AP World History Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (1200-1450) Vocabulary

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated from the Unit I Global Tapestry (1200-1450) note list.

Buddhism (Chan, Mahayana, Theravada, & Tibetan, monasticism)

A major world religion originating in South Asia, encompassing distinct traditions such as Chan, Mahayana, Theravada, and Tibetan Buddhism, often organized around monastic communities.

Civil service exam

An examination system in imperial China used to recruit candidates for the state bureaucracy based on merit and knowledge of Confucian classics.

Confucianism

A philosophy and belief system originating in ancient China that emphasizes social order, harmony, filial piety, and moral governance.

feudalism (In Japan- Bushido, daimyo, samurai, serfs, shogun)

A decentralized social and political system in medieval Japan featuring the military ruler (shogun), landowning lords (daimyo), warrior class (samurai) guided by the code of honor (Bushido), and peasant labor (serfs).

filial piety

A core Confucian principle of respect, obedience, and devotion toward one's parents, elders, and ancestors.

Grand Canal

A massive artificial waterway in China that connected northern and southern regions, facilitating economic integration and internal trade.

imperial bureaucracy

A vast administrative organization of appointed government officials carrying out state policies across an empire.

meritocracy

A system of government or social organization in which positions and advancement are awarded based on individual ability and achievement.

Neo-Confucianism

A revival of Confucian philosophy during the Song Dynasty that integrated elements of Daoism and Buddhism into a logical and metaphysical framework.

Proto-industrialization

A phase preceding full industrialization marked by home-based or community-scale manufacturing for commercial market exchange.

scholar-gentry

A high-status class of educated elites in imperial China who passed the civil service exams and dominated administrative offices.

sinification

The historical process through which non-Chinese societies adopt or assimilate Chinese language, culture, politics, and social practices.

tributary system

A diplomatic framework in East Asia where surrounding states recognized the supremacy of the Chinese empire by delivering gifts in exchange for trading rights and political peace.

woodblock printing

A technique for printing text, images, or patterns carved into wooden blocks, widely used throughout East Asia for text reproduction.

'A'ishah al-Ba'uniyyah

A influential Sufi Muslim poet and scholar whose prolific writings represented one of the most prominent female literary careers in medieval Islam.

Abrahamic religions

Monotheistic faiths that trace their spiritual lineage back to the figure of Abraham, primarily including Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

al-Andalus

The Islamic realm located in the Iberian Peninsula (modern Spain and Portugal) that served as a center of cultural and intellectual exchange.

House of Wisdom

A renowned major intellectual center, library, and translation institute in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age.

Ibn Jubayr

An Andalusian traveler and author who recorded detailed travelogues describing his pilgrimages and journeys across the Islamic world.

Ibn Rushd

An influential Andalusian Muslim philosopher and polymath known for his extensive commentaries on Aristotle and contributions to Islamic thought.

Mamluks

An ethnic class of former military slaves who established an influential sultanate ruling Egypt and Syria.

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

A celebrated Persian polymath, astronomer, and mathematician who made significant contributions to trigonometry and Islamic science.

shariah

The religious and legal code derived from the teachings of the Quran and Hadith governing personal and public life in Islam.

sultanate/sultan

A political territory or realm governed by a sultan, a sovereign Islamic monarch.

Sunni vs. Shi’a

The major ideological division within Islam stemming from early disputes over political and religious leadership succession following Muhammad.

Turkic peoples

A collection of ethno-linguistic groups originating in Central Asia whose migrations and military conquests reshaped political power across Eurasia.

Bhakti movement

A devotional Hindu movement originating in medieval India that prioritized personal, direct devotion to a specific deity over rigid caste boundaries.

caste system

A rigid social stratification structure in South Asia that divided individuals into hereditary social groups.

Hinduism

A major world religion originating in South Asia characterized by a broad diversity of beliefs, rituals, and philosophical schools.

proselytize

The practice or attempt to convert individuals to a specific religion, faith, or political viewpoint.

Qutub Minar

A landmark victory tower and minaret constructed in Delhi, serving as a key symbol of early Muslim rule in India.

Sufism/Sufis

A mystical tradition within Islam centered on personal, direct spiritual connection, asceticism, and divine devotion.

Urdu

A language developed in South Asia that incorporated elements of Hindi, Persian, Arabic, and Turkic vocabularies.

animism

The belief that natural objects, physical geographic features, animals, and elements of nature possess a living spirit or soul.

chinampas

Artificial agricultural islands created in shallow lake beds used by Mesoamerican civilizations for intense crop cultivation.

city-states

Independent urban political units consisting of a prominent central city and its immediately surrounding territories.

matrilineal society

A social organization where kinship, social identity, and property inheritance are traced through the mother's family line.

Mississippian culture

A Native American mound-building civilization that flourished in the central and eastern regions of North America.

Mit’a system

A mandatory public service labor tax in the Inca Empire requiring subjects to work periodically on state projects.

pocheta

A specialized, elite class of long-distance merchant traders in Aztec society who also acted as intelligence agents.

quipu

An Andean record-keeping system constructed of knotted colored cords used by the Inca to store numerical and administrative data.

Temple of the Sun

A major religious structure in Cusco that served as the primary center for sun worship in the Inca Empire.

theocracy

A system of government where authority is held by religious figures or guided directly by religious doctrine.

Three Sisters

The three principal companion crops—maize (corn), beans, and squash—cultivated together by indigenous North American societies.

waru waru

An Andean agricultural technique combining raised beds with surrounding water channels to prevent soil erosion and frost damage.

Bantu peoples

A group of Sub-Saharan African peoples whose historical migrations spread agriculture, ironworking, and common language roots.

debt bondage

A form of forced labor where an individual pledges their physical labor to pay off a financial debt or obligation.

Kin-based networks

Decentralized governance structures where communities are led and organized through family ties and tribal relationships.

rock-hewn churches

Architectural Christian places of worship carved directly out of solid rock formations, famously located in medieval Ethiopia.

Swahili

A language and coastal culture formed through the blending of Bantu base structures with significant Arabic influences.

Zanj

A historical term used by Arab geographers to designate the coastal region and inhabitants of Southeast Africa, as well as enslaved East Africans.

antisemitism

Hostility, prejudice, or systematic discrimination targeted against Jewish people.

chivalry, knight, vassal, lord, decentralization (feudalism)

Interconnected political and social elements of medieval European feudalism featuring decentralized authority, landed aristocracy (lords), noble warriors (knights), subordinate land-holders (vassals), and a code of knightly conduct (chivalry).

free labor systems vs. coerced labor systems

The comparative economic structures of voluntary wage-earning labor versus forced, involuntary labor such as slavery or serfdom.

Magna Carta

An English legal charter granted in 1215 that restricted absolute royal power and established feudal legal protections.

manorial system

The self-sufficient economic system of medieval Europe focused on agricultural production across landed estates managed by lords and worked by peasants.

monarch

A form of state authority where sovereign power is held by a individual king, queen, or sole ruler.

primogeniture

The traditional inheritance law or custom where the eldest son receives the entire family estate.

serfdom, serf, fief

The economic institution where unfree agricultural laborers (serfs) are legally tied to land grants (fiefs) under control of a landlord.

The Hundred Years’ War

A major protracted series of conflicts waged between the ruling monarchies of England and France over territory and political dominance.