APWH Unit 2: Networks of Exchange (1200-1450)

Banking Houses

Issued bills of exchange, model for modern banks

Bills of Exchange

Documents stating the holder was legally promised payment of a set amount on a set date

Caravanserai (or Caravansary)

Inns that popped up about 100 miles apart (the distance camels could go before they needed water) along the routes of the Silk Roads

Credit

An arrangement to receive cash, goods, or services now and pay for them in the future

Flying Money

a system of credit developed in China that allowed a person to deposit money at one location and withdraw it at another

Gunpowder

Invented in China in the 9th century; used in siege warfare like cannons in the Song Dynasty

Marco Polo

An Italian native who traveled to China in the late 13th century and wrote about travels

Money Economy

Using money rather than bartering with commodities like cowrie shells or salt

Porcelain

a fine blue and white ware from China

Samarkand

Located in present-day Uzbekistan in the Zeravashan River Valley, this city was a stopping point on the Silk Roads between China and the Mediterranean

Batu Khan

The son of Genghis Khan’s oldest son who led an army of 100,000 Mongolian soldiers into Russia conquering small Russian kingdoms

Chagatai Khanate

A medieval Central Asian empire and successor state to the Mongol Empire, ruled by the descendants of Genghis Khan’s son, Chagatai Khan, encompassing territories in present-day Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and parts of Tajikistan

Composite Bow

A versatile weapon that provided the Mongol calvary with superior range, accuracy, and mobility, contributing to their military dominance and conquests

Genghis Khan

Name meaning “ruler of all” given to Temujin when he was elected khan of Mongolian kingdom; also spelled Chinggis Khan

Gobi Desert

A desert in central Asia where many invaders came in to attack China

Golden Horde

Batu’s army that pushed westward through Russia and then into Europe

Goryeo Dynasty

A medieval Korean kingdom that faced multiple Mongol invasions and ultimately became a vassal state under Mongol rule

Hulegu

Grandson of Genghis Khan that took control of the southwest region into the Abbasid territories and more of the Middle East until defeat in 1260

il-Khanate

Hulegu’s medieval Mongol state that ruled of Persia, Mesopotamia, and parts of power in the 13th and 14th centuries

Khanates

The four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose after the death of Genghis Khan

Kievan Rus’

A medieval East Slavic federation of city-states and principalities that fell under Mongol domination, leading to the establishment of the Mongol-controlled state known as the Golden Horde

Kublai Khan

Grandson of Genghis Khan that sought to conquer China anf finally achieved it in 1271 and established the Yuan Dynasty

Kuriltai

Meeting of Mongol chieftains in 1206 where Temujin “Genghis Khan” was elected khan of the Mongolian Kingdom

Ming Dynasty

Chinese dynasty from 1386-1644 founded by Zhu Yuanzhang after the overthrow of the Yuan Dynasty

Moscow

Russian city-state that collected additional tributes to build an anit-Mongol coalition that defeated the Golden Horde in 1380 at the Battle of Kulikovo

Ortogh

A merchant partnered with the state and individual aristocrats in the Mongol Empire

Pax Mongolica

The period of Mongolian peace between the 13th and 14th centuries

Uyghur Script

System of writing that Genghis Khan adopted for the Mongol Empire

Yuan Dynasty

Established by Kublai Khan in 1271 and was tolerance towards various religious groups in China

Astrolabe

An instrument used to determine latitude by measuring the position of the stars

Dhow Ships

Arab ships with lateen sails; strongly influenced European ship design; facilitated trade in the Indian Ocean networks

Indian Ocean Slave Trade

Slaves from Eastern Africa were sold in northern Africa, the Middle east, and India. This led to African costumes spreading throughout these areas

Junk

Chinese sailing ship that developed during the Song Dynasty

Lateen Sail

Triangular shaped sail that could catch wind from many different directions

Magnetic Compass

Navigation tool for determining direction that allowed ships to travel without following the coast

Monsoons

Heavy winds that affected trade routes in the Indian Ocean

The Spice Islands

Term for the islands of modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia that exported spices like nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom

Stern Rudders

Invented by the Chinese and made steering ships easier and more stable

Zheng He

A Muslim admiral, entrusted by the Ming emperor Yongle with a series of seven great voyages that took his many ships through the Indian Ocean, from Southeast Asia to Africa

Caravans

Groups of people traveling together for mutual protection, often with pack animals such as camels

Camel Saddle

Saddles developed by South Arabians as the use of the camel spread

Ghana Empire

First of the great medieval trading empires of western Africa known as the Land of Gold

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time

Mali Empire

West African empire from 1235-1400 with trading cities Timbuktu and Gao

Mansa Musa

Brought Mali to its peak of power and wealth from 1312-1337; displayed Mali’s wealth during an extravagant pilgrimage to Mecca

Mecca

City in western Arabia that was the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad; ritual center of the Islamic religion and destination for pilgrimages

Sahara Desert

Large desert in northern Africa with an arid climate that made farming nearly impossible

Songhai Kingdom

An Islamic empire established in the 1400s after the decline of the Mali Empire in West Africa

Swahili City States

Thriving city-states along the east coast of Africa created by Indian Ocean trade

Timbuktu

A very wealthy and world-renowned center for Islamic learning

Trans-Saharan Trade

Route across the Sahara Desert; traded for gold and salt, created caravan routes, econmic benefit for controlling desert, camels and camel saddles were crucial in the development of these trade networks; facilitated the spread of Islam

The Bubonic Plague

Mongol conquests brought fleas that carried the bubonic plague to Asia and Europe

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of ideas, religions, and products often resulting from trade

Diaspora

Settlements of people away from their homeland arising from trade

Overgrazing

Continual eating of grasses or their roots without allowing them to regrow with led to abandoment of cities outside the Great Zimbabwe in the late 1400s

Soil Erosion

Overuse of farmland and deforestation reduced agricultural production in feudal Europe