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Bureaucracy

System of managing government through

departments run by appointed (not elected)

officials (ex. cabinet depts and Post Office in the

United States)

Centralization

Refers to a government structure where most

decisions made for the entire state are made by

one executive leader, rather than multiple

regional leaders

Decentralization

Refers to a government structure where local or

regional governments hold more power than the

main, central government

Infrastructure

The basic physical and organizational structures

that help a society function, such as roads,

bridges, schools, airports, etc.

Aqueduct

Built in Ancient Rome, structures that bring

fresh water to Roman cities

Qanat system

a system of irrigation that began in Persia

comprised of underground canals

Noria/Sakia

a waterwheel used for raising water from a river

so that it can flow by gravity via aqueduct to

villages and cultivated land for irrigation.

Diaspora

The spreading of people (such as Jews) who

share an ethnic identity from their original

homeland to a new location

Syncretism

The blending of cultural or religious elements as

a result of cultural diffusion, migration, or state-

building

Hellenism

The spread of ancient Greek culture and ideas to

Persia, after Alexander the Great conquered

Persia

Diplomacy

Skillful, peaceful negotiation between nations

Maritime

Refers to activities or events happening on the

high seas

Monsoon

Seasonal winds in South and Southeast Asia that

bring rain in alternating seasons to the

subcontinent and provide winds for trade in

the Indian Ocean

Fortification

Walls or defensive protection built around cities

or nations

Satrapies

System of provincial governments in the Persian

Empire, in which administration is divided into

provinces, each of which is called a satrapy

Empirical

Refers to gathering knowledge through

objective observation, measurement, or

experimentation (science, NOT INTUITION /

GUT FEELINGS)

Dharma

In Hinduism, the concept of obedience to

religious and moral laws and order / In

Buddhism, the basic doctrine of following the

Eightfold Path and the Four Noble Truths

Reincarnation

Idea that the soul is reborn into another body or

animal after one dies (Hinduism & Buddhism)

Bodhisattva

A follower of Buddhism who studied the

religion and is capable of achieving nirvana, but

chooses to stay on earth to teach others about

how to seek enlightenment

Brahmin

Hindu caste of priests

Kshatriya

Hindu caste of warriors and aristocrats

Vaishya

Hindu caste of cultivators, artisans, and

merchants

Shudra

Hindu caste of landless peasants and serfs

Monastic

Refers to ideas or people who live by religion

and religious vows they have taken and live

together in a monastery

Filial piety

In Confucianism, the reverence and honoring of

one's ancestors and parents

Tribute

Refers to payments that one group makes to

another group, such as the payments that the

Chinese made to the nomadic groups

Sinicize

Process of non-Chinese people or societies

becoming influenced by Chinese culture; to

become Chinese

Conscription

To enact a law that forces people to join the

military, or some other required labor force

Conducive

To make something more likely to happen /

good for or beneficial to something

Continuity

Term in AP World History that refers to the

ways that features of a society have stayed the

same over time, rather than changed over time