Chapter 3: India and the Indian Ocean Basin- Vocab

Question 1

Angkor

Answer 1

Southeast Asian Khmer kingdom (889–1432) that was centered on the temple cities of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat.

Question 2

Axum

Answer 2

African kingdom centered in Ethiopia that became an early and lasting center of Coptic Christianity

Question 3

Bhakti movement

Answer 3

Indian movement that attempted to transcend the differences between Hinduism and Islam.

Question 4

Caste system

Answer 4

A system of social organization in India involving a class that a person is born into.

Question 5

Chola Kingdom

Answer 5

Southern Indian Hindu kingdom (850–1267), a tightly centralized state that dominated sea trade.

Question 6

Dhows

Answer 6

Indian, Persian, and Arab ships, one hundred to four hundred tons, that sailed and traded throughout the Indian Ocean basin.

Question 7

Emporia

Answer 7

Commercial establishments that specialize in products and services on a large scale, vital to the conduct of transregional trade.

Question 8

Funan

Answer 8

A state in modern Cambodia and Vietnam between the 1st and 6th centuries that was wealthy due to control over the Isthmus of Kra (controlling trade between South and East Asia).

Question 9

Guru Kabir

Answer 9

1440–1518 C.E. A blind weaver who became the most important teacher in the bhakti movement, which sought to harmonize Hinduism and Islam.

Question 10

Harsha

Answer 10

Ruler of northern India from 606 to 648 C.E.

Question 11

Junks

Answer 11

Ships used by merchants and others in the seas off China and Southeast Asia to carry commercial cargo.

Question 12

Mahmud of Ghazni

Answer 12

Leader of a Turkic-Iranian state in Afghanistan; a patron of the arts who built Ghazni into a refined capital, yet also a ruthless warrior who annexed several states in northwestern India and the Pubjab and plundered their wealth.

Question 13

Majapahit

Answer 13

Southeast Asian kingdom (1293–1520) centered on the island of Java.

Question 14

Melaka

Answer 14

Southeast Asian kingdom that was predominantly Islamic.

Question 15

Monsoons

Answer 15

Rainfall (brought during the spring and summer in the form of warm, moisture-laden winds from the southwest to India due to cyclical changes in atmospheric pressure).

Question 16

Ramanuja

Answer 16

A devotee of Vishnu in the 11th-12th centuries that challenged Shankara and emphasized personal union with the diety instead of inteleccual efforts.

Question 17

Shankara

Answer 17

A southern Indian devotee of Shiva in the 9th century who harmonized Hindu writings into a consistent system of thought. He believed the physical world was illusion, and physical sense couldn’t understand ultimate reality. He emphasized disciplined logical reasoning.

Question 18

Shiva

Answer 18

Hindu god associated with both fertility and destruction.

Question 19

Singosari

Answer 19

A later state of Southeast Asia that was active in maritime trade.

Question 20

Srivijaya

Answer 20

Southeast Asian kingdom (670–1025), based on the island of Sumatra, that used a powerful navy to dominate trade.

Question 21

Sufis

Answer 21

Islamic mystics who placed more emphasis on emotion and devotion than on strict adherence to rules.

Question 22

Sultanate of Delhi

Answer 22

An Islamic state established by Mahmud’s successors that ruled Northern India from 1206 to 1526.

Question 23

Vijayanagar Kingdom

Answer 23

Southern Indian kingdom (1336–1565) that later fell to the Mughals.

Question 24

Vishnu

Answer 24

Hindu god, preserver of the world, who was often incarnated as Krishna.