Key Terms
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Abbasid Caliphate
• Cosmopolitan Arabic dynasty (750-1258) that
replaced the Umayyads; founded by Abu alAbbas and reached its peak under Harun alRashid
Al-Andalus
• Islamic Spain
Ali
• C. 599-661…cousin and son in law of
Muhammad; one of the orthodox caliphs;
focus of Shi’a
Almohadis
• A reformist movement among the Islamic
Berbers of northern Africa; later than the
Almoravids; penetrated into sub-Saharan
Africa
Anatolia
• Modern day Turkey
Angkor Dynasty
• Southeast Asian Khmer kingdom (8891432)that was centered on the temple cities
of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat
Ashikaga Shogunate
• Replaced the Kamakura regime in Japan; ruled
from 1336 to 1573; destroyed rival Yoshino
center of imperial authority
Astrolabe
• Navigational instrument for determining
latitude
Aztec Empire
• Central American empire constructed by the
Mexica and expanded greatly during the
fifteenth century during the reigns of Itzcoatl
and Motecuzoma I
Baghdad
• Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near
ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon
Abu Bakr
• First caliph after the death of Muhammad
Bakufu
• Military government established by the
Minamoto following the Gempei Wars;
centered at Kamakura; retained emperor but
real power resided in military government and
samurai
Bedouin
• Nomadic pastoralist of the Arabian peninsula;
culture based on camel and goat nomadism;
early converts to Islam
Black Death (Bubonic Plague)
• Plague that struck Europe in 14th century;
significantly reduced Europe’s population;
affected social structure
Borobudur
• Largest Buddhist monument in the world;
located on Java
Boyars
• Russian aristocrats; possessed less political
power than did their counterparts in western
Europe
Bushi
• Regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small
kingdoms from fortresses; administered the
law, supervised public works projects, and
collected revenues; built up private armies
Byzantine Empire
• Long lasting empire centered at
Constantinople; it grew out of the end of the
Roman Empire, carried the legacy of Roman
greatness, and was the only classical society to
survive into the early modern age; it reached
its peak during the reign of Justinian (483-565)
Caesaropapism
• Concept related to the mixing of political and
religious authority, as with the Roman
emperors, that was central to the church
versus state controversy in medieval Europe
Caliph
• “Deputy”…Islamic leader after the death of
Muhammad
Carolingian Dynasty
• Germanic dynasty named for its most famous
member, Charlemagne; royal house of Franks
after 8th century until their replacement in
10th century
Chang’an
• Capital of Tang Dynasty; population of 2
million, larger than any other city in the world
at that time
Charlemagne
• Charles the Great; Carolingian monarch who
established substantial empire in France and
Germany c. 800
Chinampas
• Agricultural gardens used by the Mexica
(Aztec) in which fertile muck from lake
bottoms was dredged and built up into small
plots
Chinnggis Khan (Genghis Khan)
• Born in 1170s in decades following death of
Kabul Khan, elected khagan of all Mongol
tribes in 1206; responsible for conquest of
northern kingdoms of China, territories as far
west as the Abbasid regions; died in 1227,
prior to conquest of most of Islamic world
Clovis
• Early Frankish king; converted Franks to
Christianity c. 496; allowed establishment of
Frankish kingdom
Crusades
• Series of military adventures initially launched
by western Christians to free Holy Land from
Muslims; temporarily succeeded in capturing
Jerusalem and establishing Christian kingdoms
later used for other purposes such as
commercial wars and extermination of heresy
Cryllic alphabet
• Written script for Slavic language created by
Cyril (827-869) and Methodius (826-885),
missionaries sent by Byzantine government to
eastern Europe and the Balkans; converted
southern Russia and Balkans to Orthodox
Christianity
Daimyos
• Powerful territorial lords in early modern
Japan
Delhi Sultanate
• 1206-1526….Islamic state led by former
Mamluk slaves originally from Afghanistan,
who governed north India from their capital at
Delhi. At their peak, in the early 1300s, they
controlled nearly all of the Indian
subcontinent
Dhimmi
• Islam concept of a protected people, “people
of the book,” applied to Jews and Christians in
Islamic territories and later to Zoroastrians
and Hindus that was symbolic of Islamic
toleration during the Mughal and Ottoman
empires
Dhow
• Indian, Persian and Arab ships with triangular
or lateen sail, one hundred to four hundred
tons, that sailed and traded throughout the
Indian Ocean basin.
Feudalism
• The legal and social system in Europe from
1000 to 1400 in which serfs worked the land
and subordinates performed military service
for their lord in return for his protection.
Five Pillars of Faith
• The foundation of Islam; obligatory religious
duties: (1) profession of faith; (2) prayer; (3)
fasting during Ramadan; (4) alms giving; (5)
pilgrimage, or hajj.
Flying Money
• Chinese credit instrument that provided credit
vouchers to merchants to be redeemed at the
end of the voyage; reduced danger of robbery;
early form of currency
Footbinding
• Practice in Chinese society to mutilate
women’s feet in order to make them smaller;
produced pain and restricted women’s
movement; made it easier to confine women
to the household
Fujiwara
• Japanese aristocratic family in mid-9th century;
exercised exceptional influence over imperial
affairs; aided in decline of imperial power
Vasco da Gama
• Portuguese captain who sailed for India in
1497; established early Portuguese
domination of Indian Ocean
Ghana
• Kingdom in west Africa during the fifth
through thirteenth century whose rulers
eventually converted to Islam; its power and
wealth was based on dominating trans
Saharan trade
Golden Horde
• One of the four subdivisions of the Mongol
Empire after Chinggis Khan’s death; originally
ruled by his grandson Batu; territory covered
much of what is today south central Russia
Gothic
• An architectural style developed during the
Middle Ages in western Europe; featured
pointed arches and flying buttresses as
external supports on main walls
Grand Canal
• Built in 7th century during reign of Yangdi
during Sui dynasty; designed to link the
original centers of Chinese civilization on the
north China plain with the Yangtze river basin
to the south, nearly 1200 miles long
Great Zimbabwe
• Bantu confederation of Shona speaking
peoples located between Zanbezi and
Limpopo rivers; developed after 8th century;
featured royal courts built of stone; created
centralized state by 15th century; king took
title of Mwene Mutapa
Greek fire
• Byzantine weapon consisting of mixture of
chemicals that ignited when exposed to water;
utilized to drive back the Arab fleets that
attached Constantinople
Gregory VII
• Pope during the 11th century who attempted
to free church from interference of the feudal
lords; quarreled with Holy Roman Emperor
Henry IV over practice of lay investiture
Griot
• Professional oral historians who served as
keepers of traditions and advisors to kings
with the Mali Empire
Guilds
• Sworn association of people in the same
business or craft in a single city; stressed
security and mutual control, limited
membership; regulated apprenticeship;
guaranteed good workmanship; often
established franchise within cities
Hagia Sophia
• Massive Christian church constructed by the
Byzantine emperor Justinian and later
converted to a mosque
Hajj
• Pilgrimage to Mecca…one of the Five Pillars of
Faith
Henry the Navigator
• Portuguese prince responsible for direction of
series of expeditions along the African coast in
the 15th century; marked beginning of western
European expansion
Hijra
• Muhammad’s migration from Mecca to
Medina in 622, which is considered the
beginning point of the Islamic calendar and is
considered to mark the beginning of the
Islamic faith
Holy Roman Empire
• Located in northern Italy and Germany
following split of Charlemagne’s empire; failed
to develop centralized monarchy
Huitzilopochtli
• Sun god and patron deity of the Aztecs
Hundred Years’ War
• Conflict between England and France from
1337 to 1453; fought over lands England
possessed in France and feudal rights versus
the emerging claims of national states
Ibn Battuta
• Born c. 1304…Arab traveler who described
African societies and cultures in his travel
records
Iconoclasm
• Movement begun by the Byzantine emperor
Leo III (ruled 717-741) to destroy religious
icons because their veneration was considered
sinful
Inca Empire
• Powerful South American empire that would
reach its peak in the fifteenth century during
the reigns of Pachacuti Inca and Topa Inca
Indian Ocean Trade Network
• Connection of ports around the Indian Ocean
in East Africa, Arabia, and western India.
Dhows traveled from port to port along the
coast carrying goods
Inquisition
• Special court established by the pope to hear
charges against those accused of heresy. Used
anonymous informants; forced interrogations;
torture to identify heretics. Those found
guilty were usually burned at the stake.
Investiture Controversy
• One aspect of the medieval European church
vs state conflict, who should be granting
church offices: a lay leader (ruler) or a church
leader (Pope)
Iroquois Confederacy
• Eastern American Indian confederation or
grouping made up of the Mohawk, Oneida,
Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca tribes
Janissaries
• Turkish word meaning “new soldier”; soldiers
of the Ottomans, recruited from conquered
Christians; Ottomans required them to be
celibate so that they would not have
descendants.
Jihad
• Struggle; often used for wars in defense of the
faith
Jizya
• Tax in Islamic empires that was imposed on
non-Muslims
Junks
• Chinese ships equipped with watertight
bulkheads sternpost rudders, compasses, and
bamboo fenders, dominant force in Asian seas
east of the Malayan peninsula
Jurchens
• From Manchuria; defeated by the Mongols
Ka’ba
• Most revered religious shrine in pre-Islamic
Arabia; located in Mecca; focus of obligatory
annual truce among bedouin tribes; later
incorporated as important shrine in Islam
Kamakura Shogunate
• 1185-1333…Japan under control of Minamoto
clan with government controlled by shogun
ruling in name of emperor
Khanates
• Four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose
following the death of Chingghis Khan
Khitans
• Nomadic peoples of Manchuria militarily
superior to Song dynasty China but influenced
by Chinese culture; forced humiliating treaties
on Song China in 11th century
Khmers
• Indianized rivals of the Vietnamese; moved
into Mekong River delta region at time of
Vietnamese drive to the south
Khubilai Khan
• 1215-1294… grandson of Chingghis Khan
commander of Mongol forces responsible for
conquest of China; became Khagan (khan) in
1260; established sinicized Mongol Yuan
dynasty in China in 1271
Kievan Russia
• Predecessor to modern Russia; medieval state
which existed from the end of the 9th to the
middle of the 13th century; territory spanned
parts of modern Belarus, Ukraine, and Russia
Lateen sail
• Triangular sails attached to the masts of
dhows by long booms or yard arms which
extended diagonally high across the fore and
aft of the ship
Magna Carta
• Great Charter issued by King John of England
in 1215; confirmed feudal rights against
monarchical claims; represented principles of
mutual limits and obligations between rulers
and feudal aristocracy
Mahmud of Ghazni
• 971-1030….third ruler of Turkish slave dynasty
in Afghanistan; led invasions of northern India;
credited with sacking one of wealthiest of
Hindu temples in northern India gave Muslims
reputation for intolerance and aggression
Malacca
• Portuguese factory or fortified trade town
located on the tip of the Malayan peninsula;
traditionally a center for trade among the
southeastern Asian islands
Mali
• West African kingdom founded in the
thirteenth century by Sundiata; it reached its
peak during the reign of Mansa Musa
Mamluk Empire
• Muslim slave warriors; established a dynasty
in Egypt; defeated the Mongols at Ain Jalut in
1260 and halted Mongol advance
Manorialism
• System that described economic and political
relations between landlords and their peasant
laborers during the Middle Ages; involved a
hierarchy of reciprocal obligations that
exhanged labor or rents for access to land
Mansa Musa
• Ruled 1307-1332….successor to Sundiata who
made a hajj (pilgrimage) to Mecca
accompanied by 500 servants each carrying a
staff of gold weighing 6 pounds and 100
camels carrying about 700 pounds of gold. His
gifts and expenditures of gold seriously
impacted the economy of northern Africa
Mecca
• City located in mountainous region along the
Red Sea in Arabian peninsula; founded by
Umayyad clan of Bedouins; site of Ka’ba;
original home of Muhammad; location of chief
religious pilgrimage point in Islam
Middle Ages
• The period in western European history from
the decline and fall of the Roman Empire until
the 15th century
Minamoto
• Defeated the rival Taira family in Gempei Wars
and established military government (bakufu)
in 12th century Japan
Ming Dynasty
• Succeeded Yuan dynasty (1368-1644)
founded by Hongwu and known for its cultural
brilliance; initially mounted huge trade
expeditions to southern Asian and elsewhere,
but later concentrated efforts on internal
development within China
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
Mongols
• Central Asian nomadic people smashed TurkoPersian kingdoms; captured Baghdad in 1258
and killed last Abbasid caliph
Monsoons
• Seasonal winds in South Asia blowing
northeast in spring and early summer and
southwest in fall and winter, bringing heavy
seasonal rains
Movable type
• First developed in China after 1040. Printers
made individual characters from clay, fired
them in a kiln, set them in an iron frame, and
printed pages by pressing paper against the
inked type
Mughal Empire
• Islamic dynasty that ruled India from the
sixteenth through the eighteenth century, the
construction of the Taj Mahal is representative
of their splendor; with the exception of the
enlightened reign of Akbar, the increasing
conflict between Hindus and Muslims was
another of their legacies
Muhammad
• Prophet of Islam (570-632) born c. 570 to clan
of Bedouin tribe in Mecca; raised by father’s
family; received revelations from Allah in 610
and thereafter; died in 632
Neo-Confucianism
• Philosophy that attempted to merge certain
basic elements of Confucianism and Buddhist
thought; revived ancient Confucian teachings
in Song era China; great impact on dynasties
that followed; emphasis on tradition and
hostility to foreign systems made Chinese
rulers and bureaucrats less receptive to
outside ideas and influences
Ottoman Empire
• Powerful Turkish empire that lasted from the
fall of Constantinople (Istanbul) in 1453 until
1918 and reached its peak under the reign of
Suleiman the Magnificent (ruled 1520-1566)
Parliament
• Body representing privileged groups;
institutionalized feudal principle that rulers
should consult with their vassals; found in
England, Spain, Germany, and France
Patriarch
• Leader of the Greek Orthodox church, which
in 1054 officially split with the Pope and the
Roman Catholic Church
Pochteca
• Special merchant class in Aztec society
specialized in long distance trade of luxury
items
Pope
• Leader of the Catholic Church headquartered
in Rome
Prestor John
• In legends popular from 12th to 17th centuries,
a mythical Christian monarch whose kingdom
was cut off from Europe by Muslim conquests;
Quetzalcoatl
• Aztec god, the feathered serpent, who was
borrowed originally from the Toltecs; believed
to have been defeated by another god and
who promised to return
Quipu
• Incan mnemonic aid comprised of different
colored strings and knots that served to
record events in the absence of a written text
Ramadan
• Islamic month of religious observance
requiring fasting from dawn to sunset
Renaissance
• Cultural and political movement in western
Europe; began in Italy c. 1400; rested on
urban vitality and expanding commerce;
features a literature and art with distinctly
more secular priorities than those of the
Middle Ages
Sahel
• “shore”, the boundary between the Sahara
Desert and the rest of Africa
Saladin
• Muslim leader in the last decade of the 12th
century; reconquered most of the crusader
outposts for Islam
Samurai
• Mounted troops of Japanese warrior leaders
(bushi); loyal to local lords, not the emperor
Scholasticism
• Medieval attempt of thinkers such as Thomas
Aquinas to merge the beliefs of Christianity
with the logical rigor of the Greek
philosophers
Seljuk Turks
• Nomadic invaders from central Asia via Persia;
staunch Sunnis; ruled in the name of the
Abbasid caliphs from mid-11th century
Serfs
• Peasants who, though not chattel slaves, were
tied to the land who owed obligations to the
lords whose land they worked
Sharia
• The Islamic holy law, drawn up by theologians
from the Quran and accounts of Muhammad’s
life
Shi’a (Shi’ite)
• Islamic minority in opposition to the Sunni
majority; their belief is that leadership should
reside in the line descended from Muhammad
Ali
Shoguns
• Japanese military leader who ruled in place of
the emperor
Sikhism
• An Indian syncretic religion that blends
elements of Hinduism and Islam
Simony
• The sale of church office in Europe. Since
church office was considered sacred, its sale
was a sin.
Song Dynasty
• Chinese dynasty (960-1279) that was marked
by an increasingly urbanized and
cosmopolitan society
Songhay (Songhai)
• Successor state to Mali; dominated middle
reaches of Niger valley; formed as
independent kingdom under a Berber
dynasty; capital at Gao; reached imperial
status under Sunni Ali (1464-1492)
Srivijaya
• Southeast Asian kingdom (670-1025), based
on the island of Sumatra, that used a powerful
navy to dominate trade
Stateless societies
• Term relating to societies such as those of subSaharan Africa after the Bantu migrations that
featured decentralized rule through family and
kinship groups instead of strongly centralized
hierarchies
Sufi
• Islamic mystics who placed more emphasis on
emotion and devotion than on strict
adherence to rules
Sultan
• Ruler in Arabic. Any head of an Islamic state.
States they ruled are called sultanates.
Sundiata
• Founder of the Mali empire, the “Lion Prince”
(ruled 1230-1255), also the inspiration for the
Sundiata, an African literary and mythological
work
Sunni
• Traditionalists, the most popular branch of
Islam; Sunnis believe in the legitimacy of the
early caliphs, compared with the Shi’ite belief
that only a descendent of Muhammad can live
Swahili
• East African city-state society that dominated
the coast from Mogadishu to Kilwa and was
active in trade
Taika Reforms
• Attempt to remake Japanese monarch into an
absolute Chinese style emperor; included
attempts to create professional bureaucracy
and peasant conscript army
Tale of the Genji
• Written by Lady Murasaki; first novel in any
language; relates life history of prominent and
amorous son of the Japanese emperor;
evidence for mannered style of Japanese
society
Tang Dynasty
• 618-907…political and cultural high point in
Chinese history. Tang emperors combined
elements of the Qin/Han empire with new
measures to create a government that spread
to Tibet, Korea, and Japan
Tenochtitlan
• Capital of the Aztec empire, later Mexico City;
Founded c. 1325 on marshy island in Lake
Texcoco; became center of Aztec power;
joined with Tlacopan and Texcoco in 1434 to
form a triple alliance that controlled most of
the central plateau of Mesoamerica
Three Estates
• The three social groups considered most
powerful in Western countries; church,
nobles, everyone else
Three-field system
• System of agricultural cultivation by 9th
century in western Europe; included one-third
in spring grains, one third fallow, and one third
in fall crops
Timbuktu
• Port city of Mali; located just off the flood
plain on the great bend in the Niger River;
population of 50000; contained a library and
university
Timur the Lame
• Aka Tamerlane, (c. 1336-1405), who
conquered an empire ranging from the Black
Sea to Samarkand
Toltec culture
• Central American society (950-1150) centered
on the city of Tula that succeeded Teotihuacan
culture in central Mexico; strongly militaristic
ethic including human sacrifice; influenced
large territory after 1000; declined after 1200
Trung sisters
• Leaders of one of the frequent peasant
rebellions in Vietnam against Chinese rule;
demonstrates importance of Vietnamese
women in indigenous society
Umayyad Caliphate
• Arabic dynasty (661-750) with its capital at
Damascus, that was marked by a tremendous
period of expansion to Spain in the west and
India in the east
Umma
• Islamic term for the “community of the
faithful”; transcended old tribal boundaries to
create degree of political unity
Pope Urban II
• Called First Crusade in 1095; appealed to
Christians to mount military assault to free
Holy Land from the Muslims
Vassals
• Members of the military elite who received
land or a benefice from a feudal lord in return
for military service and loyalty
Vikings
• Seagoing Scandinavian raiders from Sweden,
Denmark, and Norway who disrupted coastal
areas of western Europe from the 8th to the
11th centuries
William the Conqueror
• Invaded England from Normany in 1066;
extended tight feudal system to England;
established administrative system based on
sheriffs; established centralized monarchy
White Lotus Society
• Secret religious society dedicated to
overthrow of Yuan dynasty in China; typical of
peasant resistance to Mongol rule
Yuan Dynasty
• Chinese dynasty (1279-1368) that was
founded by the Mongol ruler, Khubilai Khan
Zheng He
• Chinese Muslim admiral who commanded
series of Indian Ocean, Persian Gulf, and Red
Sea trade expeditions under third Ming
emperor, Yunglo, between 1405 and 1433