World's history (part 8): Indian Subcontinent[edit] In northernIndia, after the fall (550 CE) of theGupta Empire, the region divided in to a complex and fluid network of smaller kingdoms, including the Rajputstates.[86]Early Muslim incursions began in the west in 711 CE, when the ArabUmayyad Empireannexed much of present-day Pakistan. Arab military advancement was largely halted at that point, but Islam still spread in India, largely due to the influence of Arab merchants along the western coast. In the 12th century, Turkic Muslims would found the Delhi Sultanate, which would control most of the northern subcontinent. At the end of the 15th century, the Muslim Deccan Sultanateswould arise from the west coast to east in the middle of the Indian Peninsula. Postclassical dynasties in Southern India included those of the Chalukyas,theRashtrakutas, the Hoysalas, theCholasand theVijayanagara Empire.Science,engineering,art,literature,astronomy, andphilosophyflourished under the patronage of these kings. East Asia[edit] After a period of relative disunity, theSui Dynastyreunified China in 581, and under the succeedingTang Dynasty(618–907) China entered a second golden age. The Tang Dynasty eventually splintered, however, and afterhalf a century of turmoiltheNorthern Song Dynasty reunified China in 982, yet pressure from nomadic empires to the north became increasingly urgent.North Chinawas lost to theJurchens in 1141, and theMongol Empire[87][88]conquered all of China in 1279, along with almost half ofEurasia's landmass. After about a century of Mongol Yuan Dynastyrule, the ethnic Chinese reasserted control with the founding of theMing Dynasty(1368). InJapan, the imperial lineage had been established by this time, and during theAsuka period(538 to 710) theYamato Provincedeveloped into a clearly centralized state. [89]Buddhismwas introduced,[90]and there was an emphasis on the adoption of elements of Chinese culture and Confucianism. TheNara periodof the 8th century marked the emergence of a strong Japanese state and is often portrayed as a golden age. During this period, the imperial government undertook great public works, including government offices, temples, roads, and irrigation systems. The Heian period(794 to 1185) saw the peak of imperial power, followed by the rise of militarized clans, and the beginning of Japanese feudalism.[91]The feudal period of Japanese history, dominated by powerful regional families (daimyō) and the military rule of warlords ( shōgun), stretched from 1185 to 1868. The emperor remained, but mostly as a figurehead, and the power of merchants was weak. PostclassicalKoreasaw the end of theThree Kingdomsera, the three kingdoms beingGoguryeo,BaekjeandSilla. Silla conquered Baekje in 660, and Goguryeo in 668, [92]marking the beginning of theNorth and South States period(남북국시대), withUnified Sillain the south and Balhae, a successor state to Goguryeo, in the north. About 900 CE, this arragement reverted to theLater Three Kingdoms, with Goguryeo (then called Hugoguryeoand eventually namedGoryeo) emerging as dominant, unifying the entire peninsula by 936.[93]The founding Goryeo dynasty ruled until 1392, succeeded by the Joseon Dynasty, which ruled for the next 500 years.

World's history (part 7): History of Islam[edit] Main article:History of Islam Main article:Islamic Golden Age The history of Islam concerns theIslamic religionand its adherents, known asMuslims."Muslim"is an Arabic word meaning"one who submits to God."Muslims and their religion have greatly impacted the political,economic, andmilitary historyof theOld World, especially the Middle East, where lie its roots. Great Mosque of Kairouan,Tunisia, founded 670 — oldest mosquein Muslim West From their center on the Arabian Peninsula, Muslims began their expansion during the early Middle Ages. By 750CE, they came to conquer most of the Middle East, North Africa, and parts of Europe, ushering in an era of learning, science, and invention known as the Islamic Golden Age. The knowledge and skills of the ancient Middle East, of Greece, and of Persia were preserved in the Middle Ages by Muslims, who also added new and important innovations from outside, such as the manufacture of paper from China and decimal positional numbering from India. Much of this learning and development can be linked to geography. Even prior to Islam's presence the city of Mecca had served as a center of trade in Arabia, and the prophet Muhammad himself was a merchant. With the new Islamic tradition of the Hajj, the pilgrimage to Mecca, the city became even more a center for exchanging goods and ideas. The influence held by Muslim merchants over African-Arabian and Arabian-Asian trade routes was tremendous. As a result, Islamic civilization grew and expanded on the basis of its merchant economy, in contrast to the Europeans, Indians, and Chinese who based their societies on an agricultural landholding nobility. Merchants brought goods and their faith to China(resulting in a present-day population of some 37 million Chinese Muslims, mainly ethnic Turkic Uyghurs, whose territory was annexed to China),India,southeast Asia, and the kingdoms of western Africa, and returned with new discoveries and inventions. Medieval Europe[edit] Main article:Middle Ages Europe during theEarly Middle Ageswas characterized by depopulation, deurbanization, andbarbarianinvasion, all of which had begun in Late Antiquity. The barbarian invaders formed their own new kingdoms in the remains of theWestern Roman Empire. In the 7th century, North Africaand theMiddle East, once part of the eastern empire, became part of theCaliphateafter conquest byMuhammad's successors. Although there were substantial changes in society and political structures, the break was not as extreme as once put forth by historians, with most of the new kingdoms incorporating as many of the existing Roman institutions as they could. Christianity expanded in western Europe and monasteries were founded. In the 7th and 8th centuries the Franks, under theCarolingian dynasty, established an empire covering much of western Europe; it lasted until the 9th century, when it succumbed to pressure from new invaders – the Vikings,Magyars, andSaracens. CastleslikeSegovia Castle,Spain, were common in High Middle AgesEurope. During theHigh Middle Ages, which began after 1000, the population of Europe increased greatly as new technological and agricultural innovations allowed trade to flourish and crop yields to increase. Manorialism – the organization of peasants into villages that owed rents and labor service to nobles – and feudalism – a political structure wherebyknightsand lower-status nobles owed military service to their overlords in return for the right to rents from lands and manors – were two of the ways of organizing medieval society that developed during the High Middle Ages. Kingdoms became more centralized after the decentralizing effects of the breakup of the Carolingian Empire. TheCrusades, which were first preached in 1095, were an attempt by western Christians to regain control of the Holy Landfrom theMuslims, and succeeded long enough to establish some Christian states in the Near East. Intellectual life was marked by scholasticismand the founding of universities, while the building ofGothic cathedralswas one of the outstanding artistic achievements of the age. TheLate Middle Ageswere marked by difficulties and calamities. Famine, plague and war devastated the population of western Europe. The Black Deathalone killed approximately a third of the population between 1347 and 1350. It was one of the deadliest pandemics in human history. Starting in Asia, the disease reached Mediterranean and westernEuropeduring the late 1340s,[79]and killed tens of millions of Europeans in six years; between a third and a half of the population. [80] The Middle Ages[81]witnessed the first sustainedurbanizationof northern and western Europe. Many modern European states owe their origins to events unfolding in the Middle Ages; present European political boundaries are, in many regards, the result of the military and dynastic achievements during this tumultuous period.

World's history (part 6): Declines and falls[edit] The empires faced common problems associated with maintaining huge armies and supporting a central bureaucracy. These costs fell most heavily on the peasantry, while land-owning magnatesincreasingly evaded centralised control and its costs.Barbarianpressure on the frontiers hastened internal dissolution. China'sHan Empirefell intocivil warin 220 CE, while itsRomancounterpart became increasingly decentralized and divided about the same time. The great empires of Eurasia were all located on temperate coastal plains. From the Central Asiansteppes, horse-based nomads (Mongols, Turks) dominated a large part of the continent. The development of thestirrup, and the breeding of horses strong enough to carry a fully armed archer, made the nomads a constant threat to the more settled civilizations. The gradual break-up of theRoman Empire,[68][69]spanning several centuries after the 2nd century CE, coincided with the spread of Christianitywestward from the Middle East. The Western Roman Empire fell[70]under the domination ofGermanic tribesin the 5th century, and these politiesgradually developed into a number of warring states, all associated in one way or another with theRoman Catholic Church . The remaining part of the Roman Empire, in the eastern Mediterranean, would henceforth be theByzantine Empire.[71] Centuries later, a limited unity would be restored towestern Europethrough the establishment of theHoly Roman Empire[72]in 962, comprising a number of states in what is now Germany,Austria,Switzerland,Czechia,Belgium,Italy, and parts ofFrance. In China,dynastieswould similarly rise and fall.[73][74]After the fall of theEastern Han Dynasty[75]and the demise of theThree Kingdoms, nomadictribes from the north began to invade in the 4th century, eventually conquering areas of Northern China and setting up many small kingdoms. Postclassical Era [edit] Main article:Postclassical Era The Postclassical Era is named for the more Eurocentric era of"Classical Antiquity,"but"the Postclassical Era"refers to a more global outline. The era is commonly dated from the fall of the Western Roman Empirein the 5th century. The Western Roman Empire fragmented into numerous separate kingdoms, many of which would be later confederated under the Holy Roman Empire. The Eastern Roman, or Byzantine, Empiresurvived until late in the Middle Ages. The Postclassical period also corresponds to theIslamic conquests,[76] subsequentIslamic golden age,[77][78]and commencement and expansion of theArab slave trade, followed by theMongol invasionsin the Middle East and Central Asia. South Asiasaw a series ofmiddle kingdoms of India, followed by the establishment ofIslamic empires in India . In western Africa, theMali Empireand theSonghai Empiredeveloped. On the southeast coast of Africa, Arabic ports were established where gold,spices, and other commodities were traded. This allowed Africa to join theSoutheast Asiatrading system, bringing it contact with Asia; this, along with Muslim culture, resulted in the Swahili culture. TheChinese Empireexperienced the successive Sui,Tang,Song,Yuan, and the beginning of theMingDynasty. Middle Eastern trade routes along the Indian Ocean, and the Silk Roadthrough the Gobi Desert, provided limited economic and cultural contact between Asian and European civilizations. During this same period, civilizations in the Americas, such as the Inca,Maya, andAztec, reached their height. All would be seriously compromised by contact with European colonistsat the beginning of theModern period.

World's history (part 5): TheMaurya Empire(322 – 185 BCE) in present-dayIndia. In the 3rd century BCE, most of South Asiawas united into theMaurya EmpirebyChandragupta Mauryaand flourished under Ashoka the Great. From the 3rd century CE, theGupta dynastyoversaw the period referred to as ancient India's Golden Age. From the 4th to 6th centuries, northern Indiawas ruled by the Gupta Empire. In southern India, three prominentDravidiankingdoms emerged: Cheras,Cholas, andPandyas. The ensuing stability contributed to heralding in the golden age of Hinduculture in the 4th and 5th centuries. TheRoman Empire, centered in present-dayItaly. Beginning in the 3rd century BCE, theRoman Republicbegan expanding its territory through conquest and colonization. By the time of Augustus(63 BCE - 14 CE), who would become the first Roman Emperor, Rome had already established dominion over most of the Mediterranean. The empire would continue to grow, controlling much of the land from EnglandtoMesopotamia, reaching its greatest extent under the emperorTrajan(d. 117 CE). In the 3rd century CE, the empire would split into western and eastern regions, with (sometimes) separate emperors. The Western empire would fall, in 476 CE, to German influence under Odoacer. The eastern empire, now known as theByzantine Empire, with its capital atConstantinople, would continue for another thousand years, until overthrown by the Ottoman Empirein 1453 CE. TheQin Dynasty(221 – 206 BCE), the first imperial dynasty of China, followed by theHan Empire(206 BCE – 220 CE). The Han Dynasty was comparable in power and influence to the Roman Empire that lay at the other end of the Silk Road. While the Romans constructed a vast military of unprecedented power, Han China was developing advanced cartography, shipbuilding, and navigation. The East invented blast furnaces and were capable of creating finely tuned copper instruments. As with other empires during the Classical Period, Han China advanced significantly in the areas of government, education, mathematics, astronomy, technology, and many others. TheAksumite Empire, centered in present-day Ethiopia. By the 1st century CE the Aksumite Empire had established itself as a major trading empire, dominating its neighbours in South ArabiaandKush, and controlling theRed Seatrade. They minted their own currency, and carved enormous monolithic stelaesuch as theObelisk of Axumto mark their Emperors'graves. Successful regional empires were also established inthe Americas, arising from cultures established as early as 2000 BCE. In Mesoamerica,[63]vast pre-Columbian societies were built, the most notable being theZapotec Empire(200 BCE – 100 CE), and the Mayan Empire, which reached its highest state of development during the Mesoamerican Classic period (c. 250 – 900 CE), but continued throughout the Post-Classic period until the arrival of the Spanish in the 16th century CE. Maya civilization arose as the mother cultureof theOlmecs[64]gradually declined. The great Mayancity-statesslowly rose in number and prominence, and Maya culture spread throughout the Yucatánand surrounding areas. The later empire of theAztecswas built on neighboring cultures and was influenced by conquered peoples such as the Toltecs. Ptolemy's world map, c. 150 CE Some areas experienced slow but steady technological advancements, with important developments such as the stirrupandmoldboard plowarriving every few centuries. There were, however, in some regions, periods of rapid technological progress. Most important, perhaps, was the Mediterraneanarea during theHellenistic period, when hundreds of technologies were invented. [65][66][67]Such periods were followed by periods of technological decay, as during the Roman Empire's decline and fall and the ensuingearly medievalperiod.

World's history (part 4): "The Wrestler", anOlmecera statuette, 1200 – 800 BCE. Over the following millennia, civilizations would develop across the world.Tradewould increasingly become a source of power as states with access to important resources or controlling important trade routes would rise to dominance. In c. 2500 BCE, the Kingdom of Kerma developed inSudan, south of Egypt. In modern Turkey theHittitescontrolled a large empire and by 1600 BCE, Mycenaean Greecebegan to develop.[48][49]In India this era was the Vedic period, which laid the foundations ofHinduismand other cultural aspects of early Indian society, and ended in the 6th century BCE. From around 550 BCE, many independent kingdoms and republics known as the Mahajanapadaswere established across the country. As complex civilizations arose in the Eastern Hemisphere, most indigenous societies inthe Americas remained relatively simple for some time, fragmented into diverse regional cultures. During the Formative stageinMesoamerica, (about 1500 BCE to 500 CE), more complex and centralized civilizations began to develop, mostly in what is now Mexico, Central America, and Peru. They include civilizations such as the Olmec,Maya,Zapotec,Moche, andNazca. They developed agriculture as well, growing maize and other crops unique to the Americas, and creating a distinct culture and religion. These ancient indigenous societies would be greatly affected by European contact during the early modern period. Axial Age[edit] Main article:Axial age Main articles:History of philosophy,Timeline of religion, andHistory of religion Beginning in the 8th century BCE, the so-called"Axial Age"saw a set of transformative religious and philosophical ideas develop, mostly independently, in many different locations. During the 6th century BCE, Chinese Confucianism,[50][51]IndianBuddhismandJainism, and JewishMonotheismall developed. (Karl Jaspers'Axial Age theory also includesPersianZoroastrianismon this list, but other scholars dispute Jaspers'timeline for Zoroastrianism.) In the 5th century BCE SocratesandPlatomade significant advances in the development of Ancient Greek philosophy. In the east, three schools of thought were to dominateChinesethinking until the modern day. These wereTaoism,[52]Legalism[53]and Confucianism.[54]The Confucian tradition, which would attain dominance, looked forpoliticalmoralitynot to the force of law but to the power and example of tradition. Confucianism would later spread into the Korean peninsulaand towardJapan. In the west, theGreekphilosophical tradition, represented bySocrates,[55]Plato,[56]andAristotle,[57][58]was diffused throughoutEurope and theMiddle Eastin the 4th century BCE by the conquests of Alexander III of Macedon, more commonly known asAlexander the Great .[59][60][61] Regional empires[edit] Main articles:CivilizationandEmpire The millennium from 500 BCE to 500 CE saw a series of empires of unprecedented size develop. Well-trained professional armies, unifying ideologies, and advanced bureaucracies created the possibility for emperors to rule over large domains, whose populations could attain numbers upwards of tens of millions of subjects. The great empiresdepended onmilitaryannexationof territory and on the formation of defended settlements to become agricultural centres. [62]The relative peace that the empires brought encouragedinternational trade, most notably the massive trade routes in the Mediterranean, and theSilk Road. In southern Europe, theGreeks(and later theRomans) established cultures whose practices, laws, and customs are considered the foundation of contemporary western civilization. Major regional empires of this period include: TheMedian Empire, from 678 BCE, centered in present-dayIran, but extending west to present-dayTurkeyand east to present-day Pakistan. The Median Empire gave way to successiveIranianempires of the period, up to theSassanid Empire(224-651 CE). Parthenonepitomizes sophisticated culture of Ancient Greece. TheDelian League(from 478 BCE) and the succeeding Athenian Empire (454-404 BCE), centered in present-day Greece. Alexander the Great(356-323 BCE), ofMacedon, founded an empire of conquest, extending from present-day Greece to present-day Pakistan. The empire divided shortly after his death, but the influence of his Hellenisticsuccessors made for an extendedHellenistic period (323 – 30 BCE) throughout the region.