600 to 1450 C.E

The most famous emperor of the Byzantine Empire, who did not succeed in conquering Western Rome. Achievements: Justinian's Code (Body of Civil Law) based on 12 Tables of Rome, Greek becomes official language of the Empire

In Mecca, Muhammad is born. Later marries Khadija. Traveled in a caravan with his wife. When he was 40, the angel Gabriel appeared to him and revealed that he was selected as a messenger for Allah's divine inspiration.

Following the fall of the Han, China was divided into small regional kingdoms until the Sui reunited it. Achievements: Grand Canal, Expanding the Empire, reinstated the Confucian civil service system to establish legitimacy

achievements: finished Grand Canal, garrisons as far as Kashgar, equal field system, Changan becomes a major cosmopolitan city of 2 million people, Neo-Confucianism

Muhammad's message is not met with enthusiasm in his hometown of Mecca, and after there are threats on his life, he flees to Medina.

Muhammad and his followers return to Mecca, and destroy the idols in the city.

After the first four caliphs, the Umayyad clan takes control and changes the caliphate into a hereditary monarchy, with its capital at Damascus. Achievements: bureaucratic structure in which local administrators govern conquered areas, cultures tolerated if they obey Islamic rules/paid taxes/didn't revolt, arabic becomes language of administration/business/law/trade

Empress Wu, originally a concubine of the emperor, is named "Heavenly Empress". Was an advocate of Buddhism. Achievements: support for Buddhism and art, school for Buddhist and Confucian scholarship

The Fujiwara Clan dominates Japan, modelling their capital, Nara, on Changan in China, sending emissaries to China, and attempting to introduce a Chinese-style bureaucracy. The bureaucracy failed to take off, and was replaced with a strict hereditary hierarchy instead.