Unit 4: Africa to 1500 Vocabulary Flashcards
Savanna Definition
semiarid grassland
Migrating Definition
moving from one place to another
Subsistence Definition
producing just enough for survival
Animal Husbandry Definition
a branch of agriculture in which animals such as horses and cattle are domesticated
Cereal Grains Definition
seeds that come from crops such as wheat, rice, corn, rye, oats, barley, sorghum, and some millets
Protolanguage Definition
the ancestor language of a culture that no longer exists
Axum Definition
an empire in northeastern Africa near the junction of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, also called Aksum
Bab el-Mandeb Strait Definition
strait between Yemen on the Arabian Peninsula and Djibouti and Eritrea in the Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa Definition
the easternmost peninsula on the African continent
Mediterranean Definition
the region surrounding the Mediterranean Sea
Sahara Definition
a large desert that runs from the western coast of Africa to the east coast, separating the northern region on the Mediterranean from regions to the south
Sub-Saharan Definition
regions below the Sahara in Africa
Swahili Definition
a word meaning “people of the coast” that derives from the Arabic “sahil”; also the name of the language in the Swahili Coast that derives from Arabic and Bantu
Swahili City-states Definition
a loosely connected collection of more than 35 independent cities that worked together to control trade off the Swahili Coast
Swahili Coast Definition
the region on the eastern coast of Africa where Arabs and Africans created the Swahili culture and language starting in the eighth century and city-states emerged as an economic power
Tributary Definition
typically refers to a stream that feeds water into a larger river; in governance and economics it is a smaller state that pays tribute (usually money or goods) to a larger state in exchange for protection or trade preference
Cape of Good Hope Definition
one of the southernmost parts of the African continent; ships traveling from the Atlantic Ocean to the Indian Ocean pass by this point of land
Trade Network Definition
a system of routes between countries or continents for buying and selling goods
Bureaucracy Definition
government administrative departments, may make policy
Clan Definition
a family group
Cleric Definition
a priest or religious leader
Convert Definition
a person who adopts a specific belief or faith
Djeli Definition
a member of a hereditary caste among the peoples of West Africa whose main function is to keep an oral history of the tribe or village
Enterprise Definition
a task or financial project
Inflation Definition
an increase in cost of goods due to declining purchasing power of money
Kin Definition
Family
Mansa Definition
king of Mali
Raiders Definition
a group that attacks suddenly, usually to steal
Revenue Definition
income or money earned
Sovereign Definition
the ultimate political power of the land
Succession Definition
the process for what or who comes next
Sunni Definition
a division of Islam that believes the leader of the faith should be selected by an elite group of followers and does not have to be a member of the prophet Muhammad’s family
Bronze Age Definition
a period of history characterized by the bronze tools used in the development of contemporaneous civilizations
Import Definition
a trade good brought into a civilization that was produced in another civilization
Iron Age Definition
a period of history characterized by the use of iron tools
Iron-smelting Definition
the process of melting iron to reduce impurities in the ore and craft ironworks
Stone Age Definition
a period of history characterized by the use of stone tools
Trans-Saharan Trade Network Definition
trade routes of northern Africa that were known for trading gold, salt, and other goods; trade route connecting East and West Africa along which most of the gold and salt that came from Africa was traded
Abbasid Dynasty Definition
the successors to the Umayyads, ruling the Islamic empire from about 750 to 1258 CE; only minor territorial gains occurred during their rule
Buddhism Definition
an Eastern religion, prominent in India and China, that seeks to understand the truths of the world, called the Four Noble Truths
Mali Empire Definition
an empire in West Africa that followed the Ghana Empire; existed c. 1235–1670 CE
Porcelain Definition
a shiny, hard pottery
Song Dynasty Definition
a Chinese imperial dynasty between 960 and 1279 CE
Tang Dynasty
a Chinese imperial dynasty between 618 and 907 CE
Umayyad Dynasty Definition
began after the death of Ali, the last of the four “rightly guided caliphs” who ruled after Muhammad’s death; Umayyads ruled from 661 to about 750 CE, and most territorial expansion of the Islamic empire occurred during these years
Zoroastrianism Definition
a religion based on the Iranian prophet Zoroaster, with a dual cosmology of good and evil
Merchants Definition
traders who bought and sold goods for a living
Mohammadans Definition
name given to the followers of the Muslim prophet Muhammad (those who follow Islam)
Silk Road Definition
route that went through Asia, the Middle East, and reached eastern Europe in Constantinople; an ancient network of trade routes that connected China to the Mediterranean Sea and allowed for widespread cultural interaction
Byzantine Empire Definition
a term used by historians to refer to the Roman Empire in the East that persisted until the 1400s; based around the city of Constantinople (formerly Byzantium)
Constantinople Definition
the capital of the Byzantine Empire, located in both Asia and Europe; conquered by Mehmed II in 1453 despite its status as an impenetrable city; a major trading center because it connected the East with the West; now known as Istanbul in present-day Turkey
Damascus Definition
an ancient city located in present-day Syria that was ruled by various Muslim dynasties throughout time
Mehmed II Definition
an Ottoman sultan who ruled from 1444 to –1481; conquered the Byzantine Empire and Constantinople, earning him the title “the Conqueror”
Ottoman Empire Definition
the powerful Muslim state established by Turkic peoples who settled in modern-day Turkey and other regions of West Asia; it conquered the remains of the Byzantine Empire in the 1400s
Papacy Definition
the religious institution and bureaucracy of the Catholic Church, with the pope as its leader
Samarkand Definition
trading hub located in present-day Uzbekistan; considered its own independent state until conquered by the Abbasid Caliphate
Indian Ocean Trade Network Definition
a series of sailing routes across the Indian Ocean that connected Asia, Africa, and the Middle East
Oasis Definition
a fertile area in a desert or arid region due to a freshwater source
