Dar al-Islam

Arabs

Ethnic group native to the Arab world

Desertification

The process by which fertile land becomes desert

Camel Saddle

A supportive structure used for riding camels

Mecca

A city in Saudi Arabia, considered the holiest city in Islam, and the birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.

Mohammad

The founder of Islam and the last prophet, who is believed to have received revelations from Allah that form the basis of the Quran.

Five Pillars of Islam

Faith Prayer Charity Sawm Hajj

Hajj

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Islamic Conquests

Conquests of Islam

Kaaba

Cube that is central to the Hajj

Jizya

Tax of Islamic governments

Women in Islam

Treated spiritually equal to men in Islam

Dar al-Islam

The house of Islam

Islamic Golden Age

800-1258 BCE

Abbasid Caliphate

The third Islamic Caliphate

House of Wisdom

A grand library with knowledge from many Islamic Scholars

Patronage

System of loyalty to Islam

Baghdad

Where the house of wisdom was

Caliph/Caliphate

A Muslim ruler and land ruled by a Caliph

Sultan/Sultanate

A Muslim ruling

Al-Khwarizmi

Muslim mathematician who created Algebra and used Hindu’s number system

A’isha al-Ba’uniyyah

Famous female poet in Islam

Ibn Khaldun

14th century Arab Scholar

Avicenna

Persian polymath and physician

Ibn Battuta

Morrocan explorer

Alhambra

Fortress complex built in Islam

Dome of the Rock

Mosque in Jereusalam

Sharia Law

Religous Islamic Law

Sunni-Shia Split

Split of Islam

Shia Islam

Smaller branch that resulted from the Sunni Shia Split

Turks

Nomads that came to Islam and gained power

Mamluks

Descendants of non-Arab slaves that became warriors under Islam

Seljuks

A member of Turkish dynasties in 13th Century

Islamic Merchants

Merchants from Islamic origin

Sufism/Sufis

Tradition rooted in Islam, Sufis practice Sufism

Asceticism

The focus on the divine

Jihad

A struggle between Islam and its enemies

Trans-Saharan Trade

Trade that spanned across the Saharan

Salt Trade

Trade of salt that has gained great value during the control of Islamic Caliphates

Caravanserai

Inns that spread across the Sahara

Syncretism

The process of combing things, in this context is Islamic culture with whatever it crossed paths with

Mali

A country in West Africa

Mansa Musa

Richest man in history, transformed Mali into a great kingdom

Timbuktu

Ancient city in Mali, the capital

Great Mosque of Djenne

Largest brick building in the world, located in Mali

Trans-Saharan Slave Trade

Slave trade that spanned across the Sahara

Reincarnation

The process of you coming back in a new form after death

Hinduism

A religion that’s prominent in south Asia

Caste System

Hierarchy based on your past life’s karma

Untouchables

People with such bad karma they are outside of society

Buddhism

A belief founded in North Asia

Vedic Religions

Religion that emerged among Indo-Aryan populations

Vedas

Sacred scriptures of Hinduism

Jerusalem

Holy city in the three Abrahamic religions

Temple Mount

Site where one of the two temples of Jerusalem once stood

Vatican

The pope

Pope

Highest authority in the Catholic Church

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

One of the oldest branches of Christianity

Great Schism of 1054

The fall of Rome and basically Christianity too

Constantinople

Capital of the Roman Empire

Hagia Sophia

A grand mosque in Turkey

Daoism/Toaism

Chinese religious/philosophical tradition

Confucianism

Ancient Chinese system based on ethics

Five Key Relationships

Ruler and Subject, Father and Son, Elder and Younger Brother, Husband and Wife, and Friend and Friend

Ancestor Worship

Worship of ancestors

Venerate

To honor something

Filial Piety

Virtue of showing love

Foot Binding

The binding of women’s feet at young ages to make them small

Women in Confucian Society

Due to hold up patriarchal standards

Mandate of Heaven

Political doctrine stating rulers are legitimate via heaven

Dynasty

A kingdom

Codify

To arrange laws

Song Dynasty

Imperial dynasty of China that ruled 960-1279 BCE

Chinese Golden Age

The time of which the Song Dynasty ruled

Commercialized

Designed for financial gain

Bureaucracy

A system of government of which state officials make important decisions not elected representatives

Scholar Gentry

Social class composed of educated elites

Mandarins

Chinese officials