AP World History Unit 1 (1200-1450) Vocabulary Flashcards

A comprehensive vocabulary review set matching terms and definitions across all reading materials for AP World History Unit 1.

Charlemagne

The Emperor, also known as 'Charles', who unified Western and Central Europe around 800 AD before his empire collapsed when his sons divided the land.

Roman Catholic Church

The central religious institution in medieval Western Europe with a highly organized bureaucracy led by the Pope, cardinals, bishops, and priests.

Byzantine Empire

A Christian, Greek-speaking empire in Greece that held religious services in Greek and served as a protective buffer between Europe and Middle Eastern invasions.

Patriarch

The bishop located in the capital city of Constantinople who led the Orthodox Christian Church in the Byzantine Empire.

Feudalism

A political and social system where the King technically owned all land and granted manors to lords, who hired vassals (knights) to manage peasant labor and military defense.

Manor

A large chunk of land given by a feudal king to a lord.

Vassal

A knight hired by a feudal lord to maintain and protect the manor land.

Serf

A peasant farmer who fell into debt to a lord, becoming legal property of the manor unable to leave the land across generations.

Manorialism

The economic and social system describing the day-to-day lives and labor of peasant farming on a feudal manor.

Magna Carta

A legal document signed in 1215 after English lords forced King John I to respect the rights of lords and knights and guarantee jury trials.

English Parliament

A legislative body created in 1265 by English lords and knights to make laws rather than the king.

Crusades

A series of military campaigns starting in 1097 where European Christian armies traveled to conquer Jerusalem, ultimately reopening European trade with Arab merchants.

Black Death

A strain of bubonic plague that killed 20 million people (one-third of Europe's population) over 4 years, leading to the collapse of feudalism and serfdom.

Civil Service Exam

A grueling test in Song China measuring knowledge in math, science, reading, writing, and Confucianism, used to recruit educated government bureaucrats.

Neo-Confucianism

A popular religion and philosophy in Song China that blended traditional Chinese Confucianism with Buddhism from India.

Grand Canal

A man-made river system constructed in China to connect major natural rivers and allow merchants to easily transport farm goods and trade items.

Champa Rice

A tough, fast-ripening variety of rice introduced to Song China that allowed for two crops a year on hills and mountains, leading to a population explosion.

Flying Money

The nickname given to the paper currency produced by the Song Dynasty government, which became very popular among long-distance trade merchants.

Junk

A specialized Chinese ocean-going cargo ship designed for long-distance trade and transporting massive amounts of goods.

Tribute

An annual gift of money required by the Song government from smaller neighboring nations to fill the Chinese treasury.

Scholar Class

The elite social class in Song China below the emperor, consisting of wealthy landowners and educated bureaucrats.

Foot Binding

The practice in Song China of tightly wrapping young wealthy girls' feet with cloth to demonstrate high social status and restrict women's movement.

Jurchen

A Mongol tribe hired as mercenaries by the Song government who turned on their employers, invading and conquering Song China.

Quran

The sacred book of Islam containing the revelations delivered to the Prophet Muhammed by the angel Gabriel.

Kaaba

A sacred building located at the center of Mecca, the holiest city in the Islamic world.

Caliphate

An Islamic kingdom ruled by a political and religious leader known as a caliph.

Abbasid Caliphate

An Islamic empire based in Baghdad that led the Golden Age of Islamic culture from 1200 to 1450 until its destruction by the Mongols in 1258.

House of Wisdom

A famous library in Baghdad established by the Abbasid Caliphate containing over one million books translated from across the world.

Avicenna

A physician in Baghdad who compiled the Canon of Medicine, the first comprehensive book of medical treatments used to diagnose diseases.

Al-Khwarizmi

A Persian mathematician living under the Abbasid Caliphate who invented algebra.

Mamluk Caliphate

An Egyptian state established by former slave soldiers who overthrew their ruler, survived Mongol attacks, and prospered through trade.

Al-Andalus

The Islamic caliphate in Southern Spain established in 711 AD, known for its religious tolerance, schools, and major learning centers in Granada and Cordoba.

Delhi Sultanate

A kingdom established in Northern India between 1205 and 1526 after an invasion by Turkish Muslims.

Sufis

Wandering, homeless Muslim priests who traveled throughout Northern India and successfully converted many native Hindus to Islam.

Syncretism

The blending or merging of two or more different cultures, languages, or religions into a new form.

Urdu

A syncretic language developed in Northern India combining native Hindi with Arabic, Turkic, and Persian.

Vijayanagara Empire

A powerful Hindu kingdom in Southern India that generated immense wealth through trade with Southeast Asia and rejected Islamic conquest.

Bhakti Movement

A mystical, personal form of Hinduism developed in South India that granted women and lower castes greater equality, curbing conversions to Islam.

Srivijaya Kingdom

A maritime Buddhist empire located in the Malay Archipelago (Sumatra) that accumulated wealth by controlling and taxing maritime trade routes.

Strait of Malacca

A vital, narrow sea passage in Southeast Asia connecting trade between India, the Middle East, and China, where passing ships paid fees to Srivijaya.