Indian Ocean trade

connected Africa, South Asia, Southeast Asia and China; richest maritime trading network in the 13th and 14th centuries ; spread of compass, rudder, astrolabe, and Islam and Buddhism

Trans-Saharan trade

across the Sahara desert; traded gold, enslaved people, ivory and salt; camels, camel caravans and camel saddles

magnetic compass

Chinese invention that aided navigation; use spread through trade networks like Silk Roads and Indian Ocean trade

rudder

steering device, usually a vertical blade attached to a post at the stern of the boat

junk ship

large flat-bottom sailing ship produced int eh Tang and Song empires; specifically for long-stance commercial travel

Kashgar

a central Asian city where the western and the eastern Silk Roads met

Samarkand

Ruled by Timur Lane and was the most influential capital city; known for decorated mosques and tombs

paper money

currency developed in China; facilitated trade

caravanserai

an inn with a central courtyard for travelers in the desert regions of Asia or North Africa

monsoon winds

season wind in India, the winter monsoon brings hot, dry weather and the summer monsoon brings rain

diaspora

a dispersion of people from their homeland; merchant communities of Muslim spread Islam throughout Southeast Asia

dhow ships

Arab sailing vessels with triangular or lateen sails

Mansa Musa

Muslim ruler of Mali (1312-1337); extravagant pilgrimage through Egypt to Mecca in 1324-1325 established empire's reputation for wealth

Timbuktu

Mali trading city that became a center of wealth and learning thanks to its location in the trans-Saharan trade networks

camel saddle

invented somewhere between 500 and 100 BCE by Bedouin tribes

caravan

group of traveling merchants and animals; facilitated trade along the Silk Roads and the Trans-saharan trade

Khan

name for a Mongol ruler

Khanates

four regional Mongol kingdoms that arose following the death of Ghengis Khan

Golden Horde

Mongol khanate founded by Genghis Khan; quickly adopted the Turkic language and Islam

Il-Khanate

Mongol empire that ruled over Iran and the Middle East

Yuan dynasty

Chinese dynasty under Mongol rule by Kublai Khan; did not emphasize Confucianism and the civil service exams

Bubonic plague

deadly disease that spread through Asia and Europe and killed more than a third of the population in some areas; spread increased thanks to the Silk Roads

gunpowder

became a dominating military technology used to expand European and Asian empires

Ibn Battuta

Moroccan Muslim scholar; wrote a detailed account of his visits to Islamic lands from China to Spain

Marco Polo

Italian explorer; responsible for much of the knowledge exchanged between Europe and China during this time period

Swahili city-states

cities along the coast of East Africa; blended traditional central African beliefs with Islam and Arabic

Zheng He

Chinese Ming dynasty naval explorer who sailed along most of the coast of Asia, Japan and half way down the east coast of Africa