AP World History: Modern

Byzantine Empire/Byzantium

Eastern half/continuation of Roman Empire from ~330 C.E. to ~1200
Capital: Constantinople (formerly Byzantine, renamed after Roman Emperor Constantine 330 C.E.)

Roman Catholic Church

Western European church headed by pope, started in Roman Empire

Caesaropapism

Secular leader (caesar) also religious leader (pope)

Crusades

Series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.

Conversion of Russia to Christianity

980-1015
Moscow became "third Rome"; stronghold of Eastern Orthodoxy

Feudalism (Western Europe)

Political and social system of decentralized political power and relationships of mutual obligation between lords and vassals

Manorialism (Western Europe)

Economic system of self-sufficient rural communities centered around manor/estate with free/unfree peasants/serfs serving lord in exchange for protection and land use rights

High Middle Ages

1000-1300
External invasions relaxing, climate warming & improving agriculture
Increased urbanization & trade with Islamic & Byzantine civilizations

Guilds

Groups of people in the same profession who regulate rules of the trade; emerged during High Middle Ages in Western Europe

The Plague

Disease spread by flea bites (carried on rats)
Bubonic - in lymphatic system
Septimic - in blood
Pneumonic - in lungs

Black Death

Major plague epidemic in 14th century spread initially by Mongols to Europe & MENA; killed 25-50% of Europe.

Chinese golden age of arts & literature

Tang and Song Dynasties
Neo-Confucianism created

Tang Dynasty

618-907 CE
State structure lasted a millennia
"Censorate" set precedent for surveillance of rest of government
Civil service examinations revived

Song Dynasty

960-1279 CE
Neo-Confucianism created - revival of Confucianism incorporating elements of Buddhism & Daoism
Economic & agricultural revolutions made Song China richest, highly populated, most skilled, and most urbanized country in the world

Tribute System (China)

System requiring foreigners to adhere to set of practices acknowledging Chinese superiority and presenting gifts from their homelands

Hangul

Script invented in fifteenth century to write Korean

Chu nom

"southern script" a Vietnamese variation of Chinese writing, which provided the basis for an independent national literature and a vehicle for the writing of most educated women

Innovations spread from China to rest of Eurasia

Paper making, printing, calligraphy, gunpowder, silk, porcelain, lacquerware, more

Spread of Buddhism

Religion originated in northern India 5th century BCE, then spread across (East & Southeast) Asia through Silk Roads starting in 1st and 2nd centuries CE

Syncretism

Blending of cultural (often religious) values and practices

Chinese dynasties

Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, Qing, Republic, Mao Zedong

Confucian theory of four layers of society

Top to bottom:
Civil servants
Scholars
Farmers/laborers
Merchants

Death of Prophet Muhammad

632 CE

Arab/Islamic Empire

Formed after Muhammad's death
Series of Arab Muslim caliphates/empires, starting 632 with the Rashidun Caliphate and ending 1922 with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire

Sunni-Shia split

Muhammad's death 632 CE lead to disagreements over who should succeed him as caliph (leader of ummah)
Sunnis- ummah/ulama choose caliph
Shias- caliph descended from Muhammad

Abbasid Caliphate

Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, al-Abbas, they overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled an Islamic empire from their capital in Baghdad (founded 762) from 750 to 1258. Influenced by non-Arab Muslims, notably Persians.

Sultanate of Delhi

Islamic state in northern India established by Turks in 1206

Sikhism

Monotheistic religion founded in Punjab in the 15th century by former bhakti Guru Nanak, combining elements of Islam and Hinduism
Over time, became distinct religion & shifted from peaceful to skilled militant group

Islamic Rule in Spain/Al-Andalus

Umayyads controlled various parts of Spain for different amounts of time between 711 and 1492 CE when Spanish reconquest succeeded

Umayyad Caliphate

661-750
First Arab dynasty, led by Umayyad family
Expanded empire, made caliph hereditary role, moved capital from Medina to Damascus
Treated non-Arab Muslims as second class
Overthrown by Abbasids

Islamic/Arab Green Revolution

The introduction of crops from northern India to the Middle East by Muslim merchants, as well as advancements in agriculture (irrigation), horticulture, and animal husbandry during the Islamic Golden Age which increased food production, population growth, urbanization, and industrialization.

Islamic Golden Age

Period of scientific, economic, and cultural flourishing, approximately during the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, but technically started with creation of House of Wisdom.

House of Wisdom

Established 830 CE in Baghdad under the Abbasid Caliphate as an academy/library- a center for research and translation of academic texts from around the world

Dhimmis

"Protected people"/people of the book under Islam, including Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians.

Ibn Battuta

Islamic scholar born 1304 in Morocco, traveled across the Islamic world and beyond from 1325-51, died 1369.
Account of his travels published by order of the Sultan of Morocco.

Bahmani Kingdom

Kingdom established by Muslim nobles in India from 1347-1482 CE, challenging the Dehli sultanate.

Vijayanagara Empire

1336-1482 CE
Hindu southern Indian kingdom created to counter Muslim north/Bahmani Kingdom

Strait of Malacca

Highly contested channel into South China Sea between Malay Peninsula and Sumatra; connected China with India/Indian Ocean trade

Mali Empire

~13th-17th century
Muslim-led empire formed when Sundiata took control of Ghana Empire. It controlled trade across the Sahara, the South and the Niger River.
Led by famous Mansa Musa 1312-1337

Mansa Musa

Muslim emperor of Mali 1312-1337

Swahili Coast & Indian Ocean Trade

Trade expanded 1250-1500 by East African coastal city-states
City of Kilwa capital of trade, connected Great Zimbabwe with Indian Ocean trade

Great Zimbabwe

Important medieval Southeast African city in East African trade, notably with Kilwa

Solomonic Dynasty

1270-1974
Dynasty of rulers claiming descent from biblical King Solomon

Pochteca

Professional merchants in Aztec Empire

Aztec Empire

1428-1521
Mesoamerican empire loosely ruled by Mexica people
Alliance of three city-states
Capital: Tenochtitlán
Population: 5-6 million
Tribute system required conquered peoples to send goods to capital
Known for ritual human sacrifice
Defeated by Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés 1521 after 1519 Spanish arrival

Inca Empire

1438-1533
Large Andean empire (2,500+ miles across, population of ~10 million)
Bureaucratic, hierarchical government led by divine emperor
Forced labor system for conquered peoples called mita

Tenochtitlán

Capital of Aztec Empire in modern-day Mexico city

Mongol Empire

1206-1368
Largest land empire in the history of the world, linking Europe, China, and Islamic world
Led by Genghis Khan and his descendants

Yuan Dynasty

1279-1368
Mongol rule of China after 1209-1279 conquest
Moved Mongol capital to modern day Beijing, named Khanbalik

Ming Dynasty

1368 to 1644
Characterized by rejection/erasure of Mongol influence & revival of Confucianism
Revitalized Chinese culture, economy, & infrastructure - civil service examinations reinstated

Il-khanate

1256-1335
Indirect Mongol rule of Persia
Founded by Genghis Khan's grandson, Hulegu after brutal defeat of Abbasids in 1258 Sacking of Baghdad

Sacking of Baghdad

1258 Mongol assault on Baghdad, final blow to Abbasid control of Persia

Golden Horde

1206-1368 Mongol khanate in Russia controlled distantly

Seven Voyages of Zheng He/Ming Treasure Voyages

1405-1433
Indian Ocean maritime expeditions for exploration and diplomacy led by Admiral Zheng He
Supported by Yongle Emperor (r. 1403-1424)
Discontinued after death of Yongle Emperor because not seen as a priority

Renaissance

~1350-1500
European movement for the rebirth/revival of arts & learning, reclaiming classical Greco-Roman tradition & embracing secularism in the arts for the first time
Started in urban Italy, dominated by male elite

Humanists

Secular Renaissance scholars

Portuguese maritime exploration

Started 1415 with exploration of West African coast

Christopher Columbus

Italian explorer who mistakenly "discovered" the Americas in 1492 while on a voyage funded by the Spanish crown to find a direct/faster route to India

Vasco da Gama

Portuguese explorer who led first naval expedition around the West, South, and East African coasts to reach India in 1497

Fall of Constantinople

1453
Ottoman Empire seizes Constantinople, capital of Byzantium, marking end of Roman/Byzantine Empire
Significance:
- Shift in battle tactics/weaponry - strong walls beaten by artillery (gunpowder weapons, cannons)
- Control of Eastern & Western trade routes came under control of Muslims hostile to Europe, pushing Europeans to seek alternative routes to trade with Asia

Rise of a Russian empire

Emerged from two centuries of Mongol rule
Centered around Moscow
Gained power from 1500-1800
Expanded East to neutralize threats from steppe nomads & get furs from Siberia

Peter the Great

Ruled Russia from 1682-1725
Westernized/reformed administration, military, education, manufacturing systems, and cultural standards

Yasak

Fur/cash tribute exacted from indigenous peoples of Siberia by Russian Imperial government

Qing expansion

The growth of Qing China during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries to include a central Asian empire encompassing Mongolia, Xinjiang, and Tibet, much of which remains a part of modern China. Seen by Chinese as uniting China.

Mughal Empire

1526-1761
Muslim dynasty of Turkic-Mongol origin which ruled most of the largely-Hindu Indian subcontinent
Internal religious tensions allowed for collapse/British takeover

Akbar the Great

Mughal emperor who ruled from 1556-1605, famous for supporting rights for Hindus, particularly for women

Aurangzeb

Mughal emperor 1658-1707
Great-grandson of Akbar the Great
Mughal Empire reached peak territory under his rule
Repealed Hindu-tolerant laws and enforced sharia

Devshirme

15th-16th centuries
System of (mostly) Christian boys being taken by the Ottoman state and trained to serve as Janissaries

Janissaries

Elite infantry units of the Ottoman Empire
First modern standing army
Recruits initially drawn from Devshirme system

Safavid Empire

1501-1736 Shia Muslim gunpowder empire in Persia/Iran

Tokugawa Shogunate

1603-1868 Japanese dynasty led by Tokugawa clan during Edo Period from capital Edo (modern Tokyo)
Restricted daimyo, samurai, and peasantry to maintain stability
Era of peace- massive population growth, urbanization, commercialization
Limited European interaction- trade & missionary activity heavily restricted

Feudal Japan

Hierarchical society with Emperor as symbolic leader & shogun as political leader, though increasingly power held by landowning daimyo/feudal lords who commanded armies of samurai

Gholams

Enslaved soldiers in the Safavid Empire

Daimyo

Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of samurai

Samurai/bushi

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to a noble in return for land; later converted to salaried administrators under Tokugawa Shogunate
Adhered strictly to bushido code

Bushido code

Code of conduct for samurai during the feudal period in Japan

Tax farming

Auctioning off the right to collect taxes in a given area
Often associated with Ottoman Empire

Single-whip tax

Law instituted in 16th century Ming China consolidating all taxes into single tax paid in silver
Increased demand for silver from Japan and the Spanish-controlled Americas

Millet system

Ottoman system in which subjects were divided into religious communities (millets) which self-governed under their religious leaders in exchange for loyalty to the Ottoman government

Queue

Manchu hairstyle enforced in Qing China

Portuguese Trading Post Empire

16th-17th century Portuguese attempted monopoly of Indian Ocean spice trade by establishing forts/trading posts in key ports
Failed to monopolize but exerted some control over Indian Ocean trade by outgunning everyone else

Spanish colonization of Phillipines

1565-1898
Introduced Catholicism

Potosí

Largest new world silver mine in Bolivia, controlled by Spanish

Piece of Eight/Peso de Ocho

Spanish silver coin used in trade across North America, Europe, India, Russia, & West Africa

Usury

The illegal action or practice of lending money at unreasonably high rates of interest
Any interest/tax on loan repayments banned by Church

Bonds

Loans to governments from banks

Mercantilism

Economic philosophy of 17th and 18th century European nations; sought to increase wealth and power through acquisition of bullion and maintaining a positive balance of trade

Positive balance of trade

Exports greater than imports (trade surplus)

Bullion

Gold and silver

Treaty of Tordesillas

1494 agreement between Portugal and Spain that divided the New World between them

Doctrine of Discovery

Declaration that Christian rulers can discover/claim land uninhabited by Christians

The Great Dying

Majority of Indigenous populations in the Americas killed by diseases brought over from Europe like smallpox (90% in many places)

Columbian Exchange

Biological exchange of plants, animals, and diseases between the Americas and the rest of the world which transformed economies, livelihoods, population sizes, and cultures across the world

Encomienda System

System in Spanish America that gave settlers the right to demand tax and/or labor from indigenous people in "exchange" for protecting and introducing them to Christianity

Hacienda system

System of the Spanish government allocating settlers land/estates in the American colonies

Castas

Racial hierarchy in Spanish America

Meztizo

Person of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry

Mulattoes

People of mixed Portuguese and African descent in colonial Brazil

Protestant Reformation

16th-17th century religious reform movement within the Roman Catholic Church which created the Protestant branch of Christianity
Began with Martin Luther's 1517 "Ninety-five theses"

Staple crops

Grown for food; key source of calories
Ex: rice, potatoes, corn, wheat, cassava, oats