World at 1500

Siddhartha Gautama

The founder of Buddhism

Jesus

The founder of Christianity

Abraham

The founder of Judaism

Muhammad

The founder of Islam

Bible

The holy text (book) of Christianity

Torah

The holy text (book) of Judaism

Quran (Koran)

The holy text (book) of Islam

Monotheism

The belief in only one god that is a foundation of Christianity, Judaism, and Islam

Four Noble Truths

The basic beliefs about life and suffering that form the foundation of Buddhism

Eightfold Path

In Buddhism, the basic rules of behavior and practices which lead to an end of suffering (nirvana)

Asoka

Religious missionaries who spread Buddhism throughout Asia

Enlightenment

in Buddhism, a state of perfect knowledge or wisdom in which one understands the basic truths about the universe

Reincarnation

The rebirth of the soul in a new body which is a basic belief of Hinduism

Karma

In Hinduism, the belief that actions in this life (whether good or bad) will decide your place in the next life

Five Pillars

The fundamental practices of Islam which involve faith, prayer, giving, fasting, and a pilgrimage to Mecca

Mecca and Medina

The two holy cities of Islam

Aztec Empire

A powerful Central American empire located in present-day Mexico

Inca Empire

A powerful South American empire located in present-day Chile and Peru

Ottoman Empire

A Muslim empire located in present-day Turkey, SE Europe, and Northern Africa that lasted from the 1300's to 1922

Mughal Empire

A powerful Muslim empire located in present-day India from the 1500's to the 1700's

Qing (Manchu) Dynasty

A powerful empire located in present-day China that lasted from 1644 to 1912

Tokugawa Shogunate

A powerful empire located in present-day Japan from 1603 to 1867

Songhai Empire

A powerful empire located in West Africa from the 1400's to 1591

Silk Road

An ancient trade route in Asia that connected China to the Mediterranean Sea (Europe)

Trans-Saharan Trade

An ancient trade route in northern Africa that exchanged primarily gold and salt

Timbuktu

City that was the center of trade along the Trans-Saharan Trade Routes

Constantinople

Capital city of the Byzantine Empire, which was captured by the Ottomans in 1453 (and renamed Istanbul)

Hagia Sophia

Catholic Church in the city of Constantinople that was converted to a mosque by the Ottoman Empire

Shogun

The supreme military commander of Japan

Isolation

A policy of non-participation in international economic and political relations that was followed by China and Japan in the 1500s

Foreign Enclaves

Special trading locations in China that reduced the amount of interaction between the Chinese people and Europeans

Taj Mahal

A mausoleum (tomb) built by the Mughal ruler Shah Jahan to honor his wife