Unit 1 Vocab AP Modern World

AP World Unit 1:

• Bhakti: This movement made Hinduism more accessible to average people (personal devotion to the divine)

• Sufis: Islamic mystics who emphasize personal experience and spiritual closeness with God 

• Abbasid Dynasty (750-1258; defeated by Mongols; Golden Age (Science and Arts)

• Baghdad: capital of Abbasid Dynasty; had House of Wisdom; scholars preserved classical knowledged and retransmitted it to Europe

• Nasir al Din al Tusi: mathematics

• Mamluks: preserved Islam by establishing a sultanate in Egypt after the Abbasid Dynasty fell to the Mongols

• Fiefs/manors: estates granted to the vassals

• Three-field system: rotation of three fields

• Magna Carta: Reinstated the feudal rights of nobles ; extended the rule of law to the people in the country; lay foundation to parliament (House of Lords and House of Commons) (limited kings power and established protections for subjects)

• Joan of Arc: claimed to hear voices who told her to liberate France from the hands of the English

• Hundred Years War (1337-1453)- England withdrew from France

• Tatars: groupo of Mongols from the East led by Genghis Khan who ruled a large chunk of Russia for two centuries

• Ivan III: expanded Muscovy territory and declared himself czar when Mongol power began to decline

• Song Dynasty (960-1279): Golden Age; neo-Confucianism was used to justify the subordination of women (foot binding); bureaucracy with civil service examination; movable type increased literacy

• Ming Dynasty (1368-1644): Golden Age; established after Mongols (led by Kublai Khan) were kicked out in 1368)

• Neo-Confucianism: borrowed buddhist ideas about the soul and the individual; expanded into religious ideas whereas original Confucianism was solely practical; filial piety still very important

• Shogun: The emperor was the figurehead but didn’t hold the real power in feudal Japan; instead the real power was in the hands of the Shogun

• Daimyo: owners of large tracts of land

• Chode of Bushido: similar to Code of Chivalry;was followed by the Samurai (like vassals) in Japan

• Delhi Sultanate: established by Islamic invaders in India; theoretically tolerant but depended on the Sultan; non-Muslims had to pay taxes

• Tenochtitlan: Aztec capital

• Cuzco: Inca capital

• Burghers: middle class merchants; gained power in the height of the middle ages

• Hanseatic League: alliance of traders; established inn 1358; controlled trade throughout much of northern Europe; collection of city states that established common trade practices

• The Crusades: meant to take over the Holy Land and convert Muslims but actually contract helped spur new ideas

• Heresies: religious practices or beliefs that do not conform to church doctrine

• Pope Innocent III: strict decrees of church doctrine; heretics and Jews persecuted; 4th unsuccessful crusade attempted

• Pope Gregory IX: set in motion Inquisition/Universal Church/Church Militant

• Thomas Aquinas: (1225-1274) wrote Summa Theologica; faith and reason not in conflict, instead they enhance one another

• The Bubonic Plague/The Black Death: facilitated through Pax Mongolica; crowded European cities with lack of sanitation; originated in China; caused many structures to collapse which ironically sped up social and economic movements

• Genghis Khan: unified the Mongol tribes

• Golden Horde: conquered Russia (after death of Genghis Khan, his followers split into Hordes)

• Kublai Khan: ruled Russia

• Timur Lang/Tamerlane: Mongol leader who conquered India; destroyed a lot; then pulled out, his troops followed and the sultanate was soon restored

• Mali: gold brought trade from Muslims; Mansa Musa (built capital at Timbuktu); Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca

• Songhai Empire: conquered big region and established the Songhai Empire; Timbuktu became a major cultural center (university with scholars from throughout the Islamic world)

• Indian Ocean Trade: Persians and the Arabs dominated; trade routes connected ports in western India to ports in the Persian Gulf which were connected to ports in Eastern Africa (Great Zimbabwe river access to this trade)

• Mughal Empire: founded by Babur (a descendant of Timur and Genghis Khan); Akbar was a notable ruler

• Safavid Empire: established in Persia, known for its significant contributions to art, architecture, and the development of Shia Islam as the state religion. Golden age of Persian art; Ottoman Safavid rivalry

• Manchus: Established the Qing Dynasty which was in power during the Opium Wars

• Champa Rice: a quick-maturing, drought-resistant strain of rice that was introduced to China from the Champa region of present-day Vietnam, significantly boosting agricultural productivity and supporting population growth.