unit 2 AP World

Samarkand

City in modern day Uzbekistan involved in Silk Road due to location in between china and Mediterranean that grew due to trade

Caravans

Group of people traveling together for safety over long distances

Compass

Navigational instrument for finding directions

Kashgar

A central trading point where the Eastern and western Silk Roads met

Caravanserai

Inns or locations for merchants to stay and rest located about every 100 miles apart along the Silk Road

Flying cash

System of credit where merchants deposit money at one location and withdrawal at another

Banking houses

Precursor to modern banking that china utilized to help manage finances and money from trade

Hanseatic league

Northern Germany and Scandinavia formed an alliance to organize Europeans resources and trade in 1296

Chinese junk

A ship known for its large length and multiple sails which made it more stable on the ocean

Genghis khan

Became first leader of the United mongol empire in 1206 (lived from 1162-1227)

Nomadic

Wandering moving about from place to place

Mongol empire

the largest contiguous land empire in history that conquered large parts of Eurasia under Genghis khan and his descendants from 1206-1400s

Siege weapons

Weapons used to attack castles

Kublai khan

Genghis khans grandson responsible for forming the yuan dynasty in china in 1271 and becoming great khan (lived 1215-1294)

White lotus society

A group who ousted the mongols from china and formed the Ming dynasty to take over in 1350s-1360s

Pax mongolica

A period of relative peace between Africa,Europe and Asia brought about by the mongol empire from the 1200s to 1300s

Triangular lateen sails

Sails on a ship whose triangular shape helped sailors catch multiple winds from different directions

Melacca

An Islamic city state that grew wealthy due to trade in the Indian Ocean

Calicut

Great spice port on west coast of India

Monsoon winds

Winds that affected the ships involved in Indian Ocean trade that blew different ways depending on the time of the year

Astrolabe

An instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the position of the stars and planets

Indian Ocean slave trade

Slaves from Eastern Africa being transported forcefully through the Indian Ocean to Middle East, india and Northern Africa from 1200s to 1800s

Diasporic communities

Merchant communities that introduced their own cultures into other areas

Camel saddles

A device that allowed people to ride animals like camels

Oases

Fertile places in dry areas where water is found

Mali

A powerful African state that rose in wealth and power due to its location near the Trans Saharan trade networks

Mansa musa

Islamic ruler of Mali who stressed importance of religion and showcased the country’s wealth ( lived from 1280-1337)

Songhai kingdom

Largest African trading kingdom during its time, helped rebel against Mali and only lasted for about 100 years from late 1400s to 1500s

Hangzhou

A heavily populated and urbanized city in south china seen as the cultural center of the region

Constantinople

A once dominated city in the Byzantine Empire that started to decline in the period due to foreign attacks and the plague

Bubonic plague

A deadly disease that spread across Asia and Europe in the mid 14th century, killing millions of people, worst about in 1347-1352 in Europe

Ibn batuta

Muslim scholar from Morocco who travelled through Eurasia and Northern Africa and wrote about it (lived from 1304-1353)

Margery kempe

Wrote one of the first autobiographies in English about her pilgrimages to holy sites throughout Eurasia (lived from 1373-1440

Bananas

Crop that led to spike in population in sub- Saharan Africa

Overgrazing

excessive eating by animals that causes grasslands to die