The Prompt- In the period circa 1200 to 1450, rulers, elites, and governments around the world used religions, philosophies, and traditions to strengthen, organize, or expand their states.
Develop an argument that evaluates the extent to which religion and/or belief systems were the primary factor affecting state development in this period.
My response- During the period circa 1200-1450, there was a lot of expansion between many empires, mongols conquored Song china, trade routes were growing, and relogion was spreading. There was diseases such as the black plague being passed, cultural diffusion was influencing many countires on a global scale. New technolgies were being invented to facilatate daily life and trading. All of this resulted in new religious systems and beliefs. The new religions were relied on by the governments heavily. Religion and belief systems were a primary factor in affecting state development to a large extent because, it helped governments establish structure and legitimized their power, and led to intellectual developments later on.
Islam facilitated government structure and education systems accross the middle east. Islam consisted of the "five pillars" which was an expectation for its believers surpass. The pillars told the followers of Islam to give out to the poor, charity. It also had a pilgrimage to mecca which the governments that were Islam at the time preached to their people that they should go to Mecca(if able to) at least once in their life. There were Muslim chruches throughout Islamic states called Mosques which were endorsed by the governemnt. Islam is knwon for their scholars and education. Islam is the reason today that we have knowledge of medicine, astronomy, math, science and they created algebra. These continuties shaped lives today. The knowledge that Islam founded was passed on to other empires throughout time.
Education systems within Islam invented technology and improved it which improved their countries. One of Islams notorious features was their education systems. Many of their inventions that facilitated trade such as the astrolab and their discoveries on the monsoon winds. We know so much about astronomy because of their developments on the observatories and their advanced knowledge of constellations, along with the intpvention of astronomical tables. They also took past inventions and improved them like the irrigation system, and they also improved medical practices such as the knowledges of surgeries. The discoveries and improvments
Overall, based on the discoveries and improvements that Islam made it can be argued and backed up that religion and belief systems were a primary factor in affecting state development to a large extent because, it helped governments establish structure and legitimized their power, and led to intellectual developments later on.