history exam

Sumerians

The name of the first culture in the world to develop cities.

Cuneiform

The world's first system of writing

Akkadians

"Semitic people" north of the Sumerian city-states

City-state

The basic units of Sumerian civilization

Hammurabi

Babylonian king who codified the laws of Sumer and Mesopotamia (died 1750 BC)

Hatshepsut

First female pharaoh who expanded Egypt through trade

Vizier

A high government official in ancient Egypt or in Muslim countries

Hinduism

A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being who takes many forms

Tutkanhamen

The boy pharaoh, who died just nine years after becoming pharaoh

Cleopatra VII

was the Egyptian Queen who developed an alliance between Marc Anthony.

Phoenicians

A maritime people who spread their alphabet to others including the Hebrews, Romans, and Greeks.

Assyrians

Known as a warrior people who ruthlessly conquered neighboring countries; their empire stretched from east to north of the Tigris River all the way to centeral Egypt.

Sanskrit

An ancient language of India (the language of the Vedas and of Hinduism)

Varnas

Another word for the social classes in the Caste system that ranked people from high to low

Caste System

A set of rigid social categories that determined not only a person's occupation and economic potential, but also his or her position in society

Yoga

A spiritual discipline; a method for perfecting one's union with the divine.

Dharma

In Hindu belief, a person's religious and moral duties

Buddhism

Belief system that started in India in the 500s BC. Happiness can be achieved through removal of one's desires. Believers seek enlightenment and the overcoming of suffering.

Nirvana

A condition of great peace or happiness

Silk Road

An ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending some 6,440 km (4,000 mi) and linking China with the Roman Empire.

Vedas

Ancient Sanskrit writings that are the earliest sacred texts of Hinduism.

Chang Jiang

The longest river in Asia, flowing through eastern China.

Aristocracy

The highest class in certain societies, especially those holding hereditary titles or offices.

Mandate of Heaven

The belief that the Chinese king's right to rule came from the gods

Dao

The proper way Chinese kings were expected to rule under the mandate of heaven.

Confucius

A Chinese philosopher known also as Kong Fuzi and created one of the most influential philosophies in Chinese history.

Daoism

A religion in China which emphasizes the removal from society and to become one with nature.

Gobi

The desert to the north of China

Four Noble Truths

As taught by the Buddha, the basic beliefs that form the foundation of Buddhism

Crete

The largest Greek island in the Mediterranean

Byzantine Empire

The civilization that developed from the eastern Roman Empire following the death of the emperor Justinian (C.E. 565) until the fall of Constantinople in 1453.

Minoan Civilization

A civilization that existed on the Mediterranean island of Crete

Acropolis

A fortified hilltop in an ancient Greek city

Agora

The marketplace in ancient Greece

Phalanx

A military formation of foot soldiers armed with spears and shields.

Oligarchy

A government ruled by a few powerful people

Sparta

Greek city-state that was ruled by an oligarchy, focused on military, used slaves for agriculture, discouraged the arts

Helots

Enslaved people in ancient Sparta

Ephors

A group of 5 officials that helped govern Sparta with the Concil of Elders

Darius

The third king of the Persian Achaemenid Empire. He ruled the empire at its peak. He organized the empire by dividing it into provinces and placing satraps to govern it.

Xerxes

(c. 519-465 BC) King of Persia; his armies invaded Greece but were eventually defeated by the Greeks.

Pericles

Athenian leader noted for advancing democracy in Athens and for ordering the construction of the Parthenon.

Macedonia

An ancient kingdom north of Greece, whose ruler Philip II conquered Greece in 338 B.C.

Oracle

A sacred shrine where a priest or priestess spoke for a god or goddess

Tragedies

Plays that told stories of human suffering that usually ended in disaster

Socrates

Greek philosopher; socratic method--questioning; sentenced to death for corrupting Athens youth

Plato

Was a disciple of Socrates whose cornerstone of thought was his theory of Forms, in which there was another world of perfection.

Aristotle

A Greek Philosopher, taught Alexander the Great, started a famous school, studied with Plato

Phillip II

Was an ancient Greek king of Macedonia from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great.

Alexander the Great

King of Macedonia who conquered Greece, Egypt, and Persia

Repulbic

A form of government in which people elect representatives to run the government

Etruscans

First rulers of Roman Republic and Empire; Laid the foundation for Rome and Roman civilization

The Roman Senate

A council of wealthy and powerful Romans that advised the city's leaders

Carthage

This city has existed for nearly 3,000 years, developing from a Phoenician colony of the 1st millennium BC into the capital of the Carthaginian Empire.

Crassus

General who defeated Spartacus. Crucified 6,600 slaves on the Alpennine way. He later served in the First Triumvirate.

Pompey

Roman general and statesman who quarrelled with Caesar and fled to Egypt where he was murdered (106-48 BC)

Julius Caesar

100-44 B.C. Roman general who became the republic's dictator in 45 B.C.

Octavion

Julius Caesar's nephew who became the first Roman emperor and changed his name to Caesar Augustus

Horace

Roman lyric poet said to have influenced English poetry

Insulae

Roman apartment blocks constructed of concrete with wooden-beam floors

Geocentric

A model of the universe in which Earth is at the center of the revolving planets and stars.

Constantine

Emperor of Rome who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians (280-337)

Inflation

A general and progressive increase in prices

Sadducees

A Jewish sect at the time of Jesus known for its strong commitment to the Temple in Jerusalem.

Pharisees

A Jewish sect at the time of Jesus known for its strict adherence to the Law.

Zealots

People who banded together during the time of Christ to violently resist Roman occupation.

Muhammad

Arab prophet; founder of religion of Islam.

Mecca

The holiest city of Islam; Muhammad's birthplace

Sunni

A branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Saladiin

Took control of Egypt; established control over Syria; defeated the Crusaders at Jerusalem

Hijrah

The journey of Muhammad and his followers to Madinah in 622, which became year 1 of the official calendar of Islam

Shia

The branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Sheikh

The ruler of an Arabic tribe, chosen from one of the leading families by a council of elders

Bazzar

A covered market in Islamic cities

Mongols

People from Central Asia when united ended up creating the largest single land empire in history.

Sultan

Military and political leader with absolute authority over a Muslim country

Hajj

Pilgrimage to Mecca

Sahara

Largest desert in the world

Nubia

A civilization to the south of Egypt in the Nile Valley, noted for development of an alphabetic writing system and a major iron working industry by 500 BCE

Swahili

Bantu language with Arabic loanwords spoken in coastal regions of East Africa.

Ghana

West African state that supplied the majority of the world's gold from 500 CE-1400's

Berbers

Nomadic peoples in Africa who carried out much of the trading across the desert in camel caravans.

Timbuktu

Mali trading city that became a center of wealth and learning

Bantu

A major African language family. Collective name of a large group of sub-Saharan African languages and of the peoples speaking these languages.

LIneage Group

An extended family unit that has combined into a larger community

Benin

A kingdom that arose near the Niger River delta in the 1300s and became a major West African state in the 1400s

Marco Polo

Venetian merchant and traveler. His accounts of his travels to China offered Europeans a firsthand view of Asian lands and stimulated interest in Asian trade.

Dowry

Property or money brought by a bride to her husband on their marriage

Ghengis Khan

Mongol leader who led their conquest westward and who is renowned for his ability and his ruthlessness.

Shogun

A general who ruled Japan in the emperor's name

Archipelago

A large group of islands

Wergild

A fine paid to the relatives of a murdered person to free the offender from further obligations or punishment

Benedict

Man who created rules for how a monk should live

Bisophric

A group of Christian communities, or parishes, under the authority of a bishop

Bishop

A church official who leads a large group of Christians in a particular region

Visogoths

A Germanic tribe who settle primarily in Spain, the first group to say siege in Rome

Ostrogoths

Germanic invaders who overran the western half of the Roman Empire

Clovis

5th century Frankish leader of a large kingdom who converted to Christianity

Carolingian Dynasty

A dynasty of Frankish rulers, lasting from A.D. 751 to 987

Scriptoria

A place where monks copied manuscripts