Unit 3: Classical Asia

Phoenicians

These people did not have a united country, but instead occupied a number of city-states in the modern area of Lebanon. They were accomplished sailors, and ship builders, who became powerful traders in the Mediterranean region, around 1100 B.C.

Alphabet

A set of symbols that represent the sounds of a language

Indo-Europeans

These people are thought to have been a nomadic tribe who came from the plains of the Caucasus Mountains, and then spread out from there.

Steppes

A dry grassland that is found north of the Caucasus Mountains, between the Black and Caspian Seas. The land is useful for raising herds and grazing flocks.

Migration

The movement of people or animals from one region to another.

Hittites

A Indo-European people group who lived in Anatolia, modern day Turkey, around 2000 B.C. They were skilled iron workers, and made advanced weapons that helped them forge an empire that would reach into Mesopotamia.

Anatolia

Also known as Asia Minor, or the country of Turkey, it is a large peninsula that juts out into the Mediterranean Sea. The land is mostly made up of high, rocky plateaus which provide an abundant supply of timber and minerals.

Aryans

A light skinned, tall, semi-nomadic group of herders who originated in the mountains between the Caspian and Aral seas. Around 1000 B.C. they invaded and conquered the Indus Valley creating their own kingdom.

Vedas

This is a collection of four, Aryan, religious texts or the earliest sacred texts of Hinduism.

Brahmin

They were Aryan priests, and the most respected of the four main social groups of that culture.

Caste

This was a term coined by 15th c. Portuguese explorers to explain the social structure of the Indian people. The system was originally created by the Aryans to seperate their people from the groups they had conquered.

Khyber Pass

A mountain pass connecting modern day Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Reincarnation

The belief that a person's soul is reborn time and time again until that person discovers perfect knowledge known as Moksha.

Karma

A sort of record kept of all the good or bad things that a person has done in life, which then affects them when they are reincarnated into their next life.

Siddhartha Gautama/Buddha

He was a young nobleman who after years of pampering decided to look for the meaning of life. He eventually became enlightened and from then on was know as Buddha, who founded the religion of Buddhism.

Nirvana

This is the highest level of enlightenment that a person can achieve in Buddhism. This is when a person is released from the human bondage of selfishness and pain.

Eightfold Path/MIddle Way

In Buddhism, the basic rules of behavior and belief leading to an end of suffering

Sanskrit

an Indo-European language, in use since 1200 B.C. as the religious and classical literary language of India.

Upanishads

These are the interpretations of the Vedic Hymns, that Hindu teachers wrote down between 750 and 550 B.C.

Four Noble Truths

In Buddhism, the principles that rule life and promise an end to suffering.

Dharma

In Hinduism, the divine law that rules karma; it requires all people to do their duty based on their status in society.

Ten Commandments

This was the moral code that was given to Moses, by God, on top of Mount Sinai. These laws were the new covenant between the Hebrew people and God, which were supposed to tell the people how to live good lives.

Exodus

The departure of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt 

Torah

These are the most sacred of the Hebrew writings, comprising the first 5 books of their bible. (What is also known as the Old Testament in the Christian faith.)

Abraham

He was a shepherd from the city of Ur, in Mesopotamia, who would later become known as the 'Father' of the Hebrew people. According to tradition he was commanded by God to move his family to the area of Canaan where he would start the Hebrew nation.

Monotheism

belief in only one God.

Covenant

This is the agreement made between two people, or groups of people. In the Jewish (Hebrew) tradition, Abraham made a covenant with God that he and his descendents would worship no other gods.

Moses

The man who led the Hebrew people out of slavery, in Egypt, around 1300 B.C., or 1200 B.C. He was hidden by his mother in a basket, and placed on the river were he was discovered by Pharaohs daughter. Later after fleeing to the desert he was called on by God to lead the Hebrew people out of Egypt.

Hebrews

Early group of people who lived in lands between Mesopotamia and Egypt. They developed the religion known as Judaism.

Tribute

Money or goods paid to a powerful nation in order to ensure peace between you.

Mauryan Empire

The first empire in India, founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 321 B.C.

Asoka

ruler of Mauryan Empire who converted to Buddhism and put their beliefs on pillars throughout the empire

religious toleration

acceptance of religious differences

Tamil

Language spoken in southern India and also the people of southern India

Gupta Empire

(320-550 CE) The second empire that emerged after the Mauryan Empire, and whose founder is Chandra Gupta.

patriarchal

a society in which men hold the greatest legal and moral authority

matriarchal

a social system in which the mother is head of the family

Confucius

Chinese philosopher and writer of The Analects, a collection of moral and social teachings. Also known as Kong Fu Zi.

filial piety

love and respect for one's parents and ancestors.

bureacracy

a system of government that includes different job functions and levels of authority.

yin and yang

two forces in the universe, according to Chinese Theory: Yin is the passive, negative force, and Yang the active, positive force

Qin Dynasty

The first centralized dynasty of China that used Legalism as its base of belief.

Shi Huangdi

The founder of Qin Dynasty

autocracy

A system of government in which the power to rule is in the hands of a single individual

Taoism/Daoism

A Chinese philosophy in which people live a simple life in harmony with nature.

Tao Te Ching

Book with the teachings of Taoism

Lao Zi

Founder of Daoism

Analects

Book that collects the writings and sayings of Confucius

Han Dynasty

This dynasty continued the centralization of the Qin Dynasty, but focused on Confucianism and education instead of Legalim.

centralized government

A government in which a central authority controls the running of a state.

civil service

the group of people who carry out the work of the government, selected by an exam in China

monopoly

Complete control of a product or business by one person or group

assimilation

Adopting the traits of another culture. Often happens over time when one immigrates into a new country.

Silk Roads

A system of ancient caravan routes across Central Asia, along which traders carried silk and other trade goods.

imperial bureaucracy

Division of an empire into organized provinces to make it easier to control

Tanakh

The Hebrew Bible that includes books that makeup the Torah, Prophets, and Writing.

Synangogue

Jewish house of worship

atman

human soul

Brahman

Hindu name for the Supreme God. Brahman creates, maintains, destroys, and recreates the universe in a never-ending cycle

samsara

continuous cycle of birth, death, and rebirth. The process of rebirth is sometimes referred to as reincarnation.

moksha

The goal of a Hindu's life is to be released from samsara and united with the Supreme God, Brahman. Hindus call this release moksha, or liberation from the cycle

Bhagavad Gita

Important Hindu scripture that is a portion of the epic Mahabharata

Meditation

focusing or clearing the mind using mental and physical techniques

Bodhisattva

a person who has attained, or is striving towards, bodhi (enlightenment)

warring states

a time period where many nobles appointed by the Zhou were fighting each other to be a king.

Han Feizi

Philosopher who along with a prime minister named Shang Yang Shang Yang founded Legalism

Legalism

Chinese philosophy that believed human beings are evil by nature, so people must be controlled through strict laws and harsh punishments

Laozi

a recordkeeper and poet who might have been a mythical figure but is said to have founded Daoism/Taoism

Mandate of Heaven

approval from the divine authority to rule; used in Chinese to dynasties to justify rule

Confucianism

philosophy present in Chinese culture from about 500 BCE; promotes honor, filial piety, and the pursuit of harmony in social and political life