Abu Bakr
(c. 573-634) One of Muhammad's earliest converts; succeeded Muhammad as first caliph of Islamic community.
Africanity
Being of African discent.
Animism
A religious outlook that sees gods in many aspects of nature and propitiates them to help control and explain nature; typical of Mesopotamian religions.
Aztecs
A member of the American Indian people dominant in Mexico before the Spanish conquest of the 16th century.
Bedouins
Nomadic pastoralists of the Arabian peninsula; culture based on camel and goat nomadism; early converts to Islam.
Caliph (Caliphate)
The political and religious successor to Muhammad.
Delhi Sultanate
Period of early Indian-based Islamic rule of Bengal (1206- 1341). The Delhi Sultanate continued in India proper until 1526.
Five Pillars of Faith
The obligatory religious duties of all Muslims; confession of faith, prayer, fasting during Ramadan, zakat, and hajj.
Genghis Khan
(Chinggis Khan) Born in 1170s in dedcades following death of Kabul Khan; elected khagan of all Mongol tribes in 1206; responsible for conquest of northern kingdoms of China, territories as far west as the Abbasid regions; died in 1227, prior to conquest o
Ghana
A country in West Africa, with a southern coastline that borders on the Atlantic Ocean; pop. 20,750,000; capital, Accra; languages, English (official) and West African languages.
Great Zimbabwe
Bantu confederation of Shona-speaking peoples located between Zambezi and Limpopo rivers; developed after 9th century; featured royal courts built of stone; created centralized state by 15th century; king took title of Mwene Mutapa.
Griots
Professional oral historians who served as keepers of traditions and advisors to kings within the Mali Empire.
Hajj
A Muslim's pilgrimage to the holy city of Mecca, to worship Allah at the Ka'ba.
Hausa
People of northern Nigeria; formed states following the demise of Songhay Empire that combined Muslim and pagan traditions.
Hegemony
Leadership or dominance, esp. by one country or social group over others.
Hijrah
Moving from a land where a Muslim cannot practice his faith to a land where he can.
Ibn Battuta
(b. 1304) Arab traveler who described African societies and cultures in his travel records.
Inca
Group of clans centered at Cuzco that were able to create empire incorporating various Andean cultures; term also used for leader of empire.
Jihad
Struggle; often used for wars in defense of the faith.
Ka'ba
Most revered religious shrine in pre-Islamic Arabia; located in Mecca; focus of obligatory annual truce among bedouin tribes; later incorporated as important shrine in Islam.
Khanate of the Golden Horde
Land governed by th khan the army of Mongol Tartars that overran eastern Europe in the 13th century, established a khanate in Russia, and maintained suzerainty there until the 15th century.
Khanate of the Great Khan
A title of imperial rank in the Mongolian and Turkic languages equal to the status of emperor and someone who rules a Khaganate.
Koryo Dynasty
Dynasty that ruled the Korean peninsula as the Kory? kingdom from 935 to 1392 ce. During this period the country began to form its own cultural tradition distinct from the rest of East Asia.
Kowtow
An act of kneeling and touching the ground with the forehead in such a way.
Kubilai Khan
(1215-1294) Grandson of Genghis Khan; commander of Mongol forces responsible for conquest of China; became khagan in 1260; established Sinicized Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1271.
Liao Empire
Founded in 907 by nomadic Khitan peoples from Manchuria; maintained independence from Song dynasty in China.
Li Bo
(701-762) Most famous poet of the Tang era; blended images of the mundane world with philosophical musings.
Madrasas
A college for Islamic instruction.
Mali
A landlocked country in West Africa, south of Algeria, in the Sahel except for desert in the north; pop. 11,900,000; capital, Bamako; languages, French (official) and others mainly of the Mande group.
Mansa Musa
Emperor of the kingdom of Mali in Africa. He made a famous pilgrimage to Mecca and established trade routes to the Middle East.
Marco Polo
(c.1254-c.1324), Italian traveler. With his father and uncle he traveled to China and the court of Kublai Khan via central Asia (1271-75). He eventually returned home (1292-95) via Sumatra, India, and Persia. His account of his travels spurred the Europea
Maya
Classical culture emerging in southern Mexico and Central America contemporary with Teotihuacan; extended over broad region; featured monumental architecture, written language, calendrical and mathematical systems, highly developed religion.
Ming Dynasty
Succeeded Mongol Yuan dynasty in China in 1368; lasted until 1644; initially mounted huge trade expeditions to southern Asia and elsewhere, but later concentrated efforts on internal development within China.
Mit'a
Labor extracted for lands assigned to the state and the religion; all communities were expected to contribute; an essential aspect of Inca imperial control.
Moche
A pre-Inca culture that flourished on the coast of Peru in the 1st to 7th centuries ad.
Monsoons
Seasonal winds crossing Indian sub-continent and southeast Asia; during summer bring rains.
Mosque
A Muslim place of worship.
Muhammad
Prophet of Islam; born c. 570 to Banu Hashim clan of Quraysh tribe in Mecca; raised by father's family; received revelations from Allah in 610 C.E. and thereafter; died in 632.
Ottoman Turks
A particular group of Turkic peoples that established and ruled a powerful empire that dominated Southeastern Europe, the Middle East, and parts of North Africa from the late Middle Ages to the early twentieth century; the empire was dissolved as a result
Pax Mongolica
The Pax Mongolica or "Mongol Peace" is a phrase coined by Western scholars to describe the social, cultural, and economic outcome of the Mongol Empire's conquest of the territory from Southeast Asia to Europe in the 13th and 14th centuries. As a result of
Quetzacoatl
Toltec deity; Feathered Serpent; adopted by Aztecs as a major god.
Qur'an
Recitations of revelantions received by Muhammad; holy book of Islam.
Samurai
Mounted troops of Japanese warrior leaders (bushi); loyal to local lords, not the emperor.
Seljuk Turks
Nomadic invaders from central Asia via Persia; staunch Sunnis; ruled in name of Abbasid caliphs from mid-11th century.
Shari'a
Islamic law; defined among other things the patrilineal nature of Islamic inheritance.
Shi'ites
Also known as Shi'a; political and theological division within Islam; followers of Ali.
Shintoism
Religion of early Japanese culture; devotees worshipped numerous gods and spirits associated with the natural world; offers of food and prayers made to gods and nature spirits.
Shogun
Military leaders of the bakufu (military governments in Japan).
Silla Dynasty
Independent Korean kingdom in southeastern part of peninsula; defeated Koguryo along with their Chinese Tang allies; submitted as a vassal of the Tang emperor and agreed to tribute payment; ruled united Korea by 668.
Slash and Burn
A system of cultivation typical of shifting cultivators; forest floors cleared by fire are then planted.
Song Dynasty
Sung: the imperial dynasty of China from 960 to 1279; noted for art and literature and philosophy.
Songhay
Successor state to Mali; dominated middle reaches of Niger valley; formed as independent kingdom under a Berber dynasty; capital at Gao; reached imperial status under Sunni Ali (1464-1492).
Stateless Society
African societies organized around kinship or other forms of obligation and lacking the concentration of political power and authority associated with states.
Stelae
An upright stone slab or column typically bearing a commemorative inscription or relief design, often serving as a gravestone. Mayan.
Sufis
Mystics within Islam; responsible for expansion of Islam to southeastern Asia and other regions.
Sui Dynasty
Dynasty that succeeded the Han in China; emerged from strong rulers in northern China; united all of northern China and reconquered southern China.
Sultan
A Muslim sovereign.
Sundiata
The "Lion Prince/King"; a member of the Keita clan; created a unified state that became the Mali Empire; died about 1260.
Sunni
Political and theological division within Islam; supported the Umayyads.
Swahili
A Bantu language widely used as a lingua franca in East Africa and having official status in several countries.
Tang Dynasty
Dynasty that succeeded the Sui in 618 B.C.; more stable than previous dynasty.
Temujin
Genghis Khan: Mongolian emperor whose empire stretched from the Black Sea to the Pacific Ocean (1162-1227). A villainous winged reptile, Temujin is part of a larger conspiracy with as-yet unrevealed plans for the Earth. Although evil, Temujin is incredibl
Tenochtitlan
Founded c. 1325 on marshy island in Lake Texcoco; became center of Aztec power; joined with Tlacopan and Texcoco in 1434 to form a triple alliance that controlled most of central plateau of Mesoamerica.
Teotihuacan
Site of classic culture in central Mexico; urban center with important religious functions; supported by intensive agriculture in surrounding regions; population of as much as 200,000.
Toltecs
A member of an American Indian people that flourished in Mexico before the Aztecs.
Tribute System
A system in which defeated peoples were forced to pay a tax in the form of goods and labor. This forced transfer of food, cloth, and other goods subsidized the development of large cities. An important component of the Aztec and Inca economies.
Umayyad Dynasty
Clan of Quraysh that dominated politics and commercial economy of Mecca; clan established dynasty as rulers of Islam, 661 to 750.
Vizier
Ottoman equivalent of the Abbasid wazir; head of the Ottoman bureaucracy; after 5th century often wore powerful than sultan.
Wu Zhao
First and only female empress of China. She was ruthless but kept China unified during the Tang Dynasty.
Xi Xia Empire
Kingdom of Tangut people, north of Song kingdom, in mid-11th century; collected tribute that drained Song resources and burdened Chinese peasantry.
Yuan Dynasty
Yuan: the imperial dynasty of China from 1279 to 1368. Great Yuan Empire was a ruling dynasty founded by the Mongol leader Kublai Khan, who ruled most of present-day China, all of modern Mongolia and its surrounding areas, lasting officially from 1271 to