Unit Two of AP World History Key Terms to study for the AP test
Magnetic Compass (2.1)
Theme: Technology
Chinese improvements for naval traveling that boosted trade expansion; aided in navigation
Rudder (2.1)
Theme: Technology
Chinese improvements for naval traveling that boosted trade expansion; aided in ship control
Junk (2.1)
Theme: Technology
A chinese made boat that had multiple sails and 400 feet long, good for trade voyages and increased naval trade
Mongol Empire (2.1)
Theme: Government
Largest continual land empire in all of history, conquered the Abbasid Caliphate as long as the Song Dynasty and took control of the silk road. The Mongols improved roads and punished bandits while establishing new trade channels. Unified parts of the Silk Road in a system under the control of an authority that enforced laws
Kashgar (2.1)
Theme: Culture
Thriving center of trade
Caravanserai (2.1)
Theme: Economics
inns where travelers and their animals could rest
Samarkand (2.1)
Theme: Culture
center of cultural exchange as well as a center for trading goods
Money Economy (2.1)
Theme: Economics
using money rather than bartering with commodities
Paper Money (2.1)
Theme: Economics
paper money to spend instead of items
Flying Cash (2.1)
Theme: Economics
a system of credit where merchants could deposit an amount of money in his name in one location and withdraw the same amount in another location
Bill of Exchange (2.1)
Theme: Economics
a document stating the holder was legally promised payment of a set amount on a set date
Banking Houses (2.1)
Theme: Economics
At a banking house a person could present a bill of exchange and receive that amount of money in exchange
Hanseatic League (2.1)
Theme: Economics
An alliance formed by cities in northern Germany and Scandinavia that controlled trade in the north sea and monopolize trade
Mongols (2.2)
Theme: Government
multiple clans of pastoral nomads who herded goats and sheep and who were also hunter-foragers. Expected everyone, male and female, to become skilled horse riders, and they highly valued courage in hunting and warfare.
Khan (2.2)
Theme: Government
means king
Kuriltai (2.2)
Theme: Government
Meeting
Genghis Kahn (2.2)
Theme: Government
Ruler of all and leader of the Mongol Empire
Khanate (2.2)
Theme: Government
Genghis Khan’s kingdom that reached from the the North China Sea to eastern Persia.
Pax Mongolica (2.2)
Theme: Government
The period of Eurasian history between the 13th and 14th centuries, , he instituted a policy of religious tolerance throughout the empire
Batu (2.2)
Theme: Government
the son of Khan’s oldest son, led a Mongolian army of 100,000 soldiers into Russia
Golden Horde (2.2)
Theme: Government
Batu’s army, marched westward, conquering the small Russian kingdoms and forcing them to pay tributes.
Moscow (2.2)
Theme: Government
set aside tributes to develop an army to resist the Mongols, and began building an anti-Mongol coalition among the Russian city states. This coalition, under Moscow’s leadership, rose up against the Golden Horde and defeated it in 1380 at the Battle of Kulikovo.
Hulegu (2.2)
Theme: Government
another grandson of Genghis Khan, took charge of the southwest region, led the Mongols into the Abbasid territories, where they destroyed the city of Baghdad and killed the caliph, along with perhaps 200,000 residents of the city. They were defeated as a result of a temporary alliance between the Muslim Mamluks, under their military leader Baibars, and Christian Crusaders in Palestine.
Il- khanate (2.2)
Theme: Government
Hulegu’s kingdom
Gobi Desert (2.2)
Theme: Environment
Mongols started out north of the Gobi desert as hunter-gatherers
Siege weapons (2.2)
Theme: Technology
such as portable towers used to attack walled fortifcations and catapults that hurled stones or other objects. Created by the expertise of captured engineers who knew how to produce improved siege weapons.
Cannon (2.2)
Theme: Technology
a Mongol invention, cobbled together using Chinese gunpowder, Muslim flamethrowers, and European bell-casting techniques.
Uyghur alphabet (2.2)
Theme: Culture
Genghis Khan’s effort to unify his empire, the effort to establish one system throughout the empire failed
White Lotus Society (2.2)
Theme: Society
a society quietly organizing to put an end to the Yuan Dynasty.
Bubonic Plague (2.2)
Theme: Society
• The Mongol conquests helped to transmit the fleas that carried the bubonic plague,`
Malacca (2.3)
Theme: Government
city state that became wealthy by building a navy and by imposing fees on ships that passed through the Strait of Malacca, a narrow inlet that many ship captains used to travel between ports in India and ports in China
Gujarat (2.3)
Theme: Government
The western Indian Rajput kingdom. became the go-between for trade between the East and West. The revenue from customs in Gujarat was many times more than the entire worth of some European states.
Swahili city States (2.3)
Theme: Government
bustling commercial centers and thriving city-states along the east coast of Africa created by the Indian Ocean trade
Calicut (2.3)
Theme: Economy
A on the west coast of India that became thriving centers of trade due to interactions with merchants from East Africa and Southwest Asia.
Spice Island (2.3)
Theme: Economy
Modern-day Malaysia and Indonesia, known as the Spice Islands because of the fragrant nutmeg, cinnamon, cloves, and cardamom they exported.
Indian Ocean Basin (2.3)
Theme: Environment
trade route for the indian ocean trade
Monsoon Winds (2.3)
Theme: Environment
Knowledge of monsoon winds was essential for trading in the Indian Ocean. In the winter months, winds originated from the northeast, while in the spring and summer, they blew from the southwest. Merchants had to time their voyages carefully, often remaining in port cities for months at a time, depending on when favorable winds would come their way.
Lateen Sails (2.3)
Theme: Technology
triangular shaped sails made by Arabs. The sails were popular because sailors found that the triangular shape could easily catch winds coming from many different directions.
Stern Rudder (2.3)
Theme: Technology
gave their ships more stability and made them easier to maneuver. Made by chinese inventors
Astrolabe (2.3)
Theme: Technology
improved by Muslim navigators in the 12th century, allowed sailors to determine how far north or south they were from the equator
Indian Ocean Slave Trade (2.3)
Theme: Culture
This trade started several centuries before the Atlantic Ocean slave trade between West Africa and the Americas. As a result of the Indian Ocean slave trade, African words, musical styles, and customs can be found in Oman, India, and elsewhere
Diaspora (2.3)
Theme: Culture
Settlements of people away from their homeland
Zheng He (2.3)
Theme: Culture
A muslim general for the Ming dynasty who traveled to Indonesia, Ceylon, and other coastal areas on the Indian Ocean, to Arabia, and to the east coast of Africa as well as to the Cape of Good Hope. The main purposes of the voyages were to display the might of the Ming Dynasty to the rest of the world and to receive tribute from the people he encountered. Zheng’s feet was impressive: At its height, his feet included more than 300 ships that carried 28,000 people.
Mali (2.4)
Theme: Government
Powerful Trading society
Sundiata (2.4)
Theme: Government
Mali’s founding ruler became the subject of legend. His father had ruled over a small society in West Africa in what today is Guinea. When his father died, rival groups invaded, killing most of the royal family and capturing the throne. They did not bother to kill Sundiata because the young prince was crippled and was not considered a threat. In spite of his injury, he learned to fight and became so feared as a warrior that his enemies forced him into exile. His time in exile only strengthened him and his allies. In 1235, Sundiata, “the Lion Prince,” returned to the kingdom of his birth, defeated his enemies, and reclaimed the throne for himself.
Mansa Musa (2.4)
Theme: Government
Sundiata’s grand-nephew, began a pilgrimage in 1324 to Mecca, Islam’s holiest city. His journey, however, was unlike that of any ordinary pilgrim. Mali’s prosperity allowed him to take an extraordinarily extravagant caravan to Arabia, consisting of 100 camels, thousands of enslaved people and soldiers, and gold to distribute to all of the people who hosted him along his journey. His pilgrimage displayed Mali’s wealth to the outside world.
Songhai Kingdom (2.4)
Theme: Government
the Songhai Kingdom had taken its place as the powerhouse in West Africa. Following processes like those Mali had gone through, Songhai became larger and richer than Mali
Timbuktu (2.4)
Theme: Culture
city of mali that became a world-renowned center of Islamic learning. By the 1500s, books created and sold in Timbuktu brought prices higher than most other goods.
Mecca (2.4)
Theme: Culture
Islam’s holiest city
Trans-Saharan Trade (2.4)
Theme: Economics
had become famous throughout Europe and Asia. Gold was the most precious commodity traded.
Sahara Desert (2.4)
Theme: Environment
arid climate
Oases (2.4)
Theme: Environment
places where human settlement is possible because water from deep underground is brought to the surface, making land fertile
Arabian Desert (2.4)
Theme: Environment
Accustomed to the harsh, dry climate
Camel Saddle (2.4)
Theme: Technology
South Arabians developed a saddle in which the rider sits in back of the hump, which makes riding easier because the rider can hold onto the hair of the hump. Northern Arabians developed a saddle for sitting on top of the hump, putting them high in the air, which gave them greater visibility in battles. Being near the head gave the rider the best possible control over the camel.
Black Death (2.5)
Theme: Environment
introduced to Europe by way of trading routes. A major epidemic broke out between 1347 and 1351. Additional outbreaks occurred over the succeeding decades. As many as 25 million people in Europe may have died from the plague. With drastically reduced populations, economic activity declined in Europe. In particular, a shortage of people to work on the land had lasting effects on the feudal system.
Culture (2.5)
Theme: Culture
an Italian native from Venice, visited the court of Kublai Khan. he wrote a book about his travels.. Polo’s point of view as a merchant kept him focused on trade-related matters.
Ibn Battuta (2.5)
Theme: Culture
, a Muslim scholar from Morocco, set out to see the world he read about. Over 30 years, Ibn Battuta traveled through Central Asia, Southeast Asia, South Asia, China, Spain, North Africa, and Mali, mainly to Muslim lands.
Margery Kempe (2.5)
Theme: Culture
wrote one of the earliest autobiographies in English, if not the first, could neither read nor write. She dictated her book to scribes who wrote down her descriptions of her pilgrimages to Jerusalem, Rome, Germany, and Spain.
Swahili (2.5)
Theme: Culture
Swahili language is a blend of Bantu and Arabic and is still widely spoken today.
Urdu (2.5)
Theme: Culture
Urdu language had infuences from Sanskrit-based Hindi, as well as from Arabic and Farsi, a Persian language.
Hangzhou (2.5)
Theme: Society
Hangzhou was the center of culture in southern China, the home of poets such as Lu Yu and Xin Qiji, and other writers and artists. Located at the southern end of the Grand Canal, it was also a center of trade.
Constantinople (2.5)
Theme: Society
once-thriving city, suffered a series of traumatic setbacks. Mutinous Crusader armies weakened Constantinople. The bubonic plague killed about half of the people in Constantinople. After a 53-day siege, the city finally fell to the Ottomans in 1453, an event some historians believe marks the end of the High Middle Ages.
Champa Rice (2.6)
Theme: Environment
It was drought-resistant, foodresistant, and capable of yielding two crops a year. It was widely distributed in China to meet the needs of the growing population and in turn contributed to the population growth.
Bananas (2.6)
Theme: Environment
The nutrition-rich food led to a spike in population
Sugar and Citrus Crops (2.6)
Theme: Environment
Spread by Caliphs for it’s demand
Overgrazing (2.6)
Theme: Degradation
was so severe that people had to abandon the city
Soil Erosion (2.6)
Theme: Degradation
overuse of farmland led to soil erosion