Centralization of Power

Empires with definitions and how they contributed to centralization

Gunpowder Empire

Empires with gunpowder/guns conquers regions without gunpowder

Hongwu Empire - Ming Dynasty (China)

The most well known emperor of the ming dynasty in China– abolished the office of prime minister

The Sword Hunt Edict (Japan)

An order for Samurai to collect the weapons of people who live on their land, given by Hideyoshi

“L’etat, c’est moi” (France)

A quote by Louis XIV, the king of France. The quote defines how king Louis has complete political power over his country.

The Great Unifiers of Japan (Japan)

Three war lords who unified Japan by conquering smaller regions. Each conquering region then answered to one ruler

Jizya

A tax on non-muslims implemented by the Ottomans, Safavids, and Mughals. The goal of the tax was to incentivise conversion to Islam, the same religion as their ruler. 

Machiavelli

Machiavelli was a political theorist from Florence who wrote “The Prince”. Many absolute rulers used ideas from “The Prince” to gain and keep power

Spanish Armada

Philip II sought to invade England with his navy of worships to catholicize them and rule the land.

Unification

When many small regions come together under the rule of one person. One person is now ruling many territories

Oda Nabunaga

One of the great unifiers of Japan. He compared many regions and unified them under his rule.

Absolutism

One ruler with complete political control over their country. Absolutism is demonstrated in England under Elizabeth

Suleiman the Magnificent (Ottoman)

The sultan of the Ottoman empire. The Ottoman Empire used gunpowder in their military. Suleman used gunpowder to conquer smaller regions and put them under his rule

Toyotomi Hideyoshi

One of the great unifiers of Japan. Unified Japan under his rule, implementing policies to control the populace, and standardizing the economy and land ownership.

The Palace of Versailles

The ornate palace was built by King Louis XIV to show off his enormous wealth. Forced the french nobility to reside at court.

Isolationism

The idea that a country should not be involved in foreign affairs and that foreigners should not be involved within. Shifted a nation's focus inward

Bureaucracy

Many offices within a country that manage each aspect of government affairs on behalf of the leader. Provided a framework for a central authority to enforce its policies, collect taxes, and manage resources across a large territory through a hierarchical and professional system of officials

Tokugawa leyasu

One of the great unifiers of Japan. establishing the Tokugawa shogunate and creating a system that limited the power of rival feudal lords

Sankin-Kotai

A policy that required daimyo (lords) to live in Edo every other year and their families to live in Edo full-time.requiring feudal lords (daimyo) to spend every other year in Edo (Tokyo), the shogunate's capital.

Sakoku

The closed door policy enacted by the Tokugawa Shogunate that restricted the borders of Japan. giving the Tokugawa shogunate a monopoly on foreign trade and diplomacy,

Dynasty

A sequence of rulers from a single family, used in the context of China.establishing a strong, unified government and a complex bureaucracy that concentrated power under an emperor

Abbas the Great

The Safavid Shah (king) who ruled at the nation’s height. reforming the army, creating a loyal, standing force of ghulams that answered directly to him, and by seizing tribal lands to fund his reforms and weaken the old power base of the Qizilbash.

Louis XIV

The king of France who consolidated all power into the kingship.consolidating power over the nobility, the church, and the economy, and by establishing a professional bureaucracy

Akbar the Great

The Mughal emperor who ruled at the nation’s height. administrative reforms like creating a structured bureaucracy, the Mansabdari system for officials, and the Zabt system for standardized taxation

Janissaries

An elite group of paid soldiers who specialized in guns, organized by Ottomans. creating a professional, disciplined military force loyal to the sultan rather than feudal lords or regional powers

Phillip II

The king of Spain who exemplified absolutism in his country. establishing a professional bureaucracy, making decisions himself, and asserting royal authority over the nobility through various means like the Spanish Inquisition and the military

Peter the Great

The tsar/czar (king) of Russia who exemplified absolutism in his country. abolishing the Boyar Duma and replacing it with a Senate

Grand-Tour

The travels of Peter the Great to learn the ways of western Europe. fostering a shared, elite European culture

Westernization

The act of modifying a nation’s institutions to match the institutions of western Europe. prompting states to adopt European models for centralized bureaucracies

Divine Right 

The idea that absolute monarchs ruled their nations because God chose them specifically for the job. asserting that the monarch's authority came directly from God, making their power absolute and not subject to earthly or popular control.