Unit 1: The Global Tapestry (c. 1200–1450) Flashcards
Song Dynasty
(960–1279)
Ruled China during a period of economic prosperity, technological innovation, and Confucian revival. Centralized government through a merit-based bureaucracy.
Event: Expanded the civil service exam system, creating a scholar-official elite.
📝 Use to show strong centralized states and continuity of Confucian governance
Neo-Confucianism
A revival of Confucian thought that blended with Buddhism and Daoism. Shaped education, family structure, and social hierarchy in China, Korea, and Japan.
Event: State ideology during the Song Dynasty, reinforced in the Yuan and Ming periods.
📝 Use to explain ideological control and cultural continuity
Champa Rice
A fast-ripening rice introduced to China from Vietnam via the tribute system. Led to population growth and urbanization in Song China.
Event: Adopted during the Song Dynasty, especially in the south.
📝 Use to show agricultural innovation and demographic shifts.
Grand Canal
An extensive waterway system expanded by the Song, linking northern and southern China. It supported internal trade and political integration.
Event: Helped supply the northern capital at Kaifeng with rice from the south.
Dar al-Islam
Refers to the Islamic world where Muslims could practice freely under Islamic governance. Unified by Arabic language, Islamic law, and trade networks.
Event: Spread from Spain to India by 1200, connected by Indian Ocean and Silk Road trade.
House of Wisdom
(Baghdad)
An academic center where Muslim scholars preserved and translated classical texts. Symbolized the Islamic Golden Age of science, math, and philosophy.
Event: Destroyed during the Mongol siege of Baghdad (1258).
📝 Use to show cultural flourishing and knowledge transfer.
Delhi Sultanate
(1206–1526)
A Muslim government established in northern India by Turkic invaders. Promoted Islam in South Asia while ruling over a Hindu majority.
Event: Repelled Mongol invasions and built mosques like the Qutb Minar.
Bhakti Movement
A Hindu devotional trend that emphasized emotional union with deities and rejected caste divisions. Spread rapidly in India.
Event: Led by figures like Mirabai, it promoted religious syncretism.
Sufism
A mystical form of Islam focused on spiritual connection with God. Sufi missionaries played a key role in the spread of Islam, especially in Africa and South Asia.
Event: Sufi orders helped Islam take root in India and Indonesia.
Mamluk Sultanate
(1250–1517)
Slave-soldier dynasty that ruled Egypt and Syria. Defended Islam from Mongol and Crusader invasions.
Event: Defeated the Mongols at the Battle of Ayn Jalut (1260).
📝 Use to show Muslim military power and resistance.
Feudalism
(Europe & Japan)
A decentralized political system where lords controlled land in exchange for military service. Dominated medieval Europe and Tokugawa Japan.
Event: Power shifted to local nobles after the fall of Charlemagne’s empire.
Manorial System
An economic system where peasants worked on lords’ estates in return for protection. Supported feudal society in rural Europe.
Heian Japan
An imperial court era characterized by refined art and literature, but political power was weak. Shows cultural development and decentralization.
Event: The Tale of Genji — the world’s first novel — was written during this period.
Chaco Canyon
Mesa Verde
Indigenous North American cultures that built elaborate cliff dwellings and relied on trade and irrigation in arid environments.
Event: Environmental changes and drought led to their decline around the 1300s.
Great Zimbabwe
A powerful East African kingdom that controlled trade routes to the Indian Ocean. Known for massive stone structures without mortar.
Event: Declined by the 15th century due to overgrazing and loss of trade dominance.
Hausa Kingdoms
A group of decentralized states in West Africa, linked by language, trade, and Islam.
Event: Integrated into the trans-Saharan trade network by the 14th century
Timbuktu
A wealthy city in Mali, known for Islamic learning and scholarship.
Event: Mansa Musa built mosques and universities here during his hajj in 1324.
Griots
Oral historians and storytellers in West Africa who preserved genealogy, culture, and history.
Event: Central to Mali and Songhai societies; vital for transmitting knowledge without writing.
Serfdom
(Europe and Japan)
A coerced labor system where peasants were tied to the land. Reinforced social hierarchy in feudal societies.
Event: Abolished in Western Europe after the Black Death, but continued in Russia until the 19th century.
Buddhism’s Spread to East Asia
Traveled from India to China, Korea, and Japan via the Silk Roads. Adapted into Mahayana and Zen forms.
Event: Supported by Tang and Song emperors, but sometimes faced backlash, e.g., Tang-era persecution (845 CE).
