Time Period 1: Post-Classical (Unit 1-2: 600ce to 1450)

Vocabulary terms and definitions from Unit 1-2 covering the Post-Classical era (600 CE to 1450 CE).

Byzantine Empire

Eastern portion of the Roman Empire which survived beyond the collapse of the Roman Empire with its capital at Constantinople; retained Mediterranean culture, particularly Greek; eventually taken over by the Ottomans (500ce to 1453ce).

Justinian I

6th century Byzantine emperor who failed to reconquer the western portions of the empire, but was known for rebuilding Constantinople and codifying Roman law into the Justinian code.

Crusades

Armed pilgrimages to the Holy Land by Christians determined to reconquer Jerusalem from Muslim rule; brought an end to western Europe's centuries of intellectual and cultural isolation.

Vikings

A group of seafarers from Scandinavia that colonized and raided parts of Europe from about 793 to 1066.

Hagia Sophia

Great domed Eastern Orthodox Christian church constructed during the reign of Justinian in Constantinople.

Great Schism

The split between the Roman Catholic church in the west and the Eastern Orthodox church based in Constantinople, centering on the role of the Pope in the decision-making process of the church, the language of the bible, and whether priests should be celibate.

Eastern Orthodox Church

Christian church that was created in 1053 after the schism or split from the western Roman Catholic church; heavily influenced the Byzantine Empire as well as Russia.

Kievan Rus

State that emerged around the city of Kiev in the 9th century; a culturally diverse region that included Vikings as well as Finnic and Baltic peoples.

Boyars

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

Czar (Tsar)

Term used for the emperors of Russia; literally means Caesar.

Constantinople

Capital of the Byzantine Empire; constructed on the site of Byzantium, today's Istanbul in modern day Turkey.

Abbasid

Dynasty that overthrew the Umayyad to rule the Muslim caliphate from 750 to 1258; maintained the unity of the caliphate for 150 years as Islamic civilization and culture flourished, and moved the capital city to Baghdad.

Baghdad

Capital city of the Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq; the second largest city next to Constantinople, whose location on key trade routes gave caliphs access to trade goods, gold, and information about other empires.

Seljuk Turks

Nomadic Turks from Asia who conquered Baghdad in 1055 and allowed the caliph to remain only as a religious leader; most were Sunni Muslims.

Sultan

In Arabic it means "Victorious"; a term designated to Muslim rulers especially in the West.

Mamluks

Turkic military slaves who formed part of the army of the Abbasid Caliphate in the 9th-10th centuries and founded their own state in Egypt and Syria from the 13th to early 16th centuries.

Muhammad

The prophet of Islam who received revelations from Allah (God) in 610ce and after; established the Quran and the Five Pillars of Islam.

Bedouins

Nomadic pastoralists of the Arabian Peninsula whose culture was based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam who contributed to the safety of the trade routes.

Allah

God of Islam, meaning god in Arabic.

Mecca

City located in the mountainous regions along the Red Sea in the Arabian peninsula; founded by the Umayyad clan, it is the site of the Ka'ba, the original home of Muhammad, and the chief religious pilgrimage point in Islam.

Quran (Koran)

The sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina.

Medina

City in western Saudi Arabia to where Muhammad and his followers emigrated in 622 to escape persecution in Mecca.

Ka'ba

The most revered religious shrine in Pre-Islamic Arabia located in Mecca; focus of obligatory annual truce among Bedouin tribes and later incorporated as an important shrine in Islam.

Five Pillars

The obligatory religious duties of all Muslims: confession of faith, prayer, fasting during Ramadan, zakat (tax), and hajj (pilgrimage to Mecca).

Jihad

The obligation of Muslims to struggle or exert themselves "in the way of God".

Ramadan

A holy month in the calendar of Islam during which Muslims fast between dawn and sunset.

Shariah

Islamic law, dealing with all matters both secular and religious.

Minarets

Towers attached to a Muslim mosque, having one or more projecting balconies from which a crier calls Muslims to prayer.

Abu Bakr

Companion and 1st Muslim leader after Muhammad regarded by Sunnis as the 1st caliph and rightful successor, but regarded by Shia as a traitor; known as the best interpreter of dreams following Muhammad's death.

Caliph

A supreme political and religious leader in a Muslim government or the successor to Muhammad on earth.

Sunni

Branch of Islam believing that the community should select its own leadership; the majority religion in most Islamic countries that supported the Umayyads.

Shia

The branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad.

Dar al-Islam

Meaning "Everywhere Islam is"; religious conceptualization within Islam of the world as belonging either to Muslim or non-Muslim territory.

Umayyad Dynasty

First hereditary dynasty of Muslim caliphs who ruled one of the largest empires in history from Damascus, extending from Spain to India, before being overthrown by the Abbasid Caliphate.

Sufism

An Islamic mystical tradition desiring a personal union with God through intuition rather than rational deduction and study of the Shariah; dedicated to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Quran, and avoiding sin.

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar and the most widely traveled individual of his time, who wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain as well as western Sudan.

Griots

Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings within the Mali Empire.

Indian Ocean Trade Network

The world's largest sea-based system of communication and trade before 1500.

Trans-Saharan Trade

Trade caravan routes across the Sahara Desert that connected trading centers in West Africa, North Africa, and East Africa, initially involving the exchange of salt from the Sahara for gold from the Niger valley region.

Kumbai Saleh

Ghana's capital city, where the king ruled a centralized government aided by nobles and an army equipped with iron weapons.

Timbuktu

Port city of Mali located just off the flood plain on the great bend of the Niger River; contained a library as well as a university.

Swahili city-states

East African city-states that emerged in the 8th century from a blending of Bantu, Islamic, and other Indian Ocean trade elements.

Goa

Fortified Portuguese trade city located on the Western Indian coast that accumulated wealth through access to the Asian sea trade network and developed into a regional center of Islamic life.

Ghana

West African kingdom between the Sahara and coastal rain forests whose rulers sold gold and ivory to Muslim traders in exchange for salt, copper, cloth, and tools.

Mali

The most powerful trading society in West Africa, consisting of the great cities of Timbuktu and Gao, which served as centers of Islamic life and learning.

Sundiata

The "Lion Prince"; a member of the Keita clan who created a unified state that became the Mali Empire.

Mansa Musa

Sundiata's grand-nephew and ruler of the Mali empire from 1312 to 1337 who controlled territories rich in gold and copper (richest man in history); better known for his Islamic religious leadership than political or economic policy.

Songhay (Songhai)

Successor state to the Mali Empire that formed an independent kingdom under a Berber dynasty with its capital at Gao.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful state in the African interior that emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast.

Flying money

Credit instrument started during the Tang dynasty in China providing vouchers redeemable at the end of a voyage; reduced robbery by enabling deposits at one location and withdrawals elsewhere in China.

Magnetic compass

Navigation instrument invented during the Chinese Han dynasty used for determining direction; allowed ships to travel without staying close to shore.

Junk

An exceptionally large flat-bottom sailing ship produced during the Tang and Song Dynasties; specially designed for long-distance commercial travel.

Wood-block printing

A form of printing in which an entire page is carved into a block of wood, inked, and pressed onto a page to create an image.

Champa rice

Quick maturing rice that allows two harvests in one growing season.

Sinification

The spreading of Chinese culture.

Scholar gentry

The educated upper classes in China.

Daimyo

Prominent Japanese families who provided allegiance to the local Shogun in exchange for protection.

Sui Dynasty

The short dynasty between the Han and Tang dynasties that built the Grand Canal, strengthened the government, and introduced Buddhism to China.

Grand Canal

The 1,100-mile waterway linking the Yellow (Huang He) and Yangzi Rivers; construction began during the Han period and was completed during the Sui dynasty.

Tang Dynasty

Dynasty after the Sui that maintained an extensive road and horse communication network, used the equal-field system, and relied heavily on a merit-based bureaucracy.

Tributary system

A network of loose international relations focused on China that facilitated trade and diplomacy by acknowledging China's predominant East Asian role through trade, military, and ritual ties.

Song Dynasty

Chinese dynasty replacing the Tang with one million people under its control by 1000ce; featured foot-binding, magnetic compasses, navies, trade with India/Persia, paper money, gunpowder, and scholar gentry dominance.

Yuan Dynasty

Chinese dynasty from 1279-1368 established by Mongol leader Kublai Khan; during this period, the Silk Road became safer for travelers under patrol monitoring (Pax Mongolica).

Ming Dynasty

Dynasty succeeding the Mongol Yuan in China in 1369 lasting until 1644; initially launched massive naval expeditions under Zheng He before concentrating efforts on internal development.

Shogun

A hereditary military dictator of Japan.

Samurai

A Japanese warrior who was a member of the feudal military aristocracy.

Kowtow

A former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission.

Foot binding

Song dynasty Chinese practice of mutilating women's feet to make them smaller; produced pain, restricted movement, and made it easier to confine women to the household.

Neo-Confucianism

Revival of ancient Confucian teachings during China's Song era that emphasized tradition and hostility to foreign systems, making bureaucrats and rulers less receptive to outside ideas.

Fujiwara clan

Dynastic family that dominated the Japanese imperial government from the 9th to 12th century through shrewd intermarriage and diplomacy.

Heian

Period in Japan from 794 to 1100 marked by moving the capital to Heian, 300 years of cultural development, growing large estates, and moving away from Chinese culture.

The Tale of Genji

Japanese story of Prince Genji and his lovers written by Lady Murasaki Shikibu at the end of the 11th century; considered the world's first novel.

Bushido

Traditional code of the Japanese samurai which stressed courage, loyalty, self-discipline, and simple living.

Delhi Sultanate

The kingdom established by Muhammad's successors to spread Islam in India.

Jizya

Tax paid by Christians and Jews living in Muslim communities allowing them to continue practicing their own religion.

Bhakti Movement

A cult of love and devotion that emerged in southern India and ultimately sought to erase the distinction between Hinduism and Islam.

Calicut

A southwest Indian city on the Malabar Coast; site of Vasco da Gama's 1498 landfall, later occupied by Portuguese, British, French, and Danish trading colonies.

Spice Islands

Small group of islands northeast of Indonesia that were the world's largest producers of mace, nutmeg, cloves, and pepper despite their relatively small size.

Monsoon winds

Alternating wind currents blowing eastward across the Indian Ocean in summer and westward during winter.

Lateen sail

Triangle-shaped sails perfected by Arab traders whose design allowed ships to sail against the wind.

Charlemagne

King/Emperor of the Franks who established the Carolingian Empire through military conquests encompassing all of Gaul and parts of Italy and Germany.

Empress Wu

The only female emperor in Chinese history; reigned during the Tang Dynasty as one of the most effective and controversial monarchs.

William the Conqueror

Invaded England from Normandy in 1066, establishing a tight feudal system and centralized monarchy.

Holy Roman Empire

European political entity beginning with the papal coronation of Otto I in 962 and lasting until its dissolution by Napoleon in 1806.

Magyars

Nomadic Muslim peoples who invaded the Carolingian empire, converted to Christianity, and established Hungary.

Magna Carta

Greater Charter issued by King John of England in 1215 confirming feudal rights against monarchical claims and embodying mutual obligations between rulers and aristocracy.

Hundred Years' War

Conflict between England and France lasting from 1337 to 1453.

Reconquista

Effort by Christian leaders lasting from the 1100s until 1492 to drive Muslims (Moors) out of Spain.

Medieval Europe

Period also known as the Middle or Dark Ages; began with the collapse of the western Roman empire and merged into the Renaissance and Age of Discovery.

Feudalism

Relationships among the military elite in the Middle Ages where greater lords provided protection to lesser lords in return for military service.

Serfs

Peasant agricultural laborers bound within the manorial system.

Primogeniture

Legal and customary right where the firstborn child inherits all of the father's possessions, excluding all other children.

Code of Chivalry

Rules adopted by knights in the late Middle Ages requiring them to be brave, loyal, and true to their word.

Manorial system

System of economic and political relations between landlords and peasant laborers exchanging labor for access to land under reciprocal obligations.

Guilds

City associations of workers in the same occupation that regulated apprenticeships, maintained craftsmanship, limited membership, and discouraged innovations.

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant and traveler whose written account of travels to China gave Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated Asian trade interest.

Three field system

Agricultural practice of leaving one-third of land unplanted each year to increase fertility.

Black Death

Plague that struck Europe in the 14th century, significantly reducing population and altering social structure.

Cartography

The making of maps and charts.

Mongols

Nomads from northern Eurasia who established an enormous empire after 1206 under Genghis Khan, linking western and eastern Eurasia.