Unit 3: Land-Based Empires Flashcard Set

Land-based empire

A state (1450–1750) that expanded by controlling large connected land territories instead of mainly overseas colonies.

Buffer zone

A protective border area created through expansion to defend against rival states or frontier threats.

Legitimacy

The belief that a ruler has the right to rule, often supported by religion, tradition, military success, or prosperity.

State capacity

A government’s ability to collect taxes, raise armies, enforce laws, and manage territory effectively.

Gunpowder weapons

Cannons and firearms that changed warfare in the early modern period.

Gunpowder empires

A term for the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal Empires, which used gunpowder weapons to build and maintain power.

Steppe warfare traditions

Military practices from nomadic steppe groups that emphasized cavalry, speed, and mobility.

Indirect rule

A system where empires rule through local leaders who collect taxes and maintain order for the empire.

Bureaucracy

A system of trained government officials who help run and manage an empire.

Legal pluralism

A system where different groups in one empire follow different legal systems under the same ruler.

Timar

An Ottoman land-grant system where officials controlled land in return for supporting the empire.

Devshirme

An Ottoman practice of taking Christian boys and training them for government or military service.

Janissaries

Elite Ottoman soldiers recruited through the devshirme system and loyal to the sultan.

Conquest of Constantinople (1453)

The Ottoman capture of Constantinople that ended the Byzantine Empire and made the city Istanbul.

Selim I

Ottoman ruler who expanded the empire and strengthened its role in the Islamic world.

Suleiman I

Ottoman ruler known for military expansion and a golden age of culture and law.

Twelver Shi’a Islam

The branch of Islam adopted by the Safavid Empire to strengthen its identity and distinguish it from Sunni rivals.

Babur

The founder of the Mughal Empire who conquered northern India in 1526.

Akbar

A Mughal ruler known for religious tolerance and cooperation with different cultural groups.

Zamindars

Local landowners in the Mughal Empire who collected taxes for the government.

Taj Mahal

A famous Mughal monument built by Shah Jahan that shows imperial wealth and power.

Aurangzeb

A Mughal ruler who ended religious tolerance and expanded the empire through warfare.

Manchus

A non-Han Chinese group that conquered China and founded the Qing Dynasty.

Ming Dynasty (1368–1644)

A Chinese dynasty that restored native rule after the Mongols but later weakened due to economic and social problems.

Zheng He

A Chinese admiral who led large naval expeditions across the Indian Ocean during the Ming Dynasty.

Qing Dynasty (1644–1911)

A Chinese dynasty founded by the Manchus that ruled a large multiethnic empire.

Kangxi

A powerful Qing emperor who expanded the empire and strengthened stability.

Qianlong

A Qing emperor who expanded China’s territory and oversaw a prosperous period.

Tokugawa Shogunate (Edo period)

A Japanese military government that ruled from 1600–1868 and focused on stability and strict social order.

National Seclusion Policy (1635)

A Tokugawa policy that limited foreign influence and restricted travel outside Japan.

Boyars

Russian nobles who owned land and had power over peasants before stronger centralized rule.

Time of Troubles (1604–1613)

A period of political chaos and civil conflict in Russia after the death of Ivan IV.

Romanov dynasty

The royal family that ruled Russia from 1613 until the Russian Revolution in 1917.

Peter the Great

A Russian ruler who modernized and westernized Russia.

Catherine the Great

A Russian ruler who expanded education and culture but kept serfdom.

Serfdom (Russia)

A system where peasants were legally tied to land owned by nobles.

Renaissance

A European cultural movement that revived classical learning and supported the arts.

Humanism

A Renaissance idea focusing on human achievements, education, and classical knowledge.

Printing press

A machine invented by Johannes Gutenberg that made books cheaper and spread ideas faster.

Indulgences

Payments to the Catholic Church that were believed to reduce punishment for sins.

Martin Luther

A German monk who challenged Church practices and started the Protestant Reformation.

Calvinism

A Protestant belief system created by John Calvin that spread across parts of Europe.

Predestination

The Calvinist belief that God has already decided who will be saved.

Church of England (Anglican Church)

The English national church created when Henry VIII separated from the Catholic Church.

Council of Trent

A meeting of Catholic leaders that responded to the Protestant Reformation and reformed church practices.

Scientific method

A way of gaining knowledge through observation, experiments, and repeated testing.

Deism

The belief that God created the universe but does not interfere with it.

Edict of Nantes (1598)

A law in France that allowed religious tolerance between Catholics and Protestants.

Songhai Empire

A powerful West African empire known for trade, strong administration, and the city of Timbuktu.

Queen Nzinga’s Resistance

Long resistance led by Queen Nzinga against Portuguese control in Central Africa.