Chapters 11, 12 & 13

As I stated in a previous blog, I very much enjoy learning about the creation of world religions. There are so many aspects of Islamic history I was unaware of. I did not know that in the early years when Jews, Christians and Muslims lived somewhat harmoniously side-by-side, the followers of Muhammad while in prayer faced Jerusalem but when some Jewish groups allied with Muhammad’s enemies the offenders were cruelly punished and the Islamic prayer then faced Mecca. Now that is interesting!!

While Christianity focused on accurate religious belief, the Sharia, the sacred law of Islam, was focused on correct behavior. I have read many Surahs, Qur’an’s 114 chapters, and I was surprised to read that the Qur’an was a book of guidance dealing with every aspect of a person’s life. The stories that Muhammad tells in the Qur’an such as Noah, Adam, and Abraham are parallel with what is written in the Bible. There is much controversy that these Judeo-Christian stories were retold by Muhammad. With my limited knowledge, I plan on leaving that controversy alone!

The more indebt stories of the pastoral peoples and nomads were very interesting. In the past when I heard the word nomadic or pastoral, the vision in my mind was a dirty, poor person who struggled through society. But after reading Chapter 12, I realized that they were a thriving society where women were equal to men, the pastoral people initiated trade with the surrounding agricultural societies and they traveled with the seasons. The pastoral peoples and nomads were a society which flourished while living in undesirable lands.

I also realized that I knew very little about the Mongol Empire which was the largest land-based empire in all of human history. There are many books and movies about the Persian, Roman and Chinese Empires but insignificant information about the Mongol Empire. Needless to say, I would probably watch the movie with my eyes closed due to all of the savagery and brutality Chinggis Khan inflicted on the surrounding empires. But Western Europe “lucked out” because of the death of the Great Khan Ogodeiin which caused the Mongols to return to Mongolia in addition to the lack of much desired pastoral lands spared the area from conflict.

With the Mongol Empire, with no written language, began a large commercial network of trade within the Afro-Eurasian regions. These trade routes promoted the widespread movement of skilled craftsmen and educated people to different regions of the empire. This movement enhanced the exchange of ideas and techniques to which brought technology throughout the area. One unfortunate factor that the trade routes produce is the sharing of diseases. The plague spread from diseased rodents and transmitted by mosquitoes. It is a testament to the Mongol’s brutality by the act of catapulting diseased corps into Caffa. First of all there is no respect for humanity..dead or alive.

Chapter 13 is a synopsis of the major developments of the fifteenth century. As I read about the voyages of Zheng He, I imagined the image of what 300 ships looked like as they neared the coast to the peoples of East Africa. Another question came to my mind which is the subject of the reflections. “What if?” There are so many “what ifs” that if history ran a different course life as we know it would be different. What if China discovered America? That is a question to contemplate. We are moving fast through the chapters of our book and even though I have learned a lot in the class it is a lot to comprehend.