AP World History – Vocabulary Set #1

This set contains 35 AP World History vocabulary terms from early Asian and Islamic history, each paired with concise definitions for exam review.

A’ishah al-Ba’uniyyah

Sufi poet and mystic; perhaps the most prolific female Muslim writer before the 20th c., noted for works describing her path to mystical illumination and praising Muhammad.

Ancestor veneration

Ritual honoring deceased relatives who are believed to influence the fortune of the living, reinforcing filial piety and family continuity.

Bakufu

Military government of Japan in which the emperor was a figurehead and actual power rested with the shogun and samurai.

Bhakti movement

Medieval Hindu trend stressing personal devotion and emotional love toward a chosen deity; empowered lower castes and influenced the rise of Sikhism.

Bureaucracy

Administrative system in which appointed officials run government departments under a central authority.

Bushido

Samurai code of honor, discipline, and morality in Japan.

Champa rice

Fast-ripening, drought-resistant rice from Vietnam that allowed two harvests per season in Song-era China.

Daimyo

Powerful Japanese feudal lord commanding a band of samurai.

Delhi Sultanates

Series of Muslim dynasties (13th–16th c.) ruling northern India from Delhi until replaced by the Mughal Empire.

Dynasty

Line of hereditary rulers from the same family.

Filial piety

Confucian virtue of respect and obedience toward one’s parents and elders.

Flying Money

Early Chinese paper currency (9th c.) first used by merchants, later adopted by the state for tax transfers.

Footbinding

Chinese practice of tightly binding girls’ feet to alter shape; signified beauty and status but restricted female mobility.

Grand Canal

Extensive waterway network linking northern and southern China, enabling grain transport to imperial capitals.

Jinshi

Title for scholars who passed the highest level of the imperial Chinese examination, qualifying them for high office.

Junks

Large, ocean-going Chinese sailing ships designed for long-distance trade during Tang and Song eras.

Kamikaze

“Divine wind”; typhoons credited with thwarting Mongol invasions of Japan in the 13th century.

Khmer Empire

Hindu-Buddhist empire (802–1431 CE) in Southeast Asia covering modern Cambodia and neighboring regions.

Mahayana

Branch of Buddhism teaching universal potential for enlightenment, encompassing traditions like Zen and Pure Land, and adapting to local cultures.

Malay sailors

Southeast Asian mariners who navigated the Indian Ocean and colonized Madagascar by 500 CE, introducing bananas there.

Mandate of Heaven

Chinese doctrine that divine favor grants—or withdraws—the right to rule based on a dynasty’s virtue.

Monasticism

Religious life of seclusion under vows, practiced by Buddhist monks and Christian monks, friars, and nuns.

Monsoon

Seasonal wind pattern in South and East Asia bringing wet summers and dry winters.

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

Persian polymath (1201–1274) whose work in trigonometry, astronomy, philosophy, and medicine was highly influential.

Neo-Confucianism

Song-era philosophy blending Confucian ethics with Buddhist and Daoist metaphysics.

Patriarchal

Describing a social system in which fathers or eldest males hold primary authority.

Rajput Kingdoms

Networks of warrior clans dominating parts of India (6th–20th c.) under patrilineal rule.

Sati

Former Hindu custom in which a widow immolated herself on her husband’s funeral pyre.

Seppuku

Ritual suicide by disembowelment practiced by samurai to preserve honor; colloquially hara-kiri.

Shinto

Indigenous Japanese religion centered on ancestor and nature-spirit veneration.

Shogun / Shogunate

Military ruler of Japan / the period or government under a shogun’s control.

Syncretism

The fusion of differing cultural or religious traditions into a new, blended system.

Theravada

Conservative branch of Buddhism prevalent in Sri Lanka and mainland Southeast Asia, emphasizing adherence to the Buddha’s original teachings.

Tibetan Buddhism

Form combining Mahayana doctrine with Tantric, shamanic, and Bon elements; spread globally during Yuan-Mongol era.

Yuan Dynasty

Mongol-led dynasty of China (1271–1368) founded by Kublai Khan.