Vocab Deck 2

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Arabs

A Semitic ethnic group originating from the Arabian Peninsula who played a primary role in spreading Islam across Afro-Eurasia.

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert

Camel Saddle

Technological innovations for saddles allowed camels to carry heavier loads

Mecca

The holiest city in Islam

Mohammad

The founder and central prophet of Islam whose revelations were compiled to form the Quran.

Five Pillars of Islam

The core obligations of every Muslim

Hajj

The annual Islamic pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca

Islamic Conquests

Rapid military expansions following Muhammad's death that established Arab Muslim rule across the Middle East

Kaaba

A sacred cubic structure located inside the Grand Mosque in Mecca

Jizya

A special head tax paid by non-Muslim subjects (Dhimmi) living under an Islamic state in exchange for religious freedom and protection.

Women in Islam

Spiritual equality granted under Islam gave women rights to property

Dar al-Islam

A term referring to all regions where Islam is practiced and Islamic law is enforced.

Islamic Golden Age

A period of flourishing cultural

Abbasid Caliphate

The third Islamic caliphate

House of Wisdom

A major intellectual center and translation institute located in Baghdad during the Abbasid Caliphate.

Patronage

Financial or social support given by wealthy or powerful individuals to scholars

Baghdad

Capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and a major global trade and intellectual hub until its destruction by the Mongols in 1258.

Caliph/Caliphate

The political and religious leader of the Muslim community

Sultan/Sultanate

A secular ruler or monarch of a Muslim state

Al-Khwarizmi

A Persian Muslim mathematician whose work pioneered the field of algebra and introduced Hindu-Arabic numerals to the West.

A'isha al-Ba'uniyyah

A prominent Syrian Sufi poet and scholar

Ibn Khaldun

An Arab Muslim historian and scholar known as one of the founding fathers of modern historiography and sociology.

Avicenna (Ibn Sinna)

A famous Persian polymath who wrote "The Canon of Medicine

Ibn Battuta

A Moroccan Muslim scholar and traveler who explored much of the known Afro-Eurasian world

Alhambra

A famous palace and fortress complex built in Granada

Dome of the Rock

An iconic Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in Jerusalem

Sharia Law

The body of religious law that forms part of the Islamic tradition

Sunni-Shia Split

The major schism in Islam originating from a dispute over who should succeed Muhammad as leader of the Muslim community.

Shia Islam

The branch of Islam that believes leadership should have remained within Muhammad's family

Turks

A nomadic pastoral ethnic group originating in Central Asia who migrated into the Middle East

Mamluks

Enslaved Turkic soldiers who rose to power in Egypt

Seljuks

A Sunnite Turkic empire that dominated Central Asia and the Middle East during the 11th through 13th centuries

Islamic Merchants

Muslim traders who were vital in establishing global trade networks across the Silk Roads

Sufism/Sufis

A mystical branch of Islam focusing on a personal

Asceticism

A lifestyle characterized by the abstinence from worldly pleasures in pursuit of spiritual goals.

Jihad

An Arabic word meaning "struggle

Trans-Saharan Trade

A network of overland trade routes crossing the Sahara Desert

Salt trade

A vital component of Trans-Saharan trade where West African gold was exchanged for essential Mediterranean salt blocks.

Caravanserai

Roadside inns along major trade routes where merchants and their pack animals could rest and resupply safely.

Syncretism

The blending or merging of different religious

Mali

A powerful West African empire that grew wealthy through its control of the Trans-Saharan gold and salt trade.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of the Mali Empire who became famous across Europe and the Middle East for his immense wealth and lavish pilgrimage to Mecca.

Timbuktu

A major West African city in the Mali Empire that developed into a premier center of Islamic trade

Great Mosque of Dienne

A massive mud-brick mosque located in Mali

Trans-Saharan Slave Trade

The capture and transport of enslaved people from Sub-Saharan Africa north across the Sahara to North Africa and the Middle East.

Reincarnation

The philosophical or religious belief that the non-physical essence of a living being begins a new life in a different physical body after death.

Hinduism

One of the world's oldest major religions

Caste System

A rigid social hierarchy in traditional Indian society that divided people into hereditary social classes based on birth.

Untouchables (Dalit)

The lowest group outside the traditional Indian caste system

Buddhism

A spiritual religion founded in ancient India by Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) that seeks enlightenment through the Four Noble Truths and Eightfold Path.

Vedic Religions

Ancient Indo-Aryan religious traditions in India based on the sacred texts called the Vedas

Vedas

A collection of ancient Sanskrit religious texts that form the oldest scriptures of Hinduism.

Jerusalem

A sacred city in the Middle East considered holy by the three major Abrahamic religions: Judaism

Temple Mount

A sacred hill in Jerusalem containing sites revered by Judaism

Vatican

The city-state headquarters of the Roman Catholic Church and home to the Pope in Rome.

Pope

The supreme spiritual leader of the Roman Catholic Church and bishop of Rome.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

The eastern branch of Christianity that separated from the Roman Catholic Church following the Great Schism of 1054.

Great Schism of 1054

The formal split between the Roman Catholic Church in the West and the Eastern Orthodox Church in the East due to theological and political disputes.

Constantinople

The capital city of the Byzantine Empire

Hagia Sophia

A famous cathedral in Constantinople built by Justinian

Daoism/Toaism

A Chinese philosophy and religion emphasizing harmony with the "Dao" (the natural way of the universe) and balance in life.

Confucianism

A Chinese philosophy developed by Confucius focusing on social order

Five Key Relationships

Confucian social framework defining proper societal hierarchy: ruler-subject

Ancestor Worship

The practice of venerating and praying to deceased family members to seek their guidance and blessing.

Venerate

To regard or treat someone or something with deep respect and honor.

Filial Piety

The core Confucian virtue of deep respect

Foot Binding

A practice in imperial China of breaking and tightly binding female feet to alter their shape for status and beauty ideals.

Women in Confucian Society

A social structure where women were expected to be subservient to male family members according to patriarchal tradition.

Mandate of Heaven

The ancient Chinese belief that a dynasty received the moral authority to rule from divine power

Dynasty

A line of hereditary rulers of a country or empire.

Codify

To systematically arrange and formalize laws or rules into an official written system.

Song Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty known for massive economic prosperity

Chinese Golden Age

Periods of great stability

Commercialized

An economic shift toward producing goods for sale in market networks rather than for local self-consumption.

Bureaucracy

A system of government administration managed by non-elected state officials adhering to fixed rules.

Scholar Gentry

The elite class of educated civil servants in Imperial China who gained political positions by passing civil service examinations.

Mandarins

Bureaucratic scholar-officials in Imperial China who performed administrative duties for the emperor.