Global History Vocabulary Words

Text that tells a first-hand account of an event; original works used when researching (letters, journals).

Information gathered by someone who did not take part in or witness an event.

The belief in one god (Christianity, Islam, Judaism).

The belief in many gods (Hinduism, Buddhism, etc.).

The belief that one's civilization is superior to another.

The spread of ideas, customs, and technologies from one civilization to another.

The study of the world and its features.

The time period when people were nomadic and were hunters and gatherers.

The change from nomadic hunting-gathering to settled villages.

A person who moves from place to place.

An Egyptian written language.

A Mesopotamian pyramid.

Mesopotamian written language.

A law code in Mesopotamia stating that a person who commits a crime must be charged with similar and cruel punishments.

Advanced Indian Civilizations.

A Hindu belief which features a rigid class system with no social mobility.

One's duty (Hindu).

One's actions (Hindu).

The belief that one is reborn after death, believed in Hinduism and Buddhism.

The ultimate goal (Hindu).

The founder of Buddhism.

Buddhist belief; all life is suffering.

The ultimate goal (Buddhist).

Spread Hinduism with rock edicts.

Emperor of the Mughal Empire, who believed in religious toleration and was an absolute monarch.

Nickname for the Huang He River.

The justification for a dynasty to overthrow another. Similar to Divine Right.

The press of one dynasty replacing another after claiming the Mandate of Heaven.

Legalist emperor during the Qin Dynasty who had harsh punishments and instructed the building of the Great Wall.

Spread across Asia and was regulated by China. Cultural Diffusion.

A test taken in Han China that allowed for government positions. Based on Confucian Texts.

A Confucian belief that an individual should respect their elders.

The belief that strict and harsh laws should be established.

The belief that education is essential, and five relationships.

The belief that rules are pointless, and people should go with the flow.

They served as standards for excellence and were historically memorable and relevant.

Founded in Athens, the government is handled by the people.

Used in Sparta, ruling by a few.

A city-state.

King of Macedonia who conquered Greece, Egypt, Persia, and India.

The combination of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian culture.

The high class in Rome.

The low class in Rome.

The Golden Age of Rome which had much prosperit and achievements such as the development of the Twelve Tables.

A structure built in Rome that allowed for water transport.

A law code developed in Rome that served as the basis for modern laws.

A man-made floating island used by the Aztecs to adapt to their environment.

The process of carving into mountains used by the Incas to adapt to their environment.

Bead-like objects used by the Incas in place of a written language.

Located in the Andes Mountains and used terrace farming as means of adaptation.

Located in present-day Mexico and used Chinampas as means to adaptation.

Located on the Yucatan Peninsula and had an advanced civilization.

The exchange of land for service from the high class to the low class.

The grant of land in a feudal society.

The code the knights abide by in Europe.

Economic system during the Middle Ages that revolved around self-sufficient farming estates where lords and peasants shared the land.

A document written in 1215 that limited a monarch's power in England.

Established to help reduce the power of an absolute monarch.

A series of wars fought between Christians and Muslims that resulted in an immense increase in trade.

A plague that resulted in the death of 1/3 of the population.

A war between England and France over the next ruler of France.

A young prophet who acted as the turning point for the Hundred Years' War.

The use of flying buttresses in architecture.

A major trade and commercial city located formerly in the Byzantine Empire before being taken over and renamed by the Ottoman Turks.

A law code of Byzantine which preserved Greco-Roman ideas.

Eastern Orthodox Church built in Constantinople

Given to Russia by the Byzantine Empire.

A holy trip to Mecca mandated by Islam.

Holy symbols of Islam that required Muslims to believe in only Allah, pray five times a day, give alms, fast during Ramadan, and take a hajj to Mecca.

Prophet of Islam.

The split in Islam over who should be the next caliph.

The migration of Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina

Member of elite fighting force comprised of christian slaves in the Ottoman Empire

Located in Africa; provides protection but is impossible to cultivate.

Provided West African Kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) with great wealth.

Mali ruler who spread Islam during his Hajj to Mecca and inflated the price of gold.

An explorer during the Ming Dynasty.

Unified by Ghengis Khan and ruled over a vast empire.

Italian Explorer who explored the Yuan Dynasty under Kublai Khan.

Korea was called this because it chose to isolate itself from Chinese and Japanese influences.

The Japanese belief in nature spirits called kami.

The Japanese equivalent of knights.

Code of conduct for the samurai.

A time of rebirth of Roman and Greek culture.

The Renaissance belief in the great ability of an individual.

Created the 95 Theses and opposed the sale of indulgences.

Paying money for the forgiveness of sins.

Declared the king (Henry VIII) the supreme head of the Church of England in 1534.

Attempted to reform the Catholic Church.

A court established by Catholics to try and persecute non-Catholics.

Someone who attempts to convert others to a particular doctrine or program.

A Spanish conqueror.

A forced system of labor imposed on the Natives.

The belief that colonies merely exist to provide raw materials for the mother country.

A voyage that brought enslaved Africans across the Atlantic Ocean to North America and the West Indies.

The exchange of materials from the New World and the Old World.

To right to rule granted by God. Similar to the Mandate of Heaeven.

An absolute monarch who built the Palace of Versailles.

A peaceful confrontation leading to the establishment of the Bill of Rights, limiting the power of a monarch.

A Russian ruler who attempted to westernize Russia.

A ruler who acquires total control over their civilization granted by divine right.

Built by Louis XIV in an attempt to seize sole leadership.

An English King who wanted an annulment, so he created the Anglican Church.

Invented the Printing Press.

A monarch whose power is restricted by a Parliament.

The belief by John Calvin that one's life is determined before one is born.

A ruler who propagates the arts.