World History Lecture Notes

Flashcards of vocabulary terms extracted from video lecture notes.

Song Dynasty

Chinese dynasty that saw dramatic economic expansion, new technologies, a flourishing bureaucratic civil service system, and the relegating of elite women to the interior of homes with bound feet.

China’s economic revolution

A rapid population growth during the Song dynasty, going from 50-60 million to 120 million from the 9th century to 1200, partially due to Champa rice.

Champa rice

A fast-growing and drought-resistant rice from Vietnam that allowed for two harvests in one year, supporting population growth and economic revolution in China.

Hangzhou

The capital of the Song dynasty, with a population of over a million people.

Foot binding

The practice of wrapping and often breaking the feet of elite women in China during the Song Dynasty as a sign of acceptance and beauty.

hangul

Korean phonetic alphabet, set as the official Korean writing system (distinct from 'chu nom').

chu nom

A variation of Chinese writing used in Vietnam, also known as the 'southern script'.

Bushido

A set of values in Japan known as 'the way of the warrior,' exemplified by samurai respecting their opponents.

Murasaki Shikibu

A lady-in-waiting in Japan who wrote the novel 'The Tale of Genji' in 1004.

Shinto

Native beliefs of Japan, originally known as kami, later referred to as Shinto, featuring polytheistic elements.

Abbasid Caliphate

Arab dynasty that theoretically ruled since 750, succeeding the Umayyad Caliphate and originating from the prophet Muhammad.

Seljuk Turkic Empire

An empire existing between the 11th and 12th centuries, distinct from the later, more powerful Ottoman Empire.

Ottoman Empire

A Turkic warrior group that migrated into Anatolia, bringing political unity to the Islamic Middle East and North Africa.

Delhi Sultanate

A series of Muslim dynasties that ruled in northern India between 1206 and 1526.

Vijayanagar

A Hindu state that controlled almost all of southern India.

al-Andalus

The term Muslims used for Spain, indicating a historical period of Islamic rule and cultural exchange.

Byzantine Empire

A powerful Christian empire and civilization that was a continuation of the Roman Empire, with Constantinople as its capital.

Constantinople

The capital city of Roman civilization, which continued as part of the Byzantine Empire after the fall of Rome.

Caesaropapism

A religious system, associated with the Byzantine Empire, where the state is the head of the church.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

A branch of Christianity that legitimized the authority of the emperor within the Byzantine Empire.

The Crusades

A series of wars by Western Christendom against Islamic forces, contributing to the decline of Dar-Islam.

Kievan Rus

A modest state whose increasing interaction with the world led Prince Vladimir of Kiev to affiliate with the Eastern Orthodox faith of the Byzantine Empire.

Mehmed II

The sultan who brought about the Fall of Constantinople through invasion and conquest.

The Fall of Constantinople

The conquest of Constantinople led by Mehmed II, ending its role as a major Christian center.

Western Christendom

A branch of Christianity distinct from Eastern Orthodoxy.

Roman Catholic Church

The only organization in Western Europe whose influence extended throughout the region.

The High Middle Ages

A new age for European civilizations, characterized by significant population growth, similar to China's economic revolution.

European Renaissance

The 'rebirth' of classical learning associated with the cultural development of Italy, leading to Renaissance art and other achievements.

Maya civilization

A Mesoamerican civilization best known for its elaborate writing system and independent rulers.

Aztec Empire

The final and largest Mesoamerican state, characterized by military conquest and a single emperor.

Chinampas

Artificial islands that supported productive agriculture in the Aztec Empire, developed in what is now Lake Xochimilco.

Inca Empire

A state built by the Quechua people from the 15th to the early 16th century.

century

A period of 100 years.

quipus

Knotted cords used by the Incas to record births, deaths, marriages, and other population data.

The mita system

Labor services of conquered people in the Inca Empire, ranging from agricultural work to infrastructure construction.

gender parallelism

The concept where women and men evolve in distinct but equal spheres, each enjoying autonomy.

Silk Roads

Trade routes along the regions of Eurasia, facilitating trade and connecting different regions of the world.

Caravanserai

Guesthouses located along trade routes where people could rest, care for their animals, and trade their goods.

Chinese Buddhism

A mix of traditional Buddhist teachings with Chinese culture, a reformed religion made to target those who weren't part of the original or think this one is better.

Chan Buddhism/Zen Buddhism

A school that emphasized the practice of meditation during the Song dynasty (became Zen in Japan). Emerged from Chinese Buddhism

Neo-Confucianism

Rejected religious aspects of Buddhism and Daoism but appreciated the Buddhist teachings while returning to classical texts of Confucianism. Composed with multiple religions to create a foundation that focuses on the practices one likes.

The Sea Roads

Trade routes along the ocean.

Monsoon winds

Wind currents that went northeast during the summer and southwest during the winter, making Indian Ocean commerce possible.

diasporic communities

People who have left their old homelands to be able to facilitate trade between very different peoples, and introduce new religious traditions into their host society.

Srivijaya

An early example of the connection between commerce, state building, and religious change.

Borobudur

A massive building with an enormous mountain shape program with Hindu temples and Buddhist monuments

Angkor Wat

A temple that show agricultural expression of Hinduism

Malacca

A city that was the growing place for islam

Swahili civilization

Civilization in East Africa that emerged due as a collection of trading city-states linked by the Indian Ocean trade network.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful state that emerged from growing trade

Zheng He

A great Chinese admiral and Muslim eunuch who commanded voyages in the Indian Ocean to bring distant peoples into the Chinese tribute system.

Sand Roads

Long-distance trade routes across the Sahara Desert, linking North Africa and the Mediterranean with interior West Africa.

Arabian camel

Animal used as transportation across West Africa and the Mediterranean, that could go days without water, making the cross of the Sahara desert easier.

West African civilization

Important states that developed in the region from the Atlantic coast to Lake Chad due to trans-Saharan trade.

Ghana

An ancient and important state of West African civilization, known for its wealth.

Mali

An important state of West African civilization, founded in 1235; controlled the import of horses and metals as part of the trans-Saharan trade.

Hausa society

Independent cities in present-day northern Nigeria, beginning in the 11th century, that created a commercial culture in West African commerce.

Trans-Saharan slave trade

The transportation of slaves across the Sahara Desert between 1100 and 1400, with slaves being put to work in the homes of the wealthy Islamic North Africa.

Timbuktu

A major trading city of West African civilization, a center of Islamic education and scholarship by the 16th century.

The Great Mosque at Jenne

A mosque in the city of Jenne, originally built in the 13th century, illustrating the assimilation of Islam in West Africa.

Mansa Musa

The ruler of Mali who made a pilgrimage to Mecca, expanded the Mali empire, and built mosques.

The Islamic Green (agricultural) Revolution

The growth of food production, as well as population growth, urbanization and industrial development in the Islamic world.

House of Wisdom

Established in 830 Baghdad as an academic center used for research and translation and was founded by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun.

American web

Describes the trade network that connected parts of pre-Columbian America.

Chaco Phenomenon

The emergence of pueblos or settlements in Chaco Canyon (Northern New Mexico) known for their establishment in the big towns and the construction of roads.

pochteca

Professional merchants or traders among the Aztecs who made large-scale trading expeditions in the 15th century AD.

Temujin

Also known as Genghis Khan or Chinggis Khan, a Mongol leader born in the 12th century, and the universal ruler since he brought together the Mongols a er they had been fighting.

Mongol world war

Half a century of campaigns for militaries, and mass slaughters where empires were built

Ortugh

Business associations that were given approval by the State, which allowed them to mix their resources and limit their losses in case of failure of a caravan. Low interest loans were also given to the members of Ortugh.

Mongol relay system

An efficient system of relay stations, about a day apart that allowed for rapid communication throughout the empire and also promoted trade. The system was passed along the silk road.

Khubilai Khan

One of Genghis Khan’s grandsons and a Mongol ruler in China from 1271 to 1294. He began the Yuan Dynasty.

Emperor Yongle

Emperor of the Ming dynasty who sponsored a large encyclopedia, constructed the Forbidden City, and assigned Chinese names to his ancestors.

Yuan Dynasty

Mongol dynasty that was started by Khubilai Khan and that served as Temujin's successor state

Ming Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty that tried to repair things to how they were before the Mongols took over, enforcing Confucianism and traditional Chinese ways.

Sorgaqtani

Wife of Tului, Genghis Khan’s fourth son, and mother of Khubilai Khan, who influenced her sons towards religious tolerance.

Hulegu

Genghis Khan’s grandson who led the second assault into Persia and became the first il-khan of Persia.

Ilkhanate of Persia

A dynasty of the Mongol empire that collapsed in Persia, leading to a period of disorder but which was an unsuccessful attempt to rebuild a pastoralist Mongol empire.

Khutulun

A princess and daughter to Qaidu Khan, a Mongol ruler in central Asia, who was known for her strength in wrestling.

Safavid Empire

Established early 1600 and was a Turkic empire in Persia whose culture was made to embrace shia islam

The Khanate of the Golden Horde

Name that Mongols gave to Russia when they incorporated it into the Mongol Empire

The Black Death

A pandemic that took a lot of lives also known as the plague.

Maritime empires

A place that controls trade routes and the trades that are being made through shipping.

Hernán Cortés

Spanish conquistador who led the assault on the Aztecs and conquered their capital, Tenochtitlán.

Spanish Empire

The name of the territories that ranged from north america down to latin america that was established after Aztecs being taken over by Hernán Cortés.

Malinche/Malinal/Doña Marina

Wife to Hernán Cortés(remarried)

Great Dying

The name used to describe when all the diseases came to the americas due to european contact.

Little Ice Age

A period of 6 years in which they experienced extremely cold temperatures.

General Crisis

An extreme weather condition that produced cold winters in China, Europe, and North America.

Columbian Exchange

A network of trade where diseases, communication, plants, and animals were being traded that opened up the world a lot.

Mercantilism

A strategy with the purpose of governments giving their countries what best supported them economically.

Encomienda/hacienda system

A system in which native workers were paid low wages, yet taxed heavily putting them in debt with the owner of the estate.

Mestizo

People of mixed Spanish and indigenous heritage, who faced social discrimination and were looked down upon.

castas system

Groups mixed people were separated into, based on race and skin color

Mulatto

a person of mixed african descendant

settler colonies

permanent settlement of the Europeans

Russian Empire

The largest state that emerged from Mongol rule that expanded into siberia looking for so gold.

Yasak

A tribute paid by the Siberian people to the Russian authorities that was paid in either cash or fur called so gold.

Cossacks

Warriors who were in the Russian expansion across siberia

Qing expansion

The Qing dynasty’s growth in size during the 17th century that established the borders of China

Mughal Empire

An empire in south asia was founded by muslims in the region and Turks in culture who claimed to be the successor of Genghis khan.