Caption: Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, built as a Byzantine cathedral in 537 CE, converted to a mosque after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople in 1453. It symbolizes the cultural exchange between Christian and Islamic civilizations.
The Abbasid Caliphate and its decline
Political fragmentation and new Islamic states
The spread of Islam
Intellectual achievements
The role of women in Dar al-Islam
Arts and culture
Primary sources
Ibn Battuta's account of Kilwa (c. 1331)
Al-Umari on Mansa Musa's visit to Cairo (c. 1337)
Ibn Khaldun on the rise and fall of dynasties (c. 1377)
Key figures
Key events summary
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Vocabulary
Unit 1 topics
Unit 1 overview1.1Developments in East Asia from c. 1200 to c. 14501.2Developments in Dar al-Islam from c. 1200 to c. 14501.3Developments in South and Southeast Asia from c. 1200 to c. 14501.4Developments in the Americas from c. 1200 to c. 14501.5Developments in Africa from c. 1200 to c. 14501.6Developments in Europe from c. 1200 to c. 14501.7Comparison in the Period from c. 1200 to c. 1450