AP World History Vocab

Champa Rice

is a quick-maturing, drought resistant rice that can allow two harvests, of sixty days each in one growing season. Originally introduced into Champa from Vietnam, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift. When connected with the Grand Canal system it creates a massive population boom in China

Byzantine Empire

rose out of the split of East and Western Roman Empire; lasted another 1000 years; kept Hellenism alive; fell in 1453 by the Ottomans

Shi'a

the branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Sharia

the code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Mohammed

Stateless Societies

african societies organized around kinship or other forms of obligation and lacking the concentration of political power and authority associated with states

Peter the Great

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

Karma

(Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation

Sanskrit

(Hinduism) an ancient language of India (the language of the Vedas and of Hinduism)

Great Zimbabwe

A magnificent stone complex situated between the Zambesi and the Limpopo Rivers; up to eighteen thousand residents lived in the city during the late 15th century.

Nestorians

A Christian sect found in Asia; tended to support Islamic invasion of this area in preference to Byzantine Rule; cut off from Europe by Muslim invasions.

Martin Luther

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

Ankor Wat

A Khmer temple complex in SE asia, built in the early 12th century as a state temple and capital city. ---- first Hindu, dedicated to Vishnu, then Buddhist.

Joint Stock Company

A form of business organization that resembled a modern corporation. Individuals invested in the company through the purchase of shares. Companies were give a royal monopoly to trade in a particular area. Used most effectively in the early modern era by the British and Dutch.

Sikhism

A monotheistic religion founded during the Mughal Dynasty, believing that human beings spend their time in a cycle of birth, life, and rebirth.

Teotihuacan

A powerful city-state in central Mexico (100-75 C.E.). Its population was about 150,000 at its peak in 600. (p. 300)

Jesuits

A religious order in the Roman Catholic Church founded in the 16th century and which became the spearhead of the Counter Reformation. The order has a long tradition of vigorous missionary work and of intellectual and scholarly achievement.

Qanat

A water management system that originated in Perisa thousands of years ago. It provided water to people even in hilly, desert, hot, and arid areas (like Iran).

Kush

An African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile 1000 BCE; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.

Enlightenment

An intellectual movement of the 17th and 18th centuries marked by a celebration of human reason, the promotion of religious tolerance and a desire to construct governments free of tyranny.

Chinampa

An island built by the Aztecs of layers of reeds, other plants, and mud and planted with crops.

Black Death

An outbreak of bubonic plague that spread across Asia, North Africa, and Europe in the mid-fourteenth century, carrying off vast numbers of people.

Civil Service

An outgrowth of the Confucian belief that the state should be ruled by men of ability and virtue.

Monasticism

Ascetic Religious movements found within Buddhism and Christianity; communities of religious people live together, often self sufficient, provide services to the poor, provide an opportunity for women to exercise power.

Huns

Asiatic nomadic groups who overthrew the Gupta Empire and the Han dynasty.

Polynesian Migrations

Movement of peoples in the Pacific which populated many islands; spread knowledge of agriculture

Tenochtitlan

Capital city of the Aztec empire, sitting on an island in Lake Texcoco; at its high point in the early 16th century, tribute from some 489 subject territories flowed into the city, and its population reached to about 200,000.

Baghdad

Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon.

Chang'an

Capital of Tang Dynasty built under Tang Taizong; the world's most poplulous city with as many as two million residents; a cosmopolitan, cultural mecca.

Mongols

Central Asian nomadic peoples who created the greatest contiguous empire in history and ruled in the 1200s and 1300s.

Scholar-Gentry

Chinese Class created by the marital linkage of the local land-holding aristocracy with the office-holding shi; superseded shi as governors of China.

Han

Chinese dynasty that succeeded Qin in 202 BCE; ruled for next 400 years.

Junks

Chinese ships equipped with water tight bulkheads, sternpost rudders, compasses and bamboo fenders; dominate force in Asian seas south of the Malayan Peninsula.

Renaissance

Cultural flowering of Western Europe from the 14th through the 16th centuries. Arts an scholarly works reflected a revived interest in the classics of ancient Greece and Rome and a growing concern for individualism and secularism.

Hellenism

Culture derived from the Greek Civilization that flourished between 800 and 400 BCE; spread from Greece to the Himalayas. Blending of Egyptian, Persian and Greek culture; emphasis on philosophy and sciences.

Protestant Reformation

Early 16th century movement critical of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and motivated both by religious and political reasons.

Mercantilism

Economic Doctrine in which government control of foreign trade and the creation of a positive balance of trade is of paramount importance fro ensuring the prosperity and security of the state. Leads to tight governmental restrictions on the economies of colonies and protective policies for selected industries. Very much the opposite of laissez faire theory.

School of National Learning

Emphasized Japan's unique history and indigenous culture.

John Locke

English Philosopher (1632-1704) who attacked the Divine Right of Kings and argued that government depended on the consent of the governed. His political ideas were taken up by America's founding fathers. He argued that the primary purpose of government ought to be to protect life, liberty and property.

Sinification

Extensive Adaptation to the Chinese culture in other regions; typical of Korea and Japan, less typical of Vietnam.

Absolute Monarchies

Features kings who make decisions without parliaments, appointed professionalized armies and bureaucracies, established stated churches, imposed state economic policies.

Olmecs

First complex society of the Americas, with its center located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, near the modern Mexican city of Veracruz.

Encomienda

Forced Labor System used by the Spanish empire against the indigenous people of the Americas. In exchange for Indian labor the Spanish managers were to assume responsiblity to look after their workers' health and welfare and to encourade their conversion to Christianity. In fact, this system was akin to slavery.

City-State

Form of government typical in ancient Mesopotamia and classical Greece; urban-based kingdom ruled by kings and nobles.

Pastorialism

Form of society in which nomadic groups herd animals on which they rely for food.

Aristotle

Greek philosopher; teacher of Alexander the Great; knowledge based on observation of phenomena in material world

Jizya

Head tax levied on non-Islamic citizens in Muslim states- in return for payment of the tax and obedience to the states, communities were allowed to practice their faith.

Incas

Highly advanced South American civilization that occupied present-day Peru until they were conquered by Spanish forces under Francisco Pizarro in 1532. The Incas developed sophisticated agricultural techniques, such as terrace farming, in order to sustain large, complex societies in the unforgiving Andes Mountains.

Karakorum

Important city of the Mongol Empire under Chinggis Khan. Symbolized a source of Mongol authority superior to the clan or tribe.

Hindu Numerals

Is a positional decimal numeral system first documented in Ancient India no later than the 9th century, and later spread to the western world through Arabic mathmaticians. The sustem is based on ten (originally nine) different glyphs.

Axum

Kingdom located in Ethiopian highlands; early converted to Christianity and retained Christianity even when Islam spread into Africa.

Mita

Labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; an essential aspect of Inca imperial control.

Mali

Large Bantu empire of west Africa, established by the lion prince Sundiata on the ruins of the Ghana state during the early 13th century; probably the wealthiest land in sub-Saharan Africa; known for its gold trade; overcome by Songhay empire by the late 15th century.

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan.

Akbar

Mughal leader who centralized the administrative structure of the government and who pursued a policy of religious toleration aimed at reducing tensions between Hindu and Muslim Communities. He also encouraded the elaboration of a syncretic religion called the divine faith that focused attention on the emperor as a ruler common to all the religious, ethnic and social groups of india.

Mameluks

Muslim slave warriors; established a dynasty in Egypt; defeated the Mongols at Ain Jalut in 1260 and halted Mongol advance

Benin

Nigerian city-state formed by the Edo people during the 14th century; famous for its bronze art work.

Bedouin

Nomadic Pastorialists of the Arabian Peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam.

Agricultural Revolution

Occured between 8000 and 5000 BCE; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture.

Chabi

One of Khubilai Khan's four wives, a Nestorian Christian, influenced policy and practices.

Mughal

One of the nomads who invaded the Indian subcontinent in the 16th century and established a powerful empire there.

Chinggis Khan

Originally Temujin. Mongol Conqueror who united the Mongol tribes and forged an empire stretching from China to the Danube River and into Persia.

Bantu Migrations

Originated in a region that is now modern Nigeria and Cameroon; their migrations were one of the most important in human history, spreading language, knowledge of agriculture and eventually, iron technology. By about 1000 CE peoples speaking the language they spread occupied most of Africa south of the equator.

Janissaries

Ottoman infantry divisions that dominated Ottoman armies; forcibly conscripted as boys in conquered areas of Balkans, legally slaves; translated military service into political influence, particularly after 15th century.

Devshirme

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

Creoles

People who had Spanish or Portuguese parents but were born in Latin America.

Mestizo

Person of Mixed Spanish and Indigenous descent in the Americas; part of the sociedad de las castes.

Timbuktu

Port City in Mali; Located just off the flood plain on the freat bend in the Niger River; Population of 50,000; contained a library and a university.

Malacca

Port city in the modern Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, founded about 1400 as a trading center on the Strait of Malacca. Also spelled Melaka.

Matteo Ricci

Portuguese Jesuit missionary who went to China, assimilated into Chinese culture and language and ran a Christian mission in China.

Goa

Portuguese town in India often used for forcible entry into Asian sea trade network; the center of Christian missionary activity in India.

Griots

Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings in African Kingdoms

Caste

Refers to a social class of hereditary and usually unchangeable status and was first introduced into Indian society by the Aryans.

Shintoism

Religion of early Japanese culture; devotees worshipped numerous gods and spirits associated with the natural world; offers of food and prayers made to gods and nature spirits.

Manioc

Root Crop that which indigenous to the Americas and which spread as part of the Columbian Exchange, leading to population growth in areas such as Africa where it spread.

Mansa Musa

Ruler of Mali (r.1312-1337 CE) who made a hajj to Mecca; on the way there, he spread enormous amounts of gold showing the wealth of Mali; on the way back, he brought back education and Islamic culture.

Daoism

School of thought during the Warring States Period, appearing as a critique to Confucian activism; represented an effort to understand the fundamental character of nature in orfer to learn how to live in harmony with it.

Caravels

Slender, long-hulled vessels utilized by Portuguese; highly maneuverable and able to sail against the wind; key to development of Portuguese trade empire in Asia. Also used by Spanish. Both used to explore Atlantic.

Dutch Studies

Studies of Western science and technology beginning during the 18th century; based on texts available at the Dutch Nagasaki trading center.

Mesopotamia

The "Cradle of Civilization" focused on the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers where Sumerians developed many fundamental elements of early civilization, also home of Akkadian, Babylonian and Assyrian Empires, territory of modern-day Iraq.

Neo-Confucianism

The Confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into this. However, it is still very much Confucian in belief.

Ancestor Veneration

The custom of venerating deceased ancestors who are considered still a part of the family and whose spirits are believed to have the power to intervene in the affairs of the living.

Shang

The dominant people in the earliest Chinese dynasty for which we have written records (ca. 1750-1027 B.C.E.). Ancestor worship, divination by means of oracle bones, and the use of bronze vessels for ritual purposes were major elements of Shang culture.

Filial Piety

The duty of children to respect and honor their parents.

Columbian Exchange

The exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.

Berber

The indigenous people of North Africa west of the Nile. Instrumental in the spread of Islam.

Daimyo

The lord of a large agricultural estate in feudal Japan who supported the shogun

Gupta

The second Indian empire, Hindu, founded during the 4th century CE; extended to all but the southern regions of the Indian subcontinent and was less centralized that the preceding empire.

Taj Mahal

This most famous Mughal monument was built by Shah Jhan as a mosque and tomb for his wife Mumatz Mahal, it took eighteen years to build.

Scholasticism

This sought to synthesize the beliefs and values of Christianity with the logical rigor of Greek philosophy. Often associated with St. Thomas Aquinas.

Kiev

Trade City in southern Russia established by Scandinavian traders in 9th century; became focal point for kingdom of Russia that flourished to 12th century

Dhow

Traditional sailing vessels with lateen sails used in the Indian Ocean.

Swahili City-States

Urbanized commercial centers in East Africa sharing common Bantu-based and Arabic-influenced Swahili Languanges and other cultural traits; included Mogadishu, Mombasa, Malindi, Kilwa, Pate, and Zanzibar.

Patriarchy

a form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line

Sufis

a mystical Muslim group that believed they could draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, and a simple life

Astrolabe

an instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the position of the stars and planets

Kilwa

city-state on east African coast; fishing limited trade from 800-1000; turned to agriculture, increased trade in pottery and stoneware; major trading center by 14th century

Corvee

forced labor that required peasants to work for a month out of the year on roads and other public projects

Diasporic Communities

immigrants who have relocated from their ancestral homelands and retain their distinct cultural identities as ethnic minority groups in their new host countries

Shogun

in japanese feudal society, supreme military commander who held more power than the emperor

Caravanserais

inns offering lodging for caravan merchants as well as food, water, and care for their animals along Silk Roads.