vocab - medieval

Question 1

diaspora

Answer 1

scattering or dispersion of people from their homeland

Question 2

monsoon

Answer 2

seasonal winds that reverse course to blow in two directions each year

Question 3

caravan

Answer 3

a group of vehicles or mounted animals that travel together for security (camel caravans)

Question 4

cultural diffusion

Answer 4

the mixing of different cultures together, or the addition of parts of one culture into another

Question 5

bureaucracy

Answer 5

government workers and officials (unelected employees)

Question 6

caliph

Answer 6

Islamic ruler with absolute political and religious authority (Abbasids)

Question 7

sultan

Answer 7

Islamic ruler with absolute political authority (Mamlukes, Ottomans, Mughals)

Question 8

maritime

Answer 8

having to do with oceans or water in general

Question 9

feudalism

Answer 9

a social structure where local leaders (lord) controlled land and people (peasants), in exchange for protecting the land and people (medieval Europe)

Question 10

manor system

Answer 10

feudalism’s economic system, where the manor (which contained the lord and peasants) was self-sufficient

Question 11

schism

Answer 11

a split or division (the Catholic-Orthodox schism, the Sunni-Shia schism)

Question 12

nomads

Answer 12

people who have no permanent residence but move, usually following animals or by season

Question 13

politically decentralized

Answer 13

having political power divided among many groups, rather than concentrated in a single person or group (city-states and nomadic groups are decentralized)

Question 14

city-state

Answer 14

small political unit consisting of a city and the surrounding land (Mogadishu, Kilwa, and others on the Swahili Coast)

Question 15

politically centralized

Answer 15

having political power concentrated in the hands of one person or group, such as a caliph, queen, or sultan