Main Trends
The Postclassical Era drastically changed the world from what was the Classical civilizations to the Modern Period, and thus experienced several important developments and trends that directed the world into becoming what it is today.
First, there was the expansion and growth of civilization into new areas across Asia, Africa, Europe, Mesoamerica, and western South America. In Asia, we saw that China continued its historic dynastic cycle and became more complex, improving its bureaucracy. Places like Japan, Vietnam, Korea, and India continued to develop their own societies as well. The creation of the Islamic Empires established a new power in the Middle East, North Africa, and Central Asia. Africa created the Songhai and Mali kingdoms in the West. The fall of Roman civilization not only left a power vacuum for the Mediterranean and Europe, but forced certain areas to build what some historians might call new civilizations entirely. An entirely different political system was applied in Western Europe (i.e. feudalism), as well as a different society (i.e. manorialism), and there was the general loss of many past scientific and technological innovations, one of the most prominent being aqueducts. But the once East Roman Empire, Byzantium, retained many features of old Rome, as well as Greek and Persian similarities. Kiev Rus' and subsequently Russia began development in Eastern Europe as well. In the isolated Americas, Mesoamerica saw the building of the Aztec Empire, while the Andean region of South America saw the establishment of the Inca Empire.
The growth and geographical spread of major world religions also occurred, with Islam being the most successful religion during this time. Christianity continued its spread into Scandinavia, the Baltic area, and the British Isles—ousting the old pagan religions; an attempt was even made to incur upon the Middle East during the Crusades. The split of the Catholic Church in Western Europe and the Orthodox Church in Eastern Europe encouraged religious and cultural diversity in Eurasia as well. Additionally, Buddhism spread from India into China and flourished there briefly before using it as a hub to spread to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam; a similar effect occurred with Confucian revivalism in the later centuries. Once again, however, the most prominent world religion at the time was Islam. Starting in the Arabian Peninsula, it unified the warring Bedouin clans and through conquest, trade, and missionaries, spread to Persia, Indonesia, Central Asia, India, North Africa, and the Iberian Peninsula.
Finally, communication and trade all across Afro-Eurasia increased rapidly. The Silk Road continued to spread cultures and ideas through trade and throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. Trade networks were established between West Europe, Byzantium, early Russia, the Islamic Empires, and the Far Eastern civilizations. The Islamic Empires adopted many Greek, Roman, and Indian advances and spread them through the Islamic sphere of influence, allowing these developments to reach Europe, North and West Africa, and Central Asia. Islamic sea trade helped connect these areas, including those in the Indian Ocean and in the Mediterranean, replacing Byzantium in the latter region. The Christian Crusades into the Middle East (as well as Muslim Spain and Sicily) brought Islamic science, technology, and goods to Western Europe. Western trade into East Asia was pioneered by Marco Polo. Importantly, China began the sinicization (or Chinese influence) of regions like Japan, Korea, and Vietnam through trade and conquest. Finally, the growth of the Mongol Empire in Central Asia established such safe trade as to allow goods, cultures, ideas, and disease spread between Asia, Europe, and Africa.
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