World History Chapter 1 Summary

Chapter 1:

Buddha lived in India, near the Himalayas. (Page 3)

Renunciation of possessions and residence in monasteries was central to spiritual progress in Buddhism.(Page 4)

In buddhism, the individual monk was responsible for his own progress toward enlightenment. (Page 4)

When a monk travels to a monastery, he/she must engage in formal conversation. (Page 4)

Buddhism was the predominant religion throughout Asia during the Common Era. (Page 5)

Buddhism divided into several competing systems that emphasized different texts. (Page 5)

In the Buddhist tradition, one gained great personal merit by furthering Buddhist teachings. (Page 9)

The two major schools of Buddhism are knows as the Great Vehicle and the Small Vehicle. (Page 15)

Buddhism competed

with lots of other religions, including Taoism, Confucianism, Zoroastrianism, and Brahmanism. (Page 20)
Chapter 2:
Admission into the umma required being Muslim. (Page 21)
Muslim worshippers were all equal. (Page 21)
Muslims cannot kill, enslave, or feud with other Muslims. (Page 22)
Silk robes showed importance. (Page 22)
Caliphs made allies with people who would die for Islam in an Army, the Abbasid caliph made an army of slaves. (Page 23)
Muslim cities had a common bathing building, called hamam and a market for daily necessities and traded goods. (Page 28)
The steppe people grew millet, sorghum, and wheat for food. (Page 28)
Travelling beyond the Islamic world is dangerous and frightening to Islam's. (Page 28)
Ibn Fadlan ate bread, millet, and jerked meat on his journey. (Page 29)
By the year 720 BCE, Muslim armies conquered many countries including Egypt, North Africa, and Spain, as well as many caravan cities. (Page 29)
Arabians and the steppe people had a lot in common, including food and clothing.(Page 31)
Ibn Fadlan bribed clans in his journey, for example, he bribed Yinal the Little with some Persian cloth, and lots of various foods including bread, raisins and walnuts. (Page 32)
Silk robes was worn by nobles. They were given as gifts to show honor and establish political relationships. (Page 33)
Almish and Ibn Fadlan exchanged many gifts, including robes, banners, saddles, food, money, and perfume. (Page 34)
Norse boats traded slaves for food and gold along the Volga river.

(Page 37)

“Ibn Fadlan’s mission was about political and religious alliances that stretched across the entire western half of the Asian world.” (Page 38)

Chapter 3:

Khwarizm combined theories and created lots of mathematical developments still used today. (Page 40)

China’s invention of paper was widely spread through Asia and advanced rapidly. (Page 42)

In Islam, the close association of political power, moral authority, and religious beliefs made authority its biggest issue. (Page 43)

Ibn Sina learned math very quickly, and later moved on to more complex material. (Page 44)

Ibn Sina was awarded the royal library after treating the king’s illness. (Page 45)

Ibn Sina expanded on Plato’s concept of Forms. (Page 47)

Many of Ibn Sina’s books were related to metaphysics, ethics and logic, as well as a few on medical subjects.(Page 49)

Ibn SIna, also known as “Avicenna”, was well known throughout the Islamic world. (Page 54)

Ibn Sina’s various books soon quickly spread through Eurasia. (Page 55)

“Ibn Sina, philosopher and physician, was a brilliant member of a whole class of scholars who moved from court to court participating in scholarly debate, writing and giving practical advice.” (Page 56)

Chapter

4:
Large ships with V-shaped keels and made with no iron were used for trade. (Page 57)
Tin ingots from the western Malay Peninsula were being shipped to Java, a place lacking metal. (Page 60)
Tin was a component of bronze, and bronze was commonly used to make statues and other religious objects, as well as door hinges, jewelry, weapons, etc. (Page 60)
Mirrors from china and the Peloponnesian islands were made from tin and shipped to Southeast Asia. (Page 60,61)
Countries such as Burma, Cambodia, and Vietnam depended on rice cultivation for trade. (Page 61)
Aside from tin, gold jewelry was also found on the shipwreck, both metals were commonly used throughout Southeast Asia in this period. (Page 61)
Eastern India traded bronze Buddha statues. (Page 61)
Kedah tin was shipped to Bengal to be alloyed and casted. (Page 61)
Buddhism and Hindu were the main religions of the 10th century. (Page 62)
Building monuments to worship deceased kings was found in Southeast Asia, but was not practiced in India. (Page 62)
Vajrayana Buddhism was a new form of Buddhism that developed in eastern India and was based on bells and the distinctive spear-shaped scepter. (Page 62,63)
India also traded bronze lion heads, bronze lotus buds, and ceremonial spears, vessels, and trays, as well as brass hinges and door decorations to Java. (Page 63)
Chinese silver and gold coins were fairly valuable at the time. China also shipped iron objects, such as ingots, cooking pots, and spearheads. (Page 64)
Persia traded glass to countries in Southeast Asia. (Page 65)
China also traded ceramics and silk cloth to Java and Sumatra. (Page 66)
India traded cotton to the Middle East and China. (Page 67)
“Finally, trade was essential to the everyday practice of culture in the Asian world.” (Page 73)
Chapter 5:
Abraham grew spices, such as cardamom, black pepper, coriander, ginger, turmeric, cloves, nutmeg, and more, for trading. (Page 77)
Black pepper was the most important spice in spice trading, it was used both for flavoring and as a medicine. (Page 77)
Jews believe that if the word God was written on a document, they would have to destroy it. (Page 78)
Jewish trades avoided the war to find other trade routes, they turned towards India. (Page 80)
Traders traded goods through trusted shipowners. (Page 83)
In the 12th century, India traded horses, slaves, weapons, and ceramics. (Page 84)
Traders also sent items based on request, not just based on what they usually trade, they traded things including bowls, dishes, cups, leather, and paper. (Page 85)
Egypt traded soap, sugar, and robes. (Page 89)
Many slaves traveled trade routes for their owners. (Page 89)
Although Abraham bin Yiju was a successful trade, he had personal family problems. (Page 90)
There were many Jewish communities throughout Africa and Asia. (Page 92)
Trade ended during the war. (Page 93)
Jews and Muslims lived together in towns making tradable items, including decorative leather, metal, or jewelry. (Page 94)
“Traders compete continuously with each other, and over the longer term, the rise and fall of various groups of traders is also evident. The strong position of Jews in the Malabar spice trade of Abraham bin Yiju;s time lasted only another two centuries, until about 1300 CE.” (Page 95)
Chapter 6:
Ibn Battuta had a good education and good opportunities and got married twice in one caravan of pilgrims. (Page 99)
Ibn Battuta loved learning about religion, on his trip, he learned from locals, visited shrines, architecture, customs, etc. (Page 102)
Muslims enjoyed helping visitors with trade, travel, and pilgrimage. (Page 102)
Both Buddhism and Islam think travel is a way of spiritual development and learning. (Page 103)
Medina is the city where Muhammad had lived. (Page 104)
Ibn Battuta joined a caravan headed towards Medina and Mecca, both holy cities. (Page 104)
In the 12th century, many cities attracted religiously educated men. Their skills were valuable to the spreading of religions. (Page 106)