AP World Semester 1 Exam Review

Achaemenid Persian Empire

The largest empire in the ancient world, stretching from Anatolia to northern India and Central Asia.

Alexander the Great

King of Macedonia who conquered vast territories in a short period of time.

Hellenism

Culture derived from Greek civilization that flourished between 800 and 400 B.C.E.

Augustus

The first emperor of ancient Rome who set the standard for the Roman Empire's rule.

Pax Romana

A period of unprecedented peace and economic prosperity in the Roman Empire from 27 B.C.E. to 180 C.E.

Legalism

A philosophical belief in ancient China that strict laws are necessary to control human impulses.

Confucianism

A philosophical tradition in China that emphasizes the golden rule and treating others with respect.

Hinduism

A polytheistic religion in which believers believe in reincarnation and devotion to various deities.

Siddhartha Gautama

The founder of Buddhism who dedicated his life to ending human suffering.

Saint Paul of Tarsus

An apostle who spread the gospel of Christ in the 1st century.

Jesus of Nazareth

A Jewish teacher who claimed to be the Messiah and taught about devotion to God and love for others.

Aristotle

A prominent Greek philosopher whose ideas had a significant influence on the Catholic Church.

Mauryan Empire

An empire in ancient India that quickly expanded across the subcontinent.

Han Dynasty

An imperial dynasty in China known for its expansion and development of bureaucracy.

Qin Shihuangdi

The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty who reunified China after the Warring States period.

Judaism

A monotheistic religion developed among the ancient Hebrews, characterized by belief in one transcendent God.

Swahili Civilization

An East African civilization that emerged from blending Bantu, Islamic, and Indian Ocean trade elements.

Song Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty known for its cultural achievements and technological innovations.

Byzantine Empire

The eastern continuation of the Roman Empire that lasted until the Ottoman conquest in 1453.

Hangzhou

The capital of the Song Dynasty, known for its prosperity and luxurious markets.

Caesaropapism

A political system in which the head of state is also the head of the church.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

The third largest branch of Christianity, originally based in the Byzantine Empire.

Ghana

An empire in West Africa known as the "king of gold" that ruled over a large part of Western Sudan.

al-Andalus

The parts of the Iberian Peninsula governed by Muslims, demonstrating the expansive realm of Islam.

Aztec Empire

A major state in Mexico dominated by the Mexica people.

Seljuk Turks

Nomads from Asia who conquered Baghdad and governed strictly.

Roman Catholic Church

The Western European branch of Christianity with the bishop of Rome as its head.

Bushido

The strict code of conduct for samurais in Japan, emphasizing bravery, loyalty, and honor.

American Web

The network of trade that linked parts of the pre-Columbian Americas.

Inca Empire

The largest imperial state in the Western Hemisphere, stretching along the Andes Mountains.

Western Christendom

The branch of Christianity in Western Europe that gradually separated from Eastern Orthodoxy.

Maya civilization

A Mesoamerican civilization known for its ancient temples and sophisticated writing system.

Ottoman Empire

An Islamic state that encompassed lands in the Middle East, North Africa, and Eastern Europe.

Constantinople

The capital of the Byzantine Empire and a significant city in world history.

Temujin

Mongolian emperor whose empire stretched from the Black Sea to the Pacific.

Mongol World War

A period of military campaigns and empire-building pursued by Chinggis Khan and his successors.

Khubilai Khan

The grandson of Genghis Khan and the first emperor of the Mongol Empire.

Yuan Dynasty

The first foreign-ruled dynasty in Chinese history that adopted many Chinese cultural models.

Ming Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty known for its trade expansion, cultural achievements, and porcelain.

Great Zimbabwe

A medieval African city known for its large circular wall and tower.

Zheng He

A Chinese navigator and explorer who established tributary relationships with other countries.

The Safavid Empire

An empire that reunified Iran and marked the beginning of modern Iranian history.

Khanate of the Golden Horde

A Mongol and later Turkish khanate established in the 13th century.

Srivijaya

A Malay kingdom that dominated the straits of Malacca and created a native/Indian hybrid culture.

Timbuktu

Great city of West Africa, noted in the fourteenth-sixteenth centuries as a center of Islamic scholarship.

Benin

Territorial state in southern Nigeria ruled by a warrior king through conquest.

Maroon societies

Independent groups formed by escaped slaves on the outskirts of slave societies.

African diaspora

Descendants of Africans who were historically moved to various parts of the world.

Transatlantic slave trade

Transportation of millions of enslaved Africans to the Americas from the 16th to 19th century.

"Soft gold"

Nickname for animal furs, highly valued for warmth and elite status.

Fur trade

Exchange of European tools and weapons with Native Americans for furs used for warmth, decorations, and ceremonies.

Potosi

City in present-day Bolivia with the world's largest silver mine, becoming the largest city in the Americas.

Pieces of Eight

Standard Spanish coin used for trade in North America, Europe, India, Russia, and West Africa.

"Silver drain"

Money flowing from Europe to pay for luxury goods from the East, exacerbating Europe's lack of desirable trade goods.

Dutch East India Co.

Major corporation with a monopoly on trade between Europe and Asia, particularly profiting from the spice trade.

British East India Co.

Joint-stock company pursuing trade with the Indian subcontinent, founded by royal charter.

Manila

Capital of the Spanish Philippines and a multicultural trade city with a population of over 40,000 by 1600.

Angkor Wat

an enormous Buddhist temple complex located in northern Cambodia. It was originally built in the first half of the 12th century as a Hindu temple. Spread across more than 400 acres, it is said to be the largest religious monument in the world.

Khutulun

A Mongol princess (ca. 1260-1306) whose exploits in battle and wrestling, along with her choice of husbands, provide insight into the relative freedom and influence of elite Mongol women in their societies.

Chaco Phenomenon

The ancestors of the Pueblo building people, inherited their architecture and made their civilization and structure in a canyon for around 350 years. The houses of the Canyon are somewhat similar to that of the Pueblo building people.

Black Death

The name given to the massive epidemic that swept Eurasia in the fourteenth century 

House of Wisdom

also known as the Grand Library of Baghdad, refers to either a major public academy and intellectual center in Baghdad or to a large private library during the Islamic Golden Age.

Hernan Cortes

 a Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire in Mexico in 1519. Taking the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan in 1521, Cortés plundered Mesoamerica as he became the first ruler of the new colony of New Spain.

The Great Dying

The widespread epidemics, along with warfare, famine, and slavery killed off an estimated 54.5 million people — approximately 90% of the indigenous population. 

Little Ice Age

a period of widespread cooling from around 1300 to around 1850 CE when average global temperatures dropped by as much as 2°C (3.6°F), particularly in Europe and North America.

Devshirme

a system of forced labor, probably begun in the late 14th century, in which Christian boys, mostly from the Balkans, were taken from their homes to serve the Ottoman government.

Columbian Ex.

Transfer of people, animals, plants, and diseases between a new and old world.

Mercantilism

The belief that trade increases wealth and a government should protect it. It is the reason for much of European expansionism.

Mestizo

mixed in Spanish, and is generally used throughout Latin America to describe people of mixed ancestry with a white European and an indigenous background.

Settler colonies

where the colonizing people settled in large numbers, rather than simply spending relatively small numbers to exploit the region; particularly noteworthy in the case of the British colonies in North America.

Mulattoes

the term used in Spanish and Portuguese colonies to describe someone of mixed African and European descent.

Yasak

a Turkic word for "tribute" that was used in Imperial Russia to designate fur tribute exacted from the indigenous peoples of Siberia.

Qing expansion

A dramatic expansion was made possible by the use of gunpowder/cannons and formed the territorial base for the modern Chinese state. China's borders expanded to include Taiwan, Tibet, Central Asia, Manchuria, and Mongolia.

Mughal Empire

a Muslim dynasty that ruled over a majority Hindu population. By 1750, they had dominated much of South Asia for several centuries. Muslims were already living in India when this empire first arrived. During their rule, Muslims averaged only about 15 percent of the population

Akbar

Mughal emperor of India (1556-1605) who conquered most of northern India and exercised religious tolerance. one of the most prominent personalities in the history of medieval India. He was the third king in the Mughal Dynasty.

Aurangzeb

Mughal emperor in India and great-grandson of Akbar 'the Great', under whom the empire reached its greatest extent, only to collapse after his death.