History Final

Serf

- A semi-free peasant who is tied to the land and owned by the feudal lord - Owed labor services to the lord and rents and fees for the right to graze animals and collect firewood - Women worked in workshops or by making cloths in their homes

Joint stock company

- A business whose capital is held in transferable shares of stocks by its joint owners - First founded in Italian cities in the thirteenth century

Mahayana Buddhism

- A major branch of Buddhism that emphasizes the potential for laypeople to achieve enlightenment through the aid of Buddha and bodhisattvas

Sufism

- A mystical form of Islam that emphasizes personal experience of the divine over obedience to the dictates of scripture and Islamic law - Evolved into a broad social movement - Women played a more prominent role in Sufism than in other Islamic traditions

Bill of exchange

- A paper note that allowed the bearer to receive money in one place and repay the debt in another currency at another place at a later date - Benefited long-distance merchants - Used in Islamic world by the tenth century

Madrasa

- A school for education in Islamic religion and traditions of legal interpretation - Received financial support from leading public figures or the surrounding community - Organized as a study circle consisting of a single master and his disciples

Pure Land Buddhism

- A school of Mahayana Buddhism, originating in China, that emphasizes the sinfulness of the human condition and the necessity of faith in savior figures to regain birth in paradise

Inquisition

- A system of courts and investigators set up by the Roman papacy in the early thirteenth century to identify and punish heretics

What social institutions and economic innovations did merchants devise to overcome the risks and dangers of long-distance trade? In what ways did the profits of commerce translate into social and economic power? Compare any two regions (Europe, Islamic world or China)

- Advances in all the spheres of trade and finance were made during the "commercial revolution" - Muslim law permitted limited investment partnerships in which one partner supplied most of the capital, the other traveled to distant markets and conducted their business and the two shared the profits equally - Chinese merchants created joint trading ventures in the form of limited partnerships for both domestic and international trade - Merchants based in Egypt created a commercial association known as Karimi to organize convoys for trading expeditions in the Indian Ocean - Venetian government directed commercial expeditions, dictated which merchants could go, built the vessels at its publicly funded shipyard and regulated the prices of exports as well as crucial imports such as grain and salt - Karimi-controlled spice trade was an important source of income for the Mamluk state - In china, the state generated more than half of its cash revenue by imposing monopolies on the production of rice wine and key mineral resources

The Hanseatic League

- Alliance formed by the merchant communities of the trading cities along the Baltic seacoast - A trade cartel that monopolized the export of furs, grain, metals, and timber from the Baltic region

What were the crusades? What is the connection between the power of the papacy and the Crusades? In what ways did the Crusades contribute to the definition of Europe as the realm of Latin Christendom?

- An effort to reclaim control of the sacred sites of the Christian religion from Muslim rule (Jerusalem) - Urban II summoned for a crusade to liberate Jerusalem which inspired the reform movements within the church, and from a desire to transform the warrior rulers of Latin Christendom, constantly fighting among each other, into a united army of God - Crusaders would receive a full absolution from sins - At first, the Muslim's did not fight back until 1169 which lead to the third crusade - Original religious motivations of the Crusaders became overshadowed by political and economic objectives - The era of the Crusades witnessed the temporary rise of an "imperial" papacy as administrative reforms within the church broadened the Roman popes' authority over secular affairs as well as the spiritual life of Christian faithful - Legislation enacted at Pope Innocent's instigation created a more centralized Christian church and deprived bishops of much of their independence and established an Inquisition to punish anyone who challenged the pope's supreme authority

Sharia

- Body of Islamic law that includes interpretation of the Quran and applies Islamic principles to everyday life

Chinggis Khan

- Born into one of the numerous tribes living in eastern Mongolia on the margins of the Jin realm - Gained following through his valor and success as a warrior - Recognized as the Great Khan, the universal ruler of the steppe peoples - Empire-builder who caused the Mongols' swift military triumphs and political cohesion

How did the spread of Buddhism transform the politics and societies of East Asia?

- Buddhism becoming the dominant religion within China and the rest of East Asia was the farthest reaching cultural transformation of the era - Collapse of Han Empire and foreign invasions led many Chinese to question their values and beliefs and to become receptive to alternative ideas and ways of life - In a world fractured by warfare and political instability, its universalist spirit offered an inclusive creed that might ease social and ethnic frictions among the Chinese and the diverse foreign peoples who had settled within China - Chinese monastic communities and lay congregations created their own forms of Buddhist theology and practices more closely attuned to their Chinese audience - Became a religion of the masses - Pure Land and Chan Buddhism

Investiture Controversy

- Conflict between the pope and the Holy Roman emperor over who had the authority to appoint bishops and other church officials

How did the commerical revival of 900-1300 reorient international trade routes across Afro-Eurasia? What was the role played by the Indian Ocean trade? Who were the main facilitators of this long-distance trade?

- Consisted of luxury goods such as spices, silk and gold intended for a select few rulers, nobles, and urban elites

What were the new trends and technologies that aided in the reading culture of China?

- Development of printing and public schools fostered a relatively high level of literacy - Printing developed into a substantial industry in China - Reproduced Buddhist scriptures and other religious texts - Mass production of texts - Printing helped disseminate official ideas and values - Schools and academies had the intellectual and financial resources to publish fine-quality, scrupulously edited editions - Commercial firms provided cheaply printed texts that helped students prepare fo the civil service exam - Classical Chinese language unified East Asian intellectual life - Vernacular writing broadened access to written knowledge throughout East Asia

The Karimi Cartel

- Egypt created a commercial association known as the karimi to organize convoys for trading expeditions in the Indian Ocean - Became a powerful cartel - a commercial association whose members join forces to fix prices or limit competition - Squeezed small entrepreneurs out of the lucrative spice trade - Cooperated closely with the sultan of Egypt, generating substantial tax revenue for the state in exchange for their trade privileges

How did the Song China's civil service examination system have an impact on the spread of learning in China?

- Exams were a complex series of tests based on the Confucian classics, history, poetry and other subjects - Served as the primary method for recruiting government officials from the 11th century onward - Sought to create a skilled, ideologically cohesive group of officials whose chief loyalty would be to the state rather than to their families - Testified to the powerful influence of schooling in shaping the lives and outlook of the ruling class - At every level of schooling, the curriculum mirrored the priorities of the exam - Criticism of the exam lead to the founding of private academies

Angor Wat

- Extensive city and temple complexes at the capital of Khmer. One of the world's greatest architectural achievements.

What political, social and religious forces led to the founding of the first European universities?

- Latin Christendom witnessed the emergence of a unified learned culture - Charlemagne promoted learning consistent with the established doctrines of Latin Christianity and Local bishops began to found cathedral schools as a complement to monastic education - People learned how to speak and read Latin in the elementary schools - Demand for advanced education rose - Christian conquests of Muslim territories in Spain and Sicily in the 11th century reintroduced Greek learning to Latin Christendom via translations from Arabic - King Alfonso captured Toledo where Muslims, Jews and Christin freely intermingled and made it his capital; translated into Latin the works of Aristotle and other ancient Greek writers and other writings by Muslim writers - Access to this vast body of knowledge had a profound impact on European intellectual circles - Dispute over the primacy of reason or faith and in turn Pope Innocent III formally recognized Paris's schools of higher learning as a university

Military Order

- One of the new monastic orders, beginning with the Knights of the Temple founded in 1120, that combined the religious vocation of the priesthood with the military training of the warrior nobility

Hadith

- Records of the sayings and deeds of Prophet Muhammad - Guidelines for leading a proper Muslim life - Learning the hadith was a pious act expected of all Muslims

What were the different uses of cosmopolitan languages (which transcended national boundaries) and vernacular languages, and to what degree did they broaden access to written knowledge? Consider Latin, Sanskrit, Arabic, Chinese and the vernacular languages in each of these regions

- Sanskrit became a cosmopolitan language for expressing rulers' universal claims to secular as well as sacred authority - The spread of diverse vernacular cultures fragmented the cosmopolitan unity of Sanskrit literary and political discourse

Ulama

- Scholars and teachers steeped in study of the Quran - In the absence of a formal priesthood, ulama acted as the custodians and interpreters of divine teachings

What were the significant agricultural changes of the period between 900-1300 CE? How did these agricultural changes contribute to commercial and industrial growth in this period? Consider the Islamic world, Europe and China in analysis

- Specialization of labor - Goods were produced for sale rather than for household consumption - Europe: Landowners invested in watermills, vineyards and orchards and manorial lords introduced other new technologies such as the wheeled moldboard plow, farmers combined livestock-raising with cereal cultivation to provide more protein in European diet, cultivation of olives, grapes and figs expanded throughout the Mediterranean lands - Islamic: transformed by new crops and farming practices, trade with Asia introduced new crops; rices, cotton, sugar cane, sorghum, and citrus fruits - needed elaborate irrigation systems

Tax farming

- The assignment of tax collection powers to private individuals or groups in exchange for fixed payments to the state

Chivalry

- The code of behavior, stressing honor, piety and devotion to one's ideals, of the knightly class of medieval Europe

Borobudur

- The largest Buddhist monument ever built by the Sailendras rulers of central Java - By visiting Borobudur, the Buddhist faithful could pass physically and spiritually through the ten stages of devotion necessary to attain enlightenment

Why did Hinduism gain a broader following in Indian society than the ancient Vedic religion and its chief rival, Buddhism

- The resurgence of Brahmanical religion during this period stemmed both from changes in religious practice and from the wealth and power Brahman groups obtained through royal patronage - Forms of worship all ranks of society could participate in and achieve enlightenment - Hindu temples joined religious piety to political power - Bhakti worship encouraged more active participation by women, who previously had been excluded from religious life

Neo-Confucianism

- The revival of Confucian teachings beginning in the Song dynasty that firmly rejected Buddhist religion and reasserted the Confucian commitment to moral perfection and the betterment of society - Zhu Xi was the most influential Neo-Confucian scholar

Great Schism

- The separation of the Latin Catholic and Greek Orthodox following the mutual excommunication by the Roman pope and the Byzantine patriarch in 1054

Who were the Mongols? How is the rapid success of the Mongol armies explained? In what ways did the Mongol conquests foster cultural and economic exchange across Eurasia?

- Were a nomadic people from the steppes of Central Asia who were united by the powerful Chinggis Khan - Chinggis had a large following and he led his army in campaigns of plunder and conquest - By the time of Chinggis's death, Mongol conquest stretched from eastern Iran to Manchuria - Impact of the Mongol invasions had been almost wholly catastrophic - Under Ogodei's leadership the Mongols steadily expanded their dominions westward into Russia and completed the conquest in Jin - Trade recovered and merchants flourished - Urban culture developed as the elite were enabled to move into cities by the economic recovery

Bodhisattva

- a person who has attained enlightenment but has postponed nirvana in order to help others achieve enlightenment - becomes an object of veneration in turn

Sogdian Traders

- linked the steppe lands of the nomads with Asia's great agrarian empires through economic enterprise rather than military or political might - became key advisers and agents of the Turkic leaders

Iqta

- non hereditary land grant, often issued by sultans in return for military service. - used to pay for administrative expenses and soldiers' salaries

Chakravartin

-"wheel-turning king," a universal monarch who enjoys the favor of the gods and acts as a defender of religious orthodoxy - Yang Jian saw himself as a chakravartin king

What aspects of Indian religions had the greatest influence on the societies and cultures of Southeast Asia?

Had a common culture of using Vedas and Sanskrit for language. Neo-Confucianism- Official Ideology. Restored Supremacy of Civil Authority. Loyal to state over family. 12th-13th century Zhu Xi- moral purpose to education. 5 relationships- 1. Ruler-Subject, Father-Son, Husband-Wife, Elder brother-younger brother, friend-friend. Education was another big goal of Neo-Confucianism. By doing this, you create a "Junzi" which is a superior individual. After that, you use him to work for you and the government. Now you have well trained person for the job that has learned all 3 virtues, and can restore order.

To what extent did Sunni and Sufi schools foster a common cultural and religious identity among Muslims? What role did Abu Hamid al-Ghazali play in this synthesis?

Hadith- anthologies of the sayings and deeds of Muhammad Formation of a body of Islamic law, Shari'a Shari'a- legal system based on Quranic verses. 4 schools of legal interpretation - rational understanding vs divine will Madrasas- Arabic schools that impart knowledge about the Quran, Associated with Mosques. Reinforces knowledge of the Shari'a. Promoted unity of theology and law To understand the Quran, you must have the Hadiths. Ulama- Theologians- are experts on the Quran. Curriculum learned: 1) Quran recitation and knowledge, 2) Hadith- commentaries on the prophest life and teachings, 3) Shari'a, 4) Arabic Grammar, 859-First University- Al Qarawiyyin- Fez, Morocco 975 - Al-Azhar University (Shia seminary) in Cairo. Knowledge and Political Propaganda: Seljuk Turks take over Baghdad. Use of Madrasas - tools for politcal propaganda. Ulamas- to promote government policies and maintain order. Sunni vs Shia a continuing theme in Islamic societies. Sufism is a mystical form of Islam, Meditation, recitation, asceticism, personal piety... it became a social movement. Hamid ad-Ghazali- official orthodoxy to Sufi Mysticism. Oral instruction took precedence in Islam. Arabic is sacred language of scripture, Firdausi: Book of Kings, Persian Literature.