AP World History Vocab: Unit 1

belief system

a set of principles or tenets which together form the basis of a religion, philosophy, or moral code; value system

Buddhism

a spiritual philosophy and religion, founded in the sixth century BCE by Siddhartha Gautama and widespread in Asia, that eaches release from the self and from one’s earthly desires

bureaucracy

an organized group of hired officials, especially governmental; office

caliphate

state ruled by a caliph, a Muslim ruler who is both the ruler of a state and the leader of an entire ummah (an Arabic word referring to the entire Muslim community)

causation

the act or process of causing (to make happen; creating or influencing); reason, motivation, source

Christianity

a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ

claim testers

strategies to decide whether a story or concept should or should not be trusted

Confucianism

the ethical teachings of Confucius, which emphasize reverence for ancestors, devotion to family and friends, cultivation and discipline of the mind, and social responsibility

consequence

that which follows; result, effect, outcome

contextualize

to put into a context, or provide a context for; context = the set of circumstances or events in which a particular event occurs; situation, research, consider

continuity

things that are constant over time; something in an uninterrupted state; cohesion

dynasty

a succession, lasting several generations, of rulers from the same family or group; empire, regime

evidence

knowledge on which to base belief; that which constitutes proof of something; demonstration, proof, testimony, indication

feudalism

a system of economic and political organization, as in Europe in the medieval period, in which landholding lords granted lands to vassals in return for service and homage; manorialism

hajj

the pilgrimage to Mecca that every Muslim is expected to make at least once during Dhul al-Hijjah; pilgrimage

hierarchy

a body of persons or entities graded according to rank or level of authority; ranking, classification

innovation

the act of proposing or implementing a new method, approach, idea, or the like; improvement, modernization

Islam

a monotheistic religion based on the teaching of the prophet Muhammad as set forth in the Qur’an

Judaism

a monotheistic religion based on the spiritual and ethical principles in the Hebrew Scriptures (Old Testament) and the Talmud

matrilineal

pertaining to tracing one’s heritage and ancestry through the mother’s family

narrative

an account, description, or story, or the oral or written work containing such material; account, narration, story, tale

perspective

a visual or mental view, as of a scene or a subject and the interrelationships of its parts or facts; point of view, viewpoint, mindset

polytheistic

the belief in more than one god

ritual

an established and prescribed procedure for a ceremony, especially a religious one; ceremony, custom, practice

scale

the degree, extent, or level of something; size, extent

serf

agricultural laborers who cannot leave their land and are heavily taxed by a lord or king

sourcing

the act of understanding who wrote a document, where they wrote it, and why they wrote it, for the purposes of analysis or interpretation; contextualization

state

the population of a specific area unified under a single government; nation

tribute

payment given by a subordinate person or power to a dominant one, or an obligation to do so; tax