Studied by 42 people
Song Dynasty
Chinese dynasty (960 - 1279 CE) that could be considered their "golden age" when China saw many important inventions. There was a magnetic compass; had a navy; traded with India and Persia; paper money, gun powder
Confucianism
A philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct
Filial Piety
In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors
Neo-Confucianism
The Confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into this. However, it is still very much Confucian in belief
Theravada Buddhism
the oldest of the two major branches of Buddhism. Practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia, its beliefs are relatively conservative, holding close to the original teachings of the Buddha
Mahayana Buddhism
"Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and for Bodhisattva, enlightened persons who have postponed Nirvana to help others attain enlightenment. It was a more "user friendly" Buddhism that developed as Buddhism spread into East and Southeast Asia
Tibetan Buddhism
a Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism, a tradition of Buddhism that teaches that people can use special techniques to harness spiritual energy and can achieve nirvana in a single lifetime
Champa Rice
Quick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season; led to increased populations in Song Dynasty China. Originally introduced into Vietnam from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state (as part of the tributary system.)
Grand Canal
The 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer) waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Dynasty
Proto-Industrialization
A set of economic changes in which rural people make more goods than they can sell
Imperial Bureaucracy
A vast organization in which appointed official's carried out the empire's policies
Heian Period
A time period in which Japan emulated Chinese traditions in politic, art, and literature
Flying Money
Chinese credit instrument that provided credit vouchers to merchants to be redeemed at the end of the voyage; reduced danger of robbery; early form of currency
Seljuk Empire
Turkic empire ruled by sultans in Persia and modern-day Iraq (11th and 12th centuries); Established Turks as major ethnic group carrying Islam across Eurasia, along with Arabs and Persians; Demonstrated weakness of Abbasid caliphate in its later years; sultans held real power in the empire; Helped to spread the influence of Islam throughout the region
Mamluk Sultanate
A political unit in Egypt established by Mamluks, Defeated the Mongols and the Ayyubid Sultanate, Did not set up a consistent, hereditary line of succession, which hurt them greatly, Failed to adapt to new warfare and were eventually defeated by the Ottomans, who brought guns, Disinterest in trade also contributed to their downfall
Delhi Sultanate
The first Islamic government established within India from 1206-1520. Controlled a small area of northern India and was centered in Delhi
Abbasid Caliphate
750-1258 CE) The caliphate, after the Umayyads, who focused more on administration than conquering. Had a bureaucracy that any Muslim could be a part of
House of Wisdom in Baghdad
Large Islamic-based Library and learning center. Focus of conversion of Greek and Roman classics and Indian learning into Arabic. Preserved knowledge
Bhakti Movement
An immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity
Sufism
An Islamic mystical tradition that desired a personal union with God--divine love through intuition rather than through rational deduction and study of the Shari'a. Followed an ascetic routine (denial of physical desire to gain a spiritual goal), dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Qur'an, and the avoidance of sin
Mamluks
Enslaved people who were frequently ethic Turks from Central Asia, served as soldiers and later as bureaucrats. They were often purchased by Arabs. As a result of their roles, they had more opportunities for advancement than other enslaved people
Feudalism
A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land
Vassal
a person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance
Serf
an agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on their lord's estate
Manorialism
Economic system during the Middle Ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land; the economic side of feudalism
Great Zimbabwe
A powerful state in the African interior that apparently emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast; flourished between 1250 and 1350 C.E.
Cahokia
The dominant center of an important Mississippi valley mound-building culture, located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri; flourished from about 900 to 1250 C.E.
Maya city-states
Classical culture in Southern Mexico and Central America; contemporary with Teotihuacan; extended over broad region; featured monumental architecture, written language, calendar system, mathematical system
woodblock printing
a type of printing in which text is carved into a block of wood and the block is then coated with ink and pressed on the page; invented during the Song Dynasty period of China and allowed to the quick creation and distribution of texts; would later spread to Europe via trade and Mongol expansion allowing Europeans to develop the printing press c. 1440 CE
Meritocracy
government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability; used in China via the Civil Service Exam
Syncretism
The unification or blending of opposing people, ideas, or practices, frequently in the realm of religion. For example, when Christianity or Buddhism was adopted by people in a new land, they often incorporate it into their existing culture and traditions
Zen Buddhism
(also called Chen) a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition; illustrates the adaptations Buddhism made as it spread to new areas and interacted with different cultures
Aishah al-Ba'uniyyah
A Sufi master and poet. She is one of few medieval female Islamic mystics to have recorded their own views in writing, and she "probably composed more works in Arabic than any other woman prior to the twentieth century". She was born and died in Damascus in the 16th century
Nasir al-Din Tusi
(1201-1274) Persian mathematician and cosmologist whose academy near Tabriz provided the model for the movement of the planets that helped to inspire the Copernican model of the solar system
Greek Philosophy
the rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics; distinguished by the ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; preserved by the Arabs after the Roman Empire collapsed
Mita System
economic system in Inca society where people paid taxes with their labor and what they produced; men and women were expected to contribute this labor to the state yearly
Chinampas
Floating gardens constructed along lake shores by the Mexica/Aztecs to increase agricultural yields
Waru Waru Agriculture
A form of farming used in the Inca Empire; divided the hills into terraces or flat steps almost like steps; they could then control the amount of water being put into those places; led to vastly improved agriculture for the Incas
three-field system
A rotational system for agriculture in which one field grows grain, one grows legumes, and one lies fallow. Restores nutrients to the soil to improve crop yields. It gradually replaced two-field system in medieval Europe
Crusades
A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule; ultimately spread culture and increased trade but were not successful
Renaissance
"rebirth"; following the Middle Ages, a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome; began in Florence, Italy and spread throughout Europe
Great Schism
in 1054, divided medieval Christianity into (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Relations between East and West had long been embittered by political and ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes
coercive labor
Any labor system that involves force (slavery, chattel slavery, serfdom, and indentured labor)
Ethiopia
Previously known as Axum, a Christian kingdom that developed in the highlands of eastern Africa under the dynasty of King Lalaibela; retained Christianity in the face of Muslim expansion elsewhere in Africa; facilitated trade
Great Zimbabwe
Known for the 30 foot tall and 15 foot thick wall that surrounded its capital
Ghana
The rules sold gold and Ivory to Muslim traders for salt, cooper, cloth, and tools
Fief
land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service
Buddhist Monks
religious communities where Buddha's followers stayed, studied, and meditated; both men and women could join monasteries as monks or nuns; often exempt from taxation which put strains on Chinese political systems
hajj
5th pillar of Islam, the Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca that takes place in the last month of the year, and that all Muslims are expected to make at least once during their lifetime, if they are able
Quran
Book composed of divine revelations made to the Prophet Muhammad between ca. 610 and his death in 632; the sacred text of the religion of Islam
Al-Andalus
A Muslim-ruled region in what is now Spain, established in the eighth century C.E
Sufism
a mystical Muslim group that believed they could draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, and a simple life; were essential in spreading Islam outside of the Middle East/Arabian peninsula
Sunni
a member of the branch of Islam that accepts the first four caliphs as rightful successors to Muhammad; caliphs can be chosen from the community; largest branch of Islam
Shiite
A group of Islamic religion that believes that its religious leader should be chosen based on heredity
dar al-Islam
an Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule
dhimmi
Literally "people of the book"; applied as inclusive term to Jews and Christians in Islamic territories; later extended to Zoroastrians and even Hindus & Buddhists
jizya
Tax that non-Muslims had to pay when living within a Muslim empire; used by the Umayyad Caliphate
Muhammad
the Arab prophet who founded Islam (570-632)
Sharia
Body of Islamic law that includes interpretation of the Quran and applies Islamic principles to everyday life; often used as a legal basis in Islamic empires
Kaaba
Square building in Mecca believed by Muslims to be the house Ibrahim erected for God and the focus of Muslim worship
Caliph
successor to Muhammad as political and religious leader of the Muslims
caliphate
Islamic empire ruled by those believed to be the successors to the Prophet Muhammad. (Two such empires are the Abbasid and Umayyad.)
Umma
The term for all Muslims as a community
ulama
Muslim religious scholars. From the ninth century onward, the primary interpreters of Islamic law and the social core of Muslim urban societies
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