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Mediterranian
| Term | Definition |
|---|---|
| apprentice | a beginner or novice who agrees to work for a master in his trade or craft in return for instruction or support |
| armor | protective clothing worn by the knight, include a shield and a lance |
| Bimaristan | the word for hospital in Persian |
| Bubonic Plague | a serious, sometimes fatal, infection from the bacterial toxin Yersinia pestis, transmitted by flea from infected rodents and characterized by high fever, weakness, and the swelling of glands |
| Byzantine Empire | was the Greek-speaking eastern continuation of the Roman Empire after the fall of Rome. Its capital was Constantinople |
| Caliphate | government by a Muslim and religious leader |
| caligraphy | ornamental handwriting |
| castle | home to the king, lords and their families; often used a place of protection for the people of the manor |
| chivalry | the rules of behavior expected of the knight: they include fairness, courtesy, respect, protection of the weak. |
| Coat of Arms | the symbol used to identify the members of a noble family, often found on the shields of knights and on the outside of nobles' homes |
| Crusade | any of the military expeditions made by Christian countries in the 11th. 12th, 13th centuries to recover the Holy Land from the Muslims |
| Crusader | a Christian soldier who fought in a holy war to free Jerusalem from the Muslims |
| feudalism | a system where vassals (lesser nobles) held lands from lords (nobles and the king) in exchange for protection and military service. |
| fief | land held as a result of an agreement between the vassal and the overlord, who pledges to honor and protect his vassal |
| guild | a group organized by merchants, artisans, and craft worker to protect the members and set quality and price standards for all |
| Hagia Sophia | a former Greek Orthodox Baslica later an imperial mosque, and now a museum |
| hippodrome | a Grecian stadium for horse racing and chariot racing, adopted by other ancient cultures |
| Holy Lands | the lands comprising ancient Palestine and including the sites and territories of the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions |
| Icon | a religious image usually painted on a small wooden panel |
| illuminations | designs, pictures, and decoration used in manuscripts to make them more appealing |
| infidels | people who do not believe in a particular religion |
| Jerusalem | the capital of the ancient kingdom of Israel and contains sites sacred to the Jewish, Christian, and Islamic religions |
| Justinian's Code | the collections of laws and legal interpretations developed under the sponsorship of the Byzantine empire Justinian 1 from C.E. 529 to 565 |
| King | the ruler of the land, the top of the feudal pyramid |
| Knight | a trained horseman who fought for the king or his lord, a noble by birth |
| Lord | the second in order in the feudal world, a noble who owned less land than the king, and loyal to the kinb |
| manor | a large self-sufficient estate or farm belonging to a noble family, peasants and serfs worked in the land and engaged in crafts to supply the Lord and his family with all they needed in exchange for protection |
| Middle Ages | the name given to the time period between 800 and 1400 C.E. |
| mosaic | a decoration on a surface made by setting small pieces of glass, tile, or stone of different colors into another material so as to make pictures of patterns |
| Nika Riots | In C.E. 532 the most violent riots in the history of Constantinople, with nearly half the city being burned and destroyed and tens of thousands of people killed |
| nobles | members of the wealthiest class in feudal society |
| Pax Romana | the peace that existed between nationalities within the Roman Empire |
| peasants | poor, but free people, who live on the manor, and farm the land. They give crops and services to the Lord in exchange for protection |
| pilgrimage hajj | travel to shrine or holy place to worship |
| serf | a poor person who lives on and farms the la d, they are not free, but belong to the land, one step above a lave. If the land is transferred they go with it. |
| qanat | a series of well-like vertical shafts, connected by gently sloping tunnels to ensure a reliable water supply |
| Seljuk | any of the Turkish dynasties that ruled over parts of SW Asia from the 11th to the 13th centuries C.E. |
| tapestry | heavy cloth woven with design usually telling a story, hung on walls during the Middle Ages for warmth |
| trade | the exchange of goods |
| vassal | in the Middle Ages, one who served the Lord in exchange for land |