apwh unit 2

caravanserai

an inn with a central courtyard for travelers in the desert regions of Asia along the Silk Road

Samarkand

crucial city on the Silk Road due to location, connecting China and India; central hub for exchange of goods and culture

Dunhuang

garrison city in north-west China in the Taklamakan Desert; helped spread Buddhism

"flying cash"

a paper currency of the Tang dynasty in China and can be considered the first banknote

"bills of exchange"

an order to pay a certain sum of money; often compared to a modern day check/credit system

Pure Land Buddhism

denomination of Buddhism that taught that believers would be reborn in a blissful, pure land or paradise

Chan Buddhism

most popular branch of Buddhism in China, with an emphasis on intuition and sudden flashes of insight instead of textual study; has Daoism influences

Zen Buddhism

(also called Chen) a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition

Neo-Confucianism

Confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into a secular version of Buddhism as they share many beliefs

Genghis Khan

also known as Temujin; he united the Mongol tribes into an unstoppable fighting force; created largest single land empire in history: the Mongol Empire

Karakorum

capital of the Mongol Empire

Sack of Baghdad (1258)

Mongols burned, looted, and massacred for a week, leading to the end of the Abbasid Caliphate

Khubilai Khan

reigned in China after establishing the Yuan Dynasty; he actively promoted Buddhism; grandson of Genghis Khan.

Yuan Dynasty

(1279-1368) dynasty in China set up by the Mongols under the leadership of Khubilai Khan, replaced the Song Dynasty

The Great Khanate

one of the Khanates; located in China and Mongolia

Il-Khanate

located in Persia

Golden Horde Khanate

located in Russia

Chagatai Khanate

located between the Il-Khanate in Persia & the Great Khanate in China

Black Death/Plague

a form of bubonic plague that spread over Europe in the 14th century and killed an estimated quarter of the population. Mongols helped spread it due to the revival and travel of the plague on the Silk Road

Pax Mongolica

the period of approximately 150 years of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire

Junk

a very large flatbottom sailing ship produced in the Tang and Song Empires, specially designed for long-distance commercial travel across the Sea Roads

Dhow

ship of small to moderate size produced in Arabia and used in the western Indian Ocean, traditionally with a triangular sail and a sewn timber hull

Great Zimbabwe

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

Melaka

the first major center of Islam in Southeast Asia, a port kingdom on the southwestern coast of the Malay Peninsula; attracted merchants from all civilizations due to stable government, low customs duties, openness to merchants, and thriving trade

Zheng He

an imperial eunuch and Muslim, entrusted by the Ming emperor with a series of state voyages that took his gigantic ships through the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to Africa

Ming Voyages

voyages ordered by emperor Yongle led by Zheng He in order to receive acknowledgement of China's greatness by other civilizations (tribute system)

Sahara

a huge desert stretching across most of North Africa

Arabian Camel

domesticated animal that was widely used in the Sand Roads due to its ability to hold water in its humps for extended periods of time; only needed water every 10 days

Mansa Musa

emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa; made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca and established trade routes to the Middle East

Islamic Green Revolution

time of increased food production, population growth, urbanization, and industrial development across Islam

House of Wisdom

combination of a library, academy, and translation center in Baghdad established in the 800s

Ibn Sina

the famous Persian/Islamic scientist and philosopher who organized the medical knowledge of the Greeks and Arabs into the Canon of Medicine

madrassas

formal colleges for higher institutions in the teaching of Islam as well as in secular subjects founded throughout the Islamic world in beginning in the 11th century

Ulema

a body of Muslim scholars recognized as having specialist knowledge of Islamic sacred law and theology

Crusades

a series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule

American web

a term used to describe the network of trade that linked parts of the Americas; although less intense and complete than the Afro-Eurasian trade networks, this web nonetheless provided a means of exchange for luxury goods and ideas over large areas

Cahokia

an ancient settlement of southern Indians, located near present day St. Louis/Missouri, it served as a trading center for 40,000 at its peak in A.D. 1200.

Chaco Canyon

a commercial node of modern day New Mexico; between 860 and 1130 C.E., the Chaco Phenomenon emerged. It was a center for turquoise trade which boosted regional commerce as far as Mesoamerica

Pochteca

professional merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items