The Viking Age and Northern Trade PDF

The viking age and the northern trade Starting in Lindesfarne in 795 CE, England, the Norse Vikings (raiders) began a 3-century stretch of raiding and settling European and Mediterranean coasts Using their light and shallow longships, Vikings were able to sail across the sea, & penetrate deep in...

The viking age and the northern trade Starting in Lindesfarne in 795 CE, England, the Norse Vikings (raiders) began a 3-century stretch of raiding and settling European and Mediterranean coasts Using their light and shallow longships, Vikings were able to sail across the sea, & penetrate deep into estuaries and rivers to raid and conquer locals Their primary targets were religious (mostly Christian) sites and monasteries These raids played a primary role in most Europeans to adopt the feudal system as a means of defending against Vikings (and other invader) raids Also accomplished explorers, the Norse Vikings discovered and temporarily settled the Vinland (North America) by around 1000 CE, and formed permanent settlements in Iceland and Greenland Lastly, the Vikings helped established and develop growing trade networks and trade cities such as Novgorod in Northern Europe, and bolstered Mediterranean commerce The mongolian Empire The Mongolian Empire emerged from the unification of several nomadic tribes in the Mongol homeland by Genghis Khan whom council had proclaimed ruler of all Mongols in 1206 Hardened Mongolian and Turkic horseback riders (archers and lancers) formed the backbone of the Empire's military, and their tactics---centered on encirclement and faux-retreats---devasted enemy armies For the first few decades, no enemy forces could match them on the field, and those who sought protection inside fortified cities, generally succumbed to extensive and devastating Mongolian sieges While steppe peoples had generally struggled against fortifications, the inclusion of captured and defected Chinese siege workers, and later Persian siege workers, allowed the Mongols to conquer entire empires Enemy cities who surrendered without a fight were generally given minimal limitations; those who resisted were brutally punished, enslaved, suppressed, and/or destroyed Incorporated enemy soldiers were placed into separate units so as to be isolated; any attempts to defect or flee resulted in the killing of the entire unit---a policy that proved successful in keeping units accountable for loyalty Under Ghengis Khan, and his later songs, the Mongols established an unprecedented land empire that conquered the empires of China, Korea, Tibet, the Eurasian Steppe, the Rus\[sians\], Persia, the Caucuses, and parts of Anatolia Mongol Fragmentation Despite their successes under Genghis and his son Ogedei, the vast Mongolian Empire proved too large to maintain in short order The position of Great Khan (military ruler or leader in Central Asia) became a target of factional dispute and civil war; shortly after the death of Kublai Khan in 1294---the last to lead a semi-united empire---the empire fragmented Known as khanates, the Golden Horde, Chagatai, Ilkhanate, and Yuan Dynasty were the smaller states ruled by a regional khan; these khans warred intermittently with one another, and greatly weakened Mongol control Vassals and subjects of the khanates were subject to Mongol rule, and tribute payment; however, with constant factional warring among the khanates, local kingdoms would gradually gain back their autonomy By the mid-14th century, major areas of Eastern Europe, Persia, the Levant, and China had thrown off the yoke of Mongol control, although several khanates remained and resurged in Central Asia for the next few centuries Legacy of Mongol Empire The legacy of the Mongol Empire is a mixed one, with some historians painting its impact as a positive one, with others lamenting its treachery Regarding positive developments, the primary benefit of Mongol rule was the resurgence of trade and the widespread exchange of ideas and goods on a previously-unprecedented scale In connecting the Western and Eastern hemispheres, and facilitating & protecting trade along the Silk Road networks, ideas and innovation such as gunpowder, the compass, paper print, paper money, etc., were able to filter through the kingdoms of Central, South, and West Asia, North Africa, and Europe Among the negative developments, however, was the sheer mortality, disease, and suffering induced by the conquering Mongolian Empire An estimated 30 million people died, and in some areas, such as Iran, as much as 75% of the population perished due to military conflict, disease, and death Along with the murder, rape, torture, and enslavement that accompanied Mongol expansion, the Mongol connection of the world also likely caused a regional plague in China to travel through all of Eurasia Known as the Black Death, this disease killed an estimated total of 75-200 million people---20-40% of the world's population at the time, with higher percentages (40-60%) in urban areas, and in South Asia, China, and Europe The Sui Dynasty The Sui Dynasty (581-618 CE) was a short-lived dynasty that played a pivotal role in the history of imperial China similar to that of the Qin Dynasty in earlier centuries For the first time since the fall of the Han Dynasty, the Sui united all of the Han peoples in China under a single, centralized administration The Sui established a lasting state system by planting the seeds of an imperial Confucian examination system to fill bureaucratic positions by merit They also engaged in several large-scale public works projects, including the Grand Canal in China which linked the northern economy of China with central China While they likely shortened the duration of their dynasty due to their overly-ambitious public works projects and military campaigns, they set the seeds for a stable, centralized state that later dynasties would build upon The Tang Dynasty The Tang Dynasty overtook the Sui Dynasty from 618 to 907 CE and ushered in period of cultural and territorial growth that is considered by some as the high point of Chinese history The Tang consolidated control of China through several administrative reforms including the continued development of the examination system, as well as a reduction in the number of bureaucratic positions This approach was successful in ensuring a focus on a smaller number of bureaucrats that were significantly more educated and competent than previous administrations Thanks to the introduction of a new drought-resistant strain of rice known as Champa rice (from modern-day Vietnam), populations swelled during the Tang era The Tang were also successful for the first 100-150 years in acquiring territory through conquest, marriage, and diplomacy---most notably the Turkish nomadic polities to the north and west While their expansion would eventually be halted in Korea to the east, and against an alliance of Turks and Arabs to the West, the kingdom exceeded the maximum territorial extent of the revered Han Dynasty Philosophically, the Tang are also well known for the aiding of Confucianism's development Known as Neo-Confucianism, figures such as Han Yu sought to reinvigorate and reform the philosophy by removing some (but not all) of the more spiritual and mystical elements of Confucianism that had been 'tainted' by those of Taoism and Buddhism Aside from implementing Neo-Confucian ideals to the dynasty, the Tang also actively promoted its spread and consolidation by persecuting and discouraging the presence of 'foreign' ideologies The most prominent religion to draw the ire of the Tang Dynasty was Buddhism Under Emperor Wuzong (840-846), several Edicts on Buddhism effectively annihilated the religion by persecuting, confiscating, and destroying Buddhist temples, monks, and relics While some of the motivations for these persecutory edicts were financial---such as the need for confiscation of Buddhist treasures to fund military campaigns---it also achieved its goal of 'cleansing' China of foreign beliefs Regardless, Chinese culture and wealth flourished during the first 120 years of the Tang Dynasty; after the devastating An Lushan Rebellion (755-763), however, Tang power declined as it struggled to maintain control The Song Dynasty After a period of disunity following the collapse of the Tang, the Song Dynasty unified most of China in 960, maintaining a hold of parts of China until its conquest by the Mongols in 1279 While territorially smaller than the Tang, the Song Dynasty continued the Chinese imperial golden age through its cultural, academic, technological, literary, economic, and militaristic innovations The Song continued the Neo-Confucian belief systems, as well as the examination systems, to fill the positions of bureaucratic elites in the government One of the innovations of the song was their emphasis on maritime ventures, both militaristically and economically For one of the first times in world history, a state endorsed commercial practices that focused on merchant exchanges and the production of goods for profit State institutions, such as the Maritime Trade Supervisorate, placed taxes on imports and attempted to encourage commercial production and trade To protect their assets and holdings, the Song government established and maintained the first standing navy Under the Song, Chinese innovators developed the first know use of gunpowder and a true north compass The Song were the first to issue state paper money---a practice that helped encourage and stabilize trade Accompanying the widespread printing of paper money was the beginnings of what one might term an early Chinese industrial revolution in the steel and iron industries The continued production and exchange of luxury goods such as porcelain, silk, tea, etc., along with quality iron and steel goods, made trade with China highly desirable All of these features continued to bolster an inflated sense of self for the Chinese civilization, as the Chinese emperor and officials increasingly saw themselves as the greatest civilization on earth Claiming to need nothing from other civilizations, they required submission and tribute from any kingdoms that desired trade with the Song Dynasty While such an attitude had existed in the past, a tribute system had more clearly developed in China, both as a requirement for trade, as well as annual tributes from neighboring states (those in Korea, Japan, the steppe, Southeast Asia, etc.) who wished to keep positive relations with China Despite their successes, the legacy of the Song Dynasty, and Chinese culture at the time, remains controversial Along with their oppressive tributary practices, the Song and the culture that developed within, are also known for the growth in popularity of foot binding It was expected of upper-class Chinese women to have their feet broken while young, and squeezed into tight shoes called lotus shoes---a sign of feminine beauty at the time The Song also struggled to maintain the integrity of their borders to the north to the Jurchen-led Jin Dynasty (located in modern-day Manchuria), and losing northern China Shortly after the loss of northern China, the Song Dynasty would experience a gradual decline and loss of territory to invading Mongolian (nomadic steppe peoples) forces By 1279, the Mongolian-led Yuan Dynasty conquered and absorbed the Song Dynasty, ushering in a period of rule in China by non-Han peoples that lasted until roughly 1368