the regularity and pious nature of their prayer practices.

women partially clothed in public.

members of the royal family seen unveiled in the presence of men.

the consumption of dogs and donkeys.

Persian

Islamic

Byzantine

Roman

Norman French forces seized control of Constantinople and reinvigorated Byzantine resistance to Muslim territorial expansion.

Roman Catholic popes sent diplomatic representatives to the Mongol khans, urging them to convert to Christianity.

Crusader armies broke the power of the Abbasids by invading and then occupying Egypt and North Africa.

The Ethiopian empire of Prester John successfully established an alliance with the Holy Roman empire after extensive diplomatic and religious contacts.

the creation of a large navy allowing Ming merchants to expand the networks of exchange and communication to Japan and southeast Asia.

the Ming Emperor Yongle’s desire to assure that the imperial bureaucracy established and maintained control over foreign trade.

the desire of Chinese bureaucrats and the emperor to expand tributary relationships with Indian Ocean states by demonstrating the power and prestige of the Ming dynasty.

the desire of the Ming government to create new markets for Chinese manufactured goods in Europe and the Americas.

a smallpox epidemic caused by infected Byzantines fleeing to Europe after the fall of Constantinople.

the spread of the Black Death from eastern Eurasia to Europe and north Africa.

the spread of syphilis after conquistadors returned from explorations in the Americas.

viral hemorrhagic fever outbreaks related to the importation of slaves from Nubia to Florence.

Indian merchants seeking to increase commercial ties with the Empire of the Great Khan

Western Europeans seeking more information about lifestyles of Chinese people in the Great Khan’s capital city

Nestorian Christians seeking to relocate from central Asia to China to avoid Islamic intolerance

Western European Roman Catholic missionaries interested in seeking converts in the Great Khan’s lands

use of paper currency in the Great Khan’s empire was widespread and convenient.

merchants placed ingots of precious metal above the doors of their houses.

worn currency was discarded as only new notes were accepted in exchange for goods or services.

merchants refused payment in gold or silver coins.

Both groups conspired with Japan and Korea to overthrow the empire.

Both groups conspired with Japan and Korea to overthrow the empire.

Both groups were trusted servants of the empire.

Neither group worked in governmental service.

the Chinese invented gunpowder as a byproduct of failed alchemy experiments by Daoist monks.

the spread of gunpowder technology was closely supervised and limited to allies of the Mongol khans, as Mongol warlords did not want the technology used against their armies.

Mongol armies adopted gunpowder technology after conquering northern China and deployed artillery units as early as 1214 C.E.

catapults and trebuchets were used by Mongol forces to lob gunpowder bombs into Persia and southwest Asian cities ca. 1250 C.E.

Persian

Greco-Roman

Egyptian

Mesopotamian