Unit 1: 1200 CE - 1450 CE State-Building & Maintenance

Flashcards covering the vocabulary and key concepts of state-building, religions, and economic systems across China, the Middle East, South/Southeast Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe from 1200 CE to 1450 CE.

State

An organized political community under one government, such as a country, empire, or nation.

Neo-Confucianism

The revival of Confucianism that helped legitimize Song Dynasty rule due to its ancient history in China.

Imperial Bureaucracy

An administrative organization in which appointed officials carried out the empire's policies, utilized by the Song and Qin Dynasties.

Civil Service Exam

A test based on Confucian classics that eligible men had to pass in order to join the imperial bureaucracy.

Filial Piety

A Confucian practice emphasizing the duty of children to obey and honor their parents, grandparents, and deceased ancestors.

Footbinding

A practice popular in elite social circles during the Song Dynasty that reflected the subordinate position of women in society.

Four Noble Truths

Basic tenets of Buddhism acknowledging that suffering exists in the world and that desire/craving is the cause.

Eightfold Path

The Buddhist way or method to stop suffering and achieve enlightenment.

Nirvana

The ultimate goal in Buddhism, representing the end of the cycle of reincarnation through enlightenment.

Theravada Buddhism

The original form of Buddhism where monks often lived in monasteries to focus on attaining enlightenment.

Mahayana Buddhism

A branch of Buddhism that traveled to East Asia, encouraged broader participation, and offered help from bodhisattvas to achieve nirvana.

Champa Rice

A drought-resistant, early-maturing crop from Vietnam that allowed the Song Dynasty to increase food production and double its population.

Grand Canal

An expanded infrastructure project in China that facilitated trade and helped maintain a strong economy.

Tribute System

A Chinese system where other countries acknowledged China's superiority through gifts or payments to gain trade rights.

Abbasid Caliphate

An Islamic empire reigning from $750$ to $1258$ CE that eventually fragmented and ended when Baghdad was conquered by the Mongols.

Seljuk Empire

A state created by Turks from Central Asia who became a dominant force in the Middle East as the Abbasid caliphate declined.

Mamluk Sultanate

A Turkic Muslim state in Egypt that was established by slave soldiers.

Delhi Sultanate

A Turkic Muslim state established in Northern India that made Islam the religion of the elite in a mostly Hindu region.

Sharia Law

A legal code based on the Quran used in Islamic empires.

House of Wisdom

An intellectual center in Baghdad where scholars preserved and translated Greek philosophy into Arabic.

Sufis

Muslim missionaries who helped spread Islam by allowing for some local beliefs and practices.

Bhakti Hinduism

A movement in Southern India focusing on devotion to one specific Hindu god while challenging social and gender hierarchies.

Rajput Kingdoms

Rival warring Hindu kingdoms in India that prevented the Delhi Sultanate from conquering more territory.

Vijayanagara Empire

A Hindu kingdom that rivaled the Delhi Sultanate, formed by brothers who had previously converted to Islam to serve the Sultanate.

Majapahit Kingdom

A Buddhist Kingdom on the island of Java that maintained influence by controlling sea routes for trade.

Khmer Empire

A state that began as Hindu and later transitioned to Buddhism, as seen in the architecture of Angkor Wat.

Aztec Civilization

A decentralized Mesoamerican empire founded in $1345$ by the Mexica, featuring the capital city Tenochtitlan.

Mit'a System

An Incan administrative system that used mandatory labor as tribute for state projects like mining, farming, and construction.

Mississippian Culture

A North American civilization known as mound builders, including the Cahokia people who built mounds up to $100$ feet tall.

Swahili Civilization

Independent city-states in East Africa that grew powerful through Indian Ocean trade and combined Bantu and Arabic languages.

Hausa Kingdom

A decentralized group of city-states in West Africa that acted as brokers for trans-Saharan trade.

Great Zimbabwe

A Southern African state that gained wealth from the gold trade and maintained an indigenous shamanistic faith.

Ethiopia

A Christian state in East Africa that grew through trade with the Mediterranean and Arabian peninsula.

Feudalism

A decentralized political system in Europe where kings and lords gave land to vassals in exchange for military service.

Manorialism

An economic system in decentralized Europe where peasants were bound to a lord's land in exchange for protection.

Serfs

Peasants tied to the land in the manorial system who could not leave without permission but were not the property of the lord.