Key Terms of the Protestant Reformation and Empires

daimyo

Powerful Japanese feudal lords who had vast land holdings.

devshirme

Refers to the Ottoman Empire's practice of removing young boys from their Christian subjects and training them for government service or in the elite Janissary infantry.

English Bill of Rights

"An act signed into law in 1689 outlining constitutional and civil rights and ultimately gave Parliament power over the monarchy. Credited as being an inspiration for the U.S. Bill of Rights."

indulgences

A pardon given by the Roman Catholic Church in return for repentance for sins; This became a corrupt practice during the Middle Ages where papers were sold granting forgiveness of sins without repentance - in some cases, even for those already deceased.

janissaries

Elite Ottoman guard (trained as foot soldiers or administrators) recruited from the Christian population through the devshirme system, that often converted to Islam.

madrassas

A Muslim school, college, or university that is often part of a mosque.

Mughal Empire

A successful state founded by Muslim Turkic-speaking peoples who invaded India and provided a rare period of relative political unity (1526-1707).

printing press

In Germany, around 1440, Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press. It marked the beginning of the Printing Revolution in the western world, where ideas replicated quickly and were available to large audiences.

Protestant Reformation

Major split within Christianity beginning in 1517 with the German priest Martin Luther; believed in salvation by faith alone. Came to express a variety of political, economic, and social tensions.

Qing (Manchu) Dynasty

The last imperial dynasty of China (after the Ming Dynasty). Founded in 1644 by the Manchus and ruled China for more than 260 years, until 1912. Expanded China's borders to include Taiwan, Tibet, Chinese Central Asia, and Mongolia.

Safavid Empire

Major Turkic empire established in Persia in the early sixteenth century and notable for its efforts to convert its people to Shia Islam.

Scientific Revolution

Intellectual and cultural transformation between the 16th and 18th centuries in Europe; instead of relying on the authority of religion or tradition, its leading figures believed that knowledge was acquired through rational inquiry based on evidence, the product of human minds alone.

shariah

Law code of Islam.

Thirty Years' War

(1618-1648 CE) War within the Holy Roman Empire between German Protestants and their allies (Sweden, Denmark, France) and the emperor and his ally (Spain) who supported Roman Catholicism. LEGACY: killed hundreds of thousands, set foundation of modern European nation-state, gave states supreme authority over their own citizens.

Tokugawa Shogunate

A period of internal peace in Japan (1600-1850) that prevented civil war but did not fully unify the country; led by military rulers, or shoguns, from the Tokugawa family, who established a "closed door" policy toward European encroachments.

yasak

Tribute that Russian rulers demanded from the native peoples of Siberia, most often in the form of furs.

95 Theses

Arguments written by Martin Luther against the Catholic church. They were posted on a church door in Wittenberg, Germany in 1517 and led to Protestant Reformation.

English Reformation

Abolished papal authority in England and declared Henry to be head of the Church of England (Anglican Church).

Aurangzeb

Mughal emperor (r. 1658-1707) who reversed his predecessors' policies of religious tolerance and attempted to impose Islamic supremacy.

authoritarian

Political system that concentrates power in the hands of a leader or a small elite that is not constitutionally responsible to the body of the people.

boyars

Russian landholding nobility.

Cossacks

People of the Russian Empire who lived outside the farming villages, often as herders, mercenaries, or outlaws; hired to lead the conquest of Siberia.

Counter (Catholic) Reformation

Reaction of the Catholic Church to the Reformation - reaffirming church practices and authority, but addressing church abuses; It also created the Jesuits, and the Inquisition.

gunpowder empire

The Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal dynasties; all had Turkic ethnic backgrounds, Islamic roots, and developed strong military forces that conquered with gunpowder weapons.

House of Worship

A meeting house built in 1575 by the Mughal Emperor Akbar (r. 1556-1605) to gather spiritual leaders of different religious grounds to conduct a discussion on the teachings of the respective religious leaders.

Inquisition

A Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy, a reaction to the Protestant Reformation.

Jesuits

Also known as the Society of Jesus; founded by Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) as a teaching and missionary order to resist the spread of Protestantism (a result of the Counter Reformation); were often sent to China, Japan, and around the world to gain Catholic converts.

jizya

A tax paid by non-Muslim populations to their Muslim rulers.

King Henry VIII

King of England from 1509 until his death in 1547. Henry is best known for his six marriages, and for splitting with the Catholic Church, forming the Church of England, to have his first marriage annulled.

Martin Luther

A German monk who became one of the most famous critics of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1517, he wrote 95 theses, or statements of belief attacking the church practices. Began the Protestant Reformation.

Ottoman Empire

Islamic state founded by Osman in northwestern Anatolia, sacking Constantinople in 1453, encompassing lands in the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe. Ended in 1922.

samurai

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to a noble in return for land.

Sikhism

Religious tradition of northern India founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539); combines elements of Hinduism and Islam and proclaims the brotherhood of all humans and the equality of men and women.

Suleiman the Magnificent

Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1520 until his death in 1566. Oversaw military campaigns and huge achievements of Ottoman civilization in the fields of law, literature, art, and architecture.

Taj Mahal

Beautiful mausoleum (tomb) at Agra (India) built by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan (completed in 1649) in memory of his favorite wife; illustrates syncretic blend between Indian and Arabic architectural styles.

tax farming

To generate money for territorial expansion Ottoman rulers used this tax-collection system. Under this system the government hires private individuals to go out and collect taxes for them.

Tsar Peter the Great

Russian Tsar (r. 1689-1725) who introduced Western languages and technologies to the Russian elite, moving the capital from Moscow to the new city of St. Petersburg.

vernacular

The language or dialect spoken by the ordinary people in a particular country or region.

zamindar

Tax system of the Mughal empire where decentralized lords collected tribute for the emperor.

absolutism

A system of government in which the head of state is a hereditary position and the king or queen has almost complete power.