Global

Galileo

Italian Scientist, know for being the “father of modern science”. He had revolutionized astronomy by pioneering the use of the telescope

Yuan Dynasty

Mong-led imperial dynasty of China, it lasted from 1271 to 1368

Chavin

Pre-inca culture that flourished in the northern Andean highland of Peru from roughly 900 to 200 BCE

Sikhism

A monotheistic religion that was founded in the 15th century which blends Hindu and Islamic cultures

Pastoralism

A branch of agriculture focused on raising and herding livestock which relies on mobility

Wang Mang

The founder and only emperor of the short-lived Xin dynasty of imperial China

Protestant Reformation

16th century theological and political movement that challenged the authority of the Catholic Church. It was created by reformers like Martin Luther, it resulted in a split within Western Christianity and the creation of Protestantism

Charlemagne

 King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the emperor of what is now known as the Charlemagne Empire from 800. He is known for becoming the first Holy Roman Emperor in 800 AD. As a major figure in AP World History, he is known for strengthening central administration, fostering the Carolingian Renaissance, and promoting Christianity 

Spartacus

Spartacus was a gladiator who had led a major slave uprising against the Roman Republic known as the Third Servile War.

Enlightenment

An intellectual and philosophical movement that emphasized reason, individualism, and skepticism of traditional authority. Emerging in Europe, it applied the scientific method to societal structures, promoting concepts like natural rights, the social contract, and religious tolerance to challenge long-standing dynastic and religious norms. 

Justinian

rules the Byzantine Empire he commissioned that Justinian Code and temporarily reconquered parts of the former Western Roman Empire

Patriarchy

 A social system where men hold a primary power and dominance in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege and control of property 

Diaspora

The dispersion or scattering of a group of people from their original homeland to various locations around the globe.

Crusades

A series of holy wars brought on by Western European Christians at the behest of the Pope 

Empress Wu

The first and only woman to rule as emperor in Chinese history. She reigned during the Tang Dynasty and established her own short-lived”Zhou Dynasty”

Silver drain

The global siphoning of wealth from Europe and the Americas to Asia to pay for highly desired luxury goods such as silk and porcelain

Ibn Battuta

A medieval Moroccan Islamic scholar and explorer who traveled over 75,000 miles across Afro-Eurasia. His nearly 30-year journey was documented in his book, The Rihla, it served as an invaluable primary source for historians studying the global interconnectedness and cultural influences of Islam in the 14th century 

Legalism

An ancient Chinese political philosophy that taught human nature is inherently selfish and evil. It argued that social order was a strong state that could only be achieved through strict, centralized laws, harsh punishments,and absolute ruler authority, rather than through moral education or tradition. 

Potosi

A spanish colonial city the was booming, it was also the location of the world’s largest silver mine,  it is loathed in the Andes mountains of present–dat Bolivia. 

Mansa Musa

14th-century emperor of the wealthy West African Mali Empire. He is known for his lavish 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca, he stimulated trans-Saharan trade, spread  Islam, and transformed Timbuktu into a renowned center of Islamic scholarship 

Vedas

The oldest sacred texts of Hinduism, originating in ancient India between 1500 and 500 B.C.E.. Foundational religious texts of early Hinduism and the primary historical source for understanding the Indo-aryan migrations and the origins of the caste system 

Devshirme

An Ottoman system of forced labor and recruitment. The state periodically collected young Christian boys from the Balkans, they would forcibly convert them to Islam, and train them t serve as loyal bureaucrats, administrator, and soldiers 

Sharia

The sacred body of Islamic law and moral guidance derived from the Quran and the Hadith 

Greek rationalism

A secular, intellectual tradition in classical Greece that emphasized human reason, observation, and logic over religious or supernatural explanations to understand the world. It sought rational, orderly explanations for natural phenomena and human behavior

Peninsulares

 Spaniard who were born in Spain, but migrated to the Spanish colonies in the Americas to the Philippines during the colonial period 

Tribute system

A historical diplomatic and economic framework, was used by subordinate states, empires, or nomadic groups paid regular wealth to a dominant power

Alexander the Great

King of the ancient Greek kingdom of Macedon. Spent most of his time as king conducting a lengthy military campaign throughout Asia and Egypt, it created one of the largest empires in the ancient world .  He had laid down the groundwork for the hellenistic period  

Akbar

 Third Mughal emperor, he had successfully expanded the territory of the Mughal Empire. He is also known for his hallmark policies of religious tolerance and administrative centralization. 

Hangzhou

A highly urbanized, cosmopolitan capital of the Southern Song Dynasty. Home to millions of people.

Pax Romana

A gold age of stability, economic prosperity, and hegemonic (ruling or dominant in a political or social context) power in the Roman Empire. 

Great Dying

 A devastating collapse of Indigenous population in the Americas, due to contact with the Europeans 

Bushido

(Ways of the warrior) A strict ethical and moral code of the samurai class in feudal Japan

Ashoka

Greatest emperor of the Mauryan Empire, known for converting Buddhism and spreading its teachings across Asia after the devastating Kalinga war 

Renaissance

A cultural and intellectual  “rebirth” in Europe, it marked the transition from the Middle Ages to the early modern era.  

Xiongnu

Powerful confederation of nomadic pastoralists.

Code of Hammurabi

One of the earliest and most complete written legal codes in history. There are 282 laws of standard justice, commerce, and social orders across Mesopotamia 

Zheng He

15th century Chinese explorer, admiral, and diplomat during the Ming Dynasty. He is known for commanding over seven massive overseas expeditions, projecting China’s maritime power and establishing extensive trade networks across the Indian Ocean before the European explorers.

Srivijaya

Powerful maritime kingdom based on the island of Sumatra in modern-day Indonesia. 

Mohenjo Daro M

A major ancient city of the Indus Valley Civilization. It has advanced an urban planning, grid-like street layout, and sophisticated plumbing system 

Malacca

 Prominent 15th-century Islamic trading empire on the Malay Peninsula

Silk Roads

An extensive, interconnected network of overland and maritime trade routes that connected East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and the Mediterranean.

Fertile Crescent

Region in the Middle East stretching from the Nile River valley to the Tigtis and Euphrates river system.

Timbuktu

 A vital West African city that served as a major terminus for the trans-Saharan trade routes and a premier center of Islamic scholarship 

Bantu migrations

The gradual movement of the Bantu-speak peoples from their ancestral homeland in West Africa across sub-Saharan Africa

Paleolithic

The longest period of human prehistory. It is defined as a reliance on foraging, hunting, and small, nomadic bands of hunter-gatherers prior to the avant agriculture 

Chinggis Khan

The founder and first supreme ruler of the Mongol Empire. He united the divided nomadic tribes of Central Asia and was given the title "universal ruler”. He built the largest contiguous land empire in history. He is also known for his mass murders.

Teotihuacan

One of the largest and most influential ancient Mesoamerican cities 

Cultural Diffusion

the process in which cultural beliefs, practices, technologies, and ideas spread from one society or group to another 

Black Death

A devastating global pandemic that swept through Afro-Eurasia from 1346 to 1353. It had drastically reduced population, weakening the European feudal system, and it spread rapidly through the Silk Road trade networks  

Axum

A powerful ancient kingdom. It was located along the Red Sea, it was a wealthy commercial hub that connected Mediterranean, African, and Indian Ocean trade net