Islam and Different Parts of South Asia Through War: Invasion Together With Trade - Research Paper Example

 The spread of Islam, Buddhism and Hinduism in southern Asia was influenced by a number of factors during the early historical periods. Apart from trade, the colonial and war invasion contributed significantly in the spread of different parts of southern Asia and this explains the dominance of the three religions in the region. The spread of Islam in different parts of Asia has been attributed to the vibrant trade in spices and gold which progressed during the 17th and 18th centuries. Most powerful Islam merchants and traders were Muslims who were devoted to their religion and used their economic power and influenced to convince their trade partners to join their religion (Ross, 2011). The presence of the Arab traders in different ports within southern Asia during the 7th and 8th centuries led to the introduction of the Islamic religion in region. For example, the ports of Malayan peninsula and the eastern Sumatra region received goods from Arabic and Indian ships that were owned by influential Muslim traders. Through their interaction, the religion became common within the port and spread to other parts of the region with the spread of Buddhism into countries in southern Asia such as china was also attributed to the silk trade that took place from the 2nd century. Historians believe that Chang Chien, one of the pioneer Chinese silk businessmen travelled to Ta-hsia and brought the influence of Buddhism to the country (Ross, 2011). Buddhist merchants were engaged in the transportation and sales of products such as textile, ivory and sandalwood. This enabled them to reach different parts of the region and contribute to the growth of religion in the country, though war and invasion also contributed to the spread of religion, Buddhism and Hinduism was not in any spread through war. Islam was however spread to different parts of south Asia through war and invasion together with trade that has been discussed (Ross, 2011). Factors that influenced the life cycle of Ming dynasty The fall of the Yuan dynasty in 1368 gave room to a young peasant Zhu Yuanzang to lead the Chinese military and establish the Ming dynasty. After capturing the Dado region which is currently known as Beijing, the Ming dynasty ended the rule of Yuan. A number of factors contributed to the growth and advancement of the Ming dynasty that was established by a peasant farmer and member of the former Yuan dynasty, the Ming dynasty sought to reduce the suffering of the peasants in the kingdom. This earned the leader significant support from the majority Ming peasants who joined his army to fight alongside his army (Xiaofeng & Shenglan, 2014). Yuan dynasty is believed to have tumbled due to the indulgence in corrupt deals and business activities. This enhanced the dynasty economic and financial performance and strengthened the leadership of Zhu (Xiaofeng & Shenglan, 2014). Though the dynasty did not take considerably long, the approach of management adopted by the leadership of the dynasty contributed significantly in the growth and expansion of the dynasty. However, the reign of emperor Shenzong contributed to the decline and fall of one of the most vibrant dynasties as different sectors of the economy including agriculture, water conservancy and military affairs were improved. A number of factors contributed to the growth and advancement of the Ming dynasty that was established by a peasant farmer and member of the former Yuan dynasty, the Ming dynasty sought to reduce the suffering of the peasants in the kingdom (Xiaofeng & Shenglan, 2014). Impacts of European intrusion on the economic, social and political aspect of American communities The European countries invaded the region with a desire to control the sources of raw materials and channel them to their emerging industries in Europe. The European powers established significant contact with different human societies and cultures and this led to a change that has been felt to date. For example, within the Caribbean and the continental north and South America, the European powers interacted with different civilizations. For example, the European encounter with the Aztec, Maya and the Inca empires led to changes in the political and social structures of the communities (Rojinsky, 2010). One of the social impacts of the European intrusion into the American continent was change in the architectural and building designs. Different buildings and structures were developed within the Aztec dynasty in line with the Spanish construction culture. This followed the destruction of Hernan Cortes, one of the symbolic structures within the Aztec dynasties. Within the Inca dynasty, the entry of the Spanish led to the establishment of a number of structures including the Viceroyalty, a depiction of the Spanish culture that has remained dominant in the region to date (Rojinsky, 2010). The intrusion also led to the demise of the Inca, Aztec and Maya official language as they adopted Spanish. The intrusion also led to positive changes as historians has attributed the Spanish intervention to the end of the war that had ravaged the three dynasties and affected economic and political establishments (Rojinsky, 2010). Impacts of the renaissance and printing technology on the protestant reformation The reformation period marked a time in religious history when the Protestants chose to cut the links with the Roman Catholic under the leadership of martin Luther king. By posting the theses on the church door, king was not inciting his followers to vandalism but following a practice that had been adopted of using the church door as the bulletin board. The reformation movement of martin Luther king that led to the formation of the Anglican Church and other protestant churches across the world was credited to the impacts created by the Gutenberg printing press and technology. The printing press thus had significant impacts on the reformation movement in Europe as it provided a forum for the movement and accelerated its impacts (Whitford, 2008). The success of the reformation movement was dependent on reading and literacy levels of the Germans as king produced multiple doctrinal writings to dissuade the people into joining his course. The impact of these writings on the Germans has been debated by different historians who argue that the literacy level of the rural Germans could not allow understanding the message passed by king. By setting the reading culture and foundation in Europe and Germany in particular, the discovery of the printing press increased the overall literacy level of the people and this allowed king to pass his information across the country with ease. The printing press also enabled him to reproduce the ninety-five theses and send to different leaders across the country. To spread the message and gain meaningful support, the theses was read to the illiterate as people gathered in their households after and before meals. As a result, those who were literate enough were given copies to read to the others as more were produced and sent to others across the country. This was necessitated by the discovery of the printing press in the country, a process which would have been impossible during the manuscript era (Whitford, 2008). Characteristics of the Byzantine Civilization As compared to the European civilization, the byzantine civilization was guided by Christian doctrines and also dominated by Christian leaders. As a result, the literature, legislation and architecture of the byzantine civilization was dominated by Christian ideologies (James, 2014). To continue with its influence in different parts of the region, the emperors participated in the conversion of the kingdoms they had conquered into Christianity. As compared to the European civilization, the byzantine civilization also had a centralized government that was supervised the roles of the emperors below him. The civilization also led to the development of advanced trade routes in different parts of Europe which contributed to the development of centers and towns along the trade routes (James, 2014). To reach a large population, the reformist movement needed large scale printing machines and equipment which were built after the discovery of the printing press by Gutenberg. His discovery led to an increase in printing press business in German, a blessing for the reformist movement as they were able to produce multiple copies of their theses and send to Christians beyond the borders of Germany. The growth of the printing press in German was facilitated by the fact that it was the country of the innovator and the native businessmen bought and implemented his idea earnestly. Due to the high number of printers in Germany, Luther chose Germany as his reproduction center of his thesis and this accelerated his reformation agenda in the continent The church and the state during the byzantine civilization was unified and communicated in one voice, a feature that was absent during the European civilization when the Roman Catholic and the political elites operated from different angles. To improve the spread and growth of Christianity, the Byzantine Empire also led to increased literacy levels among its people, a feature that was lacking during the European civilization (James, 2014). References Ross, J. (2011). Religion and Violence : An Encyclopedia of Faith and Conflict From Antiquity to the Present. Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe. Xiaofeng, L., & Shenglan, W. (2014). Research on Traditional Theatre's Form of Jiangxi-Huguang-Sichuan Area's Emigration Route during Ming to Qing Dynasty. International Journal Of Environmental Science & Development, 5(1), 1. doi:10.7763/IJESD.2014.V5.439 Rojinsky, D. (2010). Companion to Empire : A Genealogy of the Written Word in Spain and New Spain, C.550-1550. Amsterdam: Rodopi. Whitford, D. M. (2008). Reformation and Early Modern Europe : A Guide to Research. Kirksville, Mo: Truman State University Press. James, L. (2014). A Short History of Byzantium. History Today, 64(3), 57-58. Read More