UNIT 1: 1200 CE - 1450 CE HEIMLER REVIEW GUIDE

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering the major state-building and cultural developments across Asia, Africa, the Americas, and Europe between 1200 CE and 1450 CE.

State

An organized political community under one government, such as a country, empire, or nation.

Song Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty (960-1276 CE) that utilized an imperial bureaucracy and Neo-Confucianism to maintain and justify its rule.

Civil Service Exam

An examination based on Confucian classics that eligible men had to pass to join the imperial bureaucracy in China.

Confucianism

A state philosophy emphasizing hierarchical society, the superiority of the state over citizens, and harmony through proper relationships.

Filial Piety

A Confucian concept emphasizing the need for children to obey and honor their parents, grandparents, and deceased ancestors.

Neo-Confucianism

A revival of Confucianism during the Song Dynasty that combined ancient history with innovative practices to legitimize rule.

Footbinding

A practice that became popular in elite social circles of Song China, reflecting the subordinate position of women.

Four Noble Truths

The basic tenets of Buddhism which acknowledge the existence of suffering and identify desire/craving as its cause.

Eightfold Path

In Buddhism, the prescribed way to stop suffering.

Theravada Buddhism

The original form of Buddhism where many monks lived in monasteries to focus on attaining enlightenment.

Mahayana Buddhism

A branch of Buddhism that traveled to East Asia, encouraging broader participation and offering help to achieve nirvana from bodhisattvas.

Champa Rice

A drought-resistant, early-maturing crop from Vietnam that allowed Song China to increase its food supply and population.

Grand Canal

A massive waterway project in China that was expanded to facilitate trade.

Tribute System

A system where neighboring countries acknowledged China's superiority and gave gifts to gain access to trade rights.

Abbasid Caliphate

An Islamic empire (750-1258 CE) that fragmented by 1200 and eventually fell when the Mongols conquered Baghdad.

Seljuk Empire

A dominant empire created by ethnic Turks from Central Asia who originally propped up the failing Abbasid state.

Mamluk Sultanate

A Turkic Muslim state in Egypt established by slave soldiers.

Sharia Law

A legal code based on the Quran used in Islamic empires.

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

A scholar in Dar al-Islam who invented trigonometry.

House of Wisdom

An intellectual center in Baghdad where Muslim scholars preserved and translated Greek philosophical works into Arabic.

Sufis

Muslim missionaries who helped spread Islam by allowing for some local beliefs.

Bhakti Hinduism

A movement in Southern India that emphasized devotion to a single Hindu god and challenged social and gender hierarchies.

Delhi Sultanate

A Muslim-led state in Northern India where the majority of the population remained Hindu.

Vijayanagara Empire

A Hindu kingdom in India formed by brothers who had previously converted to Islam; it rivaled the Delhi Sultanate.

Majapahit Kingdom

A Buddhist kingdom on the island of Java that maintained influence by controlling sea routes for trade.

Khmer Empire

An empire in Southeast Asia that began as Hindu and transitioned to Buddhism, as reflected in the architecture of Angkor Wat.

Aztec Civilization

A decentralized empire founded in Mesoamerica in 1345 by the Mexica, with its capital at Tenochtitlan.

Mit'a System

A mandatory public service/labor system used by the Inca to complete state projects like farming and construction.

Mississippian Culture

A North American culture located in the Mississippi River Valley known for building large mounds, such as those at Cahokia.

Swahili Civilization

A collection of politically independent city-states in East Africa that grew powerful through Indian Ocean Trade.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful state in Southern Africa that grew wealthy from the gold trade and maintained indigenous shamanistic faith.

Feudalism

A decentralized European political system in which kings and lords granted land to vassals in exchange for military service.

Manorialism

The economic system of decentralized Europe where peasants lived and worked on a lord's land in exchange for protection.

Serfdom

A condition in which peasants were tied to the land they worked and could not leave without the lord's permission.