Unit 1: The Global Tapestry

• State-building


  The processes of creating and expanding states or empires typically to refer to their government, economic, and cultural practices.
• East Asia


  A region of Asia that includes China, Mongolia, North Korea, South Korea, and Japan
• South Asia


  A region that includes modern day India & Pakistan
• Southeast Asia


  A region that includes Vietnam, Thailand, Laos, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc.
• Afro-Eurasia


  The vast region made up of Africa, Europe, and Asia
• Middle East


  Region of SW Asia that typically refers to the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, Iraq, Syria, etc.
• Song Dynasty


  (960-1279 CE) The Chinese dynasty that placed much more emphasis on civil administration, industry, education, and arts other than military.

  
• Song Taizu


  First Song dynasty emperor who reigned from 960-976 CE. He focused his rule on civil administration, industry, education, and the arts rather than on military affairs.
• Footbinding


  Practice in Chinese society to mutilate women's feet in order to make them smaller; produced pain and restricted women's movement; used at first by wealthy elite, but spread to other classes.
• Daoism


  Philosophical system developed by of Lao-Tzu advocating a simple honest life and noninterference with the course of natural events, balance and harmony
• Confucianism


  The system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct.

  
• Filial Piety (Confucianism)


  a virtue of respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors

  
• Imperial Bureaucracy


  Division of an empire into organized provinces to make it easier to control
• Neo-Confucianism


  A philosophy that emerged in Song-dynasty China; it revived Confucian thinking while adding in Buddhist and Daoist elements.
• Hinduism


  A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being who takes many forms, polytheistic
• Buddhism


  the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth. This is known as the Four Noble Truths & the Eightfold Path.
• Theravada Buddhism


  the oldest of the two major branches of Buddhism. Traditional Buddhism that follows closely the original teachings of the Buddha
• Mahayana Buddhism


  Also known as popular Buddhism, is allows people more ways to reach enlightenment and boddhisatvas can help you reach enlightenment.
• Zen Buddhism


  a Japanese school of Mahayana Buddhism emphasizing the value of meditation and intuition
• Buddhism in China


  Spread by the Silk Roads, took form of Mahavana Buddhism. Blended with Daoism, formed 'Chan Buddhism' (aka Zen Buddhism).
• Champa Rice


  a quick-maturing, drought resistant rice that can allow two harvests, of sixty days each in one growing season
• Grand Canal


  Built in 7th century during reign of Yangdi during Sui dynasty; designed to link the original centers of Chinese civilization on the north China plain with the Yangtze river basin to the south; strengthened China's internal cohesion and economic development
• Porcelain


  a thin, beautiful pottery invented in China; one of China's 3 major exports
• Steel and iron production

  A key element during the Song Economic Revolution; helped popularize mass production and new production methods
• woodblock printing


  a type of printing in which text is carved into a block of wood and the block is then coated with ink and pressed on the page, popular innovation in Song China
• Judaism


  A religion with a belief in one god. It originated with Abraham and the Hebrew people. Yahweh was responsible for the world and everything within it. Their holy book is the Tanahk or Hebrew Bible
• Christianity


  A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as Messiah. His death is seen as atonement for people's wrongdoings.
• Umma


  The overarching community of all Muslims that is unified by religion instead of race or ethnicity.
• 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.
• Caliph


  A supreme political and religious leader in a Muslim government, successor after Muhammad
• House of Wisdom


  An academic center for research and translation of foreign texts that was established in Baghdad in the 800s by the Abbasid caliph. Known for their advancements in astronomy and medicine.
• Abbasid Caliphate


  third of the Islamic Caliphates of the Islamic Empire. The rulers who built their capital in Baghdad after overthrowing the Umayyad caliphs. In started in 750 CE. It flourished for two centuries, but slowly went into decline with the rise to power of the Turkish army it had created, the Mamluks. In the 13th century the Mongols displaced them.
• Turks


  Central Asian nomads related to the Xiongnu peoples that pressured Han China. Organized as tribes that constantly fought each other. Most converted to Islam. Most societies sought to trade with settled people. Nobles controlled absolutely in times of war.
• Seljuk Empire


  An empire formed by Turkish and Persian Sunnis, lasting from 1037 to 1194 A.D.
• Mamluks


  Under the Islamic system of military slavery, Turkic military slaves who formed an important part of the armed forces of the Abbasid Caliphate of the ninth and tenth centuries. Mamluks eventually founded their own state, ruling Egypt and Syria (1250-1517)
• Delhi Sultanate


  Islamic kingdom in South Asia. After years of conquest, the Sultanate conquered and incorporated that majority of the Indian subcontinent. This resulted in a sort of unification process between the diverse peoples of the region, but also led to a split in Indian culture, as Hindus increasingly fought against the Sultanate in the 16th century, leading to its demise.
• Sufis


  mystical Muslim group that believed they could draw closer to God through prayer, fasting, & simple life - Spread Islam through Anatolia, the Middle East and even into South Asia.
• Dar al-Islam


  an Arabic term that means the "house of Islam" and that refers to lands under Islamic rule
• Abbasid


  A dynasty that ruled much of the Muslim Empire from 750 to about 1250.
• Mali


  The kingdom in West Africa that followed the Kingdom of Ghana; its wealth is also based on trans-Saharan trade; this kingdom encouraged the spread of Islam.