600 CE to 1450 CE Key Terms

Question 1

Islam:

Answer 1

The second-largest religion in the world after Christianity.

Question 2

Muhammad:

Answer 2

The founder of Islam. He lived from 570 CE to 632 CE in what is now Saudi Arabia.

Question 3

Mecca:

Answer 3

The city of Muhammad’s birth and the location of the holiest pilgrimage site in Islam.

Question 4

Sunni:

Answer 4

The largest denomination of Islam. Sunni focuses on the need for the consensus of all people in the selection of Muslim leaders and the interpretation of Muslim scriptures.

Question 5

Shi’a:

Answer 5

The second-largest denomination of Islam. Shi’a focuses on the importance of Muhammad’s descendants, as they believe that God’s selection is more important than broader consensus. Several of Muhammad’s prominent descendants have become the scriptural authorities for the Shi’a faith.

Question 6

Umayyad:

Answer 6

The largest historical Islamic caliphate. It lasted from 661 to 750.

Question 7

Koran:

Answer 7

The holy book of Islam, believed to have been spoken to Muhammad by the angel Gabriel.

Question 8

Abbasid:

Answer 8

A large Shi’a caliphate based in Baghdad. Lasted from 750 to 1258.

Question 9

Crusades:

Answer 9

A series of wars between Catholic and Islamic armies over control of pilgrimage sites and trade routes in the Middle East. Waged intermittently between 1095 and 1272.

Question 10

Mali:

Answer 10

An Empire in West Africa, famous for the metropolis of Timbuktu. Lasted from 1230 to 1667.

Question 11

Timbuktu:

Answer 11

The largest city in West Africa. Also site of the largest university and library in Africa.

Question 12

Ibn Battuta:

Answer 12

A traveler from North Africa who wrote travel accounts of Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia.

Question 13

Swahili:

Answer 13

A language and culture that developed in East Africa as a result of interactions between Bantu peoples and Arab and Indian colonists.

Question 14

Eastern Roman Empire:

Answer 14

An empire that split from the Western Roman Empire in 395 and lasted until 1453. Its capital was at Constantinople.

Question 15

Byzantine Empire:

Answer 15

An alternate name for the Eastern Roman Empire, which split from the Western Roman Empire in 395 and lasted until 1453.

Question 16

Vikings:

Answer 16

Scandinavian people involved in raid warfare and colonization of northern and eastern Europe prior to 1000 CE.

Question 17

Feudalism:

Answer 17

A decentralized system of government and labor organization. Nobles are given land in exchange for loyalty to the king and military service. They gain ownership over not only their land but also the common people on it, who become serfs. Common in medieval Europe and Japan.

Question 18

Charlemagne:

Answer 18

The founder of the Holy Roman Empire. Lived from 768 to 814.

Question 19

Goths:

Answer 19

An ethnolinguistic group from Scandinavia, they conquered most of Western Europe in the 5th century CE.

Question 20

Aztec Empire:

Answer 20

An empire created by three allied city-states in modern day central Mexico. It lasted from 1428 to 1521.

Question 21

Inca Empire:

Answer 21

A large centralized empire in the South American Andes Mountains. It lasted from 1438 to 1533.

Question 22

Tang Dynasty:

Answer 22

A Chinese dynasty known for openness to foreign influences, particularly Buddhism. It lasted from 618 to 907.

Question 23

Song Dynasty:

Answer 23

A Chinese dynasty known for the development of the ideology of Neo-Confucianism. It lasted from 960 to 1279.

Question 24

Yuan Dynasty (Mongols):

Answer 24

A dynasty established in China by the Mongol invader Kublai Khan. It lasted from 1271 to 1368.

Question 25

Ming Dynasty:

Answer 25

The Chinese Dynasty that overthrew the Mongols. They are famous for launching Zheng He’s voyages. Lasted from 1368 to 1664,

Question 26

Civil service examination:

Answer 26

First established in the Tang but not used consistently until the Song. This was an examination held by the Imperial Academy to identify candidates to serve in China’s bureaucracy.

Question 27

Empress Wu:

Answer 27

The only woman to reign in name in Chinese history. Was the first monarch to use civil service examinations for all appointments. Reigned from 684 to 705.

Question 28

Samurai:

Answer 28

Professional warriors who served Japanese feudal lords, called daimyo.

Question 29

Daimyo:

Answer 29

Japanese feudal lords, similar to European knights and barons.

Question 30

Mongols:

Answer 30

A Turkic ethnic group from eastern Central Asia, who conquered most of Asia in the 13th to 15th centuries.

Question 31

Genghis Khan:

Answer 31

The first Mongol ruler to unify all Mongols under his banner.

Question 32

Mit’a:

Answer 32

A “labor tax” in the Inca Empire, in which commoners owed the government several weeks of hard physical labor per year.