AP World History Chapter 12: Pastoral Peoples on the Global Stage – The Mongol Moment (1200–1500)

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms, figures, organizations, and concepts from AP World History Chapter 12 on pastoral societies and the Mongol Empire.

Alternative Economy

An economic system developed around 4000 B.C.E. on the arid margins of agricultural lands, characterized by total reliance on livestock rather than settled crop farming.

Fictive Kinship

A practice used by charismatic nomadic leaders to unite fragmented clans by designating allies as blood relatives.

Xiongnu Empire

A centralized, hierarchical nomadic empire created in the Mongolian steppes north of China during the 3rd to 2nd century B.C.E. that served as a structural model for later nomadic empires.

Modun

The charismatic ruler of the Xiongnu Empire (reigned 210–174 B.C.E.) who transformed fragmented clans into a centralized political confederation under a divinely sanctioned ruler.

Kaghan

The title of the supreme ruler of early Turkic nomadic empires (552–965 C.E.), who was supported by elite military units called "wolves."

Sultan

A Muslim political/military ruler title adopted by Seljuk Turkic leaders in the 11th–12th centuries while leaving the Abbasid caliph as a formal figurehead.

Age-Set System

A non-state social organization framework used by the East African Masai where cohorts of adolescent boys initiated via circumcision moved together through lifetime ranks or age-grades.

Temujin

The birth name of Chinggis Khan (1162–1227), who unified feuding Mongol tribes and was proclaimed universal ruler in 1206.

Kurultai

A general assembly of Mongol leaders that recognized Temujin as Chinggis Khan ("universal ruler") in 1206.

Yam System

A vast network of relay stations established by the Mongol Empire that provided swift communication, administrative messaging, and support for long-distance trade routes.

Yuan Dynasty

The Chinese dynastic title meaning "great beginnings" adopted by the Mongol conquerors of China, lasting from 1271/1279 to 1368.

Khanbalik

The newly constructed Mongol capital in China, meaning "city of the khan," located at present-day Beijing.

Hulegu

Grandson of Chinggis Khan who led the second Mongol conquest of Persia (1251–1258) and ordered the sacking of Baghdad in 1258, executing the last Abbasid caliph.

Il-Khanate

The Mongol khanate established in Persia, characterized by initial severe destruction followed by deep cultural assimilation and mass conversion to Islam.

Kipchak Khanate / Golden Horde

The Mongol empire ruling Russia, named after the Kipchak Turkic-speaking nomads, which ruled indirectly from the steppes without physically occupying Russian cities.

Pax Mongolica

A period of relative peace and international commerce created by Mongol rule across Eurasia, securing trade networks along the Silk Roads.

Karakorum

The cosmopolitan capital city of the unified Mongol Empire, which served as an administrative and commercial hub housing diverse religious and ethnic groups.

Siege of Caffa (1346)

A military conflict in which besieging Mongol forces catapulted plague-infected corpses over city walls into Genoese-controlled Caffa, accelerating the spread of the Black Death to Europe.

Shaman

Religious specialists in Mongol society who performed household rituals, communicated with spirits, predicted the future, and invoked the supreme sky god Tengri.

Tengri

The supreme sky god of Mongol spiritual belief, invoked by shamans and believed to grant political legitimacy to rulers.