Unit 1 Global Tapestry

Song Dynasty

Ruled China (960-1279); used civil service exams and Confucianism to manage a commercialized economy.

Imperial bureaucracy

Layered corps of exam-appointed officials administering China, loyal to the state over nobles.

Confucianism / Neo-Confucianism

Philosophy of ethics, filial piety, and merit; provided moral justification for Chinese imperial authority.

Filial piety

Confucian obligation to honor parents and ancestors, reinforcing state obedience through family hierarchy.

Champa rice

Fast-ripening, drought-tolerant Vietnamese rice that enabled multiple harvests and fueled Chinese population growth.

Grand Canal

Massive artificial waterway linking agricultural southern China to the northern political capital.

Commercialization (Song economy)

Shift toward market production of porcelain, silk, and iron by free peasants and artisans.

Mahayana / Theravada / Tibetan Buddhism

Three major branches of Buddhism that adapted to local cultures across Asia by 1200.

Dar al-Islam

Global region where Islamic law and rule prevailed, fostering trade and cultural exchange.

Abbasid Caliphate (fragmentation)

Decline of Baghdad-centered empire that allowed Turkic-led successor states to rise.

Seljuk Empire

Turkic Muslim empire that seized control of Southwest Asia from the weakening Abbasids.

Mamluk Sultanate (Egypt)

State founded by former slave-soldiers that famously halted the Mongol advance at Ain Jalut.

Delhi Sultanate

Muslim dynasties that ruled northern India for 300 years, establishing Islam in South Asia.

Sufism

Mystical branch of Islam that effectively spread faith along trade routes by adapting to local traditions.

House of Wisdom (Baghdad)

Abbasid research center that translated and advanced Greek, Indian, and Persian scientific knowledge.

Bhakti movement

Hindu devotional current focusing on personal love for a deity, undercutting rigid caste distinctions.

Vijayanagara / Srivijaya / Majapahit

Powerful South and Southeast Asian kingdoms built on controlling lucrative maritime trade networks.

Maya city-states

Independent Mesoamerican polities known for writing systems, zero, and precise astronomical calendars.

Mexica (Aztec) / Tenochtitlan

Mesoamerican empire centered at Tenochtitlan that extracted wealth through a tributary system.

Inca (Inka) Empire

Andean empire unified by extensive roads, central bureaucracy, and the mit'a labor system.

Chaco / Mesa Verde / Cahokia

Complex North American settlements demonstrating sophisticated urban planning and long-distance trade.

Great Zimbabwe

Stone-walled southern African capital enriched by controlling interior gold trade to the coast.

Ethiopia

Highland Christian kingdom in East Africa that preserved its unique faith despite surrounding Islamic states.

Hausa kingdoms

Network of independent West African city-states thriving on trans-Saharan trade and Islamic influence.

Feudalism

Decentralized European system where land grants (fiefs) were exchanged for military service.

Manorialism

Self-sufficient economic system of medieval Europe centered on peasant labor on noble estates.

Serfdom

Unfree labor status legally binding medieval peasants to work their lord's land.

Political decentralization (Europe)

Fragmentation of power in Europe among competing kings, feudal nobles, and Church authorities.

Predominant European religions

Roman Catholicism primarily, alongside Jewish communities and Muslim populations in Iberia and Sicily.

Free vs. coerced labor

Spectrum of labor systems ranging from freely wage-earning peasants to legally bound serfdom.