AP WORLD HISTORY EXAM REVIEW (UNITS 1-5)

Zoroastrianism

One of the first monotheistic religions, particularly one with a wide following. It was central to the political and religious culture of ancient Persia.

Patriarchy

a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line

Agricultural Revolution

The time when human beings first domesticated plants and animals and no longer relied entirely on hunting and gathering

city-state

a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state.

Hinduism

A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being who takes many forms

Mesopotamia

A region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers that developed the first urban societies. In the Bronze Age this area included Sumer and the Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian empires, In the Iron Age, it was ruled by the Neo-Assyrian and Neo-Babylonian empires.

Judaism

the monotheistic religion of the Jews having its spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud

Silk Roads

A system of ancient caravan routes across Central Asia, along which traders carried silk and other trade goods.

Buddhism

the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth

Mauryan Empire

The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes.

Gupta Empire

Golden Age of India; ruled through central government but allowed village power; restored Hinduism

Mandate of Heaven

a political theory of ancient China in which those in power were given the right to rule from a divine source

Confucius

(551-479 BCE) A Chinese philosopher known also as Kong Fuzi and created one of the most influential philosophies in Chinese history.

Confucianism

A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct.

Daoism

A religion in China which emphasizes the removal from society and to become one with nature.

Qin Dynasty

the Chinese dynasty (from 246 BC to 206 BC) that established the first centralized imperial government and built much of the Great Wall

Han Dynasty

(202 BC - 220 AD) dynasty started by Lui Bang; a great and long-lasting rule, it discarded the harsh policies of the Qin dynasty and adopted Confucian principles; Han rulers chose officials who passed the civil service exams rather than birth; it was a time of prosperity

Civil Service Exam

In Imperial China starting in the Han dynasty, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings that was used to select people for various government service jobs in the nationwide administrative bureaucracy.

Persian Empire

Mesopotamian empire that conquered the existing Median, Lydian, and Babylonian empires, as well as Egypt and many others. Also known as the Achaemenid Empire.

Christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.

Diaspora

A dispersion of people from their homeland

Byzantine Empire

(330-1453) The eastern half of the Roman Empire, which survived after the fall of the Western Empire at the end of the 5th century C.E. Its capital was Constantinople, named after the Emperor Constantine.

Roman Empire

Existed from 27 BCE to about 400 CE. Conquered entire Mediterranean coast and most of Europe. Ruled by an emperor. Eventually oversaw the rise and spread of Christianity.

Entrepot

Big commercial center for importing and exporting commodities.

Teotihuacan

A powerful city-state in central Mexico (100-75 C.E.). Its population was about 150,000 at its peak in 600.

Mayans

1500 B.C. to 900 A.D. This is the most advanced civilization of the time in the Western Hemisphere. Famous for its awe-inspiring temples, pyramids and cities. A complex social and political order.

Islam

A religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed which stresses belief in one god (Allah), Paradise and Hell, and a body of law written in the Quran. Followers are called Muslims.

Indian Ocean Trade Network

The world's largest sea-based system of communication and trade before 1500ce

Trans-Saharan Trade

route across the Sahara desert. Major trade route that traded for gold and salt, created caravan routes, economic benefit for controlling dessert, camels played a huge role in the trading

Sunni

a Muslim group that accepts only the descendants of the Umayyads as the true rulers of Islam

Shi'as

Wanted Caliph to be a political and religious leader and be descended from Muhammad.

Dar al-Islam

an Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule

Abbasid Caliphate

Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, al-Abbas, they overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled an Islamic empire from their capital in Baghdad (founded 762) from 750 to 1258.

Sui Dynasty

The short dynasty between the Han and the Tang; built the Grand Canal, strengthened the government, and introduced Buddhism to China

Tang Dynasty

(618-907 CE) The Chinese dynasty that was much like the Han, who used Confucianism. This dynasty had the equal-field system, a bureaucracy based on merit, and a Confucian education system.

Song Dynasty

(960-1279 CE) The Chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military.

Shogun

In feudal Japan, a noble similar to a duke. They were the military commanders and the actual rulers of Japan for many centuries while the Emperor was a powerless spiritual figure.

Daimyos

powerful warlord that controlled big estates; the best person from this class would become the shogun

Shinto

A Japanese religion whose followers believe that all things in the natural world are filled with divine spirits

Ghana

First known kingdom in sub-Saharan West Africa between the sixth and thirteenth centuries C.E. Also the modern West African country once known as the Gold Coast. gold and salt trade.

Great Zimbabwe

A stone-walled enclosure found in Southeast Africa. Have been associated with trade, farming, and mining.

Monsoon Winds

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

Roman Catholic Church

the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy

Orthodox Church

the church that followed the Eastern traditions of Christianity as opposed to the Western traditions

Mississippian

A Native Indian culture that flourished in the modern day midwest. They resided in the Mississippi river valley

Toltecs

Nomadic peoples from beyond the northern frontier of sedentary agriculture in Mesoamerica; established capital at Tula after migration into central Mesoamerican plateau; strongly militaristic ethic, including cult of human sacrifice.

Champa Rice

Quick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season. Originally introduced into Champa from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state (as part of the tributary system.)

Proto-industrialization

Preliminary shift away from agricultural economy in Europe; workers become full- or part-time producers of textile and metal products, working at home but in a capitalist system in which materials, work orders, and ultimate sales depended on urban merchants; prelude to Industrial Revolution.

Artisans

skilled workers who make goods by hand

Scholar Gentry

Chinese class created by the marital linkage of the local land-holding aristocracy with the office-holding shi; superseded shi as governors of China.

Filial Piety

In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.

Grand Canal

A canal linking northern and southern China

Imperial Bureaucracy

Division of an empire into organized provinces to make it easier to control

Meritocracy

a system in which promotion is based on individual ability or achievement

Woodblock Printing

a form of printing in which an entire page is carved into a block of wood

Foot Binding

Practice in Chinese society to mutilate women's feet in order to make them smaller; produced pain and restricted women's movement; made it easier to confine women to the household.

Theravada Buddhism

Buddhist sect that focuses on the wisdom of the Buddha

Mahayana Buddhism

"Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and for bodhisattvas, enlightened persons who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment.

Tibetan Buddhism

a Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism, a tradition of Buddhism that teaches that people can use special techniques to harness spiritual energy and can achieve nirvana in a single lifetime

Syncretic

Combining several religious traditions

Chan Buddhism (Zen)

emphasized direct experience and meditation as opposed to formal learning based on studying scripture.

Neo-Confucianism

term that describes the resurgence of Confucianism and the influence of Confucian scholars during the T'ang Dynasty; a unification of Daoist or Buddhist metaphysics with Confucian pragmatism

Heian Period

The era in Japanese history from A.D. 794-1185, arts and writing flourished during this time

nuclear family

A married couple and their unmarried children living together.

Polygyny

having more than one wife at a time

Mamluk Sultanate

1250-1517 Egypt that worked to facilitate trade of cotton and sugar between the Islamic world and Europe

Seljuk Turks

nomadic Turks from Asia who conquered Baghdad in 1055 and allowed the caliph to remain only as a religious leader. they governed strictly

Sultan

Military and political leader with absolute authority over a Muslim country

Mongols

A people of this name is mentioned as early as the records of the Tang Empire, living as nomads in northern Eurasia. After 1206 they established an enormous empire under Genghis Khan, linking western and eastern Eurasia.

Mamluks

Under the Islamic system of military slavery, Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the ninth and tenth centuries. Mamluks eventually founded their own state, ruling Egypt and Syria (1250-1517)

Muhammad

Founder of Islam

Crusaders

Christians of Europe in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries that fought for the recovery of the Holy Land from the Muslims

Sufis

mystical Muslim group that believed they could draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, & simple life

House of Wisdom

a center of learning established in Baghdad in the 800s

Baghdad

Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon

Nasir al-Din Tusi

Persian mathematician and cosmologist whose academy near Tabriz provided the model for the movement of the planets that helped to inspire the Copernican model of the solar system.

Aishah al-Ba'uniyyah

The most prolific female Muslim writer before the 20th century.

Vijayanagara Empire

1336-1646 "the victorious city" in Southern Asia

Rajput Kingdoms

These were several different kingdoms shown in India before the time of the British. The Rajputs had their own culture, but the country was clearly divided in many ways. Wealth, Sexism, and Warrior-like honor is emphasized.

Delhi Sultanate

(1206-1526 CE) The successors of Mahmud of Ghazni mounted more campaigns, but directed their goals to creating this empire.

Srivijaya Empire (Sumatra0

670-1025 was a Hindu kingdom based on Sumatra. Built up its navy and prospered by charging fees for ships traveling between India and China

Majahapit Kingdom (Java)

1293-1520 based on java had 98 tributaries, sustained its power by controlling sea routes. Was Buddhist.

Sinhala Dynasties (Sri Lanka)

roots in the arrival of early merchants from north India, became the center of Buddhist study and home to many monasteries

Khmer Empire (Cambodia)

Center of Cambodia. Prospered because of it's successful cultivation of rice.

Sukhothai Kingdom (Thailand)

I1431 invaded Angkor Wat

proselytize

to convert someone to a faith, belief, or cause

Bhakti Movement

An immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity.

Qutub Minar

Highest stone tower in India

Urdu

A Persian-influenced literary form of Hindi written in Arabic characters and used as a literary language since the 1300s.

Matrilineal Society

a society in which descent & inheritance come through the mother's kinship line

Cahokia

The dominant center of an important Mississippi valley mound-building culture, located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri; flourished from about 900 to 1250 C.E.

Mexica

were the people who were later called Aztecs

Theocracy

A government controlled by religious leaders

human sacrifice

Killing of humans for a purpose like worshiping a god, practiced widely by the Aztecs and a little by the Maya

Pachacuti

Ruler of Inca society from 1438 to 1471; launched a series of military campaigns that gave Incas control of the region from Cuzco to the shores of Lake Titicaca

Incan Empire

a Mesoamerican civilization in the Andes Mountains in South America that by the end of the 1400s was the largest empire in the Americas including much of what is now Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile; conquered by Pizarro

Mita System

The system recruiting workers for particularly difficult and dangerous chores that free laborers would not accept.

Carpa Nan

during Incan rule, this is a massive roadway system made possible by captive labor, stretched 25,00 miles

Temple of the Sun

Inca religious center located at Cuzco; center of state religion; held mummies of past Incas

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.