Unit 3: Land-based Empires

Absolute Monarchy

Kings that passed laws without parliaments, appointed professionalized armies and bureaucracies, established state churches, and imposed state economic policies.

Akbar the Great

(r. 1542-1605) Considered to be their greatest Mughal Emperor. He is responsible for the expansion of his empire, the stability his administration gave to it, and the increasing of trade and cultural diffusion. Religiously tolerant to Hindus

Askia the Great

Songhai ruler, he overthrew Sunni Baru. Like Mansa Musa, he had an elaborate pilgrimage to Mecca. His reign was the high point of Songhai culture.

Battle of Panipat

Babur defeated bigger Indian army using cannons and musketry. superior tactics vs superior numbers. The battle which marked the beginning of the Mughal Empire.

Boyars

Russian landholding aristocrats; possessed less political power than their western European counterparts

Cardinal Richelieu

This was the man who influenced the power of King Louis XIII the most and tried to make France an absolute monarchy

Carpa Nan

The Inca massive roadway system, consisting of 25,000 miles of road built using captive labor that connected Cuzco with the outlying parts of the empire. Was used mostly by government officials, messengers, and the military.

Charles V

This was the Holy Roman Emperor that called for the Diet of Worms. He was a supporter of Catholicism and tried to crush the Reformation by use of the Counter-Reformation

Counter Reformation

the reaction of the Roman Catholic Church to the Reformation reaffirming the veneration of saints and the authority of the Pope (to which Protestants objected)

Daimyo

A Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of samurai

Delhi

Capital of the Mughal empire in Northern India

Devshirme

The tribute of boy children that the Ottoman Turks levied from their Christian subjects in the Balkans

Divine Right of Kings

the belief that kings receive their power from God and are responsible only to God

Edo

Tokugawa capital city; modern-day Tokyo; center of the Tokugawa shogunate.

Emperor Qianlong

Qing Emperor (r. 1736-1795) who refused to open more trading ports to Europe. He was known for his military skills, love of scholarship, and tolerance.

Ghazi ideal

a model for warrior life that blended the cooperative values of nomadic culture with the willingness to serve as a holy fighter for Islam

Golden Temple

the Sikh religion's holiest shrine

Gunpowder

Invented within China during the 9th century, this substance was became the dominate military technology used to expand European and Asian empires by the 15th century.

Guttenberg Printing Press

Lead to the spread of the ideas associated with the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation. Allowed ideas to be distributed more quickly

Henry VIII

(1491-1547) King of England from 1509 to 1547; his desire to annul his marriage led to a conflict with the pope, England's break with the Roman Catholic Church, and its embrace of Protestantism. Henry established the Church of England in 1532.

Incan Empire

a Mesoamerican civilization in the Andes Mountains in South America that by the end of the 1400s was the largest empire in the Americas including much of what is now Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile; conquered by Pizarro

Indulgence

A pardon given by the Roman Catholic Church in return for repentance for sins. Centuries ago the Church would sell certificates that would get a person out of purgatory. This practice contributed to the Protestant reformation.

Inquisition

A Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy - especially the one active in Spain during the 1400s.

Intendants

System of bureaucratic elites who weakened French nobles by replacing them with civil servants to govern districts and collect taxes for the King.

Islamic Gunpowder Empires

Descended from Turkish nomads from Central Asia; Spoke Turkic; Took advantage of power vacuums leftover from breakup of Mongol Khanates; relied on gunpowder weapons such as cannons and muskets. Establish the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughul Empires.

Ivan IV (the Terrible)

First absolute tsar of Russia (r. 1533-1584). Responsible for the death of thousands, including his own son; expanded the empire and destroyed remnants of Golden Horde through the use of gunpowder.

Janissaries

Christian boys taken from families, converted to Islam, and then rigorously trained to serve the sultan as elite, professional soldiers of the Ottoman army armed with firearms.

John Calvin

Swiss theologian (born in France) whose tenets (predestination and the irresistibly of grace and justification by faith) defined Presbyterianism (1509-1564)

Kangxi

Chinese Qing emperor (r. 1661-1722) who promoted Confucian ideas and policies and expanded the Qing empire (Captured Taiwan, Mongolia, and parts of Central Asia- Tibet)

Louis XIV

(1638-1715) Known as the Sun King, he was an absolute monarch that completely controlled France. One of his greatest accomplishments was the building of the palace at Versailles.

Manchus

Northeast Asian peoples who defeated the Ming Dynasty and founded the Qing Dynasty in 1644, which was the last of China's imperial dynasties.

Martin Luther

a German monk who became one of the most famous critics of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1517, he wrote 95 theses, or statements of belief attacking the church practices. He advocated a theology of "sola fide" or "faith alone" as the basis for salvation.

Mehmed II

Ottoman sultan called the "Conqueror"; responsible for conquest of Constantinople in 1453; destroyed what remained of Byzantine Empire.

Ming Dynasty

Overthrew the Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1368; lasted until 1644; initially mounted huge trade expeditions to southern Asia and elsewhere, but later concentrated efforts on internal development within China.

Mita System

economic system in Incan society where people paid taxes through forced manual labor.

Mosque of Isfahan

Built by Safavids to legitimize power.

Mughal Empire

Muslim state (1526-1857) founded by Babur which exercised dominion over most of India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. It saw a Muslim minority ruling over a vast Hindu population.

Mughul Empire

Established by Babur, this empire was centered in north India led by Turkic Muslims from 1526-1857 C.E.

Ottoman Empire

Islamic state founded by Osman in northwestern Anatolia. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, the capital was based at Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) from 1453-1922. It encompassed lands in the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe.

Pachacuti

Ruler of Inca society from 1438 to 1471; launched a series of military campaigns that gave Incas control of the region from Cuzco to the shores of Lake Titicaca

Palace of Versailles

built in the 17th century for Louis XIV southwest of Paris near the city of Versailles to entertain nobles and legitimize his power.

Peter the Great

(1672-1725) Russian tsar (r. 1689-1725). He enthusiastically introduced Western languages and technologies to the Russian elite, moving the capital from Moscow to the new city of St. Petersburg.

Phillip II

Devout Catholic monarch of Spain who did not believe in religious toleration. Sent an Armada to attempt to invade England to overthrow Protestant Queen, Elizabeth I of England and crown Mary, Queen of Scots, a Catholic.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Qing Dynasty

the last imperial dynasty of China (from 1644 to 1912) which was overthrown by revolutionaries. Also known for its extreme isolationism.

Quipu

An arrangement of knotted strings on a cord, used by the Inca to record numerical information.

Romanov Dynasty

Dynasty that favored the nobles, reduced military obligations, expanded the Russian empire further east, and fought several unsuccessful wars, yet they lasted from 1613 to 1917.

Safavid Empire

Iranian kingdom (1502-1722) established by Ismail Safavi, who declared Iran a Shi'ite state. Weakest of the Islamic Gunpowder Empires due to their lack of a strong navy and natural defenses.

Shah Abbas the Great

Safavid ruler from 1587 to 1629; extended Safavid domain to greatest extent; created slave regiments based on captured Russians, who monopolized firearms within Safavid armies; incorporated Western military technology.

Sharia

Body of Islamic law that includes interpretation of the Quran and applies Islamic principles to everyday life

Sikhism

Monotheistic Indian religion founded by the Guru Nanak (1469-1539) in the Punjab region of northwest India. Shares some beliefs with Hinduism and Suffi Islam but is NOT the same.

Simony

the selling or buying of a position in the Roman Catholic church

Suleiman the Magnificent

The most illustrious sultan of the Ottoman Empire (r. 1520-1566); The Ottoman Empire peaked under his rule. He is also known as 'The Lawgiver.' He significantly expanded the empire in the Balkans and eastern Mediterranean.

Sulyemaniye Mosque

Built in capital city of Ottomans, Istanbul; Began construction in 1550 under the reign of Suleiman the Magnificent; finished in 1557 by architect Sinan

Syncretism

a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith

Taj Mahal

beautiful mausoleum at Agra built by the Mogul emperor Shah Jahan (completed in 1649) in memory of his favorite wife

Tamerlane

Turkic/Mongol "Father" of Islamic Gunpowder Empires

(r. 1370-1405). Led armies from modern day Uzbekistan to conquer Persia and parts of India. Encouraged learning and the arts. His lasting impact was to pave the way for future Turkic nomads to take over the region.

Tax farming

Ottoman and Mughal method of taxing peasants and the use of private collectors to collect the taxes.

Terrace Farming

The cutting out of flat areas (terraces) into near vertical slopes to allow farming. Terrace farms appears as steps cut into a mountainside. This adaptation allowed both the early Chinese, and the Inca of Mesoamerica to grow enough food for their large populations.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

1534-1616, founder of the Tokugawa Shogunate which lasted from 1603 to 1867 and reunified Japan

tributes

gifts given to those in power by people who have been defeated or who want protection

Zamindars

a local official in Mughal India who received a plot of farmland for temporary use in return for collecting taxes for the central government