Chapter 9, 11 and 12

It's always interesting reading about Mohammad and how much he influenced the world.  Religion itself really plays an important role in our history and how we are today. There were a lot of comparisons to Jesus and Christianity which were pretty interesting like how Mohammad and Jesus were different in that  Mohammad was actively involved in military and politics unlike Jesus who hung out with the minority. I enjoy the aspect of the 5 pillars when it comes to the Islamic religion.  They all make sense to me (maybe praying 5 times a day in a certain direction is a bit much) and I like the structure.  Islam also talks about how both sexes are valuable and to be treated equally which is nice to hear.  In Christianity, I'm not sure if men or women are depicted the same and seems more patriarchal.

Chapter 11 illustrates the great Mongol empire and even compares it to the Persian Empire.  So, I don't know much about the Mongols. The Persian and Roman empires, there are movies and I remember learning about them in the history of the past.  Maybe because it's so far east? Their established trade routes were quite impressive and they almost invaded as far as Western Europe.  And to think they had all that and lost it because they didn't have officials in the territories they conquered?  They didn't have planes or telephones to keep them appraised…what were they thinking?

Chapter 12 introduces a little bit about the Americas which is exciting.  It's so mind-boggling that America went so long being undiscovered or at least known to the rest of the world.  I remember learning about Leif Erikson, discovering America hundreds of years earlier, but he isn't mentioned much when it comes to discovering America.  And was it even Leif who discovered America or the Native Americans? Or someone else?  I was intrigued to learn about Christine De Pizan, mentioned on page 395.  A woman unafraid and boldly calling out the misogyny for what it was.  More and more, I am becoming interested in the feminist movement and I admire this woman who was way ahead of her time.