AP World Vocab ALL UNITS 1-9

List containing every important vocab word, topic, region, movement, religion, etc mentioned in every AP World Unit to use on LEQs, DBQ's, and SAQ's and to recognize MCQ questions.

Beijing

The northern city made the capital of the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan and later the Ming, serving as the political center of imperial China

Bushido

The strict code of honor, loyalty, martial skill, and self-discipline followed by Japan's warrior class during the feudal era

Champa Rice

A fast-ripening, drought-resistant rice variety introduced from Vietnam to Song China that enabled double-cropping, fueled agricultural surplus, and supported rapid population growth

Flying Cash

An early form of paper money developed under the Tang and widely used under the Song, allowing merchants to deposit coins in one city and redeem credit in another

Foot Binding

A painful practice among Song-era Chinese elite families in which young girls' feet were tightly wrapped to keep them small, signaling wealth and restricting women's mobility

Grand Canal

A massive inland waterway completed under the Sui Dynasty that linked the Yellow and Yangzi river systems, facilitating internal trade and the shipment of southern rice to northern capitals

Hangzhou

The cosmopolitan capital of the Southern Song, one of the largest and wealthiest cities in the world in the 13th century, praised by visitors such as Marco Polo

Khanates

The four major political subdivisions of the Mongol Empire after its division among Genghis Khan's descendants, including the Yuan, Ilkhanate, Chagatai, and Golden Horde

Mahayana Buddhism

The 'Great Vehicle' branch of Buddhism that spread along the Silk Roads into China, Korea, and Japan, emphasizing the bodhisattva ideal and salvation open to all

Ming Dynasty

The native Chinese dynasty (1368–1644) that replaced the Mongol Yuan, restored Han rule, rebuilt the Great Wall, and sponsored Zheng He's voyages before turning inward

Mongols

The nomadic Central Asian pastoralists who, united under Genghis Khan, built the largest contiguous land empire in world history across Eurasia

Neo-Confucianism

A revival of Confucian thought that synthesized Buddhist and Daoist ideas, emphasizing personal ethics, hierarchical social order, and loyalty to the state; became the dominant ideology of Chinese civil service during the Song Dynasty

Samurai

Japan's hereditary warrior aristocracy who served regional lords known as daimyo and adhered to the warrior code of honor and loyalty

Shinto

The indigenous Japanese religion centered on the veneration of kami — spirits of nature, ancestors, and places — often practiced alongside Buddhism

Shogunate

A decentralized Japanese military government in which real power rested with a supreme military commander while the emperor remained a ceremonial figurehead

Sinification

The process by which neighboring peoples such as the Japanese, Koreans, and Vietnamese adopted Chinese writing, Confucian thought, Buddhism, and bureaucratic practices

Song Dynasty

The Chinese imperial dynasty (960–1279) that promoted Neo-Confucianism, expanded the civil service examination, and oversaw innovations including paper money, gunpowder, and the magnetic compass

Sui Dynasty

The short-lived Chinese dynasty (581–618) that reunified China after centuries of division and directed massive public works including the Grand Canal

Tang Dynasty

The Chinese imperial dynasty (618–907) known for its cosmopolitan capital at Chang'an, expansion of the civil service exam, and flourishing poetry and Buddhist culture

Uighurs

A Turkic people of Central Asia who served as scribes, advisors, and administrators within the Mongol Empire, providing a written script for Mongol rulers

Yuan Dynasty

The Mongol-founded ruling dynasty of China (1271–1368) established by Kublai Khan, which kept Chinese bureaucratic structures while reserving top offices for Mongols and foreigners

Genghis Khan

The early-13th-century Mongol leader who unified the steppe tribes, launched campaigns across Eurasia, and founded the largest contiguous land empire in history

Kublai Khan

The grandson of Genghis Khan who completed the Mongol conquest of Song China and founded the Yuan Dynasty, hosting foreign visitors such as Marco Polo

Li Bai

A celebrated Tang-era poet whose verses on nature, friendship, and wine became central to the golden age of Chinese classical poetry

Minamoto Yoritomo

The late-12th-century Japanese warlord who defeated the Taira clan and established the Kamakura Shogunate, becoming the first shogun

Murasaki Shikibu

A Heian-era Japanese noblewoman and lady-in-waiting at the imperial court who authored The Tale of Genji, widely considered the world's first novel

Wu Zhao

The only woman in Chinese history to rule as empress regnant in her own name, founder of the short-lived Zhou interregnum during the Tang era, known for promoting Buddhism and reforming the civil service

Zheng He

The Ming-era Muslim eunuch admiral who led seven massive treasure fleet voyages across the Indian Ocean, projecting Chinese power from Southeast Asia to East Africa

Zhu Xi

The Southern Song scholar whose synthesis of Confucian thought with Buddhist and Daoist ideas defined Neo-Confucian orthodoxy for centuries afterward

The Tale of Genji

An early 11th-century Japanese literary work often considered the world's first novel, depicting the romances and court intrigues of Heian aristocracy

Bhakti Movement

A devotional Hindu tradition that emphasized emotional, personal love for a chosen deity and rejected caste distinctions, attracting followers across South Asia

Caste System

The hereditary social hierarchy in South Asian society dividing people into broad varnas and thousands of localized jati, determining occupation, marriage, and ritual status

Delhi Sultanate

The series of five Muslim dynasties that ruled much of northern India from 1206 to 1526, introducing Persianate culture and Islamic administration

Hinduism

The dominant religious tradition of South Asia, rooted in the Vedas and characterized by belief in a supreme reality, cycles of reincarnation, dharma, and a pantheon of deities

Monsoon

The seasonal shifting wind system over the Indian Ocean that powered trade between East Africa, Arabia, South Asia, and Southeast Asia

Sanskrit

The classical liturgical and literary language of ancient India, used for sacred Hindu texts and later Buddhist scriptures across South and Southeast Asia

Sikhism

A monotheistic religion founded in 15th-century Punjab blending elements of Hindu devotion and Islamic monotheism, rejecting caste and idolatry

Vijayanagara Empire

A powerful Hindu kingdom of southern India (1336–1646) that resisted northern Muslim expansion and controlled trade across the Deccan

Brahma

The Hindu god of creation, one of the three principal deities in the Trimurti alongside the preserver and the destroyer

Guru Kabir

A 15th-century mystic poet of northern India whose verses rejected caste distinctions and ritual formalism, drawing on both Hindu and Islamic devotion and influencing the later Sikh tradition

Mahmud of Ghazni

An 11th-century Turkic sultan who launched repeated raids from Afghanistan into northern India, plundering temples and establishing Islamic political power in the region

Shiva

The Hindu god of destruction and regeneration in the Trimurti, often depicted with a trident and associated with cosmic dance

Tamerlane

A late-14th-century Turko-Mongol conqueror from Central Asia who built a vast empire through brutal campaigns including the devastating 1398 sack of Delhi

Vishnu

The Hindu god of preservation in the Trimurti, believed to descend to earth in avatars such as Rama and Krishna to restore cosmic order

Dai Viet

The Vietnamese state that emerged after breaking from Chinese rule in the 10th century, blending Confucian administration with local traditions

Dhow

A lateen-rigged sailing vessel with a triangular sail, developed by Arab and Swahili sailors, that exploited monsoon winds across the Indian Ocean

Emporia

Port cities along Indian Ocean trade routes that served as commercial hubs where merchants of many cultures exchanged goods and ideas

Junk

A large Chinese seagoing ship with multiple masts, watertight bulkheads, and battened sails, widely used for long-distance commerce in East and Southeast Asian waters

Khmer

The dominant people and empire of mainland Southeast Asia centered on Angkor, whose rulers built monumental Hindu-Buddhist temple complexes between the 9th and 15th centuries

Majapahit

A Hindu-Buddhist maritime empire centered on Java (1293–1527) that dominated spice trade across the Indonesian archipelago

Melaka (Malacca)

A 15th-century Muslim sultanate and port city on the Malay Peninsula that controlled the critical strait between the Indian Ocean and South China Sea

Srivijaya

A Buddhist maritime empire based on Sumatra (7th–13th centuries) that controlled the Strait of Malacca and profited from Indian Ocean trade

Sukhothai

An early Thai kingdom (13th–15th centuries) often regarded as the cradle of Thai script, Theravada Buddhism, and statecraft in the region

Al-Andalus

The Muslim-ruled territories of the Iberian Peninsula from 711 to 1492, noted for cultural and intellectual exchange among Muslims, Jews, and Christians

Bedouin

Nomadic Arab pastoralists of the Arabian Peninsula organized around kinship and clan, among the earliest communities to convert to Islam

Caliphate

The Islamic political-religious institution in which a successor to the Prophet Muhammad claimed authority over the umma, the global Muslim community

Hadith

Collected reports of the sayings, actions, and tacit approvals of the Prophet Muhammad, serving as a major source of Islamic law and practice after the Quran

Hajj

The annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca required at least once of every able Muslim, one of the Five Pillars of Islam

Jihad

An Arabic term meaning struggle or striving, used in Islam to refer both to inner spiritual effort and, in some contexts, to armed defense of the faith

Ka'ba

The cube-shaped shrine at the center of Mecca's Grand Mosque, toward which Muslims pray and which stands at the heart of the Hajj pilgrimage rites

Mecca

The city in western Arabia that served as birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad and site of the Ka'ba, the holiest city in Islam

Medina

The western Arabian city, originally called Yathrib, where the Prophet Muhammad established the first Muslim community after the Hijra of 622

Muslim

A follower of Islam who submits to God, accepts the prophethood of Muhammad, and upholds the Five Pillars

Qadis

Islamic judges who interpreted and applied sharia law in local courts across the Muslim world

Sharia

The moral and legal code of Islam derived from the Quran, the hadith, and scholarly interpretation, governing religious and social conduct

Shi'a

The branch of Islam that holds that leadership rightly belongs to the Prophet Muhammad's family through Ali and his descendants, the Imams

Sufism

The mystical tradition within Islam that emphasized direct personal experience of the divine through poetry, music, and devotional practice, spreading the faith through missionary activity

Sultanate

A Muslim state ruled by a sultan, a political authority whose power often existed alongside or instead of the caliph's religious leadership

Sunni

The larger of Islam's two main branches, which accepts the first four caliphs and bases authority on consensus and the Prophet's recorded traditions

Ulama

The class of recognized Islamic religious scholars who preserved, taught, and interpreted scripture, law, and tradition throughout the Muslim world

A'ishah Bint Yusuf Al-Bauniyyah

A prolific 15th-century Syrian Sufi woman scholar and poet, among the most celebrated female authors of the pre-modern Islamic world

Al Razi

A Persian polymath of the Islamic Golden Age celebrated for pioneering clinical medicine, distinguishing smallpox from measles, and writing influential medical encyclopedias

Ibn Battuta

A 14th-century Moroccan Muslim scholar and traveler whose rihla recorded journeys across the Islamic world, from West Africa to India and China

Ibn Khaldun

A 14th-century North African scholar whose Muqaddimah pioneered the study of history, economics, and social cohesion, especially the concept of asabiyyah or group solidarity

Ibn Sina

An 11th-century Persian physician and philosopher whose Canon of Medicine remained a standard medical text in Europe and the Islamic world for centuries

Nasir al din Tusi

A 13th-century Persian polymath who worked at the Mongol Ilkhanate's Maragheh observatory, advancing astronomy, mathematics, and the theory of ethics

Prophet Muhammad

The seventh-century Arabian founder of Islam who, beginning in 610 CE, preached the revelations later compiled as the Quran and established the first Muslim community at Medina

Rumi

A 13th-century Persian poet and Sufi mystic whose devotional verses, composed in Konya under Seljuk rule, became among the most widely read spiritual poetry worldwide

Five Pillars of Islam

The five core religious duties required of all Muslims: profession of faith, daily prayer, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, and the pilgrimage to Mecca

Hijra

The Prophet Muhammad's 622 CE migration from Mecca to Medina with his early followers, marking year one of the Islamic calendar

House of Wisdom

A renowned library and translation institution in Abbasid Baghdad where scholars preserved and translated Greek, Persian, and Indian works into Arabic during the Islamic Golden Age

Quran (Koran)

The central sacred text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be the literal word of God revealed to the Prophet Muhammad through the angel Gabriel

Andes Mountains

The long mountain range running down western South America that provided the geographic spine of the Inca Empire and its terrace agriculture

Calpulli

Aztec kinship-based units that organized land, labor, and religious obligations for commoners within Tenochtitlan and tributary communities

Chasqui (Chaskis)

Inca relay messengers who sprinted between waystations along the royal roads to carry quipus and oral reports across the empire

Chinampas

Rectangular artificial agricultural plots built on shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico, producing intensive yields that fed the Aztec capital

Cuzco

The highland Andean city that served as the sacred political and religious capital of the Inca Empire

Inca

The Quechua-speaking Andean civilization whose empire, centered at Cuzco, stretched along the western coast of South America before Spanish conquest in 1533

Lake Texcoco

The large shallow lake in the Valley of Mexico on whose islands the Mexica built their capital, surrounded by raised agricultural plots

Machu Picchu

A 15th-century Inca royal estate perched in the eastern Andes, abandoned during the Spanish conquest and later rediscovered as a symbol of Inca architectural achievement

Mexica (Aztec)

The Nahuatl-speaking people who migrated into central Mexico and built a tributary empire centered on their island capital in Lake Texcoco during the 14th–16th centuries

Mit'a

The Inca system of mandatory rotational labor in which subject communities contributed workers for state projects such as roads, terraces, and mining

Quechua

The administrative language of the Inca Empire, still spoken by millions of indigenous people across the Andes today

Quipu

A knotted-cord recording device used by Andean civilizations, especially the Inca, to track census data, tribute, and calendar information

Tenochtitlan

The island capital of the Aztec Empire founded in 1325, connected to the mainland by causeways and supporting a population exceeding 200,000 before Spanish conquest

Teotihuacan

A massive pre-Aztec city in central Mexico, abandoned centuries before the rise of the Mexica but revered by them as the sacred 'city of the gods'

Tlatelolco

The sister city of Tenochtitlan on an adjoining island, home to the largest marketplace in the Americas before Spanish conquest

Huitzilopochtli

The Aztec patron god of war and the sun, whose temple crowned the Templo Mayor and who required human sacrifice to keep the sun moving across the sky

Montezuma II

The Aztec emperor whose reign encountered the Spanish arrival under Cortes in 1519, leading to his death and the fall of Tenochtitlan two years later

Pachacuti

The 15th-century Inca ruler who transformed Cuzco into an imperial capital and expanded the Inca Empire across the Andes through conquest and state-building