AP World History Modern
Byzantine Empire/Byzantium - ANSWER Eastern half/continuation of Roman
Empire from ~330 C.E. to ~1200
Capital: Constantinople (formerly Byzantine, renamed after Roman Emperor
Constantine 330 C.E.)
Roman Catholic Church - ANSWER Western European church headed by pope,
started in Roman Empire
Caesaropapism - ANSWER Secular leader (caesar) also religious leader (pope)
Crusades - ANSWER Series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by
European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.
Conversion of Russia to Christianity - ANSWER 980-1015
Moscow became "third Rome"; stronghold of Eastern Orthodoxy
Feudalism (Western Europe) - ANSWER Political and social system of
decentralized political power and relationships of mutual obligation between lords
and vassals
Manorialism (Western Europe) - ANSWER Economic system of self-sufficient rural
communities centered around manor/estate with free/unfree peasants/serfs serving
lord in exchange for protection and land use rights
High Middle Ages - ANSWER 1000-1300
External invasions relaxing, climate warming & improving agriculture
Increased urbanization & trade with Islamic & Byzantine civilizations
Guilds - ANSWER Groups of people in the same profession who regulate rules of
the trade; emerged during High Middle Ages in Western Europe
The Plague - ANSWER Disease spread by flea bites (carried on rats)
Bubonic - in lymphatic system
Septimic - in blood
Pneumonic - in lungs
Black Death - ANSWER Major plague epidemic in 14th century spread initially by
Mongols to Europe & MENA; killed 25-50% of Europe.
Chinese golden age of arts & literature - ANSWER Tang and Song Dynasties
Neo-Confucianism created
Tang Dynasty - ANSWER 618-907 CE
State structure lasted a millennia
"Censorate" set precedent for surveillance of rest of government
Civil service examinations revived
,Song Dynasty - ANSWER 960-1279 CE
Neo-Confucianism created - revival of Confucianism incorporating elements of
Buddhism & Daoism
Economic & agricultural revolutions made Song China richest, highly populated,
most skilled, and most urbanized country in the world
Tribute System (China) - ANSWER System requiring foreigners to adhere to set of
practices acknowledging Chinese superiority and presenting gifts from their
homelands
Hangul - ANSWER Script invented in fifteenth century to write Korean
Chu nom - ANSWER "southern script" a Vietnamese variation of Chinese writing,
which provided the basis for an independent national literature and a vehicle for the
writing of most educated women
Innovations spread from China to rest of Eurasia - ANSWER Paper making,
printing, calligraphy, gunpowder, silk, porcelain, lacquerware, more
Spread of Buddhism - ANSWER Religion originated in northern India 5th century
BCE, then spread across (East & Southeast) Asia through Silk Roads starting in 1st
and 2nd centuries CE
Syncretism - ANSWER Blending of cultural (often religious) values and practices
Chinese dynasties - ANSWER Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan,
Ming, Qing, Republic, Mao Zedong
Confucian theory of four layers of society - ANSWER Top to bottom:
Civil servants
Scholars
Farmers/laborers
Merchants
Death of Prophet Muhammad - ANSWER 632 CE
Arab/Islamic Empire - ANSWER Formed after Muhammad's death
Series of Arab Muslim caliphates/empires, starting 632 with the Rashidun Caliphate
and ending 1922 with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
Sunni-Shia split - ANSWER Muhammad's death 632 CE lead to disagreements
over who should succeed him as caliph (leader of ummah)
Sunnis- ummah/ulama choose caliph
Shias- caliph descended from Muhammad
Abbasid Caliphate - ANSWER Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, al-
Abbas, they overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled an Islamic empire from
their capital in Baghdad (founded 762) from 750 to 1258. Influenced by non-Arab
Muslims, notably Persians.
, Sultanate of Delhi - ANSWER Islamic state in northern India established by Turks in
1206
Sikhism - ANSWER Monotheistic religion founded in Punjab in the 15th century by
former bhakti Guru Nanak, combining elements of Islam and Hinduism
Over time, became distinct religion & shifted from peaceful to skilled militant group
Islamic Rule in Spain/Al-Andalus - ANSWER Umayyads controlled various parts of
Spain for different amounts of time between 711 and 1492 CE when Spanish
reconquest succeeded
Umayyad Caliphate - ANSWER 661-750
First Arab dynasty, led by Umayyad family
Expanded empire, made caliph hereditary role, moved capital from Medina to
Damascus
Treated non-Arab Muslims as second class
Overthrown by Abbasids
Islamic/Arab Green Revolution - ANSWER The introduction of crops from northern
India to the Middle East by Muslim merchants, as well as advancements in
agriculture (irrigation), horticulture, and animal husbandry during the Islamic Golden
Age which increased food production, population growth, urbanization, and
industrialization.
Islamic Golden Age - ANSWER Period of scientific, economic, and cultural
flourishing, approximately during the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, but technically
started with creation of House of Wisdom.
House of Wisdom - ANSWER Established 830 CE in Baghdad under the Abbasid
Caliphate as an academy/library- a center for research and translation of academic
texts from around the world
Dhimmis - ANSWER "Protected people"/people of the book under Islam, including
Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians.
Ibn Battuta - ANSWER Islamic scholar born 1304 in Morocco, traveled across the
Islamic world and beyond from 1325-51, died 1369.
Account of his travels published by order of the Sultan of Morocco.
Bahmani Kingdom - ANSWER Kingdom established by Muslim nobles in India from
1347-1482 CE, challenging the Dehli sultanate.
Vijayanagara Empire - ANSWER 1336-1482 CE
Hindu southern Indian kingdom created to counter Muslim north/Bahmani Kingdom
Strait of Malacca - ANSWER Highly contested channel into South China Sea
between Malay Peninsula and Sumatra; connected China with India/Indian Ocean
trade
Byzantine Empire/Byzantium - ANSWER Eastern half/continuation of Roman
Empire from ~330 C.E. to ~1200
Capital: Constantinople (formerly Byzantine, renamed after Roman Emperor
Constantine 330 C.E.)
Roman Catholic Church - ANSWER Western European church headed by pope,
started in Roman Empire
Caesaropapism - ANSWER Secular leader (caesar) also religious leader (pope)
Crusades - ANSWER Series of holy wars from 1096-1270 AD undertaken by
European Christians to free the Holy Land from Muslim rule.
Conversion of Russia to Christianity - ANSWER 980-1015
Moscow became "third Rome"; stronghold of Eastern Orthodoxy
Feudalism (Western Europe) - ANSWER Political and social system of
decentralized political power and relationships of mutual obligation between lords
and vassals
Manorialism (Western Europe) - ANSWER Economic system of self-sufficient rural
communities centered around manor/estate with free/unfree peasants/serfs serving
lord in exchange for protection and land use rights
High Middle Ages - ANSWER 1000-1300
External invasions relaxing, climate warming & improving agriculture
Increased urbanization & trade with Islamic & Byzantine civilizations
Guilds - ANSWER Groups of people in the same profession who regulate rules of
the trade; emerged during High Middle Ages in Western Europe
The Plague - ANSWER Disease spread by flea bites (carried on rats)
Bubonic - in lymphatic system
Septimic - in blood
Pneumonic - in lungs
Black Death - ANSWER Major plague epidemic in 14th century spread initially by
Mongols to Europe & MENA; killed 25-50% of Europe.
Chinese golden age of arts & literature - ANSWER Tang and Song Dynasties
Neo-Confucianism created
Tang Dynasty - ANSWER 618-907 CE
State structure lasted a millennia
"Censorate" set precedent for surveillance of rest of government
Civil service examinations revived
,Song Dynasty - ANSWER 960-1279 CE
Neo-Confucianism created - revival of Confucianism incorporating elements of
Buddhism & Daoism
Economic & agricultural revolutions made Song China richest, highly populated,
most skilled, and most urbanized country in the world
Tribute System (China) - ANSWER System requiring foreigners to adhere to set of
practices acknowledging Chinese superiority and presenting gifts from their
homelands
Hangul - ANSWER Script invented in fifteenth century to write Korean
Chu nom - ANSWER "southern script" a Vietnamese variation of Chinese writing,
which provided the basis for an independent national literature and a vehicle for the
writing of most educated women
Innovations spread from China to rest of Eurasia - ANSWER Paper making,
printing, calligraphy, gunpowder, silk, porcelain, lacquerware, more
Spread of Buddhism - ANSWER Religion originated in northern India 5th century
BCE, then spread across (East & Southeast) Asia through Silk Roads starting in 1st
and 2nd centuries CE
Syncretism - ANSWER Blending of cultural (often religious) values and practices
Chinese dynasties - ANSWER Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui, Tang, Song, Yuan,
Ming, Qing, Republic, Mao Zedong
Confucian theory of four layers of society - ANSWER Top to bottom:
Civil servants
Scholars
Farmers/laborers
Merchants
Death of Prophet Muhammad - ANSWER 632 CE
Arab/Islamic Empire - ANSWER Formed after Muhammad's death
Series of Arab Muslim caliphates/empires, starting 632 with the Rashidun Caliphate
and ending 1922 with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire
Sunni-Shia split - ANSWER Muhammad's death 632 CE lead to disagreements
over who should succeed him as caliph (leader of ummah)
Sunnis- ummah/ulama choose caliph
Shias- caliph descended from Muhammad
Abbasid Caliphate - ANSWER Descendants of the Prophet Muhammad's uncle, al-
Abbas, they overthrew the Umayyad Caliphate and ruled an Islamic empire from
their capital in Baghdad (founded 762) from 750 to 1258. Influenced by non-Arab
Muslims, notably Persians.
, Sultanate of Delhi - ANSWER Islamic state in northern India established by Turks in
1206
Sikhism - ANSWER Monotheistic religion founded in Punjab in the 15th century by
former bhakti Guru Nanak, combining elements of Islam and Hinduism
Over time, became distinct religion & shifted from peaceful to skilled militant group
Islamic Rule in Spain/Al-Andalus - ANSWER Umayyads controlled various parts of
Spain for different amounts of time between 711 and 1492 CE when Spanish
reconquest succeeded
Umayyad Caliphate - ANSWER 661-750
First Arab dynasty, led by Umayyad family
Expanded empire, made caliph hereditary role, moved capital from Medina to
Damascus
Treated non-Arab Muslims as second class
Overthrown by Abbasids
Islamic/Arab Green Revolution - ANSWER The introduction of crops from northern
India to the Middle East by Muslim merchants, as well as advancements in
agriculture (irrigation), horticulture, and animal husbandry during the Islamic Golden
Age which increased food production, population growth, urbanization, and
industrialization.
Islamic Golden Age - ANSWER Period of scientific, economic, and cultural
flourishing, approximately during the rule of the Abbasid Caliphate, but technically
started with creation of House of Wisdom.
House of Wisdom - ANSWER Established 830 CE in Baghdad under the Abbasid
Caliphate as an academy/library- a center for research and translation of academic
texts from around the world
Dhimmis - ANSWER "Protected people"/people of the book under Islam, including
Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians.
Ibn Battuta - ANSWER Islamic scholar born 1304 in Morocco, traveled across the
Islamic world and beyond from 1325-51, died 1369.
Account of his travels published by order of the Sultan of Morocco.
Bahmani Kingdom - ANSWER Kingdom established by Muslim nobles in India from
1347-1482 CE, challenging the Dehli sultanate.
Vijayanagara Empire - ANSWER 1336-1482 CE
Hindu southern Indian kingdom created to counter Muslim north/Bahmani Kingdom
Strait of Malacca - ANSWER Highly contested channel into South China Sea
between Malay Peninsula and Sumatra; connected China with India/Indian Ocean
trade
