Eastern Hemisphere Notes

Background: During the Medieval Period several major trade routes developed in the Eastern Hemisphere. These trading routes developed among , & .

What were some of the major trade routes in the E. Hemisphere? (1000 to 1500 AD/ CE)

• Silk Roads across Asia to the • Maritime () routes across the • Trans-Saharan routes across • Northern European links with the Black • Western European Sea and River trade • and Lands of

What is so important about the trade routes during this time?

Regional trade networks and long-distance trade routes in the Eastern Hemisphere helped or aided the diffusion and exchange of technology, goods, ideas, and culture between Europe, Africa and Asia.

What goods are being traded? Where are they coming from?

• Textiles-India, China, the , and later Europe

• Spices- lands around the Indian Ocean

• Porcelain- China and Persia

• Amber- Baltic ()

• Gold-

What technology is being adapted? Where did they originate?

• Paper- from China through the Muslim world to Byzantium and

• Waterwheels- (Rome, China) and windmills (NW Europe, Middle East)

• Navigation – Compass from China, lateen sail from Indian Ocean

What religions are being spread through trade routes?

• Buddhism from China to and Japan

• Hinduism and Buddhism from India to S.E. Asia

• Islam into West Africa, Central and Southeast Asia

What other idea is coming out of China through trade routes?

Printing and paper money from China

What African Empires existed during the Medieval Period? What regions in Africa where they located?

• Ghana, Mali, and Songhai in West Africa

• Axum in

• Zimbabwe in

What influenced these African Empires the most?

Trade brought important economic, cultural and religious influences to African civilizations from other parts of the Eastern Hemisphere.

Axum:

Where is it located? Near the and the River

What is unique about Axum? Christian kingdom

Zimbabwe:

Where is it located?

• Location relative to the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers • On coast of the Indian Ocean

What is their capital city?

City of Great Zimbabwe as capital of a prosperous (rich) empire

Zimbabwe Video Notes

1. ______2. ______3. ______

West African Kingdoms:

Ghana Video Notes

1. ______2. ______3. ______

Mali Video Notes

1. ______2. ______3. ______

Songhai Video Notes

1. ______2. ______3. ______

What were the three West African Kingdoms?

Ghana, Mali, Songhai

What geographical features were they near?

Location relative to and the Desert

What two important goods came out of Western Africa? gold and salt to trans-Saharan trade

What was the major city?

Timbuktu

Video Notes on Timbuktu

1. ______2. ______3. ______

What other things influenced West African kingdoms?

• Role of Animism and Islam o Animism – spirits in animals, plant, natural forces, that play in important role in regulating daily life