All of AP World 2024-25

for Pearson World Civilizations AP Edition

Abbas the Great

(1571-1629) Safavid ruler from 1587 to 1629; extended Safavid domain to greatest extent; created slave regiments based on captured Russians, who monopolized firearms within Safavid armies; incorporated Western military technology.

Abbasid

[uh bas id, ab uh sid] Dynasty that succeeded the Umayyads as caliphs within Islam.

Abdul Hamid

(1842-1918) Ottoman sultan who attempted to return to despotic absolutism during reign from 1878 to 1908; nullified constitution and restricted civil liberties; deposed in coup in 1908.

Absolute monarchy

Concept of government developed during rise of nation-states in Western Europe during the seventeenth century; featured monarchs who passed laws without parliaments, appointed professionalized armies and bureaucracies, established state churches, and imposed state economic policies.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome

A disease spread largely by sexual contacts and also by sharing of needles among drug users. First diagnosed in 1959, AIDS was particularly deadly in parts of Africa but spread to other regions as well.

Adam Schall

(1591-1666) Along with Matteo Ricci, Jesuit scholar in court of Ming emperors; skilled scientist; won few converts to Christianity.

Adam Smith's

(1723-1790) Established liberal economics (Wealth of Nations, 1776); argued that government should avoid regulation of economy in favor of the operation of market forces.

Adolf Hitler

(1889-1945) Nazi leader of Nazi Germany from 1933 until his suicide in 1945; created a strongly centralized state in Germany; eliminated all rivals; launched Germany on aggressive foreign policy leading to World War II; responsible for genocide of European Jews.

African National Congress

Black political organization within South Africa; pressed for end to policies of apartheid; sought open democracy leading to black majority rule; until the 1990s was declared illegal in South Africa.

Afrikaner National Party

Emerged as the majority party in the all-white South African legislature after 1948; advocated complete independence from Britain; favored a rigid system of racial segregation called apartheid.

Age of revolution

Period of political upheaval in Europe and the Americas beginning roughly with the American Revolution in 1775 and continuing through the French Revolution of 1789 and other movements for change up to 1848.

Agustín de Iturbide

[AH-guhs-tehn duh ee-tur-BEE-thay] (1783-1824) Conservative Creole officer in Mexican army who signed agreement with insurgent forces of independence; combined forces entered Mexico City in 1821; later proclaimed emperor of Mexico until its collapse in 1824.

Ahmad Arabi

(1841-1911) Egyptian military officer who led a revolt against Turkic dominance in the army in 1882, which forced the khedival regime to call in British forces for support.

Akbar

(1542-1605) Son and successor of Humayan; oversaw building of military and administrative systems that became typical of Mughal rule in India; pursued policy of cooperation with Hindu princes; attempted to create new religion to bind Muslim and Hindu populations of India.

Al-Ghazali

[al Gaz-AHL-ee] (1058-1111) Brilliant Islamic theologian; struggled to fuse Greek and Qur'anic traditions; not entirely accepted by ulama.

Albert Einstein

(1879-1955) Developed mathematical theories to explain the behavior of planetary motion and the movement of electrical particles; after 1900 issued theory of relativity.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

(1918-2008) Russian author critical of the Soviet regime but also of Western materialism; published trilogy on the Siberian prison camps, The Gulag Archipelago (1978).

Alexander Kerensky

(1881-1970) Liberal revolutionary leader during the early stages of the Russian Revolution of 1917; sought development of parliamentary rule, religious freedom.

Alfred Dreyfus

(1859-1935) French Jew falsely accused of passing military secrets to the Germans; his mistreatment and exile to Devil's Island provided a flashpoint for years of bitter debate between the left and right in France.

Allah

The Arab term for the high god in pre-Islamic Arabia that was adopted by the followers of Muhammad and the Islamic faith.

Alliance for Progress

Begun in 1961 by the United States to develop Latin America as an alternative to radical political solutions; enjoyed only limited success; failure of development programs led to renewal of direct intervention.

Alvaro Obregón

(1880-1928) Emerged as leader of the Mexican government in 1915; elected president in 1920.

American Civil War

Fought from 1861 to 1865; first application of Industrial Revolution to warfare; resulted in abolition of slavery in the United States and reunification of North and South.

American Revolution

Rebellion of English American colonies along Atlantic seaboard between 1775 and 1783; resulted in independence for former British colonies and eventual formation of the United States of America.

Amigos del país

[uh-mEE-gOs, ä-mEE-, del-päEEs] Clubs and associations dedicated to improvements and reform in Spanish colonies; flourished during the eighteenth century; called for material improvements rather than political reform.

Anarchists

Political groups seeking abolition of all formal government; formed in many parts of Europe and the Americas in late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries; particularly prevalent in Russia, opposing tsarist autocracy and becoming a terrorist movement responsible for the assassination of Alexander II in 1881.

Andrés Santa Cruz

(1792-1865) Mestizo general who established union of independent Peru and Bolivia between 1829 and 1839.

Anglican church

Form of Protestantism set up in England after 1534; established by Henry VIII with himself as head, at least in part to obtain a divorce from his first wife; became increasingly Protestant following Henry's death.

Anglo-Boer War

Fought between 1899 and 1902 over the continued independence of Boer Republics; resulted in British victory, but began the process of decolonization for whites in South Africa.

Anwar Sadat

[AHN-wahr suh-DAHT] (1918-1981) Successor to Gamal Abdel Nasser as ruler of Egypt; acted to dismantle costly state programs; accepted peace treaty with Israel in 1973; opened Egypt to investment by Western nations.

Apartheid

Policy of strict racial segregation imposed in South Africa to permit the continued dominance of whites politically and economically.

Arab Spring

A series of massive protests against repressive governments that began late in 2010 and spread especially in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, and Syria. Most uprisings were soon repressed, but they added considerably to regional instability.

Argentine Republic

Replaced state of Buenos Aires in 1862; result of compromise between centralists and federalists.

Aristotle

(384-322 B.C.E.) Greek philosopher; teacher of Alexander the Great; knowledge based on observation of phenomena in material world.

Armenian genocide

Assault carried out by mainly Turkish military forces against the Armenian population in Anatolia in 1915; over a million Armenians perished, and thousands fled to Russia and the Middle East.

Asante

Empire established in Gold Coast among Akan people settled around Kumasi; dominated by Oyoko clan; many clans linked under Osei Tutu after 1650.

Asantehene

Title taken by ruler of Asante Empire; supreme civil and religious leader; authority symbolized by golden stool.

Ashikaga shogunate

Replaced the Kamakura regime in Japan; ruled from 1336 to 1573; destroyed rival Yoshino center of imperial authority.

Ashikaga Takuaji

Member of the Minamoto family; overthrew the Kamakura regime and established the Ashikaga shogunate, which ruled 1336-1573; drove emperor from Kyoto to Yoshino.

Asian sea trading network

Prior to intervention of Europeans, consisted of three zones: Arab zone based on glass, carpets, and tapestries; India zone based on cotton textiles; China zone based on paper, porcelain, and silks.

Ataturk

(1881-1938) Also known as Mustafa Kemal; leader of Turkish republic formed in 1923; reformed Turkish nation using Western models.

Atlantic Charter of 1941

World War II alliance agreement between the United States and Britain; included a clause that recognized the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they live; indicated sympathy for decolonization.

Audiencias

Royal court of appeals established in Spanish colonies of New World; there were 16 throughout Spanish America; part of colonial administrative system; staffed by professional magistrates.

Auguste Comte

[uh-GOOST KONT] (1798-1857) French philosopher; founder of positivism, a philosophy that stressed observation and scientific approaches to the problems of society.

Augusto Sandino

(1895-1934) Led a guerrilla resistance movement against U.S. occupation forces in Nicaragua; assassinated by Nicaraguan National Guard in 1934; became national hero and symbol of resistance to U.S. influence in Central America.

Aurangzeb

[AHR-uhng-zeb] (1618-1707) Mughal emperor who succeeded Shah Jahan; known for his religious zealotry.

Ayan

[ä-yän] The wealthy landed elite that emerged in the early decades of Abbasid rule.

Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini

[EYE-uh-TOH-lah Roo-hah-luh ko-MAY-nee] (1900-1989) Religious ruler of Iran following revolution of 1979 to expel the Pahlavi shah of Iran; emphasized religious purification; tried to eliminate Western influences and establish purely Islamic government.

Ayllus

[EYEL-lehs] Households in Andean societies that recognized some form of kinship; traced descent from some common, sometimes mythical ancestor.

B. G. Tilak

(1856-1920) Believed that nationalism in India should be based on appeals to Hindu religiosity; worked to promote the restoration and revival of ancient Hindu traditions; offended Muslims and other religious groups; first populist leader in Indian nationalist movement.

Babur

(1483-1530) Founder of Mughal dynasty in India; descended from Turkic warriors; first led invasion of India in 1526.

Baibars

[bI bars] (1223-1277) Commander of Mamluk forces at the battle of Ain Jalut in 1260; originally enslaved by Mongols and sold to Egyptians.

Bakufu

Military government established by the Minamoto following the Gempei Wars; centered at Kamakura; retained emperor, but real power resided in military government and samurai.

Balfour Declaration

British minister Lord Balfour's promise of support for the establishment of Jewish homeland in Palestine issued in 1917.

Balkan nationalism

Movements to create independent nations within the Balkan possessions of the Ottoman Empire; provoked a series of crises within the European alliance system; eventually led to World War I.

Banana republics

Term given to governments supported or created by the United States in Central America; believed to be either corrupt or subservient to U.S. interests.

Bangladesh

Founded as an independent nation in 1972; formerly East Pakistan.

Bartolomé de Las Casas

(1484-1566) Dominican friar who supported peaceful conversion of the Native American population of the Spanish colonies; opposed forced labor and advocated Indian rights.

Batavia

Dutch fortress located after 1620 on the island of Java.

Battle of Britain

The 1940 Nazi air offensive, including saturation bombing of London and other British cities, countered by British innovative air tactics and radar tracking of German assault aircraft.

Battle of the Bulge

Hitler's last-ditch effort to repel the invading Allied armies in the winter of 1944-1945.

Battle of the Coral Sea

World War II Pacific battle; American and Japanese forces fought to a standoff.

Batu

[BAH-too] Ruler of Golden Horde; one of Chinggis Khan's grandsons; responsible for invasion of Russia beginning in 1236.

Belt and Road initiative

Proclaimed in 2013, gathered steam after about 2015. Initiative involved massive loans and infrastructure investments in Central Asia, Pakistan, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere to facilitate trade and economic development and to increase Chinese commercial and political influence.

Benazir Bhutto

[BEH-nah-zeer BOO-toh] (1953-2007) Twice prime minister of Pakistan in the 1980s and 1990s; first ran for office to avenge her father's execution by the military clique then in power.

Benin

Powerful city-state (in present-day Nigeria) that came into contact with the Portuguese in 1485 but remained relatively free of European influence; important commercial and political entity until the nineteenth century.

Benito Juárez

[beh-NEE-toh WAHR-ehz] (1806-1872) Indian governor of state of Oaxaca in Mexico; leader of liberal rebellion against Santa Anna; liberal government defeated by French intervention under Emperor Napoleon III of France and establishment of Mexican Empire under Maximilian; restored to power in 1867 until his death in 1872.

Benito Mussolini

(1883-1945) Italian fascist leader after World War I; created first fascist government (1922-1943) based on aggressive foreign policy and new nationalist glories.

Berke

[ber kuh] (r. 1257-1266) A ruler of the Golden Horde; converted to Islam; his threat to Hulegu combined with the growing power of Mamluks in Egypt forestalled further Mongol conquests in the Middle East.

Berlin Wall

Built in 1961 to halt the flow of immigration from East Berlin to West Berlin; immigration was in response to lack of consumer goods and close Soviet control of the economy and politics; torn down at end of Cold War in 1991.

Bhaktic cults

[BAHK-teek] Hindu groups dedicated to gods and goddesses; stressed the importance of strong emotional bonds between devotees and the god or goddess who was the object of their veneration; most widely worshipped gods were Shiva and Vishnu.

Black Death

Plague that struck Europe in fourteenth century; significantly reduced Europe's population; affected social structure.

Blitzkrieg

German term for lightning warfare; involved rapid movement of airplanes, tanks, and mechanized troop carriers; resulted in early German victories over Belgium, the Netherlands, and France in World War II.

Boer republics

Transvaal and Orange Free State in Southern Africa; established to assert independence of Boers from British colonial government in Cape Colony in 1850s; discovery of diamonds and precious metals caused British migration into the Boer areas in 1860s.

Boers

Dutch settlers in Cape Colony, in Southern Africa.

Bolsheviks

Literally, the majority party; the most radical branch of the Russian Marxist movement; led by Lenin and dedicated to his concept of social revolution; actually a minority in the Russian Marxist political scheme until its triumph in the 1917 revolution.

Boris Yeltsin

(1931-2007) Russian leader who stood up to coup attempt in 1991 that would have displaced Gorbachev; president of the Russian Republic following dissolution of Soviet Union.

Boxer Rebellion

Popular outburst in 1898 aimed at expelling foreigners from China; failed because of intervention of armies of Western powers in China; defeat of Chinese enhanced control by Europeans and the power of provincial officials.

British East India Company

Joint stock company that obtained government monopoly over trade in India; acted as virtually independent government in regions it claimed.

British Raj

British political establishment in India; developed as a result of the rivalry between France and Britain in India.

Buddhism

One of the major world religions, Buddhism emphasized spirituality and meditation, rejecting Hindu emphasis on castes and ritual. The goal of spiritual advancement through reincarnation was central in Buddhism.

Bushi

Regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small kingdoms from fortresses; administered the law, supervised public works projects, and collected revenue.

Buyids

[BOO-yihds] Regional splinter dynasty of the mid-tenth century; invaded and captured Baghdad; ruled Abbasids under title of sultan; retained Abbasids as figureheads.

Calcutta

Headquarters of British East India Company in Bengal in Indian subcontinent; located on Ganges; captured in 1756 during early part of Seven Years' War; later became administrative center for all of Bengal.

Caliphs

The religious and political successors of the prophet Muhammad; the caliphate was their extensive empire.

Calpulli

[kal-PUHL-lee] Clans in Aztec society, later expanded to include residential groups that distributed land and provided labor and warriors.

Candomblé

[kan-dom-blä] African religious ideas and practices in Brazil, particularly among the Yoruba people.

Canton

One of two port cities in which Europeans were permitted to trade in China during the Ming dynasty.

Cape Colony

Dutch colony established at Cape of Good Hope in 1652 initially to provide a coastal station for the Dutch seaborne empire; by 1770 settlements had expanded sufficiently to come into conflict with Bantus.

Cape of Good Hope

Southern tip of Africa; first circumnavigated in 1488 by Portuguese in search of direct route to India.

Capitalism

Economic system based on profit-seeking, private ownership, and investment.

Captain James Cook

(1728-1779) Made voyages to Hawaii from 1777 to 1779 resulting in opening of islands to the West; convinced Kamehameha to establish unified kingdom in the islands.

Captaincies

Strips of land along Brazilian coast granted to minor Portuguese nobles for development; enjoyed limited success in developing the colony.

Caravels

Slender, long-hulled vessels utilized by Portuguese; highly maneuverable and able to sail against the wind; key to development of Portuguese trade empire in Asia.

Caribbean

First area of Spanish exploration and settlement; served as experimental region for nature of Spanish colonial experience; encomienda system of colonial management initiated here.

Caste system

India's caste system organized social inequality by regulating work roles and permissible social contacts; caste status was inherited and supported by traditional Hinduism.

Castile and Aragon

Regional kingdoms of the Iberian peninsula; pressed reconquest of the peninsula from Muslims and ultimately united under the Spanish monarchy.

Catherine the Great

(1729-1796) German-born Russian tsarina in the eighteenth century; ruled after assassination of her husband; gave appearance of enlightened rule; accepted Western cultural influence; maintained nobility as service aristocracy by granting them new power over peasantry.

Catholic Reformation

Restatement of traditional Catholic beliefs in response to Protestant Reformation (sixteenth century); established councils that revived Catholic doctrine and refuted Protestant beliefs.

Caudillos

[kow-DEE-yuhs] Independent leaders who dominated local areas by force in defiance of national policies; sometimes seized national governments to impose their concept of rule; typical throughout newly independent countries of Latin America.