AWNH

Xia Dynasty

Thought to be the first Chinese dynasty, but veracity is questioned; founded by You the Great.

Silk Road

famous network of trade routes that stretch across Asia; from China to the Mediterranean Sea; 4,000-miles-long.

Shang Dynasty

The first dynasty with clear evidence; established around the 1500s bc; moved their capitol several times; had social hierarchy: kings, nobles, and important officials; developed calendar with 360 days and 12 months, based on the moon and sun. ended when war broke out between another dynasty.

Han Dynasty

Dynasty after the Qin; classical civilization, marked by great achievements; emperors strengthened China's government, moved capitol; followed confucianism. experts in painting; wrote poetry; recorded history; invented paper, sundial, and seismograph; used iron for farming (iron plow and wheelbarrow)

Geography of China

Covers around 4 million square miles, deserts separate China, east Asia, Huang He, or yellow river, and Chang Jiang, of Yangzi River flow through China.

Qin Dynasty

Unified China; had strong government with strict laws, standard laws, writing system, money; built roads and canals, irrigation systems, built the Great Wall of China; divided China into districts; followed legalism. fell shortly after She Huangdi's death in 210 BC.

Emperor Wudi

Emperor of Han dynasty; wanted to create stronger central government, raised taxes, placed supply of grain under government control.

Lui Bang

First emperor of Han dynasty; led army that overtook the Qin dynasty; was a less severe emperor, made punishments less severe, lowered taxes for farmers.

Confucianism

founded by Confucius, an influential teacher who grew up in extreme poverty, was a dedicated student as a teen and mastered several subjects; served minor government positions then became a teacher; thought that China was overrun with dishonest people and it needed to return to ethics. main ideas are: respect family members, leaders should lead by example, learning is a process that never ends, and heaven expects people to behave well and act morally.

Daoism

living in harmony with the guiding force of reality, or dao, who gave birth to universe. thinks government should stay out of people's lives. ideal leader is a wise man who is in harmony with dao and governs effortlessly. believe universe is a balance of opposites and opposites should be in harmony; humans are just part of nature, and dao is nature

Legalism

political philosophy without religious concerns; deals only with government and social control. disagrees with confucianism and daoism because they didn't stress respect enough. leader's role was to set laws and subjects should follow without question.

Sun Tzu

A philosophy of war for managing conflicts and winning battles; written during period of warring states; followed the art of war which is book of war strategies

Zhou Dynasty

Overthrew Shang dynasty, followed Mandate of Heaven, established political order; fell because lord's respect for kings lessened and they refused to fight in battle, invaders reached capitol by 771 BC.

Zhou political structure

king was at top and gave plots of land to lords who payed taxes and gave king soldiers, peasants were at the bottom and they received small plots of land and farmed for nobles as well.

Mandate of Heaven

similar to the "divine right" in Europe, but did not believe in one supreme being; thought right came from heavens and no one should rule without permission from heaven.

Dynastic Cycle

pattern of rise, decline, and replacement of dynasties: Xia dynasty? \> Shang dynasty \> Zhou dynasty \> period of warring states \> Qin dynasty \> Han dynasty

Shi Huangdi

Succeeded in unifying China; name means "first emperor"; created strong government with harsh punishments and strict law; was an absolute monarch.

Oracle Bones

shells or bones that were carved with questions, then heated up until they cracked, and the cracks would be interpreted by a priest, sometimes the bones were used as payment.

Civil Service exam

curriculum in confucianism, Chinese history, and Chinese law; determined Chinese government officials; scored on confucian poetry and moral code; schools for training to take exam.

The Great Wall

Wall in north China; started building in 600 BC; finished by Qin dynasty; built to keep warriors from the north from invading.

Silk

fabric developed in China; produced by Chinese women who used complicated methods to raise silkworms, unwind the silk threads of their cocoons, and then prepare the threads for dyeing and weaving; procedure for making silk was a secret and revealing it was punishable by death.

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of ideas, goods, and technology from one culture to another.

Period of Warring States

Period that began after the fall of the Zhou dynasty; a time of many civil wars; armies grew; fighting became brutal as soldiers fought for territory

Acupuncture

practice of inserting fine needles through the skin at specific points to cure disease or relieve pain

Han Social Structure

Four classes: upper class, peasants, artisans, then merchants. wealth did not impact social rank. emperor lived in large palace, less important officials lived in houses, wealthy families hired armies. peasants lived in countryside. children respected elders, father was head of family, women respected their husbands. males were valued more because sons carried family line.

Romulus and Remus

twin brothers who founded Rome; descendants of aneas, a roman hero, Rome's history traces back to him, from the trojan war; got into fight and remus was killed; Rome named for Romulus

Rape of Lucretia

raped by king's son, Sextus Tarquinius; was Sextus' cousin's wife; was avenged by cousin and husband.

Julius Caesar

Very powerful roman general; conquered nearly all of Gaul; changed Roman government and expanded the amount of territory under Roman control; changed laws to stay in power for life; he was eventually killed by angry senators and even his allies.

Roman Empire

after problems arose in the roman republic like a growing gap in the earnings of people, violence between social classes, and violence being used as a political weapon; revolts arose; people went to war over power; began after the death of Julius Caesar and the naming of Augustus as emperor; had very strong army because it was very organized and had thoughtful tactics.

Justinian

byzantine emperor; reformed roman law, reconquered western Rome; had peace treaty, payed tribute each year; funded new construction in Constantinople; split with Roman Catholic Church.

Hagia Sophia

built in the sixth century by the Roman Emperor Justinian; world's largest cathedral; represented the consolidation of religious and political power

Rome's Hills

Rome founded on 7 hills; original city thought to have been founded on valentine hill by Romulus.

Huns

fierce warriors from Central Asia; invaded southeastern Europe; victims of their raids were the goths.

Germanic Tribes

lived in Northern Europe; surrounded roman empire

Roman Forum

Roman public meeting place; popular for people to meet, gossip, shop, chat, etc.

Roman Scientific Achievements

used knowledge to improve their lives; had surgeons, used anatomy as the foundation of all medical knowledge; created cement; invented arches to support heavy weights; used aqueducts; improved living conditions with central heating, flush toilets, and sewer systems.

Pax Romana

Peaceful Rome; Silk Road prospered during this time

Pleabians

common farmers, artisans, merchants; made up majority of people; had rights to participate in government

Patricians

wealthy land owners; trace ancestry to first senator; held all power, could vote, make laws.

Emperor Nero

last Julio-Claudian emperor; at first he undid harsh policies, ended secret trials, gave more independence to senate, and allowed slaves to sue masters; changed when he realized he wouldn't be punished for his behavior and acted boldly and shamefully for an emperor and the roman people were uncomfortable with Nero's leadership and extravagant spending; he made enemies and was eventually overthrown; left no successor and led to a series of civil wars; had some military success.

Emperor Constantine

Reunited Rome after Diocletian's tetrarchy; was known as a kind and influential emperor; moved capitol to Constantinople which is in present day Turkey; capitol was close to the Black Sea which held great strategic importance, both economically and militarily because many trade routes passed through the city, and it was difficult to attack because it was accessible by land from only one direction.

Pompay

Roman general; ally of Caesar but later went to war; was defeated in Egypt.

Augustus

First emperor of the Roman Empire; emperor after Caesars death; made many improvements to the empire like fire departments, police force, aqueducts, and expanding roads; was Caesar's adopted son; after Caesar's death he worked with Marc Antony to avenge Caesar's killers, but after Antony divorced his wife, Augustus' sister, to marry Cleopatra, Augustus sent a fleet to attack Antony.

Roman Republic Government

after 7 kings of Rome, people vowed to never allow rule by one king; people were all roman-non senate members; domestic power rested in roman people; SENATUS, POPULUSQUE, ROMANUS (S.P.Q.R.); consisted of magistrates, the senate, and assemblies and tribunes

Tetrarchy

rule of four; Diocletian split Roman Empire in 2; rules east while other co-emperor ruled west; each co-emperor had a "junior emperor" who was their successor

Aeneas

mythical Greek warrior who led Trojan side of Trojan War; roman hero; Rome's history traces back to him.

Christianity in Rome

Christians were originally persecuted because they didn't worship Roman gods; as conditions worsened the appeal of Christianity grew because it included all people, gave hope to powerless and promised eternal life after death; first accepted by emperor Constantine and became official religion of empire in 380 CE

Fall of the Roman Empire

caused by: barbarian invasions, corruption, the size and the difficulty of communication, political unrest.

Byzantine Empire

Eastern half of the Roman Empire that survived the fall of the Western half; spoke greek and had more greek culture.

Diocletian

Roman emperor; divided empire into eastern and western halves; rules east half and named co-emperor to rule west; reigned for over 20 years; increased taxation, price ceilings

Acropolis

high hill upon which a Greek fortress was built.

Polis

greek word for city-state; developed 300 years after the mycenaeans crumbled.

Agora

greek market place; on polis; where people gathered.

Trireme

boat used to ram into other boats and sink them in battle.

Trojan War

Greek army besieged and destroyed troy because a trojan youth had kidnapped Helen, the beautiful wife of a Greek king; Aphrodite directs the abduction of Helen by Paris

Mycenaeans

The "first" greek people; after the Minoans, but they spoke greek; built civilization on the greek mainland; built fortresses on mainland; took over Minoans' old trading areas and traded with force.

Minoans

first greek people; before Mycenaeans but did not speak greek; built civilization on island of Crete; palace had characteristics of advanced civilization: advanced cities, record keeping, complex institution, advanced technology; built ships that carried wood, olive oil, pottery and traded for gold, copper, silver, and jewels.

Aristocracy

government made up of a small group of people from the highest social class in society; aristocrat is a rich landowner or noble.

Oligarchy

a government where only a few powerful people rule

Democracy

type of government in which people govern themselves

Persian Wars

series of wars between the Greeks and the Persians; Greeks usually won; spartans fought on land and athenians fought at sea

Peloponnesian War

after Persian war, athenians joined delian league and had most power and spartans joined Peloponnesian league and were worried about Athen's rapid growth of power; Sparta declared war on Athens and first war ended in truce; Athens tried to conquer Sicily but was unsuccessful and army was captured; resulted in Sparta becoming most powerful polis.

Athens

first Greek polis; where democracy was born; had different governments in the beginning: aristocracy and oligarchy; eventually people were unhappy with the aristocrats and elected a tyrant, or a leader who held power; valued education, clear thinking, and the arts; boys were taught to read, speak, and think well;

Sparta

greek society that was dominated by the military; believed military was the way to provide security and protection; healthy boys were trained to be a soldier from a young age; government was ruled by 2 kings who led the army, though elected officials had more power than kings; women had more rights than in other civilizations bc men were often gone

Helots

Civilization conquered by spartans; treated very poorly by spartans; once a year spartans declared war on helots and could kill one without consequence; were last in spartan social hierarchy

Homer

greek poet; wrote Iliad and Odyssey which tell the hero's journey; tell the stories of the greek wars, especially the trojan war; central to greek education.

Greek Philosophers

socrates: believed people should study their actions and it was important for people to practice being a good citizen within society, was condemned to death for questioning the authority of the gods; plato: one of socrates students, wrote many dialogues, believed society was based on justice and fairness to everyone; Aristotle: emphasized learning logic, politics, ethics, meteorology, learning, anthropology, poetry, and theology, believed recon was clear and ordered thinking, believed reason should be used to govern people's lives.

Greek achievements

democracy, art, architecture, science, mathmatics, literature, history, and philosophy

Hellenistic Rulers

Alexander the Great, Philliip II of Macedonia, Antigonus, Seleucus, Ptolemy.

Hellenistic philosophers

Diogenes: believed people should live according to nature and should ignore pleasure, wealth, and society, founded Cynicism; Pyrrho: believed people can never know how things really are and should just accept whatever happens to them, founded Skepticism; Epicurus: believed people should avoid pain and pursue pleasure and should withdraw from public life, founded Epicureanism; Zeno: believed all people have a role to play in society and should practice self-discipline and control their emotions, founded Stoicism.

Alexander the Great

Phillip II's son; conquered Thebes; built one of the greatest empires and conquers in history; ruled Persians; became ruler in Grece; ruled as an absolute dictator; spread greek culture by founding cities in the lands he conquered and modeled them after Greece; did not force his own culture on places he conquered; unable to conquer India because he died of sickness.

Philip II of Macedonia

King of Macedonia and leader of the strong Macedonian army; gave soldiers spears that were much longer than enemies were.

Phalanx

Group of greek warriors who stood close together in a square formation; useful because when soldiers in the front were killed there would be a new one to step up and take their place.

Hellenization

The spread of Greek (especially Athenian) language and culture; occurred in mostly urban areas; countryside was mostly traditional

Alexandria

small town founded by Alexander the Great; Egypt's capital for 1000 years until Muslim conquest; huge port that could dock 1200 ships at once

Kaaba

very important shrine in Mecca; built by Abraham and Ishmael and dedicated to the worship of one God; muslims must travel to it once in their life; pilgrimage called hajj.

5 Pillars

1. faith: must state faith when accepting Islam; 2. Prayer or Salat: pray 5 times daily; 3. Charity or Zakat: donate to charity or religious officials; 4. Fasting: fast during Ramadan; 5. Pilgrimage or \Hajj: go to Mecca once during holy pilgrimage.

Hijrah

Muhammad's departure from Mecca to Medina

Muhammad

founder of islam; messenger and prophet of God; restored monotheistic religion of Abraham; diplomat, merchant, philosopher, orator, legislator, reformer, general; spread teachings that make up the Qur'an.

Jihad

make effort or struggle; also means holy war.

Jizya

tax of christians, jews, and later hindus

Qur'an

holy book of islam; believed to be the exact words of god told to Muhammad; teaches mainly that there is only one God

Sunnah

collection of writings about how Muhammad lived.

Hadith

"prophetic teachings"; collections of the reports of the teachings, deeds and sayings of Muhammad.

Shariah Law

body of law that includes the guidance of the Qur'an and the Sunna.

Rightly Guided Caliphs

Abu Bakr: companion of Muhammad, secured Arabian Peninsula; Umar: appointed, conquered Sassanid empire and some of Byzantine empire, killed by Persian slave; Uthman: compiled and distributed text that became Qur'an, led secular life, assassinated by Shiites, civil war began after death; Ali: son in law of Muhammad, ruled during political chaos, moved capitol to Iraq, assassinated by Umayyads on 21st of ramadan.

Sunni

90% of muslims; believe Abu Bakr was Muhammad's successor; any qualified religious leader can lead muslims; Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem are all holy cities.

Shia

10% of muslims today; believe Fatima's husband Ali is Muhammad's successor; only descendants of Muhammad should rule Muslims; Mecca, Medina, Jerusalem, Hajaf, and Karrah are holy cities.

Tolerance

tolerate and allow other religions to continue worship

Islam

submit to god

Muslim

submission

Caliph

highest leader of islam; means "successor"; not religious leaders.

Umayyad

Family where many of the first Caliphs came from; moved capitol from Medina to Damascus; expanded to Central Asia and northern India.

Abbasid

came to power after the Umayyads; changed the philosophy; reorganized government to make it easier to rule.

Mecca

Muhammad's birthplace; where Kaaba is located; visited by Muslims at least once in their life during an annual pilgrimage.

Medina

city outside of Mecca; where Muhammad fled to after he was kicked out of Mecca for his beliefs.

People of the Book

Christians and Jews; called this because they share similar beliefs and similar origins

Nomads

people who live in tents, raise animals: sheep , goat, camel; travel across the desert with their hearts as the seasons change; nomadic tribes were a group of related people and they offered each other protection.

Caravans

groups of people/ traders who travel together to different towns and trade; usually trade in suok which is market or bazaar.

Abraham and Ishmael

father of 3 abrahamic religions: Christianity, Judaism, Islam; had 2 sons: Isaac and Ishmael; Isaac's descendants are hebrews and Ishmael's descendants are muslims; Abraham told by god to sacrifice Ishmael showing his loyalty to God; built Kaaba.