Chap 5 vocab APWH

Sufi

Devoted Muslims who focused on serving Allah and peacefully spreading Islam through teaching and writing, helping Islam reach new places and gain followers.

Buyids

A group that took over Baghdad and controlled the Abbasid caliphs as figureheads, showing how regional leaders could hold real power.

Seljuk Turks

Nomads from Central Asia who ruled for the Abbasid caliphs, strengthened Sunni Islam, and changed who really controlled the Middle East.

Crusades

Wars by European Christians to take the Holy Land from Muslims, which affected power and religion between Europe and the Middle East.

Saladin

A Muslim leader who recaptured lands from the Crusaders and united Muslims to defend their territory.

Ibn Khaldun

A Muslim historian who explained how ruling families rise and fall, helping people understand why empires collapse.

Hulegu

A Mongol leader and grandson of Chinggis Khan who sacked Baghdad in 1258, ending the Abbasid Caliphate and showing Mongol power.

Mamluks

Muslim slave soldiers who started a dynasty in Egypt and defeated the Mongols, keeping the Middle East independent.

Shah-Nama

A Persian epic poem by Firdawsi that preserved Persia’s culture, history, and language after the Islamic conquest.

Ulama

Islamic scholars who promoted strict religious rules, shaping how Islam was practiced and limiting foreign ideas.

Al-Ghazali

An Islamic thinker who tried to combine Greek philosophy with the Qur’an, influencing Islamic thought and making religion more spiritual.

Muhammad ibn Qasim

An Arab general who conquered Sind in India, bringing Islam to South Asia.

Mahmud of Ghazni

A Turkish ruler who raided Northern India and looted temples, spreading Islam and showing Muslim military power.

Muhammad of Ghur

A Persian military leader who conquered Northern India, laying the foundation for Muslim kingdoms including the Delhi Sultanate.

Qutb-ud-din Aibak

A general who started the Delhi Sultanate in India, creating the first long-lasting Muslim kingdom there.

Bhaktic cults

Hindu groups that focused on loving devotion to gods, making religion more personal and spreading new ways of worship.

Mira Bai

A Hindu poet whose devotional songs inspired people, especially women, to practice personal devotion in the Bhakti tradition.

Kabir

A Muslim weaver who said it didn’t matter if you were Hindu or Muslim, promoting devotion to God and bringing Hindus and Muslims closer spiritually.

Shrivijaya

A Southeast Asian trading empire that controlled trade and followed Buddhism, becoming rich and later allowing Islam to spread after its fall.

Malacca

A busy Southeast Asian port city where trade flourished, helping Islam and cultural ideas spread across the region.

Demak

A trading city on Java that became Muslim, helping Islam grow across Java and other parts of Southeast Asia.