AP World History: World Regions, Trade Networks, and Empires Review

Vocabulary practice flashcards covering trade networks, East Asian dynasties, the Islamic world, South/Southeast Asian kingdoms, and African societies from Chapters 7, 8, and 9.

Afro-Eurasia

The largest landmass, home to Africa, Europe, and Asia, where modern humans developed new agricultural processes and complex trade networks like the Silk Road.

Silk Road Trade

Overland trade routes connecting East Asia to Europe and the Middle East, primarily carrying high-value luxury goods like silk and porcelain.

Indian Ocean Trade

Maritime trade network connecting East Africa, Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia, relying on monsoon wind patterns to transport bulk goods like spices, timber, and textiles.

Trans-Saharan Trade

North-South African trade across the Sahara desert utilizing camel caravans, centered heavily on the exchange of gold, salt, and enslaved people.

Astrolobe

A navigation tool that measures the angle of stars and the sun above the horizon, allowing navigators to calculate their precise latitude at sea.

Compass

A magnetic navigation device originating in China that enabled sailors to determine direction regardless of weather.

Junks

Large, sturdy Chinese ocean-going ships featuring sternpost rudders and multi-masted lateen or battened sails designed for long-distance stability and high cargo capacity.

Srivijaya

A dominant maritime empire based in Sumatra that controlled and regulated trade between India and China.

Diasporic Communities

Settlements by merchant groups (such as Arab, Persian, Chinese, or Malay traders) living in foreign ports, introducing their native cultures, religions, and business practices to local populations.

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant who traveled the Silk Road to Yuan Dynasty China, serving in Khubilai Khan's court and publishing journals that sparked intense European interest in Asian luxury goods.

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Islamic scholar and traveler who logged over 73,000 miles across Afro-Eurasia, documenting the practice of Islam, governance, and culture throughout the Dar al-Islam.

Black Death / Bubonic Plague

Deadly pandemic that spread rapidly along Afro-Eurasian trade routes in the 14th century, causing population declines, labor shortages, migration, or conquest.

Syncretism

The blending or merging of different cultural, religious, or philosophical practices when groups interact through trade, migration, or conquest.

Tang Dynasty

A powerful imperial dynasty ruling China from 618 to 907 AD, organized around six major ministries and civil service exams, regarded as a golden age of arts and literature.

Song Dynasty

An imperial dynasty ruling China from 960 to 1279 CE that experienced an economic revolution, rapid population growth, and centralized civilian bureaucracy before falling to the Yuan Dynasty.

Mandate of Heaven

An ancient Chinese political doctrine justifying a ruler's authority based on heavenly approval, allowing corrupt or tyrannical rulers to be overthrown if Heaven withdraws its favor.

Examination System

A civil service testing system used in China to select state bureaucrats based on academic merit and knowledge of Confucian texts rather than aristocratic birth.

Tribute System

A hierarchical structure of relations centered on imperial China where neighboring regions exchanged goods and acknowledged Chinese supremacy.

Legalism

A strict political philosophy emphasizing clear laws, harsh punishments, and total authority to maintain social order, famously used by the Qin Dynasty.

Daoism

A Chinese philosophy centered on living in harmony with the Dao, prioritizing balance over rigid social structures.

Confucianism

A system of ethics focused on social harmony, moral leadership, filial piety, respect for hierarchy, and proper conduct within five core relationships.

Empress Wu

The only female emperor of China, who actively patronized Buddhism to legitimize her rule and counter traditional Confucian opposition to female leadership.

Emperor Wuzong

Tang dynasty emperor who launched anti-Buddhist persecutions in the 840s, seizing monastic wealth and restoring Confucianism as the primary ideology.

Neo-Confucianism

A revival of Confucian thought during the Song Dynasty that incorporated metaphysical elements from Daoism and Buddhism into a unified moral framework.

Champa Rice

A fast-ripening and drought-resistant rice introduced to China from Vietnam, allowing two harvests per season and driving massive population growth.

Filial Piety

A core Confucian belief emphasizing deep respect, obedience, and devotion to one's parents and ancestors.

Footbinding

A social practice in Song Dynasty China involving tightly binding women's feet to symbolize wealth and status while restricting mobility to reinforce patriarchal control.

Sinification

The process where neighboring regions like Korea, Japan, and Vietnam adopted Chinese culture, writing, governance, and religious practices like Buddhism and Confucianism.

Feudal Society in Japan

The hierarchical social pyramid of feudal Japan, structured from top to bottom as Emperor, Shogun, Daimyo, Samurai, Peasants, Artisans, and Merchants.

Bedouin

Nomadic Arab pastoralists of the Arabian Peninsula whose tribal culture, trade networks, and military skills formed the foundation for early Islamic expansion.

Islam

A monotheistic faith meaning 'submission' to the will of God (Allah), founded in the 7th century CE by the prophet Muhammad.

Quran

The holy book of Islam, considered by Muslims to be the literal word of God as revealed to Muhammad through the Angel Gabriel.

Five Pillars of Islam

The core religious duties required of Muslims: declaration of faith, daily prayer, charity, fasting during Ramadan, and pilgrimage to Mecca.

Caliph

The supreme political and religious leader of the Islamic community following the death of Muhammad.

Sharia Law

The Islamic legal system derived from the Quran and Hadith regulating both public and private life.

House of Wisdom

A major intellectual center in Baghdad during the Abbasid Golden Age where classical Greek, Persian, and Indian texts were translated into Arabic.

Nasir al-din Tusi

A 13th-century Persian polymath and astronomer associated with the Maragha observatory whose mathematical innovations later influenced Copernicus.

Sufis

Mystical practitioners of Islam who focused on a personal experience of the divine through asceticism, chanting, and poetry, helping spread Islam peacefully.

Crusades

A series of religious and military campaigns initiated by Latin Christian Europe starting in 1095 to retake Jerusalem and the Holy Land from Muslim rule.

Indian Caste System

A rigid hereditary social stratification system rooted in Hindu religious texts and the varna framework (Brahmins, Kshatriyas, Vaishyas, Shudras, and Dalits).

Delhi Sultanate

A collection of successive Muslim dynasties starting in 1206 based in Delhi that introduced Islamic administrative structures and Indo-Islamic architecture to India.

Vijayanagara Empire

A powerful Hindu empire in southern India founded in 1336 that acted as a bulwark against northern sultanates, famed for its capital at Hampi.

Bhakti Movement

A devotional Hindu reform movement emphasizing a personal bond with a deity, bypassing rigid ritualism and caste barriers.

Majapahit

A powerful maritime empire based on the island of Java that reached its peak in the 14th century, controlling Southeast Asian trade routes.

Khmer Empire

A dominant Hindu-Buddhist empire in mainland Southeast Asia known for its sophisticated water-management systems and Angkor Wat.

Bantu Migrations

A centuries-long movement of Bantu-speaking peoples across Sub-Saharan Africa, spreading agricultural techniques, ironworking, and language.

Swahili Language

A Bantu language heavily influenced by Arabic vocabulary that developed as a trade language along the East African coast.