AP World History Unit 1: The Global Tapestry

Song Dynasty Bureaucracy

A large organization of appointed officials that carried out imperial policies and strengthened the state.

Civil Service Exams (Song China)

Exams based on Confucian texts used to select government officials, creating a meritocracy.

Champa Rice

A fast-ripening, drought-resistant crop that allowed multiple harvests and fueled China's population growth.

Proto-Industrialization

A system where rural people produced surplus goods using simple home or community equipment.

Scholar-Gentry

Educated followers of Confucian philosophy who became China's most influential social class.

Neo-Confucianism

A syncretic system combining Confucian rational thought with abstract ideas from Daoism and Buddhism.

Abbasid Caliphate Challenges

Faced challenges from Mamluks, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, and Mongols, leading to economic and political decline.

Sufism

An Islamic mystical tradition emphasizing introspection and spiritual truths, effective in missionary work.

Cordoba (al-Andalus)

Umayyad capital in Spain that became a major center of toleration, trade, and learning.

Delhi Sultanate

An Islamic state that controlled northern South Asia from the 13th through 16th centuries.

Bhakti Movement

A Hindu movement emphasizing emotional devotion to deities, appealing to low-caste individuals and women.

Angkor Wat

A monumental temple complex reflecting the interaction of Hinduism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia.

Mississippian Culture

North American culture organized into independent chiefdoms with a matrilineal system of inheritance.

Chinampas

Floating agricultural gardens constructed by the Mexica to produce food for Tenochtitlan.

Inca Mita System

A mandatory public labor system requiring subjects to contribute work for state projects and military service.

Trans-Saharan Trade

Trade network across the Sahara that brought immense wealth to West African states like Ghana and Mali.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali who used trade wealth, Islam, and a famous pilgrimage to Mecca to boost international influence.

Great Zimbabwe

A wealthy African kingdom that gained power through agriculture, cattle, gold, and Indian Ocean trade.

Griotes and Griots

Oral historians and traditional storytellers who preserved African genealogies, history, and cultural traditions.

Feudalism

A decentralized political and military system in medieval Europe based on land grants and loyalty.

Manorialism

An economic system centered on self-sufficient agricultural estates where serfs worked the land.

Three-Field System

An agricultural innovation that allowed European farmers to cultivate more land and restore soil fertility.

Great Schism of 1054

The division of Christianity into the Roman Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Magna Carta

A 1215 document that limited the English monarch's royal power and protected noble rights.

Centralized vs. Decentralized States

Centralized states concentrate power under a strong central ruler, while decentralized states divide authority among regional lords.