WHAP FINAL

Vocabulary units 1-5

Grand Canal

built by yangdi during the sui dynasty

linked the yangtze to the huang he

an important waterway, connecting north and south china and making agricultural transport much easier

Song Dynasty

a unified dynastic empire that remained in China from 960-1279

Confucianism

one of the chief things that helped organize the chinese government

great continuity in Chinese culture over the years

reality is fundamentally hierarchical

Filial Piety

respect for family

an idea stressed in confucianism

Civil Service Exam

a test you had to pass in order to work in the imperial bureaucracy

one of the major achievements of the Song government 

deeply influenced by Confucian ideals

shifted power from a hereditary form of aristocracy to a new class of scholarly leaders

Scholar Gentry

smart/educated people

brought into administrative power during the sui dynasty

maintained imperial unity

Commercialization

the production of goods for use and sale in distant markets

Iron Production

Chinese production in 1200 that rivaled that of Europe in the 18th century

Paper Money

introduced as the economy grew and there was not enough precious metal for the minting of coins to keep up with the demand

Gunpowder

an accidental discovery by daoist alchemists 

the original use was for fireworks and pyrotechnic displays for the imperial court

song military leaders turned it into weapons

Japanese Sinification

the assimilation or spread of Chinese culture in a country who worked hard to form their own identity but china's influence was all over its culture

Buddhism

an indian religion/philosophy

one of china's most significant influences

Theravada Buddhism

oldest school of buddhism 

the “way of the elders”

monasticism is the ideal life for achieving nirvana

a do it yourself approach to enlightenment

focus on wisdom and meditation

goal is to become a buddha

fairly unified in belief and practice

Mahayana Buddhism

the “great vehicle”

buddhism for the masses

seek guidance from bodhisattvas 

focus on compassion

goal is to become a bodhisattva and assist others towards enlightenment

diverse sects and schools

Tibetan Buddhism

the “diamond vehicle”

a mix of theravada and mahayana

mantras, mudras, mandalas and thangkas

bodhisattvas including living lamas

meditation, monasticism, wisdom and compassion

bardo thodol - book of the dead

Champa Rice

a quick-maturing, drought resistant rice that could be harvested several times a year

sent to china as a tribute gift from vietnam

led to massive population growth

Abbasid Caliphate

a new islamic caliphate that came into power in the mid-8th century in the middle east and north africa

big, powerful, and united by the arabic language and islamic traditions

Islam

a religion centered on the Quran and the teachings of Muhammad

5 pillars - one God, daily prayer, charity, fasting, pilgrimage (jihad)

monotheistic, no images, equality

Delhi Sultanate

newly-converted turkish muslims invaded india and created a muslim political state in 1206

Hinduism

a religion that structured indian society for hundreds of years

polytheistic, many idols, caste system

Sufi Muslims

a form of islam that emphasized a more emotional and ecstatic experience

Ghana

a west african country where islam spread by the commercial enterprises of traveling merchants

Mali

a west african civilization that broke away from ghana in the 13th century

founded by sundiata

as islam came into the empire, it caused many cities to emerge as centers of trade, commerce, and learning

Songhai

an empire that broke away from mali in the 14th century

muslim clerics did not like that islam was not adhered to strictly within the kingdom so they called for an invasion to cleanse it which was done by the 16th century

Mansa Musa

mali ruler who went on the hajj with magnificent displays of his wealth

House of Wisdom

large public library belonging to the abbasid caliphs

an academic center for learning, research, and translation established in 830

Nasir al-Din-al-Tusi

considered the founder of trigonometry and mathematical models used in astronomy

Seljuk Empire

captured baghdad in 1055 and took the remaining portions of the abbasid empire

recaptured all territory in 1291

Bhakti Movement

a manifestation of Hindu beliefs from the 12th century

emphasized the emotional side of devotion, one God, religious experience, and direct relationship with the gods

Vijayanagara Kingdom

a hindu kingdom set up in 1336 by brothers who converted from hinduism to islam, then back to hinduism

Srivijaya Empire

a buddhist empire in sumatra

muslims came to dominate trading ports on sumatra after its collapse

Caste System

a hierarchical structure of indian society that divided people into five groups each one better than the one below 

to move up castes get good karma

Aztecs/Mexica

The native american people who dominated northern mexico at the time of the spanish conquest in the early 16th century

Tenochtitlan

A magnificent capital city founded in 1325 roughly where mexico city is today

Chinampa

Floating artificial islands that produced high yield crops

Tribute System

a form of conducting diplomatic trade

a payment that conquered peoples had to make to its conqueror

Human Sacrifice

Practiced to serve the gods 

The military captured people from resistant tribes to be sacrificed to the gods

The aztecs believed the world would end and the sun would not come up the next day without a sacrifice

Inca

A kingdom that developed in the andes region of south america from 1438 - 1533

Terraced Farming

A method of farming that made previously unfarmable land farmable by cutting steps into hillsides so that you could plant

Quipu

Knotted strings that kept records

Ethiopia

an african christian state that pre-existed the arrival of islam

Great Zimbabwe

An impressive city state in southeast africa near the zambezi and limpopo rivers

Had massive stone walls and buildings

Mwene mutapa ruled as a central figure

The center of trade for all of southern africa

Griots

african storytellers who housed within themselves the history, narratives, and lineage of the tribe to which they belonged

Byzantine Empire

The continuity of the roman empire in the east after the west fell in 476

Feudalism

A system of mutual obligations that existed between classes

Four social layers - the king, the lords, the knights, the peasantry

The serfs worked the land of the lords (not slaves but not free, lives tied to the land)

Manorial System

A system related to feudalism that governed economics

Built around large estates called manors

Guilds

Groups of similar occupations

Played a large role in urban politics and society

Magna Carta

Officially guaranteed rights to the nobles

Facilitated the transfer of power from the king to the noble class in 1215

Roman Catholic Church

They had heavy influence during the time of feudalism

Established the first universities in europe

Crusades

Starting in the 12th century the pope and bishops urged christians to take their swords and reclaim jerusalem from the infidel muslims

A response to threats on the cultural hold of the catholic church

Marco Polo

An italian explorer who wrote about his travels along the silk road

Bourgaise

The middle class

Not as rich as nobles and not as poor as peasants

Little Ice Age

For a few years temperatures steadily fell which led to a sharp decrease in agricultural productivity

Renaissance

Rebirth

The reintroduction of ancient greek and roman culture, art, and literature

Silk Roads

Land based trade route that stretched from china to europe to north africa

Indian Ocean

Sea based trade route that stretched from china into east africa

Trans-Saharan

Desert trade route that stretched from north africa to the mediterranean to west africa

Camel Caravan

animal used to carry goods across the silk roads

Arabian Camel

animal that made it possible to transverse the vast stretch of desert between north africa and west africa

Chinese Silk

Originated in china around 3000 BCE

Considered a status symbol

Luxury good traded on the silk roads

Syncretism with Samarkand 

buddhists incorporated zoroastrian fire rituals into their devotional patterns

Black Death/Bubonic Plague

Nearly half the european population died between 1346 - 1348 because of this disease

spread through fleas 

Monsoons

The success of the indian ocean trading routes was made possible by these predictable yearly storms

Magnetic Compass

a device used for navigation

allowed sailors to hold their bearing without sight of the sun

Astrolabe

Allowed sailors to calculate latitude

Chinese Junks

Huge, flat-bottomed ships with six masts jutting out of their bellies, and enough room to carry 500 men

Swahili City-States

important trading cities in east africa

emerged in the 8th century

rulers found abundant opportunities to trade native goods

Neo-Confucianism

a fusion of rational thought with daoist and buddhist beliefs that originated in china but soon spread to korea and japan

religious syncretism

Swahili Language

combination of bantu and arabic languages

a major cultural consequence of the spread of islam from muslim merchants

Lateen Sail

a large triangular sail that allowed sailors to tack into the wind and therefore had much more flexibility to travel

Stern Post Rudder

steering apparatus of a ship that gave it much more precision in turning

Hangzhou

one of the largest and most metropolitan cities in china

a diverse population of over a million people

poetry and literature flourished 

Ibn Batutta

A muslim traveler who made it his ambition to travel all throughout dar al islam 

Kept a detailed journal of the people whose lands he visited

Kublai Khan

Ghengis khan’s grandson

founder of the yuan dynasty

Zheng He

Sailed the indian ocean under the leadership of yongle to enroll people into the chinese tribute system

Banana

crop brought to sub saharan africa by indonesian merchants

Bantu speaking natives of africa could move to regions where yams couldn't grow

Caravenseri

Little places that dotted the length of the silk roads where merchants could rest and sleep

Chinggis Khan

Born in the 12th century into a network of mongolian tribes that were fractured at war with one another

He gained a reputation for brutality and ruthlessness with his enemies 

In 1206 he was recognized as the supreme leader of a newly unified mongol nation

Mongol Army Organization

military units of 10,000, 1000, 100, and 10 to quickly and effectively control and command troops

Mongols in China

most extended and difficult mongol conquest lasting from 1209 - 1279 

brought unification and established the yuan dynasty

improved roads, built canals, and patronized scholars and artists

driven out by factionalism, the plague, and peasant rebellions by the 14th century

Mongols in Persia

civilization fell to mongol attacks

made use of their administrative system and kept many rulers in place

assimilated into this society rather than being forced out

Gunpowder Empires

Large states that relied on firearms to control the territory that they had and to expand into new territory

Gutenberg Press

Made the production of books and pamphlets much easier and as a result the european population began to experience an increase in literacy

Isabella and Ferdinand of Spain

Their marriage joined together the kingdoms of castile and aragon in 1469

Their goal was to expel the muslims and jews and purify their kingdom into a catholic state

Ivan the Terrible

Crowned in 1547

Was able to expand the russian territory even further east and took much of the land that was held by the mongols

Peter the Great

Began rule in 1682

Known for traveling to other european kingdoms in secret to learn their ways

A brutal autocrat, crushed dissent through murder 

Catherine the Great

Overthrew her husband in 1762

Strictly autocratic, quelled all dissent and rebellion

Used her sexual relations to get her way in european affairs

Brought the european enlightenment to russia

Yuan Dynasty

Established by the mongols

Overthrown in 1368

Ming Dynasty

Replaced the yuan dynasty and held power in china well into the 1600s

Qing Dynasty

The manchu seized power of china and established in 1644 

Chinese territory was significantly expanded into taiwan, mongolia, central asia, and tibet

Ottoman Empire

The largest and the greatest of all the islamic empires during this time

Established in the 1300s and lasted 600 years

Mehmed II

a ruler who led the ottomans to capture constantinople which ended the byzantine empire in 1453

Constantinople

The ottomans seized this city and changed it to istanbul

Safavid Empire

a shia religious order that sought to purify islam under safi-al-din

Shia Islam

a type of islam that believes that muhammad designated his family to lead the muslim community

Sunni Islam

a type of islam that believes that muhammad did not explicitly declare a successor

Mughal Empire

A muslim dynasty who ruled over a majority hindu population

Dominated much of india for several centuries

Babur

Founder of the Mughal Empire

When india was in disarray he completed conquest of northern India and established a central government

Akbar

The greatest leader of the mughal empire 

Under his leadership the mughal empire was one of the most prosperous and well led states in all the world

Divine Right of Kings

To challenge the king is to challenge god and no good christian wants to find themselves in the position of challenging god