History Sem. 2

India, East Asia, Middle East Units 1 & 2, Africa

caste system

ancient system in india that divided society into hereditary groups based on occupation and social status. abolished in the 1950s but still greatly affects culture

sanskrit

the language of the vedas

vedas

the main holy book of Hinduism

brahmin

the highest caste in the Hindu caste system, traditionally priests and scholars.

kshatriya

the 2nd caste, made up of rulers and warriors

vaishya

the 3rd caste, mostly made up of merchants and farmers

sudra

laborers and servants, do not qualify as “twice born”

untouchables

group that does not have a caste

hinduism

the major religion of India, characterized by a variety of beliefs, practices, and rituals, including the concepts of dharma, karma, and reincarnation.

reincarnation

the idea that every living thing has a soul, and when that thing dies, its soul is reborn in a newly created life

dharma

the fulfillment of a person’s moral duty in the current life so that the .soul can avoid punishment in the next life

karma

the belief that a person’s present life reflects what a person did or did not do in a previous life

moksha

the hindu concept of heaven, release from the cycle of life and death

mohandas gandhi

born into the vaishya caste, studied law in england, called “mahatma” and “bapu”

civil disobedience

non-violent and non-cooperative, ghandi’s way of refusing to comply with british law

british imperialism

british rule of india, changes in politics, economics, and society, leads to a rise in indian nationalism

british east india company

controlled trade between britain, india, and east asia, introduced british laws and a new education system, banned certain hindu customs

sepoys

indian soldiers who fought in the british army

sepoy rebellion

rebellion of hindu & muslim soldies against the british in india, as british rifles required soldiers to bite off the end of ammunition cartridges that were greased with pork & beef fat, but muslims don’t eat pork and hindus don’t eat beef

british raj

direct british rule of india, british lived in segregated neighborhoods, few governmental opportunities for indians, rise in indian nationalism

indian national congress

represented all indians, led by gandhi & nehru

muslim league

catered to muslim interests, led by jinnah

amritsar massacre

british soldiers opened fire on a crowd of peaceful protestors, killing 400

salt march

gandhi marches 240 miles in a protest on the british salt monopoly, leading to thousands of indians beginning to produce their own salt

pakistan

the land partitioned from india to be a homeland for the muslims

border wars

deadly riots that broke out as muslims and hindus tried to flee to their new countries

n.v. godu

a hindu radical who assassinated gandhi

kuomintang

the nationalists of china

sun yat sen

led the nationalists/kuomintang

three principles of the people

sun yat sen’s philosophy: nationalism - end foreign control; democracy - people’s rights; economic security - people’s livelihood

yuan shikai

was given power by sun yat sen, but then exiled sen. when he dies, sen returns to power

chiang kai-shek

led the nationalists after sun died; turned on the communists in 1927 and drove them from the capital city

chinese communist party

organized in 1921 by mao zedong

mao zedong

founder of the CCP, originally a libraian at beijing university

chinese civil war

1927-1945; ccp vs. nationalists; the nationalists drove the ccp out of the capital; called a truce in 1937 due to the japanese invasion of china; ends in 1945 with the ccp winning and the nationalists fleeing to taiwan

long march

6000-mile journey by the ccp in which mao becomes the defacto leader

nanking massacre

japanese soldiers stormed the capital, assaulting and then killing millions of chinese citizens

great leap foward

5-year plan by mao to increase coal & steel production; failed as peasants weren’t trained for industrial production and led to a massive famine that killed 20 million chinese

collectives

several smaller farms combined into larger, industrial farms

cultural revolution

aimed to revive interest in the revolution among young people and root out oppression

little red book

book of mao’s teachings that citizens were expected to carry with them at all times

red guards

shut down schools and killed over 2 million resistors

deng xiaoping

ccp leader of china, called for market reforms

tiananmen square massacre

pro-democracy movement by students, xiaoping sends the army to crush the protesters

xi jinping

current leader of china, introduced the great firewall which monistors all internet usage in the country, banned winnie the pooh as users online compared his body to that of the bear’s

mongolia

home to one of the largest and most powerful empires

mongolian revolution

bolsheviks help the mongols split from china

meiji restoration

overthrew the shogunate system and restored the emperors authority

invasion of china

brutal war of conquest for resources

sino-japanese war

invaded korea & parts of china, war for resources

38th parallel

the line by which north and south korea are divided

demilitarized zone

divides north and south korea

syngman rhee

first president of south korea

seoul

capital of south korea

kim il sung

first leader of north korea

kim jong un

current leader of north korea

korean war

nk invades sk, starting the conflict in 1950 and lasting until an armistice was signed in 1953, which left the korean peninsula divided into north and south korea.

general macarthur

leads the combined forces of south korea, the us, and the un to land in incheon and push north korea back against the 28th, later fired for lobbying congress

vietnam

failed effort of containment by the US, divided among the 17th parallel before the north took over and unified as a communist country

George HW Bush

president during the Persian Gulf war

George W Bush

president during the Iraq war, "switched focus" to Iraq

Power Vacuum

when a government or authority has lost power of a group or country, and no one has replaced them

Regime Change

the replacement of one government or administration by another, especially by military force

Free Syrian Army

made up of protestors and defectors from the Syrian military

Iran-Iraq War

1980-1988, but tension began in the 1920s. Ayatollah Khomeini vs. Saddam Hussein; started when Iraq invaded Iran; ended after a UN-led ceasefire in 1988

Desert Sabre

final stage of the Gulf War; ground invasion lasting only 100 hours

Patriot Missile

short-range and heat-seeking missiles; destroys enemy missiles and aircraft

Osama Bin Laden

Arab terrorist who established al-Qaeda; son of Muhammad Bin Laden; killed by US forces in 2011

weapons of mass destruction

Biological, chemical, or nuclear weapons that can cause uncontrollable damage and large numbers of casulties

Soviet-Afgan War

USSR trying to prop up a communist leader, the Mujahideen (rebels) were proxied by the US

ISIS

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria; former branch of Al-Qaeda, founded by Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi; majority sunni muslim

Desert Storm

Main/2nd stage of the Gulf War; bombing campaign targeting aircraft, weapon factories, oil reserves, bridges, & roads

Desert Shield

1st stage of the Gulf War; US troops were sent to Saudi Arabia to protect oil reserves

Saddam Hussein

Iraqi leader who waged war against Iran; didn't comply with UN inspections; captured in 2003 then executed in 2006

Al-Qaeda

Islamist terrorist organization that launched a series of attacks against U.S; founded by Osama Bin Laden

Houthis

Shia Muslim group backed by Iran that led the revolt against the Yemeni government, founded by Hussein-al-Houthi; now led by Abdul Malik al Houthi

Kurds

ethnic group in Syria, Iraq, Turkey, & Armenia; largest ethnic group without a state; majority sunni muslim

Al Zarqawi

leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq; supporters later became ISIS; killed by a US airstrike in 2006

Syrian Civil War

Ongoing conflict between Bashar al-Assad, the FSA, ISIS, and the Kurds

Axis of Resistance

anti-Israel or anti-western alliance formed by Iraq, Syria, Hezbollah, Houthis, & Hamas; goal is to expand connections in the ME & allow easier transport of military personnel & equipment

Hezbollah

shia extremist group in Lebanon with strong ties to Iran; invaded Syria to help Assad

Persian Gulf War

Conflict between Iraq and a coalition of countries led by the United States to remove Iraqi forces from Kuwait which they had invaded in hopes of controlling their oil supply. A very one sided war with the United States' coalition emerging victorious. UN gave permission for the US to use "all necessary force"

Jihad

a religious war or struggle in Islam; often used by terrorist groups in the ME to justify their goals and actions

Proxy War

a war in which the powers in conflict use third parties as substitutes instead of fighting each other directly

Middle East Cold War

between saudi arabia & iran; made up of proxy wars including the syrian civil war

bashar al-assad

president of syria

zionism

the movement for a jewish state

1979 islamic revolution

overthrew shah mohammad reza pahlavi

american hostage crisis

a mob of iranians stormed the american embassy in iran and took 52 americans hostage for 444 days

madrassas

islamic schools that teach students to hate the us

5 pillars of islam

faith, prayer, charity, fasting, & pilgrimage

allah

arabic name for god

muhammad

the main prophet of islam, received revelations from allah

quran

holy book of islam

sunni

the “orthodox” branch of islam, believes that muhammad’s sucessor should be elected

shia

branch of islam that believes muhammad’s sucessor should be his descendants

ayatollah

shia religious leaders in iran

jihad

a muslim “holy war”

mecca

the muslim holy land, where all muslims pilgrimage to

mosque

muslim place of worship