UGC 112 1st Edition Lecture 1 Outline of Current Lecture I. Themes of the Course II. India’s Cultural Mosaic III. Religions: How Many Adherents?IV. Rajas and SultansV. The Black DeathWorld History is Global HistoryThemes of the Course:- Interconnection and divergence: regions developed different and different populations of peoplestood apart from other areas of the world until traders, explorers, or missionaries influenced them.- The recurring efforts of people to cross religious, political and cultural borders brought the worldtogether. - Transformations and conflicts came about from the trans regional crossing of ideas, goods, and peoples. - Power shifts within and between regions explain which parts of the world and regional groups were positively influenced and which opposed it. 1000-1300: Afro-Eurasia experienced a rise in population and overall prosperity. The world also divided into regional zones and trade quickly grew.II. India’s cultural mosaicIndia was called a “cultural mosaic” at this time because the Islamic faith joined others and made the region very diverse. India portrayed how cross-cultural integration can preserve diversity as well as supporting unity.*Hinduism- 80 percent, 900 million people were Hindus in India. Doesn’t even count Nepal, Fiji, Guyana etc. *Buddhism- Purified movement in Hinduism. Maintains the concept that the soul is eternal. They had a different approach than Hindus regarding life and suffering though. *Sikhism-Movement for purification in Hinduism. Golden temple is where a Sikh must go during their lifetime. These notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.India (continued)India became the most diverse and somewhat most tolerant regions in Afro-Eurasia during the eleventh, twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Cultural/linguistic diversity—more than 30 languages with one million plus speakers and it had 22 official languages. Hindus assimilated the Turkish intruders and the Turks went along with it. The Turks saw themselves as Indians practically with the exception that they kept their Islamic beliefs and steppe ways. Persian became the administrative language. Rulers collected their jizya tax and permitted communities to worship as they saw fit and administer their own law. Islam showed that they did not have to conquer over people to prosper!Buddhism had been on the decline in India for centuries but it nonetheless became part of this conglomeration of cultures. Hindus began to see Buddha as one of their deities ( an incarnation of the great god Vishnu). Buddhists in India we re more easily assimilated into the Hindu population or they converted to Islam.III. Religions: How Many Adherents?Muslim: 1.6 billionCatholics: 1.2 billionProtestants: 600-800 millionReformation is a shaping factor in American civilization. Buddhists: 350 millionThailand or Japan, TibetOrthodox Catholics: 225-300 millionRussians. Sikhs: 24 millionJews: 13.9 million Half in Israel, half in United StatesIV. Rajas and SultansWho/what were ‘rajas’?Turks brought their newfound Islamic beliefs as they came to India. India had the world’s second largest population at 80 million people, with China being number one at 120 million.Before the Turks, there were chiefs called *rajas that considered themselves kings. They implored support from Brahmans by giving them land. The Brahmans wanted to make the land arable so they constructed temples, converted the indigenous hunter-gatherer people to the Hindu faith and taught these converts how to cultivate the land. This helped spread the tax base for themselves and the rajas all while spreading their faith. Sultans—political leaders who combined a warrior ethos with a devotion to Islam.*Delhi Sultanate—the most powerful and enduring of the Turkish Muslim regimes of northern India (1206-1526), whose rulers strengthened the cultural diversity and tolerance that were already a hallmarkof the Indian social order. The sultans did not force their subjects to convert so South Asia did not become an Islamic-dominant country. The Delhi Sultanate did not strictly enforce cultural equality but they created a powerful regime. Caste—The Turks introduced their own custom but accepted local social structures such as the caste system. Jati—more than 4000 remain basis of Hindu society?The European “High Middle Ages”Lecture came from a verb meaning “to read.”Islamic learning importedTrade expanded……but suddenly contracted.V. The Black DeathThe first major outbreak occurred in the 1320s in southwestern China. Spread from China along major trade routes. Infected victims died quickly. It periodically swept through much of the world and caused immense casualties. Chinese population plunged from 120 million to 80 million and Europe’s population downsized by one third. Possible explanation—climate changes: as Central Asian steppe borderlands dried up, rats may have been forced out of their living spaces and made the pastoral people who carried the strains to move closer to settled agricultural communities. The shortage of necessities led to rising prices, unrest and work