AP World Unit 3 Vocabulary

Gunpowder Empires

Large multiethnic states in Southwest, Central, and South Asia that relied on firearms to conquer and control their territories.

Gutenberg printing press

Invented by Johannes Gutenberg in 1455; it was used to spread ideas of the Reformation and the Renaissance; first document printed was the Bible; led to the growth of literacy.

Ivan the Terrible (Ivan IV)

(1533-1584) Earned his nickname for his great acts of cruelty directed toward all those with whom he disagreed, even killing his own son. He became the first ruler to assume the title Czar of all Russia.

Ming Dynasty

Succeeded Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1368; lasted until 1644; initially mounted huge trade expeditions to southern Asia and elsewhere, but later concentrated efforts on internal development within China.

Qing Dynasty

(1644-1911 CE), the last imperial dynasty of China which was overthrown by revolutionaries; was ruled by the Manchu people: began to isolate themselves from western culture.

Emperor Qianlong

Chinese emperor who refused to open more trading ports to Europe. He was known for his military skills, love of scholarship, and tolerance.

Tamerlane

A “second Genghis Khan” who united Mongols and led them in a series of conquests. His enemies called him “Prince of Destruction”; he subdued Asia, Persia, Mesopotamia, and India. Samarkand.

Ottoman Empire

Islamic state founded by Osman in northwestern Anatolia. After the fall of the Byzantine Empire, it was based at Istanbul (formerly Constantinople) from 1453-1922. It encompassed lands in the Middle East, North Africa, the Caucasus, and eastern Europe.

Mehmed II

Ottoman sultan called the “Conqueror”; responsible for conquest of Constantinople in 1453; destroyed what remained of the Byzantine Empire.

Suleiman I

Sultan of Ottoman Empire; a fair ruler who expanded holdings and reconstructed the legal system.

Safavid Empire

Turkish-ruled Iranian kingdom (1502-1722) established by Ismail Safavi, who declared Iran a Shi’ite state.

Shah Abbas

Took the Safavid Empire into its golden age, created an empire that took the best out of all neighboring cultures including Ottomans and Persians, reformed military and civilian life in the empire.

Mughal Empire

Muslim state (1526-1857) exercising dominion over most of India in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

Akbar

The most famous Muslim ruler of India during the period of Mughal rule. Famous for his religious tolerance, his investment in rich cultural feats, and the creation of a centralized governmental administration, which was not typical of ancient and post-classical India.

Divine right of kings

Doctrine that states that the right of ruling comes from God and not people’s consent.

English Bill of Rights

1689 laws protecting the rights of English subjects and Parliament.

Absolutism

A form of government in which the ruler is an absolute dictator (not restricted by a constitution, laws, opposition, etc.)

King Louis XIV

French king known as the Sun King. Reigned from 1643 to 1715.

Boyars

Russian landholding aristocrats; possessed less political power than their western European counterparts.

Peter the Great

(1672-1725) Russian tsar (r. 1689-1725). He enthusiastically introduced Western languages and technology to the Russian elite, moving the capital from Moscow to the new city of St. Petersburg.

Devshirme

Ottoman policy of taking boys from Christian peoples to be trained as Muslim soldiers.

Janissaries

Christian boys taken from families, converted to Islam, and then rigorously trained to serve the sultan.

Daimyo

A Japanese feudal lord who commanded a private army of Samurai.

Tokugawa Shogunate

A dynasty of shoguns that ruled a unified Japan from 1603-1867; sought to isolate Japan from foreign influence.

Askia the Great

Muslim ruler who led Songhai to the height of its power.

Taj Mahal

A beautiful tomb built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan to honor his wife.

Martin Luther

A German monk who became one of the most famous critics of the Roman Catholic Church. In 1517, he wrote 95 theses, or statements of belief attacking the church practices.

Indulgences

Selling of forgiveness by the Catholic Church. It was common practice when the church needed to raise money. The practice led to the Reformation.

Protestant Reformation

A religious movement of the 16th century that began as an attempt to reform the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the creation of Protestant churches.

Henry VIII

(1491-1547) King of England from 1509 to 1547; his desire to annul his marriage led to a conflict with the pope, England’s break with the Roman Catholic Church, and its embrace of Protestantism. Henry established the Church of England in 1532.

Counter-Reformation

Catholic Church’s attempt to stop the protestant movement and to strengthen the Catholic Church.

Jesuits

Also known as the Society of Jesus; founded by Ignatius Loyola (1491-1556) as a teaching and missionary order to resist the spread of Protestantism.

Council of Trent

A meeting of Roman Catholic leaders, called by Pope Paul III to rule on doctrines criticized by the Protestant reformers.

Peace of Augsburg

1555 agreement declaring that the religion of each German state would be decided by its ruler.

Edict of Nantes

1598- Granted the Huguenots (French Protestants) liberty of conscience and worship.

Thirty Years’ War

(1618-1648 CE) War within the Holy Roman Empire between German Protestants and their allies (Sweden, Denmark, France) and the emperor and his ally, Spain; ended in 1648 after great destruction with Treaty of Westphalia.

Sikhism

Indian religion founded by Guru Nanak (1469-1539) in the Punjab region of northwest India. A monotheistic religion that blended ideas from Islam and Hinduism.

Scientific Revolution

A major change in European thought, starting in the mid-1500s, in which the study of the natural world began to be characterized by careful observation and the questioning of accepted beliefs.

Empiricism

The belief that accurate knowledge can be acquired through observation.