Contrasting Patterns in Eurasia, 600-1600 CE

Indian religion founded by Guru Nanak that combines elements of Hindu and Muslim traditions.

Chinese civil servants who attained their positions through merit, and who served the local population as arbitrators of Confucian ethics and morality.

In monarchical or imperial systems in which succession is normally through the male line, the widow of the ruler.

A political entity, common to the Eurasian steppe. A khanate is ruled by either a khan (man) or a khatun (woman).

The killing of girl babies.

The practice of tightly wrapping the feet of young girls in order to break and reset the bones to compress the feet to about one-third of their normal size. Mothers generally did this to their daughters to make them more marriageable, since tiny feet were considered the epitome of female beauty.

Regulations mandating or restricting the wearing of certain clothes or insignia among different classes of people.

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