The trade led to the development of new ethnic group called Swahili characterized by the Swahili language. The ethnic group developed due to interracial marriages. Some of the Swahili words can be traced to Hindi and Arabic origins. Ethiopia recovered from Dark Age during the Zagwe dynasty. Ethiopia became the place of pilgrimage and a religious center. Zagwe constructed magnificent churches to continue Axum’s Christianity.
3. Why have relations between pastoralists and farmers been so hostile for much of history? How did the Islamic world, Christian Europe, and China deal with Steppe land invaders?
The nomads raided the agricultural peripheries of farmers which formed a primitive form of trade. Raids occurred to substitute broken trade relations. Also, the cattle of nomads destroyed crops. The Steppe people accepted Islam as their main religion. The similar religion unified the Steppe and the Islam world. The Steppe people absorbed the Chinese culture because the China people were more civilized than them. Therefore, the Steppe culture became Chinese-influenced. They borrowed bureaucratic principles of Chinese. The Europeans used the knightly warfare against the Steppe.
Part 2
2. How did the world recover in the late 14th and 15th Centuries? How did the Russian and Ottoman Empires expand during the 14th and 15th Centuries? Why did China turn away from maritime expansion in the 14th Century? Why was Western Europe motivated to try to expand overseas? What roles did geography and culture play in European expansion overseas?
The world recovered during the Renaissance period. The increased interest and creativity in humanities and arts that characterizes humanism resulted in increased scientific knowledge and development of education. Thinkers during the renaissance emphasized the positive role of humanity. Printing invention facilitated the spread of humanist writings in 1540.The Ottoman Empire began by expanding westwards and overrun Constantinople since 1354. The empire gained control of the Balkan’s main route and the black sea. By 1520, Ottomans became the undisputed leaders of Muslims all over the world as a result of the exploits of successive sultans. The concentration was on expanding into Western Europe during the time. Suleiman welcomed types of arts and created a system of law that is uniform hence making many Muslims consider him a political ruler as well as a religious leader.
The alliance of Russia with Crimea against Poland-Lithuania and Great Horde between 1480 and 1519 facilitated the Russian expansion. China was a large country hence did not need the external trade to obtain outside resources. The main motivational factors for overseas expansion were price inflation, population growth and desire for oversea discovery. Western Europe wanted to gain economic power through trade monopoly on certain basic commodities. Also, the desire to expand Christendom through crusade and to acquire fame through discover motivated the overseas expansion during 1415 to 1715. The Europeans learned about new cultures worldwide as a result of exploration. The Europeans increased their knowledge of the size of the world, especially after America discovery. Therefore, the exploration changes the profound misconceptions about cultures and geography.
