Chapter 6
The medieval world
The thousand years after Rome fell were far from dark. The Byzantine Empire kept Roman law alive in Constantinople, and Baghdad's House of Wisdom kept Greek science alive and added much of its own. Vikings reached America, crusaders fought over Jerusalem, and the Mongols built a new dynasty in China. In Africa, Mali's Mansa Musa grew famous for his gold, and Timbuktu and Great Zimbabwe became great centres of trade and learning.
11 cards
See the 11 cards
- Year of the Hijra, start of the Islamic calendar622
- Baghdad's great library and centre of learningThe House of Wisdom
- Viking who reached North America around 1000Leif Erikson
- Year the First Crusade captured Jerusalem1099
- Mali ruler said to be the richest person everMansa Musa
- Teenage girl who led France against EnglandJoan of Arc
- Rome's eastern half, which outlived the west by 1,000 yearsThe Byzantine Empire
- System of land given in return for loyalty and serviceFeudalism
- Desert city famed for its manuscripts and mosquesTimbuktu
- Stone city that gave an African country its nameGreat Zimbabwe
- Mongol ruler who founded China's Yuan dynastyKublai Khan