Arabic Language
a common language of people of the muslim culture
Astrolabe
An instrument invented by Muslims that is used to determine direction by figuring out the position of the stars.
Baghdad
Capital city of Iraq. As heart of the Arab Empire, it was second only to Constantinople in terms of size and grandeur in 1000 C.E.
Bananas
Come from Polynesians on outrigger canoes and were part of the Bantu Migrations. 7th century
Black Death
An outbreak of bubonic plague that spread across Asia, North Africa, and Europe in the mid-fourteenth century, carrying off vast numbers of persons.
Banking Houses
These European banks developed during the Middle Ages to aid trade. Along with innovations such as bills of exchange, or bank drafts, and credit, the rise of banking houses supported the development of interregional trade in luxury goods.
Al-Andalus
A Muslim-ruled region in what is now Spain, established by the Berbers in the eighth century A.D.
Byzantine Empire
(330-1453) The eastern half of the Roman Empire, which survived after the fall of the Western Empire at the end of the 5th century C.E. Its capital was Constantinople, named after the Emperor Constantine.
Cahokia
an ancient settlement of southern Indians, located near present day St. Louis, it served as a trading center for 40,000 at its peak in A.D. 1200.
Calicut
Great spice port of India where da Gama landed and traded
Caliphates
three divisions of the Muslim Empire at Cairo, Baghdad, and Cordoba
Camel saddles
with the advent of these dromedary camels could now be used to transport iron technology. slaves, salt, and gold across the Sahara, and could be used in battle. It also facilitated the spread of Arabic language systems into Northern Africa
Caravanserai
inn or rest station for caravans, would provide a safe place to stay the night, supported the flow of commerce, information, and people across the network of Africa, Arabia and Asia
Checks
A system that allows each branch of government to limit the powers of the other branches in order to prevent abuse of power
Citrus
A fruit of the family that includes oranges, lemons, grapefruits, and limes
Compass
an instrument containing a magnetized pointer that shows the direction of magnetic north and bearings from it.
Cotton
a soft white fibrous substance that surrounds the seeds of a tropical and subtropical plant and is used as textile fiber and thread for sewing.
Credit
An arrangement to receive cash, goods, or services now and pay for them in the future.
Dar al-Islam
an Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule
Epidemic
A widespread outbreak of an infectious disease.
Exotic Animals
An introduced, exotic, non-indigenous, or non-native species, or simply an introduction, is a species living outside its native distributional range, which has arrived there by human activity, either deliberate or accidental.
Gems
A hard, colorful mineral that has a brilliant or glassy luster
Grand Canal
an inland waterway 1000 miles long in eastern China
Gunpowder
A mixture of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal, in various proportions. The formula, brought to China in the 400s or 500s, was first used to make fumigators to keep away insect pests and evil spirits. IN later centuries it was used to make explosives and grenades and to propel cannonballs, shot, and bullets
Hangzhou
Capital of later Song dynasty; located near East China Sea; permitted overseas trading; population exceeded 1 million.
Hanseatic League
An economic and defensive alliance of the free towns in northern Germany, founded about 1241 and most powerful in the fourteenth century.
Iberia
Peninsula in southwestern Europe occupied by Spain and Portugal
Ibn Battuta
(1304-1369) Morrocan Muslim scholar, the most widely traveled individual of his time. He wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain and the western Sudan. His writings gave a glimpse into the world of that time period.
Indigenous culture
a culture group that constitutes the original inhabitants of a territory, distinct from the dominant national culture, which is often derived from colonial occupation.
Infrastructure
Fundamental facilities and systems serving a country, city, or area, as transportation and communication systems, power plants, and schools
Islam
A religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed which stresses belief in one god (Allah), Paradise and Hell, and a body of law written in the Quran. Followers are called Muslims.
Luxury goods
goods that were not necessary to support life; made life more enjoyable
Marco Polo
(1254-1324) Italian explorer and author. He made numerous trips to China and returned to Europe to write of his journeys. He is responsible for much of the knowledge exchanged between Europe and China during this time period.
Melaka
The first major center of Islam in Southeast Asia, a port kingdom on the southwestern coast of the Malay Peninsula.
Monetization
establishing something (e.g. gold or silver) as the legal tender of a country
Mongols
A people of this name is mentioned as early as the records of the Tang Empire, living as nomads in northern Eurasia. After 1206 they established an enormous empire under Genghis Khan, linking western and eastern Eurasia.
Muhammed
The prophet and founder of Islam
Muslim
A follower of Islam
Neoconfucianism
term that describes the resurgence of Confucianism and the influence of Confucian scholars during the T'ang Dynasty; a unification of Daoist or Buddhist metaphysics with Confucian pragmatism
Novgorod
Rurik founded city; first important Russian city; modern day Estonia
Paper money
legal currency issued on paper; it developed in China as a convenient alternative to metal coins
Pathogens
Microbes that cause disease
Polynesian migration
The Polynesians migrated eastward to Hawaii by boat to spread culture, bring a caste system, establish military and establish religion from the 600's-1300's.
Printing
A mechanical device for transferring text or graphics from a woodblock or type to paper using ink. Presses using movable type first appeared in Europe in about 1450.
Silk
An ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending some 6,440 km (4,000 mi) and linking China with the Roman Empire. Marco Polo followed the route on his journey to Cathay.
Spices
Bark, roots, seeds, bulbs, or berries from an aromatic plant used to flavor foods
Sogdians
Resided in Modern-day Tajikistan around the 7th century BCE, while the Silk Road trade was thriving.
Sugar
Europeans used slave labor to grow a wide range of profitable crops on the islands of the Caribbean; this was the most important and profitable of these crops
Swahili city-states
Waring states that were always competing for control of trade routes and each other. established by swahili., Many of these city-states were Muslim and very cosmopolitan.
Swahili language
the Arabic language and Bantu language mixed together to from this type of language.
Tenochtitlan
Capital of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco. Its population was about 150,000 on the eve of Spanish conquest. Mexico City was constructed on its ruins.
Timbuktu
City on the Niger River in the modern country of Mali. It was founded by the Tuareg as a seasonal camp sometime after 1000. As part of the Mali empire, Timbuktu became a major major terminus of the trans-Saharan trade and a center of Islamic learning
Toltec
Powerful postclassic empire in central Mexico (900-1168 C.E.). It influenced much of Mesoamerica. Aztecs claimed ties to this earlier civilization. (p. 305)
Turkic language
a language family of at least thirty-five languages, spoken by Turkic peoples across a vast area from Eastern Europe and the Mediterranean to Siberia and Western China.
Venice
An Italian trading city on the Ariatic Sea, agreed to help the Byzantines' effort to regain the lands in return for trading privileges in Constantinople.
Viking longships
The ship's shallow draft allowed navigation in waters only one meter deep and permitted beach landings. This allowed the Vikings to move down the Volga river and establish Kiev as a trade center
Xuanzang
A famous Chinese Buddhist monk, scholar, traveler, and translator who described the interaction between China and India in the early Tang period. He became famous for his 17 year trip to India and back.
Abbasids
A dynasty that ruled much of the Muslim Empire from 750 to about 1250.
Aztec Empire
Central American empire constructed by the Mexica and expanded greatly during the fifteenth century during the reigns of Itzcoatl and Motecuzoma I. They converted themselves from nomads into the elite of a huge militaristic state.
Crusades
1096 Christian Europe aim to reclaim Jerusalem and aid they Byzantines; 1st success and the rest a failure; weakens the Byzantines; opens up trade
Dehli Sultanate
Centralized Indian empire of varying extent, created by Muslim invaders.
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
Incan Empire
a Mesoamerican civilization in the Andes Mountains in South America that by the end of the 1400s was the largest empire in the Americas including much of what is now Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile; conquered by Pizarro
Italian city-states
Venice, Milan, Florence, Papal States, Naples
Japan
A string of more than 3,000 islands east of Asia extending 1,300 miles between the Sea of Japan and the western Pacific Ocean. Japanese first migrated to islands from mainland Asia in 300 A.D. Though nominally led by a Shogun, Japan fell to the feudal systems under warlords called Samurai and Daimyo.
Mongol Khanates
Regions held under control of Mongol Khans including Khanates of Chaghati, Golden Horde, the Great Khan and Ilkhanate of Persia.
Song Dynasty
(960 - 1279 AD); this dynasty was started by Tai Zu; by 1000, a million people were living there; started feet binding; had a magnetic compass; had a navy; traded with india and persia (brought pepper and cotton); first to have paper money, explosive gun powder; *landscape black and white paintings
Southeast Asian city-states
Muslim port city that came to prominence on the waterway between Sumatra and Malaya in the 15th century CE; it was the springboard for the syncretic form of Islam; relied on trade; known as expert seamen
Sui Dynasty
The short dynasty between the Han and the Tang; built the Grand Canal, strengthened the government, and introduced Buddhism to China
Tang Dynasty
(618-907 CE) The Chinese dynasty that was much like the Han, who used Confucianism. This dynasty had the equal-field system, a bureaucracy based on merit, and a Confucian education system.
Taxation
A charge against real estate to raise funds to meet public needs of government and to raise money for area improvements
Traditions
customs or beliefs handed down from generation to generation
Champa rice varieties
a quick-manufacturing, drought resistant rice that can allow two harvests, of sixty days each in one growing season
Chinampa field systems
a method of ancient Mesoamerican agriculture which used small, rectangle-shaped areas of fertile arable land to grow crops on the shallow lake beds in the Valley of Mexico
Coerced labor
forced labor systems (slavery, indentured servitude, debt peonage)
Craft production
system in which highly skilled workers use simple, flexible tools to produce small quantities of customized goods
Export
A good or service produced in the home country and sold in another country.
Free peasant agriculture
a type of peasant agriculture where free pesants can sell whatever they grow, but were not protected by land owners.
Guild organization
Medieval guilds, which regulated craft production, clearly differed in function from trade unions. However, aspects of guild regulation—as in matters relating to apprenticeship—were incorporated into the objectives of early unionism.
Horse collar
Harnessing method that increased the efficiency of horses by shifting the point of traction from the animal's neck to the shoulders; its adoption favors the spread of horse-drawn plows and vehicles.
Import
bring (goods or services) into a country from abroad for sale
Little ice age
A century-long period of cool climate that began in the 1590s. Its ill effects on agriculture in northern Europe were notable.
Military obligations
it organized the people by forcing them to join the military. In the Song Dynasty farmers were in the military. Nothing on the Mogols... The Inca had this, but they called it Mit'a
Mit'a
Andean labor system based on shared obligations to help kinsmen and work on behalf of the ruler and religious organizations.
Nomadic pastoralism
a form of pastoralism in which the whole social group (men, women, children) and their animals move in search of pasture
Peasant revolts
Revolts that took place in Flanders in the 1320's; England in 1381; and in Germany in 1525. They Revolted from resentment towards the nobility.
Porcelain
A hard, fine grained white ceramic ware fired at high temperatures
Serfdom
A type of labor commonly used in feudal systems in which the laborers work the land in return for protection but they are bound to the land and are not allowed to leave or to peruse their a new occupation. This was common in early Medeival Europe as well as in Russia until the mid 19th century.
Terracing
Carving small, flat plots of land from hillsides to use for farming
Unfree labor
A form of coerced labor in the form of convict leasing, prison labor, and chain gangs imposed in the postwar South on freed men in order to keep production levels of crops the same as before the war so farm owners could keep making the same kind of money and maintain their lifestyles
Urbanization
An increase in the percentage and in the number of people living in urban settlements.
Waru waru
agricultural techniques of south america; combines raised beds with irrigation channels to prevent erosion
West Africa
Coast of Africa that became center of European slave trade