AP World History: 1200-1450 Vocabulary Review

Comprehensive 100-card vocabulary flashcard deck covering AP World History content from 1200 to 1450 CE based strictly on the provided lecture transcript.

Bhakti movement

An innovation of traditional polytheistic Hinduism originating in southern India that mounted challenges to social and gender hierarchies.

Mandate of Heaven

Chinese political concept where the emperor received the divine right to rule, which could be revoked if the ruler became cruel or corrupt.

Period of Disunion

The period following the Han Dynasty's collapse characterized by a collapsed bureaucracy, non-Chinese nomad rule in northern territory, and the rise of Buddhism over Confucianism.

Sui Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (589-619 CE) that supported Buddhism, brought the scholar-gentry back into administration, and constructed Loyang capital and canals linking the empire.

Grand Canal

Chinese waterway stretching from the Yellow River to the Yangzi River, built to transport food, armies, and trade goods across the empire.

An Lushan Rebellion

A major revolt in 755 CE that weakened the Tang Dynasty, stemming from worsening economic conditions and rising influence of nomadic frontier peoples and regional governors.

Jin Dynasty

State formed by the nomadic Jurchen people after conquering northern China, coexisting alongside the southern Song dynasty.

Song Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (960-1279 CE) characterized by an artistic and literary golden age, a Censorate-monitored meritocracy, Champa rice adoption, and Neo-Confucianism.

Censorate

An agency in the Song Dynasty government that monitored officials across six ministries to ensure meritocracy and efficiency.

Champa rice

A drought-resistant, fast-growing rice strain adopted from Vietnam that sparked massive population growth in Song China.

Neo-Confucianism

A revival of Confucian thought (beginning c. 800 CE) that incorporated metaphysics from Daoism and Buddhism while emphasizing traditional morality, male authority, and hostility to foreign influence.

Foot binding

Song dynasty practice of tightly binding women's feet to restrict them to the home, viewed as a mark of beauty and societal pride while reinforcing patriarchy.

Hangul

A phonetic Korean alphabet system developed in the 1400s to foster cultural independence from Chinese character writing.

Battle of Bach Dang River

Historical battle in 939 CE where Vietnamese forces defeated the Chinese, ending a thousand years of direct Chinese rule.

Chu nom

A Vietnamese writing variation of Chinese writing ('southern script') developed to write the independent Vietnamese language.

Bushido

The 'way of the warrior' in Japan, a distinctive code of values for the samurai class emphasizing bravery, loyalty, martial arts skills, and preferring death over surrender.

Samurai

The warrior class of feudal Japan that emerged as provincial aristocratic families accumulated political and military power.

Kami

Sacred spirits in traditional Japanese belief associated with human ancestors and natural phenomena.

Shinto

The traditional religion of Japan centered on kami worship, which legitimized the imperial family's authority through claimed descent from the sun goddess.

Tale of Genji

A famous work of Japanese court literature written by an aristocratic woman, depicting romantic affairs and cultural life among the nobility.

Abbasid Caliphate

Arab dynasty ruling the Islamic world from Baghdad starting in 750 CE, whose political unity fragmented over time until its final destruction by Mongols in 1258.

Seljuk Turkic Empire

Empire established by Central Asian Turkic pastoralists who initially served as slave soldiers for the Abbasid Caliphate before taking power as the caliphate declined.

Sultan

A Muslim political title adopted by Turkic rulers replacing their traditional Turkic title of kaghan.

Sharia law

Islamic legal code derived from the Quran, used by Turkic empires to administer justice and rule.

Nasir Al-Din Al-Tusi

Islamic scholar who made significant contributions to mathematics, including the invention of trigonometry.

House of Wisdom

Academic center in Baghdad where Arab scholars translated ancient Greek philosophical and scientific texts into Arabic and added their own commentaries.

Dar al-Islam

The expanse of the Islamic world, which expanded through military conquest, traveling merchants, and Sufi missionaries.

Ottoman Empire

Major Islamic empire founded by Turkish migrants in Anatolia that defeated the Byzantine Empire, captured Constantinople, and lasted until the early 20th century.

Janissaries

The elite standing infantry force of the Ottoman Empire, equipped with cash salaries, uniforms, gunpowder weapons, and cannons.

Delhi Sultanate

Islamic state established in northern India (1206-1526) by invading Turkic forces.

Vijayanagar Empire

Hindu empire established in southern India after 1340 to counter the southward expansion of the Delhi Sultanate.

Rajput kingdoms

Warring Hindu states located directly south of the Delhi Sultanate that kept Muslim rule at bay.

Majapahit

Island-based state in Southeast Asia (1293-1520) that maintained power and influence by controlling regional sea routes.

Sufis

Islamic mystics and missionaries detached from worldly affairs who facilitated voluntary conversions by adapting Islamic practice to local traditions.

al-Andalus

The Arabic name for Islamic Spain, where Muslims, Christians, and Jews coexisted and collaborated in science, art, and literature.

Abd Al-Rahman III

Ruler of al-Andalus whose reign allowed freedom of expression and equal opportunities for bureaucratic positions across faiths.

al-Mansur

Muslim ruler in al-Andalus whose reign ended the policy of religious tolerance and initiated persecution against Christians.

Caesaropapism

Byzantine political-religious system where the secular emperor held supreme authority over the Eastern Orthodox Church and religious affairs.

Constantinople

Strategic crossroads capital of the Byzantine Empire established by Emperor Constantine in 330 CE, captured by Ottoman Turks in 1453.

Great Schism

The official split in 1054 CE between the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Western Roman Catholic Church.

Caravanserai

Roadside inns along the Silk Roads stretching from the eastern Mediterranean to China where merchants could rest, resupply, and exchange goods.

Flying cash

A Chinese innovation of paper currency that allowed merchants to trade without carrying heavy metal coins.

Bills of exchange

Financial contracts used by European traders along trade routes promising payment at a future date.

Pure Land School

A popular branch of Chinese Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing that faithfully repeating the name of Amitabha Buddha ensured rebirth in the Pure Land.

Han Yu

Confucian scholar who criticized Buddhism in Tang China for its 'barbarian origin', leading to imperial decrees persecuting monasteries (841-845 CE).

Chan school

A dominant school of Chinese Buddhism during the Song dynasty that focused on meditation and later developed into Zen Buddhism in Japan.

Sea Roads

The world's largest sea-based network of exchange connecting coastal societies across the Indian Ocean basin from southern China to East Africa.

Monsoons

Predictable seasonal wind systems in the Indian Ocean that facilitated maritime trade by blowing northeast in summer and southwest in winter.

Junks

Large, technologically advanced Chinese ocean-going ships used for maritime trade across the Indian Ocean.

Dhows

Traditional Arab sailing vessels featuring triangular sails and hulls stitched together with fibers and cords rather than nails.

Astrolabe

An oceanic navigation technology used by mariners to calculate latitude at sea.

Diasporic communities

Permanent settlements of foreign merchants established along major trade routes that introduced foreign customs and facilitated cross-cultural trade.

Srivijaya

Malay maritime kingdom (670-1025) that dominated the Strait of Malacca choke point, accumulated wealth from shipping taxes, and became a major Buddhist center.

Palembang

The cosmopolitan capital of Srivijaya where local rulers combined indigenous beliefs with Indian political theories and Buddhist concepts.

Borbudur

A massive mountain-shaped Buddhist monument in central Java, constructed by the Sailendra kingdom as the largest Buddhist monument in the world.

Angkor Wat

A massive temple complex constructed by the Khmer Kingdom in Southeast Asia, demonstrating syncretism between Hinduism and Buddhism.

Malacca

Strategic Malay port city that grew into the capital of an influential Muslim sultanate and a major commercial hub in the 15th century.

Swahili civilization

A collection of independent commercial city-states along the East African coast that grew prosperous through Indian Ocean trade.

Swahili language

An East African language written in Arabic script that incorporated numerous Arabic loan words.

Great Zimbabwe

An inland East African kingdom connected to coastal gold trade, famous for constructing massive mortarless stone walls between 1250 and 1350 CE.

Zheng He

Ming dynasty eunuch admiral who commanded seven massive maritime expeditions (1405-1433) across the Indian Ocean to expand the Chinese tribute system.

Emperor Yongle

Ming emperor who commissioned Zheng He's voyages, sponsored an 11,000-volume encyclopedia, and built the Forbidden City.

Sand Roads

Trans-Saharan trade routes that connected North Africa and the Mediterranean basin with sub-Saharan West Africa.

Arabian camel

Domesticated pack animal introduced to North Africa that enabled long-distance trade caravans across the Sahara Desert.

Mali Empire

West African empire that grew wealthy by controlling trans-Saharan trade routes, taxing salt and gold, and monopolizing horse imports.

Timbuktu

Prominent West African commercial city in Mali that became a renowned hub of Islamic scholarship, libraries, and Quranic schools.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali whose famous 1324 pilgrimage to Mecca displayed immense wealth, distributed vast amounts of gold, and elevated Mali's status in the Muslim world.

Baraka

Spiritual power or divine blessing acquired by Islamic pilgrims, which Mansa Musa used to reinforce his political legitimacy.

American web

A loosely interactive network of exchange and cultural contact connecting indigenous societies across the Americas.

Cahokia

A prominent North American mound-building chiefdom (1100-1350) featuring a massive central earthen pyramid mound spanning 15 acres.

Chaco Phenomenon

A regional complex of five main settlements in Chaco Canyon encompassing 25,000 square miles and linked by hundreds of miles of wide roads.

Pueblo Buenito

The largest settlement in Chaco Canyon, constructed five stories high with more than 600 rooms.

Pochteca

Class of professional merchants in the Aztec Empire who conducted large-scale trading expeditions both independently and for the state.

Tlatelecoco

The massive central marketplace located near the Aztec capital, famous for offering goods from across Mesoamerica.

Quipus

Complex knotted cord systems used by Incan accountants to record economic data and warehouse inventories.

Inca Road system

A network of 20,000 miles of paved roads traversing the Andes Mountains, used for state messaging relays, military movement, and trade.

Temujin

The birth name of Genghis Khan, who overcame early hardship to unify the feuding Mongolian tribes into a single empire in 1206.

Karakorum

The central capital city of the Mongol Empire where administrative scribes, foreign advisers, and skilled artisans worked.

Ortughs

State-approved merchant associations supported by the Mongol government that pooled capital and provided low-interest loans for trade caravans.

Khutulun

Mongol noblewoman (c. 1260-1306) known for her military skill, wrestling undefeated against male suitors, and representing traditional pastoral female freedom.

Yuan Dynasty

The Chinese dynastic title adopted by the Mongol rulers of China, established by Khubilai Khan.

Khubilai Khan

Grandson of Genghis Khan and Mongol ruler of China who adopted Confucian values, patronized artists, and moved the capital to Beijing.

Khanbalik

The Mongol capital established in modern-day Beijing under Khubilai Khan, replacing Karakorum as the seat of Yuan power.

Chabi

The primary wife and influential political adviser of Yuan emperor Khubilai Khan.

Forbidden City

Imperial palace complex constructed in Beijing during the Ming Dynasty under Emperor Yongle.

Hulegu

Grandson of Genghis Khan who led the second Mongol assault on Persia, culminating in the destruction of Baghdad in 1258.

Ghazan

Mongol ruler of Persia who converted to Islam in 1295, repaired damaged irrigation works, and supported Persian cultural reconstruction.

Il-khanate

The Mongol state in Persia that eventually dissolved as Mongol rulers converted to Islam and assimilated into Persian society.

Safavid Empire

Persian state established in the 15th/16th centuries under Turkic leadership that forcibly instituted Shia Islam as the official state religion.

Kievan Rus

The collection of East Slavic principalities that was invaded and subjugated by Mongol forces in the early 13th century.

Khanate of the Golden Horde

The Mongol regime (also called the Kipchak Khanate) that ruled Russia indirectly from the southern steppes.

Sarai

The Mongol capital city on the lower Volga River where Russian princes delivered their required tribute.

Ivan I

Moscow prince known as 'Ivan the Moneybags' who enriched Moscow by collecting tribute for the Mongol Golden Horde.

Third Rome

Russian Orthodox ideological doctrine asserting that Moscow became the successor center of true Christian leadership after the fall of Rome and Constantinople.

Black Death

Pandemic originating in China (1331) that swept across Eurasia and North Africa, killing half of Europe's population and one-third of the Middle East.

Southernization

The process of technological, agricultural, and cultural diffusion (such as gunpowder and the compass) from East/South Asia to Western Eurasia.

Battle of Ain Jalat

1260 battle where Egyptian Mamluk forces defeated the Mongols, halting their advance into the Middle East.

Expansion of the Islamic World Map

Historical map illustrating the Islamic world in 900, its expansion from 900 to 1500, the Christian reconquest of Spain, long-distance trade routes in 1500, and Ibn Battuta's travels.

Tang Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (619-907 CE) that extended military power to Afghanistan, restored Confucian bureaucracy, and defeated Turkic Khaganates.

Ming Dynasty

Native Chinese dynasty (1368-1644 CE) that replaced Mongol rule, reestablished Confucian civil service exams, and sponsored Zheng He's maritime expeditions.