Context
Centers of trade where goods are stored and distributed, often in a free-trade zone and in a strategic location at port cities.
entrepots
This Chinese bureaucratic system, based on Confucian learning, selected officials by competitive testing.
civil service exam
Category of Turkic and Mongol groups who lived on the steppes and relied on the herding of animals, moving constantly in search of pasture and water.
Pastoral Nomads
A Muslim term referring to sustenance, livelihood, or provisions, often relating to the concept of God's provision.
Rizk
This Ethnic Group expanded territory, established the Silk Road, and is contributed greatly to the politics of the Ming Dynasty
Han
Seasonal winds, particularly in the Indian Ocean, that were crucial for navigation and trade in the region.
monsoon
A powerful political doctrine in China that states the emperor's right to rule comes from the divine approval of the gods.
mandate of heaven
A catastrophic pandemic that swept Eurasia in the mid-14th century, transmitted by fleas on rodents, and caused massive demographic collapse.
Bubonic Plague
The capital of the Ottoman Empire, post-1453; a key strategic and commercial city connecting Europe and Asia.
Istanbul
This is the largest denomination of Islam, whose followers believe the caliph should be chosen by consensus and not require a blood lineage to Muhammad, differing from their Shia counterparts.
Sunni
Famous for their leveraging of Entrepots, this blend of African Bantu and Arabic cultures developed along the East African coast due to Indian Ocean trade.
Swahili
The period of peace, stability, and secure trade routes across Eurasia established under the centralized rule of the Mongol Empire.
pax mongolica
A forced Ottoman system that levied Christian boys from the Balkans, converted them to Islam, and trained them for military service or administration.
Devshirme
The Spanish monarchs whose marriage unified the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon, funded Columbus, and oversaw the Reconquista.
Isabel & Ferdinand
A 16th-century political treatise by Niccolò Machiavelli that advises rulers on how to acquire and maintain power, often by ruthless means.
The Prince
A large, ancient urban center and mound-building society that flourished near present-day St. Louis, Missouri, in the Mississippian culture area.
Cahokia
A system of decentralized political and military rule in which a lord granted land to a vassal in return for military service.
manorialism
The two dominant European royal lines of France and England, respectively, that consolidated power in the late Middle Ages and early modern period.
Valois & Tudor
An early Mesoamerican civilization known for its fully developed writing system, architecture, art, and astronomical knowledge.
Maya
A large, influential pre-Inca South American civilization that flourished on the northern coast of Peru and whose capital was Chan Chan.
Chimu
Independent, self-governing urban centers that control a surrounding territory, like those found in ancient Greece, Mesopotamia, or the Italian Peninsula.
city states
This magnificent imperial palace complex was the political and ritual center of China for over 500 years, from the Ming Dynasty onward.
forbidden city
A sustained period of cooling that affected weather patterns and agriculture globally from about the 14th to the mid-19th century.
Little Ice Age
This admiral led massive Ming Dynasty voyages throughout the Indian Ocean in the early 15th century to display Chinese power and collect tribute.
Zeng He
The greatest teacher you have ever had and will likely ever have for the rest of your days
Mr. Fahy