Unit II: Middle Ages
4.2.1 Growth of Islam and Dar al-Islam [A country, territory, land, or abode where Muslim sovereignty prevails] – Identify and explain the origins and expansion of Islam and the creation of the Islamic Empire including
• the founding geographic extent of Muslim empires and the artistic, scientific, technological, and economic features of Muslim society
• diverse religious traditions of Islam - Sunni, Shi'a/Shi'ite, Sufi
• role of Dar al-Islam as a cultural, political, and economic force in Afro-Eurasia
• the caliphate as both a religious and political institution, and the persistence of other traditions in the Arab World including Christianity
4.2.2 Unification of Eurasia under the Mongols
Using historical and modern maps, locate and describe the geographic patterns of Mongol conquest and expansion and describe the characteristics of the Pax Mongolica (particularly revival of long-distance trading networks between China and the Mediterranean world).
4.2.3 The Plague
Using historical and modern maps and other evidence, explain the causes and spread of the Plague and analyze demographic, economic, social, and political consequences of this pandemic.
4.3.1 Africa to 1500
Describe the diverse characteristics of early African societies and the significant changes in African society by
comparing and contrasting at least two of the major states/civilizations of East, South, and West Africa (Aksum, Swahili Coast, Zimbabwe, Ghana, Mali, Songhai) in terms of environmental, economic, religious, political, and social structures
using historical and modern maps to identify the Bantu migration patterns and describe their contributions to agriculture, technology and language
analyzing the African trading networks by examining trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt and connect these to interregional patterns of trade
analyzing the development of an organized slave trade within and beyond Africa
analyzing the influence of Islam and Christianity on African culture and the blending of traditional African beliefs with new ideas from Islam and Christianity
4.3.3 China to 1500
Explain how Chinese dynasties responded to the internal and external challenges caused by ethnic diversity, physical geography, population growth and Mongol invasion to achieve relative political stability, economic prosperity, and technological innovation.
4.3.4 The Eastern European System and the Byzantine Empire
Analyze restructuring of the Eastern European system including
• the rise and decline of the Byzantine Empire
• the region's unique spatial location
• the region's political, economic, and religious transformations
• emerging tensions between East and West
4.3.5 Western Europe to 1500
Explain the workings of feudalism, manoralism, and the growth of centralized monarchies and city-states in Europe including
• the role and political impact of the Roman Catholic Church in European medieval society
• how agricultural innovation and increasing trade led to the growth of towns and cities
• the role of the Crusades, 100 Years War, and the Bubonic Plague in the early development of centralized nation-states
• the cultural and social impact of the Renaissance on Western and Northern Europe