Unit one: global tapestry Flashcards
Song Dynasty
Chinese dynasty (960 - 1279 CE) that could be considered their “golden age” when China saw many important inventions. There was a magnetic compass; had a navy; traded with India and Persia; paper, money, gun powder
Neo-Confucianism
The confucian response to Buddhism by taking Confucian and Buddhist beliefs and combining them into this. However, it is still very much Confucian in belief.
Champa Rice
Quick-Maturing rice that can allow two harvests in one growing season; led to increased populations in Song Dynasty China. Originally introduced into Vietnam from India, it was later sent to China as a tribute gift by the Champa state (as part of the tributary system)
Grand Canal
The 1,100-mile (1,700-kilometer)waterway in China linking the Yellow and the Yangzi Rivers. It was begun in the Han period and completed during the Sui Dynasty
Flying Money
Chinese credit instrument that provided credit vouchers to merchants to be redeemed at the end of the voyage; reduced danger of robbery; early form of currency
Seljuk Empire
Turkic Empire ruled by sultans in Persia and modern-day Iraq (11th and 12th centuries); Established Turks as major ethnic group carrying Islam across Eurasia, along with Arabs and Persians; Demonstrated weakness of Abbasid caliphate in its later years; sultans held real power in the empire; helped to spread the influence of Islam throughout the region
Delhi Sultanate
The first Islamic government established writhing India from 1206-1520. Controlled a small area of northern India and was centered in Delhi
Abbasid Caliphate
(750-1258 CE) the caliphate, after the Umayyads, who focused more on administration than conquering. Had a bureaucracy that any muslim could be part of
House of Wisdom in Baghdad
Large Islamic-Based Library and learning center. Focus of conversation of Greek and Roman classics and Indian learning into Arabic Preserved knowledge
Bhakti Movement
An immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity
Sufism
An Islamic Mystical tradition that desired a personal union with God- divine love through intuition rather than through rational deduction and study of Shari’a. Followed an ascetic routine (denial of physical desire to gain a spiritual goal), dedicating themselves to fasting, prayer, meditation on the Qur’an, and the avoidance of sin
Feudalism
A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land
Vassal
A person under the protection of a feudal lord to whom he or she owes allegiance
Serf
an agricultural laborer bound under the feudal system to work on their lord’s estate
Manorialism
Economic system during the middle ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land; the economic side of feudalism
Great Zimbabwe
A powerful state in the African interior that apparently emerged from the growing trade in gold to the East African coast; flourished between 1250 and 1350 CE
Cahokia
The dominant center of an important Mississippi valley mound-building culture, located near present-day St. Louis, Missouri; Flourished from about 900 to 1250 CE
Maya City States
Classical culture in Southern Mexico and central America; contemporary with Teotihuacán; extended over broad region; featured monumental architecture, written language, calendar system, mathematical system
Meritocracy
government or the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability; used in China via the Civil Service Exam
Syncretism
The unification or blending of opposing people, ideas, or practices, frequently in the realm of religion. For example, when Christianity or Buddhism was adopted by people in a new land, they often incorporate it into their existing culture and traditions
Greek Philosophy
The rational investigation of questions about existence and knowledge and ethics; distinguished by the ideas of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle; preserved by the Arabs after the Roman Empire collapsed
Mita System
Economic system in Inca society where people paid taxes with their labor and what they produced; men and women were expected to contribute this labor to the state yearly
Chinampas
Floating gardens constructed along lake shore by the Mexica/Aztecs to increase agricultural yields
Waru Waru system
A form of farming used in the Inca Empire; divided the hills into terraces or flat steps almost like steps; they could then control the amount of water being put into those places; led to vastly improved agriculture for the Incas
