Key Historical Figures and Events in Ancient Rome and Islam

Tiber River

River in central Italy, where the city of Rome was founded.

Apennine Mountains

Mountain range forming the backbone of the Italian Peninsula.

Romulus & Remus

Mythological twin brothers, founders of Rome.

Cincinnatus

Roman farmer and dictator, a model of civic virtue, who returned to his farm after defending Rome.

Punic Wars

A series of three major conflicts between Rome and Carthage (a powerful Phoenician city-state) for control of the Mediterranean.

Hannibal

Carthaginian general famous for leading an army, including elephants, across the Alps to attack Rome during the Second Punic War.

Battle of Cannae

Major battle during the Second Punic War where Hannibal decisively defeated a larger Roman army.

Council of the Plebs

Assembly in the Roman Republic for plebeians, which gained the power to pass laws binding on all Romans.

Centuriate Assembly

One of the main Roman assemblies, organized by wealth, responsible for electing magistrates and passing laws.

tribune

An official in the Roman Republic elected by plebeians to protect their interests and veto laws.

consul

One of two annually elected chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, holding supreme civil and military authority.

patrician

A member of the aristocratic ruling class in ancient Rome.

plebeian

A commoner in ancient Rome, free citizens but initially without the same rights as patricians.

republic

A form of government in which power is held by the people and their elected representatives, rather than a monarch.

Colosseum

Large amphitheater in Rome, used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles.

First Triumvirate

An informal political alliance between Julius Caesar, Pompey, and Crassus that dominated the Roman Republic.

Second Triumvirate

A formal political alliance between Octavian (Augustus), Mark Antony, and Lepidus, formed after Julius Caesar's assassination.

Augustus

The first Roman emperor, adopted son of Julius Caesar, whose reign initiated the Pax Romana.

Julius Caesar

Roman general and politician who played a critical role in the events that led to the demise of the Roman Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire.

Pax Romana

A period of relative peace and stability across the Roman Empire, lasting for over 200 years, initiated by Augustus.

Muslim

A follower of the religion of Islam.

Arabic

The Semitic language spoken by Arabs, and the language of the Qur'an.

Allah

The Arabic word for God.

Mosque

A Muslim place of worship.

Mecca

A city in Saudi Arabia, the holiest city in Islam, birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad.

Muhammad

The founder of Islam, regarded by Muslims as a prophet of God.

Quraysh

The dominant tribe of Mecca at the time of Muhammad.

Khadija

The first wife of the Prophet Muhammad and the first convert to Islam.

Qur'an

The central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God.

Hijrah

The migration or journey of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE, marking the beginning of the Islamic calendar.

Caliphate

An Islamic state led by a caliph, who is a political and religious leader.

Abu Bakr

The first caliph after the death of Muhammad and a close companion of the Prophet.

Umayyads

The first great Muslim dynasty to rule the empire of the Caliphate, ruling from 661 to 750 CE.

Battle of Karbala

A pivotal battle in 680 CE that resulted in the death of Husayn ibn Ali, a grandson of Muhammad, and is central to Shi'a Muslim identity.

Battle of Tours

A battle in 732 CE near Tours, France, where Frankish forces led by Charles Martel stopped the advance of the Umayyad Caliphate into Western Europe.

Dome of the Rock

An Islamic shrine located on the Temple Mount in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Hijab

A head covering worn by many Muslim women, often symbolizing modesty.

Niqab

A veil for the face that leaves only the eyes visible, worn by some Muslim women.

Griot

A West African storyteller, praise singer, poet, or musician, who maintains a tradition of oral history.

Kora

A 21-stringed bridge harp played in West Africa.

Genealogy

A record or history of the descent of a person or family from an ancestor.

Trans-Saharan trade

A network of trade routes across the Sahara Desert that connected North Africa with West Africa, exchanging goods like gold, salt, and slaves.

Sundiata Keita

The founder of the Mali Empire, often referred to as the 'Lion King.'

Timbuktu

A historic city in Mali, West Africa, known for its intellectual and spiritual center, particularly during the Mali Empire.

Mansa Musa

The ninth Mansa (emperor) of the Mali Empire, renowned for his immense wealth and pilgrimage to Mecca.

Ibn Battuta

A Muslim Moroccan scholar and explorer who traveled extensively in the 14th century, documenting his journeys across the Islamic world and beyond.

Bantu migration

A millennium-long series of migrations of Bantu-speaking peoples from West Africa across much of sub-Saharan Africa, spreading language, agriculture, and ironworking.

Swahili

A Bantu language spoken in East Africa, heavily influenced by Arabic, and also referring to the culture of the East African coast.

Great Zimbabwe

A ruined city in the southeastern hills of Zimbabwe, once the capital of a great kingdom, known for its unique dry stone architecture.

Inuit

An indigenous people inhabiting the Arctic regions of Canada, Greenland, and Alaska.

tundra

A vast, treeless plain in the Arctic and subarctic regions, characterized by permafrost and low-growing vegetation.

Bering Strait

A narrow waterway that separates Russia and Alaska, believed to have been a land bridge in prehistoric times allowing migration to the Americas.

Iditarod

A long-distance sled dog race across the state of Alaska.

Deganawida

The Great Peacemaker, a revered figure in Iroquois tradition who, along with Hiawatha, is credited with founding the Haudenosaunee Confederacy.

Haudenosaunee

The self-name for the Iroquois Confederacy, meaning 'People of the Longhouse.'

Wampum belt

Belts made of shell beads, used by Northeastern Indigenous peoples (like the Haudenosaunee) for record-keeping, treaties, and ceremonial purposes.

matrilineal

A societal system in which descent is traced through the mother's side of the family.

Three Sisters

The three main agricultural crops of various Native American groups in North America: corn, beans, and squash, which were planted together.

Yucatan Peninsula

A peninsula in southeastern Mexico, home to significant Maya civilization sites.

Tikal

One of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization, located in Guatemala.

Pok-ta-pok

A Mesoamerican ballgame played by various ancient cultures, including the Maya and Aztecs, often with ritualistic significance.

Quetzalcoatl

A prominent feathered serpent deity in Mesoamerican religions, worshipped by cultures like the Aztecs and Maya.

Tenochtitlan

The capital city of the Aztec Empire, located on an island in Lake Texcoco, site of modern-day Mexico City.

Machu Picchu

A 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru, often called the 'Lost City of the Incas.'

Quipu

A method used by the Incas and other ancient Andean cultures to keep records and communicate information, using knotted strings.

Andes Mountains

The longest continental mountain range in the world, stretching along the western coast of South America.

Mahatma Gandhi

Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead India to independence from British Rule.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

American Baptist minister and activist who became the most visible spokesperson and leader in the civil rights movement from 1955 until his assassination in 1968.

satyagraha

Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolent resistance, meaning 'truth-force' or 'firmness in truth.'

Salt March

An act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India initiated by Mahatma Gandhi in 1930 to protest the British salt tax.

Viola Liuzzo

A white civil rights activist from Michigan who was murdered by Klansmen in Alabama after the Selma to Montgomery marches.

James Reeb

A Unitarian Universalist minister from Boston who was attacked and murdered by segregationists during the civil rights movement in Selma, Alabama.

Fuhrermuseum

A proposed monumental art museum in Linz, Austria, envisioned by Adolf Hitler as the cultural capital of the Third Reich.

Nero Decree

An order issued by Adolf Hitler in March 1945, ordering the destruction of all German infrastructure to prevent its use by Allied forces.

Ghent Altarpiece

A large and complex early Netherlandish polyptych altarpiece by the brothers Hubert and Jan van Eyck, a masterpiece of European art, famously looted during WWII.

Islam

A religion where people believe in one God (called Allah) and follow the teachings of their main prophet, Muhammad. It's about submitting to God's will.