Preceden

Asia

Asia

Beginning of the Song Dynasty

618

After the collapse of the Han dynasty in 220 C.E., China was unified under the Sui dynasty (581–618). The political and governmental decisions made during this period started the growth of the Tang dynasty.

Arrival of Islam in South Asia

630

Islam came to India with the Arab merchants and traders in the 7th century. The first ship bearing Muslim travelers was seen on the Indian coast as early as 630 C.E.

Ongoing Indian Ocean trade

800

The Indian Ocean Trade began with small trading settlements around 800 C.E., and ended in the 1500s when Portugal invaded and tried to run the trade for its own profit.

Beginning of the Song Dynasty

960

The Song Dynasty was the last dynasty before the Yuan Dynasty. Foot-binding was when a woman's foot would be broken and tied up. The foot-binding, making the woman's feet smaller, placed a bigger role for the men. Woman who had their foot-binding could do less for themselves and relied on men.

Feudalism in Japan

1185

There were peasants who are tied to the farm land and work for protection plus a portion of the harvest, rather than for money. Warriors dominate the society and are bound by codes of obedience and ethics. There was no strong central government; instead, lords of smaller units of land control the warriors and peasants, but these lords owe obedience to a distant and relatively weak duke, king or emperor.

Russia overtaken by Mongols

1236

After Chinggis Khan died, the Mongols invaded Russia in 1236, eventually conquering all but the northern forest fringes.

End of Abbasid Empire due to Mongols

1258

The Abbasids' rule was briefly ended for three years in 1258, when Hulagu Khan, the Mongol khan, sacked Baghdad, resuming in Mamluk Egypt in 1261, from where they continued to claim authority in religious matters until 1519, when power was formally transferred to the Ottoman Empire and the capital relocated to Constantinople.

Marco Polo’s travels to China

1266

Marco Polo was a Westerner who traveled on the Silk Road. He finally reached the new capital of the Great Khan, Bejing in 1266.

Yuan Dynasty in China

1271

The Yuan Dynasty was the first dynasty in China ruled by foreigners (the Mongols). The first ruler was Chinggis Khan's grandson who ruled 1271 to 1294.

Mongol invasion of China

1279

By 1279, the Mongol leader Kublai Khan had established the Yuan Dynasty in China, which made all of China under the Mongol Yuan rule. This was the first time in history that the whole China was conquered and subsequently ruled by a foreign ruler.

Spread of the Black Death

1346

The Black Death originated in or near China and spread by way of the Silk Road or by ship. The Black death was thought to have started because of the Mongols.

Ming Dynasty begins in China

1368

The Ming Dynasty, also Empire of the Great Ming, was the ruling dynasty of China for 276 years (1368–1644) following the collapse of the Mongol-led Yuan Dynasty.

Trade on the Silk Roads

1368

The silk Road started forming in the first and second centuries, with trading networks throughout Afro Eurasia. By 760 AD, during the T'ang Dynasty, trade along the Silk Road had declined. Revived again in 1276-1368 under the Yuan Dynasty when the Mongols controlled China. By the end of the fourteenth century, trade and travel along the road had decreased.

End of Voyages by Zheng He

1433

From 1405 until 1433, the Chinese imperial eunuch Zheng He led seven ocean expeditions for the Ming emperor. During the first ones, Zheng He traveled all the way from China to Southeast Asia and then on to India, all the way to major trading sites on India's southwest coast. In his fourth voyage, he traveled to the Persian Gulf. The three last voyages Zheng went all the way to the east coast of Africa.

Ivan III

1462

At the age of 12 Ivan III was placed in command of a military expedition. At 18 he led a successful campaign against the Tatars in the south. When his father dies in 1462, he became the first czar of Russia.