Ap world period 1 vocab (units 1-2)

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Kin-based network

A decentralized system of political and social organization where communities are structured around extended families (kinship) and clans. Essentially, families governed themselves.

• Social organizations based on extended family ties, blood relationships, and marriage, where families govern themselves

Metallurgy

The science and technology of extracting and processing metal ores to create useful and valuable items like tools, weapons, and currency.

Mortar-less walls

Constructions built by carefully interlocking stones without any binding agent, like mortar or cement.

Griots

A West African oral historian, storyteller, musician, and poet who preserves and transmits a community's history, culture, genealogies, and traditions through song and spoken word.

• Revered West African storytellers, poets, musicians, and oral historians who preserve and transmit cultural knowledge, genealogies, and history through performances

Caravanserai

An inn or rest stop for travelers and merchants along trade routes, particularly prominent during the era of the Silk Roads. These facilities provided lodging, food, and services to caravans.

• A fortified roadside inn along trade routes, such as the Silk Road, that provided shelter, food, and security for travelers and their caravans

Chattel Slavery

Absolute legal ownership of another person, including the right to buy or sell that person.

Feudalism

a decentralized political and social system prevalent in medieval Europe (and Japan) based on reciprocal bonds of loyalty, land ownership (fiefs), and military service. Lords granted land to vassals in exchange for protection, while serfs worked the land, forming a rigid, hereditary hierarchy

Serfs

farmers/peasants tied to the land under the feudal system, given land in exchange for service to their lord

Peasants

agricultural laborers; on the lower parts of the society structure

Monarchs

sovereign ruler of a state or kingdom, holds power for life and is usually passed down hereditarily

Parliament

A legislative body of elected representatives with the power to make laws and oversee the government. Historically established to represent the interests of the people and limit the powers of the monarchy.

Magna Carta

The 1215 English document that limited the power of the king and established principles of due process and the rule of law by asserting that the king was not above the law and could not act arbitrarily, especially concerning taxation and property rights.

• A 1215 charter that limited the English king's power and established the principle that the monarch was not above the law

Three-field system

A rotational system for agriculture in medieval Europe which arable land was divided into three parts: one field grows grain, one grows legumes, and one lies fallow.

Crusades

A series of military expeditions in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries by Western European Christians to reclaim control of the Holy Lands, particularly Jerusalem, from the Muslims.

Bourgeois/burghers

Members of a medieval urban middle class of merchants, craftspeople, shopkeepers, and professionals living in a "bourg" or town.

• the urban middle class of self-employed businessmen; included shopkeepers, merchants, craftspeople, and small landholders

Great Schism

In 1054 this severing of relations divided medieval Christianity into the already distinct Eastern (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church, respectively. Relations between East and West had long been embittered by political and ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes.

Renaissance

A European cultural movement and historical period (14th-16th centuries) characterized by a "rebirth" of interest and and revival of classical Greco-Roman art, learning, and philosophy.

• A transformative "rebirth" of classical Greco-Roman art, learning, and culture, originating in Italian city-states due to trade wealth, shifting focus to human potential (Humanism), individualism, and secularism, fostering innovations in art (perspective, realism), science, and politics (Machiavelli), and bridging the Middle Ages with the Modern Era. 

Black Death/Bubonic Plague

A deadly infectious disease that killed between one-third and two-thirds of the population in less than five years. The epidemic spanned from China to England to North Africa, transmitted along the Silk Road and other trade routes (through rats with fleas).

Little Ice Age

A five-century period of climate cooling beginning in the 1300s which hindered urban growth and agricultural productivity, led to issues like increased disease, unemployment, and social unrest

Antisemitism

hostility to or prejudice against Jews.

Qutub Minar

A key historical monument in Delhi, India, representing the cultural fusion of Indo-Islamic architecture under the early Delhi Sultanate.

• a tall minaret in Delhi built during the Delhi Sultanate and today the world's largest minaret; it was built alongside the construction of a mosque atop an existing Hindu temple, demonstrating architectural syncretism

2. Example of Islamic architecture built during the Delhi Sultanate

3. It towers over the mosque and is a gigantic leaning tower, the tallest structure in India today.

4. Historians still debate the reason for its construction. However, one clear function is its presence as a symbol of Islamic influence and, at one point, dominance of northern India.

5. Mosque built over a Hindu temple

Urdu

A Persian-influenced literary form of Hindi written in Arabic characters and used as a literary language since the 1300s. National language of Pakistan, and widely spoken in India

Hinduism

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

• a polytheistic religion developed in the Indian subcontinent with a set of beliefs that include concepts like dharma (duties/moral conduct) and karma (actions and consequences)

Bhakti Movement

A medieval Hindu devotional movement that emphasized personal love and intense devotion to a particular deity, offering a path to spiritual liberation that was accessible to all, regardless of caste or gender. This movement challenged the existing rigid caste system.

Caste system

A rigid, hereditary social stratification that originated in ancient India, determining a person's social status, occupation, and opportunities based on their birth into a specific group (jati or varna) within a hierarchical system. Rooted in Hinduism, it is justified by concepts of karma and dharma.

• a Hindu social stratification system where people are born into a certain social group that defines their occupation, socioeconomic status, and mobility

Spice Kingdom

A group of islands in Indonesia that was historically significant for its abundance in spices such as cloves and nutmeg, which attracted European colonial powers with trade

City-States

A city that, with its surrounding territory, forms an independent state.

• A sovereign state centered around a city that rules the surrounding countryside

Theocracy

A government controlled by religious leaders

• A form of government where religious leaders hold political power and the state's laws are based on religious principles

Polytheistic

belief in more than one god

Tenochtitlan

The capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in the middle of a swampy lake; it grew to a population of nearly 200,000 people and is characterized by the construction of temples, aqueducts, and chinampas (floating gardens), highly complex urban centers, and a religious hub; symbolized the center of the Aztec world before it fell to the Spanish in 1521.

Capac Nan

25,000-mile highway communication system of the Inca. Vital for the Inca government and military to administer their vast empire, facilitating communication, transportation, and the movement of armies and messengers.

• a massive 25,000-mile roadway system created by the Incas for efficient transportation, military, and government

Mita system

A labor system used by the Inca Empire where citizens were required to work for the state on various projects, such as agriculture, mining, and construction, for a specific period each year

Concept of Zero

The recognition of zero as a number and a functional concept to be used in advanced calculations; it was developed and incorporated by the Guptas and the Mayans, despite being in separate world regions

Mayan Calender

Created the most accurate calendar in the Ancient World

• a sophisticated calendar based on astronomical observations with high precision and accuracy; priests used it to determine days of religious ceremonies and when to go to war, as well as agricultural purposes

It was 365.242 days, only 17 seconds shorter than the modern version. Used calendar for religious rituals, agricultural planting and harvesting, astronomical observations, and the recording of historical and mythical events.

Chicen Itza

An ancient Mayan city located in the Yucatan Peninsula of Mexico, known for its remarkable architecture and significant cultural heritage. It was one of the largest Mayan cities and served as a major political, economic, and religious center from approximately 600 AD to 1200 AD.

• an ancient Mayan city located on the Yucatan Peninsula known for its astronomic observatory pyramid, the Temple of Kukulkan (El Castillo)

Aqueducts

A conduit, often a system of pipes, tunnels, and bridges, designed to transport water from a source, such as a spring or river, to a destination, usually a city, using gravity and the natural slope of the land

Chinampas

On Lake Texcoco, the Aztecs built floating gardens to increase the amount of space for food production.

• Artificial, floating garden islands built by the Aztecs and other Mesoamerican cultures in shallow lake beds (like Lake Texcoco) to create highly fertile, productive agricultural plots, using layers of mud, vegetation, and organic waste, allowing for multiple harvests per year and sustaining large populations, notably in Tenochtitlan

Quipu

An ancient Andean record-keeping system developed by the Inca Empire and earlier Andean civilizations, consisting of colored strings with knots that encoded numerical and possibly non-numerical information for census data, accounting, and other administrative purposes

Terrace farming

The cutting out of flat areas (terraces) into near-vertical slopes to allow farming. Terrace farms appear as steps cut into a mountainside. This adaptation allowed both the early Chinese and the Inca of Mesoamerica to grow enough food for their large populations.

Pochteca

The professional, long-distance merchants of the Aztec Empire, who facilitated trade and also served as spies and information agents

• a special merchant class in Aztec society known for trading luxury goods across long distances

Animistic

The belief that non-human natural entities—including animals, plants, rocks, and rivers—possess a spiritual essence or soul.

Temple of the Sun

An important Incan religious site dedicated to Inti, the sun god, and served as a significant expression of the Inca Empire's power and religious beliefs.

• An Incan religious center in Cuzco that honored Inti, the sun god, and royal ancestor veneration (practice of recognizing dead rulers as continuing to rule)

State building

The process through which political entities create, consolidate, and maintain their power and structure, essentially forming a stable/functioning state.

Bureaucracy

The vast system of appointed officials in a large empire, such as the Chinese imperial bureaucracy, that enforces the emperor's policies and laws across the territory.

Meritocracy

A social system in which individuals are rewarded and advanced based on their abilities, talent, and efforts rather than their social status.

Woodblock printing

A type of printing in which text is carved into a block of wood and the block is then coated with ink and pressed on the page.

Proto-industrialization

A period before the industrial revolution, where rural,home-based workers produced goods for external markets, organized by urban merchants; a set of economic changes in which people in rural areas made more goods than they could sell.

• A phase before the Industrial Revolution, where rural households, often directed by urban merchants, produced goods for distant markets, supplementing agricultural income

South China Sea

A critical maritime region in Southeast Asia, covering an area of about 3.5 million sq. kilometers and bordered by several countries, including China, Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Brunei.

• Overlapping territorial claims

• Vital for international shipping routes with rich natural resources

Textile

A fabric made by weaving or knitting fabrics that are made from fibers, which can be natural (like cotton, wool, and silk) or synthetic.

• Crucial components of trade

Porcelain

A ceramic made of fine clay baked at very high temperatures. This became one of the country's most significant exports

• A high-fired, durable, and often translucent ceramic that originated in China and became a major luxury trade good along routes like the Silk Road

Tribute system

A hierarchical relationship, primarily between China and neighboring states, where subordinate policies acknowledge the superiority of the Chinese emperor and offer him gifts (tribute) in exchange for recognition, trade opportunities, and sometimes military protection.

Canal networks

Human-made waterway networks that are used for transportation and trade; ex. the Grand Canal

• A 1,100-mile (1,800 km) artificial waterway in eastern China linking the Yellow River in the north with the Yangtze River in the south

Scholar gentry

A powerful social group in imperial China, composed of educated individuals who gained status and influence through their knowledge of Confucianism and success in civil service examinations.

• Became the most influential social class in China

Artisians

Skilled craftspeople who produce goods using their hands and tools, often specializing in a particular trade like pottery, weaving, or metalworking.

Merchants

People involved in the buying and selling of goods often facilitating trade between different regions or communities.

• Individuals or entities engaged in the trade of goods and services, playing a critical role in economic systems throughout history

Peasant

A rural agricultural laborer or small-scale farmer, often working land they don't own, providing food for subsistence or markets, and typically holding low social status within pre-industrial or agrarian societies, subject to obligations like labor or rent to elites

• of low social rank

Urban poor

A segment of the population living in cities who experience poverty and its associated hardships, such as inadequate housing and limited resources.

Patriarchy

A social system where men hold primary power and are predominant in roles of political leadership, moral authority, social privilege, and control of property.

Foot binding

The practice in Chinese society to mutilate women's feet in order to make them smaller produced pain and restricted women's movement, making it easier to confine women to the household. A bound foot signified social status and beauty

• Practice among women in aristocratic families where girls wrapped their feet so tightly to where the bones grew unnaturally to signify social status, common during the Song Dynasty

Filial piety

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

Buddhism

A religion/philosophy that was founded in northern India by Siddhartha Gautama; it preached the path to reaching enlightenment and nirvana, which ended the cycle of suffering that is reincarnation

• A philosophical and spiritual tradition founded by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) that focuses on ending suffering through the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path

Daoism

An ancient Chinese Philosophical and religious tradition that emphasizes living in harmony with the Dao (the way), the natural order of the universe.

• An ancient Chinese philosophy/religion emphasizing living in harmony with the Dao (the Way), the natural, underlying principle of the universe, advocating simplicity, spontaneity, and wu wei (effortless action/non-interference) to achieve balance

Syncretism

The blending of different cultural or religious traditions to create something new.

Chan/Zen Buddhism

Emphasized direct experience and meditation as opposed to formal learning or studying scripture. Emphasizes meditation and direct insight into the nature of reality.

• A branch of Mahayana Buddhism
  aka Zen Buddhism, its a result of the syncretism between Buddhism and elements of Daoism where meditation and experience are emphasized rather than formal learning by the scripture

Neo-confucianism

A philosophy that emerged in Song-dynasty China; it revived Confucian thinking while adding in Buddhist and Daoist elements.

• An intellectual movement that revived and adapted traditional Confucianism during China's Song Dynasty (960–1279) by incorporating elements from Buddhism and Daoism

Heian Period

(794-1185) A period in Japan where there was a flourishing in art, culture, and politics; they were heavily influenced by Chinese culture during the Tang Dynasty

• A significant era in Japanese history marked by the flourishing of art, culture, and political power in the capital city of Heian-kyo, modern-day Kyoto. It is characterized by the rise of a highly refined court culture, where literature, poetry, and aesthetics thrived, influencing Japanese identity and social structures during this time.

House of Wisdom

A major intellectual center and library in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate, functioning as a hub for translating classical texts and fostering a wide range of scientific, cultural, and philosophical advances during the Islamic Golden Age.

Cordoba

Capital of Muslim Spain (al-Andalus) that flourished as a center of culture, learning, and architecture during the Middle Ages, particularly under the Umayyad Caliphate.

Trans- Saharan trade route

Gold-salt trade; linked North and West Africa; across the Sahara Desert; spread Islam; land trade. Connected North Africa and the Mediterranean world with West Africa.

• A network of caravan trails across the Sahara Desert, connecting sub-Saharan Africa with North Africa and the Mediterranean world. This exchange, which peaked between 1200 and 1450, was crucial for moving goods like gold and salt, fostering economic growth, and spreading Islam and culture throughout the region

Indian Ocean Network

A network of maritime trade routes that crossed between regions around the Indian Ocean, including Africa, the Arabian peninsula, the Indian subcontinent, and parts of Asia

• It was characterized by its reliance on monsoon winds, its cosmopolitan port cities, and the relatively free flow of trade.

• Transportation by sea was cheaper than by land; it made the transport of bulk goods possible.

• Cultural diversity and environmental conditions facilitated trade

Shia (Shiite)

Those who believe that leadership of the Muslim community after the Prophet Muhammad's death should have passed to his son-in-law, Ali, and his descendants.

Sunni

The largest branch of Islam, representing the mainstream and traditional interpretation of faith. Recognize the first four caliphs (successors to the Prophet Muhammad) as rightful leaders, emphasizing a more political and worldly approach to leadership.

• leadership (Caliph) should be determined by community consensus or election

Sufi

Muslim mystics who emphasize a personal and direct experience of God through practices like meditation and devotion.

• a branch of Islam where Islamic teachings are performed by experience rather than learning through the Qu'ran, perceived as a mystical experience but won many converts through adapting with local cultures

• Sufis emphasized introspection to grasp truths that they believed could not be understood through learning.

Afro-Eurasia

The combined landmass of Africa, Europe, and Asia which forms the largest contiguous landmass on Earth. It's essentially the "old world" and is known for its early civilizations and extensive networks of exchange.

Baghdad

The capital of the Abbasid Caliphate (750-1258 CE) and a significant center of culture, learning, and trade during the Islamic Golden Age.

5 Pillars of Islam

The core tenets of the Islamic faith, fundamental practices that structure daily life for muslims.

1. Shahada (declaration of faith in Allah)

2. Salat (prayer)

3. Zakat (obligatory alms to the poor)

4. Sawm (fasting during Ramadan)

5. Hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca if able)

Silk Road

The Silk Road was an ancient network of trade routes that connected the East and West, facilitating not just the exchange of goods but also ideas, culture, and technology from around 130 BCE to the 1450s. Connected East Asia with Europe and the Middle East.

• A vast network of ancient land and sea trade routes connecting East and West (Asia, Europe, Africa) from roughly 200 BCE to 1450 CE

Mamluks

Arabs often purchased enslaved people, or Mamluks, who were frequently ethnic Turks from Central Asia, to serve as soldiers and later as bureaucrats. Because of their roles, Mamluks had more opportunities than did most enslaved people.

• enslaved people, usually of Turkish descent, who eventually seized control of the Ayyubid Sultanate government, establishing the Mamluk Sultanate

Mamluk Sultanate

In Egypt, Mamluks overthrew the Ayyubid dynasty and seized control of the government, establishing the Mamluk sultanate (1250-1517). This sultanate served as a buffer against Mongol invasions and the Crusades while contributing to the region's cultural and economic development.

• (1250-1517) a medieval Islamic empire that ruled in Egypt and the Levant region established by slave soldiers called Mamluks, known for their strong cavalry warfare that resisted Mongol attacks

Sultanate

a state or territory ruled by a Sultan, who is the ruler of a Muslim country who typically claims full sovereignty and does not answer to a higher religious authority, such as a Caliph

• a state ruled by a sultan, an Islamic monarch; an empire/kingdom

Seljuk Turks

A nomadic, Sunni Muslim Turkic dynasty from Central Asia that conquered Persia, the Levant, and Anatolia, forming a massive medieval empire Seized Baghdad in 1055

• an ethnic group that came from Central Asia that controlled Turkey during the 11th-12th centuries; they were Muslim and were partly responsible for the decline of the Abbasid Caliphate

Persians

The people of the ancient Persian Empire, a powerful empire that originated in the region of modern-day Iran.

Abbasid Caliphate

Third of the Islamic Caliphates of the Islamic Empire. The rulers who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs. It started in 750 CE. It flourished for two centuries, but slowly went into decline with the rise to power of the Turkish army it had created, the Mamluks. In the 13th century, the Mongols displaced them.

• Led by Arabs and Persians

Mongols

• A nomadic group from central Asia, who, under Genghis Khan, established the largest contiguous land empire in history.

• Their conquests connected vast regions of Asia and Europe.

• The Mongols conquered the remaining Abbasid Empire in 1258 and ended the Seljuk rule. They continued to push westward but were stopped in Egypt by the Mamluks.

Crusades

A series of religious wars (1096-1291) fought primarily between Christians and muslims, aimed at controlling the Holy Land, particularly Jerusalem.

Crusaders

Christian warriors sent to regain the Holy Land (Jerusalem) from the Muslims.

• Seljuk Turks limited Christian travel to holy sites

• European Christians organized groups of soldiers called crusaders to open access.

Arabs

traveling people who lived throughout North Africa and Southwest Asia/Middle East, first followers of Islam

• a group of people who came from the Arabian peninsula and are associated with Arabic culture and language

Turks

A collection of Turkic peoples originating from Central Asia, historically known for forming nomadic empires and their significant expansion and assimilation into the Islamic world, particularly through empires like the Seljuks and the Ottomans.

Mahayana Buddhism

A major branch emphasizing compassion, altruism, and the goal of helping all beings reach enlightenment, featuring figures like Bodhisattvas (an enlightened being who postpones nirvana to help others)

• Dominant in East Asia (China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia) and the Himalayan regions (Tibet)

Theradava Buddhism

An early, conservative branch of Buddhism focusing on personal, individual enlightenment through meditation, ethical living, and adherence to the original Pali Canon teachings. Primarily practiced in Southeast Asia (Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar), it emphasizes monastic life to achieve Nirvana.

• Dominant in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia, shaping Southeast Asian culture for centuries

Champa rice

a fast-maturing, drought-resistent rice variant that originated from the Champa Kingdom in present-day Vietnam; it contributed to increased agricultural production in China

Grand Canal

a more than 30,000 mile long canal network in China constructed during the Sui Dynasty that allowed for efficient waterway transportation for trading purposes

Nuclear families

a family made up of parents and their children, a common familial structure in Vietnam that contrasted to the Chinese extended families

Muhammed

(c. 570-632) the Arab prophet who founded the religion of Islam in the early 7th century