Steph Manning
Following the collapse of the Roman Empire, Byzantine had been regarded as the "new Rome" since it's capital had been Constantinople, which was also the last capital of Rome. Under Justinian's rule the Byzantine empire was able to regain control of the eastern Mediterranean, and Eastern Orthodoxy culture was able to flourish.
The Byzantine Empire, the Muslim Abbasid dynasty, and Tang dynasty China formed a string of powerful states linking Europe and Asia. These states secured trade along the Silk Roads, as had been done during the classical era between the Roman and Chinese Empires.
The revelations of Muhammad became the sacred scriptures of the Quran, the basis for the Islamic faith, which are still held to be valid in present day. According to Muslims, the Quranic scriptures are the word of God.
With the unification of China, through the Tang and Song dynasties, the Chinese economy was able to expand. Through this expansion rose a high demand for Chinese goods from Southeast Asia and India, and in turn a high demand of the luxury goods these places had to offer.
The Tang and Song dynasties were able to preserve the renewed unity of China, and provided for a cultural revival of the region, commonly referred to as China's "golden age".
Following the death of Muhammad, the first four caliph's to rule the Islamic world were referred to as the "Rightly Guided Caliphs". Though, during their reigns controversy arose pitting muslim against muslim in an Islamic civil war. The most prominent rift between the Sunni muslims and the Shia muslims, a conflict that has persisted through modern times.
The Abbasid Empire caught wind of papermaking techniques coming from China. This ground breaking innovation was able to strengthen bureaucratic governments, enhance the spread of religion, and make knowledge more easily accessible and concrete.
Islamic culture flourished in Spain, the Spanish people practiced Muslim traditions and learned Arabic. Cordoba was regarded as one of the largest and most beautiful cities in the world and Spain's agricultural economy prospered.
The Cahokia's centralized location in North America facilitated it's prosperous trading network with much of the landmass. The trading network created by the Cahokia spanned from Lake Superior, to the Rocky Mountains, to the Great Plains, and the southern Appalachian Mountains, allowing for cultural diffusion on a scale that prior to the Cahokia, the America's have yet to see.
Vladimir used Christianity to unify the Russian people as well as to link Rus to a wider network of communication and exchange, in order to stimulate it's economy. This acceptance of Eastern Orthodoxy Christendom facilitated heavy Byzantine cultural influence on Rus.
The Chinese formula for gunpowder, which later made it's way onward to Europe and the Islamic World, triggered other militaristic inventions like the cannon, and inspired innovation all across the continent to countries that feared being left behind in the midst of Eurasian progress.
The people of the Inner Asian steppes were able to domesticate horses, facilitating the accumulation of larger herds of animals, and also allowing travel across a wider distance to occur in a shorter amount of time.
The rise of urbanization granted women a greater amount of opportunities in many urban professions like weaving, brewing, milling grain, mid wifery, small-scale retailing, laundering, spinning, and prostitution.
With major controversial differences creating disturbances between the two sects of Christianity, representatives from both Eastern Orthodoxy and Western Catholicism decided to excommunicate one another, each declaring that the other religion were no longer Christians.
The catholic pope launched the crusades following the split of the east and west branches of Christianity. These conflicts between the local peoples of the Byzantine Empire and the Western Crusaders deepened the mutual feelings of tension and distrust between the Christian and Islamic Worlds.
Slavery in western Africa had shifted from a primarily female dominated practice to both male and female, with men typically preforming labor intensive work like harvesting salt. In this span of 300 years roughly 5,500 slaves made the journey on foot, by way of caravan, through the desert to, be sold into slavery each year.
While the Mongolian invasion of Northern China was characterized by wrath and destruction, the Mongols were much more accommodating towards the native Song people in the South. Over time the Mongol's drew much innovation from the Chinese culture, although the Chinese people were treated as second class citizens, in their own country.
Over the span of approximately 100 years the Mongols had undergone a major cultural shift from being the pastoral peoples of the Steppes to dominating the eastern half of the Eurasian continent. The Mongol empire was able to utilize methods and innovations that they encountered through expansion, they also sparked a revival of the Silk Roads and revolutionized military technology.
A deadly disease erupted across the Eurasian continent, with extremely high death rates and unbearable symptoms. The so called "Black Death" wiped out 50% of Europe's population in a two year span, and led to the demise of the Mongol Empire in turn facilitating the revival of the Chinese and Russian states. Also, the sudden decrease in population led to labor shortages and wage conflicts, in turn giving women more job opportunities.
Massive crews of thousands of people visited many ports in Southeast Asia, Indonesia, India, Arabia, and East Africa in hopes of enrolling foreign nations into China's tribute system, and exerting Chinese control over trade within the region.
Christopher Columbus received spanish funding for a transatlantic voyage with three ships, and upon doing so accidentally discovered the Americas.
