sultanate).
2. Merchants spreading Islam through trade networks.
3. Sufi missionaries promoting adaptable, mystical Islam facilitating conversion.
South & Southeast Asia
● Religions: Hinduism (dominant), Buddhism (declining in India), Islam (rose with Delhi
Sultanate, elite conversion).
● Bhakti movement in Hinduism emphasized personal devotion to one god, opposing rigid
Hindu social hierarchies.
● Political:
○ Delhi Sultanate ruled North India, but faced resistance from Hindu Rajput kingdoms
and newly formed Vijayanagara Empire in the South.
○ Vijayanagara was founded by former Muslim converts back to Hinduism, illustrating
religious and political pushback.
● Southeast Asia:
○ Diverse kingdoms influenced by India/China.
○ Majapahit kingdom (Java) controlled sea trade routes but declined as Malacca
Sultanate gained power (aided by China).
○ Khmer Empire transitioned from Hinduism to Buddhism; built Angkor Wat to reflect
religious blending.
Americas
● Major civilizations:
○ Aztecs: Founded 1345, capital Tenochtitlan was largest city pre-European contact.
Empire relied on tribute states demanding goods/labor; human sacrifice was key in
religion.
○ Incas: Highly centralized bureaucracy; required conquered people’s labor (mit’a
system) for state projects; more direct control than Aztecs.
● Mississippian culture (North America): agriculture-based, politically organized around large
towns and monumental mounds (e.g., Cahokia).
Africa
● East Africa - Swahili civilization: Independent trading city-states on coast, Muslim influence
via merchants, created Swahili language blending Bantu and Arabic.
● West Africa: Powerful centralized empires (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) grew wealthy through
trade and converted elites to Islam; majority retained indigenous beliefs.
● Hausaland: City-states acting as trans-Saharan trade brokers, less centralized than West
African empires.
● Great Zimbabwe: Wealthy from farming, cattle, and gold trade; retained indigenous
shamanistic religion, no Islamic conversion.
● Ethiopia: Christian kingdom uniquely surrounded by Muslim/indigenous neighbors;
hierarchical monarchy.
Europe
● Divided religiously and politically:
○ Eastern Europe: Byzantine Empire with Eastern Orthodox Christianity, linked to
Kievan Rus (converted in 988). Byzantine was declining by 1200.
○ Western Europe: Decentralized kingdoms under Roman Catholicism, which united
culturally and politically through church hierarchy (popes, bishops).
● Political system: Feudalism—lords granted land to vassals in exchange for military service.
● Economy/social organization: Manorialism—peasants (serfs) worked lords’ land, bound to it
but not slaves; lords held local power.
● Monarchs began centralizing power after 1000 CE, diminishing nobility’s authority (to be
explored in later units).
Key Takeaways
● State-building strategies varied globally but commonly involved hierarchical social orders,
bureaucracies, and religious justification of rule.
● Religion deeply influenced culture, politics, and societal norms, but also adapted locally
(Neo-Confucianism, Bhakti, Sufi Islam).
● Trade (land and sea) was a major driver of economic prosperity and cultural exchange.
● Political organization spectrum ranged from centralized empires (Song, Inca) to fragmented
feudal systems (Europe) and city-state networks (Swahili, Hausa).
● The period set foundations for interregional connections, technological innovations, and
cultural developments visible in later world history.
