https://www.britannica.com/place/Baghdad

The Ottoman Empire, also commonly called the Turkish Empire, was an Islamic superpower (whose leader was the Sultan, wielding total control) that amassed control over large areas of the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and North Africa, for over 600 years. Considered a threat by many at the time, historians see the Ottoman Empire as time of stability and security, advancing science, the arts, religion, and culture.

Coverted from Christianity to Buddhism due to his wife.

Launched a brutal campaign against the Muslim World.

• The area they established in is what is now Afganistan and Pakistan

• First native dynasty to arise after the Muslim Arab conquest

• The Samanid has control over the most important silver producing veins of Central Asia, which made possible the development of the coinage system

https://en.unesco.org/silkroad/sites/default/files/knowledge-bank-article/vol_IVa%20silk%20road_the%20samanid%20state.pdf

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Uyghur

• Muslim monarch in the late 1200s and 1300s

• Taj al-Din Shah was accused of poisoning him

  • he proved that he did not

It was founded by the legendary conqueror Timur (Tamerlane) in the 14th century (1300s). Culture, art, and architecture flourished.

In the 16th century (1500s), the prince Babur invaded India and founded the Mughal Empire which would rule until its demise by the British Raj during the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

The Mongols of this dynasty never fully "Sinicized," or integrated into Chinese culture, and continued to remain separate from the natives as well as hiring foreigners to work in the government. After a series of revolts in the 14th century, the Yuan dynasty was overthrown and became the shortest-lived dynasty in China. It was succeeded by the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911).

Also known as Vajrayana or Esoteric Buddhism, the system is partly based on Buddhist Tantras, or esoteric texts,

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tibetan-Buddhism

https://www.britannica.com/topic/Tantra-religious-texts

Bukhara attained its biggest importance in the late 16th century, when the Shaybanids' land consisted of most of Central Asia, as well as Northern Persia and Afghanistan.

The Qara Khitai practiced Buddhism and spoke Khitan.

Adopted Chinese customs during their rule of north China.

Renamed the Qara Khitai after fleeing to the Mongolian steppe and gathering vast amounts of Mongolian and Turkic followers.

Not eager to embrace Islam.

The Qara Khitai reinvigorated the Central Asian economy.

Conquered by Chinggis Khan and the Mongols.

The multicultural effort of the astronomers working together under Hulegu's order. This equated the different dating systems of many cultures, (Chinese, Muslims, Persians, Nestorian Christians etc.) and challenged some of the ancient Macedonian Greek thinker Ptolemy's ideas.

"Based on the text of the Big Dipper Sūtra as found in the Kanjur, the Mongolian translation of the Tibetan bKa’-’gyur (the collected teachings of the Buddha)"..there is a strong belief related to the Big Dipper that was present in Mongolia's Yuan Dynasty and its collective nations, particularly China at this time, originating from a Buddhist-Daoist belief.

"...the Big Dipper in premodern China was both an essential, practical guidance in maritime voyages and a religious symbol that the faithful believed could prolong the human’s lifespan and command the element of water."(mdpi.com)

Zen Buddhism

"Zen teaches that enlightenment is achieved through the profound realization that one is already an enlightened being. This awakening can happen gradually or in a flash of insight (as emphasized by the Sōtō and Rinzai schools, respectively). But in either case, it is the result of one’s own efforts. Deities and scriptures can offer only limited assistance."

Zen Buddhism | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History (metmuseum.org)

During the Nan Song period, use of movable type spread in the 11th century brought greater rates of literacy and learning in this time. Additionally, "the administration developed a comprehensive welfare policy that made this one of the most humane periods in Chinese history."

The Mongol's campaign in Korea stretched from 1231 and 1270. "The Mongols initially invaded in 1231 under Ögedei Khan's orders, leading to the surrender of Goryeo's capital, Gaesong, and demanding significant tributes and resources, including otter skins, horses, silk, clothing, and even children and craftsmen as slaves."

"The third invasion, lasting from 1235 to 1239, involved Mongol campaigns that ravaged parts of Gyeongsang and Jeolla Provinces. Goryeo resisted fiercely, but the Mongols resorted to burning farmland to starve the populace. Eventually, Goryeo sued for peace again, sending hostages and agreeing to the Mongols' terms. Subsequent campaigns followed, but the ninth invasion in 1257 marked the beginning of negotiations and a peace treaty."

The Mongolians would reside in Korea for about 80 more years; rebellions in the Yuan dynasty around 1350 in China marked the decline of Mongol control in Korea.

This is the holy site of pilgrimage that Muslims are called to visit, at least once in their lifetime. As the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad it holds significance of being where Muhammad received revelation of the Qu'ran from the angel Gabriel.

"According to Islamic tradition, Abraham and Ishmael, his son by Hagar, built the Kaaba as the house of God. The central point of pilgrimage in Mecca before the advent of Islam in the 7th century, the cube-shaped stone building has been destroyed and rebuilt several times. During pre-Islamic times the city was ruled by a series of Yemeni tribes. Under the Quraysh it became a type of city-state, with strong commercial links to the rest of Arabia, Ethiopia, and Europe. Mecca became a place for trade, for pilgrimage, and for tribal gatherings.

The city’s religious importance greatly increased with the birth of Muhammad about 570. The Prophet was forced to flee from Mecca in 622, but he returned eight years later and took control of the city. He purged Mecca of idols, declared it a centre of Muslim pilgrimage, and dedicated it to God. Since then the city has remained the major religious centre of Islam. As the ancient caravan route fell into decline, Mecca lost its commercial significance and has since lived mainly on the proceeds from the annual pilgrimages and the gifts of Muslim rulers.

Mecca was sacked by the Umayyad general al-Ḥajjāj ibn Yūsuf, and thereafter the city acknowledged the power of the Umayyad caliphate at Damascus and, following the eclipse of that dynasty, of the Abbasid caliphate of Baghdad. The city suffered great indignity at the hands of the Qarmatians in 930 when that sect’s leader, Ṭāhir Sulaymān, pillaged Mecca and carried off the Black Stone from the Kaaba."

"The Arabic copy of his Jami’ al-Tawarikh in the exhibition is a history of the world as it was then known, covering not only the history of the Mongols, but also that of the Chinese, Franks and Indians.

Situated in the highly international and multi-cultural city of Tabriz in modern-day Iran, the scriptorium of Rashid al-Din welcomed artists from all parts of the Mongol empire and beyond. Elements of Byzantine, Chinese and other Islamic traditions are all evident in the illustrations."