Key Terms

1. Key Terms Print using six slides to a page. Cut out definitions and apply to 3x5 card. Write the identification on the other side.

2. Abbasid Caliphate • Cosmopolitan Arabic dynasty (750-1258) that replaced the Umayyads; founded by Abu al-Abbas and reached its peak under Harun al-Rashid

3. Al-Andalus • Islamic Spain

4. Ali • C. 599-661…cousin and son in law of Muhammad; one of the orthodox caliphs; focus of Shi’a

5. Almohadis • A reformist movement among the Islamic Berbers of northern Africa; later than the Almoravids; penetrated into sub-Saharan Africa

6. Anatolia • Modern day Turkey

7. Angkor Dynasty • Southeast Asian Khmer kingdom (889-1432)that was centered on the temple cities of Angkor Thom and Angkor Wat

8. Ashikaga Shogunate • Replaced the Kamakura regime in Japan; ruled from 1336 to 1573; destroyed rival Yoshino center of imperial authority

9. Astrolabe • Navigational instrument for determining latitude

10. Aztec Empire • Central American empire constructed by the Mexica and expanded greatly during the fifteenth century during the reigns of Itzcoatl and Motecuzoma I

11. Baghdad • Capital of Abbasid dynasty located in Iraq near ancient Persian capital of Ctesiphon

12. Abu Bakr • First caliph after the death of Muhammad

13. Bakufu • Military government established by the Minamoto following the Gempei Wars; centered at Kamakura; retained emperor but real power resided in military government and samurai

14. Bedouin • Nomadic pastoralist of the Arabian peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam

15. Black Death (Bubonic Plague) • Plague that struck Europe in 14th century; significantly reduced Europe’s population; affected social structure

16. Borobudur • Largest Buddhist monument in the world; located on Java

17. Boyars • Russian aristocrats; possessed less political power than did their counterparts in western Europe

18. Bushi • Regional warrior leaders in Japan; ruled small kingdoms from fortresses; administered the law, supervised public works projects, and collected revenues; built up private armies

19. Byzantine Empire • Long lasting empire centered at Constantinople; it grew out of the end of the Roman Empire, carried the legacy of Roman greatness, and was the only classical society to survive into the early modern age; it reached its peak during the reign of Justinian (483-565)

20. Caesaropapism • Concept related to the mixing of political and religious authority, as with the Roman emperors, that was central to the church versus state controversy in medieval Europe

21. Caliph • “Deputy”…Islamic leader after the death of Muhammad

22. Carolingian Dynasty • Germanic dynasty named for its most famous member, Charlemagne; royal house of Franks after 8th century until their replacement in 10th century

23. Chang’an • Capital of Tang Dynasty; population of 2 million, larger than any other city in the world at that time

24. Charlemagne • Charles the Great; Carolingian monarch who established substantial empire in France and Germany c. 800

25. Chinampas • Agricultural gardens used by the Mexica (Aztec) in which fertile muck from lake bottoms was dredged and built up into small plots

26. Chinnggis Khan (Genghis Khan) • Born in 1170s in decades following death of Kabul Khan, elected khagan of all Mongol tribes in 1206; responsible for conquest of northern kingdoms of China, territories as far west as the Abbasid regions; died in 1227, prior to conquest of most of Islamic world

27. Clovis • Early Frankish king; converted Franks to Christianity c. 496; allowed establishment of Frankish kingdom

28. Crusades • Series of military adventures initially launched by western Christians to free Holy Land from Muslims; temporarily succeeded in capturing Jerusalem and establishing Christian kingdoms later used for other purposes such as commercial wars and extermination of heresy

29. Cryllic alphabet • Written script for Slavic language created by Cyril (827-869) and Methodius (826-885), missionaries sent by Byzantine government to eastern Europe and the Balkans; converted southern Russia and Balkans to Orthodox Christianity

30. Daimyos • Powerful territorial lords in early modern Japan

31. Delhi Sultanate • 1206-1526….Islamic state led by former Mamluk slaves originally from Afghanistan, who governed north India from their capital at Delhi. At their peak, in the early 1300s, they controlled nearly all of the Indian subcontinent

32. Dhimmi • Islam concept of a protected people, “people of the book,” applied to Jews and Christians in Islamic territories and later to Zoroastrians and Hindus that was symbolic of Islamic toleration during the Mughal and Ottoman empires

33. Dhow • Indian, Persian and Arab ships with triangular or lateen sail, one hundred to four hundred tons, that sailed and traded throughout the Indian Ocean basin.

34. Feudalism • The legal and social system in Europe from 1000 to 1400 in which serfs worked the land and subordinates performed military service for their lord in return for his protection.

35. Five Pillars of Faith • The foundation of Islam; obligatory religious duties: (1) profession of faith; (2) prayer; (3) fasting during Ramadan; (4) alms giving; (5) pilgrimage, or hajj.

36. 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

37. Footbinding • Practice in Chinese society to mutilate women’s feet in order to make them smaller; produced pain and restricted women’s movement; made it easier to confine women to the household

38. Fujiwara • Japanese aristocratic family in mid-9th century; exercised exceptional influence over imperial affairs; aided in decline of imperial power

39. Vasco da Gama • Portuguese captain who sailed for India in 1497; established early Portuguese domination of Indian Ocean

40. Ghana • Kingdom in west Africa during the fifth through thirteenth century whose rulers eventually converted to Islam; its power and wealth was based on dominating trans Saharan trade

41. Golden Horde • One of the four subdivisions of the Mongol Empire after Chinggis Khan’s death; originally ruled by his grandson Batu; territory covered much of what is today south central Russia

42. Gothic • An architectural style developed during the Middle Ages in western Europe; featured pointed arches and flying buttresses as external supports on main walls

43. Grand Canal • Built in 7th century during reign of Yangdi during Sui dynasty; designed to link the original centers of Chinese civilization on the north China plain with the Yangtze river basin to the south, nearly 1200 miles long

44. Great Zimbabwe • Bantu confederation of Shona speaking peoples located between Zanbezi and Limpopo rivers; developed after 8th century; featured royal courts built of stone; created centralized state by 15th century; king took title of MweneMutapa

45. Greek fire • Byzantine weapon consisting of mixture of chemicals that ignited when exposed to water; utilized to drive back the Arab fleets that attached Constantinople

46. Gregory VII • Pope during the 11th century who attempted to free church from interference of the feudal lords; quarreled with Holy Roman Emperor Henry IV over practice of lay investiture

47. Griot • Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings with the Mali Empire

48. Guilds • Sworn association of people in the same business or craft in a single city; stressed security and mutual control, limited membership; regulated apprenticeship; guaranteed good workmanship; often established franchise within cities

49. Hagia Sophia • Massive Christian church constructed by the Byzantine emperor Justinian and later converted to a mosque

50. Hajj • Pilgrimage to Mecca…one of the Five Pillars of Faith