AP World - 3.1 - Land-Based Empires, Technological Diffusion, and East Asian State Consolidation (1200–1750 CE)

Gunpowder Empires

The land-based Islamic states—specifically the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires—that relied on centralized authority, standing armies, and firearm technology to expand.

Dynasty

A sequential series of rulers who pass governing authority from one person to the next within the same family line.

Emperor

The sovereign monarch who rules over an expansive territory or empire.

Empire

A major political unit consisting of multiple countries, states, or peoples governed under a single supreme authority.

Fall of Constantinople (1453 CE)

The military conquest of the Byzantine capital by Ottoman forces using large cannons, leading to the city's transformation into Istanbul.

Battle of Chaldiran (1514 CE)

A military engagement in which Ottoman artillery defeated the Safavid cavalry, convincing the Safavids to rapidly adopt gunpowder weaponry.

Ghulam

Elite slave-soldiers from the Caucasus region recruited by Shah Abbas I to replace the Qizilbash and form a permanent standing army.

First Battle of Panipat (1526 CE)

The confrontation in which Babur deployed gunpowder weapons against the Delhi Sultanate's war elephants, marking the founding of the Mughal Empire.

Kandahar

A strategic fortress city and trade hub along key merchant routes that was repeatedly contested between the Mughal and Safavid Empires.

Civil Service Examination

A merit-based testing system revived under the Song Dynasty to staff the imperial bureaucracy with scholar-officials.

Champa Rice

A drought-resistant, fast-ripening crop introduced to China from Vietnam that fueled massive population growth and urbanization.

Grand Canal

A vast internal waterway connecting the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers, heavily used by the Song Dynasty to transport agricultural supplies to urban centers.

Hangul

The native Korean alphabetic writing system created to increase cultural autonomy and distinguish Korean literacy from Chinese script.

Shintoism

The indigenous nature-based spiritual tradition of Japan centered on the reverence of supernatural entities and spirits.