Defining
the New Period
•Three related shifts
must occur to mark a new period in world
history.
–Powerful civilizations must divide in new ways, altering the world map.
–New contacts must be established among civilizations.
–Similarities must arise in the patterns displayed by major civilizations.
•The fall of the great empires meets the requirements.
•Cultural and political boundaries shifted in India and the Mediterranean world.
•Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam spread widely.
•The Islamic world replaced India as the most expansive civilization.