Unit 3: Land-Based Empires Vocabulary

A set of 20 vocabulary flashcards covering the key land-based empires, institutions, ideologies, and historical developments from c. 1450 to c. 1750 in Unit 3.

Ming Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty (1368–1644) that ruled during the early modern era, known for expanding land-based authority, bureaucratic administration, and cultural achievements prior to the Qing Dynasty.

Qing Dynasty

The final imperial dynasty of China (1644–1912), established by the Manchus, which expanded China's land-based empire over a vast contiguous area in East Asia.

Safavid Empire

A Shia Islamic land-based empire centered in Persia (1501–1736) that ruled over large contiguous territories during the period c. 1450–c. 1750.

Manchu Empire

The land-based empire established by the Manchu people from Northeast Asia who conquered China and founded the Qing Dynasty during the period c. 1450–c. 1750.

Ottoman Empire

A major Sunni Islamic Gunpowder Empire centered in Anatolia that ruled contiguous territory across Southeastern Europe, Western Asia, and North Africa during c. 1450–c. 1750.

Gunpowder Empires

A term describing the large, contiguous land-based empires—primarily the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal empires—that relied on military technology like firearms and cannons in c. 1450–c. 1750.

95 Theses

A document written by Martin Luther in 1517 challenging Catholic Church practices, which helped launch the Protestant Reformation during the period c. 1450–c. 1750.

Devshirme

An Ottoman imperial practice of conscripting young Christian boys from the Balkans to be educated, converted to Islam, and trained to serve in the Ottoman bureaucracy and military.

Divine right

A political doctrine asserted by European monarchs in the early modern era claiming that their authority to rule came directly from God.

Janissaries

An elite military corps of the Ottoman Empire composed of Christian-born boys recruited through the devshirme system and trained as loyal infantrymen.

Mercantilism

An economic policy dominant in early modern Europe (c. 1450–c. 1750) that emphasized heavy state control over trade, maximizing exports, and accumulating wealth.

Mughal Empire

A prominent Islamic land-based empire that ruled over most of the Indian subcontinent during the period c. 1450–c. 1750.

Nation-state

A sovereign political entity where the boundary of the state coincides with a distinct cultural or national identity, emerging in the early modern period.

Taj Mahal

An iconic white marble mausoleum built in Agra during the 17th century by Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan as a monumental display of imperial architecture and power.

Akbar the Great

The Mughal emperor who expanded the empire's land area, established a centralized bureaucracy, and practiced religious tolerance across his diverse subjects.

Sikhism

A monotheistic religion founded by Guru Nanak in the Punjab region of South Asia during the 15th century, developing in a context of syncretism between Hinduism and Islam.

Syncretism

The blending of different religious, cultural, or philosophical beliefs and practices that frequently occurred as empires expanded in c. 1450–c. 1750.

Songhai Empire

A powerful land-based West African empire that dominated trans-Saharan trade routes in the 15th and 16th centuries before its collapse.

Bureaucracy

A system of government administration managed by non-elected civil servants used by land-based empires to centralize control over large territories.

Protestant Reformation

A 16th-century religious movement against the Roman Catholic Church that resulted in the creation of Protestant churches and transformed European politics and culture.