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AP World History Vocab Flashcards

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5977835537Absolute MonarchiesFeatures kings who make decisions without parliaments, appointed professionalized armies and bureaucracies, established stated churches, imposed state economic policies.0
5977835538Agricultural RevolutionOccured between 8000 and 5000 BCE; transition from hunting and gathering to sedentary agriculture.1
5977835539AkbarMughal 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.2
5977835540Ankor WatA 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.3
5977835541Ancestor VenerationThe 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.4
5977835542AristotleGreek philosopher; teacher of Alexander the Great; knowledge based on observation of phenomena in material world5
5977835543Astrolabean instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the position of the stars and planets6
5977835544AxumKingdom located in Ethiopian highlands; early converted to Christianity and retained Christianity even when Islam spread into Africa.7
5977835545BaghdadCapital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon.8
5977835546Bantu MigrationsOriginated 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.9
5977835547BedouinNomadic Pastorialists of the Arabian Peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam.10
5977835548BerberThe indigenous people of North Africa west of the Nile. Instrumental in the spread of Islam.11
5977835549BeninNigerian city-state formed by the Edo people during the 14th century; famous for its bronze art work.12
5977835550Black DeathAn outbreak of bubonic plague that spread across Asia, North Africa, and Europe in the mid-fourteenth century, carrying off vast numbers of people.13
5977835551Byzantine Empirerose out of the split of East and Western Roman Empire; lasted another 1000 years; kept Hellenism alive; fell in 1453 by the Ottomans14
5977835552Caravanseraisinns offering lodging for caravan merchants as well as food, water, and care for their animals along Silk Roads.15
5977835553CaravelsSlender, 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.16
5977835554CasteRefers to a social class of hereditary and usually unchangeable status and was first introduced into Indian society by the Aryans.17
5977835555ChabiOne of Khubilai Khan's four wives, a Nestorian Christian, influenced policy and practices.18
5977835556Chang'anCapital of Tang Dynasty built under Tang Taizong; the world's most poplulous city with as many as two million residents; a cosmopolitan, cultural mecca.19
5977835557Champa Riceis 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 China20
5977835558ChinampaAn island built by the Aztecs of layers of reeds, other plants, and mud and planted with crops.21
5977835559Chinggis KhanOriginally Temujin. Mongol Conqueror who united the Mongol tribes and forged an empire stretching from China to the Danube River and into Persia.22
5977835560City-StateForm of government typical in ancient Mesopotamia and classical Greece; urban-based kingdom ruled by kings and nobles.23
5977835561Civil ServiceAn outgrowth of the Confucian belief that the state should be ruled by men of ability and virtue.24
5977835562Columbian ExchangeThe exchange of plants, animals, diseases, and technologies between the Americas and the rest of the world following Columbus's voyages.25
5977835563Corveeforced labor that required peasants to work for a month out of the year on roads and other public projects26
5977835564CreolesPeople who had Spanish or Portuguese parents but were born in Latin America.27
5977835565DaimyoThe lord of a large agricultural estate in feudal Japan who supported the shogun28
5977835566Diasporic Communitiesimmigrants who have relocated from their ancestral homelands and retain their distinct cultural identities as ethnic minority groups in their new host countries29
5977835567DaoismSchool 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.30
5977835568DevshirmeOttoman policy of taking boys from Christian peoples to be trained as Muslim soldiers31
5977835569DhowTraditional sailing vessels with lateen sails used in the Indian Ocean.32
5977835570Dutch StudiesStudies of Western science and technology beginning during the 18th century; based on texts available at the Dutch Nagasaki trading center.33
5977835571EncomiendaForced 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.34
5977835572EnlightenmentAn 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.35
5977835573Filial PietyThe duty of children to respect and honor their parents.36
5977835574GoaPortuguese town in India often used for forcible entry into Asian sea trade network; the center of Christian missionary activity in India.37
5977835575Great ZimbabweA 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.38
5977835576GriotsProfessional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings in African Kingdoms39
5977835577GuptaThe 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.40
5977835578HanChinese dynasty that succeeded Qin in 202 BCE; ruled for next 400 years.41
5977835579HellenismCulture 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.42
5977835580Hindu NumeralsIs 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.43
5977835581HunsAsiatic nomadic groups who overthrew the Gupta Empire and the Han dynasty.44
5977835582Ibn BattutaMoroccan 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.45
5977835583IncasHighly 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.46
5977835584JanissariesOttoman 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.47
5977835585JesuitsA 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.48
5977835586JizyaHead 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.49
5977835587John LockeEnglish 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.50
5977835588Joint Stock CompanyA 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.51
5977835589JunksChinese ships equipped with water tight bulkheads, sternpost rudders, compasses and bamboo fenders; dominate force in Asian seas south of the Malayan Peninsula.52
5977835590KarakorumImportant city of the Mongol Empire under Chinggis Khan. Symbolized a source of Mongol authority superior to the clan or tribe.53
5977835591Karma(Hinduism and Buddhism) the effects of a person's actions that determine his destiny in his next incarnation54
5977835592KievTrade City in southern Russia established by Scandinavian traders in 9th century; became focal point for kingdom of Russia that flourished to 12th century55
5977835593Kilwacity-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 century56
5977835594KushAn African state that developed along the upper reaches of the Nile 1000 BCE; conquered Egypt and ruled it for several centuries.57
5977835595ManiocRoot 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.58
5977835596MercantilismEconomic 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.59
5977835597MalaccaPort city in the modern Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, founded about 1400 as a trading center on the Strait of Malacca. Also spelled Melaka.60
5977835598MaliLarge 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.61
5977835599MameluksMuslim slave warriors; established a dynasty in Egypt; defeated the Mongols at Ain Jalut in 1260 and halted Mongol advance62
5977835600Mansa MusaRuler 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.63
5977835601Martin LutherA 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.64
5977835602Matteo RicciPortuguese Jesuit missionary who went to China, assimilated into Chinese culture and language and ran a Christian mission in China.65
5977835603MesopotamiaThe "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.66
5977835604MestizoPerson of Mixed Spanish and Indigenous descent in the Americas; part of the sociedad de las castes.67
5977835605MitaLabor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; an essential aspect of Inca imperial control.68
5977835606MonasticismAscetic 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.69
5977835607MongolsCentral Asian nomadic peoples who created the greatest contiguous empire in history and ruled in the 1200s and 1300s.70
5977835608MughalOne of the nomads who invaded the Indian subcontinent in the 16th century and established a powerful empire there.71
5977835609Neo-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.72
5977835610NestoriansA 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.73
5977835611OlmecsFirst complex society of the Americas, with its center located on the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, near the modern Mexican city of Veracruz.74
5977835612PastorialismForm of society in which nomadic groups herd animals on which they rely for food.75
5977835613Patriarchya form of social organization in which a male is the family head and title is traced through the male line76
5977835614Polynesian MigrationsMovement of peoples in the Pacific which populated many islands; spread knowledge of agriculture77
5977835615Peter 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.78
5977835616Protestant ReformationEarly 16th century movement critical of the authority of the Roman Catholic Church and motivated both by religious and political reasons.79
5977835617QanatA 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).80
5977835618RenaissanceCultural 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.81
5977835619Sanskrit(Hinduism) an ancient language of India (the language of the Vedas and of Hinduism)82
5977835620Scholar-GentryChinese Class created by the marital linkage of the local land-holding aristocracy with the office-holding shi; superseded shi as governors of China.83
5977835621ScholasticismThis sought to synthesize the beliefs and values of Christianity with the logical rigor of Greek philosophy. Often associated with St. Thomas Aquinas.84
5977835622School of National LearningEmphasized Japan's unique history and indigenous culture.85
5977835623ShangThe 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.86
5977835624Shariathe code of law derived from the Koran and from the teachings and example of Mohammed87
5977835625ShintoismReligion 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.88
5977835626Shogunin japanese feudal society, supreme military commander who held more power than the emperor89
5977835627SikhismA monotheistic religion founded during the Mughal Dynasty, believing that human beings spend their time in a cycle of birth, life, and rebirth.90
5977835628Shi'athe branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad91
5977835629SinificationExtensive Adaptation to the Chinese culture in other regions; typical of Korea and Japan, less typical of Vietnam.92
5977835630Stateless Societiesafrican societies organized around kinship or other forms of obligation and lacking the concentration of political power and authority associated with states93
5977835631Sufisa mystical Muslim group that believed they could draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, and a simple life94
5977835632Swahili City-StatesUrbanized 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.95
5977835633Taj MahalThis 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.96
5977835634TenochtitlanCapital 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 200,000.97
5977835635TeotihuacanA powerful city-state in central Mexico (100-75 C.E.). Its population was about 150,000 at its peak in 600. (p. 300)98
5977835636TimbuktuPort 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.99
5977835637Tributary RelationshipUnequal system between China and surrounding counties; peoples of the neighboring lands would recognize Chinese emperors as their overlords. Envoys from subordinate states would regularly present gifts to Chinese court and perform the knowtow ritual as tokens of their subordination. In return they recieved confirmation of their authority as well as lavish gifts from the Chinese court. The system facilitate trade the cultural exchange between China and other countries.100
5977835638Trung SistersLeaders of one of the frequent peasant rebellions in Vietnam against Chinese rule; revolt broke out in 39 c.e.; demonstrates importance of Vietnamese women in indigenous society.101
5977835639VizierOttoman equivalent of the Abbasid Wazir; head of the Ottoman Bureaucracy; after 15th century often more powerful than sultan.102
5977835640Yuan DynastySinicized Mongol Dynasty in China established by Khublai Khan in 1279; collapsed in 1368.103
5977835641Zheng HeChinese explorer who represents China's only attempt to create a worldwide trading empire.104
5977835642ZorastrianismPersian religion that saw material existence as battle between forces of good and evil; stressed the importance of moral choice; righteous lived on after death in "House of Song"105

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