AP World History Review: Land-Based Empires and Administrative Systems

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major world rulers, expansionist policies, legitimacy methods, and administrative systems from the AP World History Review notes.

Ivan IV (Ivan the Terrible)

Russian tsar who expanded Russia eastward using military force, opposed the boyars using the oprichnina, reinforced centralized royal authority, and oversaw the expansion of serfdom.

Boyars

Russian nobles who often competed with the tsar for political power.

Oprichnina

Ivan IV's system used to deal with political opponents and strengthen the tsar's direct centralized control.

Serfdom

A labor system that tied peasants to land and strengthened the power of landholding elites.

Peter I (Peter the Great)

Russian tsar who fought Sweden in the Great Northern War to gain access to the Baltic Sea, diminished the power of boyars, brought the Orthodox Church under state control, and instituted Westernization and the Table of Ranks.

Great Northern War

Conflict in which Peter I fought Sweden, enabling Russia to gain access to the Baltic Sea.

Table of Ranks

An administrative system instituted under Peter the Great to foster a stronger bureaucracy and centralized governance.

Suleiman the Magnificent

Ottoman ruler who expanded the empire across Europe and the Middle East, fought the Safavids, utilized Sunni Islamic authority, and governed through Janissaries, devshirme, and tax farming.

Mehmed II

Ottoman sultan who conquered Constantinople, transforming it into an Ottoman imperial center, and expanded Ottoman power into Europe.

Janissaries

An elite Ottoman military force crucial to imperial expansion and administration.

Devshirme

Ottoman system of collecting Christian boys to serve as state-loyal soldiers and bureaucratic officials.

Shah Ismail I

Founder of the Safavid Empire who established a political identity around Shi'a Islam to distinguish his state from the Sunni Ottomans, but was defeated by Ottoman forces at Chaldiran.

Battle of Chaldiran

Military encounter in which Safavid forces under Shah Ismail I were defeated by the Ottoman Empire.

Shah Abbas I

Safavid ruler who strengthened centralized authority, improved the military, relied on taxation, and reinforced state identity through Shi'a Islam amid wars with the Ottomans.

Babur

Founder of the Mughal Empire who effectively utilized gunpowder weapons to conquer territory in northern India.

Akbar the Great

Mughal ruler who expanded territory across India, improved tax collection through zamindars, and used religious tolerance to govern a diverse population.

Aurangzeb

Mughal emperor under whom the empire attained its greatest territorial extent through expensive military campaigns, while incorporating Islamic ideas more strictly into government.

Zamindars

Local landholders used in Mughal administration to assist in tax collection.

Hongwu Emperor

First ruler of the Ming Dynasty who restored Chinese rule following the Yuan Dynasty, reestablishing centralized Confucian bureaucracy and civil service traditions.

Yongle Emperor

Ming emperor who strengthened imperial power by launching military expeditions, expanding regional influence, and funding significant construction projects.

Kangxi Emperor

Qing dynasty emperor who consolidated Manchu rule over a Han Chinese majority, expanded territory, and utilized Confucian traditions to legitimize his government.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

Leader who defeated rival daimyo, ended major political warfare, and established the centralized Tokugawa Shogunate over Japan.

Daimyo

Powerful Japanese territorial lords placed under strict regulation by the Tokugawa government.

Samurai

Warrior class in Japan that served the daimyo and participated in the Tokugawa political system.

Tokugawa Shogunate

Centralized military government in Japan that maintained stability and controlled the daimyo.

Askia the Great

Songhai ruler who used Sunni Islam to bolster imperial administration, centralized government organization, and managed revenue through tax farming and tribute.

Tax Farming

A revenue system in which governments gave individuals the right to collect taxes in exchange for providing funds to the state.

Tribute

Payments or goods provided to a state or ruler that helped governments maintain wealth and power.

Louis XIV

French monarch who constructed an absolute monarchy justified by the Divine Right of Kings, used Versailles to control nobles, and employed intendants to strengthen centralized control.

Intendants

French royal officials who assisted Louis XIV in strengthening the central government.

Versailles

Royal French palace used by Louis XIV to enhance central authority and maintain control over nobles.

Absolute Monarchy

A system of government in which a monarch claims extensive, centralized political authority.

Divine Right of Kings

A political doctrine stating that monarchs receive their authority directly from God, used to justify absolute royal rule.

Tamerlane (Timur)

Muslim conqueror who established the Timurid Empire across Central Asia, Persia, and the Middle East, transformed Samarkand into a cultural capital, and defeated Ottoman Sultan Bayezid I in 1402.

Battle of Ankara (1402)

Military battle where Tamerlane defeated the Ottoman Empire and captured Sultan Bayezid I.

Justices of the Peace

Local officials in England tasked with administering government at the local level.

English Bill of Rights

An English legal document that limited the power of the monarch and strengthened Parliament.

Taj Mahal

An example of Mughal monumental architecture representing the power and wealth of the Mughal state.