States and Civilizations: A Global Tapestry (1200–1450) Vocabulary Flashcards

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering key historical terms, empires, practices, and concepts from Chapter 2: States and Civilizations (1200–1450).

Song Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty (960–1279 C.E.) characterized by stable political rule, a large imperial bureaucratic structure supported by civil service exams, and a flourishing 'Golden Age' of culture and economic innovation.

Champa Rice

A fast-growing and drought-resistant variety of rice imported to China from Vietnam, which significantly increased agricultural production and supported rapid population growth during the Song dynasty.

Foot Binding

A practice adapted by elite Chinese families during the Song dynasty involving the tight wrapping of young girls' feet to suppress growth, emphasizing small size and frailty as standards of female beauty within a patriarchal society.

Hangul

A phonetic Korean writing system developed after the mid-1400s that gradually replaced Chinese characters in Korean literature and popular culture.

Bushido

The 'way of the warrior'—a strict code of values followed by Japanese samurai that emphasized military skill, loyalty, honor, and courage.

Chu Nom

A Vietnamese writing variation of Chinese characters that enabled the creation of an independent national literature and expanded education among women.

Srivijaya

A maritime kingdom centered in Southeast Asia that dominated the Strait of Melaka from 670 to 1025 C.E., amassing wealth through trade taxes and becoming a major hub for Buddhist study.

Abbasid Caliphate

An Islamic empire established in 750 C.E. that gradually fragmented due to internal decline and Turkic invasions, officially ending in 1258 following the Mongol capture of Baghdad.

Ottoman Empire

A major empire established by Turkic warriors in Anatolia that conquered Constantinople in 1453 and grew to span North Africa, the Middle East, and Southeastern Europe.

Janissaries

The elite infantry military force of the Ottoman Empire, renowned for their discipline and role in military conquests.

Sultanate of Delhi

A Turkic Muslim kingdom established in northern India in 1206 C.E. that introduced Islamic rule to South Asia.

Vijayanagar Empire

A Hindu empire in southern India (1336–1646 C.E.) formed to resist northern Muslim incursions while fostering peaceful trade with Muslim merchants in its port cities.

al-Andalus

The Arabic name given to Muslim-ruled Spain, celebrated as a center of vibrant cross-cultural interaction and intellectual achievement among Muslims, Christians, and Jews.

Reconquista

The centuries-long military effort by European Christian kingdoms to reclaim Spain from Islamic control, culminating in the surrender of Granada in 1492.

Swahili Civilization

A series of independent, commercially thriving East African coastal city-states that engaged in Indian Ocean trade and combined African Bantu roots with Islamic and Arabic influences.

Syncretism

The blending of different religious, cultural, or philosophical beliefs into a new, unified system.

Timbuktu

A major West African urban center in the Mali and Songhay empires that developed into a hub for trans-Saharan commerce and Islamic scholarship.

Byzantine Empire

The surviving eastern half of the Roman Empire centered at Constantinople, which preserved Roman legal and administrative structures and Eastern Orthodox Christianity until 1453.

Kievan Rus

An East Slavic state centered at Kiev that adopted Eastern Orthodox Christianity in 988 C.E. under Prince Vladimir, facilitating cultural borrowing from Byzantium.

Feudalism

A decentralized socio-political system in medieval Western Europe where regional landlords granted land (fiefs) to vassals and knights in exchange for military service.

Manorialism

An economic system centered on self-sufficient agricultural manors in medieval Europe, where landlords exercised authority over unfree peasant laborers.

Serfdom

A status of bound labor in feudal Europe where peasants were legally tied to a lord's estate and owed services and fees in exchange for protection and land access.

European Renaissance

A period of intense artistic and intellectual renewal in Western Europe (1350–1500 C.E.) rooted in the Rediscovery and imitation of classical Greco-Roman culture.

Aztec Empire

A powerful Mesoamerican state founded by the Mexica people through a Triple Alliance, centered at Tenochtitlan and reliant on imperial tribute and large-scale ritual sacrifice.

Chinampas

Artificial floating agricultural islands built in lakes by the Aztecs to cultivate crops for nearby urban populations.

Inca Empire

A massive South American empire stretching along the Andes Mountains, organized around a centralized divine bureaucracy, road networks, and forced public labor.

Quipu

A record-keeping device composed of knotted, color-coded cords used by Incan administrative officials to record demographic and economic data.

Mita System

A compulsory public labor service system imposed by the Inca state on conquered peoples for construction projects, agricultural work, and military service.

Gender Parallelism

A social structure present in Aztec and Inca societies where men and women operated in distinct, separate spheres that were considered equal in value.