Period 1 (1200-1450)

Unit 1 and Unit 2

Song Dynasty

Chinese dynasty known for utilization of Confucian bureaucracy, invention of the compass & gun powder, first state use of paper money, and expansion of manufacturing, agricultural & iron industries. Collapsed during Mongol expansion.

Grand Canal

Man-made waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers; built during the Sui era and expanded by the Song era.

Champa Rice

Drought-resistant strain of rice that spread to China from Vietnam, led to population increase during Song era.

Abbasid Caliphate

Arab empire associated with the Muslim Golden Age & advancements in math, medicine & literature. Expanded to Central Asia, North Africa, and Spain. Collapsed during Mongol expansion; fragmentation led to domination of Turkic Muslims.

Ethiopian Empire

Christian Empire in East Africa. Known for diplomatic ties to Europe, Red Sea trade and the city of Axum.

Byzantine Empire

Eastern, latter half of the Roman Empire. Known for practice of Christianity, participation in the Crusades, and the trade hub of Constantinople. Collapsed to expansion of Ottoman Turks.

Mali Empire

Powerful African Islamic empire based in West Africa. Known for gold and salt trade along Trans Saharan caravan routes and the great city of Timbuktu.

Hausa City-States

City states east of Mali who were independently governed but connected through culture.

Delhi Sultanate

Muslim empire in India, created by Turkic invaders who ruled over a Hindu Minority and successfully fended off Mongol attacks; known for cotton textile exports.

Mamluk Sultanate

Muslim empire based in Egypt; established by Turkic slave army and known for military successes against Crusaders and Mongol invader; eventually fell to the Ottomans.

Khmer Empire

SE Asian Hindu-Buddhist empire, known for massive temple complex Angkor Wat, extensive system of canals, and trade of rice and fish.

Hindu-Buddhist States

Collection of empires and kingdoms in South & Southeast Asia, including the Khmer, Vijayanagara, and Srivijaya Empires, and the Sinhalese, Sukothai, and Majapahit kingdoms.

Mongol Empire

Founded by Genghis Khan, known for massive land-based expansion, religious tolerance, and expansion of Silk Routes, which allowed for the diffusion of gunpowder, paper making, Arabic numeral, and disease pathogens.

Aztec (Mexica) Empire

North American empire known for trade city of Tenochtitlan and for utilizing the tribute system, human sacrifice, the pochteca trade guild, and chinampa irrigation.

Mayan city-states

North American city states known for cultural advancements, temple building, and regional trade.

Chaco and Mesa Verde

Civilizations in the Southwest United States; known for religious structures/cliff dwellings.

Inca Empire

South American empire known for building extensive government regulated trade roads through the Andes region using Mit'a system of conscripted labor.

Administrative Institutions

part of government in charge of management and problem solving; examples include utilization of belief systems and social systems to organize and unite populations, and utilization of bureaucracy, such as the Confucian bureaucracy in China

Bureaucracy

A system of managing government through departments run by appointed officials

Commercialization

the process of introducing a new product or production method into commerce—making it available on the market, e.g., iron industry, gunpowder, and printed books in Song China

Bubonic Plague (Black Death)

Deadly disease that spread across Asia, north Africa, & Europe during Mongol control of silk trade routes; significantly impacted the population of Europe, leading to social resturcturing

Holy Roman Empire

Loose federation of decentralized Christian monarchies in Western Europe during Feudal era. Linked to Roman Catholic Pope; known for waging the crusades.

Crusades

A series of holy wars from undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule; known for diffusion of knowledge and culture in Afroeurasia.

Feudalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land

Manorialism

Economic system during the Middle Ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land.

Serf

an agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on his lord's estate.

Yuan Dynasty

Dynasty in China set up by the Mongols under the leadership of Kublai Khan; replaced the Song Dynasty

Ming Dynasty

Succeeded Mongol Yuan dynasty in China; mounted huge trade expeditions under Admiral Zheng He, but later concentrated efforts on internal development within China.

Hinduism

A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation, polytheism, and the practice of the Caste System

Buddhism

Belief system that started in India in the 500s BC. Believers seek enlightenment and the overcoming of suffering: spread from Indian to China along the silk routes. Mahayana branch most common in China.

Judaism

Monotheistic religion; spiritual and ethical principles embodied chiefly in the Torah and in the Talmud

Christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.

Islam

Monotheistic religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed; stresses equality of all men; vast spread due to conquest, commerce, and conversion.

Shia-Sunni split

Religious conflict between two larges branches of Islam; occurred due to disagreement over who should be the rightful ruler of the Caliphates

Sufi Islam

Mystical and smallest branch of Islam, responsible for much of the spread due to missionary activity and less strict adherence to Sharia law.

dar al-lslam

Realm of Islam, including regions who converted voluntarily due to exposure along trade routes and regions that were conquered by Muslim invaders.

Jizya tax

tax on non-muslims

Sharia Law

the system of Islamic law, based on varying degrees of interpretation of the Qu'ran

Hajj

A pilgrimage to Mecca, performed as a duty by Muslims; led to increased cultural exchange among Muslim regions

Confucianism

Chinese ideology of social organization; stressing filial piety, partiarchical practice, education, and benevolent rule.

Filial Piety

In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.

Neoconfucianism

A term that describes the resurgence of Confucianism during China's golden age, and the blending Daoist and Buddhist principles with Confucian ideas.

Civil Service Exam

In China, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings that was used to select people for various government service jobs in the bureaucracy.

Mandate of Heaven

a political theory of ancient China in which those in power were given the right to rule from a divine source

Daoism

Chinese belief system stressing balance between humans and nature.

Cultural Hegemony

the pervasive and excessive influence of one culture over another, such as Chinese cultural influence in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.

ethnic enclave

A place with a high concentration of an ethnic group that is distinct from those in the surrounding area, such as Arab merchants throughout the Indian Ocean world and Chinese merchants in SE Asia.

cultural diffusion

The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one people to another, including religion, language, architecture, and technology

Silk Routes

Series of land-based routes from China to the Mediterranean; known for focus on luxury trade items, the diffusion of technology, religion, and disease pathogens, and the use of caravanserai, credit, bills of exchange, and banking houses; flourished during the Mongol era.

Caravanserai

inn or rest station for caravans; provides a safe place to stay the night; supported the flow of commerce, information, and people along the silk routes

Indian Ocean Sea lanes

Series of sea trade routes connecting to the Indian Ocean world; known for focus on bulk goods, such as cotton textiles from India, porcelain from China; increase due to maritime technologies, Arab merchant activity, and growth of states along route

Syncretism

A blending of two or more cultural traditions, such as religion, language, or architecture

Maritime Technology

New technology that helped with navigation and ship building, including , compass, astrolabe, lateen sail, and the Chinese junk, and the harassing of the monsoon winds.

Chang-an

Metropolitan capital of China at the start of the Silk Trade Routes; ethnic and cultural melting pot.

Kashgar and Samarkand

major trading cities on the silk roads; began as caravanserie and grew due to expansion of trade

Baghdad

Capital of Abbasid dynasty known for House of Wisdom. Sacked by Mongols; Key trade city for Silk Routes and Indian Ocean Trade.

Trans-Saharan Caravan Routes

Series of land routes between west and north Africa. Made possible due the domestication of the camel, the invention of the camel saddle, and powerful empires such as Mali. Focus goods: gold, salt, and slaves.

Swahili city-states

Key trade cities on east coast of Africa; known for exports of Gold and Ivory, as well as the Swahili language, a syncretic blend of Arabic and Bantu languages

Timbuktu

Mali trading city in West Africa; center of wealth and Islamic learning

Malacca

important trade city on a strait between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea. Controlled successively by Buddhist Empire of Srivijaya, the Malacca Sultanate, the Portuguese and the Dutch.

Calicut

Trade city in coastal India, known for spices and calico textiles

Constantinople

A large and wealthy trade city that was the imperial capital of the Byzantine empire and later the Ottoman empire, now known as Istanbul

Hormuz

Trade city on an island near the choke point between the Persian Gulf and the Indian ocean.

Cairo

Key trade city on Nile River and trans-Saharan caravan routes; capitol of Mamluk Sultanate

Tenochtitlan

Capital of the Aztec Empire; massive trade city located on an island in Lake Texcoco.

Cahokia

Important North American trade city built by Mississippi valley mound-building culture; flourished due to regional trade along Mississippi River.

Diasporic communities

Widely dispersed community as a result of merchant activity, natural disaster, politics or other reasons.

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to Yuan China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.

Zheng He

Chinese admiral during the Ming Dynasty, he led great voyages that spread China's fame throughout the Indian Ocean world. Known for advancement in rank from court slave to Admiral.

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands throughout Afroeurasia.