AP World History Unit 1-2

Historical Processes

A series of events, transformations, and interactions that shape cultures and societies over time

Cross-Cultural Interactions

Involving two or more different cultures and their ideas and customs

Facilitated

To make something easier or more likely to happen

Legitimize

To make something that is not fair or honest seem acceptable

Nomads

A member of a people having no permanent abode, and who travel from place to place to find fresh pasture for their livestock

Encomienda

A grant by the Spanish crown to a colonist in America conferring the right to demand tribute and forced labor from the Indian inhabitants of an area

Autonomous

(of a country or region) having the freedom to govern itself or control its own affairs

“The federation included 16 autonomous republics”

Precipitated

Cause (an event or situation, typically one that is bad or undesirable) to happen suddenly, unexpectedly, or prematurely

Egalitarianism

The doctrine that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities

First Crusade

1096-1099, capture of Jerusalem

Monasticism

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

Feudalism

A political and economic system used during the Middle Ages where lords granted land to vassals in exchange for military service and loyalty.

Serfdom

A condition in medieval Europe in which a tenant farmer was bound to a hereditary plot of land and to the will of his landlord.

Franks

A member of a Germanic-speaking people who invaded the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century.

Khanates

When Genghis Khan died, the Mongol Empire split up into four khanates: the Golden Horde , the Great Khanate (or Yuan Dynasty ), the Ilkhanate , and the Chagatai khanate . A khanate was a political entity ruled by a leader or ruler, known as the khan, who was similar to a king or emperor.

Sunni

The Sunni faith grew out of recognizing Abu Bakr and the following three Caliphs of Umar, Uthman, and Ali as the Four Rightly Guided Caliphs. Sunnis believe that blood relations shouldn't determine the umma's leader, but that it should be determined by competence and strength.