AP World History Unit 1 Flashcards

Flashcards covering key vocabulary and concepts from Heimler's History Unit 1 (1200-1450 CE).

State

An organized political community under one government, such as a country, empire, or nation.

Neo-Confucianism

A revived form of Confucianism that helped legitimize Song Dynasty rule due to its ancient history in China.

Civil Service Exam

A system in China where eligible men had to pass a Civil Service Exam based on Confucian classics to be part of the bureaucracy.

Filial Piety

A core concept of Confucianism emphasizing the need for children to obey and honor their parents, grandparents, and deceased ancestors.

Footbinding

The practice in elite social circles in Song China that restricted women's rights and mobility.

Four Noble Truths

The Four Noble Truths acknowledge that there is suffering in the world and desire/craving is the cause.

Eightfold Path

The Eightfold Path is the way to stop suffering.

Nirvana

The ultimate goal is to stop the cycle of reincarnation and achieve nirvana through enlightenment.

Theravada Buddhism

The original form of Buddhism with monks living in monasteries to focus on attaining enlightenment.

Mahayana Buddhism

A new form of Buddhism that traveled to East Asia, encouraging broader participation and offering help to achieve nirvana from bodhisattvas.

Champa Rice

A drought-resistant crop that matured early, increasing the amount of food available in the Song Dynasty, therefore increasing the population.

Chinese Tribute System

A system where countries acknowledged China’s superiority and gained access to trade rights; Champa rice from Vietnam entered China through this system.

Sharia Law

A legal code based on the Quran in Islamic empires.

House of Wisdom

Muslim scholars in places like the House of Wisdom in Baghdad preserved the works of Greek philosophers like Plato and Aristotle, translating them into Arabic and commenting on them.

Bhakti Hinduism

A new movement that began in the Southern part of India that emphasized devotion to one Hindu god and challenged social and gender hierarchies in Hindu India.

Delhi Sultanate

Muslims but the majority population was Hindu.

Majapahit Kingdom

A Buddhist Kingdom who maintained influence by controlling sea routes for trade, but declined when China supported its rival the Sultanate of Malacca.

Mit'a System

The Inca system that used labor for state projects like farms, mining, military service, and construction projects.

Mississippian Culture

Located in North America around the Mississippi River Valley, they focused on agriculture. Larger towns controlled smaller ones around them. They were known as mound builders

Swahili City-States

City-states that grew powerful due to Indian Ocean Trade, politically independent but influenced by merchants from Dar al-Islam. The language is a combination of Bantu and Arabic.

Feudalism

The political system of decentralized Europe where powerful lords and kings gained allegiance from lesser lords, who became their vassals. Vassals got land in exchange for military service.

Manorialism

The economic system of decentralized Europe where peasants were bound to the land where they lived and worked in exchange for a lord’s protection.

Serfdom

Those who were tied to the land were called serfs. They were not the property of the lords, but they could not leave the land without permission.