AP World History Unit 1: The Global Tapestry

Song Dynasty

The family that ruled China from 960-1279 CE.

Sinification

The process in which non-Chinese societies become aware or are introduced to Chinese culture.

Champa Rice

A type of rice from the Champa Kingdom, which is now Central Vietnam.

Hangzhou

The Capital of China's Zhejiang province.

Grand Canal

A canal running from Beijing to the Zhejiang province.

Kaifeng

The capital of China in the Song Dynasty.

Foot binding

The practice of breaking and binding the feet of young girls to alter their shape.

Tribute System

A network of international relations that facilitated trade by acknowledging that China was the superior power in East Asia.

Hangul

The Korean alphabet.

Samurai

A member of a powerful and influential military caste in Japan.

Bushido

The code of morals developed by and for the Japanese Samurai.

Kami

The holy powers in the shinto religion.

Abbasid Caliphate

The third caliphate to succeed the prophet Muhammad.

Baghdad

The Capital of Iraq.

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

A well-published Persian author who wrote on different math subjects and sciences.

Seljuks (Turks)

Turkish tribes who invaded Southwestern Africa and eventually founded an empire.

Ottoman Empire

A state that controlled much of Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and Northern Africa. Known for art, science, and medicine.

Dar al-Islam

Directly translates to house of Islam, or everywhere Islam is.

Janissaries

A member of the Turkish infantry forming the sultan's guard.

Delhi Sultanate

An Islamic empire based in Delhi that became an imperial power.

Mamluks

A word referring to non-Arab slave soldiers serving the ruling Dynasties in the Muslim world.

al-Andalus

The Muslim-ruled area of the Iberian Peninsula (Spain).

Cordoba

A city in al-Andalus, part of the Muslim-ruled area of Spain.

al-Mansur

The second Abbasid caliph.

Byzantine Empire

The continuation of the Roman Empire in its eastern provinces.

Constantinople

The capital city of the Byzantine, Latin, and Ottoman Empires.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

The second-largest Christian church formed. Originated in the Eastern part of the Roman empire and eventually separated from the dominant branch of Christianity in the region.

Crusades

A series of Medieval military expeditions by the Latin church that sought out to take back the Holy Land.

Kievan Rus

A loose federation of a bunch of different people in Eastern and Northern Europe.

Roman Catholic Church

The largest Christian church and the largest religion domination. A Western branch of Christianity.

Aztec Empire

An alliance of three Nahua altepetl city-states. Developed in present-day Mexico.

Mexica

A Nahuatl-speaking indigenous people who ruled the Aztec Empire.

Mayans

An ethnolinguistic group of indiginous people of Mesoamerica.

Tenochtitlan

The Capital and center of the Aztec Empire.

Chinampas

A long and narrow floating field on a shallow waterbed.

Incas

The largest Empire in Pre Columbian America.

Machu Picchu

A 15th century Incan citadel and present-day cultural haven.

Mi'ta System

A system established by the Incan Empire to create buildings or roads throughout the Empire. Later turned into a coercive labor system after the Spanish took over.

Cuzco

The capital of the Incan Empire.

Vijayanagara Empire

A city in South India established by the Sangama Dynasty.

Cahokia

The largest city ever built North of Mexico before Columbus.

Mesa Verde

The site of well-preserved Native American ruins; Anasazi cliff-dwellings.

Serfdom

The status of many peasants under feudalism.

Little Ice Age

A period of regional cooling that occured after the Medieval Warm Period.

European Renaissance

The transition from the Middle Ages to modernity.