AP World History Units 1 and 2 Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards generated from the AP World History Units 1 and 2 review list.

Pure Land School of Buddhism

A popular branch of Mahayana Buddhism in China that emphasized salvation through faith and devotion to the Amitabha Buddha.

An Lushan Rebellion

A massive rebellion against the Tang Dynasty in China led by general An Lushan from $755$ to $763\,CE$.

Ulama

Islamic religious scholars and leaders recognized as experts in Islamic sacred law and theology.

Madrassas

Formal Islamic colleges and institutions of higher learning focused on religious law, theology, and sciences.

Sufis

Islamic mystics who sought a direct, personal, and spiritual experience of the Divine through devotional practices.

The hajj

The sacred annual pilgrimage to Mecca that every able-bodied Muslim with financial means is expected to undertake.

Baghdad (pg 438)

The capital city of the Abbasid Caliphate, renowned as a major center of trade, culture, and learning in the Islamic world.

House of Wisdom

An academic center and intellectual institution founded in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age for translation and scholarly research.

Neo-Confucianism

A philosophical movement during the Song Dynasty that revived Confucian thought while incorporating elements of Buddhism and Daoism.

Censorate

An agency in imperial China that served as a high-level surveillance system to inspect and monitor government officials.

Hangzhou (Song capital)

The capital city of the Southern Song Dynasty in China, famous for its grand wealth, large population, and vibrant commerce.

Foot binding

The Chinese practice of tightly wrapping young girls' feet, which symbolized high status, beauty, and female subordination in Song China.

“middle kingdom”

The traditional ethnocentric belief that China was the moral and cultural center of the civilized world.

kowtow

A ritual act of deep respect in imperial China involving kneeling and bowing until the forehead touched the floor before the emperor.

Xiongnu

A powerful nomadic confederation of tribes inhabiting the Eurasian Steppe north of China.

Sultanate of Delhi

An Islamic realm centered in Delhi that ruled large regions of northern India from the $13\text{th}$ to the $16\text{th}$ centuries.

Kabir

A $15\text{th}$-century Indian mystic poet and saint whose devotional teachings emphasized inner spirituality and bridged Hindu and Muslim ideas.

Sikhism

A monotheistic religion founded in Punjab, South Asia by Guru Nanak, combining elements of Hinduism and Islam with an emphasis on devotion and human equality.

Timbuktu

A major city in West Africa (Mali Empire) that became a leading trans-Saharan trade hub and world-famous center of Islamic scholarship.

Mexica

The indigenous semi-nomadic group that migrated into the Valley of Mexico and established the Aztec Empire.

Triple Alliance

An agreement formed between the Mexica (Tenochtitlan), Texcoco, and Tlacopan, laying the foundation for the Aztec Empire.

Tenochtitlan

The magnificent island capital of the Mexica (Aztec) Empire, built in Lake Texcoco.

Chinampas, aka “floating gardens”

Artificial agricultural islands constructed on shallow lake beds in Mesoamerica by the Mexica to increase crop yields.

Huitzilopochtli

The patron deity of war and the sun in the Aztec religion, requiring human blood sacrifice to sustain the sun.

Quechua

The native language spoken by the Inca people of the Andes, spread across their empire.

Gender Parallelism

A social system in Inca and Aztec societies where women and men operated in distinct, separate, but equivalent spheres.

Yuan Dynasty

The Mongol-led imperial dynasty of China ($1271$\text{--}$1368\,CE$), established by Khubilai Khan.

Khubilai Khan

The Mongol ruler and grandson of Genghis Khan who founded the Yuan Dynasty and became the first Emperor of Yuan China.

Hulegu

The Mongol ruler and grandson of Genghis Khan who conquered Baghdad in $1258\,CE$ and established the Ilkhanate in Persia.

Khutulun

A famous Mongol noblewoman and wrestler, daughter of Qaidu, renowned for her military skill and independence.

Kipchak Khanate/ Golden Horde

The western branch of the Mongol Empire that ruled over Russia and Eastern Europe.

Monsoon winds

Seasonal wind patterns in the Indian Ocean that enabled predictable maritime trade between East Africa, Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia.

Swahili language

A Bantu language heavily enriched with Arabic vocabulary, spoken along the East African coast due to Indian Ocean trade.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful inland state and massive stone city in Southern Africa that flourished from gold trade along the East African coast.

Jenne-Jeno

An ancient urban settlement along the Niger River in West Africa known for trade and ironworking without central state hierarchy.

Camel caravans

Organized groups of camels and merchants used to transport valuable trade goods across the vast Sahara Desert.

Dar al Islam

An Arabic phrase meaning "House of Islam," referring to regions where Islamic law and Muslim rulers prevailed.

Caliph

The supreme political and religious leader of the Muslim community, regarded as the successor to the Prophet Muhammad.

Civil Service Exams

Comprehensive imperial exams in China based on Confucian texts, used to recruit merit-based civil bureaucrats.

Hindu Devotional Cults

Religious movements within Hinduism (such as the Bhakti movement) centered on intense personal devotion to specific deities like Vishnu or Shiva.

Angkor

A powerful empire in Southeast Asia (modern Cambodia) famous for massive architectural complexes like Angkor Wat.

Mansa Musa

The ruler of the Mali Empire whose famous pilgrimage to Mecca in $1324\,CE$ demonstrated immense wealth in gold.

Trans Saharan Trade

The expansive overland trade network across the Sahara Desert connecting West Africa with North Africa and the Mediterranean world.

Bantu

A family of languages and agricultural peoples who migrated throughout Sub-Saharan Africa, spreading farming, iron metallurgy, and language.

Swahili

An East African coastal civilization and culture formed by the synthesis of Bantu traditions and Islamic maritime trade.

Zanj Revolt

A major $15\text{-year}$ rebellion ($869$\text{--}$883\,CE$) of enslaved East African workers (Zanj) against the Abbasid Caliphate in southern Mesopotamia.

Feudalism

A decentralized political and social structure in medieval Europe based on mutual land grants, obligations between lords and vassals, and serf labor.

Black Death

A devastating epidemic of bubonic plague that killed millions across Eurasia and North Africa in the mid-$14\text{th}$ century.

The Crusades

A series of holy wars initiated by Western European Christians starting in $1095\,CE$ to reclaim Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim rule.

Mita

A mandatory labor service requirement imposed by the Inca government on conquered subjects for public works.

Quipus

Intricate system of knotted cords used by the Inca Empire for record-keeping, counting, and administrative data.

Champa Rice

A fast-ripening, drought-resistant strain of rice from Vietnam introduced to Song China, enabling double-cropping and massive population growth.

Islamic Agricultural Revolution

The widespread exchange and adoption of new crops, irrigation techniques, and farming methods across the Islamic world during its Golden Age.

SAQ CER Format

Short Answer Question guidelines requiring a $1\text{-sentence}$ Claim, $1\text{--}2\text{-sentence}$ Evidence (specific facts/terms), and a $1\text{-sentence}$ Reasoning statement.