Feudalism and the Growth of the Market

Questions: 1. The early Byzantine Empire represented an effort at continuing the legacy of the West, particularly Rome. To what extent did the Byzantines succeed in this effort and how do you think they failed? 2. The Islamic world represented a different model of civilization. What are the characteristics of this Islamic empire and how did they shape the Medieval world? 3. Traditional Chinese culture evolved to develop a strong political system and a well-developed economic structure. What developments in the Traditional period allowed China to become one of the most advanced societies in the world? Is it possible that the Chinese arrived in America prior to the arrival of Europeans? Why? 4. The Mongol Empire represents one of the most successful military societies in history. What made the Mongols such an effective fighting force? What were their failures? What if the Mongols had continued their campaign into Europe in the mid-13th century? What might have happened to Europe and the rest of t he world? What kind of leader was Genghis Khan? 5. Japanese civilization evolved differently from that which we saw in other parts of East Asia. What were the main influences on Japanese culture and what were the key features that emerged as a result of these influences. 6. Early Medieval Europe was defined by feudalism and manorialism. What is feudalism and manorialism and how did it come to shape Medieval Europe? 7. What was the most important event in Medieval European history: the decline of the Roman Catholic Church, the Hundred Years Wars, and the outbreak of the Black Plague? Why? 8. The Renaissance marks a break with the Medieval and the beginnings of the modern. What were the key changes associated with the Renaissance and how did they represent a break with the past? 9. What was the most meaningful part of the course for you? What did you learn about history, people, and why we study history in the first place? Answers: 1. The Byzantine Empire had reached a very great height in the late ninth and tenth century and during these years the Empire had a lot of pressure from the Romans to remove the Patriarchs and to get control over many parts of Italy. But during the same time the new invaders appeared to have no respect left. The Normans finally completed the Byzantine expulsion from Italy because of a lack of interest in sending any support to Italy and were mainly interested in defeatingEgypt. The empire also appealed to the west for help but they considered in sending help in return for reuniting the churches. 2. The Islamic empire was divided into many other provinces over the fight for succession and the Islamic economy revolved around trade and commerce with the Mediterranean and China and resulted in the manufacture of many luxury goods such as carpets, jewelry, spices and silk. The Islamic culture also valued education and learning to a very large extent and Arabic and mathematics flourished during this period. The primary and main language of the Islamic Empire was Arabic. Muslims were expected to observe the teachings of the Koran, the Five Pillars of Faith, temperance, and sobriety. Muslims were also expected to make a pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca at least once in their lives. 3. Before the Europeans arrived in Asia, China was considered one of the most advanced and powerful nations in the world in terms of its population, political area and also most importantly in the art of agriculture. First the Europeans found that the Chinese had a very revered tradition and culture and industrialization was nonexistent. But its not the case in todays time; china is the most talked about countries when it comes to the future of the economy of the world. There were many questions raised however such as would china ever become an industrialized country and have an impact on the global trade. As it has natural resources and manpower to build a huge economy so therefore it became important that foreign nations understand the development of the China before they decide which side to defend. 4. When the Mongols came first the Mongolian dynasty took a total new shape. The tribal quarrels and raids were all done in the past because either the tribe or the clan had fallen out of use or the others were scattered all over the Mongol world and by also testing the system of the tribe and the traditional clan. A unified Mongol nation came into existence as the personal creation of Genghis Khan and through many colonial occupations which has survived to the present day. Genghis Khan was ready to start on his great adventure of world conquest. The new nation was organized and his troops were divided into a system and were very disciplined and well equipped as well as well supplied. 5. There was a huge impact on the global history in the transmission of the key elements in the Chinese culture and to the islands that came into being to make up Japan and this clearly provides a very good example in the spread of the civilization from the center areas to the neighboring people. The people of Japan imported a wide range of ideas, techniques of production, institutional models, and material objects from the Chinese mainland. After adapting these imports to make them compatible with the quite sophisticated culture they had previously developed, the Japanese used what they had borrowed from China to build a civilization of their own. They also used many new patterns of rice growing and handicraft production that helped in enhancing the base of the economy. 6. The social structure in which the king gifts a form of a land and authority to a lord to rule and govern the area in exchange for the different services like agriculture or defense this is called as the feudal system. Manorialism is defined as the social interaction system that existed between the lords and the population like the laborers, soldiers etc with regards to their daily life and survival. 7. With the fall of the Western Roman Empire, a new era began in Europe and the Mediterranean world. And so began the period of European history known as the Dark Ages, when out of the ruins of the Western Empire grew a number of new successor kingdoms ruled over by the barbarian or the people who inherited it. 8. The term Renaissance means "rebirth" and is the period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages, conventionally held to have been characterized by a surge of interest in classical learning and values. The Renaissance also witnessed the discovery and exploration of new continents and the decline of the feudal system. There was a growth of commerce and the invention or application of powerful innovations such as paper, printing and gunpowder. 9. The study of history is important because we learn from the mistakes of the past and hopefully learn to avoid those same mistakes made in the past. By learning from the mistakes that have been made by others, we are able to avoid the same mistakes and make more progress in economics, government, technology, etc.In a society which expects education to serve as a purpose, the functions of history can be more difficult to define than those of engineering or medicine. History is in fact very useful but the products of historical study are less immediate than those that come from some other disciplines. References Jonathan Maunder (2009-04-07)."Feudalism and the growth of the market" Socialist Worker Online. Retrieved2009-12-22. Kuitert, Wybe (1988). "Themes, Scenes and Taste in the History of Japanese Garden Art.". J.C.Gieben, Publisher, Amsterdam.