Unit 1: 600-1450 Vocab

Ruler of Mali (r.1312-1337 CE) who made a hajj to Mecca. On the way there, he spread enormous amounts of gold demonstrating the wealth of Mali. On the way back, he brought back education and Islamic culture.

A Moroccan Muslim scholar. He was the most widely traveled individual of his time. He compiled a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan.

Indigenous people of western North Africa. Primarily Muslim, these people lived with settled or nomadic tribes from Morocco to Egypt.

An extensive trade route across the Sahara Desert. This route traded gold and salt, created caravan routes while camels played an immense role in the trade activities.

A roadside inn where travelers could rest and recover from the day's journey. These locations supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of trade routes covering Asia, North Africa, and southeastern Europe, especially along the Silk Road.

The world's richest maritime trading network that was essential for the prosperity of East Africa. It connected Europe, Africa and China fueling rapid Muslim expansion.

The seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in summer and from the northeast in winter. Commonly marked by heavy rains and a rainy season.

Widely dispersed community as a result of natural disaster, politics or other reasons.

A supreme political and religious leader in a Muslim government.

Venetian merchant and traveler (1254-1324). He made numerous trips to China and returned to Europe to document his trips. He is responsible for much of the knowledge exchanged between Europe and China during this time period.

This religion based upon the idea that one can reach Enlightenment through following the Eight Fold Path was China's only large-scale cultural borrowing before the twentieth century. It entered China from India in the first and second centuries C.E. but only became popular in 300-800 C.E. through a series of cultural accommodations. At first this religion was supported by the state, but suffered persecution during the ninth century yet it continued to play a role in Chinese society.

A philosophy that emerged in Song-dynasty China; it revived Confucian thinking while adding in Buddhist and Daoist elements.

Class of warriors in feudal Japan who pledged loyalty to a noble in return for land.

In feudal Japan, a noble similar to a duke. They were the military commanders and the actual rulers of Japan for many centuries while the emperor was a powerless spiritual figure.

Constructed under Sui Dynasty, it linked northern and Southern China. It was 1240 miles long; included parallel roads, serving as best way of economical transport.

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.

A system in which people were forced to pay a tax in the form of goods and labor in return for protection. This forced transfer of food, cloth, and other goods subsidized the development of large cities.

Byzantine emperor in the 6th century CE who reconquered much of the territory previously ruler by Rome, initiated an ambitious building programs, including Hagia Sofia, and instituted a new legal code.

The body of Roman civil law collected and organized by order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian.

The Christian religion of the Byzantine Empire in the Middle East that formed from Christianity's schism between the remains of the western and eastern Roman Empire.

The Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy.

A deadly disease that spread across Asia, North Africa through Europe killing one out of every three between 1347-1351.

A series of holy wars from 1096-1270 CE undertaken by European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.

The dominant social system in medieval Europe, in which the nobility held lands from the Crown in exchange for military service, and vassals were in turn tenants of the nobles, while the serfs were obliged to live on their lord's land and give him homage, labor, and a share of the produce, notionally in exchange for military protection.

A self sufficient, economic structure that is the relationship between the lord and the peasants or serfs who produced all the necessary goods to keep the manor running.

A warrior in medieval Europe who fought on horseback.

A type of labor commonly used in feudal systems in which the laborers work the land in return for protection. They are bound to the land and are not allowed to leave or to peruse their a new occupation. This was common in early medieval Europe as well as in Russia until the mid 19th century.

In medieval Europe, an association of men (rarely women), such as merchants, artisans, or professors, who worked in a particular trade and created an organized institution to promote their economic and political interests.

King of the Franks; emperor. Through a series of military conquests he established the Carolingian Empire, which encompassed all of Gaul and parts of Germany and Italy.

Scandinavian peoples whose sailors raided Europe from the 700s through the 1100s.

A religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed which stresses belief in one god (Allah), Paradise and Hell, and a body of law written in the Quran. Followers are called Muslims.

An Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule.

The Arab prophet who founded Islam.

An instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the position of the stars and planets.

Holy book of Islam; regarded by Muslims as the direct words of Allah, revealed to Mohammed through the archangel Gabriel.

A branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad.

Branch of Islam believing that God vests leadership of the community in a descendant of Muhammad's son-in-law Ali. Mainly found in Iran and a small part of Iraq. It is the state religion of Iran.

The system of Islamic law, based on varying degrees of interpretation of the Qu'ran.

A black stone building in Mecca that is shaped like a cube and that is the most sacred Muslim pilgrim shrine.

The community of all Muslims. A major innovation against the background of seventh-century Arabia, where traditionally kinship rather than faith had determined membership in a community.

Muslim mystics who seek communion with God through meditation, fasting, and other rituals.

A form of subsistence agriculture based on herding domesticated animals.

Born in 1170s in decades following death of Kabul Khan; elected khan 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.

Four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose following the death of Chinggis Khan. Ruled by his descendants.

The period of approximately 150 years of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire.

Quick-maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season. Originally introduced into Champa from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state as part of the tributary system.

The formula, brought to China in the 400s or 500s, was first used to make fumigators to keep away insect pests and evil spirits. In later centuries it was used to make explosives and grenades and to propel cannonballs, shot, and bullets.

An invention which gives camel riders more stability on the animal and its invention and basic idea traveled along the Trans-Saharan Caravan Trade Route. Invented somewhere between 500 and 100 BCE by Bedouin tribes.

Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, al-Abbas, they overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled an Islamic empire from their capital in Baghdad (founded 762) from 750 to 1258.

City in western Arabia; birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, and ritual center of the Islamic religion.

City in western Arabia to which the Prophet Muhammad and his followers emigrated in 622 to escape persecution in Mecca.

Early Arabs, pastoral, lived in independent tribes and clans based on kinship, tribes frequently at war, polytheistic.

A people of this name is mentioned as early as the records of the Tang Empire, living as nomads in northern Eurasia. After 1206 they established an enormous empire under Genghis Khan, linking western and eastern Eurasia.

(330-1453) The eastern half of the Roman Empire, which survived after the fall of the Western Empire at the end of the 5th century C.E. Its capital was Constantinople, named after the Emperor Constantine.

A large and wealthy city that was the imperial capital of the Byzantine Empire and later the Ottoman empire, now known as Istanbul.

A medieval and early modern central European Germanic empire, which often consisted of hundreds of separate Germanic and Northern Italian states. In reality it was so decentralized that it played a role in perpetuating the fragmentation of central Europe.

Successor to the Sui Dynasty. Lasted from 618 to 907. Accomplishments such as the Grand Canal were some of the great feats achieved. Ended in rebellion, created another warring states period.

The Chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military. Distinguished for its advances in technology, medicine, astronomy, and mathematics. Ruled during the "Golden Age" of China. A time of peace, prosperity, and inventions such as gunpowder, printing, and porcelain.

Succeeded Mongol Yuan Dynasty in China in 1368; lasted until 1644; initially led huge expeditions to southern Asia and elsewhere. It was marked by a great expansion of Chinese commerce into East Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Later concentrated efforts on internal development within China.

The first ruling dynasty to bring a measure of political unity to the Korean peninsula (688-900). Prevented Chinese domination.

From 1235-1400, this was a strong empire of Western African. With its trading cities, it had many mosques and universities. The empire was ruled by two great rulers, Sundiata and Mansa Musa. These rules upheld a strong gold-salt trade. The fall of the empire was caused by the lack of strong rulers who could govern well.

As part of the Mali empire, it became a major major hub of Trans-Saharan trade and a center of Islamic learning.

The first Islamic government established within India from 1206-1520. Controlled a small area of northern India and was centered in Delhi. Established by Muslim invaders.

A 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 CE

A maritime empire that flourished between 600-1200 that controlled the Strait of Malacca between India and China. Grew wealthy by taxing trade and was a center of Buddhist learning.

A central trading point at which the western and the eastern Silk Road met.

During the rule of Timur Lane was the most influential capital city, a wealthy trading center known for decorated mosques and tombs.

Located on the Malay Peninsula and islands of Indonesia that controlled trade route Strait of Malacca.

Established by the Swahili, these waring states that were always competing for control of trade routes and each other. Many of these city-states were Muslim and quite cosmopolitan.

Muslim empires (Ottoman, Safavid and Mughal) that experienced a golden age and preserved Greco-Roman ideas. Ruled the Middle East, Northern Africa, India, Southeast Asia and areas in Southern Europe.

A Jew from Galilee in northern Israel who sought to reform Jewish beliefs and practices. He was executed as a revolutionary by the Romans. He is the basis of the world's largest monotheistic religion.

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.

Lacerating, disemboweling, and decapitating humans in order to appease the gods.

Raised fields constructed along lake shores in Mesoamerica to increase agricultural yields.

Special merchant class in Aztec society; specialized in long-distance trade in luxury items.

All roads lead to Cuzco; allowed armies and news to spread quickly. Runners were stationed throughout empire to carry messages.

Economic system in Incan society where people paid taxes with their labor and what they produced.

Empire that developed in what is now present day Mexico in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries; dominated by the semi nomadic Mexica, who had migrated into the region from northern Mexico.

A Meso American civilization in the Andes Mountains in South America that by the end of the 1400s. It was the largest empire in the Americas including much of what is now Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile; conquered by Pizarro.

The capital city of the Incan Empire, Located in present-day Peru.

Abandoned city high in the Andes mountains that showcases the architectural genius of the Incan Empire.

Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins.

Flourishing trading city in Malaya; established a trading empire after the fall of Shrivijaya. An important trade location in southeast Asia along the Indian Ocean trade routes.

Formal colleges for higher institutions in the teaching of Islam as well as in secular subjects founded throughout the Islamic world in beginning in the 11th century

the doctrines of a monotheistic religion founded in northern India in the 16th century by Guru Nanak and combining elements of Hinduism and Islam

A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and an ability to reach moksha (enlightenment) through following the dharma of your caste.

a set of rigid social categories in India that determined not only a person's occupation and economic potential, but also his or her position in society

A religion with a belief in one god. It originated with Abraham and the Hebrew people. Yahweh was responsible for the world and everything within it. They preserved their early history in the Old Testament.

a political theory of ancient China in which those in power were given the right to rule from a divine source

rise and fall of Chinese dynasties according to the Mandate of Heaven

In Imperial China starting in the Han dynasty, it was an exam based on Confucian teachings that was used to select people for various government service jobs in the nationwide administrative bureaucracy.

In Confucian thought, one of the virtues to be cultivated, a love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.

a former Chinese custom of touching the ground with the forehead as a sign of respect or submission

a thin, beautiful pottery invented in China

A way of life in which men and women withdraw from the rest of the world in order to devote themselves to their faith. Common practice in Buddhism and Christianity.

developed in Song dynasty, made printing easier