Unit 2: Networks of Exchange Lecture Review

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key trade networks, innovations, empires, and cultural/environmental effects discussed in the Unit 2 lecture notes.

Silk Roads

A vast network of roads and trails that facilitated trade and the spread of culture and ideas across Eurasia in and before the period 1200-1450.

Flying money

A term for the increasing use of credit as a commercial practice that facilitated trade along the Silk Roads.

Bill of exchange

A document used in the rise of banks that facilitated trade and commercial practices.

Caravanserai

A roadside inn on trade routes where merchants could rest, find safety from plunderers, and participate in cultural exchange and diffusion.

Saddles

Supportive seats fastened to an animal’s back, like a horse or camel, making it easier to ride and carry loads.

Kashgar

A major Silk Road city in Central Asia located near a river; it became a destination for profitable markets and a center for Islamic scholarship under Dar al-Islam.

Samarkand

A key Central Asian trading city known for its wealth, Islamic learning, and architecture, acting as a hub for cultural blending between China, India, and the Middle East.

Proto-industrialization

A process in China where more goods were produced than the local population could consume, intended for sale in distant markets.

Temijin

The birth name of the man born in the Gobi desert who specialized in diplomacy and military to unite the Mongols, later known as Chinggis Khan.

Chinggis Khan

The title taken by Temijin after gaining power; he organized his militias into groups of $10,000$, $1000$, $100$, and $10$.

Pax Mongolica

A period of peace and stability that occurred after the Mongols finished conquering their various empires.

Yam system

A Mongol communication method consisting of a series of relay stations spread across the empire to increase communication.

Uyghur Script

A writing system adopted by the Mongols that served as a Lingua Franca for the empire.

Indian Ocean Trade

A maritime network of sea routes connecting various states throughout Afro-Eurasia.

Magnetic compass

An innovation in navigation used to determine the direction in which to sail.

Astrolabe

A tool used by maritime travelers to measure the stars and obtain an accurate reckoning of their location.

Lateen Sail

A triangular sail that allowed ships to take wind in almost any direction.

Monsoon winds

Predictable winds that blew in different directions depending on the time of year, essential for planning Indian Ocean trade.

Junk

A huge and massive ship type developed as an improvement in ship building for maritime trade.

Dhows

Traditional wooden sailing boats used in Indian Ocean trade.

Swahili city states

Powerful and wealthy African coastal states that imported goods from the interior of Africa to sell to Indian Ocean merchants.

Strait of Malacca

A narrow waterway serving as the eastern entry and exit for the Indian Ocean network, which the Malacca rulers taxed for wealth.

Gujarat

A strategic midpoint for trade between East/Southeast Asia and Africa that traded cotton textiles and indigo for gold and silver.

Diasporic Communities

Groups of people from one place who establish a home in another while retaining their original cultural customs, acting as a connective tissue for trade networks.

Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

A series of trade routes connecting North Africa and the Mediterranean with the interior of West Africa.

Empire of Mali

An Islamic state that grew exceedingly wealthy by participating in and taxing the Trans-Saharan trade network.

Mansa Musa

The emperor of Mali known as the richest man to ever exist; his famous Hajj in $1324$ involved distributing so much gold that it caused inflation in Egypt.

Syncretism

The diffusion of ideas where different cultures adapt them by mixing them with local beliefs, such as the blending of Buddhism and Daoism.

House of Wisdom

A center in Baghdad where Muslim scholars translated and commented upon classical Greek and Roman philosophy.

Hangzhou

A significant Chinese trading city located at the southern end of the Grand Canal.

IBN Battuta

One of the key travelers who moved through interregional trade routes during the period of increased safety under Mongol rule.

Champa Rice

A type of rice introduced to China from Vietnam that can be harvested in more than one season, leading to food surpluses and population growth.

Bubonic Plague

Also known as the Black Death, a disease that spread from Northern China via the Silk Roads, killing a third of the population in the Middle East and half in Europe.