Description of World Civilizations - Essay Example

The Yuan Dynasty is the dynasty in which the richest part China went to after the death of Genghis Khan. One of its well known members was Kubilai Khan. In 1279, Kubilai completed the conquests of China that had begun under Chinghis Khan. Yuan rule was a time of prosperity for China. It marked the end of invasions from the North and became a time of peace and the peaceful passage of merchants and caravans, which proved to help offset the terrors of the previous invasions (Adler 264). The Ghazis during 1250 of the reign of the Ottoman Empire are frontier warriors, whose express purpose was waging holy war against the Christians (323). Saint Augustine was one of the Christian explainers of sacred doctrine in the 300s-400s. He was known as one of the “Fathers of the Church” his writings are the secondary foundation of the Christian faith. St. Augustine has been especially influential in molding belief in Christianity. His “Confessions and The e City of God” has been the most important repositories of Christian teaching (134). The Treaty of Verdun in 843 during the Holy Roman Empire is the treaty that established peace and is one of the most important treaties in world history because its general linguistic and cultural borders it established still exist today (746). Charlemagne was the greatest of German kings and was also known as Charles the Great (768–800) and the first Holy Roman Emperor (800–814) of the empire. He was also the first German ruler to accept Roman Christianity. He was rewarded with the establishment of the largest territory under one ruler since Roman times and by Pope Leo III’s granting him the title of Emperor (138). The Crusades during the medieval era contributed to peace in Europe by allowing young nobles to exercise their warlike impulses in a church-approved arena. Starting with the First Crusade in 1096, thousands of aggressive sons of the nobility went to Palestine or Eastern Europe to fight the nonbelievers thus recovering the long-lost Holy Land-Jerusalem (251). Saint Benedict is an Italian who founded the most important monastic institutions in the sixth century. His Benedictine Rule for regulating monastic life was the most widely observed during the Middle Ages (242). The Bourgeoisie during the Economic Revival-11th century are people in the upper middle class: doctors, lawyers, royal and clerical officeholders, and the merchants. They were educated, status-conscious people who lived within the bourg which a walled settlement was meant to protect life and property. The One Hundred Years War dealt a heavy blow to the French monarchy during the European Middle Ages, which was rescued from disintegration through Joan of Arc. The war also ended the domination of the field of battle by noble horsemen and started the coming of modern gunpowder warfare (252). The Great Schism during the European Middle Ages (1378–1417) marked the decline in the papacy that was not reversed until after Luther’s challenge. For 40 years the Christians were treated to the spectacle of two popes denouncing each other as an impostor who caused Europe to be divided along national lines (273). The Renaissance or “rebirth” began in the 14th century, which was a new spirit that manifested in Europe among educated classes, it was mainly a phenomenon restricted to the upper society. There were in two distinct Renaissances: the first was a change in economic and social conditions; the second was an artistic and cultural movement that was founded on that change (279). Humanism appeared during the northern Renaissance. The humanists were scholars who were aware of the corruption of the church and society and remedied it by gradualist means, through reforms grounded in ancient Christian teachings. This was an attempt to return the church and lay society in general to a purer state and an attempt to reawaken a sense of Christians’ duties and responsibilities (98). Protestant Reformation was known as the split in Christian belief and church organization. Its beginning coincided with the high point of the Era of Discovery by Europeans. These developments provided the basis for dividing Western civilization’s history into the premodern and modern eras around 1500. This is where the basic principles of liberalism became known (310). Calvinists who appeared in the 1540’s were the believers of Calvinism which was John Calvin’s message. They appeared in Germany, Netherlands, Scotland, England, France, and Switzerland. The Calvinists thought of the entire community as equal members of the church. They insisted on the power of the congregation to select and discharge pastors as they (310). Counter-Reformation in 1540 was a counterattack against Protestantism thorough examination of its doctrines and practices together with an emphasis on instruction of the young and education of all Christians in the precepts of their religion. The founding of the Jesuit Order was its second aspect. Pope Paul III allowed Ignatius of Loyola to organize a new religious group or Jesuits whose mission was win back the minds and hearts of humanity for the Catholic Church (315). A Caliph in 632–661 was known as Khalifat ar-Rasul Allah, which means “Deputy of God’s Messenger.” The first caliph was Abu Bakr and one of his first converts. This happened after Mohammad’s untimely death and the need to choose another leader was done in order to avoid falling apart of the Muslim community (188). Sunni (661 to 750) was known as the supporters of Muawiya, the governor of Syria who initiated the Umayyad Dynasty and they constituted the large majority of Muslims. They agreed to the legitimacy of the caliphal dynasties. In order to maintain the unity of Allah’s believers, they rejected the radical Kharijites and Shi’ites (194). Muhammad the prophet was born in Mecca in the sixth century he founded the religion Islam, which was embraced by about one-fifth of the world’s population. Islam became a major rival to Christianity, Hinduism and Buddhism (181). The Delhi sultanate in the early 1200s was established by a Turkish slave army in Afghanistan. The sultanate controlled most of the Indian subcontinent. Divorced from their Hindu subjects by every aspect the sultans and members of the court attempted to convert the Hindus but failed (328). The Black Death of the mid- and late fourteenth century is the most massive epidemic and by far the most lethal in the history of Europe, Asia, and parts of Africa. It was thought to be a form of bubonic plague that came from Bacillus bacteria (269). Work Cited Adler, Philip and Randal Pouwels, World Civilizations. USA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning, 2008. Read More