AP World History Vocab m-z

Mandate of Heaven

religious ideology (Zhou Dynasty) to communicate legitimate transfer of royal power as the will of their supreme god, political doctrine

Microsocieties

small-scale, fragmented communities that had little interaction with others, living in the islands of the pacific

Millenarian

Believer in the imminent coming of a just and ideal society

Nirvana

literally “non-existence” the state of complete liberation from worldly thought

Nomads

People who move across vast distances without settling permanently

Oceania

collective name for the lands of Australia and New Zealand and the islands of the southwest Pacific Ocean

Oracle bones

animal bones inscribed, heated, and interpreted by Shang spiritualists

Pax Romana

Latin term “Roman peace” when the Roman Empire was peaceful

Pax Sinica

”Chinese peace” during the Han Dynasty

Qanats

underground water channels, vital for irrigation, that were used in Persia

Royal Road

a 1,600 mile road in the Persian Empire

Scribes

those who wielded writing tools, at the top of the social ladder

Shamans

certain humans whose powers supposedly enabled them to commence with the supernatural

Silk Roads

More than 5,000 miles of trade routes linking China, Central Asia and the Mediterranean; ideas, people, and the commodities moved along their lengths

Stoicism

philosophy (Zeno) that aimed to control one’s passions

Untouchables

in the Indian caste system, those whose jobs were more unsanitary

Upanishads

Vedic wisdom literature (dialogue between students and teacher)

Zhongguo

term used to emphasize the central geographic location of china means “Middle Kingdom”

Ziggurat

stepped platform that served as the base of a Sumerian temple

Zoroaster

teacher around 1000 BCE that moved away from animistic beliefs