Overview of World History Unit 1: Global Tapestry

Exploring Afro-Eurasia from 1200-1450

By Colton Cheviron

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How art, architecture, desire for resources, and exchange networks shaped societies and led to significant transformations.

• Overview of Empires: Highlight the stability, growth, and emergence of empires across Africa, Asia, and the Americas before European overseas expansions.

• African Kingdoms: Introduction to powerful kingdoms like Mali and Ethiopia.

• Asian Empires: Focus on the Mongol Empire's expansion and its impacts.

• American Empires: Brief look at the Aztec and Inca civilizations.

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Setting the Stage: Empires in 1200-1450

An empire is a large political structure where one state or nation governs and controls other territories and peoples. This governance often involves the central state extending its power and influence through conquest, colonization, or political and economic control, leading to a diverse and widespread administration under a single ruler or government.

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What is Empire?

​In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Ozai attempted to establish an empire. He wanted to bring the other nations under his rule.

In the Star Wars universe, the Glactic Empire rules over many systems, plaanets, and people.

Multiple Choice

What is empire?

• A large political unit, ruling over diverse territories and peoples under a central authority.

• A small community governed by a local council.

• A government that represents a single city or town.

• A democratic nation where power is shared equally among its citizens.

Empires and Change

• Trade and Connections: One major thing that led to change was the trading of goods, ideas, and even disease.

• Black Death: Discuss how the plague led to social and economic changes, especially in Europe.

• Renaissance: Explore how this cultural rebirth in Europe, fueled by earlier ideas from the Islamic world, changed art, science, and thought.

Empires Rise and Fall

• Trade and Consequences: Explain how shifts in trade networks led to the decline of some empires while others expanded.

• Changes from things like disease often cause empires to crash.

• Examples: Decline of the Byzantine Empire and the rise of the Ottoman Empire.

Multiple Choice

What is a common result when empires encounter significant events like pandemics or technological advancements?

• They often experience little to no change in their structure or culture.

• They may undergo significant transformations in governance and society.

• They typically abandon all previous trade and cultural practices.

• They usually become more insular and cut off from external influences.

Society & Culture: Art and Architecture

• Islamic Influence: Show how Islamic art and architecture spread along trade networks, influencing various regions.

• Renaissance Art: Demonstrate the evolution of artistic styles and themes in Europe as a result of increased connectivity.

Trade & Exchange Networks

• Asia and Europe: Silk Road and its role in connecting the East with the West.

• Africa's Role: Highlight how African empires contributed to and benefited from trade networks, especially in gold and salt.

• American Networks: Discuss trade within the Inca and Aztec empires and between them.

Multiple Choice

How do trade networks typically affect civilizations?

• They isolate communities and slow down cultural exchange.

• They lead to a reduction in technological advancements.

• They decrease the wealth of the empires involved.

• They contribute to economic growth and cultural diffusion.

• Recap: Summarize how art and architecture, a desire for resources, and the interaction through trade networks led to lasting changes in civilizations.

• Reflective Question: How do you think the connectivity of Afro-Eurasia during this period compares to today's globalized world?

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Conclusion

Open Ended

What will this unit, Global Tapestry, cover? Be sure to explain who, what, when, where, and why.

Poll

How do you feel about this unit after this lesson?

• Excited and Curious

• Confused

• I already know about this stuff

• Nervous