Global Tapestry Vocab

Song Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (960–1279) known for economic growth, technological innovation, Neo-Confucianism, and strong centralized government.

Neo-Confucianism

A revival of Confucian ideas that emphasized social order, hierarchy, education, and moral behavior.

Filial Piety

The Confucian duty to respect, obey, and care for one's parents and ancestors.

Civil Service Exam

Examinations used to select government officials based largely on knowledge of Confucian texts.

Sinification

The adoption of Chinese culture, language, institutions, and traditions by non-Chinese peoples.

Champa (Wet field) rice

A fast-growing rice variety from Southeast Asia that helped increase food production in China.

Tribute System

A system in which neighboring states gave gifts or payments to China while recognizing the Chinese emperor's authority.

Grand Canal

A major Chinese waterway connecting northern and southern China and helping move grain and goods.

Foot binding

The practice of tightly binding girls' feet in China to produce very small feet; associated with status and beauty.

Woodblock printing

A printing method in which text or images are carved into a block, inked, and pressed onto paper.

Emperor

The supreme ruler of imperial China.

Dynastic Rule

A system in which a ruling family controls a government and power is passed through generations.

Mandate of Heaven

The Chinese belief that a ruler had divine approval to govern, which could be lost through poor rule.

Scholar Gentry

Educated Chinese elites who often served as government officials and held high social status.

Eunuch

A castrated male, often employed in royal or imperial courts in roles such as palace administration.

Ming Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (1368–1644) that restored Han Chinese rule, expanded trade, and strengthened the bureaucracy.

Koryo

A Korean dynasty (918–1392) that adopted many Chinese cultural and governmental influences.

Heian Period

Period in Japanese history (794–1185) centered at Heian-kyo, known for court culture and aristocratic traditions.

Fujiwara

A powerful Japanese family that controlled government through marriage and political influence during the Heian period.

Shogun

The military ruler of Japan who held the real political power for much of Japanese history.

Samurai

Japanese warrior class that served powerful lords and followed a warrior code.

Five Pillars

The five basic duties of Islam: faith, prayer, charity, fasting during Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Mecca.

Umma

The worldwide community of Muslims.

Dhimmi

Non-Muslims living under Muslim rule who were protected and allowed to practice their religions in exchange for a tax.

Sunni

The largest branch of Islam, traditionally emphasizing the authority of the Muslim community and early caliphs.

Shia

A branch of Islam that holds that Ali and his descendants were the rightful leaders of the Muslim community.

Sharia Law

Islamic law based on the Quran, Hadith, and other Islamic legal traditions.

Jizya

A tax historically imposed on certain non-Muslim subjects living under Muslim rule.

Qur'an

The sacred scripture of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the word of God revealed to Muhammad.

Ulama

Muslim religious scholars who interpret Islamic law and teachings.

Seljuk Empire

A Turkic Muslim empire that controlled large areas of the Middle East and Anatolia during the 11th–12th centuries.

Mamluk Sultanate

A Muslim state centered in Egypt and Syria ruled by military slave-soldiers who became a powerful ruling class.

Umayyad Caliphate

The caliphate that ruled from 661–750 and expanded Islam across much of the Middle East, North Africa, and Iberia.

Abbasid Caliphate

The caliphate that overthrew the Umayyads in 750 and made Baghdad a major center of trade, learning, and culture.

House of Wisdom

A major Abbasid center of scholarship in Baghdad where texts were translated and knowledge in science, medicine, and mathematics developed.

Sufis

Muslim mystics who emphasized a personal, spiritual relationship with God.

Battle of Talas

A 751 battle between the Abbasid forces and Tang China that helped limit Chinese expansion into Central Asia.

Battle of Tours

A 732 battle in which Frankish forces defeated an Umayyad army in western Europe.

Cordoba

A major city in Muslim-controlled Iberia known for learning, trade, libraries, and cultural achievements.

Viziers

High-ranking government advisers or ministers in many Islamic states.

Madrassa

An Islamic school or institution of higher learning, especially for religious studies.

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim traveler who journeyed extensively across Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe in the 14th century.

Hinduism

A major South Asian religion with diverse beliefs, including dharma, karma, reincarnation, and moksha.

Buddhism

A religion and philosophy based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, emphasizing overcoming suffering and reaching enlightenment.

Caste System

A social hierarchy in South Asia traditionally based on hereditary groups and associated occupations and social rules.

Sati

A historical practice in which a widow was expected or pressured to die on her deceased husband's funeral pyre.

Delhi Sultanate

A series of Muslim dynasties that ruled much of northern India from the 13th to the 16th century.

Khmer Empire

A powerful Southeast Asian empire centered in Cambodia, famous for Angkor and its large irrigation projects.

Bhakti movement

A Hindu devotional movement emphasizing personal devotion to a particular deity.

Buddhist monasticism

The tradition of Buddhist monks and nuns living in monasteries and following religious rules.

Mahayana Buddhism

A major branch of Buddhism emphasizing the bodhisattva ideal and the possibility of enlightenment for all.

Theravada Buddhism

A major branch of Buddhism emphasizing monastic life and the teachings preserved in the Pali Canon.

Angkor Wat

A massive temple complex in Cambodia built by the Khmer Empire; originally Hindu and later associated with Buddhism.

Malacca

A major Southeast Asian trading port and sultanate located on the Strait of Malacca.

Rajput

A group of warrior clans in northern and western India that formed powerful regional kingdoms.

Sultan

A Muslim ruler, especially one who governs a sultanate.

Purdah

A South Asian practice involving the social seclusion or separation of women from unrelated men.

Maya city-states

Independent political centers in the Maya civilization, each ruled by its own king or elite.

Mexico

A region of Mesoamerica that was home to major civilizations including the Aztecs and earlier cultures.

Inca

A powerful Andean empire that ruled much of western South America before Spanish conquest.

Andes Mountains

The major mountain range along western South America where the Inca civilization developed.

Mesa Verde

A region in the southwestern United States known for cliff dwellings built by Ancestral Pueblo peoples.

Cahokia

A major pre-Columbian urban center near present-day St. Louis, known for large earthen mounds.

Cuzco

The capital and political center of the Inca Empire in the Andes.

Pachacuti

The Inca ruler who greatly expanded the Inca Empire and transformed Cuzco.

Mita System

An Inca labor system requiring communities to provide workers for state projects.

Waru-waru

Raised-field agricultural technology used in the Andes to improve farming and protect crops from frost.

Machu Picchu

A famous Inca site in the Andes, likely serving as a royal or religious center.

Quipu

A system of knotted cords used by the Inca to record information, especially numbers and administrative data.

Aztecs

A powerful Mesoamerican civilization centered in the Valley of Mexico and based at Tenochtitlan.

Terrace farming

A farming method that creates step-like fields on hills or mountains to conserve soil and water.

Lake Texcoco

The lake in central Mexico where the Aztecs built their capital, Tenochtitlan.

Yucatan Peninsula

A region of southeastern Mexico and Central America that was an important center of Maya civilization.

Tenochtitlan

The Aztec capital built on islands in Lake Texcoco; one of the largest cities in the pre-Columbian Americas.

Chinampas

Raised agricultural fields built in shallow lakes, especially around Tenochtitlan.

Capa Ñan

The extensive Inca road network that connected the empire across the Andes.

Ghana

A powerful West African state that grew wealthy by controlling trans-Saharan trade in gold and salt.

Mali

A wealthy West African empire that controlled major gold-producing and trade regions.

Sundiata

Founder of the Mali Empire who united the Malinke people and established a powerful state.

Mansa Musa

Famous ruler of Mali known for his immense wealth, pilgrimage to Mecca, and support for Islamic learning.

Berbers

North African peoples who played important roles in trade and the spread of Islam across the Sahara.

Bantu Migrations

The long-term movement of Bantu-speaking peoples across sub-Saharan Africa, spreading languages, farming, and ironworking.

Griots

West African storytellers and oral historians who preserved traditions, genealogies, and historical knowledge.

Swahili

A language and culture that developed along the East African coast through African, Arab, and Persian interactions.

Swahili City-states

Independent trading cities along the East African coast that participated in Indian Ocean commerce.

Matrilineal descent

A system in which family lineage or inheritance is traced through the mother's side.

Malaria

A disease spread by mosquitoes that significantly affected populations in tropical Africa and other regions.

Hausa Kingdoms

A group of independent city-states in West Africa involved in agriculture, trade, and regional commerce.

Feudalism

A political and social system in medieval Europe based on relationships between lords, vassals, land, and military service.

Roman Catholicism

The largest Western Christian tradition, centered on the authority of the pope and the Catholic Church.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

A major Christian tradition centered in the Byzantine world and led by patriarchs rather than the pope.

Byzantine Empire

The eastern continuation of the Roman Empire, centered on Constantinople and lasting until 1453.

Manorial System

An economic system in medieval Europe in which peasants worked land controlled by a lord in exchange for protection and access to resources.

Peasants

Farmers and rural laborers who made up most of medieval Europe's population.

Knights

Heavily armed medieval European warriors, often serving lords in exchange for land or status.

Code of Chivalry

The ideals and rules associated with medieval European knights, including loyalty, courage, and honorable behavior.

Guilds

Associations of merchants or craftspeople that regulated trade, training, prices, and standards.

Vassals

People who received land or protection from a lord in exchange for loyalty and service.

Serfdom

A system in which peasants were legally tied to the land of a lord and owed labor or payments.

Three Field System

A European farming system that divided land into three parts, rotating crops and leaving one field fallow.