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monotheism

Belief in one God

animism

Belief that objects, such as plants and stones, or natural events, like thunderstorms and earthquakes, have a discrete spirit and conscious life.

shamanism

the practice of identifying special individuals who interact with spirits for the benefit of the community

Judaism

the monotheistic religion of the Jews.

pastoral societies

societies based around the domestication of animals

hinduism

A religion native to India, featuring belief in many gods and reincarnation

polytheism

Belief in many gods

reincarnation

The rebirth of a soul in a new body

Caste System

a set of rigid social categories that determined not only a person's occupation and economic potential, but also his or her position in society

dharma

In Hindu belief, a person's religious and moral duties

Buddha

Means "Enlightened One." He is said to have found a path for overcoming suffering. Founder of Buddhism.

Buddhism

A religion based on the teachings of the Buddha.

Theravada

A sect of Buddhism focusing on the strict spiritual discipline originally advocated by the Buddha.

Mahayana

A sect of buddhism that is more open and allows mass reincarnation

Bodhisattva

a person who has attained enlightenment but who has postponed nirvana in order to help others achieve enlightenment

Monasticism

Living in a religious community apart from secular society

Mandate of Heaven

The idea of a Chinese ruler's divine right to rule

Confucianism

The system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius, an ethnically Chinese religion

filial piety

respect for parents (Confucianism)

Zoroastrianism

The monotheistic religion of the Persians

Greco-Roman Philosophy

ideas emphasizing logic, empirical observation, and the nature of political power and hierarchy started in Classical Greece and Rome

Christianity

A religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus

syncretism

a blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith

Silk Roads

A system of ancient caravan routes across Central Asia, along which traders carried silk and other trade goods.

Trans-Saharan Trade

trade between peoples north and south of the Sahara

Indian Ocean Maritime System

A network of seaports, trade routes, and maritime culture linking countries on the rim of the Indian Ocean from Africa to Indonesia

Mediterranean Sea Lane

Trade across the Mediterranean Sea

Muhammad

Arab prophet; founder of religion of Islam.

Islam

An abrahamic religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed

Sunni

Branch of Islam believing that rulers only need to govern with his example

Shi'a

Branch of Islam believing that Muhammad's successors must be related to him

Abbasids

750-1258, the caliphate following the Umayyads that contained the Golden Age of Islam

Turkic migration

migration of Turks from Central Asia to Turkey

Seljuk Turks

nomadic Turks from Asia originating as a slave class

Crusades

A long series of wars between Christians and Muslims in Southwest Asia for the holy land

ulama

Islamic religious scholars

Sufis

Muslim mystics who seek communion with God through meditation, fasting, and other rituals

Southernization

The process of ideas originating in South Asia spreading

Mongols

People from Central Asia when united ended up creating the largest single land empire in history

Chinggis Khan

Founder of the Mongol Empire

Hulegu

Ruler of the Ilkhanate

Delhi Sultanate

The first Islamic government established within India from 1206-1520

Malacca

Trading center of Dar-al-Islam

Dar al-Islam

Islamic world

Al-Andalus/Muslim Iberia

A Muslim-ruled region in what is now Spain

Arab Agricultural Revolution

the transformation in agriculture from the 8th to the 13th century in the Islamic region of the Old World

Bhaktic cults

Hindu religious groups focusing on the worship of one god and were less focused on class

Srivijaya

A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra, Borneo, and Java.

Constantinople

Capital of the Byzantine Empire

Justinian

Byzantine emperor in the 6th century CE who was focused on conquering land

Hagia Sophia

Byzantine church built under Justinian - one of the examples of Byzantine power

Kiev

The viking rulers of the Kievan Rus

Eastern Orthodox

The Christian religion of the Byzantine Empire

Ethiopia

A Christian kingdom that developed in the highlands of eastern Africa

Copts

minority group in Egypt that practices Christianity

Sahel

Grassland south of Sahara desert

Sudanic States

States trading to north Africa and mixing Islamic and indigenous ways.

Ghana

West African state that supplied the majority of the world's gold from 500 CE-1400's

trans-Saharan caravan routes

Trading network linking North Africa with sub-Saharan Africa across the Sahara.

Mali

Empire created by indigenous Muslims in western Sudan of West Africa from the thirteenth to fifteenth century, involved with gold trade

Sundiata

Founder of the Mali empire ("the Lion Prince")

Mansa Musa

Emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa. He made a famous pilgrimage (hajj) to Mecca.

griots

Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings within the Mali Empire

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan.

Timbuktu

Mali trading city that became a center of wealth and learning

Songhay

Empire that replaced Mali in the late fifteenth century.

Sharia

Islamic law

Swahili

Bantu language with Arabic loanwords.

Mogadishu

Swahili city-state

Mombasa

Swahili city-state

Malindi

Swahili city-state

Kilwa

Swahili city-state

Zanzibar

Swahili city-state

Sofala

Swahili city-state

Benin

A kingdom of the West African rain forest

Kongo

Kingdom, based on agriculture, formed on lower Congo River by late 15th century; capital at Mbanza Kongo; ruled by hereditary monarchy.

Great Zimbabwe

City, now in ruins (in the modern African country of Zimbabwe), whose many stone structures were built between about 1250 and 1450, when it was a trading center and the capital of a large state.

Middle Ages

the years between ancient and modern times

Charlemagne

king of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor, grandson of Charles Martel

Holy Roman Empire

A medieval and early modern central European Germanic empire

Vikings

Old Norse invaders

manorialism

the economic system of feudalism

Serfs

Workers tied to the land they work ont

feudalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land

vassals

lesser lords who pledged their service and loyalty to a greater lord -- in a military capacity

Magna Carta

a document constituting a fundamental guarantee of rights and privileges.

Parliament

A body of representatives that makes laws for a nation

Hundred Years War

War between France and Britain, lasted 116 years

investiture

a ceremony in which a person formally receives the authority and symbols of an office

Hanseatic League

a commercial and defensive confederation of free cities in northern Germany and surrounding areas, trade guild

guilds

Association of merchants or artisans who cooperated to protect their economic interests

Bubonic Plague

disease brought to Europe from the Mongols during the Middle Ages. It killed 1/3 of the population and helps end Feudalism. Rats, fleas.

Little Ice Age

A century-long period of cool climate that began in the 1590s

Black Death

The bubonic plague that devastated Europe in the 1300s, reducing the population by as much as half

Romanesque

Style of church architecture using round arches, domes, thick walls, and small windows

Gothic

A style of architecture developed in northern France that spread throughout Europe between the 12th and 16th centuries

Maya city-states

City states in Mesoamerica that were part of the Maya Empire.

Toltecs

Central American society that was centered around the city of Tula

Quetzalcoatl

Toltec deity; Feathered Serpent; adopted by Aztecs as a major god

Tenochtitlan

Capital of the Aztec Empire