East Asian World and the Muslim Empires

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Japanese Reunification, Korea, Southeast Asia, and the Ottoman, Safavid, and Mogul Empires.

Ming Hong Wu

The founder of the Ming Dynasty who overthrown the Yuan Dynasty, restored the civil service examination system, and increased political centralization.

Yong Le

The son of Ming Hong Wu who built the Forbidden City in Beijing and commissioned maritime exploration fleets that reached as far as Africa.

Forbidden City

A massive palace complex in Beijing constructed during the Ming Dynasty under Yong Le that was completely off-limits to commoners.

Zheng He

A Muslim admiral who commanded seven major naval voyages with massive fleets of treasure ships during the Ming Dynasty.

Macao

The single Chinese port city to which Portuguese traders were restricted after offending the Ming emperor.

Manchu

The non-Chinese population from north of the Great Wall (Manchuria) who took over China following Ming instability and founded the Qing Dynasty.

Queue Policy

A Qing Dynasty regulation mandating that Han Chinese men shave their forehead and braid their hair into a queue, enforced by the phrase "Lose your hair or lose your head".

Kangxi

A ruler of the Qing Dynasty who concluded the Treaty of Nerchinsk with Russia and displayed tolerance toward Portuguese Catholic missionaries.

Treaty of Nerchinsk

A trade agreement between Qing China under Kangxi and Russia, establishing Russia as the only European power with open trading access to China.

Foot Binding

A cultural practice starting at age 3 that forcibly broke and reshaped young girls' feet to reach an ideal of 3 inches, severely restricting physical mobility.

Daimyo

Powerful Japanese warlords who controlled territory and held sufficient power to claim or demand the title of Shogun.

Tokugawa Ieyasu

The Japanese military leader who unified Japan and established the Tokugawa Shogunate.

Hostage System

A control policy enforced by the Tokugawa Shogunate that required the families of daimyo to live permanently in Edo (Tokyo).

Eta

The outcast class situated at the bottom of the social pyramid in Tokugawa Japan, below peasants, artisans, and merchants.

Yi Dynasty

The ruling house of Korea (1392–1910) that adopted Chinese governmental structures, created the Hangul alphabet, and practiced isolationism.

Hangul

The phonetic writing system created in Korea during the Yi Dynasty.

Javanese Kings

Southeast Asian monarchs believed to possess a sacred nature responsible for maintaining cosmic balance.

Osman I

The leader of Anatolian Turks in the 1200s who established the Ottoman Empire.

Janissaries

Elite Ottoman infantry soldiers trained in the use of firearms.

Mehmed II

The Ottoman Sultan who sieged Constantinople in 1453 with 80,000 troops, defeating 7,000 Byzantines and renaming the city Istanbul.

Walls of Theodosius II

The multi-tiered defense system protecting Constantinople, comprising a moat, low wall, outer wall, inner wall, peribolos, and paratechion.

Grand Vizier

The chief minister of the Ottoman Empire who presided over the sultan's council and managed day-to-day government administrative tasks.

Harem

The private residence and sacred living quarters of the Ottoman sultan and his family.

Pashas

Local administrative officials in the Ottoman Empire who collected taxes and maintained order on behalf of the central government.

Suleiman I

The Ottoman sultan (r. 1520–1566) known as "the Lawgiver" or "Suleiman the Magnificent" who doubled the geographic domain of the empire.

Shah Esma-il

The founder of the Safavid Empire in 1501 who established Shia Islam as the state religion and ordered the massacre of Sunnis in Baghdad in 1508.

Shah Abbas the Great

The Safavid ruler (r. 1588–1629) who revitalized the empire, strengthening its military, economy, and diplomatic relations with Europe.

Babur

The military commander who moved into India from Pakistan using firearms and artillery to capture Delhi and establish the Mogul Empire.

Akbar

The grandson of Babur who expanded Mogul rule across most of India and implemented policies of religious tolerance toward Hindus.

Aurangzeb

The Mogul ruler who expanded India to its largest geographic extent, while outlawing Hinduism and banning the custom of suttee.

Suttee

A Hindu custom in which a widow burned herself alive on her deceased husband's funeral pyre, which Mogul rulers repeatedly attempted to end.

Guru Nanak

The founder of Sikhism who preached faith in a single, formless, all-loving God accessible to all human beings regardless of background.

Khalsa

The community of initiated Sikhs designated by the tenth guru as his spiritual successor.

5 Ks

The five required physical symbols of faith in Sikhism: Kesh (uncut hair), Kanga (comb), Kirpan (short ceremonial sword), Kara (metal bracelet), and Kachera (traditional underwear).

Adi Granth

The holy scripture and primary theological text of Sikhism, compiled by the fifth Sikh guru.

East India Trading Company

The British trading enterprise that established posts in India by 1650, defeated French rivals, and acquired taxation rights from the Moguls.