AP World UNIT 1 REVIEW (Everything you NEED to KNOW!)

Unit 1 of AP World History covers the period from 1200 to 1450 CE, focusing on how major civilizations across the globe built and maintained their 'states.' A state is defined as a politically organized territory under a single government. The video will tour different regions to examine their state-building efforts, starting with China.

The Song Dynasty (960-1279 CE) maintained its rule primarily through two methods: emphasizing Neo-Confucianism and expanding the Imperial Bureaucracy. Neo-Confucianism, a revival of traditional Confucian philosophy with a rejection of Buddhist influences, established a hierarchical societal structure emphasizing filial piety and placed women in a subordinate position, with practices like foot-binding for elite women. The Imperial Bureaucracy, composed of officials who passed civil service examinations based on Confucian classics, ensured a merit-based system, though wealth was often a prerequisite for study. Chinese traditions also influenced neighboring regions like Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.

Buddhism originated in India and spread to China, with its core teachings centered on the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path. Different forms of Buddhism emerged, such as Theravada (focused on monastic enlightenment) and Mahayana (encouraging broader participation). Song China experienced remarkable economic prosperity due to commercialization, producing excess goods like porcelain and silk for trade across Eurasia. Agricultural innovations like Champa rice led to a population explosion, and the expansion of the Grand Canal facilitated trade and communication.

Dar al-Islam, or the 'House of Islam,' encompassed regions where Islamic faith was a guiding principle. Alongside Islam, Judaism and Christianity were also practiced. By 1200, the Arab-dominated Abbasid Caliphate was declining, giving way to new Islamic political entities led by Turkic peoples, such as the Seljuk Empire, Mamluk Sultanate, and Delhi Sultanate. These new empires maintained aspects of the former, including Sharia law, and fostered significant cultural and scientific innovations, exemplified by scholars like Nasir al-Din al-Tusi and the preservation of Greek philosophy at the House of Wisdom in Baghdad. Islamic rule expanded through military conquest, merchant activities (e.g., Mali Empire), and the missionary efforts of Sufis, who adapted Islam to local beliefs.

In South and Southeast Asia, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam vied for dominance. Buddhism, though originating in South Asia, had declined there, largely confined to monastic communities. Hinduism remained widespread, undergoing changes like the Bhakti movement, which emphasized devotion to a single god and challenged traditional hierarchies. Islam became influential, especially with the Delhi Sultanate. State-building efforts in South Asia included the Rajput Kingdoms, which resisted Muslim rule, and the Vijayanagara Empire, a Hindu kingdom established in the South as a counterpoint to the Delhi Sultanate. In Southeast Asia, diverse sea-based (e.g., Majapahit Kingdom) and land-based (e.g., Khmer Empire) empires interacted with China and India. The Khmer Empire, initially Hindu, later incorporated Buddhist elements, as seen in Angkor Wat.

In the Americas, major civilizations included the Aztecs in Mesoamerica and the Incas in the Andean region. The Aztec Empire, established by the Mexica people, was vast, with its capital Tenochtitlan, and grew through an aggressive expansion program. They administered their empire through a system of tribute states, demanding labor and goods from conquered peoples, and practiced human sacrifice. The Inca Empire, stretching across the Andes, was highly centralized with an elaborate bureaucracy. Instead of a tribute system, they used the Mit'a system, requiring labor on state projects. The Mississippian culture in North America, centered in the Mississippi River Valley, was the first large-scale civilization, known for its agricultural focus and monumental mounds, such as those at Cahokia.

Africa saw various powerful states. The Swahili Civilization on the East African coast consisted of independent city-states driven by Indian Ocean trade. They were deeply influenced by Muslim traders, leading to the emergence of the hybrid Swahili language and conversion to Islam. In West Africa, powerful and centralized empires like Ghana, Mali, and Songhai grew through trade, with elites and government officials converting to Islam while the majority maintained indigenous beliefs. The Hausa Kingdoms were decentralized city-states, flourishing as brokers of trans-Saharan trade. Great Zimbabwe, in Southern Africa, became wealthy through farming and cattle herding, and later gold export, but maintained its indigenous shamanistic religion, unlike many other African states. Ethiopia, in East Africa, flourished through trade and uniquely maintained Christianity as its dominant religion, demonstrating a hierarchical power structure.

Europe, during this period, was dominated by Christianity, though divided into Eastern Orthodox (influencing the Byzantine Empire and the Kievan Rus) and Roman Catholicism (prevalent in Western Europe). After the fall of the Roman Empire, Western Europe was characterized by political decentralization and fragmentation. The primary social, political, and economic order was feudalism, where powerful lords granted land to vassals in exchange for military service. On a smaller scale, manorialism organized society around large landholdings worked by serfs, who were bound to the land and received protection from their lord. While nobility held significant power, monarchs would gradually centralize power in later centuries. Muslims and Jews also exerted influence, particularly in the Iberian Peninsula and through commerce, respectively, though Jews often faced persecution.