Key Terms
PAIZA
Iron and silver plaque (late 13th century) functioning as an early passport; carried by Mongol diplomats and officials f
IBN BATTUTA
Moroccan scholar who traveled across much of the Muslim world of Asia and Africa in the 14th century; chronicles provide
CARAVANSARIES
Inns along common trade routes; provided logistic support for merchants traveling long distances.
YERSINIA PESTIS
The bacterium that causes plague; responsible for the Black Death pandemic.
BLACK DEATH
The name for the bubonic plague pandemic; inspired by the blackened tissue the disease caused on the body. The name also
VECTOR
An organism that spreads plague from one organism to another. The rat flea was the major plague vector.
BLACK RAT
Most capable animal host for plague-carrying fleas; highly susceptible to the disease itself; inconspicuous stowaway on
GLOBALIZATION
The interconnectedness of societies and economies throughout the world as a result of trade, technology, and the adoptio
FEUDALISM
Political and social pyramid defined by a small elite of hereditary landowners governing serfs (peasants) who worked the