AP World History Unit 1: The Global Tapestry

Yahweh

Name for God in Judaism

Synagogue

Place of worship in Judaism

Abraham

Teachings of Judaism are based on him

Rabbis

Teachers and spiritual leaders in Judaism

Tanakh

Holy book of Judaism

Torah

First section of Tanakh, law and teachings

Nevi’im

Second section of Tanakh, prophets

Ketuvim

Third section of Tanakh, writings, poetry, wisdom

Hanukkah

Festival celebrating rededication of the Temple

Rosh Hashanah

Jewish New Year

Sheol

Jewish belief: place where souls are cleansed before resurrection when Messiah returns

Siddhartha Gautama

Founder of Buddhism (the Buddha)

Four Noble Truths

Suffering, cause of suffering, end of suffering, path to end suffering

Eightfold Path

Right view, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, concentration

Tripitaka

Holy book of Buddhism (~40 volumes in English)

Spread of Buddhism

Practiced in China, Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Myanmar, Sri Lanka

Vesak

Festival celebrating Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death

Bodhi Day

Day Buddha achieved enlightenment under the Bodhi tree

Magha Puja Day

Celebration of 1250 monks’ enlightenment

Muhammad

Founder of Islam (born 570 CE, founded ~610 CE)

Qur’an

Holy book of Islam (114 suras/chapters)

Five Pillars

Faith, Prayer, Charity, Fasting, Pilgrimage

Ramadan

Month of fasting in Islam

Eid al-Fitr

Festival marking the end of Ramadan

Eid al-Adha

Festival of sacrifice, honoring Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his son

Jannah

Paradise after death in Islam

Jahannam

Hell after death in Islam

Moksha

Goal of Hinduism: freedom from samsara

Dharma

Duty, laws, virtues, right way of living

Karma

Actions affect future outcomes

Artha

Wealth, livelihood, material prosperity

Kāma

Desire, love, pleasure

Samsara

Cycle of death and rebirth

Vedas

Earliest Hindu scriptures, written in Sanskrit

Brahma

Creator god in Hinduism

Vishnu

Protector god in Hinduism

Shiva

Destroyer god in Hinduism

Feudalism

A political organization based on the exchange of land for loyalty. Kings granted land to lords for loyalty, who then gave the land to knights (who protected and fought for the lord) and peasants (who farmed and raised livestock for the lord), all who pledged loyalty to the lord or king.

Fiefs

A tract of land granted by the king to lords.

Vassal

A person who owes service to another person of higher status

Manorial system

A large fief or estate that provided economic self-sufficiency. These manors produced everything that was required, limiting the need for trade or contact with outsiders.

Serfs

A type of peasant. While not enslaved these peasants were tied to the manors and needed permission from their lord for travel and marriage.

Three-field system

A system where one field would be planted with wheat or rye to provide food. Another field would be planted with legumes to help make the soil more fertile by adding nitrogen. The final field would remain empty for the year and they would be rotated annually

Primogeniture

The rule that which the eldest son in a family would inherit the entire estate, which left a generation of younger sons with little land and wealth

Estates-General

A body of representatives from the three legal groups (the clergy, nobility and commoners) that advised the king

Magna Carta

A document that King John was forced to sign by english nobles in 1215. This document required for the king to respect certain rights, such as the right for a jury trial before nobles could be sentenced. Also won the right to be consulted on the issue of scutage

English Parliament

Formed in 1265, this parliament helped to increase the rights of the English nobility, but not the general public

Great Schism

The split of Christianity in 1054. The Roman Catholic Church became the dominant right wing of christianity while the Orthodox Church was powerful further east, in Greece and Russia

Crusades

A series of European military campaigns in the middle east between 1095 and the 1200s. Their main goal was to recapture Jerusalem and the holy lands back from the Muslims

Marco Polo

Helped to increase the curiosity of Asia in Europe, largely regarding their cartography, through his description of the customs of the people.

Bourgeoisie

The middle class of western Europe. It included shopkeepers, merchants, craftspeople, and small landowners and was below the elite nobles and clergy

Anti-Semitism

A hostility or prejudice against jewish people. Was widespread among Christians as they believed the jews were untrustworthy and thought of them as outsiders

Humanism

The focus of individuals instead of God. It became popular during the Renaissance and caused humanists to focus on education and reform.

Renaissance

A period that was characterized by the revival of interest in classical Greek and Roman literature, art, culture, and civic virtue.

Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales

Written in the late 1300s and portrayed a microcosm of the middle class occupations in England, which included several church positions.

Kin-based networks

A system where families would govern themselves. The male head of the family, the chief, mediated conflicts and dealt with neighboring tribes.

Trans-Saharan trade

A network of trade roads throughout the Saharan Desert. The Hausa Kingdom and other empires largely benefited from these trade routes.

Indian Ocean trade

Trade routes through the Indian Ocean that largely benefited the Kingdom of Zimbabwe.

Swahili

A blend of Bantu and Arabic created by traders.

Indian Ocean slave trade

Created because of a strong demand in the Middle East for slave labor. Enslaved East Africans, also known as zanj, helped to provide valuable agricultural labor in Mesopotamia.

Ethiopia

The Axum kingdom, a centralized empire, primarily traced its roots back to Christianity, but the spread of Islam in the 7th century made the kingdom more religiously diverse. It prospered by trading goods from India, Rome, and the interior of Africa.

Sharia law

Another name for Islamic Law.

Griots / Griottes

known as storytellers in African culture and were known as the conduits of history for a community. The women were known to sing before a wedding and helped to provide women with a sense of empowerment in a patriarchal society.

Mansa Musa

Nephew of Sundiata, who was founder of Mali.

Ibn Battuta

A scholar from Morocco who was well versed in Sharia.

Ghana

A kingdom located in central Africa. It reached its peak between the 8th and 11th century and was known for trading ivory and gold to Muslim traders for salt, copper, cloth, and tools.

Zanj Rebellion

A series of revolts started by the Zanj and Arab workers in which they captured the city of Basra for almost ten years.

Delhi Sultanate

After Islam forces invaded the city of Delhi, their rule began and lasted for 600 years. This created a sharp divide between the people of India, as some converted to Muslim while others stayed as Hindu. Another factor was the jizya, which was a tax imposed by the government for anyone not a Muslim.

Proselytize

A term used to describe an intent to convert someone's idealism or religion.

Mississippian

A civilization built near the Mississippi River by modern-day St. Louis. Known for its large earthen mounds constructed, some of which were 100 ft tall and covered an area of 12 football fields.

Cahokia

A large Mississippian city located in southern Illinois.

Matrilineal society

The social standing is determined by the woman’s side of the family. An example of this would be that the predecessor of a Great Sun (the chief) would be the sister's son and not his own.

Mayans

Located in modern-day Belize, this civilization at its peak had 2 million people populating the region. It was a decentralized society, and while often ruled by men, if no men were fit to lead it would be led by women.

City-state

An independent state made up of a city and its surrounding territory.

Aztecs

Originally hunter-gatherers who migrated to central Mexico, near modern-day Mexico City. Their capital city Tenochtitlán was located in the middle of a swamp to protect it from attacks.

Mexicas

Another word for the Aztec Civilization.

Human sacrifices

Someone who is killed as an offering to a god in return for good fortune. Often a captive or a prisoner of war.

Chinampas

Floating gardens in the swamp which helped to increase the amount of space for food production.

Aqueducts

An artificial channel or structure designed to transport water.

Theocracy

A government in which religious figures would rule the empire.

Incas

A civilization located near modern-day Ecuador and Chile which was established by Pachacuti and his son.

Pachacuti

A tribal leader who began conquering tribes in modern-day Peru which combined to become the Incan Empire. His name means transformer or shaker of the Earth.

Incan Empire

While conquered leaders of this Empire had to pay tribute, the citizens who were captured did not. The empire was split into four provinces, each with their own bureaucracy and governor.

Mit’a system

A mandatory public service system in the Incan Empire. Men aged 15 to 50 had to give loyalty to the Empire in the form of manual labor by agricultural or in other ways, such as building roads.

Animism

The Incan people believed that certain natural landmarks or items could have supernatural powers.

Quipu

A system of knotted strings used for numerical information concerning trade and engineering as well as for recording messages.

Carpa Nan

A massive roadway constructed by captive workers which stretched through 25,000 miles. This road was mainly used by the government and military.

Machu Picchu

The Incan civilization ruins.

Francisco Pizarro

A Spanish conquistador who is known for the capture and end of the Incan Empire.

Muhammad

Founder of the Islam religion. Died in 632.

Baghdad

Originally the city at the center of trade. However, as trade began to move more north, the city lost its wealth and population, causing the city to fall.

House of Wisdom

A center of learning located in Baghdad. Scholars often traveled there to study.

Mamluks

Enslaved people of Turkish descent often purchased to serve as soldiers and later bureaucrats.

Seljuk Turks

Muslim Turks who began to conquer parts of the Middle East. It threatened the Abbasid Empire as the Seljuk sultan was higher ranked than the Abbasid caliph.

Crusaders

A group of soldiers organized by European Christians to allow for passage into Jerusalem.

Mongols

Famous conquerors from Central Asia that conquered the Abbasid Empire in 1258 and ended the Seljuk rule.

Sufis

Mystics of the Islamic Religion

Song Dynasty

Wealthiest and most innovative empire in the world during this period.

Imperial bureaucracy

A system where appointed officials carried out the empire's policies.