AP World Unit 1 Vocab

song dynasty

chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military It ruled from 960 to 1279 and is known for economic prosperity and cultural achievements.

confucianism

chinese philosophy that emphasized a system of ethnics, education, and statesmanship taught by confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, acestor worhsip, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct

imperial bureaucracy

Division of an empire into organized provinces to make it easier to control.

filial piety

1. A virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors.

neo-confucianism

A philosophy that emerged in Song-dynasty China; it revived Confucian thinking while adding in Buddhist and Daoist elements.

buddhism

Founded by Siddartha Gutama in South Asia, spread by the Silk Roads to the East and SE Asia. Core beliefs centered on the 4 Noble Truths. Split into different sects as it diffused out of South Asia.

heian japan

1. The era in Japanese history from 794-1185 CE, arts and writing flourished during this time. Emulated Chinese traditions.

theravada buddhism

1. The oldest of the 2 major branches of Buddhism. Practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia, its beliefs are relatively conservative, holding close to the original teachings of the Buddha.

mahayana buddhism

Focused on the spiritual growth for all beings and service. Strongest in China and Korea. Also known as popular Buddhism, it allows people more ways to reach enlightenment and bodhisattvas can help you reach enlightenment.

tibetan buddhism

Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism, a tradition of Buddhism that teaches that people can use special techniques to harness spiritual energy and can achieve nirvana in a single lifetime

champa rice

 A quick-maturing, drought resistant rice that can allow two harvests, of sixty days each in one growing season. Originally from the Champa Region (modern day Vietnam)

grand canal

1. : Built in 7th century during Sui Dynasty; designed to link the original centers of Chinese civilization on the north China plain with the Yangtze river basin to the south; strengthened China's internal cohesion and economic development 

steel and iron production

1. A key element during the Song Economic Revolution; helped popularize mass production and new production methods.

textile industry

Industries primarily concerned with the design or manufacture of clothing as well as the distribution and use of textiles

procelain

1.  A thin, beautiful pottery invented in China; one of China's major exports.

islam

A religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed which stresses belief in one god (Allah), a body of law written in the Quran, and the 5 Pillars. Followers are called Muslims

judaism

A religion with a belief in one god. It originated with Abraham and the Hebrew people. Yahweh was responsible for the world and everything within it. They preserved their early history in the Old Testament.

christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior

turks

1. Central Asian nomads related to the Xiongnu peoples that pressured Han China. Organized as tribes that constantly fought each other. Most converted to Islam. Most societies sought to trade with settled people. Nobles controlled absolutely in times of war.  

abbasid caliphate

1. One of the 1st of the Islamic Caliphates. Established by rulers who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs. Started in 750 CE, flourished for two centuries, but slowly went into decline with the rise to power of the Turkish army it had created, the Mamluks. Overthrown in the 13th century by the Mongols.

seljuck turks

1.  Muslims, started conquering parts of the Middle East in the 11th century. Eventually extend their power almost as far as China. Leaders were called Sultans. 

mamluks

1.  Under the Islamic system of military slavery, Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the ninth and tenth centuries. Mamluks eventually founded their own state, ruling Egypt and Syria (1250-1517).

delhi sultanates

Beginning in 1206, 5 dynasties ruled over the city of Delhi in India. Introduced and spread the Islamic religion throughout the region. Sultanate would eventually conquer and incorporate the majority of the Indian subcontinent. This resulted in a sort of unification process between the diverse peoples of the region, but also led to a split in Indian culture, as Hindus increasingly fought against the Sultanate in the 16th century, leading to its demise.

dar al-islam

1. An Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule.

sufi’s

1. Mystical Muslim group that believed they could draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, & simple life.

nasir al-din al-tusi

One of the most celebrated Islamic scholars. Persian mathematician and cosmologist who contributed to astronomy, law, logic, ethics, math, philosophy, and medicine. Inspired Copernican model of the solar system.

house of wisdom

Large Islamic-based Library and learning center. Focus of conversion of Greek and Roman classics and Indian learning into Arabic. Preserved knowledge

hinduism

1.  A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being who takes many forms. 

bhakti movement

1. A Hindu movement beginning in the 12th century that sought to emphasize the idea of devotion to God and emotion instead of studying text and performing rituals; women began to receive greater importance and recognition in society.

monasticism

 A way of life in which men and women withdraw from the rest of the world in order to devote themselves to their faith (monetarists and nunneries). 

rajput kingdoms

1. Several different kingdoms in Northern India/Pakistan before the time of the British. Had their own culture, but the country was clearly divided in many ways. Wealth and Warrior-like honor is emphasized.

khmer empire

The most powerful and longest-lasting kingdom on the mainland of southwest Asia, centering in what is today Cambodia.

sukhothai kingdom

the first thia kingdom

sinhalese

A member of a people originally from northern India, now forming the majority of the population of Sri Lanka.

mayan civilization

Pre-Columbian civilization of the Yucatán Peninsula that reached its peak in the 9th century CE and produced magnificent ceremonial cities with pyramids, a sophisticated mathematical and calendar system, hieroglyphic writing, and fine sculpture, painting, and ceramics

incas

A Native American people who built a notable civilization in western South America in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. The center of their empire was in present-day Peru. Francisco Pizarro of Spain conquered the empire

chaco canyon

An urban center established by Anasazi located in southern New Mexico. There, they built a walled city with dozens of three-story adobe houses with timbered roofs. Community religious functions were carried out in two large circular chambers called kivas.

mesa verde

1. The largest complex of Anasazi cliff-dwellings in the United States Southwest, built between about CE 1150 and CE 1300,

cahokia

1. Mississippian settlement near present-day East St. Louis, home to as many as 25,000 Native Americans.

great zimbabwe

1.  A powerful state in the African interior that apparently emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast; flourished between 1250 and 1350 C.E.

hausa kingdoms

1 kingdom divided into 7 states that were connected through kinship, blood, or ethnic ties; had no main central authority but rather ruled each state separate from one another; mainly benefited economically from the trans-Saharan trade network.

ethiopia

1.  Christian state in modern day Ethiopia; prospered by trading goods obtained from India, Arabia, the Roman Empire, and the interior of Africa. 

decentralization

 Degree to which decision-making authority is given to lower levels in an organization's hierarchy.

feudalism

1. The dominant social/political system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the peasants were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.

manorial system

1. Self sufficient, economic structure that is the relationship between the Lord and the peasants or serfs who produced all the necessary goods to keep the manor running.

coerced labor

 A system where the workers were forced to work based on threats, pressure, or intimidation

serfdom

Feudal system, the use of serfs to work the land in return for protection against barbarian invasions