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8th grade · Social Studies · Unit 12 of 13

Ottoman & Ming Empires

Two great powers, 1368 to 1600

What your child practices

How the Ottoman Empire and Ming China rose, how Islam and Neo-Confucianism shaped their governments and societies, how each ruled people of many backgrounds, and how they saw their place in the world.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 8.16 · the Ming dynasty and other great empires of the early modern world

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. The Ottoman Empire was led by a sultan, guarded by elite Janissary soldiers; under the millet system, religious communities ran many of their own affairs.
  2. The architect Sinan designed great mosques such as the Süleymaniye Mosque.
  3. Ming China was shaped by Neo-Confucianism; it rebuilt the Great Wall, and Emperor Yongle moved the capital to Beijing and built the Forbidden City.

Example: Who were the Janissaries? They served the Ottoman ruler. They were highly trained. They were elite soldiers loyal to the sultan. Answer: elite Ottoman soldiers loyal to the sultan

Ottoman & Ming Empires in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 12 of 13 in 8th grade Social Studies, after Absolutism to Enlightenment and before Science & the Enlightenment.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    The Janissaries were…

    • elite Ottoman soldiers loyal to the sultan
    • Ming government officials
    • Byzantine monks
    • Chinese sailors

  2. Question 2

    The Ming dynasty began in 1368 when Chinese rebels drove out…

    • the Portuguese
    • the Mongol rulers of the Yuan dynasty
    • the Ottoman Turks
    • the Japanese shoguns

  3. Question 3

    Which sultan, who ruled from 1520 to 1566, was known to Ottomans as 'the Lawgiver'?

    • Charlemagne
    • Saladin
    • Kublai Khan
    • Suleiman

  4. Question 4

    Under the tribute system, other states sent gifts to the Ming emperor to…

    • buy Ottoman ships
    • join the Catholic Church
    • pay for the Crusades
    • show respect and gain the right to trade with China

  5. Question 5

    The Ming rebuilt and strengthened the Great Wall to defend against…

    • raids from peoples to the north
    • pirates from Portugal
    • Ottoman armies
    • Spanish ships

  6. Question 6

    Non-Muslims in the Ottoman Empire paid a special tax called the jizya. In return they…

    • became Janissary officers
    • were freed from all laws
    • were made sultans
    • were protected and could keep practicing their religion

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