WHAP Units 1-4 Semester A Exam Review

Song Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (960 - 1279 CE) characterized by a merit-based bureaucracy, paper money, a printing press, gunpowder, a navy, the compass, and Neo-Confucianism.

Confucianism

The system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing filial piety, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct.

Filial Piety

In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.

Neo-Confucianism

Term that describes the resurgence of Confucianism and the influence of Confucian scholars during the T'ang Dynasty; incorporated some elements of Buddhism

Theravada Buddhism

The oldest of the two major branches of Buddhism. Practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia, its beliefs are relatively conservative, holding close to the original teachings of the Buddha

Mahayana Buddhism

"Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and for bodhisattvas, enlightened persons who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment.

Tibetan Buddhism

the religion of Tibet, a form of Mahayana Buddhism. It was formed in the 8th century AD from a combination of Buddhism and the indigenous Tibetan religion. The head of the religion is the Dalai Lama. Teaches that followers can achieve nirvana in one lifetime.

Champa Rice

Quick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season; led to increased populations in Song Dynasty China. From Vietnam; sent to China as a tribute gift.

Civil Service Examination System

Exams that Chinese bureaucrats passed to serve in state, based on Confucian concepts.

Daoism

religious tradition of Chinese origin which emphasizes living in harmony with the Dao ("the way"); prefers a minimal government.

Delhi Sultanate

Centralized Indian empire of varying extent, created by Muslim invaders. Rose after the decline of the Abbasid Empire.

Abbasid Caliphate

(750-1258 CE) The caliphate, after the Umayyads, who focused more on administration than conquering. The "golden age" of Islam with a capital in Baghdad.

House of Wisdom

Large Islamic-based library and learning center in Baghdad. Focus of conversion of Greek and Roman classics and Indian learning into Arabic.

Sufism

An Islamic mystical tradition that desired a personal union with God- dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Qur'an, and the avoidance of sin. Missionaries helped spread Islam.

Feudalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land

Serfdom

A type of labor commonly used in feudal systems in which the laborers work the land in return for protection but they are bound to the land and are not allowed to leave or to peruse their a new occupation.

Manorialism

Economic system during the Middle Ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land.; the economic aspect of feudalism.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful state in the African interior that apparently emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast; flourished between 1250 and 1350 C.E.

Maya

Mesoamerican city-states concentrated in Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula and Central America. Major contributions were in mathematics, astronomy, and development of the calendar.

Syncretism

The unification or blending of opposing people, ideas, or practices, frequently in the realm of religion. For example, when Christianity or Buddhism was adopted by people in a new land, they often incorporate it into their existing culture and traditions.

Mita System

Economic system in Inca society where people paid taxes with their labor and what they produced; men and women were expected to contribute this labor to the state yearly

Chinampas

Floating gardens constructed along lake shores by the Mexica/Aztecs to increase agricultural yields.

Waru Waru

Incan raised beds with channels that captured and redirected rain to avoid erosion during floods and that stored water to be used during dry periods

Grand Canal

A canal linking northern and southern China; helped trade flourish during the Song Dynasty

Dar al-Islam

an Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule

Islam

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

Christianity

the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.

Judaism

A religion with a belief in one god. It originated with Abraham and the Hebrew people. Yahweh was responsible for the world and everything within it. They preserved their early history in the Torah.

Sunni

A branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Shi'a

the branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Sharia

Body of Islamic law

Monasticism

The practice of living the life of a monk; a similarity between Buddhism and Christianity

Bantu Migration

The movement of the Bantu peoples southward in sub-Saharan Africa; spread language, iron metallurgy, and farming techniques

Crusades

A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule. An opportunity for the pope to bring unity to Western Europe.

Hagia Sophia

Most famous example of Byzantine architecture, it was built under Justinian I and is considered one of the most perfect buildings in the world. An example of a ruler legitimizing his rule through art and architecture.

Silk Road Trade

The most famous of the trading routes established by pastoral nomads connecting the Chinese, Indian, Persian, and Mediterranean civilizations; transmitted goods and ideas among civilizations.

Indian Ocean Trade Route

linked East Asia with Arabian Peninsula and Africa; traded gold, spices, and slaves; spread Islam and Buddhism; sea trade

Silk Road technology

Stirrups, saddles, caravanserai

Kashgar

a central trading point where the Eastern and Western Silk Roads met.

Samarkand

During the rule of Timur Lane was the most influential capital city, a wealthy trading center along the Silk Roads known for decorated mosques and tombs.

New forms of credit

Bills of exchange, banking houses, paper money - these made trade safer and more efficient over long distances

Mongols

People from Central Asia who created the largest single land empire in history.

Pax Mongolica

The period of approximately 150 years of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire. Trade and culture thrived.

Khanate

Four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose following the death of Chinggis Khan.

Monsoons

Seasonal wind patterns that cause wet and dry seasons; better understanding was key to Indian Ocean trade routes.

Indian Ocean technology

compass, astrolabe, larger ships (dhow, junks), lateen sails

junk

A very large flat-bottom sailing ship produced in China specially designed for long-distance commercial travel.

Dhow

Sailboat using wind-catching, triangular sails; used by Arab traders

Diasporic communities

merchant communities that introduced their own cultures into other areas

Swahili city-states

Dominated trade along the east African coast; an illustrative example of states growing due to Indian Ocean trade.

Malacca

Flourishing trading city in Malaya; established a trading empire after the fall of Srivijaya. An illustrative example of states growing due to Indian Ocean trade.

Zheng He

An imperial eunuch and Muslim, entrusted by the Ming emperor Yongle with a series of state voyages that took his gigantic ships through the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to Africa.

Trans-Saharan Trade

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

Caravanserai

a roadside inn where travelers (caravaners) could rest and recover from the day's journey

Gold-Salt Trade

The economic system of north Africa and across the Sahara Desert; controlled by African kingdoms like Ghana, Mali and Songhai.

Ghana

Kingdom in sub-Saharan West Africa between the sixth and thirteenth centuries C.E. Their location allowed them to profit from the gold-salt trade.

Mali Empire

Formed in 1240 when Sundiata took control of Ghana Empire. It controlled trade across Sahara, the South and the Niger River.

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.

Diffusion of technology

Gunpowder and paper making from China

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.

Marco Polo

Italian explorer and author. He made numerous trips to China and returned to Europe to write of his journeys. He is responsible for much of the knowledge exchanged between Europe and China during this time period.

Margery Kempe

Wrote the first autobiography in the English language. Chronicles her pilgrimages to holy sites in Europe and Asia. Claimed to have vision that called her to leave the vanities of the world (saw vision of Christ). Her writings provide insight into the middle class female experience in the Middle Ages.

Diffusion of crops

Bananas in Africa, new rice varieties in East Asia, citrus throughout Dar al-Islam and the Mediterranean basin

Bubonic Plague

Disease brought to Europe from the Mongols during the Middle Ages. It killed 1/3 of the population and helps end Feudalism. Rats, fleas.

Ottoman Empire

Islamic state founded by Osman in northwestern Anatolia. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the Ottoman Empire was based at Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) from 1453-1922. It encompassed lands in the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe.

Safavid Empire

Turkish-ruled Iranian kingdom (1502-1722) established by Ismail Safavi, who declared Iran a Shi'ite state.

Gunpowder Empires

an age of time where almost all powerful states used guns to build control/attack (included Russia, Ming and Qing, Japan, the Ottoman Empire, the Safavid and the Mughal empires)

Qing dynasty

Ruling dynasty of China from 1644 to 1912; the Qing rulers were originally from Manchuria, which had conquered China.

Mughal Empire

Muslim state (1526-1857) exercising dominion over most of India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Bureaucracy

A large, complex organization composed of appointed officials. Used by the Song Ottoman, Qing, and Mughal Empires.

Tokugawa Shogunate

was a semi-feudal government of Japan in which one of the shoguns unified the country under his family's rule. They moved the capital to Edo, which now is called Tokyo. This family ruled from Edo 1868, when it was abolished during the Meiji Restoration.

Centralized Feudalism

Japan kept the outward form of feudal society but imposed central government control

Russian Empire

(1500-1800) The empire stretched from E. Europe and the Baltic Sea to Siberia and the Pacific. Ivan III overthrew the Mongols take over additional land. Meanwhile, Ivan solidified a centralized rule and claimed divine ordination. He proclaimed Moscow to be the new capital of the new empire. (Where Russia is Today)

Peter the Great

This was the tsar of Russia that Westernized Russia and built up a massive Russian army. He adopted culture and technology from Europe.

Devshirme

The tribute of boy children that the Ottoman Turks levied from their Christian subjects in the Balkans; the Ottomans raised the boys for service in the civil administration or in the elite Janissary infantry corps.

Janissaries

Infantry, originally of slave origin, armed with firearms and constituting the elite of the Ottoman army from the fifteenth century until the corps was abolished in 1826.

Samurai

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to a noble in return for land. Status is similar to knights of European feudalism.

Daimyo

A Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of samurai

Alternate Attendance Policy

a policy used by the Tokugawa Shogunate to strengthen the authority of the central government and weaken the power of the daimyo.

Akbar the Great

(1542-1605) Emperor of the Mughal Empire in India. He is known for his religious tolerance and efforts to reconcile Hindus and Muslims.

Zamindars

Tax system of the Mughal empire where decentralized lords collected tribute for the emperor.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Martin Luther

German monk who became one of the most famous critics of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1517, he wrote 95 theses, or statements of belief attacking the church practices.

Battle of Chaldiran

Safavids vs. Ottomans; Ottomans won, and this symbolized the two greatest world powers at the time clashing together; religious war (Shi'ites vs. Sunnis). Established modern border between Iran and Iraq.

Sikhism

Monotheistic religion founded in northern India in the 16th century by Guru Nanak and combining elements of Hinduism and Islam

Cossacks

Peasants recruited to migrate to newly seized lands in Russia; combined agriculture with military conquests; spurred additional frontier conquests and settlements.

Millet System

A system used by the Ottomans whereby subjects were divided into religious communities, with each millet (nation) enjoying autonomous self-government under its religious leaders as long as they paid taxes to the Ottoman Empire.

Caravels, Carracks & Fluyts

European innovations in ship design

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

Henry the Navigator

This Portuguese prince who lead an extensive effort to promote seafaring expertise in the 14th century. Sent many expedition to the coast of West Africa in the 15th century, leading Portugal to discover a route around Africa, ultimately to India.

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer. In 1497-1498 he led the first naval expedition from Europe to sail to India, opening an important commercial sea route.

Christopher Columbus

An Italian navigator who was funded by the Spanish Government to find a passage to the Far East. He is given credit for discovering the "New World," even though at his death he believed he had made it to India. He made four voyages to the "New World." The first sighting of land was in 1492.

Lateen sail, compass & astronomical charts

European technology influenced by interactions with classical, Islamic, and Asian civilizations

Spain and Portugal

Led maritime exploration

English, French, and Dutch

Followed Spain and Portugal in competition to build maritime empires

Ming Dynasty & Tokugawa Shogunate

Examples of Asian isolationism 1450-1750

Asante and Kongo

African states that grew due to increased participation in trade networks

Chattel Slavery

A system of bondage in which a slave has the legal status of property and so can be bought and sold like property.

Indentured Servitude

A worker bound by a voluntary agreement to work for a specified period of years often in return for free passage to an overseas destination. Before 1800 most were Europeans; after 1800 most indentured laborers were Asians.

Encomienda System

It gave settlers the right to tax local Native Americans or to make them work. In exchange, these settlers were supposed to protect the Native American people and convert them to Christianity