Notes for the Slides – GFPAK2043-Week 02 The East and the West PDF

GFPAK2043_02 Notes for the Slides – GFPAK2043-W2_The East and the West Slide Notes 01 02 The Catalan Atlas, drawn in 1375 by Cresques Abraham in Majorca and currently in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, is a hybrid of the marine cha...

GFPAK2043_02 Notes for the Slides – GFPAK2043-W2_The East and the West Slide Notes 01 02 The Catalan Atlas, drawn in 1375 by Cresques Abraham in Majorca and currently in the Bibliothèque nationale de France, is a hybrid of the marine chart and the mappamundi. The map consists of 6 panels (each panel consists of 2 sheets that originally were connected to each other) that show Europe, North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Black Sea in the style of the marine charts; in the south it shows Africa based on the knowledge of the Majorcan Jews; and the east is drawn in the style of mappamundi, rich with illustrations and descriptions of various characters. The first 2 panels (which are not included in the image) describe knowledge about the world and the universe based on Isidore of Seville and Honorius Augustodunensis. The Catalan Atlas is special because it is one of the first world maps that incorporates the places described by Marco Polo, Sir John Mandeville and missionaries/diplomats who travelled to the far east. 03 Additional notes: 1. What is A.D.? AD stands for Anno Domini, which is Latin for "Year of our Lord," and is used to number years in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. AD denotes the calendar era after the birth of Jesus Christ. The traditionally accepted year of Christ's birth is labeled AD 1 and the year before is 1 BC. This calendaring system was devised in AD 525, but was not widely used until after AD 800. An alternative for AD is CE, which stands for Common Era, Christian Era or Current Era. 2. What is B.C.? B.C. stands for Before Christ, and it means the number of years before the time of Jesus Christ. The use of B.C. is believed to originate with Bede in the 8th century (AD). The Latin version is "ante vero incarnationis dominicae tempus" ("the time before the Lord's true incarnation"), equivalent to the English term "before Christ" which was used by Dionysius Exiguus. 3. Some academics prefer to use the religiously neutral term BCE/CE (Before Common Era/Common Era). 04 05 1. Mesopotamia is a name for the area of the Tigris–Euphrates River system, in modern days roughly corresponding to most of Iraq plus Kuwait, the eastern parts of Syria, Southeastern Turkey, and regions along the Turkish-Syrian and Iran–Iraq borders. 2. Widely considered to be one of the cradles of civilization by the Western world, Bronze Age Mesopotamia included Sumer and the Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires, all native to the territory of modern-day Iraq. 3. In the Iron Age, it was controlled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian Empires. 4. The Sumerians and Akkadians (including Assyrians and Babylonians) dominated Mesopotamia from the beginning of written history (c. 3100 BC) to the fall of Babylon in 539 BC, when it was conquered by the Achaemenid Empire. It fell to Alexander the Great in 332 BC, and after his death, it became part of the Greek Seleucid Empire. 5. Around 150 BC, Mesopotamia was under the control of the Parthian Empire. Mesopotamia became a battleground between the Romans and Parthians, with western parts of Mesopotamia coming under ephemeral Roman control. 6. In AD 226, eastern part of it fell to the Sassanid Persians. Division of Mesopotamia between Roman (Byzantine from AD 395) and Sassanid Empires lasted until the 7th century Muslim conquest of Persia of the Sasanian Empire and Muslim conquest of the Levant from Byzantines.  GFPAK2043_02 7. A number of primarily neo-Assyrian and Christian native Mesopotamian states existed between the 1st century BC and 3rd century AD, including Adiabene, Osroene, and Hatra. Source_01: https://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum213/Maps/Maps2HistoryAncient.htm 06 8. In 1877 the term "Seidenstraße" (Die Seidenstrassen, literally "Silk Road") was coined by the German geographer, cartographer and explorer Ferdinand von Richthofen. 9. The overland Silk Road & ancient routes cross the Asian continent, from China in Asia, to Turkey and the Mediterranean, where the routes extend by sea to Europe, Arabia, and North Africa. Central Asia is the heart of the largest landmass on earth, known as Eurasia. Central Asia's role as the conduit between cultures is symbolized by the "Silk Road." 4. Source_02: https://culture360.asef.org/media/2021/2/silk-roads-map_1.jpg 5. Source_03: https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/research_briefs/RB10000/RB10029/RAND_RB100 29.pdf 07 1. The Silk Road is a name given to the many trade routes that connected Europe and the Mediterranean with the Asian world. The route is over 6,500 km long and got its name because the early Chinese traded silk along it. The Chinese learned to make silk thousands of years ago. For a long time, they were the only ones who knew how to make this precious material. Only the emperor, his family and his highest advisers were allowed to wear clothes made of silk. For a long time, the Chinese guarded this secret very carefully. The ancient Romans were the first Europeans who became aware of this wonderful material. Trading started, often with Indians as middlemen who traded silk with the Chinese in exchange for gold and silver which they got from the Romans. 2. Although silk was the main trading item there were many other goods that travelled along the Silk Road between Eastern Asia and Europe. In the course of time, medicine, perfumes, spices and livestock found their way between continents. 3. Despite appearing as a single road (in red above), the "Silk Road" was a network of centuries- old trade routes, which enabled traders to travel from Xian (Chang'an) in China, to Istanbul (Constantinople) in Turkey. The ancient spice and incense routes were also connected to the Silk Routes by ports and sea routes. 4. Travelling along the route was dangerous. The hot desert, high mountains and sandstorms made travelling a rough business. Most of the goods along the Silk Road were carried by caravans. Traders sometimes brought goods from one destination on the Silk Road to another, from where the goods would be transported by someone else. Over the centuries people settled along the ancient route and many cities emerged. Later on, there were fewer hardships to overcome, but by no means was it easy. 5. Religion, languages and diseases also spread along the Silk Road. Buddhism, which originated in India, spread to China along this route. European traders probably brought the plague from Asia to Europe along the ancient road. 6. As the most well-known overland trading route of ancient civilization, the Silk Road grew under the Chinese Han Dynasty (202 BC - AD 220) during the first and second centuries AD and connected the Yellow River Valley of China to the Mediterranean Sea. 7. The Chinese section of the Silk Routes, linking Central Asia to China, was a region where ancient civilizations of the East and West interacted. 8. In the early Middle Ages traffic along the route decreased because of the decline of the Roman Empire. Trading along the Silk Road and became stronger again between the 13th and  GFPAK2043_02 14th centuries, when the Mongols controlled central Asia. During the Age of Exploration, the Silk Road lost its importance because new sea routes to Asia were discovered Source_04: http://www.silkroutes.net/Orient/MapsSilkRoutesTrade.htm Source_05: http://www.english-online.at/history/silk-road/travel-along-the-silk-road.htm 08 1. A hybrid camel is a hybrid between a Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus) and dromedary (Camelus dromedarius). Source_06: https://www.pinterest.com/explore/bactrian-camel/ 09 10 11 1. The general Zhang Qian was sent by Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty (206 BC- AD 220) to recruit the Yuezhi, who were the enemies of the Xiongnu in the second century BC. As Yuezhi tribe, Xiongnu was also a nomadic group who attempted to invade the Kansu province of Han Dynasty. Because the Xiongnu could not be restrained with any lasting effects, Emperor Wu decided to look for an alliance with Yuezhi who had been defeated by their enemies Xiongnu and driven to the Ili valley, the western fringes of the Taklamakan Desert. As a result, general Zhang Qian with a caravan of 100 men set out the first travel from Chang'an, the capital of Han Dynasty, to the far West of the area beyond the Great Wall. 2. However, in order to reach Yuezhi, Zhang Qian with his caravan had to went cross the territory of Xiongnu. Unfortunately, soon after he left China, Xiongnu captured his group. Zhang Qian and the rest of reminders were in prison for ten years, during which time he married a nomad wife who had a son with him. Due to the will of complete his original mission, Zhang Qian one day seized the chance and escaped with other reminders. He continued the journey west toward the northern Silk Road to Kashgar and Ferghana. Finally in 128 BC, Zhang Qian had reached the destination, Yuezhi. However, he was surprised by Yuezhi people. Yuezhi was living in peace and well settled in the various oases of Central Asia and no longer interested in taking their revenge on the Xiongnu. 3. Without the succeeding in interesting the Yuezhi in fighting the Xiongnu, Zhang Qian set off on the return journey via southern Silk Road. He was once captured by Tibetan tribes allied with Xiongnu for a year and escaped in 125 BC in returning his way back to China. Of the original party only he and another company completed the 13 years journey - the first land route between East and West that would eventually link Imperial China with Imperial Rome. 4. The diplomatic stalemate resulting from Zhang Qian's mission had some important consequences, as much political and military as commercial. Zhang Qian reported on some kingdoms in the West Regions, delighting Emperor Han Wudi with detailed accounts of the previously unknown kingdoms of Ferghana, Samarkand, Bokhara and others in what are now the former Soviet Union, Pakistan and Persia as well as the city of Li Kun, Rome, with their special products. These fascinating prices form the many Kingdoms of West tempted Emperor Wudi to dispatch successive missions to develop a further more political contact led by Zhang Qian in 119 BC. The mission group from China later returned with foreign products, for instances, Ferghana horses, furs and so on. At the same time, the kingdoms in Central Asia sent their own emissaries to Chang'an China. 5. On the other hand, Alexander the Great expansion into Central Asia stopped far short of Xiongnu region resulted in Romans appear to have gained little knowledge of the Seres, Chinese. Little by little, the demands of eastern precious goods from the West were grown rapidly. The ideas of Han Wudi making peace with the West countries had established not only  GFPAK2043_02 the diplomatic contacts and economic relations but also the exchanges of the various culture and religion between East and West. 6. The network of the Silk Road was soon flourished during the Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907). However, later in 12th century, the entire communities and active oasis towns along the Silk Road were disappearing in the space, as the glacier-fed streams ran try. As well, of course, the downfall of Tang Dynasty led to political chaos and an unstable economy less able to support foreign imports. Moreover, the Ming Dynasty (AD 1368-1644) shut China off from the outside world, ending the centuries-old exchange of culture and religion in East and West. 12 1. A lateen (from French latine, meaning "Latin") or latin-rig is a triangular sail set on a long yard mounted at an angle on the mast, and running in a fore-and-aft direction. 13 1. The Seljuks successes in the Anatolia and throughout the Abbassid was said to have triggered the First Crusade. 2. Beginning of complicated diplomatic history and maneuver between the Eastern Empire, the Papacy and the Western Empire, between these and the Seljuks, the Fatimids in Egypts, the Arabs in Syria etc. 3. With exceptions to their contact in Iberia and Anatolia, Europeans know little about the Saracens/Muslims. In the eleventh century, El Cid himself, a warrior lord of Castile later mythologized as hero of the Reconquista, served in civil wars against other Christian noblemen and for a time as a mercenary for the Muslim rulers of Zaragosa against Christian Aragon. 4. In the Near and Middle East, war with the Eastern Roman Empire had been an off-and-on commonplace for hundreds of years and “many Muslim commentators simply saw the [first] crusade as yet another Byzantine campaign … Islamic commentators were simply not interested in the crusaders and did not mention them in their histories” (Morton, 2016, 278). During the Crusades, the Muslims did not see the event as ideological, but rather a conflict in the periphery (Watt, 1972, 56-57, Hillenbrand, 2000, p.4-5) 5. Al-Ghazali (1058-1111) himself, did not respond or write anything about the Crusades despite being a contemporary of the time. In 1095, he left his prestigious position at Nizamiyya and travel to Damascus and Jerusalem (ibn Athir, 2002, 284), during which most crusaders would’ve passed Asia Minor when he completed his journey. (Alatas, Suleiman, 2019, p.5-8) 14 1. These Latin Kingdoms generated significant diplomatic activity - between the Pope, the Eastern Emperor, the Republic of Venice, and these kingdoms, including the Kingdom of Jerusalem, and between the Christian armies and the Islamic forces that opposed them – like the agreements reached between Saladin and Richard of England in 1192. The fourth crusade (1204), diverted by the Venetians, seized and sacked Constantinople and imposed a Latin regime there that lasted more than a half century and was formalized in treaties of partition with the rump successor of the Byzantine state. 2. It remains unclear, however, whether increased political stability and institutional development were—in part at least—results of the crusades or preconditions that enabled royal absence. However, it is likely that no medieval regime, Christian or Muslim, was so secure that a dynast could rest confident about what he might find on his return—something that canny Phillip II of France appears to have worried about, if Richard of England did not. 3. By the end of the era of the crusades in the late thirteenth century, the Byzantine empire, after a brief resurgence in the twelfth century was followed by the catastrophe of the Latin sack and occupation of Constantinople, dwindled to a shadow of its former self. 4. It had been driven for the most part from the eastern Mediterranean Sea and out of much of Anatolia by the Seljuk Turks and their successors, and, torn by civil wars, it was ill-prepared to resist the well-organized Ottoman (Osmanli) Turks who migrated from the Black Sea into Seljuk Anatolia in the early fourteenth century.  GFPAK2043_02 5. The Ottoman leaders and their warrior class quickly spread throughout most of Muslim Anatolia and, having actually been used by the Byzantines as mercenaries against the Serbs, into Europe as well. The city of Constantinople itself, which finally fell to Mehmed II in 1453. Source_07: Conquest Of Constantinople By The Crusaders In 1204 by David Aubert (1413-79) Source_08: Malchow, Howard LeRoy, “History and International Relations – From the Ancient World to the 21st Century,” 2020 (p.148-152) 15 Source_09: http://popular-archaeology.com/issue/spring-2016/article/ancient-crops-provide-a- window-into-madagascar-s-settlement-by-southeast-asians 16 1. Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and North African civilization's artifacts began to travel further more quickly and easily. The Sahel people were the middlemen of trans-Saharan trade. Camels were used as a form of transportation. A major item traded between southern and sub-Saharan Africa was salt. 2. Salt was valued in the ancient world for its function in food preservation. Source_10: https://www.edu-links.org/sites/default/files/media/file/371537eng.pdf Source_11: https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/43/Prehistoric_Rock_Paintings_at_Manda_G u%C3%A9li_Cave_in_the_Ennedi_Mountains_-_northeastern_Chad_2015.jpg 17 SAHEL (OR SAHIL) MEANS "edge or border" in Arabic. 1. The Sahel is a semiarid transitional zone between the southern edge of the SAHARA DESERT and the humid savannah zone of Africa. On average it is 187 mi (300 km) wide. 2. A region is arid when it is characterized by a severe lack of available water, to the extent of hindering or preventing the growth and development of plant and animal life. Environments subject to arid climates tend to lack vegetation and are called xeric or desertic. It has a fragile ecology but is also diverse in plant and animal species. 3. The Sahel stretches across North Africa from the ATLANTIC OCEAN to SUDAN. Some geographers extend the Sahel to include the dry regions of ETHIOPIA, KENYA, and SOMALIA. 4. It is a 3,107-mi- (5,000-km-) long belt of land across the entire African continent. 5. It is an area into which the Sahara has been slowly expanding. Where it merges with the Sahara, the rainfall drops to 7.9 in (20 cm). Where the Sahel merges with the humid savannas, rainfall has risen to 23.67 or 27.5 in (60 to 70 cm). 6. The chief characteristic of the Sahel is its semiarid environment coupled with periodic droughts. 7. Some geographers divide the Sahel into a broader, dryer northern zone and a wetter southern zone. 8. The Sahel runs east and west through large parts of SENEGAL, MAURITANIA, MALI, BURKINA FASO, NIGER, NIGERIA, CHAD, Sudan, and then to the HORN OF AFRICA, including Ethiopia, ERITREA, DJIBOUTI, Kenya and Somalia. 9. More specifically it runs through northern Senegal, southern Mauritania, to the great bend in the NIGER RIVER in Mali, then through Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria, Chad, and Sudan. 10. Much of it is flat plains with great stretches located on elevated plateaus. 11. Beginning in the 1960s, serious droughts struck the Sahel. The area has been especially dry since 1968. 12. Hundreds of thousands of people in the Sahel have died as a result of crop failures caused by drought. In the 1970s, the suffering of the people in the area attracted international attention. 13. The climate of the Sahel is normally arid. The rainfall varies, which makes agriculture difficult. 14. Most of the vegetation is grasses and shrubs.  GFPAK2043_02 15. The rain usually comes from June to September, though the average rainfall has been declining over the last five decades, which has allowed the Sahara to expand. 16. Most of the people who live in the Sahel are nomadic herders. 17. The drop in rainfall combined with overgrazing have contributed to increased DESERTIFICATION. 18. Compounding the problems of the Sahel is the fact that populations are rapidly increasing. The population growth rates are some of the highest in the world. 19. The total population of the Sahel countries is estimated to be around 50 million people excluding those counties east of Sudan. They are among the poorest in the world. 20. The Sahel is also a religious transition zone between Islam in the north and traditional African and Christianity in the south. Source_12: https://oses.unmissions.org/sites/default/files/old_dnn/SahelMap.jpg 18 1. By 800, Ghana was an empire 2. The King controlled trade, has a large army, demanded taxes, tributes and gifts from local chiefs of surrounding territory 3. The King controlled the supply of gold, keeping the price high. 4. The King acted as a religious leader, judge and military commander, also as head of government bureaucracy. Source_13: https://slideplayer.com/slide/7712992/ Source_14: http://www.slideshare.net/bbednars/classical-trade-53512707 19 20