Unit 1 Big Ideas
Theme: The methods that power around the world use to build up their states
1. Song China maintained and justified its rule through Confucianism and an imperial
bureaucracy. Buddhism continued to shape China’s society. The Song economy
flourished during this period.
2. The Abbasid Caliphate was falling apart, new Islamic political entities emerged, and
they engaged in significant expansion while creating the occasion for intellectual
innovations and transfers.
3. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam deeply influenced state-building in South and Southeast
Asia
4. The various civilizations of the Americas developed strong states, large urban
centers, and complex belief systems.
5. African state-building was facilitated through participation in trade networks and
religion (mainly Islam).
6. State building in Europe was characterized by religious belief, feudalism, and
decentralized monarchies.
, Unit 2 Big Ideas
Theme: How the states from Unit 1 were connected.
1. Networks of exchange expanded in geographical scope and led to increasing
interactions between states.
2. A major effect of the growth of trading routes was cultural diffusion
3. The increasing interconnection facilitated by trading routes led to significant
environmental consequences (including disease - Black Death, aka. Bubonic Plague).
4. The Mongols created the largest land-based empire in history which facilitated
further interconnection and interaction across Afro-Eurasia.
Theme: The methods that power around the world use to build up their states
1. Song China maintained and justified its rule through Confucianism and an imperial
bureaucracy. Buddhism continued to shape China’s society. The Song economy
flourished during this period.
2. The Abbasid Caliphate was falling apart, new Islamic political entities emerged, and
they engaged in significant expansion while creating the occasion for intellectual
innovations and transfers.
3. Hinduism, Buddhism, and Islam deeply influenced state-building in South and Southeast
Asia
4. The various civilizations of the Americas developed strong states, large urban
centers, and complex belief systems.
5. African state-building was facilitated through participation in trade networks and
religion (mainly Islam).
6. State building in Europe was characterized by religious belief, feudalism, and
decentralized monarchies.
, Unit 2 Big Ideas
Theme: How the states from Unit 1 were connected.
1. Networks of exchange expanded in geographical scope and led to increasing
interactions between states.
2. A major effect of the growth of trading routes was cultural diffusion
3. The increasing interconnection facilitated by trading routes led to significant
environmental consequences (including disease - Black Death, aka. Bubonic Plague).
4. The Mongols created the largest land-based empire in history which facilitated
further interconnection and interaction across Afro-Eurasia.
