A monk named Benedict founded a monastery at Monte Cassino, where he wrote his famous Rule setting forth guidelines for monastic life: monks should be celibate and lead simple lives; along with worship and prayer, work was to be an integral part of their lives. Benedict is considered the 'father' of Western monks. Christianity in Western Europe was largely influenced by the Benedictines.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rule_of_Saint_Benedict

Justinian was emperor of the Byzantine empire at its height; his seat was Constantinople. The Byzantines inherited the eastern Roman provinces of Greece, Asia Minor, and Egypt.  They modeled their culture after that of the classical Greeks; their church was the Eastern Orthodox Church. Under Justinian, laws were codified and art and architecture assumed a prime place in Byzantine culture. However, his rule led to a clear split between western Europeans and Eastern Romans; by paying tribute to the Persians in exchange for peace, he weakened the Eastern empire.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/just/hd_just.htm

The Mayan civilization arose in southern Mexico and northern Central America. Mayans were ruled by priests and nobles. Their capital city of Tikal had six temple pyramids and a population reaching 100,000. They made advances in mathematics and astronomy, and developed an accurate calendar and the first written language in the Americas.

http://earlyworldhistory.blogspot.com/2012/03/maya-classic-period.html

The T'ang returned the rule of China to the Chinese. This dynasty reorganized the government, established state colleges, and continued work on the Great Wall.
Art and trading were important components of T'ang culture.

http://depts.washington.edu/silkroad/exhibit/tang/tang.html

http://www.travelchinaguide.com/intro/history/tang/

Muhammed was born in Mecca (located in present-day Saudi Arabia) around 570 C.E. Around the age of 40, he experienced revelations, or visions, that led to the founding of Islam; Islam's holy book, the Qur'an, collects the messages Muhammed received from this experience. Written in Arabic, the Qur'an emphasizes the Five Pillars of faith. These include believing that there is no God but Allah and that Muhammed is his prophet; praying to Allah five times daily; giving alms; fasting; and making a pilgrimage to Mecca at least once.

http://www.pbs.org/muhammad/timeline_html.shtml

732 C.E.
The Battle of Tours

Charles Martel led the Franks (originally a confederation of Germanic tribes, who moved east into what is now Belgium and France and converted to Christianity around 500 C.E.) against Muslim invaders in southern France, defeating them at Tours and later pushing them back into Spain. Thus, this battle was one of the factors ensuring that Europe would remain Christian.

http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/imperialism/notes/tours.html

The Abbasids were an Islamic dynasty that united Persia and Arabia; their capital at Baghdad grew to a population of 1.5 million. Unlike previous Muslim rulers, Abbasid rulers encouraged Muslims of all nationalities to participate in government. The Abbasids established permanent borders, leading to an era of peace; increased trade and public works; and encouraged study in both Eastern and Western traditions.

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/abba/hd_abba.htm

This Frankish monarch unified provinces in Germany, France, northern Spain, and Italy; encouraged the formation of schools in churches and monasteries; preserved classical writings; and decreed that scholars make new and accurate copies of ancient Church manuscripts and Roman classics. He encouraged scholars to write in Latin, which helped unite all of Western Europe under a common set of ideas.

http://www.history.com/topics/charlemagne

These raiders from Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were skilled seafarers and warriors. They invaded England, northern France, and the southeastern Baltic coast, threatening the economic stability of these regions as they plundered monasteries and towns.

http://mappinghistory.uoregon.edu/europe/static/map16.html

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/ancient/
vikings/overview_vikings_01.shtml

This kingdom was centered in an area near the Niger and Senegal rivers in West Africa. Famed for its wealth in gold and salt, this kingdom had a trade network that included Christian Europeans and Muslims from North Africa and the Middle East.

http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7a.asp

Previous to this dynasty, China had fallen into the hands of military warlords. Reform-minded Chinese leaders established the Song dynasty. The era was noted for the inventions of gunpowder and the compass, and saw the rise of a merchant middle class. It was a time of peaceful prosperity; military spending was channeled to public works and public schooling.

http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song

1066 C.E.
The Battle of Hastings

Laying claim to the English throne, William, Duke of Normandy (the duchy of northern France), crossed the English Channel with an army of 5,000 men, defeating the most powerful English noble and establishing his lineage in England.

http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/
the-battle-of-hastings

The First Crusade was proclaimed by Pope Urban II as a holy war against the Seljuk Turks, Muslims who held Christian shrines in Palestine and who were threatening the Byzantines. The army of the First Crusade captured, but did not hold, Palestine. Crusaders returning home had been exposed to Eastern luxuries, thoughts, and customs; this was a major factor in the future development of medieval Europe.

http://www.metmuseum.org/TOAH/HD/crus/hd_crus.htm

The Toltecs established their central city, Tula, in central Mexico; they were a militaristic culture and eventually controlled most of Mexico, Guatemala, and as far south as the Yucatan Peninsula, which had previously been Mayan territories. They established an extensive trade network. Like the Mayans, the Toltecs built their temples in the form of step pyramids.

http://www.fsmitha.com/h3/h16-am1b.htm

One of the most dramatic expressions of faith during the medieval era came via architecture. In the high Middle Ages, new architectural techniques such as flying buttresses allowed the construction of soaring ceilings and tall windows that filled the new Gothic cathedrals with light. Pointed arches and slender columns characterized the style.

http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/history-of-art/gothic.htm

Japan's Heian period is considered the height of the Japanese imperial culture; as the power of the emperor declined, a feudalism arose in which military warlords, or daimyo, disputed among themselves over territory and resolved issues through combat led by their samurai.

http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2132.html
japanworkbook/traditional/court.htm

http://www.metmuseum.org/toah/hd/heia/hd_heia.htm

For the first time, a written document placed limits on English royal power: the Magna Carta stipulated that the king would uphold English Common Law. It went on to state that the king could no longer collect taxes that were not approved by a group of officials, nobles, and bishops known as the Great Council. Also, nobles accused of a crime were guaranteed the right to a jury of their peers. The signing of the Magna Carta is viewed as a step towards constitutional democracy.

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/magnacarta.asp

These invaders from central Asia captured the Russian capital of Kiev; after establishing control, the Mongols allowed Russians to practice Christianity and govern themselves. During this period, Russians developed a sense of being one people; however, they remained isolated from the rest of the world.

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/boundless-worldhistory/chapter/the-mongol-empire-after-genghis-khan/

Philip IV laid the groundwork for a national government in France, as he consolidated royal authority over France's nobility and expanded taxation to include the clergy. He increased French territory and influence by successfully fighting England and Flanders.

https://www.britannica.com/biography/Philip-IV-king-of-France

The Kingdom of Mali was established after the fall of the Ghana's empire in West Africa; its capital of Timbuktu on the Niger River became an important center of Muslim trade and learning. Mansa Moussa, Mali's greatest ruler, traded in gold for any books he could acquire and built one of the world's largest libraries. By the end of his reign, scholars were setting up universities in Timbuktu. Scroll down to "A Golden Pilgrimage".

http://www.ushistory.org/civ/7b.asp

Six Native American tribes joined in a confederation known as the League of the Iriquois to peacefully resolve their border disputes and discuss problems; the League was essentially a confederation of sovereign Indian nations, and is considered by some scholars a model upon which the framers of the Constitution drew in establishing our government.

http://nativeamericannetroots.net/diary/2081

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/mod/iroquois.asp

By the 1400s, by virtue of their conquests, the Aztec ruled more than five million people in what is now southern Mexico. Their achievements in architecture and mathematics rivaled those of Europe. In the 1521, Hernando Cortez conquered their capital city of Tenochtitlan with the help of dissatisfied subjects of the Aztec.

https://www.historyonthenet.com/overview-of-the-aztec-empire

The Inca developed the largest empire (its area almost on a par with the Roman Empire) in pre-Columbian America, partly by military means, partly by assimilation. The Inca were an extremely wealthy society; their capital city Cuzco, in Peru, was the richest city in the New World. Subjects of the empire paid "taxes" via their own human labor on the widespread system of roads, crop terraces, canals, and fortresses. Gold and silver were abundant, an attraction to the invading Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro, who captured and executed Atahualpa, the final Inca ruler, in 1532.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/lost-inca-empire.html

A combined force of Ottoman and Anatolian Turks, outnumbering Byzantine forces defending Constantinople by 10 to one, conquered the heavily fortified city, and re-named it "Istanbul."

http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865580842/This-week-in-history-The-Fall-of-Constantinople-had-profound-consequences.html?pg=all