World History: Empires, Absolutism, Legal Reforms, and Colonization

Vocabulary flashcards generated from lecture notes covering key terms, figures, definitions, and legal milestones from the Ottoman and Mughal Empires, European Absolutism, English constitutional law, and North American colonization.

Primary

First in time, order, or importance.

Ghazi

A warrior who fights for Islam.

Janissaries

Elite slave soldiers loyal to the Ottoman Sultan.

Devshirme

The Ottoman levy of Christian youths to train as officials or soldiers.

Sikhism

An Indian faith based on the teachings of Guru Nanak and nine gurus that emphasizes monotheism, doing good works, and rejecting the Hindu caste system.

Sultan

A sovereign ruler of a Muslim country.

Battle of Varna

A conflict fought in 1444 between the Ottoman sultan Murad the second and the Europeans, leading to the death of Wladyslaw the third, king of Poland.

Ghazi Osmond

Muslim warrior who founded the Ottoman state in Anatolia and began to conquer neighboring lands.

Mehmed the second

Ottoman sultan known as Mehmed the conqueror who was placed on the throne at age 12 and conquered Constantinople.

Istanbul

The name given to Constantinople by Mehmed the second when he made it the capital of the Ottoman empire.

Hagia Sophia

An important church turned into a mosque under the rule of Mehmed the second.

Millet system

An Ottoman system ('millet' is Arabic for nation) where each religion was allowed to elect or appoint their own leader to enforce laws of their own religion.

Bayezid the second

Son of Mehmed the second who was devoted to building universities, hospitals, and mosques, and welcomed Jews and Muslims.

Selim the first

Son of Bayezid the second who expanded the Ottoman empire to include Egypt, Syria, and Palestine, and was given keys to Mecca to symbolize leadership of the Islamic world.

Suleyman the first

Ottoman ruler called Suleyman the Magnificent who assumed power in 1520, oversaw advances in art and architecture, created criminal and civil legal codes, and expanded into eastern Europe.

Roxelana

Slavic woman captured at 15 and enslaved in Suleyman's harem who converted to Islam, legally married Suleyman as Hurrem sultan, and wrote letters and poetry as a key political advisor.

Muhammad Babur

First Mughal emperor in 1526 and a brilliant military general who respected local beliefs, forbade killing cows, but taxed non-Muslims.

Akbar

Mughal emperor from 1542 to 1605 who expanded the empire, defended religious freedom, ended taxes on non-Muslims, and created his own religion combining Hinduism and Christianity.

Taj Mahal

Structure constructed during the reign of Shah Jahan, Akbar's grandson, to hold the tomb of his wife.

Aurangzeb

Mughal emperor who ruled from 1658 to 1707, was intolerant of non-Muslims, heavily taxed non-Muslims, destroyed Hindu schools and temples, and executed Sikh religious leaders.

Ideal

A perfect standard or model that people try to reach.

Absolute monarch

A king or queen who holds all the power in a country.

Armada

A large group of armed ships, most famously the Spanish fleet sent against England in 1588.

Boyar

A high-ranking noble in old Russia, second only to the princes before the rise of the tsars.

Divine right

The old idea that a king answers only to God, making it a sin for people to rebel against royal authority.

Phillip the second of Spain

First monarch to show absolute rule, who grew the Spanish empire to its greatest size, built a permanent standing army, supported the counter-reformation, and attempted to invade England with an armada.

Louis XIV

French monarch called the 'Sun King' who reigned for over 70 years, was considered the ideal absolute monarch, built the Palace of Versailles, and expanded the bureaucracy.

Jacques-benigne bossuet

Catholic bishop and court preacher to Louis XIV.

Peter the Great

Russian ruler (1672-1725) responsible for modernizing Russia into a world power, reducing the power of the boyars, establishing St. Petersburg, and forcing nobility to adopt western customs.

Consent

Agreement or permission given for an action or event to happen.

Habeas corpus

A legal rule that requires a person under arrest to go before a judge to assess the lawfulness of detention, protecting people from arbitrary imprisonment.

Parliament

A group of people chosen to make laws for a country.

Representative government

A system where the people vote for leaders to make laws and run the country for them.

Magna Carta

A charter signed in 1215 by King John under pressure from English nobles that limited royal authority and established the rule of law.

Council of Barons

A body created by the Magna Carta to monitor the English king and require consent for taxation.

Petition of Right

A 1628 English document responding to Charles I that asserted no taxation without Parliament's consent and no imprisonment without cause.

English Civil War

Conflict from 1642 to 1651 over authority between the king and Parliament, resulting in the temporary removal of Charles I and military rule under Oliver Cromwell.

Restoration

The return of the English monarchy in 1660 under Charles II, followed by legal reforms limiting arbitrary power.

Glorious Revolution

The event in 1688 where Parliament removed James II and invited William and Mary to rule in a largely bloodless transfer of power.

English Bill of Rights

A 1689 document required of William and Mary that created a constitutional monarchy, established parliamentary rights, and protected individual rights such as trial by jury.

House of Burgesses

An early colonial representative assembly in Virginia.

Puritan

A religious group seeking reform or separation from the Church of England that influenced New England governance.

Seven Years' War

A global conflict from 1756 to 1763 whose North American theater was called the French and Indian War.

Samuel de Champlain

Explorer who founded Quebec City in 1608 and led New France.

Treaty of Paris (1763)

Agreement that ended the Seven Years' War, forced France out of most of North America, and established Britain as the leading colonial power.