Key Concept 3.3. Increased Economic Productive Capacity – Flashcards

with invasions people were driven off of the land and their urban setting and form of social class is destroyed and replaced with the conquering groups beliefs and powers(EX: English Farmers in the 1500's)

with any large population, people are forced together. People that are in abundance and in tight quarters are more likely to spread disease due to their lack of virus control and close proximities. AIDS (Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome) spread quickl in Sub- Saharan Africa and is now the fourth largest killer in the world even though it was first reported in 1981; The Black Death was another pandemic that swept through EURASIA AND north Sfrica from 1331- around 1352 and ended up killing almost half of the people in Europe and was carried through busy trade and city ports in the form of rats and fleas;

with a lack of agricultural productivity (caused by a lack of people to proceed with the labor) can be a cause of deadly problems such as famine and disease; with a lack of productivity, there is not enough food to keep the people fed which leads to the people being sick and dying of starvation; since people are without food, they are more likely to obtain and pass on illnesses and diseases because their immune system is down; all of this can lead to the decline and downfall of a once thriving city due to the weakness of the military and people

period of cooling which occurred after the Medieval Warm Period; period extending from the 16th-19th century; causes a decrease in the population because of the extreme temperatures that people cannot survive; crops also died due to extreme weather conditions which left people to starve

with the end of invasions usually comes a revival of either a new government and group of people and leaders or the strengthening of the old one; with the end of invasions comes a winner and a loser; whoever the winner is, takes over the land that they acquired; with a new leader comes new powers and the cycle starts all over again where the group gains power for a while until the next leader comes along to rival them.

a luxury for people because they were able to freely travel and trade throughout their terittory while feeling safe; this also lead to a greater amount of trade because people felt safer to move around and trade instead of being afraid of attack

also known as the Medieval Warm Period; was followed by an incredibly cold period called the "Little Ice Age"; increased commerce due to an increase of buying/ selling;

with an increase of agricutltural productivity (food) came a larger population because poeple were given more food which lead to stronger workers which led to a rise in population

with more opportunities of cheap labor comes an increase in urban building because there are more people who can build and provide the labor needed to create homes and urban areas; this also lead to greater job prodcution in general

defined as the cultivation of crops and on a smaller scale, animal pastoralization; peasant farmers usually sell their good in small and local marketplaces to cut down on the costs of putting their products into a larger scale trade network; they mainly use small tools and man power to get through all of the labor involved; creates a larger scale of agrictulture with more variety of good being produced.

this is moving from place to place in order to keep up with the ever changing lands to grow and produce agricultural products; and livestock are hearded around frequently so that they always have enough grass and natural resources to feed on;

the process by which people produce their goods without any form of tools and all with their own labor/ handy-work; this occurred greatly throughout the pre- industrialized world

Unfree Labor: when people are employed with the constant threat of injury or death looming over them;

with military origanization and an obligation at a certain age or other factor to go into the military allows for a unifed front and a strong army; if a person is required to go into the army, the army will therefore be much stronger due to its vastness; if the requirement is for a certain age (usually when school is finished, therefore a younger age) the people who are in the army will be young and strong

859 at the end of the Tang Dynasty; 1351 during the Song Dynasty; also occured during the Yuan Dynasty

532 AD: during the Byzantine empire in Constantinople, the Nika Revolt occurred; half the city was burned and tens of thousands were brutally killed

near the Volkhov River in northwestern Russia; considered Russia's oldest city; 862: founded by Rurik; was ruled by Alexander Nevsky;

located in the African country, Mali; located close to the Niger River Delta; on the southern edge of the Saharan Desert; capitol of the Timbuktu Region; its Golden Age: when Islamic Scholars had a great amount of power and created a huge trade center in the Trans - Sahran Trade route; the major trade occured between the Niger River Delta and local trade with the Saharan Pastoralists; founded in 1000;

The Swahili are Bantu inhabitants on the coast of East Africa, in Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique. They are mainly united under the mother tongue of Kiswahili, a Bantu language.[1] This also extends to Arab, Persian, and other migrants who reached the coast some belief as early as the 7th-8th c. CE, and mixed with the local people there, providing considerable cultural infusion and numerous loan words fromArabic and Persian.[2] Archaeologist, Felix Chami notes the presence of Bantu settlements straddling the East African coast as early as the beginning of the 1st millennium. They evolved gradually from the 6th century onward to accommodate for an increase in trade (mainly with Arab merchants), population growth, and further centralized urbanization; developing into what would later become known as the Swahili City-States.

the city located in eastern china; the capital of the largest city (Zhejiang); pop: around 2 million

a seaport in southwest India; near the Malbar Coast

largest city in Iran/ capitol; located near/ on the Tigris River

1511: conquered by the Portugese; built the trade network between Europe and the East (esp. China)

capitol of Ventia Region in Northern Italy; major trading port

Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins.

villiage in SW illinois; across the Mississippi River from St. Louis; hold pre- Colombian works

major trading goods; west wanted silk very badly because they only had cotton and wool which were rough fabric (silk=luxury)

a fine china from created in China; increased China's economy greatly due to this being considered a luxury; a very fragile type of ceramics;

were traded and they were very useful to rotten food. Spices meant that people could season their food & they don't waste as much food if they season it. Because when it is seasoned, it tastes better. Spices also aided in the discovery of different foods and tastes, cultures.

Metal: a solid, hard and shiny solid that is taken from the ground and able to be heated and molded into different objects, mainly built and constructed to make tools for agricultural things Gems: a precious or semiprecious stone that is extracted from the ground; they are considered a luxury and very expensive due to their difficulty to take from the ground and their rarity ; they can be polished, engraved and cut

slaves were traded so that they could do manual labor. They had no legal rights, marrying was not recognized, they could not own property, they had little legal protection, they were sol away from their families, & they could not learn to read & write.

was a roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey.

they helped so that people could stay on top of the camels. They also helped in keeping goods from falling off of the camel.

type of money, very useful in trading because it was easier to carry around and exchange. It was lighter than coins & they didn't jingle & they were less of a hassle than coins.

The ability to obtain goods or services before payment, based on the trust that payment will be made in the future: "unlimited credit".

A written order to a bank to pay a stated sum from the drawer's account.

were used to store & keep people's money. This was a safer place to keep one's money.

when discussing the history of the New Orleans Mint, the usage of that mint by the Confederate States of America beginning in 1861 is a notable occurrence. The origins of the Philadelphia Mint, which began operations in 1792 and first produced circulating coinage in 1793, are interwoven with the initiation of the Federal era of the United States.

paper money was lighter and easier to handle. People could carry it with them without a noise and it was more convenient to keep track of it. It was easier with transactions.

a trade alliance between major cities & small towns along the Baltic & North Seas that formed in the 13th century. The Hanseatic League was centered in Lübeck, Germany, & had alomost total control over trade in the Blatic & North Seas; however, it went into decline in the 16h & 17th centuries, as it was eclipsed in the region by the English, Dutch, & Swedes.

'Longships (Icelandic:langskip) were naval vessels made and used by the Vikings from Scandinavia and Iceland for trade, commerce, exploration, and warfare during the Viking Age. (google def.)

used for trade. A large, long-necked ungulate mammal of arid country, with long slender legs, broad cushioned feet, and either one or two humps on the back. Camels can survive for long periods without food or drink, chiefly by using up the fat reserves in their humps

intimidated others because horses were able to run fast & travel long distances, and they were bigger than people were. They were very useful to people because, then people could just ride horses instead. A solid-hoofed plant-eating domesticated mammal with a flowing mane and tail, used for riding, racing, and to carry and pull loads (google def.)

the Bantu left because of the use of trees that was occurring. Trees around them were being used & burned. Because of this they had to leave. Because they left, the languages also spread.

The oldest records of a Turkic language, the Old Turkic Orkhon inscriptions of the 7th century Göktürk khaganate, already show characteristics of the Eastern branch of Turkic, and reconstruction of Proto-Turkic must rely on comparisons of Old Turkic with early sources of the Western branches, Oghuz, and Kypchak, as well as the Oghur branch (Bulgar, Chuvash,Hunnic, Khazar, Turkic Avar). Since attestation of these non-Eastern languages is much more sparse, reconstruction of Proto-Turkic still rests fundamentally on East Old Turkic of the Göktürks. The earliest surviving texts in Proto-Arabic, or Ancient North Arabian, are the Hasaean inscriptions of eastern Saudi Arabia, from the 8th century BC, written not in the modern Arabic alphabet, nor in its Nabataean ancestor, but in variants of the epigraphicSouth Arabian Musnad. These are followed by 6th-century BC Lihyanite texts from southeastern Saudi Arabia and the Thamudictexts found throughout Arabia and the Sinai, and not actually connected with Thamud. Later come the Safaitic inscriptions beginning in the 1st century BC, and the many Arabic personal names attested in Nabataean inscriptions (which are, however, written in Aramaic). From about the 2nd century BC, a few inscriptions from Qaryat al-Fāw (near Sulayyil) reveal a dialect which is no longer considered "Proto-Arabic", but Pre-Classical Arabic. By the fourth century AD, the Arab kingdoms of the Lakhmidsin southern Iraq and the Ghassanids in southern Syria appeared. The Kindite Kingdom emerged in Central Arabia. Their courts were responsible for some notable examples of pre-Islamic Arabic poetry, and for some of the few surviving pre-Islamic Arabic inscriptions in the Arabic script (wiki)

The community had an influence on the communities they came in contact with as they settled. There was a fusion of Islamic and other indigenous cultures. This was in the context of military expansion and trade as well. There was also the reinforcement of kingship by Islam in different areas. States such as the Sudanese, built mosques in support of the Islam rules and even attended public prayers

China's Ming emperors regarded the conduct of foreign trade as an important facet of political power and prestige. The point of articulation was the Chinese tribute system. Foreign states wanting to trade with China had to pay tribute to the emperor at specified ports of call (Canton being the designated locale for envoys from Southeast Asian states). This tribute was not merely a material gift or donation. Ming emperors regarded it as an act of political submission with feudal overtones. When they established trade relations with China, envoy states acknowledged Ming overlordship. During the 15th century, numerous Southeast Asian rulers, including the kings of Java, Siam and Champa (present-day Vietnam), sent tribute missions to China. The Ming government regarded private commerce with foreigners as illegal, synonymous with piracy. The overtly political context of China's trade relations with outsiders had an important cultural impact on countries in Southeast Asia, many of which imported various Chinese customs along with trade goods and theoretical vassal status. Champa, which maintained close contact with China, was sending students to study there by 1371.

It is Sogdiana that is here referred to as the area between Dayuan (Ferghana [seeFARḠĀNA]) and Anxi (the Parthian empire). This description contrasts, however, with those about the neighboring regions, where the presence of long-distance merchants is emphasized. Archeology indeed bears witness, for the period before our era, only to limited regional trade in Sogdiana (turquoise from Ferghana to Samarkand), contrasting with that of the neighboring regions (Chinese imports to Ferghana). The economy appears to have been very little based on money and, rather, to have been dominated by agricultural exchange. China of the Han period sent numerous embassies with a large number of rolls of silk and other products of the empire, in order to ingratiate itself with the nomadic aristocracies (Yuezhi, Wusun, Kangju) who dominated political life in Central Asia, so as to fight against its Xiongnu enemies. The Sogdians traded with the Chinese envoys on a small scale, while in Bactria and Gandhara merchants discovered how much they would be able to benefit by developing a market for Chinese silk in India, Iran, and the Hellenized Near East. The latter decided to re-export the silk brought by the embassies and even took the road to China, pretending to be ambassadors so as to buy the silk right at its source (Han shu 96 A, p. 3885; tr. Hulsewé and Loewe, p. 109). The Sogdians were to imitate them. In 29 and 11 BCE, ambassadors from Kangju, a nomad state centered on the middle reaches of the Syr Daria but at that time including Sogdiana, presented themselves at the Chinese court pronouncing the word "commerce"

Since Roman times Jews were found in many cities throughout the Mediterranean region. After the fall of Jerusalem in 66 c.e., Jews were scattered even wider. This scattering of the Jews is called the Diaspora, which means dispersion in Greek. The Jews that settled in Spain [Sepharad in Hebrew] came to be called the Sephardim or Sephardic Jews. They lived among the Islamic Moors and the Catholic Spanish. This influenced their language and culture. These Jews came to speak a language related to Spanish called Ladino.

was a Muslim Berber Moroccan explorer, known for his extensive travels published in the Rihla (lit. "Journey"). Over a period of thirty years, he visited most of the known Islamic world, including North Africa, the Horn of Africa, West Africa, Southern Europe and Eastern Europe in the West, to the Middle East, South Asia, Central Asia, Southeast Asia and China in the East, a distance surpassing his near-contemporary Marco Polo. Ibn Battuta is considered one of the greatest travellers of all time.[2] He journeyed more than 75,000 miles (121,000 km), a figure unsurpassed by any individual explorer until the coming of the Steam Age some 450 years later.

(1200s) Travels from Italy to present day Beijing. (Mongolia) Then goes back to Italy after 20 yrs. in China. He brought back paper money. Gets put in jail because gets in a trade war. Writes a book in jail about his travels in China & the wealth from spices. His book became a best seller. He inspired people to explore (ex. Christopher Columbus)

[c.602 - 664] was a famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period. (google def.)

reemergence of scholar-gently class, weakening of military influence, restrictions on merchant class; urging scholar-gently, institutionalizing of civil service examination system, large idle bureaucracy, 5 relationships, gender distinctions, & tradition. (Peterson's AP World History)

Buddhism: A widespread Asian religion or philosophy, founded by Siddartha Gautama in northeastern India in the 5th century bc. Hinduism: A major religious and cultural tradition of the Indian subcontinent, developed from Vedic religion (google def.)

Islam had already spread into northern Africa by the mid-seventh century A.D., only a few decades after the Prophet Muhammad moved with his followers from Mecca to Medina on the neighboring Arabian Peninsula (622 A.D./1 A.H.). The Arab conquest of Spain and the push of Arab armies as far as the Indus River culminated in an empire that stretched over three continents, a mere hundred years after the Prophet's death. Between the eighth and ninth centuries, Arab traders and travelers, then African clerics, began to spread the religion along the eastern coast of Africa and to the western and central Sudan (literally, "Land of Black people"), stimulating the development of urban communities. Given its negotiated, practical approach to different cultural situations, it is perhaps more appropriate to consider Islam in Africa in terms of its multiple histories rather then as a unified movement.

The Incas drew on the artistic traditions of their Andean predecessors and the skills of subject peoples. Beautiful pottery and cloth was produced in specialized workshops. Inca metallurgy was among the most advanced of the Americas, and Inca artisans worked gold and silver with great technical skill. The Incas also used copper and some bronze for weapons and tools. Like the Mesoamerican peoples, the Incas made no practical use of the wheel, but unlike them, they had no system of writing. The Incas, however, did make use of a system of knotted strings, or quipu, with which numerical and perhaps other information could be recorded. It functioned something like an abacus, and with it the Incas took censuses and kept financial records. The Incas had a passion for numerical order, and the population was divided into decimal units from which population, military enlistment, and work details could be calculated. The existence of so many traits associated with civilization in the Old World and yet the absence of a system of writing among the Incas should make us realize the variation of human development and the dangers of becoming too attached to certain characteristics or cultural features in defining civilizations. Inca genius was best displayed in their statecraft and in their architecture and public buildings. Inca stonecutting was remarkably accurate and the best buildings were constructed of large fitted stones without the use of masonry. Some of these buildings were immense. These constructions, the large agricultural terraces and irrigation projects, and the extensive system of roads were among the Incas' greatest achievements, displaying their technical ability and workmanship as well as their ability to mobilize large amounts of manpower.

In the history of mathematics, mathematics in medieval Islam, often termed Islamic mathematics or Arabic mathematics, covers the body of mathematics preserved and developed under the Islamic civilization between circa 622 and 1600.[1] Islamic science and mathematics flourished under the Islamic caliphate established across the Middle East, extending from the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Indus in the east and to the Almoravid Dynasty and Mali Empire in the south. Islamic mathematicians exercised a prolific influence on the development of science in Europe, enriched as much by their own discoveries as those they had inherited by the Greeks, the Indians, the Syrians, the Babylonians,etc. (wiki)

In the seventh century A.D., the prophet Muhammad (SAW) was sent to the people of Arabia. Within a decade of his death the Muslims had conquered all of the Arabian peninsula. Within acentury, Islam had spread from Al-Andalus in Spain to the borders of China. Islam unified science, theology, and philosophy. Muslims were commanded to study, seek knowledge, and learn and benefit from others' experiences by Allah (SWT) in the holy Quran and by the prophet Muhammad (SAW) in the Sunnah. It was this that inspired the Muslims to great heights in sciences, medicine, mathematics, astronomy, chemistry, philosophy, art and architecture. Muslim scholars began obtaining Greek treatises and started their study and translation into Arabic a few centuries after the Hijrah (622 A.D.) They critically analyzed, collated , corrected and supplemented substantially the Greek science and philosophy. After this period began what is known as the Golden Age of Islam, which lasted for over two centuries. It is here we find many of the great scientists of Islam who literally left behind hundreds and thousands of books on the various branches of science. Abu Ali al-Hussain Ibn Abdallah Ibn Sina, universally known as Avicinna (980-1037), alone wrote 246 books, including Kitab-al Shifa (The Book of Healing) consisting of 20 volumes and Al-Qanun fit Tibb (The Canons of Medicine) . The Qanun was the chief guide for medical science in the West from the twelfth to the seventeenth century. Dr. William Osler, who wrote The Evolution of Modern Science, remarks "The Qanun has remained a medical Bible for a longer period than any other work". Containing over a million words, it surveyed the entire medical knowledge available from ancient and Muslim sources, and including his own original contributions.

The c ultural exchange between China and the West offered mutual benefit and achieved common progress. The Chinese Four Great Inventions (paper making, printing, gunpowder and compass) as well as the skills of silkworm breeding and silk spinning were transmitted to the West. This greatly sped up the development of the entire world. Apart from Chinese exquisite goods, many Chinese advanced technologies were also exported to the west, such as the silkworms breading, silk spinning, paper making, printing with movable type and gunpowder. In Han Dynasty (206 BC-220 AD), China had a monopoly on silk trade by keeping the silk's production technology a secret. A Han princess smuggled silkworms and mulberry seedlings as well as skilled workmen into Yutian (now Hetian). It was not until the 12th century AD that this technology reached to West Europe. In 750, a war between the Tang Dynasty (618-907) and the Arab Empire broke out in Bishkek City and the Tang troops were defeated. As a result, Arabs took Chinese prisoners to Samarkand along the Silk Road. Among them there were paper making workmen. In Tang Dynasty, Printing Technique had been introduced into the Central Asia. In the thirteenth century, many European travelers reached China through the Silk Road and brought back Printing Technique to Europe. In 1444, Gutenberg, a German inventor of letterpress printing, printed the Bible using a similar printing technique.

Southeast Asian farmers first domesticated bananas. Recent archaeological and palaeoenvironmental evidence at Kuk Swamp in the Western Highlands Province of Papua New Guinea suggests that banana cultivation there goes back to at least 5000 BCE, and possibly to 8000 BCE. It is likely that other species were later and independently domesticated elsewhere in southeast Asia. Southeast Asia is the region ofprimary diversity of the banana. Areas of secondary diversity are found in Africa, indicating a long history of banana cultivation in the region. Actual and probable diffusion of bananas during Islamic times (700-1500 CE) Phytolith discoveries in Cameroon dating to the first millennium BCE triggered an as yet unresolved debate about the date of first cultivation in Africa. There is linguistic evidence that bananas were known in Madagascar around that time. The earliest prior evidence indicates that cultivation dates to no earlier than late 6th century CE.[24] It is likely, however, that bananas were brought at least toMadagascar if not to the East African coast during the phase of Malagasy colonization of the island from South East Asia c. 400 CE.

The commonly accepted view is that rice was first domesticated in the region of the Yangtze River valley in China. Morphological studies of rice phytoliths from the Diaotonghuan archaeological site clearly show the transition from the collection of wild rice to the cultivation of domesticated rice. The large number of wild rice phytoliths at the Diaotonghuan level dating from 12,000-11,000 BP indicates that wild rice collection was part of the local means of subsistence. Changes in the morphology of Diaotonghuan phytoliths dating from 10,000-8,000 BP show that rice had by this time been domesticated. Soon afterwards the two major varieties of Indica andJaponica/Sinica rice were being grown in Central China. In the late 3rd millennium BC, there was a rapid expansion of rice cultivation into mainland Southeast Asia and westwards across India and Nepal. In 2003, Korean archaeologists claimed to have discovered the world's oldest domesticated rice.[29] Their 15,000 year old age challenges the accepted view that rice cultivation originated in China about 12,000 years ago.[29]These findings were received by academia with strong skepticism, and the results and their publicizing has been cited as being driven by a combination of nationalist and regional interests. In 2011, a combined effort by the Stanford University, New York University, Washington University in St. Louis, and Purdue University has provided the strongest evidence yet that there is only one single origin of domesticated rice, in the Yangtze Valleyof China.

Islam and the Mediterranean basin-Mediterranean trade routes promoted the growth of powerful trading cities in this time period by allowing wealth to flow in and out of cities, making them more powerful. The relationship was reliant on one to grow the other (i.e.- you had to have trade in order for cities to grow and you have to be growing constantly in order to have lots of trade) and because of this, both the trade and the cities grew. In conclusion, Mediterranean trade routes promoted the growth of powerful trading cities in this time period by allowing wealth to flow in and out of cities, making them more powerful.

A system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line (google def.)

The belief in and worship of a superhuman controlling power, esp. a personal God or gods (google def.)

Just as under the Ptolemies, Alexandria and its citizens had their own special designations. The capital city enjoyed a higher status and more privileges than the rest of Egypt. Just as it was under the Ptolemies, the primary way of becoming a citizen of Roman Alexandria was through showing when registering for a demethat both parents were Alexandrian citizens. Alexandrians were the only Egyptians that could obtain Roman citizenship.[8] If a common Egyptian wanted to become a Roman citizen he would first have to become an Alexandrian citizen. The Augustan period in Egypt saw the creation of urban communities with "Hellenic" landowning elites. These landowning elites were put in a position of privilege and power and had more self-administration than the Egyptian population. Within the citizenry, there were gymnasiums that Greek citizens could enter if they showed that both parents were members of the gymnasium based on a list that was compiled by the government in 4-5 AD.[9] The candidate for the gymnasium would then be let into the ephebus. There was also the council of elders known as the gerousia. This council of elders did not have a boulai to answer to. All of this Greek organization was a vital part of the metropolis and the Greek institutions provided an elite group of citizens. The Romans looked to these elites to provide municipal officers and well-educated administrators.[10] These elites also paid lower poll-taxes than the local native Egyptians, fellahin. It is well documented that Alexandrians in particular were able to enjoy lower tax-rates on land.[11] Interestingly enough, these privileges even extended to corporal punishments. Romans were protected from this type of punishment while native Egyptians were whipped. Alexandrians, on the other hand, had the privilege of merely being beaten with a rod.[12] Although Alexandria enjoyed the greatest status of the Greek cities in Egypt, it is clear that the other Greek cities, such as Antinoopolis, enjoyed privileges very similar to the ones seen in Alexandria.[13]All of these changes amounted to the Greeks being treated as an ally in Egypt and the native Egyptians were treated as a conquered race. (wiki)

The United States has an assortment of federal, state, local, and special purpose governmental jurisdictions. Each imposes taxes to fully or partly fund its operations. These taxes may be imposed on the same income, property or activity, often without offset of one tax against another. The types of tax imposed at each level of government vary, in part due to constitutional restrictions. Income taxes are imposed at the federal and most state levels. Taxes on property are typically imposed only at the local level, though there may be multiple local jurisdictions that tax the same property. Excise taxes are imposed by the federal and some state governments. Sales taxes are imposed by most states and many local governments. Customs duties or tariffs are only imposed by the federal government. A wide variety of other taxes, some called user or license fees, are imposed. (wiki)

A system in which, from the time of the Han Empire, countries in East and Southeast Asia not under the direct control of empires based in China nevertheless enrolled as tributary states, acknowledging the superiority of the emperors in China in exchange for trading rights (google def.)

The adaptation and renewal of the religious life include both the constant return to the sources of all Christian life and to the original spirit of the institutes and their adaptation to the changed conditions of our time.

The Abbasid caliphate or, more simply, the Abbasids (العبّاسيّون / ISO 233), was the third of the Islamic caliphates. It was ruled by the Abbasid dynasty of caliphs, who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs from all but the Al Andalus region. (google def.)

The etymology of the word "Al-Andalus" is disputed. Furthermore, the extent of Iberian territory encompassed by the name changed over the centuries. As a designation for Iberia or its southern portion, the name is first attested by inscriptions on coins minted by the new Muslim government in Iberia circa 715 (the uncertainty in the year is due to the fact that the coins were bilingual in Latin and Arabic and the two inscriptions differ as to the year of minting). (wiki)

Centralized Indian empire of varying extent, created by Muslim invaders. (google def.)

The first Italian city-states appeared in northern Italy as a result of a struggle to gain independence from the GermanHoly Roman Empire.[1] The Lombard League was an alliance formed around 1167, which at its apex included most of the cities of northern Italy including, among others, Milan, Piacenza, Cremona, Mantua, Crema, Bergamo,Brescia, Bologna, Padua, Treviso, Vicenza, Venice, Verona, Lodi, Reggio Emilia and Parma, though its membership changed through time. Other city-states were associated to these "commune" cities, like Genoa, Turin and, in the Adriatic, Ragusa. (wiki)

From the approximately 1000 to 1500 AD, a number of city-states on the eastern coast of Africa participated in an international trade network and became cosmopolitan Islamic cultural centers. The major autonomous, but symbiotic, city-states stretched over 1,500 miles from Mogadishu (in modern day Somalia) in the north to Sofala (in modern Mozambique) in the south and included Mombasa, Gedi, Pate, Lamu, Malindi, Zanzibar, and Kilwa. (http://www.blackpast.org/?q=gah/east-african-city-states)

the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, 137 kilometres (85 mi) north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia'sRiau Islands by the Singapore Strait to its south. Singapore is highly urbanised but almost half of the country is covered by greenery. More land is being created for development through land reclamation. (wiki)

http://arbesman.net/city-states.pdf

The composite Turko-Persian tradition[1] was a variant of Islamic culture.[2] It was Persianate in that it was centered on a lettered tradition of Iranian origin; it was Turkic insofar as it was for many generations patronized by rulers of Turkic background; it was Islamic in that Islamic notions of virtue, permanence, and excellence infused discourse about public issues as well as the religious affairs of the Muslims, who were the presiding elite

Language. The Japanese had no written language at the time of their first contact with the Chinese and their use of Chinese proved important for the purpose of political unification under the Japanese Emperor. Religion. Buddhism and Confucianism are important features of Chinese culture. As a systematic belief system, Buddhism forced the local Japanese religions, which were less coherent systems, to define themselves in relation to Buddhism. Confucianism, a systematic religious belief system, had a lot to say about governance and society and proved attractive for the Japanese. Consequently it had an important influence on Japanese culture. System of government. The method of organization of the Imperial Court, a significant element of ancient Chinese culture, was also adopted by the Japanese. The Japanese Imperial Court as well as its bureaucracy, including titles, ranks and functions, soon came to be modeled after Confucian principles. City-planning is also an aspect of Chinese culture borrowed by the Japanese. Kyoto and Nara, capital cities constructed along these lines, are examples. Several localities around these old capital cities reveal a system of fields and irrigation systems divided into even rectangles based on the ancient Chinese model of city planning. The use of a road system to hasten communication and control rebelling localities are also important features of this system of planning. (http://www.char4u.com/article_info.php?articles_id=47)

Champa rice is a quick-maturing, drought resistant rice that can allow two harvests, of sixty days each, in one growing season. Originally introduced into Champa from Vietnam, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift from the Champa state. (google def.)

Often referred to as "floating gardens," chinampas were artificial islands that usually measured roughly 30 × 2.5 m (98 × 8.2 ft), although they were sometimes longer. They were used by the ancient Aztec Indians. They were created by staking out the shallow lake bed and then fencing in the rectangle with wattle. The fenced-off area was then layered with mud, lake sediment, and decaying vegetation, eventually bringing it above the level of the lake. Often trees such as āhuexōtl(Salix bonplandiana)[1] and āhuēhuētl (Taxodium mucronatum)[2] were planted at the corners to secure the chinampa. Chinampas were separated by channels wide enough for a canoe to pass. These "islands" had very high crop yields with up to seven crops a year. (wiki)

The terraces throughout the Andean slopes, and the waru-waru (raised fields) and qochas in the Altiplano are sophisticated expressions of landscape modification that have historically rendered more than a million hectares of land for agricultural purposes (Rengifo 1987). The past and present existence of these and other forms of intensive agricultural systems document a successful adaptation to difficult environments by indigenous farmers. In fact, applied research conducted on these systems reveals that many traditional farming practices, once regarded as primitive or misguided, are now being recognised as sophisticated and appropriate. (http://www.farmingsolutions.org/successtories/stories.asp?id=37)

erraces are used in farming to cultivate sloped land. Graduated terrace steps are commonly used to farm on hilly or mountainous terrain. Terraced fields decrease erosion and surface runoff, and are effective for growing crops requiring much water, such as rice. (wiki)

A horse collar is a part of a horse harness device used to distribute load around a horse's neck and shoulders when pulling a wagon or plow. The collar often supports a pair of curved metal or wood pieces, called hames, to which the traces of the harness are attached.