Introducing Afro-Eurasia
Teacher Resources
Driving Question: How did governments and religions work together to organize communities during this period?
From East Asia to Western Europe, from Siberia to South Africa, Afro-Eurasia’s diverse landscapes, climates, and peoples have shaped the course of world history. In this lesson, you’ll explore the communities of Afro-Eurasia and the different ways in which they structured their states and religions.
Learning Objectives:
- Evaluate how communities were organized in Afro-Eurasia.
- Assess the role of religion in the governance of states in Afro-Eurasia.
- Use the historical thinking practice of claim testing to identify, assess, and use authority when evaluating and making claims.
Vocab Terms:
- authority
- belief system
- claim tester
- culture
- dynasty
- empire
- hierarchy
Show students the Medieval Trade Routes Thematic Map to help orient them in the connections linking Afro-Eurasia in this period. Use the deep zoom feature (the + button in the magnifying glass in the top-left corner) to zoom in on South and Southeast Asia. Want more maps? Check out OER Project’s collection of regional, political, and thematic maps.
Would you ask your dentist for advice on fixing a hole in your jeans? Probably not. We trust different authorities in different situations.
It’s not always easy to decide between conflicting claims from two people with strong credentials. In a battle of PhD vs. PhD, who wins?
Fun fact: Most medieval historians hate the terms Dark Ages and feudalism, with some calling the latter “the F word” because they think it’s a misleading and overly simple term. There’s a common misconception that after the fall of Rome, Europe descended into darkness and chaos, and that all learning was lost. But this myth has its origins in thinkers of the Renaissance and Enlightenment periods. Those thinkers thought of themselves as reviving the glory of the ancient Greeks and Romans. So they portrayed the medieval period as “dark” and “backward” to make their own era look more advanced. In reality, medieval Europe had major developments, including universities, technological advances, stunning architecture, and legal systems.
Graphic biographies are short and fun, but they’re also packed with information. Share this tool with your students to help them break down the elements of graphic bios.
A diverse tapestry of different communities stretched across Afro-Eurasia in the thirteenth century. Explore the articles below to compare how they were organized and the role of religion in their government structures. Then, use the graphic biography to assess how Jewish communities interacted with other religious communities in this era.
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- Why do we need rules and institutions to organize large groups of people?
- How does the author define a state?
- What is Dar al-Islam, and what was its significance during this period?
- What was the largest and most sophisticated state at the start of this era? What strategies made this state so powerful?
- What innovations did the Mongol Empire produce? How did the empire shape the future of Eurasia?
After you read
Respond to this question: Thinking about the three frames of this course, why do you think most large states in Afro-Eurasia clustered along a belt of land?
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Preview the questions below, and then skim the article. Be sure to look at the section headings and any images.
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- How does the author describe states and religion in the Islamic world?
- How were Buddhism and Hinduism different?
- Why did Buddhism and Daoism often prove troublesome for the Chinese state? What did the Song dynasty promote instead and why?
- What are some ways that rulers and religious leaders cooperated and clashed in Christian Europe?
- The Mongol Empire conquered people of many different religions across Eurasia. How did the Mongol state treat these conquered peoples?
After you read
Respond to this question: Can you think of any ways that the history covered this article might have influenced the ways we think of religion in the twenty-first century?
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Guiding Questions
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Before you read
Skim the full comic, paying attention to things like prominent colors, shapes, and types of text and fonts. How do you know where to start and in which direction to read? What’s in the gutters (the space between panels)? Who is the focus of the comic? What big questions do you have?
While you read
Look for answers to these questions:
- How many Jewish people lived around the Mediterranean and the Middle East in the twelfth century?
- What type of information did Benjamin of Tudela record about Jewish communities in this region?
- What regions treated the Jewish population well, according to Benjamin’s writings?
- What regions treated the Jewish population poorly, according to Benjamin’s writings?
- How does the artist use art and design to demonstrate Benjamin’s journey and his writings?
After you read
Respond to this question: Why do you think Benjamin was traveling so far, and why do you think he wrote about his travels? Provide three possible answers that you think are most likely.
Sometimes less is more. How can you quickly summarize what you’ve learned in this lesson?
