AP World Modern Unit 2

Silk road

An ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea

Trans-Saharan Trade Route

gold-salt trade; linked North and West Africa; across Sahara Desert; spread Islam

Indian Ocean Trade

connected to Europe, Africa, and China.; worlds richest maritime trading network and an area of rapid Muslim expansion.

Mongols

People from Central Asia when united ended up creating the largest single land empire in history.

Camel Saddle

An invention which gives camel riders more stability on the animal and its invention and basic idea traveled along the Trans-Saharan Caravan Trade Route

Caravans

Groups of people traveling together for safety over long distances

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan.

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.

Margery Kempe

Wrote the Book of Margery Kempe - considered the 1st autobiography in the Eng. language. Chronicles her pilgrimages to holy sites in Europe and Asia.

Genghis Khan

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

Khanate

one of several separate territories into which Genghis Khan's empire was split, each under the rule of one of his sons

Bubonic Plague

disease brought to Europe from the Mongols during the Middle Ages. It killed 1/3 of the population

Caravansaries

an inn where desert travelers found food and shelter

overgrazing

Destruction of vegetation caused by too many grazing animals consuming the plants in a particular area so they cannot recover

deforestation

The removal of trees faster than forests can replace themselves.

soil erosion

wearing away of surface soil by water and wind

Champa Rice

a quick-maturing, drought resistant rice brought to China from Vietnam

Diffusion

The process of spread of an item or trend from one place to another over time

Zheng He

(1371-1433?) Chinese naval explorer who sailed along most of the coast of Asia, Japan, and half way down the east coast of Africa before his death.

Lateen sail

triangular sail that made it possible to sail against the wind; used in the Indian Ocean trade

Stern Rudder

controls the sailing direction of a ship

Astrolabe

An instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the position of the stars and planets

Magnetic Compass

Chinese invention that aided navigation by showing which direction was north

Monsoon winds

The seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in summer and from the northeast in winter.

Diaspora

A dispersion of people from their homeland

Yuan dynasty

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

Ming Dynasty

Chinese dynasty that ruled from 1368 to 1644; took over after the fall of the Yuan dynasty

Pax Mongolica

Era of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire

Junk

A very large flat bottom sailing ship produced in the Tang and Song Empires, specially designed for long-distance commercial travel.

Hanseatic League

An economic and defensive alliance of the free towns in northern Germany, founded about 1241 and most powerful in the fourteenth century.

Nomadic

wandering from place to place

Mansa Musa

Emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa. He made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca and established trade routes to the Middle East.

Ortogh

Mongol empire, commercial alliances created to minimize risk

Kashgar

Located on Western edge of China where Northern and Southern routes of the Silk Road met

Samarkand

City in modern day Uzbekistan, stopping point on the Silk Road between China and Mediterranean

flying cash

Enabled merchants to deposit good or cash at one location and draw the equivalent in cash or merchandise elsewhere in China.

Paper money

legal currency issued on paper; it developed in China as a convenient alternative to metal coins

Bill of exchange

a document stating that the holder was legally promised payment of a set amount on a set date

Banking Houses

an establishment or office in which, or a firm by whom, banking is done, Emerged in Europe

Khan

A Mongol ruler

Batu

Grandson of Genghis Khan and ruler of the Golden Horde; invaded Russia in 1236.

Golden Horde

Mongol khanate founded by Genghis Khan's grandson Batu. It was based in southern Russia and quickly adopted both the Turkic language and Islam.

Moscow

Major city in Russia

Hulegu

Grandson of Genghis Khan and ruler of Ilkhan khanate; captured and destroyed Abbasid Baghdad.

Il-Khanate

Mongol empire that ruled over Iran (Persia) & the Middle East

Kublai Khan

Mongolian emperor of China and grandson of Genghis Khan who completed his grandfather's conquest of China

Yuan Dynasty

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

White lotus society

Secret religious society dedicated to overthrow of Yuan dynasty in China; typical of peasant resistance to Mongol rule

Malacca

Port city in the modern Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, founded about 1400 as a trading center on the Strait of Malacca.

Gujarat

Region of western India famous for trade and manufacturing.

Swahili City States

dominated trade along the east African coast

Spice Islands

Modern day Malaysia and Indonesia, known for its spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom

Calicut

Great spice port on west coast of India

Mali

Power trading society in West Africa, rich in gold and ivory

Sundiata

the founder of Mali empire. He crushed his enemies and won control of the gold trade routes

Songhai Kingdom

Largest African trading kingdom during its time; Helped rebel against Mali

Timbuktu

Mali trading city that became a center of wealth and learning

Mecca

the holiest city of Islam; Muhammad's birthplace

Swahili

Bantu language with Arabic loanwords spoken in coastal regions of East Africa.

Urdu

official language of Pakistan, mixed grammatical patterns of Hindi with the vocabulary of Arabic and some elements of Farsi

Hangzhou

China's capital during the Song dynasty, with a population of more than a million people.

Constantinople

Capital of the Byzantine Empire

Money economy

an economic system based on money rather than barter