Attached to Prince Zhu Di's forces in Dadu, the boy became a warrior and gradually a trusted commander.
ows Zheng He’s rise through the military hierarchy. Being attached to Zhu Di’s forces in Dadu (modern Beijing) allowed him to gain military experience and prove his loyalty, demonstrating how competence and loyalty could elevate eunuchs in Ming society.
One of the new emperor's most effective eunuch allies was a general named Zheng He. Zheng He had been castrated as a boy of ten or eleven at about the same time his father died opposing Hongwu on behalf of the Mongols on the eastern frontiers of China. Eunuchs were valued because it was believed being unable to sire children would eliminate any conflicts of loyalty.
Introduces Zheng He as a key player in Yongle’s administration. His effectiveness was not only military but also political, as he embodied the trusted service that Yongle relied upon to secure his authority. This positions Zheng He as both a loyal servant and a symbol of the importance of eunuchs in Ming governance.
As emperor, Yongle promoted the eunuchs who had been his allies and sometimes even spies in his predecessor's court.
consolidated power by promoting trusted eunuchs who had experience in court politics. Eunuchs often acted as intermediaries, administrators, or informants because they had no family ties that could conflict with loyalty to the emperor.
Merchant guilds or associations that became known as Hansa formed to protect trade routes and cargoes, beginning in the 1140s and 1150s. In 1159 Henry the Lion, Duke of Saxony, rebuilt Lübeck (which had been destroyed in a fire) as a German merchant city whose strategic location between North Sea and Baltic on the Trave River made it the future center of the Hanseatic League.
The Hansa was a group of merchants who worked together to keep trade safe and organized. Lübeck became a key city because it was in a good spot for shipping between the North Sea and the Baltic Sea, helping the Hansa become very powerful in northern Europe.
By 1200 Venice had become one of the Mediterranean world's major trade hubs. But at the same time, a northern European trade alliance was growing in a region around the Baltic Sea that had long been dominated by Scandinavian merchants descended from the Vikings.
Venice became very important for Mediterranean trade, while in northern Europe, merchants formed alliances to control trade in the Baltic Sea. This shows that trade networks were growing in many parts of Europe at the same time.
The safety of these overland caravan routes would allow Europeans like the Venetian Polo brothers and their young nephew Marco Polo to reach the court of Kublai Khan in 1271.
Safe trade routes made long journeys possible, letting Europeans like Marco Polo travel all the way to China. Without secure paths, such trips would have been too dangerous to attempt.
This tolerance had also been evident in the life of Muhammad al-Idrisi (1100-1165), a cartographer employed by the Norman King Roger II at Palermo. Al-Idrisi had studied at the university in Córdoba (Spain) before traveling widely, including to Portugal, northern England, and Hungary
Al-Idrisi was a Muslim scholar who worked for a Christian king, showing that religious tolerance allowed talented people to contribute to society. His studies and travels helped him make maps that connected different regions and cultures.
. On the way home he visited Sicily, which had been conquered by the Normans, where he noted the very tolerant relations between Muslims and Christians.
Sicily under the Normans was a place where Muslims and Christians lived together peacefully. This shows that even during times of conquest, people from different religions could cooperate and respect each other.
His soldiers proclaimed him emperor by draping him in a yellow imperial robe, and he returned to the capital where the young Zhou emperor abdicated peacefully.
The yellow robe showed he was now emperor, and the previous ruler stepped down without fighting, making the transition smooth.
The dynasty was founded by Zhao Kuangyin, a military general born in 927 CE, who rose through the ranks during the Later Zhou Dynasty and led a bloodless coup called the Chenqiao Mutiny while on a campaign against northern invaders.
Zhao Kuangyin was a talented general who became emperor without major fighting. He used his influence over the army to take control in a clever and careful way, showing that sometimes political skill was more important than winning battles. His rise also marked the start of a dynasty that would last over 300 years.
In Asia at about the same time, the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE) emerged from the chaos following the collapse of the Tang Dynasty in 907 CE, the period of fragmentation known as the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms (907–960 CE), when China had dissolved politically into a number of short-lived regimes in the north and independent kingdoms in the south.
After the Tang Dynasty fell, China broke into many small kingdoms that often fought each other. This period was very unstable, with frequent changes in rulers. The Song Dynasty reunited much of China and created a stronger, centralized government, which helped bring peace and stability after decades of chaos.
Instead, overland trade in items like silk, porcelain, glass, wool, and horses flowed between Baghdad and Chang'an via Merv (Turkmenistan), Samarkand (Uzbekistan), Kashgar (China), and Dunhuang (China). By sea, goods including spices, ceramics, ivory, and silk flowed through Basra (Iraq), Siraf (Iran), Daybul (Pakistan), Gujarat (India), Malacca (Malaysia), and Guangzhou (China). The goods were carried between these markets by middlemen from the surrounding regions, who spoke Persian, Chinese, and Turkic languages as well as a "caravan bazaar" pidgin language of several hundred words that allowed traders to understand each other a bit. Universal tools like math using Indian-derived "Arabic" numerals and standardized weights established in Baghdad also facilitated trade.
Trade worked well because middlemen helped move goods between faraway places and used a simple shared language so everyone could understand a little. Standard weights and Arabic numbers made it easy to measure and price things correctly, letting merchants from different countries trade without confusion.
Baghdad became a center for not only imperial administration and scholarship, but Silk Road trade. As had been the case with the Silk Road contact between the Roman and Han empires, this was not a direct trading relationship between the Abbasids and the Chinese, although the Abbasids did acquire paper-making technology that led to an expansion of literacy in a battle against Tang forces at Talas (Kyrgyzstan) in 751.
Baghdad was a busy city for both government and learning. The Abbasids learned how to make paper from the Chinese, which let more people read and write, helping the empire run more smoothly and share knowledge.
The bacterium lives in the digestive tracts of fleas which are carried by rats that typically stow away on ships.
The disease spread because rats carrying infected fleas traveled on ships, showing how trade and travel could unintentionally move deadly illnesses across regions. Ports like Pelusium became starting points for outbreaks because they connected many places through commerce.
Theodoric (454-526) had been raised in Constantinople as a royal hostage from the age of seven or eight. By the 480s, Theodoric had returned to his homelands and had become king of the Ostrogoths. Although he frequently attacked provinces of the Eastern Empire and even threatened Constantinople itself, Theodoric was redirected by Zeno to invade Italy instead.
Theodoric grew up in Constantinople, learning Roman politics, culture, and military skills. This education helped him rule Italy effectively and navigate both Ostrogothic and Roman populations when he became king.
The Kingdom of Italy, you may recall, was established by a German military leader named Odoacer, who deposed the last "Emperor" of Rome, Romulus Augustulus, in 476. Although Odoacer had only taken the title of king and had acknowledged the Eastern Roman Empire's authority, in 489 the Emperor Zeno in Constantinople sent a rival for the western throne to invade Italy.
Odoacer ended the Western Roman Empire by removing its last emperor. Even though he ruled as king, he still recognized the Eastern Roman Empire, which shows that he wanted authority but also legitimacy from Rome.
In Egypt, the Almohads were held back by one of the most famous Muslim leaders of the Medieval era, Saladin (1137-1174). Born in Tikrit (Iraq) to a prominent Kurdish family, he was sent from Damascus to restore order in Egypt as the Fatamid caliphate was devolving into political chaos that weakened it against potential attacks from the nearby Crusader States in the Levant.
Saladin was a skilled leader who brought stability to Egypt when it was in chaos. His actions helped protect the region from Crusader attacks and strengthened his reputation as a powerful and respected ruler.
Throughout history, cash has typically been a last resort, used only by people who are total strangers, who will never do business with each other again. It is perfect for anonymous, one-off transactions; but unnecessary where ongoing networks can be formed.
Cash was mostly used when people didn’t know or trust each other, because it allowed quick, anonymous transactions. In relationships where people did business regularly, cash wasn’t needed since trust and repeated dealings made other methods, like credit or trade agreements, more practical.