The period between 1250 and 1500 was decisive for modern world history. For the first time a worldwide commercial system arose, which included large parts of Asia, Africa and Europe. On the other the Mongol expansion and the Black Death affected large parts of the Old World. China started with a maritime expansion but later gave up this policy. In the world of Islam new major emires were created. This article gives a survey of the heterogeneous yet strongly interconnected world of the period which is known in Europe as the Late Middle Ages
