Chapter 13- 15

There was a different kind of society  being blossomed in North America durning the 15th century. Agriculture now included fish such as salmon on the coast, and other changes such as their settlement. As the new agriculture irrupted, sizes in population and settlement grew. Even today with much success sometimes come a down fall.Back in China, the Ming Dynasty was creating a highly centralized government. The Mongols did a lot of damage to China, but durning this century, China was able to bounce back with both domestic and international trade. I thought this chapter gave me a better understanding as to why the Mongols should not glorified for their horrific acts they caused in places such as China.

Chapters 7-12

The reading was about the birth of all the major religions durning the classical era. Muhammad was then introduced as the one who actually had a lot of influences with the Muslim religion. In Arabia Christianity and Judaism was what was being practiced. I personally have not looked into other religions, so chapter 7 gave me insight as to how similar Muslims, Jews and Christians had in common. Although Muslims read from the Quran, a lot of what Christians accustoms such as "following God", were alike. Although Allah is what Muslims pray to, it still is similar in the sense that he is a being who is idolized by cultures and societies. Because of Muhammad practices Islam became to spread rapidly through Arabia. I also learned surprisedly in India, the religion " was never able to claim more then 20-25% of the population"(318). As the Byzantine Empire weakened,it allowed places such as Anatolia to also adopt the customs of Islam. Because the people of Anatolia were already following Christianity, the transition to Islam was a lot easier then the transition for Arabia. The great thing about the Silk, Sea and Sand roads, was it allowed religions and cultures to able to learn and network with one another which led to better influences for the people of Africa, Arabia, China Central and Southeast Asia. I found that in Islam, they believed, "no person could stand between the believer and Allah"(324). Unlike Islam, in Christianity there are pastors, priest and missionaries. I found this to be very interesting because in a sense, its like Muslims only guide is the Quran.

Chapter's 3-Chapter's 6

The Classical Era was the beginning of the empires. The significance of an Empire was an Empire provided protection/security, structure, exchange of ideas such as cultures and values. The Persia Empire was introduced in the Classical Era. The significance of the PErsia Empire was they were the start of a new rounded foundation. The Classical Era also touched on the Roman Empire, which was one of the largest and long lasting Empires around. Chapters 3-6 really refreshed my thinking, because I have not took a World History class in almost 4 years. I also enjoyed reading about Buddhism and Hindu traditions. I enjoyed the statement the Buddha said, "To the Buddha, suffering or sorrow-experiencing life as imperfect, impermanent, and unsatisfactory-was the central and universal feature of human life".(135) This reassures people who do believe, that it is natural to deal and go through things we may not like. We are not perfect, and things are sometimes out of our control, but I take from this, that it is ok.