Unit 2: Networks of Exchange Flashcard Set

Height of the Middle Ages

A period in Europe (c. 1000–1300) marked by economic growth, trade expansion, urbanization, and increased political power of towns.

Burghers

Wealthy merchants who lived in towns and gained political influence during the Middle Ages.

Hanseatic League (1358)

A trade alliance of northern European cities that protected merchants.

Romanesque architecture

An early medieval architectural style of arches, vaults, and domes.

Gothic architecture

A later medieval architectural style of stained glass and pointed arches.

Flying buttresses

Stone supports that allowed Gothic buildings to have higher walls, large windows, and vaulted ceilings.

Medieval cathedrals

Large religious buildings that served as centers for worship, art, music, and community life.

Scholasticism

A medieval movement focused on learning and education that combined religious faith with logic and reason.

Medieval universities

Institutions founded mainly for men to study philosophy, law, medicine, and theology.

Crusades (11th–14th centuries)

Military campaigns by European Christians aimed at reclaiming holy lands, converting non-Christians, and reinforcing church authority.

Heresies

Religious beliefs that went against Church teachings.

Pope Innocent III

A powerful pope who enforced strict church doctrine, harmed heretics and Jews, and led the unsuccessful Fourth Crusade.

Pope Gregory IX

The pope who established the Inquisition to punish heresy.

Inquisition

A process used by the Church to punish heretics through torture or execution.

Universal Church / Church Militant

Describing the Catholic Church as a global religious authority defending its beliefs.

Thomas Aquinas (1225–1274)

A Christian theologian who argued that faith and reason work together, shaping Christian philosophy.

Urbanization

The growth of cities as trade and economic opportunities increased.

Silk Road cities

Large and wealthy cities such as Baghdad, Merv, and Chang’an that grew due to trade along the Silk Road.

European cities before and after 1400

Constantinople dominated before 1400, while Paris and Italian city-states grew afterward.

Mongol tribes

Nomadic groups skilled in horseback riding and archery.

Genghis Khan

Mongol leader who unified tribes and began creating an empire by conquering parts of China and Central Asia.

Mongol Empire

The largest land empire in history, stretching from the Pacific Ocean to Eastern Europe.

Mongol hordes

Divisions of the Mongol Empire that formed after Genghis Khan’s death.

Golden Horde

Mongol group that conquered and ruled over modern-day Russia.

Kublai Khan

Genghis Khan’s grandson who ruled China and founded the Yuan Dynasty.

Mongol religious tolerance

Mongols allowed conquered peoples to keep their religions and customs.

Timur Lang

A Mongol ruler who conquered parts of India and violently expanded Islamic influence.

Mongol military strategy

Tactics that punished resistance, ensuring control through fear.

Mongol cultural diffusion

The spread of ideas, technologies, and goods across Eurasia due to Mongol rule.

Mongol impact on Russia

Mongol domination slowed Russia’s cultural and political development.

Mali Empire

A wealthy West African kingdom known for gold trade with Islamic merchants.

Mansa Musa

Malian ruler who expanded the empire, promoted Islam, and made Timbuktu a major cultural center.

Timbuktu

A major center of trade, education, and Islamic scholarship in West Africa.

Songhai Empire

A powerful West African empire that rose after Mali.

Sonni Ali

Songhai ruler who conquered West Africa and strengthened the empire.

Song Dynasty bureaucracy

A government system based on merit and civil service exams.

Civil service examinations

Tests used to select government officials based on ability rather than birth.

Chinese printing technology

Innovations that increased literacy, education, and economic productivity.

Trans-Saharan trade routes

Trade routes connecting West Africa to North Africa and the Islamic world. Trading gold and salt.

Cultural diffusion

The spread of ideas, religion, language, technology, and disease through contact.

Bubonic Plague

A deadly disease spread by trade routes that killed about one-third of Europe’s population.

Indian Ocean trade

A sea-based trade network connecting East Africa, the Middle East, India, and Southeast Asia. Trading Spices, textiles, ivory, monsoon winds.

Persian and Arab traders

Dominated Indian Ocean trade routes.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful African trading empire.

Indian Ocean cultural mixing

Sailors marrying local women created blended cultures.

Silk Road trade goods

Silk, porcelain, paper, religion, food, and military technologies.

Silk roads trading towns

Culture exchange and traveller stopping at Kashgar and Samarkand.

Hanseatic League cities

Over 100 cities that strengthened northern European trade.

European middle class

Merchants and traders who gained wealth and influence through trade.

Religious diffusion

The spread of religion through trade, missionaries, or warfare.

Migration causes

Overpopulation, economic opportunity, and expanding empires.

Marco Polo

A Venetian merchant who traveled between Europe and China.

Ibn Battuta

An Islamic traveler who journeyed across Africa, the Middle East, India, and China.

Margery Kempe

An English Christian pilgrim who traveled through Europe and the Holy Land.