AP World History Unit 1

Unit 1 vocab words

Patriarchy

a system of society or government in which the father or eldest male is head of the family and descent is traced through the male line.

Matrilineal

of or based on kinship with the mother or the female line.

Agricultural Revolution

significant, transformative periods of change in farming and food production

Four River Valleys

associated with the earliest cradles of civilization

Nile River Valley

Egypt

Tigris-Euphrates River Valley

Mesopotamia

Indus River Valley

South Asia

Huang-He (Yellow) River Valley

China

Cuneiform

denoting or relating to the wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit, surviving mainly impressed on clay tablets.

Hammurabi’s Code

Babylonian legal text from around 1750 BCE, containing 282 laws on various topics including family, property, and crime, and was famously inscribed on a stone stele.

Hieroglyphics

enigmatic or incomprehensible symbols or writing

Pharaoh

a ruler in ancient Egypt.

Hatshepsut

female king of Egypt

Warring States Period

tumultuous era in ancient China, marked by constant warfare and political fragmentation among several rival states that emerged after the decline of the Zhou Dynasty.

Mandate of Heaven

an ancient Chinese political-philosophical concept asserting that rulers derived their right to rule from a divine power, Heaven, and that this right was contingent on their virtuous and just rule over the people

Legalism

Chinese philosophy emphasizing strict laws and harsh punishments to maintain social order by controlling self-interested people

Confucianism

an ethical and philosophical tradition originating in ancient China from the teachings of Confucius (551–479 BCE)

Filial Piety

a virtue central to Confucianism and other East Asian traditions, embodying the attitudes and obligations of children to honor, respect, and support their parents and ancestors, living or deceased

The Analects

a foundational Chinese text composed of sayings and dialogues attributed to the philosopher Confucius and his disciples

Scholar Gentry

a prominent social and political class in imperial China, formed from individuals educated in Confucian philosophy and selected through a rigorous system of civil service examinations

Civil Service Exam

a test for individuals applying for government positions at the federal, state, or local level, designed to assess job-specific skills and knowledge for a merit-based system

Daoism

a traditional Chinese philosophy and religion centered on the concept of the Dao (Way)—the fundamental, natural order of the universe

Yin/Yang

Yin represents darkness, cold, and passivity, while yang represents light, warmth, and activity

Song Dynasty

“GOLDEN AGE” imperial dynasty of China that ruled from 960 to 1279. The dynasty was founded by Emperor Taizu of Song 

Grand Canal

system of interconnected canals linking various major rivers and lakes in North and East China

Champa Rice

quick-maturing, drought resistant rice

Foot Binding

ancient Chinese practice of tightly breaking and binding young girls' feet to prevent their growth

Woodblock Printing

an ancient relief printing technique, originating in China, that creates images or text by carving into a wooden block

Chan (Zen) Buddhism

You can achieve enlightenment at home, emphasizes meditation and direct insight into the nature of reality

Neo-Confucianism

a Chinese philosophy that revived and adapted traditional Confucianism during the Song Dynasty (960–1279 CE), blending its ethical and social focus with the metaphysical ideas of Buddhism and Daoism

Hangul

official Korean alphabet

Chu nom

logographic writing system formerly used to write the Vietnamese language

Bushido

“WAY OF THE WARRIOR” the unwritten, evolving code of moral principles for Japanese samurai, emphasizing honor, loyalty, courage, and a strict code of behavior

Shintoism

the indigenous religion of Japan, focusing on the worship of kami, or spirits, believed to reside in natural elements, ancestors, and forces like wind and rain

Vedas

the oldest scriptures of Hinduism, comprising a large body of religious texts in Vedic Sanskrit

Jati

“SUBDIVISIONS” refers to the sub-castes within the traditional Indian caste system, functioning as inherited occupational groups with distinct social customs and norms that historically restricted social mobility

Hinduism

the world's oldest major religion, range of Indian religious and spiritual traditions that are unified by adherence to the concept of dharma

Upanishads

a collection of ancient Indian spiritual and philosophical texts forming the culmination of the Vedas, focusing on the nature of ultimate reality

Atman

soul

Moksha

freedom / liberation from cycle of rebirth.

Karma

the principle of cause and effect, where an individual's actions, intentions, and deeds determine the nature of their future existence, including their reincarnation

Brahmin

Priests, highest class of Caste

Untouchables

So low class they are not even considered part of caste, worst of society

Siddhartha Gautama

The Buddha

Buddha

wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism

Four Noble Truths

suffering exists, has a cause (craving and attachment), can cease, and there is a path to end it, specifically the Eightfold Path

Nirvana

subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.

Dar-al-Islam

regions where Islam is the dominant religion and where Muslims can practice their faith freely, often under Islamic governance

Muhammad

Prophet: Arab religious and political leader and the founder of Islam

Quran

he Islamic sacred book, believed to be the word of God as dictated to Muhammad by the archangel Gabriel and written down in Arabic.

Five Pillars

fundamental practices in Islam, considered to be obligatory acts of worship for all Muslims:

1. Haji 2. charity 3. prayer 4. fasting 5. faith

Caliph

the spiritual leader of an Islamic community, regarded as the successor of the community's founder.

Sunni

largest branch of Islam, believes that Abu was the right successor and that the Caliph should be chosen

Shi’a

The second branch of Islam, believes that Ali (Muhammad’s cousin) was the true successor and that the caliph should be blood related.

Sufism

mystical, or esoteric, aspect of Islam, focusing on a direct personal experience of the divine

Umma

refers to the global community of Muslim people or the concept of a Muslim nation

Ulama

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

Sharia

Korean body of religious law that form the Islamic tradition based on scriptures of Islam

Jizya

a historical tax levied by Islamic states on non-Muslim residents (primarily Jews and Christians in exchange for protection and freedom

Abbasid Caliphate

“ISLAMIC GOLDEN AGE” an Arabic dynasty that ruled the Islamic empire from Baghdad

Mamluks

Turkish trained slave solders, they also rose to power

Judaism

the monotheistic religion of the Jewish people.

Anti Semitism

hostility to or prejudice against Jewish people.

Feudalism/Manorial System

the economic foundation of the feudal system, organizing society around self-sufficient agricultural estates called manors

Serfs

an agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on their lord's estate.

Three Field System

a Medieval European agricultural practice that divided farmland into three sections, allowing for annual crop rotation and a fallow field, which increased soil fertility and crop yields

Great Schism

break of communion between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Roman Catholic Church

the largest branch of Christianity, led by the Pope in Vatican City, and is the world's largest religious body

Eastern Orthodox Church

emphasizing continuity with the early apostolic church through Holy Scripture and tradition, and is characterized by its rich liturgical traditions and a decentralized structure of self-governing churches rather than a single hierarchical head

Byzantine Empire

the Eastern Roman Empire, founded in 330 AD by Emperor Constantine I with Constantinople as its capital

Kievan Russia

irst East Slavic state and later an amalgam of principalities in Eastern Europe

Monasticism

a religious way of life that involves withdrawing from the world to devote oneself to spiritual activities, often through asceticism, prayer, and vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience

Crusades

series of religious wars initiated, supported, and at times directed by the Papacy during the Middle Ages. The most prominent of these were the campaigns to the Holy Land aimed at seizing Jerusalem

Renaissance

a European cultural, artistic, and intellectual movement, primarily from the 14th to the 17th century, that promoted the revival of classical Roman and Greek philosophy, art, and literature

Humanism

a philosophical and ethical approach that emphasizes human potential, reason, and compassion over religious or supernatural beliefs, focusing on the value of human experience and the pursuit of ethical lives for the greater good