Studied by 565 people
Aztecs (Mexica)
Def: established an empire from Tenochtitlan (modern day Mexico City) based on military conquest and the kidnapping of women and seizure land from neighbors
Sig: tempted by its opulence and revolted by its human sacrifice rituals, Spaniard conquistador Hernan Cortes defeated the empire with aid from Aztec enemies
Bhakti Movement
DEF: An immensely popular development in Hinduism in South India and spreading northward, it advocated intense devotion toward a particular deity
SIG: a reforming movement within Hinduism which advocated personal devotion to a deity as the means to achieve moksha, it may have developed as a response to Sufi Islam which also advocated a personal relationship to God to achieve salvation
Buddhism
Def: religion originated in India in the classical but spread to East Asia and Southeast Asia
Sig: as it spread, its core beliefs continued to shape societies in Asia and resulted in multiple branches, such as Theravada in SE Asia and Mahayana in China
Champa Rice
Def: fast growing, drought-resistant rice imported into China from Vietnam
Sig: considered an innovation in agriculture that resulted in increased productive capacity - could be harvested 2x a year, leading to an unprecedented population boom
Dar-al-Islam
Def: Arabic term referring to the "House of Islam"; refers to the lands under Islamic rule
Sig: influenced by Persian administrative techniques and ideas of kingship, language, and literature; Indian mathematics; Greek philosophy and medicine; and Chinese technologies (gunpowder and paper)
Delhi Sultanate
Def: descended from Central Asian nomads, this Islamic empire based in Delhi stretched over large parts of the Indian subcontinent for 320 years (1206-1526)
Sig: the earliest forms of Indo-Islamic architecture emerged as did the greater use of mechanical technology, increased growth rates in India's population and economy, and the emergence of the Hindi-Urdu language, thus demonstrating continuous innovation and diversity
Feudalism
Def: a system in which land, a traditional source of power and legitimacy, was given in exchange for protection; lords lived off the surplus crops of their vassals
Sig: this was the basis for the political and social order of medieval Europe where the local political and military authorities were powerful while a king, if any, had limited authority and power
Filial Piety
Def: In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.
Sig: A continuity in Chinese culture, it also influenced the traditions of neighboring regions
Footbinding
Def: starting in Song Dynasty China, the practice of binding women's feet to create 3" feet was associated with new ideals of female beauty and eroticism
Sig: became a deep-rooted part of Chinese culture and elite society well into the 20th century and more importantly, it restricted women's movements to the "inner quarters" of the house to satisfy Confucian notions of patriarchy
Grand Canal
Def: connecting Hangzhou in southern China to Chang'an in northern China, this stretched 1,200 miles and was considered an engineering feat without comparison at that time
Sig: made China the most commercialized economy in the world by creating a national economy based on trade
Great Zimbabwe
Def: a powerful state that emerged in Southern Africa due to its wealth in gold and large cattle herds
Sig: despite its interior location and distance from the Swahili states, it's participation in the Indian Ocean Trade through them led to its increasing prominence
Heian Period (794-1185 CE) Japan
Def: Golden Age of Japan, when the Japanese voluntarily adopted the Chinese pattern of centralized government from the Tang Dynasty and oversaw the publishing of one of the greatest works of literature, The Tale of Genji
Sig: in the earlier part of this timeframe, Buddhism also diffused into the country from China when the Japanese were dealing with social upheaval and infighting amongst is many warlords
House of Wisdom
Def: An academic center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Baghdad in 830 C.E. by an Abbasid ruler.
Sig: home of ancient and modern learning during the Islamic Golden Age, preserving important works of European and Middle Eastern scholarship during the Dark Ages, which were later transferred back to Europe to kick off the Renaissance era there
Inca Empire
Def: established in modern day Peru through military conquest; spanned 2500 miles north and south along the entire length of the west coast of South America; government consisted of military elites but armies consisted of conquered peoples
Sig: had an advanced system of roads to facilitate communication, comparable to the Roman Empire; use of mit'a (compulsory labor service to the state in lieu of tribute) made the empire oppressive; fell to Spaniards under Francisco Pizarro
Jihad
Def: sometimes called the "sixth pillar of Islam," the primary meaning is to struggle against greed and selfishness towards a God-conscious life
Sig: also means armed struggle against forces of unbelief and evil to establish Muslim rule and defend followers of Islam (the umma) from infidel (non-Muslim) aggression; controversial belief that has been linked to 20th century armed struggles between some Muslims and non-Muslims
Jizya
Def: tax paid by non-Muslims in conquered territories to maintain their own religious practices
Sig: encouraged many conversions to Islam to avoid paying; source of contention between Muslims and their non-Muslim subjects
Mamluk Sultanate
Def: Central Asian nomads (of Turkic lineage) who came as slaves to Egypt but eventually overthrew their masters and built their own Islamic dynasty lasting 300 years
Sig: their military techniques and innovation allowed them to defeat both the Mongols from Asia and the Crusaders from Europe, preventing both groups from conquering Egypt
Manorialism
Def: self-sufficient large estate consisting of fields, meadows, forests, domestic animals, lakes, rivers and serfs bound to the land who did all the agricultural labor
Sig: in the absence of centralized political entities, these served as the residence of the nobles, who were political/military leaders, and the basic system of economy prevalent in Europe during the Middle Ages
Muslim Iberia/Al-Andalus
DEF: a medieval Muslim territory and cultural domain occupying at its peak most of what are today Spain and Portugal
SIG: served as a conduit for innovation and scholarship into Europe, formation of a syncretic culture blending Arabic, Christian and Jewish influences which influenced Spain even after Christians regained control
Neo-Confucianism
Def: Emerged In the late Tang and Song dynasties as Chinese scholars combined Confucian beliefs with Buddhist writings and Doaist principles and reinvigorated the traditional civil service exam process to staff the government bureaucracy
Sig: shows Buddhism's lasting influence on the Chinese sociopolitical structure and throughout East Asia, including its transference to Korea and Japan; this philosophy remained important in China until early 20th century
Seljuk Empire
Def: An empire formed by Turkish and Persian Sunni Muslims, lasting from 1037 to 1194 A.D.
Sig: the fragmentation of the Abbasid Caliphate allowed for the Seljuk and other Turkish peoples to emerge and create powerful new political entities
Serfdom
Def: Institution in which a peasant is attached to a feudal estate
Sig: given that Europe was largely an agricultural society, and with no unifying political power, manor lords were dependent on the production of food by peasants and coerced labor, which were serfs
Sharia
Def: Islamic canonical law based on the teachings of the Koran and the traditions of the Prophet Mohammed; prescribes both religious and secular duties and sometimes retributive penalties for lawbreaking.
Sig: along with the Quran, this emphasized patriarchy, patrilineage, male inheritance, and control of women by male guardians
Song Dynasty (China)
Def: the most significant state to emerge after the fall of the Han, it saw the unprecedented growth and diffusion of technology and another Golden Age of arts and literature
Sig: oversaw the establishment of the best ordered and most commercialized state in the world at that time
Srivijaya Empire
DEF: Hindu/Buddhist state that controlled modern-day Indonesia and much of the Malay Archipelago from the 7th to 12th centuries, heavily trading with India and China while incorporating Buddhist and Chinese political practices into their traditions.
SIG: demonstrated continuity, innovation and diversity with the states from which it gained its major influences, leading to the emergence of a syncretistic new Southeast Asian culture; even after their demise the trade routes they established continued to be used even into the modern era
Sufism
Def: Islamic sect whose members who saw the worldly success of Islam as a distraction and deviation from the pure spirituality of Mohammed's time; focused on a mystical and spiritual union with Allah rather than a strict interpretation of Islam
Sig: succeeded in converting people in India, sub-Saharan Africa, and southeastern Asia between 1000 to 1500 by incorporating local traditions into Islam; considered by the ulama to be almost heretical because of their disregard for orthodoxy in favor of spirituality
Turkic Peoples
Def: various clans and tribes of nomads of common origin who fanned west and south from their central Eurasian steppe homeland of Mongolia and southern Siberia; facilitated the spread of Islam in northern Eurasia after they converted between the 10th and 14th centuries
Sig: became the third largest disseminator of Islam after Arabs and Persians, especially to Anatolia and Northern India; their language, culture, and religion spread widely over much of Inner Asia, becoming integrated in various agrarian civilizations and leading to innovation and diversity
