1. Periodization Essay Review of How to Write
Prompt: Evaluate the extent to which the emergence of Islam in the 7th Century CE can be considered a turning point in world history.

2. Format: 5 paragraphs Paragraph #1 Paragraph #2 Paragraph #3
Contextualization and thesis ( It was or it wasn’t a turning point)
Paragraph #2
Argument #1
Paragraph #3
Argument #2
Paragraph #4
Argument #3 or counter-argument to the opposite view
Paragraph #5
Synthesis and restatement of thesis

3. Prompt
Evaluate the extent to which the emergence of Islam in the 7th Century CE can be considered a turning point in world history.
You must take the position that it was or it wasn’t
You must speak to the time period before this event and the time period after the event
In essence you are writing a change and continuity or similar and different essay, but with an emphasis to prove your argument

4. The Thesis You cannot simply state:
“The emergence of Islam in the 7th century CE was a turning point in world history” or “the emergence of Islam in the 7th century CE was not a turning point in world history.”
What a good thesis would look like:
Because Islam became the dominant religion throughout much of Afro-Eurasia and exponentially expanded inter-regional trade during the 7th century CE, it was a major turning point in world history.”
Because Islam was limited to the Middle East and its extensive impact in Afro-Eurasia came several centuries later, it was not a turning point in the 7th Century CE.

5. Important elements in a periodization essay (what the rubric states)
+1 point
Describes the way in which the historical development (Islam in 7th Century CE) was different from and similar to developments that preceded and/or followed.
Explains the extent to which the historical development (Islam in 7th Century CE) was different from and similar to developments that preceded and/or followed.
Scoring notes: For both points, if the prompt requires evaluation of a turning point, then responses must discuss developments that preceded AND followed.

6. Position that it was a turning point in 7th Century CE
With this argument you would be centering on the changes, and a little on the continuities
What was happening in the centuries before this?
Arabian peninsula was largely tribal (Bedouin tribes) largely nomadic and warring with each other
500 CE Mediterranean region Byzantine (Justinian 527–565)- Eastern Orthodox Christians
North Africa Byzantine influence
Trans-Sahara trade began around 300 CE with the camel, but more in its beginning stages

7. Position that it was a turning point in 7th Century CE
With this argument you would be centering on the changes, and a little on the continuities
What was happening in the centuries after this?
Arabian peninsula was united and Islam spread rapidly (Umayyad Empire 630s to 750 CE made it all the way to Spain and into Africa)
Mediterranean region (Middle East and North Africa became largely Islamic)
Trans-Sahara trade opened and expanded dramatically with Ghana at its peak in 8th century
Islamic traders expanded trade all the way from Spain to the Indus River Valley
Islam brought cross-cultural encounters and spread of technologies
Syncretism of Islam and African religions would follow Bantu migrations

8. Position that it was not a turning point in 7th Century CE
With this argument you would be centering on the continuities, and a little on the changes
Even with the spread of Islam in Arabia, Middle-East and Africa the Jizya tax was maintained where by you could maintain your faith
Imposed on Jews, Christians and Zoroastrians in the Arabian peninsula, the Levant, Iraq, North Africa, Caucasus and Spain,
Imposed on Hindus on the Indian Subcontinent
These religions continued to grow and flourish
While Islam emerged on the scene; in China there was the emergence of the Tang enriching the Confucian idea and expanding the Silk Road trade
Indian Ocean trade which had gone on for centuries continued to flourish
Islam did not effect western Europe and Christianity would grow as the dominant religion

9. Position that it was a turning point in 7th Century CE
With this argument you would be centering on the changes, and a little on the continuities
What was happening in the centuries after this?
Arabian peninsula was united and Islam spread rapidly (Umayyad Empire 630s to 750 CE made it all the way to Spain and into Africa)
Mediterranean region (Middle East and North Africa became largely Islamic)
Trans-Sahara trade opened and expanded dramatically with Ghana at its peak in 8th century
Islamic traders expanded trade all the way from Spain to the Indus River Valley
Islam brought cross-cultural encounters and spread of technologies
Syncretism of Islam and African religions would follow Bantu migrations

10. Synthesis: applying the argument
Not a significant turning point
The fall of Classical Empires in across Eurasia in the 3rd and 4th centuries was more significant than the emergence of Islam
A significant turning point
Islam became major religion in Arabia, much of Sub-Sahara Africa (syncretism)
Islam today is the 2nd most populous religion in the world had has a global presence