AP World History: Modern · The Global Tapestry

Flashcard deck · Test Prep · AP World History: Modern · History

Flashcards covering Silk Roads, Mongol khanates, Mansa Musa, the Black Death, Civil Service Examination, and key empires for AP World History: Modern Unit 1.

Terms in this deck

Great Zimbabwe

A large stone-walled city in southern Africa that served as the capital of a powerful trading kingdom from roughly 1100 to 1450 CE.

Swahili Coast

A string of East African port cities sharing a Bantu-Arabic hybrid culture, connected to Indian Ocean trade networks from roughly 1000 CE onward.

flying money

An early Song Dynasty credit instrument that allowed merchants to deposit cash in one city and withdraw it in another, reducing robbery risk.

Crusades

A series of religiously motivated military campaigns launched by European Christians from 1096 onward to capture Jerusalem and the Holy Land.

griots

West African oral historians and musicians who preserved and transmitted cultural knowledge, genealogies, and historical narratives across generations.

scholar-gentry

An educated elite class in Song China that earned status through passing civil service exams rather than through hereditary nobility.

waqf

A charitable endowment in Islamic law where property or funds were dedicated to religious or social purposes such as funding madrasas or hospitals.

three-field system

A medieval European agricultural method dividing land into three rotating sections to improve soil fertility and increase food production.

chivalry

A code of conduct for medieval European knights emphasizing courage, loyalty, honor, and courtesy, especially toward women and the weak.

schism of 1054

The formal split between the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches over theological and political authority disputes.

Nestorian Christianity

An early Christian sect that spread eastward into Central Asia and China, practiced by some Mongol tribes before mass conversion to Islam.

Pax Mongolica

A period of relative peace and stability enforced by Mongol rule across Eurasia that facilitated long-distance trade and cultural exchange.

foot binding

A painful Song Dynasty practice of tightly wrapping young girls feet to keep them small, reflecting ideals of femininity and social status.

manorialism

The economic system of medieval Europe in which peasants worked land owned by lords in exchange for protection and the right to farm.

iconoclasm

A Byzantine religious controversy over whether religious images should be venerated, causing significant political and social conflict in the empire.

khanate

A political territory ruled by a khan, used to describe the four major divisions of the Mongol Empire after its fragmentation.

Mali Empire

A wealthy West African empire founded by Sundiata Keita around 1235 that controlled trans-Saharan gold and salt trade routes.

Il-Khanate

The Mongol khanate established in Persia and Iraq after 1256, eventually converting to Islam and adopting Persian administrative traditions.

junk

A large Chinese sailing vessel with multiple masts and watertight compartments, used for trade and naval operations during the Song Dynasty.

Reconquista

The centuries-long Christian military campaign to reclaim the Iberian Peninsula from Muslim rulers, concluding with the fall of Granada in 1492.

Mansa Musa

The fourteenth-century ruler of Mali whose famous pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 displayed enormous wealth and spread Islams influence in West Africa.

champa rice

A fast-ripening, drought-resistant rice variety imported from Vietnam that allowed Chinese farmers to harvest two crops per year.

madrasa

An Islamic school or college attached to a mosque that provided higher education in theology, law, and sciences across Dar al-Islam.

Timbuktu

A major city in the Mali Empire that became a renowned center of Islamic scholarship, trade, and culture in West Africa.

Golden Horde

The Mongol khanate that dominated the Russian steppes and forced Russian princes to pay tribute for roughly two centuries.

yam system

The Mongol relay station network that provided fresh horses and riders across the empire, enabling rapid communication and troop movement.

Chagatai Khanate

The Mongol khanate centered in Central Asia, named after Genghis Khans second son, controlling key Silk Road corridors.

dhow

A traditional Arab sailing vessel with triangular lateen sails used extensively for trade across the Indian Ocean and Persian Gulf.

hagia sophia

A massive domed church built in Constantinople under Justinian that remained the spiritual center of Eastern Orthodox Christianity during the Byzantine period.

Greek fire

A Byzantine incendiary weapon that could burn on water, giving Byzantine naval forces a significant military advantage against enemies.

Tenochtitlan

The island capital of the Aztec Empire built on Lake Texcoco, featuring causeways, aqueducts, and massive temples at its center.

Silk Roads

Ancient overland and maritime trade routes connecting East Asia, Central Asia, the Middle East, and Europe, facilitating commerce and cultural exchange.

Ibn Battuta

A 14th-century Muslim traveler from Morocco who journeyed across the Dar al-Islam, documenting societies from West Africa to Southeast Asia.

Genghis Khan

The founder and supreme ruler of the Mongol Empire who united nomadic tribes and launched massive conquests across Eurasia.

Neo-Confucianism

A revival of Confucian philosophy in Song Dynasty China that blended Buddhist and Taoist ideas with classical Confucian ethics and governance.

Civil Service Examination

A merit-based testing system in Song China used to select government officials, emphasizing knowledge of Confucian classics.

Woodblock Printing

A Song Dynasty technique for mass-producing texts by carving images or characters into wood blocks, spreading literacy and ideas.

Black Death

A devastating bubonic plague pandemic that swept through Eurasia and North Africa in the mid-fourteenth century, killing roughly one-third of Europes population.

Great Rift Valley

A geographic feature in East Africa whose fertile lands and resources supported early human settlement and later complex societies.

Vijayanagara Empire

A Hindu kingdom founded in southern India in 1336 that resisted Islamic expansion from the north and became a center of Sanskrit culture.

tribute system

A political arrangement in which subordinate states or peoples were required to send goods, labor, or payments to a dominant power.

Majapahit Empire

A powerful Hindu-Buddhist maritime empire based in Java that dominated much of Southeast Asia and Indian Ocean trade from 1293 to roughly 1500 CE.

Axum

An ancient East African kingdom in present-day Ethiopia that adopted Christianity early and served as a major Red Sea trading hub.

Sundiata Keita

The founder of the Mali Empire in West Africa, celebrated in oral tradition as a warrior-king who established a powerful trading state.

Eastern Orthodox Christianity

The form of Christianity dominant in the Byzantine Empire and Eastern Europe, separated from Roman Catholicism after the Schism of 1054.

Grand Canal

A massive waterway network in China connecting northern and southern regions, facilitating trade and the movement of rice and goods.

vertical archipelago

An Andean strategy of controlling ecological zones at different altitudes to access diverse food resources such as potatoes, maize, and fish.

House of Wisdom

A renowned scholarly institution in Abbasid Baghdad where translators and scholars preserved and advanced knowledge in science, mathematics, and philosophy.

Magnetic Compass

A navigational tool perfected in Song China that allowed sailors to determine direction accurately, revolutionizing maritime trade.

Gunpowder

An explosive mixture invented in China and refined during the Song Dynasty, later transforming warfare globally.

Caliphate

A political-religious Islamic state led by a caliph, regarded as the successor to the Prophet Muhammad and ruler of the Muslim community.

mit'a

An Andean labor tax system in which communities owed the Inca state a set period of labor on state projects such as roads or temples.

Ghana Empire

An early West African kingdom that grew wealthy controlling gold and salt trade routes before declining around the 13th century.

Trans-Saharan Trade

Long-distance commerce crossing the Sahara Desert, connecting Sub-Saharan Africa with North Africa and the Mediterranean, trading gold, salt, and enslaved people.

Sufism

A mystical branch of Islam emphasizing personal spiritual experience and direct connection to God, which helped spread Islam across diverse cultures.

quipu

An Andean recording device made of knotted strings used by Inca administrators to record numerical data, tribute, and census information.

Byzantine Emperor

The ruler of the Byzantine Empire who wielded both political authority and significant influence over the Eastern Orthodox Christian Church.

Angkor Wat

A massive Hindu-Buddhist temple complex built in twelfth-century Cambodia that served as the spiritual and administrative center of the Khmer Empire.

Khmer Empire

A powerful Southeast Asian kingdom centered at Angkor Wat that synthesized Hindu and Buddhist traditions and dominated the mainland from 800 to 1431 CE.

Abbasid Caliphate

An Islamic empire centered in Baghdad that flourished from 750 to 1258, renowned as a golden age of science, philosophy, and trade.

Bantu Migrations

The long-term southward and eastward spread of Bantu-speaking peoples across sub-Saharan Africa, carrying agriculture, iron-working, and language.

Monasticism

A way of religious life in which individuals withdrew from society to live in communities dedicated to prayer, labor, and spiritual discipline.

Investiture Controversy

A conflict between medieval European kings and the papacy over who held the authority to appoint church officials and bishops.

Guild

An association of craftsmen or merchants in medieval Europe that regulated trade practices, set standards, and trained apprentices.

Al-Biruni

A Muslim polymath of the 11th century who studied Indian science, culture, and religion, exemplifying the intellectual curiosity of the Islamic golden age.

Aztec Triple Alliance

A political coalition of three city-states, including Tenochtitlan, that formed the foundation of Aztec imperial power in central Mexico.

Vassalage

A feudal relationship in which a person pledged loyalty and military service to a lord in exchange for land or protection.

Thomas Aquinas

A 13th-century theologian who used scholastic methods to harmonize Christian faith with Aristotelian reason in his influential works.

Bhakti Movement

A devotional Hindu movement in South Asia emphasizing personal love and worship of a deity, challenging caste distinctions and spreading widely.

Chinampas

Floating agricultural gardens developed by the Aztecs on lake surfaces, dramatically increasing food production in the Valley of Mexico.

Dar al-Islam

Arabic for the house of Islam, referring to regions under Islamic law and governance where Muslim culture and commerce flourished.

Song Dynasty

A Chinese dynasty (960–1279) known for economic prosperity, technological innovation, and a strong bureaucratic government centered on Confucian ideals.

Stateless Society

A form of social organization without centralized political authority, governed instead by kinship, councils, or other decentralized structures, common in parts of Africa.

Pope

The head of the Roman Catholic Church, wielding significant religious authority and often influencing political affairs in medieval Europe.

Delhi Sultanate

A series of Muslim dynasties that ruled much of northern India from 1206 to 1526, introducing Islamic governance and culture to the subcontinent.

Hanseatic League

A commercial confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in northern Europe that dominated Baltic and North Sea trade in the medieval period.

Scholasticism

A medieval European intellectual tradition that sought to reconcile Christian theology with classical Greek philosophy, especially Aristotle.

Lateen Sail

A triangular sail that allowed ships to sail against the wind, enabling Arab and Indian Ocean traders to navigate monsoon wind patterns efficiently.

Zakat

One of the five pillars of Islam requiring Muslims to give a portion of their wealth to the poor, shaping economic practices across Muslim societies.

Chola Dynasty

A powerful South Indian empire known for maritime trade, naval power, and cultural influence across Southeast Asia from the 9th to 13th centuries.

Ibn Rushd

A Muslim scholar in Iberia known in the West as Averroes, whose commentaries on Aristotle greatly influenced medieval European scholastic thought.

Sapa Inca

The supreme ruler of the Inca Empire, regarded as divine and descended from the sun god Inti, holding absolute political and religious authority.

Feudalism

A hierarchical political and social system in medieval Europe where lords granted land to vassals in exchange for military service and loyalty.

Spread of Islam

The rapid expansion of the Islamic faith through trade, conquest, missionary activity, and Sufi orders across Africa, Asia, and parts of Europe.

Theravada Buddhism

A branch of Buddhism emphasizing individual monastic practice that became dominant in mainland Southeast Asia during this period.

Borobudur

A massive Buddhist temple complex in Java, Indonesia, reflecting the spread of Buddhism and sophisticated state-building in Southeast Asia.

Indian Ocean Trade Network

A vast system of sea routes connecting East Africa, the Middle East, South Asia, and Southeast Asia, facilitating exchange of goods and ideas.

Magna Carta

A 1215 English charter that limited royal power and established principles of legal rights, influencing later democratic governance.

Monsoon Winds

Seasonal wind patterns over the Indian Ocean that allowed predictable sailing schedules, making Indian Ocean trade routes reliable and profitable.

Inca Empire

The largest pre-Columbian empire in the Americas, centered in the Andes, known for its road system, administrative efficiency, and labor obligations.

Caste System

A rigid Hindu social hierarchy dividing people into hereditary groups with distinct roles and varying levels of social status.

Holy Roman Empire

A medieval European political entity in Central Europe, nominally uniting German kingdoms under an emperor who often clashed with the papacy.

Hindu-Buddhist Synthesis

The blending of Hindu and Buddhist religious and artistic traditions that characterized many Southeast Asian kingdoms such as the Khmer Empire.

Theocracy

A form of government in which religious authority and political power are combined, with rulers claiming divine sanction.

Andean Road System

An extensive Inca network of roads stretching thousands of miles, enabling military movement, trade, and administrative communication across the empire.

Sanskrit

The classical language of ancient India used for religious texts, literature, and administration, spread across South and Southeast Asia through trade.

Ottoman Empire

A rising Turkish Muslim state in Anatolia that would eventually conquer Constantinople in 1453, marking the end of the Byzantine Empire.

Constantinople

The capital of the Byzantine Empire, a major center of Christianity and trade, later conquered by the Ottoman Turks in 1453.

Serf

A peasant legally bound to a lords land in medieval Europe, required to perform labor and pay dues in exchange for protection.

Hajj

The Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca required of Muslims who are able, fostering a sense of global Muslim community and enabling long-distance cultural exchange.

Tithe

A tax of one-tenth of income paid to the Catholic Church, providing the Church with enormous financial resources in medieval Europe.

Human Sacrifice

A religious practice in Aztec society in which individuals were offered to the gods, believed necessary to maintain cosmic order and the suns movement.

Calpulli

A basic social and territorial unit of Aztec society, similar to a clan or ward, organizing labor, land use, and community life.

Battle of Ain Jalut

The 1260 battle in which the Mamluk army defeated the Mongols, halting their expansion into Egypt and preserving Islamic civilization in North Africa.

Chola Maritime Trade

The seaborne commercial network operated by the Chola Dynasty linking South India with Southeast Asia and the Persian Gulf.

University

An institution of higher learning that emerged in medieval Europe, initially focused on theology, law, and medicine under Church influence.

Mandala System

A Southeast Asian political model describing loose networks of power radiating from a central ruler, with loyalty decreasing at the outer edges.

Seljuk Turks

A Turkic Muslim dynasty that controlled much of the Middle East and Central Asia, challenging Byzantine power and triggering the First Crusade.

Patriarch of Constantinople

The head of the Eastern Orthodox Church, rivaling the authority of the Roman pope and serving as a key figure in Byzantine religious life.

Pilgrimage

A religious journey to a sacred site, practiced by Christians, Muslims, and Hindus alike, promoting cultural exchange and economic activity.

Roman Law

The legal tradition of ancient Rome preserved and codified in the Byzantine Empire, forming a foundation for legal systems across Europe.

Feudal Pyramid

The hierarchical structure of medieval European feudalism placing the king at the top, followed by nobles, knights, and peasants at the base.

Cathedral

A large, ornate Christian church that served as the seat of a bishop, reflecting the power and wealth of the medieval Catholic Church.

Excommunication

The act of formally expelling a person from the Catholic Church, a powerful weapon used by popes against disobedient rulers.

Justinian I

A 6th-century Byzantine emperor who reconquered lost territories, codified Roman law, and built the Hagia Sophia, shaping Byzantine civilization.

Huacas

Sacred places, objects, or beings in Andean religious belief, reflecting a worldview in which the divine was present throughout the natural world.

Rajas

Indian rulers or princes who governed regional kingdoms, often maintaining authority through religious legitimacy and military power.

Mamluk Sultanate

A powerful Muslim state ruled by former slave-soldiers in Egypt that stopped the Mongol advance at the Battle of Ain Jalut in 1260.

Sun Stone

An Aztec carved stone calendar and cosmological monument reflecting the importance of timekeeping and cyclical religious belief in Mesoamerican society.

Llama

A domesticated South American camelid used by Andean civilizations for transportation, wool, and meat, essential to the Inca economy.

Maritime Trade

Commerce conducted over sea routes, which expanded dramatically in this period due to improved ship designs and navigational knowledge.

Syncretic Religion

A religious tradition that blends elements from two or more distinct belief systems, often resulting from cultural contact and exchange.

Jurchens

A semi-nomadic people from Manchuria who founded the Jin Dynasty, displacing the Song Dynasty from northern China in the 12th century.

Age-Grade System

A social organization in which community members of similar age form a group with shared responsibilities and privileges, common in African societies.

State Religion

An officially endorsed religion that a government uses to legitimize authority and unify its population under a shared set of beliefs.

Tributary State

A politically subordinate state that pays tribute in goods or labor to a more powerful empire in exchange for protection and autonomy.

Mesoamerican Ball Game

A ritual sport played across Mesoamerica with deep religious significance, often connected to sacrifice and the movement of celestial bodies.

Swahili City-States

Prosperous coastal trading cities in East Africa, such as Kilwa and Mombasa, that grew wealthy through Indian Ocean commerce.

Salt Trade

The commerce in salt, a vital preservative and dietary mineral, that drove trans-Saharan trade networks and the wealth of West African empires.

Iron Working

The technology of smelting and shaping iron, which spread across Africa and Asia enabling more effective farming tools and weapons.

Southern Song Dynasty

The period after 1127 when the Song court relocated south of the Yangtze River following Jurchen conquest of northern China.

Swahili Language

A Bantu language incorporating Arabic loanwords that emerged on the East African coast as a common tongue for Indian Ocean trade.

Kublai Khan

Grandson of Genghis Khan who conquered Song China and founded the Yuan Dynasty, expanding Mongol influence into East Asia.

Toltec Empire

A Mesoamerican civilization that preceded the Aztecs and influenced later cultures through militarism and trade networks in central Mexico.

Terrace Farming

An agricultural technique used in the Andes to carve flat platforms into hillsides, maximizing arable land in mountainous terrain.

Nomadic Pastoralism

A way of life based on herding animals across seasonal pastures, characteristic of Mongol, Turkic, and other Central Asian peoples.

Bureaucracy

A system of government administration organized by trained officials following established rules, central to the governance of large empires.

Mayan City-States

Independent urban centers in Mesoamerica governed by divine kings, known for monumental architecture, hieroglyphic writing, and advanced astronomy.

Jizya

A tax levied on non-Muslim subjects living under Islamic rule, granting them protection and limited religious autonomy.

Scholar-Gentry Class

An educated elite in Song China who passed civil service exams and managed government, forming the backbone of imperial administration.

Cahokia

A large pre-Columbian city near present-day St. Louis built by the Mississippian culture, representing complex social organization in North America.

Patriarchy

A social system in which men hold primary power and women are systematically subordinated in family, economic, and political life.

Legitimacy

The accepted right of a ruler or government to hold power, often justified by tradition, religion, military success, or popular consent.

Coptic Christianity

The ancient Christian tradition of Egypt and Ethiopia, one of the oldest forms of Christianity in the world, persisting through the medieval period.

Tributary Relationship

A political arrangement in which a weaker polity acknowledges the supremacy of a stronger one by providing regular gifts or payments.

Matrilineal Descent

A system of tracing ancestry and inheritance through the mothers line, practiced by various African and Native American societies.

Yuan Dynasty

The Mongol-ruled dynasty of China established by Kublai Khan after 1271, marking the first time foreigners ruled all of China.

Great Wall of China

A series of fortifications along Chinas northern border expanded during various dynasties to protect against nomadic invasions from the steppes.

Gold Trade

The commerce in gold mined in West Africa that fueled the economies of Ghana, Mali, and later Songhai, linking sub-Saharan Africa to global markets.

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of cultural elements such as religion, technology, and language from one society to another through trade, migration, or conquest.

Samarkand

A major Central Asian city on the Silk Roads that thrived as a hub of trade, scholarship, and Islamic culture between 1200 and 1450.

Daimyo

Powerful feudal lords in Japan who controlled land and warriors, playing a role similar to European nobles during the medieval period.

Wari Empire

A pre-Inca Andean civilization that built extensive road networks and administrative centers, prefiguring later Inca state-building strategies.

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