key examples

Dar al-Islam

A cultural and religious region encompassing Muslim-majority lands, facilitating trade, scholarship, and the spread of Islam.

House of Wisdom

A major intellectual center in Baghdad where scholars translated Greek, Persian, and Indian texts into Arabic.

Madrasa

Islamic institutions of higher learning that taught theology, law, and the sciences.

Delhi Sultanate

A Muslim empire established in northern India in 1206, blending Islamic and South Asian culture.

Bhakti Movement

A Hindu devotional movement that emphasized personal devotion to deities, countering rigid caste practices.

Feudalism (Europe)

A decentralized system of landholding in medieval Europe where lords gave land to vassals in return for service.

Manorial System

The economic system of medieval Europe where peasants worked on lords' estates in exchange for protection.

Champa Rice

A fast-growing rice from Vietnam that helped expand agriculture and population in Song China.

Foot Binding

A Chinese custom of tightly binding girls' feet to limit growth, symbolizing status and female subordination.

Neo-Confucianism

A syncretic blend of Confucianism with Buddhist and Daoist elements during the Song Dynasty.

Samurai

A warrior class in feudal Japan who served daimyo and followed the Bushido code.

Shogunate

A military government in Japan led by the shogun, with the emperor as a figurehead.

Swahili City-States

Wealthy trading cities on the East African coast that engaged in Indian Ocean trade and adopted Islam.

Great Zimbabwe

A powerful African kingdom known for its stone architecture and participation in trade networks.

Griot

West African oral historians who preserved cultural traditions and genealogies.

Silk Roads

Overland trade routes connecting East Asia to the Mediterranean, facilitating the movement of goods, ideas, and religions.

Caravanserai

Roadside inns along trade routes where merchants and animals could rest, promoting long-distance trade.

Flying Cash

A form of credit used in Tang and Song China, allowing merchants to deposit and withdraw money across cities.

Bills of Exchange

Early forms of credit used in medieval Europe to facilitate trade without physical money.

Lateen Sail

Triangular sail that allowed ships to tack against the wind, crucial for Indian Ocean trade.

Astrolabe

Navigational instrument used by Muslims and Europeans to determine latitude using stars.

Magnetic Compass

A Chinese innovation that enabled more accurate maritime navigation.

Mongol Relay Stations (Yam)

A postal system across the Mongol Empire that allowed for rapid communication and trade.

Marco Polo

A Venetian merchant whose travels to China under the Yuan Dynasty became widely read in Europe.

Ibn Battuta

A Moroccan scholar who traveled extensively through Dar al-Islam, documenting cultural diversity.

Black Death

A bubonic plague that spread through Eurasia via trade routes, decimating populations.

Ottoman Devshirme

A system where Christian boys were taken, converted to Islam, and trained for military or bureaucratic service.

Janissaries

Elite Ottoman infantry units formed through the devshirme, loyal only to the sultan.

Suleiman the Magnificent

The most powerful Ottoman sultan who expanded the empire and reformed laws.

Safavid Empire

A Shia Muslim empire in Persia that clashed with the Sunni Ottomans.

Shah Abbas I

A ruler of the Safavid Empire who modernized the military and fostered arts and trade.

Mughal Zamindars

Local landowners who collected taxes for the Mughal state, sometimes gaining significant power.

Akbar the Great

A Mughal emperor known for religious tolerance and administrative reforms.

Taj Mahal

A Mughal architectural masterpiece blending Islamic, Persian, and Indian styles.

Chinese Civil Service Exam

A Confucian-based test system used to recruit bureaucrats, revived under the Ming and Qing.

Qing Queue Order

A mandate requiring Han Chinese men to wear Manchu-style queues as a symbol of submission.

Tokugawa Shogunate

A feudal military government in Japan that isolated the country and maintained peace for centuries.

Daimyo

Powerful Japanese lords under the shogunate who controlled vast lands and private armies.

Gunpowder Empires

Ottoman, Safavid, and Mughal states that used firearms to build and maintain power.

Columbian Exchange

The global transfer of plants, animals, and diseases between the Old and New Worlds.

Caravel

A small, fast ship developed by the Portuguese that was highly maneuverable for oceanic voyages.

Encomienda System

A labor system where Spanish settlers forced Indigenous people to work in exchange for 'protection.'

Hacienda

Large estates in the Americas that used Indigenous and African labor for agriculture.

Atlantic Slave Trade

The forced migration of Africans to the Americas, forming the largest forced labor system in history.

Triangular Trade

A three-part trade route linking Europe, Africa, and the Americas through slaves, raw materials, and goods.

Mercantilism

An economic theory where nations sought to accumulate wealth by controlling trade and colonies.

Joint-Stock Company

A business model where investors shared profits and risks, used by companies like the Dutch East India Company.

British East India Company

A powerful trading corporation that eventually took over governance in parts of India.

Vodun

A syncretic Afro-Caribbean religion blending African traditions with Catholicism.

Creole

A mixed-race population and culture in the Americas, often formed by European and African ancestry.

Casta System

A social hierarchy in colonial Latin America based on race and birthplace.

Mita System

A labor draft originally used by the Inca, repurposed by Spanish colonizers for silver mining in Potosí.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement emphasizing reason, liberty, and individual rights, fueling revolutions.

Declaration of the Rights of Man

A French revolutionary document affirming equality and liberty.

Haitian Revolution

The first successful slave revolt, resulting in Haiti's independence from France in 1804.

Simon Bolivar

A Latin American revolutionary who led independence movements across South America.

Industrial Revolution

A period of rapid technological and industrial development beginning in Britain.

Bessemer Process

A steel-making method that revolutionized construction and manufacturing.

Factory System

A method of production where workers and machines were centralized in large buildings.

Textile Mills

The first major industry of the Industrial Revolution, driven by inventions like the spinning jenny.

Luddites

English workers who destroyed machinery in protest of industrial job losses.

Socialism

An economic ideology advocating collective ownership and welfare of the working class.

Meiji Restoration

A political revolution in Japan that restored imperial rule and began rapid modernization.

Tanzimat Reforms

Ottoman attempts to modernize military, law, and education to compete with Western powers.

White Man's Burden

A racist justification for imperialism claiming it was Europe's duty to civilize others.

Berlin Conference (1884)

A meeting of European powers to divide Africa without African input.

Cecil Rhodes

British imperialist who promoted expansion in southern Africa, especially for mining.

Zulus

A powerful South African kingdom that resisted British colonization under Shaka Zulu.

Sepoy Rebellion (1857)

An Indian uprising against British rule, partly due to religious insensitivity.

Opium Wars

Conflicts between Britain and China over trade rights and opium imports, leading to Chinese defeats.

Treaty of Nanking

The treaty that ended the First Opium War, ceding Hong Kong to Britain and opening ports.

Self-Strengthening Movement

Chinese reforms aimed at modernizing the military and economy while preserving Confucian values.

Boxer Rebellion

A Chinese nationalist uprising against foreign influence, crushed by an international coalition.

Congo Free State

King Leopold II's brutal private colony in Africa, marked by exploitation and atrocities.

Total War

A war strategy where nations devote all resources to the war effort, affecting civilians and economies.

Trench Warfare

A type of combat in WWI characterized by dug-in positions and high casualties.

Battle of the Somme

One of WWI's bloodiest battles, showing the horrors and stalemates of trench warfare.

Treaty of Versailles

The post-WWI treaty that punished Germany with reparations and territorial losses.

League of Nations

An international organization formed after WWI to prevent wars, ultimately ineffective.

Fascism

A nationalist, authoritarian ideology seen in Mussolini's Italy and Hitler's Germany.

Great Depression

A global economic collapse starting in 1929, deepening social unrest and extremism.

Five-Year Plans

Stalin's economic plans to industrialize the USSR rapidly, often at great human cost.

Holocaust

The genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany.

Hiroshima and Nagasaki

Japanese cities destroyed by U.S. atomic bombs in 1945, ending WWII in the Pacific.

Marshall Plan

U.S. aid program to rebuild Western Europe and resist communism.

NATO

A Western military alliance formed to counter Soviet power during the Cold War.

Warsaw Pact

A Soviet-led alliance of communist nations formed in response to NATO.

Non-Aligned Movement

A group of states that remained neutral during the Cold War, including India and Yugoslavia.

Partition of India

The division of British India into India and Pakistan, leading to mass migration and violence.

Algerian War of Independence

A violent struggle against French colonial rule that led to Algerian independence in 1962.

Kwame Nkrumah

Leader of Ghana and a pioneer of African independence and pan-Africanism.

Green Revolution

The spread of high-yield crops and agricultural technologies, especially in Asia and Latin America.

Neoliberalism

Economic policies promoting free markets, privatization, and reduced government spending.

World Trade Organization (WTO)

An international body that regulates global trade.

Climate Change

The long-term alteration of Earth's climate, driven largely by industrial activity.

Digital Revolution

The rise of computers and the internet, transforming communication and economies.

Social Media

Digital platforms enabling instant global communication and political mobilization.

COVID-19 Pandemic

A global health crisis beginning in 2019 that disrupted economies and accelerated digitalization.