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The Making of a Kingdom?

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The Making of a Kingdom? OTHER WORLDS: AFRICA AND CHINA UNTIL C. 1500 BEÑAT ELORTZA LARREA [email protected] What we will be doing History of the African Continent c. 1000-1500: • The Sudanese kingdoms • The Congo River Basin • East African polities and trade • Portuguese influence History of China • Main developments from the Shang to Ming dynasties (c. 1500BCE-1400CE) Part I: Medieval Africa Roland Oliver & Anthony Atmore, Medieval Africa 1250-1800, Cambridge University Press, 2001 Geographic Overview • Similar to modern climate – Sahara did not stretch as far south Older History – Stone and Iron Ages • Agriculture from Fertile Crescent and Egypt c. 1500-1000 BCE • Barley and wheat • Local crops – sorghum and millet Sorghum bicolor, grain native to Africa North Africa – From Romans to Islam • Roman provinces in N. Africa • Germanic migration 430- 530 CE • Byzantine conquest under Belisarius 530s-698 • Ummayad Caliphate Trans-Saharan Trade and the Region of Sudan • Area between Sahara (N), Atlantic (W), Gulf of Guinea (S) and Ethiopia (E) • Rich in gold, ivory, slaves The Kingdom of Ghana c. 900-1100 • First large African kingdom • Exemplary by Muslim chroniclers’ standards • Sacral kingship, part of the elite Muslim • Taxes on agriculture and trade, tribute from neighbours • Large army designed to capture slaves The Kingdom of Mali c. 1200-1450 • Skilled use of land as resource – large population • Both aristocracy and part of the general populace were Muslim • Pilgrimages to Mecca common Mansa Musa, r. 1312-1337 • Most famous Malian ruler • Extremely rich – too much gold led to its devaluation • Strong military commander • Provincial administration Mansa Musa depicted in a Catalan manuscript, c. 1375 Timbuktu University Kanem (c. 700-1370s) and Bornu (c. 1380-1890s) • Centred between Volta River and Lake Chad • Fortified cities with farming around them • City of Kano – Kanem • Hausa people to the east – Bornu Empire Ruins of the fortified city of Djado, in modern Niger Extension of Kanem (left) and Bornu (right) South-West Africa: The Congo Basin • Bungu people at the mouth of River Congo • Metalworking and river trade • Warfare with neighbours for slaves • Contact with the Portuguese Queen Nzinga and Portuguese Trade • Queen Nzinga a Nkuwu and her son, Nzinga Mbemba • Converted to Christianity • Later, Yaka peoples weakened Congolese kingdom Eastern Africa – Christian Kingdoms • Christianised c. 350, contacts with Eastern Roman Empire • Coptic Christians – ascetic lifestyle and monasticism • Pushed inland by Muslim peoples Ethiopian Script • Cut off from other Christianity c. 900 • Christian faith as central pillar of identity • 1200-1400 Solomonic Dynasty – King Solomon, Queen Sheba Sultanate of Ifat • Fishermen and traders – tied to the sea • Muslim; trade routes with Islamic world • Sultanate of Ifat – war with Ethiopia; long wars with them in 1400s Medieval Ruins on the Tanzanian Coast • Trading cities along the coast • Very diverse: Mediterranean settlers, later Arabs • Bantu language spoken (Kiswahili), many Arabic loanwords Ruins of Kilwa Kisiwani, Tanzania Trade Routes in the Indian Ocean • Connection between east and west • Ivory, camel hair textiles produced • Received silk, porcelain, Persian rugs Southern Africa • We don’t know much – stone age culture • Only area to be colonised by Europeans – Dutch settlers in the 1600s Jan van Riebeeck arrives in Table Bay, 1652 Part II: China until c. 1400 • Han culture along the Yellow River – farming of millet and soy • Yangtse River surrounded by rice paddies; possibly not culturally Chinese • Xi – fertile area to the south Possible location of the Xia culture, 3rd millennium BCE Shang Dynasty c. 1523-1027 BCE • Earliest written sources • Very hierarchical, sacral kingship • Military aristocracy, take slaves • Religion combined gods and family cults Zhou Dynasty c. 1027-221 BCE • Initially lived along the Wei River, took over Shang • Adopted Chinese culture • Warring culture – bronze working and war chariots • Mandate of Heaven Mirror Holder from Zhou Period • Decentralised political system (like feudalism) • Smaller rival states c. 400-200 BCE • New martial culture – role of citizen soldiers (like Greece and Rome) Philosophy • Confucianism: Aristocratic philosophy, gentelmanly behaviour, loyalty to established order • Mozi. Meritocratic ideology • Daoism: Withdrawn from society • Legalism: Practical; strong laws make strong society (but no morality) Tang dynasty depiction of Confucius The First Empire • Strongman defeated last Zhou king in 221 BCE • Named himself Shi Huangdi, the first emperor • Great Wall, Terracotta Army • Burning of old books Han Dynasty c. 206BCE-220 CE • Lower official named Gaozu • Maintained administrative structures but made things less harsh • Confucianism – Imperial Academy • Yellow Turban Rebellion • Three Kingdoms’ Period Cao Cao, famed warlord and imperial chancellor during the Three Kingdoms’ Period Sui Dynasty, c. 561-618 • Very short, only two emperors • Yang Jian – conquered Korea and N. Vietnam • Exams for administrative positions The Canal Between the Yellow River and the Yangtse • Connected existing river routes • Used to collect taxes in the South • Brought South from peripheral region into the Empire Tang Dynasty c. 618-907 • Li Yuan – winner of civil war • Cultural centre of Asia – many people travelled there • Further admin reforms • Unfair tax system • Uyghur arrival • Rise and fall of Buddhist monasticism Song Dynasty 960-1270 • Zhao Kunagyin united warring states • New elite who did everything • Neo-Confucianism vs Buddhism • Population increase & river traffic • First banknotes Arrival of the Mongols • Temperature decrease from 1250 • Affected delicate balance in Mongolian steppes • Temujin/Genghis Khan, united tribes and invaded parts of China • Cruel and warlike, especially harsh against urban centres 14th century Persian depiction of Mongol horse archers The Mongol Empire in China • Kublai Khan; emperor from 1271, conquered all of China 1279 • Gunpowder and printing press find their way to Europe • Chinese reaction against foreign influence • Ming dynasty from 1368 Funerary portrait of Kublai Khan, possibly c. 1294 Concluding remarks • Very large chronological and geogrpahical overview – in a very short time • There is more to these places than European colonisation (Africa) or meddling (China) • Historical periods used in the West do not always conform to these places • Great changes of the Early Modern period – American colonisation and Protestant Reformation – useless when talking about Africa and China..
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