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AP World History Unit 1 Flashcards

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15265765454Song DynastyChinese dynasty (960 - 1279 CE) that could be considered their "golden age" when China saw many important inventions. There was a magnetic compass; had a navy; traded with India and Persia; paper money, gun powder0
15265765455ConfucianismA philosophy that adheres to the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. It shows the way to ensure a stable government and an orderly society in the present world and stresses a moral code of conduct.1
15265765456Filial PietyIn Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.2
15265765457Neo-ConfucianismThe Confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into this. However, it is still very much Confucian in belief.3
15265765458Theravada Buddhismthe oldest of the two major branches of Buddhism. Practiced mainly in Sri Lanka, Thailand, Burma, and Cambodia, its beliefs are relatively conservative, holding close to the original teachings of the Buddha4
15265765459Mahayana Buddhism"Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and for Bodhisattva, enlightened persons who have postponed Nirvana to help others attain enlightenment. It was a more "user friendly" Buddhism that developed as Buddhism spread into East and Southeast Asia.5
15265765460Tibetan Buddhisma Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism, a tradition of Buddhism that teaches that people can use special techniques to harness spiritual energy and can achieve nirvana in a single lifetime6
15265765461Champa RiceQuick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season; led to increased populations in Song Dynasty China. Originally introduced into Vietnam from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state (as part of the tributary system.)7
15265765462Grand CanalThe 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer) waterway linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Dynasty.8
15265765463Flying MoneyChinese credit instrument that provided credit vouchers to merchants to be redeemed at the end of the voyage; reduced danger of robbery; early form of currency9
15265765464Seljuk EmpireTurkic empire ruled by sultans in Persia and modern-day Iraq (11th and 12th centuries); Established Turks as major ethnic group carrying Islam across Eurasia, along with Arabs and Persians; Demonstrated weakness of Abbasid caliphate in its later years; sultans held real power in the empire; Helped to spread the influence of Islam throughout the region10
15265765465Mamluk Sultanate- A political unit in Egypt established by Mamluks - Defeated the Mongols and the Ayyubid Sultanate - Did not set up a consistent, hereditary line of succession, which hurt them greatly - Failed to adapt to new warfare and were eventually defeated by the Ottomans, who brought guns - Disinterest in trade also contributed to their downfall11
15265765466Delhi SultanateThe first Islamic government established within India from 1206-1520. Controlled a small area of northern India and was centered in Delhi.12
15265765467Abbasid Caliphate(750-1258 CE) The caliphate, after the Umayyads, who focused more on administration than conquering. Had a bureaucracy that any Muslim could be a part of.13
15265765468House of Wisdom in BaghdadLarge Islamic-based Library and learning center. Focus of conversion of Greek and Roman classics and Indian learning into Arabic. Preserved knowledge.14
15265765469Bhakti MovementAn immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity.15
15265765470SufismAn Islamic mystical tradition that desired a personal union with God--divine love through intuition rather than through rational deduction and study of the Shari'a. Followed an ascetic routine (denial of physical desire to gain a spiritual goal), dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Qur'an, and the avoidance of sin.16
15265765471FeudalismA political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land17
15265765472Vassala person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance18
15265765473Serfan agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on their lord's estate.19
15265765474ManorialismEconomic system during the Middle Ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land; the economic side of feudalism20
15265765475Great ZimbabweA powerful state in the African interior that apparently emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast; flourished between 1250 and 1350 C.E.21
15265765476CahokiaThe dominant center of an important Mississippi valley mound-building culture, located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri; flourished from about 900 to 1250 C.E.22
15265765477Maya city-statesClassical culture in Southern Mexico and Central America; contemporary with Teotihuacan; extended over broad region; featured monumental architecture, written language, calendar system, mathematical system23
15265765478woodblock printinga type of printing in which text is carved into a block of wood and the block is then coated with ink and pressed on the page; invented during the Song Dynasty period of China and allowed to the quick creation and distribution of texts; would later spread to Europe via trade and Mongol expansion allowing Europeans to develop the printing press c. 1440 CE24
15265765479Meritocracygovernment or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability; used in China via the Civil Service Exam25
15265765480SyncretismThe unification or blending of opposing people, ideas, or practices, frequently in the realm of religion. For example, when Christianity or Buddhism was adopted by people in a new land, they often incorporate it into their existing culture and traditions.26
15265765481Zen Buddhism(also called Chen) a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition; illustrates the adaptations Buddhism made as it spread to new areas and interacted with different cultures27
15265765482Aishah al-Ba'uniyyahA Sufi master and poet. She is one of few medieval female Islamic mystics to have recorded their own views in writing, and she "probably composed more works in Arabic than any other woman prior to the twentieth century". She was born and died in Damascus in the 16th century.28
15265765483Nasir al-Din Tusi(1201-1274) Persian mathematician and cosmologist whose academy near Tabriz provided the model for the movement of the planets that helped to inspire the Copernican model of the solar system.29
15265765484Greek Philosophythe rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics; distinguished by the ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; preserved by the Arabs after the Roman Empire collapsed30
15265765485Mita Systemeconomic system in Inca society where people paid taxes with their labor and what they produced; men and women were expected to contribute this labor to the state yearly31
15265765486ChinampasFloating gardens constructed along lake shores by the Mexica/Aztecs to increase agricultural yields.32
15265765487Waru Waru AgricultureA form of farming used in the Inca Empire; divided the hills into terraces or flat steps almost like steps; they could then control the amount of water being put into those places; led to vastly improved agriculture for the Incas33
15265765488three-field systemA rotational system for agriculture in which one field grows grain, one grows legumes, and one lies fallow. Restores nutrients to the soil to improve crop yields. It gradually replaced two-field system in medieval Europe.34
15265765489CrusadesA series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule; ultimately spread culture and increased trade but were not successful35
15265765490Renaissance"rebirth"; following the Middle Ages, a movement that centered on the revival of interest in the classical learning of Greece and Rome; began in Florence, Italy and spread throughout Europe36
15265765491Great Schismin 1054, divided medieval Christianity into (Greek) and Western (Latin) branches, which later became known as the Eastern Orthodox Church and the Roman Catholic Church. Relations between East and West had long been embittered by political and ecclesiastical differences and theological disputes.37
15265765492coercive laborAny labor system that involves force (slavery, chattel slavery, serfdom, and indentured labor)38
15265765493EthiopiaPreviously known as Axum, a Christian kingdom that developed in the highlands of eastern Africa under the dynasty of King Lalaibela; retained Christianity in the face of Muslim expansion elsewhere in Africa; facilitated trade39
15265765494Fiefland granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service40
15265765495Buddhist Monksreligious communities where Buddha's followers stayed, studied, and meditated; both men and women could join monasteries as monks or nuns; often exempt from taxation which put strains on Chinese political systems41

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