World History and Civilizations Vocabulary Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering major historical terms, dynasties, empires, religions, and social structures across all source documents.

Delhi Sultanate

A Muslim kingdom that ruled parts of India from the 13th to the 16th centuries and was an Islamic state on the outside of the Caliphate system.

Dharma

A position and career determined by birth within the caste system.

Diaspora

Any movement of the citizens of a population sharing the same ethnic descent.

Eightfold Path

One of Buddha's teachings which outlines the path to nirvana.

Ethiopia

Christian-led African kingdom that emerged in the 12th century; known for their rock hewn churches.

Feudalism

A land system in which a king owned all the land a granted tracks to nobles in exchange for military loyalty, and nobles granted parts of their land to vassals or serfs who worked the land.

Filial Piety

A Confucian virtue of respect, obedience, and care for one's parents and elderly family members.

Forbidden City

A walled section of Beijing built in the Ming Dynasty where emperors lived between 1121 and 1911.

Four Noble Truths

Buddha's guiding principles regarding suffering.

Grand Canal

An over 1,000 mile-long transportation waterway that allowed China to be the most populous trading area in the world during the Song Dynasty.

Great Wall

A Chinese defensive fortification built during the reign of Shi Huangdi to keep out northern nomadic invaders.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful state in the African interior that emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast.

Gupta Empire

The empire that later united India following the Maurya Empire.

Han Dynasty

China's longest running dynasty.

Hausa Kingdoms

A group of small independent city-states in northern central Africa.

Hebrew Bible

Collection of sacred books containing diverse materials concerning the origins, experiences, beliefs and practices of the Israelites.

Heian Period

A period when Japan was most closely connected to and influenced by Chinese culture that lasted from 794 to 1185 CE.

House of Wisdom

An academic center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph al-Mamun.

Imperial Bureaucracy

Large organization in China in which appointed officials carried out the policies of the empire.

Inca Empire

Largest imperial state in the Americas in the 15th and 16th centuries. The empire spanned almost the entire coast of western South America.

Indian Ocean Maritime System

A trade route across the Indian Ocean and the South China Sea.

Jati

A classification within the Indian caste system.

Judaism

Oldest known monotheistic religion.

Karma

The effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation.

Kowtow

An act of deep respect shown by kneeling and bowing so low as to have one's head touching the ground.

Lao Zi

A Chinese philosopher who taught retreat from society into nature and that individuals should seek to become attuned with Dao.

Legalism

A political philosophy in China that emphasized the unruliness of human nature and justified state coercion and control. The Qin rulers and early Han rulers invoked it to validate the authoritarian nature of their regimes.

Mahayana Buddhism

Focuses on service and became popular in China and Korea.

Majapahit Kingdom

Buddhist Kingdom from 1293-1520 based on Java that gained power by controlling sea routes.

Mali

Trading empire that flourished in western Africa from the 13th to the 16th century and was known for its wealth.

Mamluks

Enslaved soldiers from the Abbasid era.

Mauryan Empire

It unified most of India into a peaceful and stable empire and expanded trade.

Mayans

Established a series of independent states and city-states in Mesoamerica.

Meritocracy

The exam system that granted Chinese officials their positions.

Mesa Verde

The largest complex of Anasazi cliff-dwellings in the United States Southwest.

Moche

A civilization near the coast of Peru that built irrigation networks and urban centers that had brick temples.

Moksha

The goal for Hindus in which you are reunited with Brahman and escape reincarnation.

Monarchies

Governments in which the supreme power is lodged in the hands of a monarch who reigns over a state or territory, usually for life and by hereditary right.

Monastic Living

A religious way of life in which one renounces worldly pursuits to devote oneself fully to spiritual work.

Monsoons

A seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia which affected trade routes.

Mudras

A hand gesture with specific meaning or significance in Indian classical sculpture and dance.

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi

Persian mathematician; one of the most celebrated Islamic scholars.

Nirvana

The state of liberation from suffering which can be achieved when an individual follows the Eightfold Path in Buddhism.

Neo-Confucianism

The revival of Confucian teachings during the Tang and Song dynasties and a subsequent synthesis of Confucianism with aspects of Buddhism and Daoism.

Oligarchy

Form of government in which a small group of elites make decisions for everyone.

Olmec

The earliest known Mexican civilizations.

Parthians

Persian dynasty based in Iran that extended into Mesopotamia.

Pataliputra

The chief political and commercial center of northern India.

Patriarchy

Society in which men hold power within the family, in governance, and/or in economics.

Polygyny

A form of polygamy in which a man has two or more wives simultaneously.

Proto-industrialization

People in rural areas producing more goods than they can sell.

Qin Dynasty

The Chinese dynasty that established the first centralized imperial government and built much of the Great Wall, Replaced the Zhou dynasty and employed legalist ideas in order to control warring states and unify the country.

Rajput Kingdoms

Hindu kingdoms that arose after the fall of the Gupta Empire.

Reciprocity

A relationship between people and state where people pay tribute in exchange for access to resources.

Reincarnation

Hindu principle in which souls pass to other beings after death.

Sanskrit

Sacred language of the Vedas in India.

Scholar Gentry

Confucian educated social class that became the most influential social class of China.

Shinto

The indigenous religion of Japan in which people believed that kami (spirits) were present in their natural surroundings.

Shiva

An important Hindu deity who in the trinity of gods was the Destroyer.

Sinhala Dynasties

Sri Lankan dynasties which were largely Buddhist.

Silk Road

A vast network of trading routes that connected the East to the West: Constantinople in Europe to Chang'an in Asia.

Song Dynasty

A Chinese imperial dynasty that ruled from 960 to 1279 that preceded the Yuan Dynasty.

Srivijaya Empire

An Indonesian Hindu sea-based empire based on the island of Sumatra, Indonesia which was an important trade center.

Sufis

A mystical Muslim group that had successful missionaries. They believed they could become closer to God through prayer, fasting, and a simple life.

Sukhothai Kingdom

A kingdom in north central Thailand from 1238 until 1438.

Swahili

Blended language that combined Bantu and Arabic languages and is still spoken today.

Syncretism

The blending of elements from more than one religion into a distinct system of worship.

Tang Dynasty

Chinese imperial dynasty which preceded the Song; one of the greatest periods of peace and prosperity in Chinese history, and it is remembered for its cultural achievements and its strong and centralized government.

Teotihuacan

A major city in Mesoamerica that was the center for cultural and religious activities.

Theater State

A state that acquires prestige and power by developing attractive cultural forms and staging elaborate public ceremonies.

Theravada Buddhism

Buddhism focused on meditation found in Southeast Asia.

Tibetan Buddhism

Form of Buddhism in Tibet centered around chanting.

Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

Networks of exchange that transformed West Africa by connecting it to the larger parts of the world.

Universalizing Religion

A religion seeking to convert others. Islam was a universalizing religion.

Urdu

A new language with elements of Hindi, Arabic, and Farsi that developed among the Muslims of South Asia.

Varnas

Warriors within the Indian caste system.

Vedas

The oldest collection of scriptures of Hinduism and religious texts in an ancient Sanskrit language.

Vijayanagara Empire

An empire in southern India between 1336 and 1646; founded by the brothers Harihara and Bukka Raya in 1336 to protect the people in the southern region from the Muslim states, or sultanates, in the north.

Vishnu

Hindu god considered the preserver of the world.

Woodblock Printing

A technique for printing text, images or patterns used widely throughout East Asia that originated in China.

Xiongnu

The Chinese name for the confederacy of Turkish-speaking peoples who were nomadic herders in Central Asia.