Unit 1: Global Tapestry (1200–1450) Vocabulary

Vocabulary and key figures from the Global Tapestry unit covering East Asia, Dar al-Islam, South/Southeast Asia, the Americas, Africa, and Europe between 1200 and 1450.

Song China

An economically advanced Chinese dynasty existing from $960\text{--}1279$ that utilized civil service exams and trade expansion to maintain stability.

Confucianism

A philosophy emphasizing hierarchy, social order, filial piety, and defined roles that became dominant in China by $1200\text{--}1450$.

Buddhism

A religion founded by Siddhartha Gautama focused on ending suffering that spread from South Asia to East Asia via trade routes and missionaries.

Civil Service Exam

A merit-based system strengthened during the Song era used to select skilled government officials based on their knowledge of Confucian texts.

Champa Rice

A fast-growing, early-ripening rice variety from Vietnam that allowed for multiple harvests and significantly increased China's food supply.

Filial Piety

The Confucian concept of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, used to maintain social order and hierarchy.

Grand Canal

A major internal waterway expanded during the Song Dynasty to link north and south China, facilitating trade and empire unification.

Abbasid Caliphate

A centralized Islamic rule that collapsed in $1258$ after the Mongols sacked its capital, Baghdad.

House of Wisdom

A center of learning in Baghdad from the $800 ext{s--}1200 ext{s}$ where scholars preserved and expanded knowledge through translation and research.

al-Khwarizmi

A Muslim mathematician who developed the mathematical system of Algebra during the Abbasid era.

al-Razi

A Persian Muslim scholar and physician ($c. 865\text{--}925$) who made major contributions to medicine through observation and experimentation.

Sufism

A spiritual and mystical branch of Islam that emphasizes a personal connection to God and spread through missionary work and devotion.

Delhi Sultanate

A Muslim state established in northern India from $1206\text{--}1526$ through military conquest.

Bhakti Movement

A Hindu devotional movement from $1200\text{--}1500$ that made religion more accessible through personal worship and the use of vernacular language.

Pachacuti

The Inca ruler ($r. c. 1438\text{--}1471$) who founded and expanded the empire in the Andes Mountains through centralized government and military conquest.

Mita System

An Incan labor tax that required citizens to perform public labor for infrastructure projects like roads.

Aztec Empire

A tribute-based empire in Central Mexico ($1300 ext{s--}1500 ext{s}$) known for its capital Tenochtitlan and ritual human sacrifice.

Chinampas

Floating artificial islands built by Aztec farmers on Lake Texcoco to increase agricultural production.

Mali Empire

A wealthy West African state that dominated the trans-Saharan salt and gold trade between $1200\text{--}1400 ext{s}$.

Mansa Musa

The wealthy ruler of Mali ($1312\text{--}1337$) who promoted Islam and showcased his empire's riches during a famous pilgrimage to Mecca.

Ibn Battuta

A Muslim traveler and writer from the $1300 ext{s}$ who documented social customs and geography across Afro-Eurasia.

Feudalism

A decentralized political system in Medieval Europe based on land-for-service exchanges between lords and vassals.

Manorialism

The economic system of the Middle Ages in Europe characterized by self-sufficient farming estates managed by lords.

Serfdom

A system of bound labor in Europe where peasants were legally tied to the land they worked.

Black Death

A devastating plague that spread across Afro-Eurasia between $1347\text{--}1351$ via trade routes.

Minamoto Yoritomo

The Japanese military leader who founded the first shogunate in $1192$, establishing a system of military rule.

Zheng He

A Chinese admiral who led massive naval expeditions from $1405\text{--}1433$ to demonstrate Ming Dynasty power and establish tribute relationships.

Johannes Gutenberg

The German inventor who created the movable-type printing press in Europe around $1450$, facilitating the spread of knowledge.