APWH VOCAB SEMSTER 1 Study Guide

Emperor

Leader, ruler, monarch, king, sultan, czar, Caesar (highest ranking government official)

Mandate of Heaven

Chosen by god and its people in a cycle of ruling power by God’s name, basic Chinese explanation for a ruler’s success or failure, rise and fall of dynasties

Civil Service Exam

Exams that were based on Confucian teachings, and they were ment to choose the most qualified people for the government jobs no matter their background is.

Importance: to test if these people are smart by testing their reading and writing skills

-to help run the government —> organized system of government

Bureaucracy

A group of educated people who earned their positions by passing difficult civil service exam to get into the government

Importance: helps the government run

Confucianism

A philosophical and ethical system developed in ancient China by Confucius

Importance: the dominant political ideology that shaped governance, bureaucracy, and social order in China and spread to other East Asian countries like Korea and Japan

Daoism/Buddhism

-Foreign ideas

-religions not Confucianism

-Confucianism = public life, Buddhism = private

Filial Piety

Children must respect parents and ancestors (whole life)

Golden Rule

-treat other how you want to be treated

-treating people well

Theravada Buddhism

Spreads to South East Asia—>strict practices, traditional, in Thailand

-limited trade spread

Mahayana Buddhism

East Asia—>China—Japan

|__>less strict

Blended cultures-incredibly diverse

Foot-binding

Foot binding was the Chinese custom of tightly wrapping the feet of young girls to prevent them from growing, a practice that caused permanent disability. It was considered feminine beauty and high social status.

Song Dynasty

A significant period in China that was a Chinese imperial dynasty that existed from 960 to 1279 CE

Importance: Significant advancements in technology, economy, and culture

Neo-Confucianism

A revival of Confucian philosophy that incorporated Buddhist and Daoist concepts

Importance: It provides a lens for understanding political, social, and intellectual developments in East Asia

Grand Canal

A vast, artificial waterway in China, stretching over 1,100 miles, that connects to the Yellow and Yangtze rivers

Importance: A major engineering feat and vital economic artery

Champa Rice

A fast-ripening and drought-resistant strain of rice that originated in the Champa Kingdom

Importance: Crucial for the Song Dynasty’s prosperity and population growth in China

Meritocracy

A system where promotions and positions of power are granted based on an individual’s abilities and achievements, rather than on their social status

Importance: Highlights a key shift in governance and social structures, particularly in the context of empires and bureaucracy

Abbasid Caliphate

The 3rd major caliphate, ruling from 750 to 1258 CE, founded by descendants of Prophet Muhammad’s uncle

Importance: It marked the Golden Age of Islam by establishing Baghdad as a global hub of learning and trade

Seljuk Turks

A Turko-Persian Sunni Muslim empire founded by Oahu’s Turkic tribes from Central Asia in the 11th century

Importance: Conquering Anatolia from the Byzantine Empire after their 1071 Battle of Manzikert, which led to the Turkicification of the region and was a cause of the First Crusade

Mamluks

Slave -soldiers and an elite class of warriors who served in various Islamic states, eventually becoming power rulers themselves, notably in Egypt and Syria from the mid-13th to early 16th centuries

Importance: a slave solider class that seized political control in Egypt and Syria, establishing the Mamluk Sultannate (1250-1517)

Delhi Sultanate

First Islamic government established in India by Turkic invaders, controlling northern India from the city of Delhi and characterized by the use of the non-Muslim tax called Jizya

Importance: marking the first major, long-term Islamic rule in North India, initiating cultural fusion, and introducing Islam to the subcontinent

Sufism

The mystical dimension of Islam that focusing on the personal, direct experience of God through spiritual devotion and practices like meditation and chanting

Importance: a mystical branch of Islam that fostered its spread through missionary efforts, contributed significantly to cultural development

Shia

A major branch of Islam whose adherents believe that the leadership of the Islamic community after the Prophet Muhammad should have passed to his son-in-law

Importance: it represents the 2nd largest branch of Islam

Sunni

The largest branch of the Islam, characterized by its followers acceptance of first four caliphs, starting with Abu Bakr, as the rightful leaders of the Muslim community

Importance: lies in its role as the majority branch of Islam, its origin in the debate over the successor to Prophet Muhammad, and its central connections to the Ottoman Empire

House of Wisdom

A major intellectual and cultural center in Abbasid Baghdad that combined a library, academy, and translation center

Importance: it served as a hub for translating Ancient Greek and Persian texts into Arabic, preserving and advancing knowledge in diverse fields like math, medicine, astronomy

Caliph

The supreme political and religions leader of the Islamic world, considered a successor to the Prophet Muhammad

Importance: the political leader and spiritual leader of the Muslim community, a successor to the Prophet Muhammad, holding the title of the head of the Caliphate, the Islamic empire

Feudalism

A decentralized political and social system from Medieval Europe where nobles granted land to vessels in exchange for loyalty, military service, and protection

Importance: It provided political and social order in a fragmented post-Roman Europe, establishing a hierarchy of mutual obligations

Manorialism

The economic system of medieval Europe where a self-sufficient agricultural estate, called a manor, was controlled by a lord who provided land, protection, and justice to peasant laborers

Importance: to organize society and to create agricultural goods, stability and security it provided

Serfdom

A system in which unfree serfs were bound to the land owned by a lord in Medieval Europe feudal and manorial systems

Importance: key feature of the decentralized feudal economic system, creating rigid social hierarchies and defending agrarian labor for centuries in Europe and Russia

Pope

The Bishop of Rome and the spiritual leader of the Rome Catholic Church

Importance: the head of the Roman Catholic Church, wielding spiritual and political influence, especially after the fall of the Western Roman Empire

Great Schism

The division between Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church that resulted from theological, political, and cultural differences

Importance: permanently dividing the Christian world, fostering distinct cultural identities in Europe, and contributing to centuries of mistrust and conflict between the two branches, which later worsened with the Crusades

Bhakti Movement

A medieval Indian Hindu reform movement that emphasized intense emotional devotion to a particular deity, promoting a personal, loving relationship with God as a path to spiritual liberation over strict rituals or the caste system

Importance: Promotion of personal devotion to the divine, which challenged traditional Hindu social structures by emphasizing spiritual equality over the rigid caste system

Straits of Malacca

A vital maritime passage between the Malay Peninsula and Sumatra, connecting the Indian Ocean and the Pacific Ocean

Importance: Its strategic location made it a vital maritime crossroads connecting the Indian Ocean and Pacific, facilitating trade in spices, textiles, and precious metals from Asia to Europe

Timbuktu

A city in West Africa that flourished as a global center of trade and Islamic scholarship, especially under the Mali and Songhai Empires from the 14th to the 16th centuries

Importance: Crucial as a major West African trading center and a renowned center of Islamic learning and culture, especially during the Mali and Songhai Empires

Griots

A hereditary West African oral historian, story teller, poet, musician, and diplomat responsible for preserving and transmitting a community’s history, genealogies, and cultural traditions through performance and song

Importance: Oral Historians, storytellers, musicians, and cultural custodians of West African societies, especially those without written records

Salt

The mineral used for food preservation and trade

Importance: Salt was vital as a food preservative and flavor enhancer, essential for sustaining populations and supporting long-distance trade routes before refrigeration

Gold

The precious metal that served as a standard of wealth, facilitated trade, and drove exploration and conquest across major global networks

Importance: A universal medium of exchange, a catalyst for exploration and colonization, and a driver of economic power and competition among empires

Caravanserai

A roadside inn built along trade routes, like the Silk Road, to provide rest, security, and supplies for travelers and their caravans

Importance: vital rest stops that boosted long-distance trade by providing merchants with safety, lodging, and services, there by fostering economic growth and cultural exchange between diverse regions

Paper money

Legal currency issued on paper instead of bulky gold coins

Samarkand

A significant ancient city in modern-day Uzbekistan that served as a major hub on the Silk Roads

Bills of Exchange

A medieval financial instrument and written order used to facilitate long-distance trade by instructing a party to pay a specific sum of money to another party

Sahara Desert

The world’s largest hot desert, located in North Africa, which historically served as a natural barrier and a crucial corridor for the Trans-Saharan Trade

Camel Saddle

A specially designed seat for riding camels that provides stability and comfort for the rider while maximizing the camel’s ability to carry loads

Gold-Salt Trade

A 8th to 16th century economic exchange where gold from West Africa was traded for salt from North Africa and the Mediterranean

Mali Empire

A powerful West African State that controlled Trans-Saharan trade routes, particularly for gold and salt and was known for its immense wealth, Islamic culture, and prominent rulers like Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa

King of Mali Empire in West Africa from 1312, the 1337, is known mostly for his fabulous pilgrimage to Mecca and for his promotion of unity and prosperity within Mali, also brought the attention of Muslim world to Mali

Timbuktu

A major West African city on the Niger River, serving as a vital center for trans-Saharan trade (gold and salt) and Islamic scholarship during Medieval period

Cultural Syncretism

The blending of two or more distinct cultures, belief systems, or traditions to create something new and unique, often resulting from cultural contact

Monsoon Winds

Seasonal prevailing winds that reverse direction annually, bringing heavy rainfall during the summer and dry conditions in the winter

Port Cities

Strategically located costal urban centers that serve as crucial hubs for maritime trade, connecting regions and facilitating the exchange of goods, cultures, and ideas

Lateen Sail

A triangular sail set on a long, slopping yard mounted at an angle on the mast, which allowed ships to sail effectively against the wind

Junk or Dhow’s

A dhow is a 1 or 2-masted Arab sailing vessel with triangular sails, vital for trade

A junk is a Chinese sailing ship with a distinct flat bottom, multiple masts, used for ocean voyages

Straits of Malacca

A vital, narrow waterway connecting the Indian and Pacific Oceans, serving as a critical maritime trade route and a hub for the exchange of goods, cultures, and religion in Southeast Asia

Calicut

A significant portion of city in India that served as a major center for the vibrant Indian Ocean trade network, particularly for spices like pepper

Diaspora Community

A group of people with a shared cultural identity who have been dispersed from their original homeland to various locations around the world

Mongol Khanates

The regional successor states that emerged from the fragmentation of the Mongol Empire after the death of Genghis Khan

Importance: facilitated cultural exchange and trade across Eurasia leads into Mongol Peace of Pax Mongolia

Yuan Dynasty

The period from 1271 to 1368 when China was ruled by the Mongol Empire founded by Kublai Khan

Importance: China’s first foreign-ruled dynasty

Pax Mongolica

The period of relative peace and stability across Eurasian during the 13th and 14th centuries under the rule of the Mongol Empire which the Mongolians secured the Silk Road Trade Network

Religious Tolerance

The acceptance and allowance of different religious beliefs and practices within a society or state, fostering coexistence and reducing conflict among diverse groups

Marco Polo

A Venetian merchant and explorer whose 24 year travels to Asia

Importance: stimulated European to be interested in the Asian Goods, wealth, cultures, and culturally and economically exchange along the Silk Road

Silk Road Trade

A vast, interconnected network of land and sea trade routes spanning Eurasia from the Han Dynasty in China (c. 130 BCE) to mid-15th century

Importance: to exchange goods, ideas, technology, and diseases from East to West

Arabic Numerals

The digits 0-9 that were transmitted from ancient India into the Arab world, and then to Europe, where they replaced Roman Numerals

Paper-making

The ancient Chinese invention of creating a durable and affordable writing surface from plant fibers like mulberry bark

Importance: used in communication, education, and cultural exchange

Marco Polo

A Venetian merchant and explorer whose traveled extensively through Asia in the late 13th century

Ibn Battuta

A 14th-century Moroccan Muslim scholar and explorer famous for his extensive travels across the Islamic world and beyond

Importance: provides primary source material detailing the interconnectedness of cultures, societies, and economies across the Islamic world

Black Plague

A devastating epidemic of bubonic plague that killed millions in the 14th-century Europe and Asia and it weakened labor shortages

Sultan

A king that rules Islamic empire/governments, title for a ruler in an Islamic state who holds supreme political and religious authority, serving as both a secular leader and a protector of faith

Mehmed II

An Ottoman sultan who captured the city of Constantinople in 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire and making it the new Ottoman capital (Istanbul)

Suleiman the Magnificent

Was the Ottoman Sultan from 1520 to 1556, presiding over the “Golden Age” of the empire

Importance: He oversaw the Ottoman Empire’s Golden Age of military, legal, and cultural achievement, his reign saw massive territorial expansion into Eastern Europe, Middle East and North Africa

Janissaries

Elite infantry of the Ottoman Empire, originally formed from conscripted Christian boys who were converted to Islam and trained to be legal to the sultan

Devshirme

Christian boys from the Balkans were forcibly recruited, converted to Islam, and trained for military or administrative services

Millet System

A method of governing the Ottoman Empire when religious minority communities such as Jews and various Christian groups, were granted a degree of autonomy to manage their own internal affairs like law

Vizier/Grand Vizier (sultans/chief masters)

A high-ranking political advisor or minister, originally in ancient Egypt, who served as the chief administrator to the Pharoah

Akbar the Great

Was the 3rd Mughal emperor who ruled India from 1556 to 1605. He is known for centralizing the government, religiously tolerant, non-jizya, and reforming tax system

Jizya

A poll tax that non-Muslims in historical Islamic states paid in exchange for protection and exemption from military service

Taj Mahal

A white marble mausoleum built by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan in Agra, India, to house the tomb of his loving wife, Mumtaz Mahal

Aurangzeb

Was the 6th Mughal emperor who expanded the empire to its greatest territorial extent in the Indian subcontinent from 1658 to 1707, non-tolerant towards religion, makes everyone pay Jizya, strict orthodox interpretation of Islam and policies that created conflict with Non-Muslims

Mughal Empire

A powerful, Islamic-ruled state in South Asia that existed from the 16th to the mid-19th century, created a powerful centralized state of most of India and blending Indian traditions with many other cultures for cultural syncretism

Sikhism

A monotheistic religion founded in the Punjab region of South Asia in the late 15th century by Guru Nanak

Importance: its emergence as a monotheistic faith in the 15th century India that challenged social hierarchies like the caste system and promoted equality between all people, regardless of gender or religion

Forbidden City

The imperial palace complex in Beijing that served as the political and ritual center of China for nearly 500 years under the Ming and Qing dynasties (1420-1912), emperors stay there on top of a mountain so foreigners or terrorists wouldn’t attack them

Zheng He

A Chinese mariner, diplomat, and admiral of the early Ming Dynasty who commanded seven major maritime expeditions from 1405 to 1433, and he is castrated which = no reproducing

Importance: his role in the Ming Dynasty’s early 15th century maritime expeditions which showcased Chinese power and established tributary relationships across the Indian Ocean

Tribute System

A political and economic arrangement where a powerful state receives goods, resources, or labor from subordinates states or regions in exchange for protection, trade benefits or political legitimacy

Eunuchs

A castrated male who held significant roles in imperial courts, especially in China, the Middle East, and the Byzantium

Importance: they were often trusted officials in imperial courts, particularly in China and Byzantium, due to their inability to form their own rival families

Manchus

A Northeast Asian ethnic group who conquered China and established the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912)

Importance: important for founding the Qing Dynasty and for their role in social control and cultural policies of the empire

Imperial Portraits

Artistic representations of emperors and their families used to project power, legitimize their rule, and convey cultural values, to appeal to their people or to most foreigners

Queue Hairstyles

A mandatory hairstyle for Han Chinese men during the Qing Dynasty (1644-1912) involving shaving the front of the head and braiding the back hair into a long braid

Humanism

An intellect movement from the Renaissance that emphasized human potential, individualism, and the study of classical Greek and Roman texts

Secular

Relating to wordly, non-religious matters, in contrast to sacred or spiritual ones, shifting from religious to non-religious

Printing Press

A mechanical device invented in the mid-15th century that enabled the mass production of printed materials like books

Protestant Reformation

A 16th-century religious movement that challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Church, leading to the creation of Protestant churches

Importance: its lasting impact on religious, political, social, and intellectual structures, leading to religious wars, the rise of nation-states, and the spread of new ideas that would later influence things like modern democracy and individualism

Henry VIII

Was the king of England from 1509 until his death in 1547, best known for his 6 marriages and the English Reformation, establish Church of England or Anglican and the Royal Navy

Jesuits

Highly educated missionaries and educators who were a key force in the Center-Reformation, spreading Catholicism and establishing schools across Europe, Asia and the America’s

Thirty Years’ War

A 17th century conflict (1618-1648) that began as a religious war between Protestant and Catholic states within the Holy Roman Empire but grew into a wider political struggle involving most of Europe

Counter Reformation

A period of Catholic revival and reform from the mid-16th to 17th century, with Protestantism, ultimately shaping the religious and political landscape of Europe and the world, it reformed the Catholic Churches but led conflicts with Protestants

Council of Trent

A meeting of the Roman Catholic Church (1545-1563) that responded to the Protestant Reformation by affirming Catholic teachings, reforming Church practices

Trading Post Empire

A maritime commercial empire that establishes fortified trading posts a long trade routes to control commerce, rather than through large territorial conquest, allowed European powers control key trade routes and access to valuable goods

Cartaz System

A naval trade license (passport) that the Portuguese Empire required all non-Portuguese ships to carry while sailing in the Indian Ocean during the 16th century

Vasco Da Gama

Was a Portuguese explorer who is best known for being the first European to reach India by sea, linking Europe and Asia via the Ocean

Goa

The former capital of Portuguese India from 1510 to 1961 and a major center for trade and cultural exchange between Europe and Asia

Dutch East Indian Company (VOC)

A powerful, 17th-century trading company founded in 1602 that dominated the spice trade in Asia and became the world’s first multinational corporation, created a monopoly in the lucrative spice trade

British East India Company (EIC)

A powerful, private trading company chartered in 1600 that grew to become a major political and military power in India, ruling over the subcontinent from 1757 until 1858