Links Between Ancient Empire (Songhai, Ming and Mughul)

| Ming China| Songhai| Mughal India|
Government and Society| * Absolute rulers * Government followed out all emperor’s orders * Emperor seen as god| * Peace patrolling by navy * Surrounding chiefs kept more of their power if they paid tributes * Based on Islamic Principals. * Performance based NOT birth * Based on military and religion * Slaves did all manual labour| * Based on Islamic principals * Local rulers kept power but had to pay tributes * Centralised administration * Efficient bureaucracy * Practiced religious tolerance | Role of Women| * Good education to teach their sons * Got married – family finance * Thrice following (followed whatever they were told by men)

* Only influential if wealthy| * Men didn’t talk to women in public * Respected by men but had to act shy and timid * Separate housing between men and women.

| * No education, liberty or rights * If they gave birth to a female they were shunned upon * Not allowed to go anywhere without permission * Women were seen as inferior| Travel and Trade| * Traded silk, porcelain and tea * Trade to show off China’s wealth and power * Traded with West Asia and Europe along the silk route * Brought goods back from exotic places visited | * Gold and salt trade * Huge caravans regularly crossed the Sahara desert.

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* Timbuktu and Goa became large commercial centres of these routes| * Export of agricultural products * Shipbuilding – key industry (Europeans bought from them) * Private trading – voyagers to East Africa, Europe etc… * China was an important trading partner.| Links/Contacts with the rest of the world| * Zheng He voyagers – linked China to India, Arabian Peninsula and East Africa.

* Trade connected them to Asia and Europe – silk road along Med. Sea * Communication routes created via military courier system|

* Trade in gold and salt along Sahara desert linked them to the Arabs and Europe through gold trade * Arab traders were the link from Africa to the rest of the world. * Commercial centres were a place for merchants from Med. And Europe to trade. * Exploration of Portuguese| * Contacts with China and South East Asia * Europeans ships visited India and they bought from the Indians * The British set up BEIC to trade| Learning and culture| * Education was wide spread. * Standardised education * Stand was high because they could print text books at the time

* Different pantheons of Gods * Practised Buddhism and Taoism | * Timbuktu and Goa – main centres of learning * Recruited teachers from over-seas * Islam – dominant culture * Recorded as one of the largest Islamic in history| * Established libraries in different languages * Welcomed scholars to his courts * Islamic * Practised religious cultures| Technology| * Inventors of gun powder * Compass * Paper * Printing| * Mosque Architecture – detailed and big * Took years to build| * Invented concept of zero * Modern math * Celestial globe * Advanced architecture | Decline of the Empires| * Invaded by the Moroccan army * This was possible because modern weaponry – Songhai didn’t stand a chance even though they had more men * Succession battles between Mohammed Askia I’s sons in 1593 led to civil war * Lost total control of trade and wealth due to Portuguese explorations around West Africa. | * Threats of invasion by Mongols and Machu * Weakened by power struggles * Became isolated because of the Great Wall of China * Sever famine * Economic problems – people stopped paying taxes | * Main threat – BEIC * Wars of succession weakened empire after Akbar’s death. * |