During the Medieval era, the global population grew substantially. This occurred in spite of the massive destruction caused by the spread of the Black Death and the genocidal conquests of the Mongol Empire. As a general rule, the global population has almost always been growing since the introduction of agriculture during the Neolithic Revolution. 

Coptic Christians, usually called Copts, have lived in significant numbers in Egypt for over a thousand years. Egypt was a Christian state until the Islamic conquest, and the Copts are the surviving remnants of this fact. In modern Egypt, they represent a significant minority population, not to mention the largest Christian denomination in the country. They are also found in large numbers in Sudan and, in smaller numbers, in Libya.

The Chimu culture flourished on the Pacific coast of modern-day Peru from about 800 CE until the mid-fifteenth century.

The decline of the Mississippian civilization took place in the thirteenth century, long before the arrival of Europeans in the Americas. After their decline, the Native American people who were living in this region, reorganized into hunter-gatherer groups, which would persevere until long after the arrival of Europeans.

The Inca city of Tiwanaku was built on the shores of Lake Titicaca in modern-day Bolivia. Lake Titicaca is an important archaeological site, for it is here that many of the earliest South American civilizations arose.

The Bubonic plague of the fourteenth century, also called the Black Death, led to the deaths of approximately thirty-three percent of the population of Europe. As you might expect this led to a myriad of social, political, religious, and economic issues. One of the more surprising consequences of the plague was the rising power of workers in European society. The plague led to a shortage of labor in Europe, particularly in Western Europe, which allowed those who survived to demand higher wages and improved working conditions.

The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes were all Germanic tribes who, during the fifth, sixth, and seventh centuries, came to settle in the British Isles. This is why the English people are sometimes referred to as Anglo-Saxons (the poor Jutes seem to have been rudely dismissed). The Vikings also settled, violently, in England during this time period, and were soon joined by the conquering Normans from France.

The Berbers were a nomadic camel herding people who lived in northwest Africa during the Medieval period (and indeed still live there in large numbers today). The Berbers were renowned for their mastery of camels — they are thought to be the first people to domesticate camels. They were also renowned for their fanatical devotion to Islam and the violent means by which they spread Islam throughout West Africa.

Swahili city-states first emerged on the East African coast in the tenth century, and reached the height of their power between the eleventh and fifteenth centuries. The Swahili city-states were ethnically diverse (comprised of Africans and migrants from the Middle East and India) and traded extensively along the Indian Ocean trade network.