AP World History Exam Vocabulary

The highest class in certain societies, esp. those holding hereditary titles or offices

nonelective government officials, system of managing government through departments run by appointed officials

A caliph is a successor to the prophet Muhammad and leader. A caliphate is the area which the caliph rules.

a code of behavior for knights in medieval Europe, stressing ideals such as courage, loyalty, and devotion.

A city with political and economic control over the surrounding countryside

Federal employees who work for government through a competitive, not political selection process

an accounting entry acknowledging income or capital items

The expansion and adoption of a cultural element, from its place of origin to a wider area.

power dispersed among many different points, especially political power distributed among many different nobles/landowners/leaders/regions

money or property brought by a woman to her husband at marriage

The Christian religion of the Byzantine Empire in the middle east that formed from Christianity's schism between the remains of the western and eastern Roman Empire. The Christian church ruled by the Byzantine emperor and the patriarchs of various historically significant Christian centers/cities.

pieces of land, instead of money given to knights for their military service

A place where a group of soldiers is stationed for defensive purposes

characteristic of the style of type commonly used for printing German

The fifth pillar of Islam is a pilgrimage to Mecca during the month of Dhu al-Qadah

a belief that rejects the orthodox tenets of a religion

a person who holds religious beliefs in conflict with the dogma of the Roman Catholic Church

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the basic supposer systems needed to keep an economy going, including power, communications, transportation, water, sanitation, and education systems.

Mutual action between objects where each object exerts an equal and opposite force on the other.

A Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy - especially the one active in Spain during the 1400s.

A session of questioning about possible guilt

the monotheistic religion of Muslims founded in Arabia in the 7th century and based on the teachings of Muhammad as laid down in the Koran

(adj.) able to read and write; showing an excellent educational background; having knowledge or training

a female head of a family or tribe

Relating to a social system in which family descent and inheritance rights are traced through the mother

relating to or belonging to the Middle Ages, a thousand year period in human history before the Renaissance, about 500 to 1500 BP (years ago.)

the belief that rulers should be chosen for their superior abilities and not because of their wealth or birth

The historical period from around 500 A.D. up to around 1450 A.D. between the fall of Rome and the birth of the Renaissance

the movement of persons from one country or locality to another

anything that is generally accepted as a standard of value and a measure of wealth in a particular country or region

(Islam) a Muslim place of worship

A follower of Islam, means "one who has submitted"

a state whose territory corresponds to that occupied by a particular ethnicity that has been transformed into a nationality

in agreement with established or generally accepted beliefs or ways of doing things

any of the early Biblical characters regarded as fathers of the human race

mistreatment or punishment of a group of people because of their beliefs

English Puritans who founded Plymouth colony in 1620

Journeys to holy sites in order to show devotion to god as an act of penance for sins, or in hope to be cured of illness.

seniority by birth; state of being the first-born child; right of the eldest child (to inherit the entire property of one or both parents)

the Christian Church based in the Vatican and presided over by a pope and an episcopal hierarchy

a formal split within a religious organization; any division or separation of a group or organization into hostile factions

hidden; removed; sheltered

A person who lived on and farmed a lords land in feudal times

willing to obey without resistance; docile

lower in rank or position, secondary; (n.) one who is in a lower position or under the orders of someone else

a political unit governed by a deity (or by officials thought to be divinely guided)