The Global Tapestry

Globalization

Actions or processes that involve the entire world and result in making something worldwide in scope and trade.

Commercialization

The transformation of an area of a city into an area attractive to residents and tourists alike in terms of economic activity.

Silk Roads

A system of ancient caravan routes across Central Asia, along which traders carried silk and other trade goods.

Mongols

A people of this name is mentioned as early as the records of the Tang Empire, living as nomads in northern Eurasia. After 1206 they established an enormous empire under Genghis Khan, linking western and eastern Eurasia.

Pastoral Nomads

groups of herders who move with their animals from place to place in search of pasture and water

Genghis Khan

A Mongolian general and emperor of the late twelfth and early thirteenth centuries, known for his military leadership and great cruelty. He conquered vast portions of northern China and southwestern Asia.

Dynasty

A series of rulers from the same family

Bubonic Plague (Black Death)

a deadly disease that spread across Asia and Europe in the mid-14th century, killing millions of people

Trans-Saharan Trade

route across the sahara desert. Major trade route that traded for gold and salt, created caravan routes, economic benefit for controlling dessert, camels played a huge role in the trading

Gold-Salt Trade

Gold and salt made up trade and wealth in the African kingdoms because the Europeans wanted gold, and the Africans needed salt. Gold came from West Africa and salt came from the Sahara (Taghaza)

They met in trading cities like Timbuktu.

Timbuktu

Mali trading city that became a center of wealth and learning

Mansa Musa

Emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa. He made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca and established trade routes to the Middle East.

Mali Empire

From 1235-1400, this was a strong empire of Western African. With its trading cities of Timbuktu and Gao, it had many mosques and universities. The Empire was ruled by two great rulers, Sundiata and Mansa Musa. Thy upheld a strong gold-salt trade. The fall of the empire was caused by the lack of strong rulers who could govern well.

Hajj

A pilgrimage to Mecca, performed as a duty by Muslims

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan.

Inca Empire

The vast and sophisticated Peruvian empire centered at the capital city of Cuzco that was at its peak from 1438 until 1532

Ghanna

Gold Coast; land of gold

Mesoamerica

A geographic region in the western hemisphere that was home of the Mayan, Inca and Aztec civilizations.

caravan

group of traveling merchants and animals

Caravanserai

an inn with a central courtyard for travelers in the desert regions of Asia or North Africa.

Marco Polo

Italian explorer who wrote about his travels along the Silk Road into Central Asia and China.

quarantine

a state, period, or place of isolation in which people or animals that have arrived from elsewhere or been exposed to infectious or contagious disease are placed.

Caffa

a trade colony for Italian merchants, and the first place where the Black Death/plague entered Europe.

disease

medical condition caused by bacteria which can become infectious and spread among people.

Islam

A religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed which stresses belief in one god (Allah), Paradise and Hell, and a body of law written in the Quran. Followers are called Muslims.

Buddhism

A religion based on the teachings of the Buddha which began and India and spread along the Silk Roads.

cultural diffusion

the spread of cultural elements from one society to another

Yersinia pestis

The bacteria that causes the bubonic plague.

Clergy

Officials who perform religious services, such as priests, ministers or rabbis.

Buboes

Enlarged lymph nodes (up to the size of a tennis ball) that were characteristic in people infected with the bubonic plague.

Muhammad

the Arab prophet who founded Islam (570-632)

Pagan

a person holding religious beliefs other than those of the main world religions

Pilgrimage

A journey to a place considered sacred for religious purposes.

Franks

European Christians that conquered present-day France and neighboring lands in the 400s and fought in the Crusades.

Jerusalem

A city in the Holy Land, regarded as sacred by Christians, Muslims, and Jews.

Temple of Solomon

The Temple in Jerusalem built by King Solomon in the mid-tenth century and destroyed by the Babylonians in 586 BCE. It is also known as the First Temple.

Juvaini

A Persian historian who documented the Mongol Empire during the 13th century, known for his work "The History of the World-Conqueror."

yam system

A communication and transportation network used by the Mongol Empire, consisting of relay stations and mounted couriers.