AP WORLD VOCAB 2.1

Ottoman Empire

Major Islamic state centered on Anatolia that came to include the Balkans, parts of the Middle East, and much of North Africa; lasted from the fourteenth to the early twentieth century.

Abbasid Caliphate

An Arab dynasty of caliphs who governed much of the Islamic world from its capital in Baghdad beginning in 750 C.E. The empire fragmented after 900 C.E. until its overthrow by the Mongols in 1258.

al-Andalus

Arabic name for Spain, conquered by Arab and Berber forces between 711 and 718 C.E., represented a point of encounter between the Islamic world and Christian Europe.

foot binding

The Chinese practice of tightly wrapping girls’ feet to keep them small, prevalent during the Song dynasty; emphasized small size and delicacy as central to views of female beauty.

hangul

A phonetic alphabet developed in Korea in the fifteenth century aimed at greater cultural independence from China.

chu nom

A variation of Chinese writing developed in Vietnam that became the basis for an independent national literature; means 'southern script'.

Song dynasty

The Chinese dynasty (960–1279) that rose to power after the Tang dynasty, marked by an explosion of scholarship, rise of Neo-Confucianism, and a revolution in agricultural and industrial production.

Seljuk Turkic Empire

An empire of the eleventh and twelfth centuries, centered in Persia and present-day Iraq; Seljuk rulers adopted the Muslim title of sultan as part of their conversion to Islam.

China’s economic revolution

A major rise in prosperity during the Song dynasty (960–1279) characterized by rapid population growth, urbanization, economic specialization, and significant technological innovation.