AP World History: Unit 1 Key Concepts & Civilizations

'A'ishah al-Ba'uniyyah

most prolific female Muslim writer and poet before the 20th century

Abbasid Caliphate

dynasty of the Muslim empire of the caliphate that followed the Umayyad Caliphate; destroyed by the Mongol invasion in 1258

The Analects

the compilation of Confucius' teachings after his death

Ancestor Veneration

a Confucian practice of praying to one's ancestors

Artisans

skilled manual workers in a particular craft who often work by hand

Ashoka

the third king of the Mauryan Empire who promoted Buddhism

Bantu Migrations

the spread of Bantu-speaking peoples from their homeland in what is now southern Nigeria to most of Africa

Bhakti Movement

Hindu devotional movement that flourished in the early modern era, emphasizing music, dance, poetry, and rituals as means by which to achieve direct union with the divine

Brahman

Hindu spirit that is the energy that connects everything; a priest class

Caste System

a rigid social system in India that gives every Indian a particular place in the social hierarchy from birth

Champa Rice

an Indian quick-maturing, very resistant rice that could be harvested twice in one growing season

Chan Buddhism

a Chinese school of Mahāyāna Buddhism popular during the Tang and Song Dynasties

Chang'an

ancient Chinese capital of several dynasties; now known as Xi'an

Civil Service Exam

a system of testing designed to select the most studious and learned candidates for appointment as bureaucrats in the Chinese government

Chola Dynasty

a Tamil maritime empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in world history

Confucianism

the system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct

Corvee Labor

forced, unpaid labor that was often intermittent

Crusades

a series of Christian holy wars conducted against nonbelievers

Daoism

a Chinese philosophy based on the teachings of Lao Zi which taught that people should turn to nature and give up their worldly concerns; was largely a spiritual alternative to Confucianism

Delhi Sultanate

a Muslim kingdom that ruled parts of India from the 13th to the 16th centuries and was an Islamic state on the outside of the Caliphate system

Dharma

a position and career determined by birth within the caste system

Diaspora

any movement of the citizens of a population sharing the same ethnic descent

Eightfold Path

one of Buddha's teachings which outlines the path to nirvana

Ethiopia

Christian-led African kingdom that emerged in the 12th century; known for their rock hewn churches

Feudalism

a land system in which a king owned all the land a granted tracks to nobles in exchange for military loyalty, and nobles granted parts of their land to vassals or serfs who worked the land

Filial piety

a Confucian virtue of respect, obedience, and care for one's parents and elderly family members

Forbidden City

a walled section of Beijing built in the Ming Dynasty where emperors lived between 1121 and 1911

Four Noble Truths

Buddha's guiding principles regarding suffering

Grand Canal

an over 1,000-mile-long transportation waterway that allowed China to be the most populous trading area in the world during the Song Dynasty

Great Wall

a Chinese defensive fortification built during the reign of Shi Huangdi to keep out northern nomadic invaders

Great Zimbabwe

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

Gupta Empire

the empire that later united India following the Maurya Empire

Han Dynasty

China's longest running dynasty

Hausa Kingdoms

a group of small independent city-states in northern central Africa

Hebrew Bible

collection of sacred books containing diverse materials concerning the origins, experiences, beliefs and practices of the Israelites

Heian Period

a period when Japan was most closely connected to and influenced by Chinese culture that lasted from 794 to 1185 CE

House of Wisdom

an academic center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun

Imperial Bureaucracy

large organization in China in which appointed officials carried out the policies of the empire

Inca Empire

largest imperial state in the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries. The empire spanned almost the entire coast of western South America

Indian Ocean Maritime System

a trade route across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea

Jati

a classification within the Indian caste system

Judaism

oldest known monotheistic religion

Karma

the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation

Kowtow

an act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground

Lao Zi

a Chinese philosopher who taught retreat from society into nature and that individuals should seek to become attuned with Dao

Legalism

a political philosophy in China that emphasized the unruliness of human nature and justified state coercion and control. The Qin rulers and early Han rulers invoked it to validate the authoritarian nature of their regimes

Mahayana Buddhism

focuses on service and became popular in China and Korea

Majapahit Kingdom

Buddhist Kingdom from 1293-1520 based on Java that gained power by controlling sea routes

Mali

trading empire that flourished in western Africa from the 13th to the 16th century and was known for its wealth

Mamluks

enslaved soldiers from the Abbasid era

Mauryan Empire

it unified most of India into a peaceful and stable empire and expanded trade

Mayans

established a series of independent states and city-states in Mesoamerica

Meritocracy

the exam system that granted Chinese officials their positions

Mesa Verde

the largest complex of Anasazi cliff-dwellings in the United States Southwest

Moche

a civilization near the coast of Peru that built irrigation networks and urban centers that had brick temples

Moksha

the goal for Hindus in which you are reunited with Brahman and escape reincarnation

Monarchies

governments in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a monarch who reigns over a state or territory, usually for life and by hereditary right

Monastic Living

a religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work

Monsoons

a seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia which affected trade routes

Mudras

a hand gesture with specific meaning or significance in Indian classical sculpture and dance

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

Persian mathematician; one of the most celebrated Islamic scholars

Nirvana

the state of liberation from suffering which can be achieved when an individual follows the Eightfold Path in Buddhism

Neo-Confucianism

the revival of Confucian teachings during the Tang and Song dynasties and a subsequent synthesis of Confucianism with aspects of Buddhism and Daoism

Oligarchy

form of government in which a small group of elites make decisions for everyone

Olmec

the earliest known Mexican civilizations

Parthians

Persian dynasty based in Iran that extended into Mesopotamia

Pataliputra

the chief political and commercial center of northern India

Patriarchy

society in which men hold power within the family, in governance, and/or in economics

Polygyny

a form of polygamy in which a man has two or more wives simultaneously

Proto-industrialization

people in rural areas producing more goods than they can sell

Qin Dynasty

the Chinese dynasty that established the first centralized imperial government and built much of the Great Wall, Replaced the Zhou dynasty and employed legalist ideas in order to control warring states and unify the country

Rajput Kingdoms

Hindu kingdoms that arose after the fall of the Gupta Empire

Reciprocity

a relationship between people and state where people pay tribute in exchange for access to resources

Reincarnation

Hindu principle in which souls pass to other beings after death

Sanskrit

sacred language of the Vedas in India

Scholar Gentry

Confucian educated social class that became the most influential social class of China

Shinto

the indigenous religion of Japan in which people believed that kami (spirits) were present in their natural surroundings

Shiva

an important Hindu deity who in the trinity of gods was the Destroyer

Sinhala Dynasties

Sri Lankan dynasties which were largely Buddhist

Silk Road

a vast network of trading routes that connected the East to the West: Constantinople in Europe to Chang'an in Asia

Song Dynasty

a Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 960 to 1279 that preceded the Yuan Dynasty

Srivijaya Empire

an Indonesian Hindu sea-based empire based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia which was an important trade center

Sufis

a mystical Muslim group that had successful missionaries. They believed they could become closer to God through prayer, fasting, and a simple life

Sukhothai Kingdom

a kingdom in north central Thailand from 1238 until 1438

Swahili

blended language that combined Bantu and Arabic languages and is still spoken today

Syncretism

the blending of elements from more than one religion into a distinct system of worship

Tang Dynasty

Chinese imperial dynasty which preceded the Song; one of the greatest periods of peace and prosperity in Chinese history, and it is remembered for its cultural achievements and its strong and centralized government

Teotihuacan

a major city in Mesoamerica that was the center for cultural and religious activities

Theater State

a state that acquires prestige and power by developing attractive cultural forms and staging elaborate public ceremonies

Theravada Buddhism

Buddhism focused on meditation found in Southeast Asia

Tibetan Buddhism

form of Buddhism in Tibet centered around chanting

Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

networks of exchange that transformed West Africa by connecting it to the larger parts of the world

Universalizing Religion

a religion seeking to convert others. Islam was a universalizing religion

Urdu

a new language with elements of Hindi, Arabic, and Farsi that developed among the Muslims of South Asia

Varnas

warriors within the Indian caste system

Vedas

the oldest collection of scriptures of Hinduism and religious texts in an ancient Sanskrit language

Vijayanagara Empire

an empire in southern India between 1336 and 1646; founded by the brothers Harihara and Bukka Raya in 1336 to protect the people in the southern region from the Muslim states, or sultanates, in the north

Vishnu

Hindu god considered the preserver of the world

Woodblock Printing

a technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia that originated in China

Xiongnu

the Chinese name for the confederacy of Turkish-speaking peoples who were nomadic herders in Central Asia