Chapter 8 Vocabulary (Long Definitions) Flashcards
Parthians
Iranian ruling dynasty between ca. 250 BCE and 226 CE.
Stirrup
Device for securing a horseman’s feet, enabling him to wield weapons more effectively. First evidence of the use of stirrups was among the Kushan people of northern Afghanistan in approximately the first century CE.
Indian Ocean Maritime System
In premodern times, a network of seaports, trade routes, and maritime culture linking countries on the rim of the Indian Ocean from Africa to Indonesia.
Trans-Saharan Caravan Routes
Trading network linking North Africa with sub-Saharan Africa across the Sahara.
Steppe
An ecological region of grass- and shrub-covered plains that is treeless and too arid for agriculture.
Savanna
Tropical or subtropical grassland, either treeless or with occasional clumps of trees. Most extensive in sub-Saharan Africa but also present in South America.
Tropical Rain Forest
High-precipitation forest zones of the Americas, Africa, and Asia lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.
“Great Traditions”
Historians’ term for a literate, well-institutionalized complex of religious and social beliefs and practices adhered to by diverse societies over a broad geographical area.
“Small Traditions”
Historians’ term for a localized, usually nonliterate, set of customs and beliefs adhered to by a single society, often in conjunction with a “great tradition.”
Bantu
Collective name of a large group of sub-Saharan African languages and of the people’s speaking these languages.
Armenia
One of the earliest Christian kingdoms, situated in eastern Anatolia and the western Caucasus and occupied by speakers of the Armenian language.
Ethiopia
East African highland nation lying east of the Nile River.
Silk Road
Caravan routes connecting China and the Middle East across Central Asia and Iran.
