1. Regional and interregional interactions c. 600 c.e. TO C. 1450 C.E.
AP WORLD HISTORY ERA #3

2. 3.1 expansion & intensification of communication and exchange networks
I. Improved transportation tech. & commercial practices led to increased trade & expansion of existing & new trade routes: Trans-Saharan routes & Indian Ocean trade networks flourished / Use of checks, paper money & banks
II. Movement of people caused environmental & linguistic effects: Use of camels by Arabs in Sahara / Spread of Bantu languages in Africa
III. Cross-cultural exchanges were fostered by the increase of existing and new networks of trade & communication: Marco Polo & Ibn Battuta / Spread of Islamic cult. traditions in Sub-Saharan Africa & Asia
IV. Continued diffusion of crops and diseases along trade routes: Spread of cotton, sugar, and citrus fruits / Bubonic plague

3. 3.2 continuity & innovation of state forms & their interactions
I. Empires collapsed in different regions of the world, and in some areas new imperial states or political systems emerged: Byzantine Empire & the Chinese dynasties (Sui, Tang & Song) / Italian city-states
II. Interregional contacts & conflicts between states and empires encouraged significant tech. & cult. exchange: Chinese maritime activity led by Zheng He / transfer of foods, textiles & music from Islamic world to Europe via Al-Andalus (Muslim Spain) & the Crusades

4. 3.3 increased economic productive capacity & its Consequences
I. Innovations stimulated agricultural & industrial production in many regions: horse collar, three field system, Incan waru waru agriculture, Aztec chinampa field system
II. The fate of cities varied greatly with periods of significant decline & periods of urbanization buoyed by rising productivity & trade: Bubonic plague in Paris / golden age of Kievan Rus
III. Despite continuities in social structure & methods of production, there were important changes in labor & the effect of religious conversion on gender relations & family life: development of guilds, mit’a system in Inca Empire / divorce for both men & women in some Muslim states, female monastic orders in Buddhism & Christianity