AP World History practice flashcards

A collection of vocabulary flashcards covering significant terms, civilizations, religions, and historical concepts from Units 0 to 5 of AP World History notes.

Agrarian

Relating to land; relating to the management or farming of land.

Elite

People of wealth and power; upper class -- did not emerge until settled societies developed.

Egalitarian

Believing in the social and economic equality of all people - existing before setting societies in hunter-gatherer groups.

Social hierarchy

The division of society by rank or class.

Mesopotamia

(land between the rivers) The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers; birthplace of the Sumerian and Babylonian Civilizations.

Ancient Egypt

An ancient civilization centered around the Nile River; unified by Menes around $3000\,B.C.$; divided into the old, middle, and new kingdoms.

Code of Hammurabi

Established the basis for law codes; written by a Babylonian king and credited as the first written law code.

Zoroastrianism

One of the first monotheistic religions; central to the political and religious culture of ancient Persia.

Judaism

A religion with a belief in one god originating with Abraham and the Hebrew people; they preserved their early history in the Old Testament.

Diaspora

Any group migration or flight from a country or region; particularly used in relation to Jews scattered by Romans in $70\,CE$.

Hinduism

A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation, karma, the caste system, and a supreme being.

Buddhism

A religion based on Buddha's teachings that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire; enlightenment is obtained through right conduct, wisdom, and meditation.

Confucianism

A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of Confucius; stresses a moral code of conduct and ensuring a stable government and orderly society.

Mandate of Heaven

A political theory developed during the Zhou Dynasty of ancient China in which those in power were believed to have the right to rule from divine authority.

Christianity

An Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in the New Testament.

Animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

Han Dynasty

($202\,BCE-220\,CE$) Continued the centralization of the Qin Dynasty but focused on Confucianism and education instead of Legalism.

Mauryan Empire

The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent, founded by Chandragupta Maurya in $324\,B.C.E.$ and surviving until $184\,B.C.E.$

Hellenistic Empire

The spread of Greek history, language, and culture from the death of Alexander the Great to the defeat of Cleopatra and Mark Antony by Octavian in $31\,BC$.

Mayans

($1500\,B.C.$ to $900\,A.D.$) The most advanced civilization of the time in the Western Hemisphere; famous for temples, pyramids, and cities.

Greek city-states

Polis; culturally unified (Homer, language) but politically diverse; unified by a language, polytheistic religion, and culture.

Centralized government

A government in which power is concentrated in a central authority to which local governments are subject.

Caste

Any of the social or subclasses of traditional Hindu society characterized by hereditary rank, profession or wealth.

Silk Road

An ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending some $6,440\,km$ ($4,000\,mi$).

Trans-Saharan trade

Route across the Sahara desert trading gold and salt; camels played a huge role in the trading.

Indian Ocean trade

The world's richest maritime trading network; connected Europe, Africa, and China and facilitated the spread of Islam.

Gupta

Powerful Indian state based in the Ganges Valley; often associated with a Golden Age of classical India.

Collapse of classical empires

Caused by spread of disease, over-expansion, corrupt governments, nomadic invasions, over-taxation of peasants, and food shortages.

Legalism

Chinese philosophy developed by Hanfeizi; taught that humans are naturally evil and need to be ruled by harsh laws; embraced by the Qin Dynasty.

Daoism

Chinese religion emphasizing living in harmony with nature and the "Tao/Dao" (the way); characterized by ying and yang.

Song Dynasty

($960-1279\,CE$) Chinese dynasty that placed emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military.

Filial Piety

In Confucianism, a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors.

Neo-Confucianism

A philosophy that emerged in Song-dynasty China; revived Confucian thinking while adding Buddhist and Daoist elements.

Champa rice

A quick-maturing, drought-resistant rice that can allow two harvests of sixty days each in one growing season.

Grand Canal

Built in the $7th$ century during the reign of Yangdi to link the north China plain with the Yangtze river basin; strengthened China's internal cohesion.

Abbasid Caliphate

The third of the Islamic Caliphates; rulers built their capital in Baghdad in $750\,CE$ after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs.

Mamluks

Turkic military slaves who were part of the Abbasid forces and eventually founded their own state in Egypt and Syria ($1250-1517$).

Delhi Sultanates

Five dynasties that ruled over the city of Delhi in India for about $320$ years beginning in $1206$.

Dar al-Islam

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

Bhakti Movement

A Hindu movement that sought to emphasize the idea of devotion to God (Salvation); women began to receive greater importance.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful state in the African interior that flourished between $1250$ and $1350\,C.E.$ due to gold trade.

Hausa Kingdoms

One kingdom divided into $7$ states connected through kinship; benefited economically from the trans-Saharan trade network.

Feudalism

Dominant social system in medieval Europe where nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service.

Manorial System

Self-sufficient economic structure defining the relationship between the Lord and the peasants or serfs who produced goods.

Serfdom

Feudal system involving the use of serfs to work the land in return for protection against barbarian invasions.

House of Wisdom in Baghdad

Large Islamic-based library and learning center focused on converting Greek, Roman, and Indian learning into Arabic.

Mayan Civilization

Pre-Columbian civilization of the Yucatán Peninsula that reached its peak in the $9th$ century $A.D.$

Incas

Native American people who built a civilization in western South America (present-day Peru) in the $15th$ and $16th$ centuries.

Magnetic compass

Chinese invention that aided navigation by showing which direction was north.

Junk

Chinese ships equipped with watertight bulkheads and sternpost rudders; dominant force in Asian seas.

Mongol Empire

Empire founded in the $12th$ century by Genghis Khan; reached its greatest territorial extent in the $13th$ century.

Caravanserai

An inn with a large courtyard that provided accommodation for caravans, facilitating trade.

Flying cash

Chinese banking innovation enabling merchants to deposit goods or cash at one location and draw the equivalent elsewhere.

Pax Mongolica

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

Khanates

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

Yuan Dynasty

Dynasty in China set up by the Mongols under Kublai Khan ($1279-1368$).

Ming Dynasty

Succeeded the Mongol Yuan dynasty in $1368$; initially mounted trade expeditions but later concentrated on internal development.

Bubonic Plague

Also known as the Black Death; transmitted by fleas on the Mongols and through trade to Europe.

Monsoon winds

Strong winds that predicted travel across the Indian Ocean; knowledge of them was essential for travel.

Astrolabe

A Muslim travel system that allowed sailors to determine how far north or south they are from the equator.

Mali

A North African trading society that profited from gold trade and was brought to its peak by Mansa Musa.

Ibn Battuta

A Muslim scholar from Morocco who set out to see the world he read about.

Swahili

A language that is a blend of Bantu and Arabic, still widely spoken today.

Gunpowder Empires

Large multiethnic states in Southwest, Central, and South Asia that relied on firearms to conquer and control territories.

Manchus

Northeast Asian peoples who defeated the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty in $1644$.

Qing Dynasty of China

The last imperial dynasty of China ($1644-1912$), founded by the Manchus.

Ottoman Empire

Islamic state founded by Osman; based at Istanbul from $1453-1922$ and encompassed lands in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Safavid Empire

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

Mughal Empire

Islamic imperial power that began in $1526$ and ruled most of the Indian subcontinent until the mid-$19th$ century.

Ivan the Terrible (IV)

($1533-1584$) The first ruler to assume the title Czar of all Russia; directed cruelty toward all those with whom he disagreed.

Suleiman the Magnificent

Illustrous sultan of the Ottoman Empire ($r.\,1520-1566$) known as 'The Lawgiver.'

Akbar the Great

Grandson of Babur known for religious tolerance and creating a strong central government in the Mughal Empire.

Divine Right of Kings

The belief that kings receive their power from God and are responsible only to God.

Peter I (the Great)

Russian tsar ($r.\,1689-1725$) who introduced Western languages and technologies and moved the capital to St. Petersburg.

Janissaries

Elite infantry corps of the Ottoman Turks; composed of Christian boys converted to Islam.

Tokugawa Shogunate

Semi-feudal government of Japan founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu that unified the country and moved the capital to Edo.

Tax farming

A government's use of private collectors to collect taxes for a fixed amount, permitting collectors to keep excess as profit.

Zamindars

Aristocrats in the Mughal Empire who held large tracts of land and collected taxes from peasants; later became tax collectors for the British.

Taj Mahal

A beautiful tomb built in the $17th$ century by Mughal ruler Shah Jahan to honor his wife.

Versailles

Palace constructed by Louis XIV outside of Paris to glorify his rule and subdue the nobility.

95 Theses

Luther's list of accusations against the Roman Catholic Church nailed to a church door in $1517$, catalyzing the Protestant Reformation.

Counter Reformation

The Roman Catholic Church's reaction to the Reformation reaffirming the authority of the Pope and veneration of saints.

Jesuits

The Society of Jesus; founded as a teaching and missionary order to resist the spread of Protestantism.

Council of Trent

Met intermittently from $1545$ to $1563$ to reform abusive church practices and reaffirm traditional Catholic teachings.

Sikhism

Monotheistic religion founded in northern India in the $16th$ century combining elements of Hinduism and Islam.

Scientific Revolution

A major change in European thought starting in the mid-$1500s$ characterizing study of the natural world by careful observation.

Sir Isaac Newton

English mathematician and physicist who developed calculus and the law of gravitation; author of Principia Mathematica.

Columbian Exchange

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

Encomienda

A grant of land made by Spain to a settler in the Americas, including the right to use Native Americans as laborers.

Creole

Descendants of Europeans in Latin America, usually implying upper-class status.

Mestizo

A person in Spain's colonies in the Americas who was of Native American and European descent.

Middle Passage

The route in between western ports of Africa to the Caribbean and southern U.S. that carried the slave trade.

Mercantilism

An economic system designed to increase a nation's wealth by government regulation of all commercial interests.

Meiji Restoration

The overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate in $1868$, restoring power to the emperor Meiji and modernizing Japan.

French Revolution

Massive dislocation of society ($1789-1815$) that overthrew the monarchy and destroyed the French aristocracy.

Boxer Rebellion

Rising of Chinese militia organizations in $1900$ in which large numbers of Europeans and Chinese Christians were killed.

Karl Marx

German expatriate in England who advocated working-class revolution; the most influential proponent of socialism.

Bourgeoisie

Term used by Karl Marx to describe the owners of industrial capital; originally meant "townspeople."

Seneca Falls Conference

The first organized women's rights conference, which took place in New York in $1848$.

Social Darwinism

An application of the concept of "survival of the fittest" to human history in the $19th$ century.