Unit 3 Land Based Empires Flashcards

Flashcards for reviewing key vocabulary from Unit 3: Land Based Empires (1450-1750)

Land-based empire

An empire whose power comes from the extent of its territorial holdings.

Gunpowder Empires

Large, multiethnic states in Southwest, Central and South Asia that relied on firearms to conquer and control territories.

Ottoman Empire

A powerful Turkish empire that lasted from 1299 to 1922.

Safavid Empire

A Shia Islamic dynasty that ruled Persia from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Mughal Empire

A Muslim empire that ruled India from the 16th to 18th centuries.

Manchu Empire

Also known as the Qing Dynasty, a Chinese dynasty ruled by the Manchus from 1644 to 1912.

Ivan IV

The first Tsar of Russia, known as Ivan the Terrible, who expanded Russian territory eastward.

Akbar

A Mughal emperor known for his religious tolerance and administrative reforms.

Louis XIV

The King of France known as the Sun King, who ruled with absolute authority based on the divine right of monarchs.

Qing Dynasty

The last imperial dynasty of China, founded by the Manchu.

Mehmed II

The Ottoman sultan who conquered Constantinople in 1453.

Istanbul

The capital of the Ottoman Empire, formerly known as Constantinople.

Janissaries

Elite Ottoman soldiers, often recruited from enslaved Christian boys.

Suleiman I

Also known as Suleiman the Magnificent, the Ottoman sultan under whom the empire reached its golden age.

Shah Ismail

The founder of the Safavid Empire and the first Shah of Iran.

Zand Dynasty

The dynasty that replaced the Safavid Empire in 1760.

Babur

The founder of the Mughal Empire.

Aurangzeb

A Mughal emperor known for his religious intolerance and territorial expansion.

Zamindars

Local officials in the Mughal Empire who were granted land and the right to collect taxes.

Jizya

A tax traditionally levied on non-Muslims in Islamic states.

English Bill of Rights

Signed in 1689 by William and Mary which assured individual civil rights and protection against tyranny of the monarchy.

Divine Right

The belief that monarchs derive their authority from God and are not subject to earthly power.

Devshirme

The Ottoman practice of recruiting Christian boys into the army and government.

Tax Farming

A system of tax collection used by the Ottoman Empire and Ming Dynasty in which individuals or groups were granted the right to collect taxes in exchange for a fixed sum.

Tribute System

A system used by empires to demand payments from conquered territories or neighboring states as a sign of submission.

Renaissance

A period of European history that marked a revival of interest in classical art, literature, and philosophy.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement that began in the 16th century in response to perceived corruption in the Catholic Church.

Scientific Revolution

A period of rapid scientific advancement that began in the 16th century and emphasized reason and experimentation.

Humanism

A philosophical movement that emphasized human potential and achievements.

Secularism

The principle of separation of government and religion.

Printing Press

Invention by Johannes Gutenberg that revolutionized the spread of information.

Simony

The buying or selling of ecclesiastical privileges, for example pardons or benefices.

Indulgences

Grants of remission of the temporal penalty for sin.

Martin Luther

A German theologian who initiated the Protestant Reformation with his Ninety-Five Theses.

95 Theses

A list of propositions for an academic debate written in 1517 by Martin Luther.

John Calvin

An influential French theologian and pastor during the Protestant Reformation.

Predestination

The doctrine that all events have been willed by God.

Anglicanism

The Church of England, established by King Henry VIII.

Counter-Reformation

The Catholic Church's response to the Protestant Reformation, aimed at reaffirming Catholic doctrine and combating heresy.

Jesuits

A Catholic religious order founded to combat the spread of Protestantism and promote education and missionary work.

Council of Trent

The formal Roman Catholic reply to the doctrinal challenges of the Protestant Reformation.

Peace of Augsburg

A treaty that allowed each German state to choose whether its ruler would be Catholic or Lutheran.

Huguenots

French Protestants largely of the Calvinist persuasion.

Edict of Nantes

A law that granted religious freedom to Huguenots in France.

Thirty Years’ War

A series of wars fought in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, primarily over religious and political issues.

Peace of Westphalia

A series of peace treaties signed in 1648 that ended the Thirty Years' War and established the modern state system.

Sikhism

A syncretic religion that blends elements of Hinduism and Islam.

Empiricism

The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience.

Ivan III

Also known as Ivan the Great, a grand prince of Moscow who ended Mongol rule.

Cossacks

Peasants recruited by Ivan IV to settle new lands to the east and expand Russian territories.

Romanov Dynasty

The ruling dynasty of Russia from 1613 to 1917.

Peter the Great

A Russian tsar who implemented extensive reforms to westernize Russia.

Catherine the Great

A Russian empress who continued Peter the Great's efforts to modernize Russia.

Mercantilism

An economic theory that promotes government regulation of a nation's economy to increase its power at the expense of rival nations.

Charles V

Ruler of the Holy Roman Empire who attempted to conquer and convert England.

Philip II

Expanded into the New World and opposed the Protestant Reformation

Elizabeth I

Queen of England during the Elizabethan Age, a period of commercial expansion, exploration, and colonization.

James I

King of England who claimed divine right and led to many Puritans crossing the Atlantic.

Charles I

King of England who signed the Petition of Right but later ignored it, sparking civil war.

Oliver Cromwell

Leader of the Roundheads who defeated the armies of Charles I and ruled as Lord Protector of England.

Charles II

King of England during the Stuart Restoration, who acknowledged the rights of the people and agreed to Habeas Corpus Act.

James II

King of England who was openly Catholic and believed in the divine right of kings, leading to the Glorious Revolution.

William and Mary

King and Queen of England who replaced James II and signed the English Bill of Rights.

Henry IV

King of France who established the Edict of Nantes and unified the country.

Cardinal Richelieu

Chief advisor to the Bourbons who strengthened the French crown.

Jean Baptiste Colbert

Managed the royal funds and was a proponent of mercantilism

Helicentric Theory

The theory that the sun is at the center of the Solar System.

Michelangelo

Italian sculptor, painter, architect and poet of the High Renaissance.

Brunelleschi

Italian architect, engineer, and sculptor of the Early Renaissance.

Joint-stock Company

A company whose stock is owned jointly by the shareholders.

Council of Troubles

Special court created in 1567 by Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, to punish participants in the religious troubles in the Netherlands.

Long Parliament

English Parliament which limited the absolute powers of the monarchy from 1640-1660

Habeas Corpus Act

A law that requires a person under arrest to be brought before a court or judge.

Sunni Ali

Ruler of the Songhai Empire who consolidated his empire in the value of the Niger River using an imperial navy.

Kongo

An african kingdom that had trade with Portuguese merchants as early as the 1480s.

King Alfonso I

King of the Kongo, he converted to Catholicism and had the most success converting his people.

Queen Nzinga

Queen of Angola, resisted the Portuguese.

Shah

A title formerly used for the sovereign of Iran.

Khanates

Political entity ruled by a Khan or Khagan. Equivalent to a kingdom or principality - or emirate.

Safavid Military Division

Division of the Safavid military who ensured that everyone ritually cursed the first three caliphs of Muhammad.

Schmalkaldic League

An alliance of Lutheran princes within the Holy Roman Empire who pledged to defend each other.

Bohemian Revolt

An uprising of Protestant territories in Bohemia within the Holy Roman Empire which challenged the authority of the Roman Catholic Emperor.

Scientific Method

A method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment.

White Lotus Rebellion

Uprising led by peasants in response to high taxes, leading to roughly one hundred thousand violent deaths.

Peace of Augsburg

Treaty intended to end the conflicts between Catholics and Protestants; did not last

Absolute Authority

Unlimited power - often divine right justification.

Tolerance

Acceptance and respect for people with diverse views.

Military technologies

Tools such as gunpowder that transform warfare and consolidate power.

Centralization

The concentration of control of an activity or organization under a single authority.

Legitimacy

Conforming to the law or to rules.

Bureaucracy

A system of government in which most of the important decisions are taken by state officials rather than by elected representatives.

Ghulam

Similar to the role of the Ottomand Janissaries; helped protect the Safavid shah from rival clans.

Qianlong

Qing emperor whose later reign was marred by corrupt bureaucracy and high taxes.

Muscovy Company

An English trading company chartered in 1555 as the first major joint stock company.

British East India Company

Originally a joint stock company that grew to exert governmental control over India.

Roundheads

In the English Civil War supporters of Parliament were known as Roundheads

Cavaliers

In the English Civil War supporters of King Charles I were known as Cavaliers.

New Model Army

Name given to to the English Parliamentary army during the English Civil War.

House of Bourbon

originated in France, a European royal dynasty

Noblesse de Robe

New bureaucratic class established under Cardinal Richelieu and Cardinal Mazarin.