World History to 1500- Final Exam

Diocletian

Roman emperor who reigned from 284 to 305 C.E.

Constantine

Roman emperor who reigned from 306 to 337 C.E. and who moved the capital of the empire from Rome to Constantinople

Council of Nicaea

An assembly of leading theologians that convened in the city of Nicea in 325 to determine the orthodox position of the Church on a range of contentious theological matters

Theodosius

Emperor of the Roman Empire who made Christianity the official religion of the empire.

St. Augustine

354-430 C.E. Bishop of the North African diocese of Hippo, and one of the leading intellectuals of the Late Roman Empire

Manichaeism

Religion founded by the prophet Mani in the third century C.E., a syncretic version of Zoroastrian, Christian, and Buddhist elements.

Period of Disunity

(220 - 589 AD) barbarians take over - a lot of fighting; buddhism spreads; rice replaces wheat (easy to grow); china becomes vegetable and rice people

Equal Field System

This Chinese system allotted land to individuals and their families according to the land's fertility and the recipients' needs.

Tang Dynasty

a powerful dynasty that ruled China from 618 to 907 C.E.

Song Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (960-1279) that was marked by an increasingly urbanized and cosmopolitan society.

Silk Road

An extensive network of trade routes that linked much of Eurasia with North Africa during the Classical Period

Tang Taizong

Chinese emperor (r. 627-649) who founded the Tang dynasty (618-907).

Empress Wu

the only woman to rule China in her own name, expanded the empire and supported Buddhism during the Tang Dynasty.

Neo-Confucianism

Philosophy that attempted to merge certain basic elements of Confucian and Buddhist thought; most important of the early Neo-Confucianists was the Chinese thinker Zhu Xi (1130-1200).

Zhu Xi

Neo-Confucian Chinese philosopher (1130-1200).

Prophet Mohammed

Prophet of Islam (570-632)

Koran

Islamic holy book that is believed to contain the divine revelations of Allah as presented to Muhammed

Five Pillars

The foundation of Islam; (1) profession of faith, (2) prayer, (3) fasting during Ramadan, (4) alms, and (5) pilgrimage, or hajj.

Hijra/Hegira

Muhammad's migration from Mecca to Medina in 622, which is the beginning point of the Islamic calendar and is considered to mark the beginning of the Islamic faith.

umma

Islamic term for the "community of the faithful"

Sharia

The Islamic holy law, drawn up by theologians from the Quran and accounts of Muhammad's life.

Abu Bakr

first caliph after death of Muhammad

Caliph

"Deputy," Islamic leader after the death of Muhammad

Sunni

"Traditionalists," the most popular branch of Islam; Sunnis believe in the legitimacy of the early caliphs, compared to the Shiite belief that only a descendant of Ali can lead.

Shia

Islamic minority in opposition to the Sunni majority; their belief is that leadership should reside in the line descended from Ali.

Abbasid Caliphate

Cosmopolitan Arabic Dynasty (750-1258) that replaced the Umayyads; founded by Abu al-Abbas and reached its peak under Hard al- Rashid

Mayans

1500 B.C. to 900 A.D. This is the most advanced civilization of the time in the Western Hempishere. Famous for its awe-inspiring temples, pyramids and cities. A complex social and political order.

Al-Andalus

Islamic Spain

Popul Vuh

Mayan creation epic

Blood-Letting Rituals

Ritual involving the shedding of human blood as a form of sacrifice to the gods, practiced by the Maya and Aztecs amongst many other societies

Inca

Powerful South American empire that would reach its peak in the fifteenth century during the reigns of Pachacuti Inca and Topa Inca.

Quipu

Incan mnemonic aid comprised of different-colored strings and knots that served to record events in the absence of a written text.

Teotihuacan

Central American society (200 B.C.E.-750 C.E.); its Pyramid of the Sun was the largest structure in Mesoamerica.

Olmecs

Early Mesoamerican society (1200-100 b.c.e.) that centered on sites at San Lorenzo, La Venta, and Tres Zapotes and that influenced later Maya.

Toltecs

Central American society that was centered on the city of Tula

Mexica/Aztecs

Nahuatl-speaking people from the Valley of Mexico who were the rulers of the Aztec Empire

Hernan Cortes

1485-1547, Spanish conquistador who's military expeditions led to the fall of the Aztec Empire

Tenochtitlan

Capital of the Aztec empire, later Mexico City.

Huitzilopochtli

Sun god and patron deity of the Aztecs

Francisco Pizarro

Spanish conquistador who conquered the Incan Empire

La Malinche (Dona Marina)

native woman who translated for Hernán Cortés and later became his mistress; revealed the location of a group who was plotting to overthrow Cortés and his men, the people in this group were killed (known as a traitor)

Mound Builders/Cahokia

Large structure in modern Illinois that was constructed by the mound building peoples; it was the third largest structure in the Americas before the arrival of the Europeans

Chinggis Khan

Founder and first Kahn (emperor) of the Mongul Empire, which became the largest contiguous land empire in the history of the world up to that time

Khubilai Khan

Reigned in China after establishing the Yuan Dynasty; he actively promoted Buddhism; grandson of Chinggis Khan.

Yuan Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (1279-1368) that was founded by the Mongol ruler Khubilai Khan.

Marco Polo

1254-1324 C.E. Italian merchant whose account of his travels to China and other lands became legendary

Golden Horde

Mongul tribe that controlled Russia from the thirteenth to the fifteenth century

Tamerlane/Timur

1336-1405 C.E. Also known as Timur. Founder of the Timurid Empire in Modern Day Iran and Central Asia

Ming Dynasty

Chinese dynasty (1368-1644) founded by Hongwu and known for its cultural brilliance.

Zheng He

1371-1433 Chinese mariner, explorer, and admiral during the early Ming Dynasty who traveled as far as Malindi in East Africa

Hongwu Emperor

1328 - 1398 C.E. Personal name Zhu Yuanzhang, was the founding emperor of the Ming Dynasty in China. Reigned 1368-1398

Yongle Emperor

Chinese Ming emperor (r. 1403-1424) who pushed for foreign exploration and promoted cultural achievements such as the Yongle Encyclopedia.

Clovis

5th century Frankish leader of a large kingdom who converted to Christianity

Charlemagne

Ruler of the European Carolingian Empire from 748-814 C.E.

missi dominici

"Envoys of the lord ruler," the noble and church emissaries sent out by Charlemagne.

Vikings

A group that raided the British Isles from their home at Vik in southern Norway

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

Manorialism

Economic system during the Middle Ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land.

merchant/craft guilds

-During Middle Ages -Organized to produce and sell goods of highest quality -Forerunners of present day labor unions

Pope Innocent III

(c. 1160-1216) one of the most powerful and influential popes in history; exerted wide influence over the Christian regimes of Europe, claiming supremacy. Called upon Christian forces to begin The Fourth Crusade (crusaders ended up sacking Constantinople)

St. Francis

Italian saint who founded the Franciscan order of friars; treated all creatures, including animals, as spiritual brothers and sisters; born to wealthy merchant family and willingly gave up a life of comfort

St. Benedict

founded a community of monks for which he wrote a set of rules and came to be the standard in the Catholic Church and used by other groups of monks

St. Dominic

He established an order which combined the rule of poverty and the practice of mendicancy with careful study and informed preaching

Pope Gregory VII

the pope who wanted to make the Church independent of secular rulers

Investiture Controversy

One aspect of the medieval European church versus state controversy, the granting of church offices by a lay leader.

Crusades

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

Magna Carta

the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215

Pope St. Gregory I

Important Pope whose papacy lasted from 590-604, well-known for his prolific writings

"courtly love"

An idealized and often illicit form of love celebrated in the literature of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance in which a knight or courtier devotes himself to a noblewoman who is usually married and feigns indifference to preserve her reputation.

Sundiata

Founder of the Mali Empire (r. 1230-1255) also the inspiration for the Sundial, an African literacy and mythological work

Kingdom of Ghana

Kingdom in west Africa during the fifth through the thirteenth century whose rulers eventually converted to Islam; its power and wealth was based on dominating trans-Saharan trade.

Empire of Mali

west african kingdom founded in the thirteenth century by sundiata, reached its peak during the reign of mansa musa;

Mansa Musa

Reigned 1312-1337 C.E. Ruler of the wealthy and powerful Mali Empire in West Africa

Swahili Coast

East African city-states society that dominated from Mogadishu to Kiowa and participated in Indian Ocean trade. Also a Bantu language of East Africa, or a member of a group who speaks this language.

Kilwa

one of many trading cities on the East African coast

Zanj Revolt

These people were slaves working in south Mesopotamia. In 869, a rebel slave called Ali bin Muhammad led a revolt against Abbasid overlords. The Abbasid rulers only attempted to quash the rebellion in 879 and succeeded entirely in 1883, killing bin Muhammad and the other leaders.

Ibn Battuta

Born 1304 in Morocco. Was the greatest Muslim traveler of his time. He covered 75,000 miles and visited almost every Muslim country and China

"Travels in Asia and Africa"

Written by Ibn Battuta

How everyone in an African city lived

Hated the Sultan (ruler) because he was poor

Shocked there was no patriarchy

Great Zimbabwe

Former colony of Southern Rhodesia that gained independence in 1980

Black Death

A deadly plague that swept through Europe between 1347 and 1351

Petrarch

(1304-1374) Father of the Renaissance. He believed the first two centuries of the Roman Empire to represent the peak in the development of human civilization.

Machiavelli

Renaissance writer; formerly a politician, wrote The Prince, a work on ethics and government, describing how rulers maintain power by methods that ignore right or wrong; accepted the philosophy that "the end justifies the means."

Renaissance humanism

• "rebirth" of Greek & Roman ideas• secular (worldly; not religious)• focused on individuals

Prince Henry the Navigator

(1394-1460) Prince of Portugal who established an observatory and school of navigation at Sagres and directed voyages that spurred the growth of Portugal's colonial empire.

Vasco da Gama

the first European to reach India by sea sailing around the tip of Africa.

Christopher Columbus

1451-1506 Italian explorer and navigator who made four transatlantic voyages to the islands off North America, which in turn opened the way for European colonization of the Americas

Mahmud of Ghazni

Third ruler of Turkish slave dynasty in Afghanistan; led invasions of northern India; credited with sacking one of wealthiest of Hindu temples in northern India; gave Muslims reputation for intolerance and aggression.

Iltutmish

A 13th century Islamic ruler, founder of the Delhi Sultanate in India

Delhi Sultanate

The first Islamic government established within India from 1206-1520. Controled a small area of northern India and was centered in Delhi.

Seljuk Turks

nomadic Turks from Asia who conquered Baghdad in 1055 and allowed the caliph to remain only as a religious leader. they governed strictly

Ottoman Empire

Powerful Turkish empire that lasted from the conquest of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 until 1918 and reached its peak during the reign of Süleyman the Magnificent (r. 1520-1566).

Justinian

Important early emperor of the Byzantine Empire, who reigned from 537-565 C.E.

Belisarius

One of Justinian's most important military commanders during period of reconquest of western Europe; commanded in north Africa and Italy

Hagia Sophia

Massive Christian church constructed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and later converted into a mosque

Theme System

Found in Byzantium. Strengthened the free peasantry by making land available to those who performed military service.

Iconoclastic Controversy

The conflict over the veneration of religious images in the Byzantine Empire

caesaropapism

Concept relating to the mixing of political and religious authority, as with the Roman emperors, that was central to the church versus state controversy in medieval Europe.