Era 1 Maps: c. 1200 to c. 1450

This era covers Units 1 and 2 of AP World History: Modern. Unit 1, The Global Tapestry (Topics 1.1–1.7), tours the major states of the period: Song China, Dar al-Islam, South and Southeast Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe. Unit 2, Networks of Exchange (Topics 2.1–2.7), connects those places through the Silk Roads, the Mongol Empire, the Indian Ocean, and the trans-Saharan routes.

Every time you look at a map, ask three questions. Where is this state or route? What's around it: rivers, deserts, mountains, monsoon winds, neighbors? And how did that geography help or limit its power and trade? The exam rarely asks "where is it" directly, but location is almost always part of the evidence. If you can picture where Samarkand, Kilwa, Timbuktu, and Malacca sit, the trade questions get a lot easier.

Start with Unit 1 Maps to place the states, then use Unit 2 Maps to connect them. Topics 1.7 and 2.7 are comparison topics, so keep both units open side by side when you review.