Silk Roads, Indian Ocean Trade & Mongol Empire Key Concepts

Silk Roads

A system of ancient caravan routes across Central Asia, along which traders carried silk and other trade goods; known for spreading religions such as Buddhism, Christianity, and Islam as well as technological transfers and diseases like the Bubonic plague.

Indian Ocean Trade

Connected to Europe, Africa, South Asia, and China; worlds richest maritime trading network and an area of rapid Muslim expansion, spread of goods, ideas.

magnetic compass

Chinese invention that aided navigation by showing which direction was north.

rudder

Steering device, usually a vertical blade attached to a post at, or near, the stern of the boat; improved sea trade.

junk ship

A very large flat-bottom sailing ship produced in the Tang and Song Empires, specially designed for long-distance commercial travel and participation in the tribute system.

astrolabe

An instrument formerly used to make astronomical measurements, typically of the altitudes of celestial bodies, and in navigation for calculating latitude, before the development of the sextant.

Kashgar

Also known as Kashi, a central trading point at which the western and the eastern Silk Road met; It is one of the westernmost cities of China, near the border with modern day Afghanistan, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, and Tajikistan.

Samarkand

During the rule of Timur Lane was the most influential capital city, a wealthy trading center known for decorated mosques and tombs; a key trading city along the Silk Roads.

paper money

Legal currency issued on paper; it developed in China as a convenient alternative to metal coins; facilitated trade.

Caravanserai

An inn with a central courtyard for travelers in the desert regions of Asia or North Africa; allowed caravans and their camels to rest in a protected environment, encouraging trade.

Hanseatic League

An organization of north German and Scandinavian cities for the purpose of establishing a commercial alliance; facilitated trade and commercial growth in the 1200-1450 time period.

porcelain

A thin, beautiful pottery invented in China.

monsoon winds

Seasonal wind in India, the winter monsoon brings hot, dry weather and the summer monsoon brings rain.

Spice Islands

Europeans' name for the Moluccas, islands rich in cloves and nutmeg - highly valued spices often traded in the Indian Ocean trade network.

diaspora

A dispersion of people from their homeland; merchant communities of Muslim spread Islam throughout Southeast Asia.

Dhow Ships

Arab sailing vessels with triangular or lateen sails; strongly influenced European ship design; facilitated trade in the Indian Ocean networks.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali (r. 1312-1337). His extravagant pilgrimage through Egypt to Mecca in 1324-1325 established the empire's reputation for wealth in the Mediterranean world.

Timbuktu

Mali trading city that became a center of wealth and learning thanks to its location in the trans-Saharan trade networks; universities, mosques, and libraries.

Camel Saddle

An invention which gives camel riders more stability on the animal and its invention and basic idea traveled along the Trans-Saharan Caravan Trade Route. Invented somewhere between 500 and 100 BCE by Bedouin tribes.

caravan

Group of traveling merchants and animals.

Sundiata

The founder of Mali empire.

Khan

Name for a Mongol ruler.

Kuriltai

A meeting of Mongol chieftains where Temujin was voted the Khan of the Mongolian Kingdom.

Batu

The son of Khan's oldest son who led an army of 100,000 soldiers into Russia, known as the Golden Horde.

Hulegu

The grandson of Genghis Khan who led Mongol armies into the Abbasid territories and destroyed the city of Baghdad, killing about 200,000 residents.

Kublai Khan

The grandson of Genghis Khan who conquered China, taking from 1135 to 1271 to defeat the Chinese, and assumed the title the Great Khan.

Zhu Yuanzhang

A Buddhist monk and the founding emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1368 to 1398, who ended the Mongol-led Yuan dynasty.

Uyghur alphabet

An alphabet adapted to represent Mongol, still used in Mongolia today.

Khanates

Four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose following the death of Genghis Khan.

Pax Mongolica

The period of approximately 150 years of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire.

Golden Horde

Mongol khanate founded by Genghis Khan, based in southern Russia, which adopted both the Turkic language and Islam.

Il-Khanate

Mongol empire that ruled over Iran (Persia) and the Middle East.

Yuan Dynasty

(1279-1368 CE) The dynasty with Mongol rule in China, characterized by a centralized bureaucracy with Mongols on top, followed by Persian and Chinese bureaucrats.

Bubonic Plague

Also called the Black Death; a deadly disease that killed more than a third of the population in some areas, especially in Europe from 1347-1351.

Gunpowder

Invented in China during the 9th century, it became the dominant military technology used to expand European and Asian empires by the 15th century.

Ibn Battuta

(1304-1369) A Moroccan Muslim scholar known as the most widely traveled individual of his time, who wrote detailed accounts of his visits to Islamic lands.

Marco Polo

(1254-1324) An Italian explorer and author who made numerous trips to China and wrote about his journeys, facilitating knowledge exchange between Europe and China.

Margery Kempe

Author of the Book of Margery Kempe, considered the first autobiography in the English language, chronicling her pilgrimages to holy sites.

Swahili city-states

City coasts that actively participated in Indian Ocean trade along the East coast of the African continent.

Zheng He

(1371-1433?) A Chinese Ming Dynasty naval explorer who sailed along the coast of Asia and Africa, facilitating China's role in the tribute system in the Indian Ocean trade network.

Mansa Musa

Was the ruler of the kingdom of Mali from 1312 C.E. to 1337 C.E. During his reign, Mali was one of the richest kingdoms of Africa, and he was among the richest individuals in the world. He was a devout Muslim that went on a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324.