Final Flashcards
Eurocentrism
A political perspective that European culture was superior to all other cultures. European societies were considered to be ahead of others, since they had already progressed past the stages at which those others existed, namely a hunting and gathering, farming, and feudalism.
Mansa Musa
Known for his great pilgrimage to Mecca. He had a 100 camel load of gold, 500 slaves carrying 40 pounds of gold staff. He went around spending and giving so much of his money away on the trip that he had to borrow money in order to get back home. He gave out so much money that he depressed the value of gold in Egypt and their economy started to fall. This was a Muslim king in the kingdom of Mali. He left on a pilgrimage for mecca, and brought along his treasures of gold and many slaves with him. He went on this pilgrimage because it is a duty of a practicing Muslim to visit the holy city. By doing this, he created much awareness for the region of Mali, because of his wealth. This is his significance to history.
Gupta Empire
This empire was an ancient Indian empire, founded by Maharaja Sri Gupta, which existed at its zenith from approximately 320 to 550 CE and covered much of the Indian Subcontinent. The peace and prosperity created under the leadership of the Guptas enabled the pursuit of scientific and artistic endeavors. This period is called the Golden Age of India and was marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, engineering, art, dialectic, literature, logic, mathematics, astronomy, religion, and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Hindu culture.
Reasons of Mongol Success
Their success in creating the empire came from their military prowess. The Mongol military included both heavy and light cavalry whose abilities and tactics were beyond those of the people who the Mongols conquered.Their success in creating the empire came from their military prowess. The Mongol military included both heavy and light cavalry whose abilities and tactics were beyond those of the people who the Mongols conquered.
But conquering the empire was not the whole story. The Mongols were also good at maintaining it. This happened because they strictly enforced laws that actually helped the people of their empire. They made trade much more easy and managed to suppress things like tribal warfare that had made people’s lives hard. They allowed people to practice their own religions instead of imposing a religion on anyone. They even had a fairly flexible system of local governments that could adapt to local conditions.
Tripitaka Koreana
The Temple of Haeinsa, on Mount Gaya, is home to the Tripitaka Koreana , the most complete collection of Buddhist texts, engraved on 80,000 woodblocks between 1237 and 1248. The buildings of Janggyeong Panjeon, which date from the 15th century, were constructed to house the woodblocks, which are also revered as exceptional works of art. As the oldest depository of theTripitaka , they reveal an astonishing mastery of the invention and implementation of the conservation techniques used to preserve these woodblocks.
Koryo Dynasty
This is the dynasty that ruled the Korean peninsula as the Koryŏ kingdom from 935 to 1392 ce. During this period the country began to form its own cultural tradition distinct from the rest of East Asia. A centralized bureaucratic system was established during the reign (981–997) of King Sŏngjong to replace the old aristocratic tribal system that had governed the country. Education and civil service examinations were used as a means of selecting the most capable officials and of absorbing the provincial magnates into the central government to consolidate its control over the countryside.
Confucianism exerted a strong influence on political life, but Buddhism was no less influential and widespread. The Tripitaka Koreana, one of the most complete editions of the Buddhist canon, was published in the first part of the Koryŏ period. The generally extravagant life of the aristocracy led to the flowering of art—particularly ceramics, such as the renowned Koryŏ celadon.
Fujiwara no Michinaga
Fujiwara Michinaga was a son of Kaneiye, a powerful member of the Fujiwara clan who, as regent, had consolidated the power of the Fujiwaras. After Michinaga’s elder brothers, Michitaka and Michikane, died young, he became the most powerful member of the Fujiwara clan. Michinaga caused his nephew, Korechika, and Korechika’s younger brother, Takaiye, to be exiled. After being appointed Minister of the Left, he persuaded the emperor Ichijo to demote his consort, Sadako, the daughter of Michitaka, to the newly established rank of chūgū (consort below the empress) and make Akiko, his own daughter, the empress. It was the first time in the Heian court that the chūgū and kōgō (empress) stood side by side.
Minamoto Yoritomo
The Japanese warrior chieftain Minamoto Yoritomo (1147-1199) founded Japan’s first military government, or shogunate, in 1185 and thereby inaugurated the medieval period of Japanese history, which lasted until 1573.
Charles the Great (Charlemagne)
Charlemagne (c.742-814), also known as Karl and Charles the Great, was a medieval emperor who ruled much of Western Europe from 768 to 814. In 771, Charlemagne became king of the Franks, a Germanic tribe in present-day Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and western Germany. He embarked on a mission to unite all Germanic peoples into one kingdom, and convert his subjects to Christianity. A skilled military strategist, he spent much of his reign engaged in warfare in order to accomplish his goals. In 800, Pope Leo III (750-816) crowned Charlemagne emperor of the Romans. In this role, he encouraged the Carolingian Renaissance, a cultural and intellectual revival in Europe. When he died in 814, Charlemagne’s empire encompassed much of Western Europe, and he had also ensured the survival of Christianity in the West. Today, Charlemagne is referred to by some as the father of Europe
The Vikings
From around A.D. 800 to the 11th century, a vast number of Scandinavians left their homelands to seek their fortunes elsewhere. These seafaring warriors–known collectively as Vikings or Norsemen (“Northmen”)–began by raiding coastal sites, especially undefended monasteries, in the British Isles. Over the next three centuries, they would leave their mark as pirates, raiders, traders and settlers on much of Britain and the European continent, as well as parts of modern-day Russia, Iceland, Greenland and Newfoundland.
The Crusades
The first of the Crusades began in 1095, when armies of Christians from Western Europe responded to Pope Urban II’s plea to go to war against Muslim forces in the Holy Land. After the First Crusade achieved its goal with the capture of Jerusalem in 1099, the invading Christians set up several Latin Christian states, even as Muslims in the region vowed to wage holy war (jihad) to regain control over the region. Deteriorating relations between the Crusaders and their Christian allies in the Byzantine Empire culminated in the sack of Constantinople in 1204 during the Third Crusade. Near the end of the 13th century, the rising Mamluk dynasty in Egypt provided the final reckoning for the Crusaders, toppling the coastal stronghold of Acre and driving the European invaders out of Palestine and Syria in 1291.
The Hundred Years War
The name the Hundred Years’ War has been used by historians since the beginning of the nineteenth century to describe the long conflict that pitted the kings and kingdoms of France and England against each other from 1337 to 1453. Two factors lay at the origin of the conflict: first, the status of the duchy of Guyenne (or Aquitaine)-though it belonged to the kings of England, it remained a fief of the French crown, and the kings of England wanted independent possession; second, as the closest relatives of the last direct Capetian king (Charles IV, who had died in 1328), the kings of England from 1337 claimed the crown of France.
John Wycliffe
John Wycliffe (1320-1384) was a theologian and early proponent of reform in the Roman Catholic Church during the 14th century. He initiated the first translation of the Bible into the English language and is considered the main precursor of the Protestant Reformation. Wycliffe was born at Ipreswell (modern Hipswell), Yorkshire, England, between 1320 and 1330; and he died at Lutterworth (near Leicester) December 31, 1384.
Olmecs
The mysterious Olmec civilization prospered in Pre-Classical (Formative) Mesoamerica from c. 1200 BCE to c. 400 BCE and is generally considered the forerunner of all subsequent Mesoamerican cultures such as the Maya and Aztecs. Centred in the Gulf of Mexico (now the states of Veracruz and Tabasco) their influence and trade activity spread from 1200 BCE, even reaching as far south as present-day Nicaragua. Monumental sacred complexes, massive stone sculpture, ball games, chocolate drinking and animal gods were features of Olmec culture which would be passed on to all those who followed this first great Mesoamerican civilization.
Inca Imperialism
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