Asia
Pax Mongolica
The period of approximately 150 years of relative peace and stability created by the Mongol Empire which facilitated trade on the Silk Road.
Muslim Spain
A Muslim-ruled region in what is now Spain, established by the Berbers. A center of Islamic power and achievement until the Reconquista.
Voodoo
A New World syncretic faith that combines the animist faiths of West Africa with Christianity
Astrolabe
Instrument used to determine latitude by measuring the position of the stars
Black Death
The disease brought to Europe from the Mongols which killed 1/3 of the population and helps end Feudalism. Spread by Rats and fleas.
Song Dynasty
The Chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on bureaucracy, civil service exam, Confucianism, technological innovations, education, and arts
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.
Mali Empire
Empire created by indigenous Muslims in western Sudan of West Africa. It was famous for its role in the Trans-Saharan gold trade and its leader Mansa Musa who completed a pilgrimage to Mecca.
House of Wisdom
An academic center for research and translation of Greek & Roman texts into Arabic that was established in Baghdad by the Abbasid caliph.
Flying Cash
Enabled merchants on the Silk Road to deposit good or cash at one location and draw the equivalent in cash or merchandise elsewhere in China.
Mahayana Buddhism
A branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. Spread along Indian Ocean Trade Network. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and enlightened people who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment.
Aztec Empire
A large and complex Native American civilization in modern Mexico and Central America that possessed advanced mathematical, astronomical, and engineering technology. They used a tribute system to maintain power and performed human sacrifices.
Ibn Batuta
Moroccan 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.
Caliphate
A person considered a religious successor to the Islamic prophet Muhammad and a leader over all Muslims around the world.
Monsoon Winds
The seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia, blowing from the southwest in summer and from the northeast in winter. The season during which the southwest winds blows, commonly marked by heavy rains. Helps Islamic merchants in travels.
Diasporic Communities
In key places along Indian Ocean Trade Route, merchants set up these communities to spread their own traditions into the indigenous culture.
Inca Empire
The Western Hemisphere's largest imperial empire which stretched along the Andes Mountains. Used quipus as a recording device and the mit’a system to maintain control over their large empire.
Swahili Civilization
It was a civilization along the Swahili coast. Swahili cities provided commercial centers that accumulated goods from the interior of sub-Saharan Africa and exchanged them for the products of the Indian Ocean trading network.
Sand Roads IK THIS ISNT IN THE MIDDLE EAST BUT ITS TOO LATE
Trade routes across Africa, trans and sub saharan. Helped connect Africa by the trade of salt. Three West African Empires drew upon the wealth of the Sand Roads, and taxed those upon them. Main goods gold and salt.
Quipus
A non-written form of communication and record-keeping used by the Inca Empire.
Zheng He
Chinese naval explorer who sailed along most of the coast of Asia, Japan, and half way down the east coast of Africa before his death. Collected tributes for China.
Dar Al-Islam
Arabic phrase meaning, “The House of Islam”—refers to the parts of the world where Muslims are in the majority and the rulers practice Islam.
Malacca
Muslim port city that came to prominence on the waterway between Sumatra and Malaya in the fifteenth century; it was the springboard for the spread of a syncretic form of Islam throughout the region.
Al-Andalus
Muhammad ibn Musa al-Khwarizmi was a 9th-century Muslim mathematician and astronomer. He is known as the “father of algebra”, a word derived from the title of his book, Kitab al-Jabr. His pioneering work offered practical answers for land distribution, rules on inheritance and distributing salaries.
Golden Horde
The group of settled Mongols who ruled over Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Moldova, and the Caucasus from the 1240s until 1502. The Golden Horde was established by Batu Khan, a grandson of Genghis Khan, and subsequently a part of the Mongol Empire before its inevitable fall.