Question 1

What was the Chinese Imperial Bureaucracy?

Accepted Answer

The vast Chinese government where appointed officials carried out the empire's policies

(developed in the Han dynasty and became most powerful during the Song)

Question 2

What was the Chinese civil service exam?

Accepted Answer

A test that allowed young men to get into the Chinese bureaucracy

(prominent in the Song Dynasty)

Question 3

What is a meritocracy?

Accepted Answer

A government where politicians are selected based on worth (often by taking a test)

Question 4

How did the Song Dynasty eventually weaken the Chinese Empire?

Accepted Answer

They expanded the imperial bureaucracy too much (it cost too much to pay for government officials, drying up China's wealth)

Question 5

Where was gunpowder invented?

Accepted Answer

China

Question 6

How did gunpowder spread across Eurasia?

Accepted Answer

From China, it spread through traders on the Silk Road

Question 7

What made Champa Rice special?

Accepted Answer

It was fast-ripening and drought resistant

Question 8

What plant greatly increased China's agricultural productivity?

Accepted Answer

Champa Rice

Question 9

What effect did increased agricultural productivity have on China?

Accepted Answer

Huge population growth (25% of the world to 40%)

Question 10

What is proto-industrialization?

Accepted Answer

A set of economic changes where people in rural areas make more goods than they can sell (still no factories, this was usually home-based)

(occurred in China, prior to the Silk Road)

Question 11

Who were artisans in China?

Accepted Answer

Skilled craft workers that worked in smelting facilities under government supervision

(produced steel, silk, porcelain)

Question 12

How did the Song Dynasty's government make money?

Accepted Answer

Required other states to pay money to them through the tributary system

Question 13

Who were the scholar gentry?

Accepted Answer

An influential social class in China who were educated in Confucian philosophy (early Chinese equivalent of Renaissance men)

Question 14

What is foot-binding?

Accepted Answer

A sexist practice where young girls in China had their feet wrapped so tightly that the bones did not grow naturally

(this symbolized a high social status; banned in 1912)

Question 15

Why could China spread knowledge so quickly?

Accepted Answer

It invented paper and printing far before Europe

Question 16

What is woodblock printing?

Accepted Answer

An early system of printing invented in 7th century China

Question 17

How did Buddhism spread to China?

Accepted Answer

Through the Silk Road from India

Question 18

What was Confucianism?

Accepted Answer

System of philosophical and ethical teachings to establish the social values, ideals, or way of life of traditional Chinese society (founded by Confucius)

Question 19

Who were the daimyo?

Accepted Answer

Powerful Japanese lords who controlled lots of land (more powerful that European nobility)

Question 20

Who is Muhammad?

Accepted Answer

The prophet and founder of Islam

Question 21

What was Muhammad's original profession?

Accepted Answer

He was a merchant

Question 22

Who were the Abbasids?

Accepted Answer

Members of the Abbasid Caliphate who ruled Baghdad

Question 23

What was the Abbasid Caliphate?

Accepted Answer

A powerful Islamic empire in the Middle East

Question 24

What is the House of Wisdom?

Accepted Answer

An intellectual center in Baghdad during the Islamic Golden Age

Question 25

Why was the House of Wisdom important?

Accepted Answer

Helped transfer knowledge throughout Afro-Eurasia

Question 26

Who were the Egyptian Mamluks?

Accepted Answer

Slaves bought by Arabs (Mamluks were usually ethnic Turks and Central Asians)

Question 27

What was the Mamluk Sultanate?

Accepted Answer

An Egyptian government, formed after Mamluk slaves seized control from the Abbasids

Question 28

Why were Egyptian Mamluks able to seize the government?

Accepted Answer

They had more opportunities than other enslaved people

Question 29

Who were the Seljuk Turks?

Accepted Answer

Turkish-Muslims that captured parts of the Middle East, posing a threat to the Abbasids (also captured land all the way to Western China)

Question 30

Why did European Christians form the Crusaders?

Accepted Answer

Regain access to holy sites in and around Jerusalem

Question 31

How did Seljuk Turks prompt the creation of the Crusaders?

Accepted Answer

The Seljuk Turks limited access to holy sites (unlike the Abbasids, who allowed free access)

Question 32

What four groups attacked the Abbasid Empire?

Accepted Answer

Egyptian Mamluks, Seljuk Turks, Crusaders, Mongols

Question 33

Why did Baghdad fall?

Accepted Answer

Trade began to shift north, causing it to lose money

Question 34

What were the three main contributions of Islamic scholars?

Accepted Answer

Saved Greek classics (by translating them into Arabic)

Transferred Indian mathematical knowledge to Europe

Adopted paper-making from China, which spread to Europe

Question 35

Who was Nasir al-Din al-Tusi?

Accepted Answer

A scholar in Baghdad who contributed to many fields (mostly astronomy and math)

Question 36

Who was 'A'ishah al-Ba'uniyyah?

Accepted Answer

A famous female Muslim writer and poet

Question 37

Who were the "People of the Book"?

Accepted Answer

Muslims, Jews, and Christians were regarded as "people of the book" by Muslims

Question 38

How did the Islamic Empire influence the scientific revolution in Europe?

Accepted Answer

Transferred knowledge from China and India to Europe

Question 39

What was the Chola Dynasty?

Accepted Answer

An early kingdom in southern India that ruled an extremely long time until their downfall in the 1200s

Question 40

What was the Vijayanagara Empire?

Accepted Answer

A powerful Hindu kingdom in Southern India

Question 41

Why was the Vijayanagara Empire formed?

Accepted Answer

The Delhi Sultanate wanted to extend its control to Southern India

(it sent two brothers (Harihara and Bukka) that ended up forming the Vijayanagara Empire)

Question 42

What were the Rajput Kingdoms?

Accepted Answer

A set of Hindu kingdoms in northern India and present-day Pakistan

Question 43

Why were the Rajput Kingdoms vulnerable to attacks?

Accepted Answer

They were often at war with each other and had no centralized government

Question 44

What was the Delhi Sultanate?

Accepted Answer

An Islamic empire based in Delhi that ruled a lot of India

Question 45

Who did the Delhi Sultanate lose power to?

Accepted Answer

The Mughals (descendants of the Mongols)

Question 46

What was the jizya?

Accepted Answer

A tax imposed by some Muslims on all non-Muslims

Question 47

What is Hinduism?

Accepted Answer

A polytheistic religion practiced in many parts of India

Question 48

What is a proselytizing religion?

Accepted Answer

A religion that actively pushes people to convert (Islam is generally a proselytizing religion)

Question 49

What is the Qutub Minar?

Accepted Answer

A large and historical tower in India

Question 50

What language was formed when Hindi and Arabic merged?

Accepted Answer

Urdu (official language of Pakistan)

Question 51

What was the Bhakti Movement?

Accepted Answer

A Hindu movement that emphasized emotional attachment and went against the caste system

Question 52

What is the caste system?

Accepted Answer

A strict set of social classes in parts of India that one was born into

Question 53

What was the Srivijaya Empire?

Accepted Answer

A sea-faring Hindu kingdom based on Sumatra (charged fees on ships traveling between China and India)

Question 54

What was the Majapahit Kingdom?

Accepted Answer

A sea-faring Buddhist kingdom based on Java

Question 55

What were the Sinhala dynasties?

Accepted Answer

Buddhist centers in Sri Lanka that were invaded by India

Question 56

What was the Khmer Empire / Angkor Kingdom?

Accepted Answer

An empire near the Mekong River that had powerful irrigation and crop systems

Question 57

Where did large scale civilization begin in North America?

Accepted Answer

The Mississippi River valley

Question 58

What was the name of the Mississippian chief?

Accepted Answer

The Great Sun

Question 59

How was the Mayan government ruled?

Accepted Answer

A city-state system, with a king and city

Question 60

How could a woman become a Mayan ruler?

Accepted Answer

If there were no male heirs available

Question 61

What is another name the Aztecs are commonly known by?

Accepted Answer

Mexicas

Question 62

What was Tenochtitlán?

Accepted Answer

The Aztec capital consisting of over 200,000 people

Question 63

How did the Aztecs ensure dominance as they conquered Mesoamerica?

Accepted Answer

They required tributes such as food, land, cloth, and military service

Question 64

What was the Aztec tribute system?

Accepted Answer

A tax by the Aztecs that demanded food, land, cloth, and military service

AP World History: Modern Flashcards