UNIT 1 Flashcards
What is Neo-Confucianism?
Popular during the Tang Dynasty; fused elements of Buddhism and Confucianism. Spread to Korea and Japan.
What is the Catholic Church?
The largest of the three main branches of Christianity; centered in Rome and led by the pope; found most often in Europe, the Americas, sub-Saharan Africa, and parts of East Asia.
What is the Eastern Orthodox Church?
The third largest of the three main branches of Christianity; originally based in the Byzantine Empire; found most often in Russia, Eastern Europe, the Balkans, and parts of Central Asia.
What is Shi’a?
One of the two main branches of Islam; rejects the first three Sunni caliphs and regards Ali, the fourth caliph, as Muhammad’s first true successor; most commonly found in Iran, but otherwise constitutes 10 to 15 percent of Muslims worldwide.
What is Sunni?
One of the two main branches of Islam; commonly described as orthodox and differs from Shi’a in its understanding of the Sunnah and in its acceptance of the first three caliphs; is by far the most common branch of Islam worldwide.
What is Chinampa?
A form of Mesoamerican agriculture in which farmers cultivated crops in rectangular plots of land on lake beds; hosted corns, beans, chilis, squash, tomatoes, and more; provided up to seven harvests per year.
What is Mit’a?
A mandatory public service system in the Inca Empire requiring all people below the age of 50 to serve for two months out of the year; not to be confused with the mita, a forced labor system practiced by conquistadors in the former Inca Empire.
What is the Mandate of Heaven?
Ancient Chinese concept stating that the right to rule was granted by the heavens; used to explain the rise of every Chinese dynasty, including the Qing in 1644.
What is the Grand Canal?
World’s longest canal, connecting the fertile Huang He River to the highly populated cities in the north; allowed grain to be shipped easily.
What is Champa rice?
Introduced to China from Vietnam; allowed the Chinese to have two harvests per year, dramatically improving output; combined with an improved infrastructure, led to a significant growth of the Chinese population.
What is Al-Andalus?
Islamic state located in modern-day Spain; led by the Berbers; renowned for its achievements in science, mathematics, and trade.
What is an Astrolabe?
Introduced to the Islamic world in the 700s, where it was perfected by mathematicians; used by astronomers and navigators to determine latitude through inclination.
What is Trans-Saharan trade?
Trade network starting in the 400s and 500s; thrived due to an organized network of camel caravans carrying gold, salt, cloth, slaves, and other valuables; allowed the kingdoms of Ghana and Mali to thrive, and as Islam spread to Africa, allowed its teachings to impact the lives of kings and traders.
What is Feudalism?
Political and economic system that developed as a result of the decentralization and collapse of the Western Roman Empire; lords, usually noblemen, protected vassals in exchange for mandatory labor or military service; vassals received a fief, or grant of land.
What are Bills of exchange?
Written guarantees of payment that were essentially the forerunners of modern-day bank checks; helped facilitate trade; known as sakk in the Islamic world; also used in China during this period.
What are the Crusades?
Holy wars launched by Pope Urban II in 1095 that called for Christians to reclaim the Holy Land of Israel from Muslims; its four campaigns, lasting over 100 years, were unsuccessful; stimulated European-Muslim trade and reintroduced Europeans to wisdom that had been last taught during the Classical period.
Who were the Ottomans?
Group of Anatolian Turks who, in their dedication to Islam, attacked the weakening Byzantine Empire and captured Constantinople in 1453; expanded to create an empire in the Middle East and Southeast Europe; collapsed after World War I.
Who were the Mongols?
Group of Central Asian nomads from Mongolia who, under the leadership of Genghis Khan, conquered large portions of the Asian continent; four empires, centered on Russia, China, Persia, and the Central Asian steppes, were led by Khan’s successors until the Mongol Empire collapsed into disunity and civil war.
Who was Genghis Khan?
Mongol clan leader who united the clans and made the Mongols the most feared force in Asia; under his leadership, the Mongol Empire expanded greatly into China, Persia, Central Asia, and Tibet; sons ruled the Four Khanates that followed; grandson, Kublai Khan, became leader of the Yuan Dynasty in 1271.
Who was Mansa Musa?
Ruling from 1312 to 1337, he was the most famous of the Mali emperors; capital city, Timbuktu, was a center of trade, culture, and education; most famous for going on pilgrimage to Mecca (a practice that few Muslims in his time actually did) carrying a large caravan with satchels of gold, which he used to fund schools and mosques across North Africa.
What are Swahili city-states?
Cities in East Africa (present-day Somalia, Kenya, and Tanzania) that became bustling ports due to interchanges between Bantu and Arab mariners; in an effort to facilitate trade, the Bantus created a hybrid language, Swahili, that allowed them to communicate with the Arabs (a language that is still spoken by over 80 million East Africans).
What is Melaka?
Located in modern-day Malaysia; port city that became a waystation for sea traders from China and India in the fourteenth century.
What is the Bubonic plague?
Disease that spread from China to Europe through rats and decimated Europe’s population; ended the feudal system and led many people to question religion; also known as the Black Plague or the Black Death.
Who was Ibn Battuta?
Islamic traveler who, in the fourteenth century, visited the kingdom of Mansa Musa in the Mali Empire; his writings stimulated an interest in African trade.
