AP World History Unit 2

Persian Empire

Persian Empire

Empire represented in this map

Athens

First recorded democracy ever established. Direct democracy with juries of up to 2,500 people. Had to be an 18 year old male with Athenian parents to rule.

Greco-Persian Wars

Two major Persian invasions of Greece, 490 and 480 B.C.E., in which the Persians were defeated on both land and sea each time.

Hellenism

Civilizations represented on this map

Alexander the Great

Between 334 and 323 B.C.E. he conquered the Persian Empire, reached the Indus Valley, founded many Greek-style cities, and spread Greek culture across the Middle East.

Augustus

The first emperor of Rome whose leadership brought about a long period of Pax Romana (Roman Peace).

Qin Shihuangdi

(r.221-210 BCE) The emperor who unified China and established the first dynasty of a unified empire.

Han Dynasty

(202 BC - 220 AD) dynasty started by Lui Bang; a great and long-lasting rule, it discarded the harsh policies of the previous dynasty and adopted Confucian principles; Its rulers chose officials who passed the civil service exams rather than birth; it was a time of prosperity

Mauryan Dynasty

322-185 BCE. The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent.

Ashoka

Third ruler of the Mauryan Empire in India (r. 270-232 B.C.E.). He converted to Buddhism and broadcast his precepts on inscribed stones and pillars, the earliest surviving Indian writing.

legalism

Chinese philosophy developed by Hanfeizi; taught that humans are naturally evil and therefore need to be ruled by harsh laws

Confucianism

Chinese ethical and philosophical system. It sought to minimize conflicts by stressing obedience to superiors, reverence for elder family members, and honoring of ancestors

Vedas

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

Upanishads

A collection of over two hundred texts composed between 900 and 200 BC that provide philosophical commentary on the Vedas

Siddhartha Gautama

Founder of Buddhism

Zoroastrianism

One of the first monotheistic religions, particularly one with a wide following. It was central to the political and religious culture of ancient Persia.

A religion that developed in early Persia and stressed the fight between the forces of good and the forces of evil and how eventually the forces of good would prevail.

Judaism

A religion with a belief in one god. It originated with a covenant between God and Abraham and his descendants the Hebrew people. Yahweh was responsible for the world and everything within it. Holy Book is the Torah

Greek Rationalism

A secularizing system of scientific and philosophic thought that developed in the period 600 B.C.E. to 300 B.C.E.; it emphasized the power of education and human reason to understand the world in nonreligious terms.

Socrates

(470-399 BCE) An Athenian philosopher who thought that human beings could lead honest lives and that honor was far more important than wealth, fame, or other superficial attributes.

He taught students to question everything until a reasonable conclusion could be arrived at, later became Socratic method. condemed to death for corrupting young minds.

Aristotle

Greek philosopher. A pupil of Plato, the tutor of Alexander the Great, and the author of works on logic, metaphysics, ethics, natural sciences, politics, and poetics, he profoundly influenced Western thought. In his philosophical system, which led him to criticize what he saw as Plato's metaphysical excesses, theory follows empirical observation and logic, based on the syllogism, is the essential method of rational inquiry.

Jesus of Nazareth

Founder of Christianity. His teachings were based on Judaism but eventually became a separate faith and spread throughout the Roman Empire and the world.

Yellow Turban Rebellion

A massive Chinese peasant uprising inspired by Daoist teachings that began in 184 C.E. with the goal of establishing a new golden age of equality and harmony.

caste

distinct social class grouping; in China, Varna consisted of four classes that people were born into for life, and in India,

Cyrus

Founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire. Between 550 and 530 B.C.E. he conquered Media, Lydia, and Babylon. He allowed the Jews to return to their homeland

Darius

Persian ruler who brought order to the Persian Empire. He also built roads; established a postal system; and standardized weights, measures, and coinage.

Alexander the Great

Successor of Philip of Macedon; 1st global empire, but no lasting bureaucracy; spread of Hellenism is greatest achievement

Persian

Of or relating to Iran or its people or language or culture

Satraps

under Darius's rule these were known as governors who ruled the provinces. They collected taxes, served as judges, and put down rebellions

Persian Wars

Conflicts between Greek city-states and the Persian Empire, ranging from the Ionian Revolt (499-494 B.C.E.) through Darius's punitive expedition that failed at Marathon. Chronicled by Herodotus. (131)

Ahura Mazda

Main god of Zoroastrianism who represented truth and goodness and was perceived to be in an eternal struggle with the malign spirit angra mainyu.

Angra Mainyu

evil spirit in zoroastrianism, the explanation for the presence of evil in the world

Laozi

Chinese Daoist philosopher; taught that governments were of secondary importance and recommended retreat from society into nature.

Qin Shihuangdi

Ruler of China who united China for the first time. He built road and canals and began the Great Wall of China. He also imposed a standard system of laws, money, weights, and writing.

Han Wudi

The most important Han Emperor: expanded the Empire in all directions; created the Civil Service System based upon Confucian learning; established Imperial University; promoted the Silk Roads

Daoism

Chinese School of Thought: Daoists believe that the world is always changing and is devoid of absolute morality or meaning. They accept the world as they find it, avoid futile struggles, and deviate as little as possible from the Dao, or 'path' of nature.

Legalism

In China, a political philosophy that emphasized the unruliness of human nature and justified state coercion and control. The Qin ruling class invoked it to validate the authoritarian nature of their regime. (p.52)

Qin Dynasty

The dynasty that replaced the Zhou dynasty and employed Legalist ideas in order to control warring states and unify the country.

Han dynasty

A great and long-lasting rule, it discarded the harsh policies of the Qin dynasty and adopted Confucian principles. Han rulers chose officials on merit rather than birth. It was a time of prosperity

Yellow Turban Uprising

Large revolt throughout China during the Han dynasty led by desperate peasants wearing yellow turbans. This uprising tested the resilience of the Han state during the late second century CE. It weakened the Han state during the second and third centuries CE. Leads to fall of Han Dynasty

Chandragupta Maurya

He founded India's first empire (Mauryan). He was an Indian prince who conquered a large area in the Ganges River valley soon after Alexander invaded western India.

Ashoka

The grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; extended conquests of the dynasty; converted to Buddhism and sponsored its spread throughout his empire.

Chandra Gupta

Laid the foundations for the Gupta empire, he forged alliances with powerful families in the Ganges Region and established a dynamic kingdom about the year 320 C.E. Golden Age

Siddhartha Gautama

founder of Buddism; born a prince; left his father's wealth to find the cause of human suffering; also know as Buddha

Mauryan Empire

The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes. (184)

Gupta Empire

Powerful Indian state based, like its Mauryan predecessor, in the Ganges Valley. It controlled most of the Indian subcontinent through a combination of military force and its prestige as a center of sophisticated culture. Golden Age

Huns

Nomadic invaders from central Asia; invaded India; disrupted Gupta administration (Overthrew Gupta)

Buddhism

a world religion or philosophy based on the teaching of the Buddha and holding that a state of enlightenment can be attained by suppressing worldly desire

Homer

ancient Greek epic poet who is believed to have written the Iliad and the Odyssey (circa 850 BC)

Socrates

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

Plato

Philosopher (429 BC-347 BC) who studied under Socrates and questioned reality. He believed that ideal forms existed on a separate plane than our conception of reality. In his work the Republic, he described an ideal society, in which philosopher-kings would rule and everyone would be given jobs based on their talents. He also creates the Academy, an ancient school of philosophy.

Aristotle

Greek philosopher. A pupil of Plato, the tutor of Alexander the Great, and the author of works on logic, metaphysics, ethics, natural sciences, politics, and poetics, he profoundly influenced Western thought. In his philosophical system.

polis

Greek word for city-state

Sparta

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

Persian War

King Darius of Persia wanted to conquer all of the Greek city-states but Athens and Sparta resisted. Greek city-states vs. Persia - Greek city-states won. Athens emerged as most powerful city state in Greece.

Delian League

An alliance headed by Athens that says that all Greek city-states will come together and help fight the Persians

Peloponnesian War

a war in which Athens and its allies were defeated by the league centered on Sparta

Hellenistic Age

Greek culture spread across western Asia and northeastern Africa after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The period ended with the fall of the last major Hellenistic kingdom to Rome, but Greek cultural influence persisted until the spread of Islam.

Ptolemaic Empire

The Hellenistic empire in Egypt area after Alexander's death; created by Ptolemy, one of Alexander's generals.

Seleucid Empire

The empire in Syria, Persia, and Bactria after the breakup of Alexander's empire.

Julius Caesar

Made dictator for life in 45 BCE, after conquering Gaul, assassinated in 44 BCE by the Senate because they were afraid of his power

Augustus Caesar

The first empreror of Rome, the adopted son of Julius Caesar, help Rome come into Pax Romana, or the Age of Roman Peace

Punic War

one of the three wars between Carthage and Rome that resulted in the destruction of Carthage and its annexation by Rome

Twelve tables

the earliest written collection of Roman laws, drawn up by patricians about 450B.C., that became the foundation of Roman law

Patricians

A member of one of the noble families of the ancient Roman Republic, which before the third century B.C. had exclusive rights to the Senate and the magistracies.

Plebeians

Members of the lower class of Ancient Rome including farmers, merchants, artisans and traders

Constantine

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

Silk roads

Trade routes stretching from China to the Mediterranean, which allowed for the exchange of goods and ideas from China to the Roman Empire

Qanats

Underground irrigation systems developed by Persians

Aquaducts

Above ground structures that piped in fresh drinking water to public fountains in Roman Empire

concrete

Roman innovation that aided construction of large-scale projects.

Paul of Tarsus

One of the most important apostles who is largely responsible for the spread of Christianity around the Mediterranean World in the 1st century.

Stepwells

an innovation of the gupta empire that allowed for the storage of fresh drinking water in a fashion that minimized evaporation.

Jati

a Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India; a special characteristic is often the exclusive occupation of its male members (such as barber or potter)

filial piety

The Confucian belief that one should obey older family members and pay respect to ancesters.

Shudra

The serving class, the lowest caste in Hinduism before the creation of the untouchables

Four Noble Truths

The Buddhist beliefs that all life is a cycle of suffering, the cause of suffering is desires for worldly pleasures, and that the cycle of suffering will not be broken until a person escapes re-birth through a process of Enlightenment.

Brahma

In Hinduism, a universal spirit believed to be the origin of everything.

Salon

A reformer who preserved Athenian democracy by initiating a series of compromises between aristocrats and commoners.

stupa

Buddhist shrines, usually believed to hold holy relics.

synchretism

when elements of two or more cultures blend together

boddisattva

In Buddhism, a person who is able to reach nirvana but delays doing so to remain on earth as a spiritual guide to others.

ganges

A holy river in Hinduism

Persepolis

The city created by Darius the Great as the grand capital of the Achaemenid Empire.

Pataliputra

Large city along the Ganges River which was the capital of the Mauyaran Empire

Paarsargad

A capital city created by Cyrus the Great

Constantinople

Large Roman trading city located on the straits between the Black and Mediterranean Seas.

Peter

Established an early Christian Church in Rome. Viewed by Christians as the first Pope.

ascetic

someone who forgoes traditional desires such as food, sex, and shelter-usually for religious reasons.

cynicism

a Hellenistic philosophical movement that rejected material wealth and traditional authority.