Chapter 12

       In Chapter 12, The Worlds of the Fifteenth Century, the most interesting part, in my opinion, was the section on the Iroquois people. Like the Mongols, the Iroquois people were a more progressive people that aren't given the credit that they deserve. "The Iroquois League gave expression to values of limited government, social equality, and personal freedom, concepts that some European colonists found highly attractive" (565). The Iroquois people were an extremely interesting group of people because the equality and respect that they believed in extended to their women, unlike many societies both then and today. The book says, "Such equality extended to gender relationships, for among the Iroquois, descent was matrilineal (reckoned through the woman's line), married couples lived with the wife's family, and women controlled agriculture and property. While men were hunters, warriors, and the primary political officeholders, women selected and could dispose the leaders" (565). It is interesting to see how much this society differs so largely from our own just because instead of marginalizing and oppressing women, they chose to value them and integrate them as important members of society.

Chapter 9

      In Chapter nine, The Worlds of Islam, the book covers the birth of a new religion, Islam. "Islam took hold in the cities and deserts of the Arabian Peninsula" (412). The Arabian Peninsula had been occupied for a long time by a group known as the Bedouins, a nomadic group of Arab people. The Bedouins recognized a variety of gods, ancestors, and nature spirits and held above everything bravery, loyalty, and hospitality. The location of Arabia also held a significant importance. Arabia was located next to the trade routes that connected the Arabian Peninsula to the rest of the Eurasian Continent via the sea routes by way of the Indian ocean and the Mediterranean Sea. The connection to the trade routes "gave rise to cosmopolitan commercial cities, whose values and practices were often in conflict with those of traditional Arab tribes" (413). The long distance trading connected them to the rest of the world. Some of the Arab people were starting to explore the possibility that Allah/Yahweh was the only God and that the other lesser gods were more of idols instead of actual gods. Some people believe that this sudden interest in monotheism was a hint that the Arabs were moving toward other religions, such as Judaism or Christianity.

Chapter 10

     In Chapter 10, The Worlds of Christendom: Contraction, Expansion, and Division, I think that one of the most interesting sections was on African Christianity. The churches of Africa, like many in the Middle East, found themselves "on the defensive and declining in the face of an expanding Islam" (467). Christianity was, however, thriving quite nicely in Egypt, and had become the most common religion by the time of the Muslim conquest around 640. Many people found that the Arab governments were less oppressive than their former Byzantine 'overlords.' In Africa, there was no separation of church and state and many kings served as priests and Christian bishops held state offices. The Nubian armies defeated Arab attacks multiple times before entering into an agreement with Muslim Egypt in order to protect the outpost of Christianity.

Chapter 7

     Chapter seven, Commerce and Culture, focuses on the three main trading routes on the Eurasian landmass; the Silk Roads, the Sea Roads, and the Sand Roads. The Silk Roads were primarily relay trade routes on which people carried hides, furs, livestock, wool,  amber, and primarily silk for trading. Most of the goods on the Silk Roads were high-end products intended for the wealthy. Because of the Silk Roads, the production of silk spread beyond China as the demand grew astronomically. The Silk roads held a magnificent significance to the Eurasian continent, not just because it promoted trade throughout the different countries, but also because it facilitated the spread of both Buddhism and disease through the continent. The Silk Roads promoted the spread of culture and contact all across Eurasia.