Ancient World- AP World

Ashoka

Mauryan emperor who converted to Buddhism and promoted non-violence and religious tolerance across India.

Gupta Empire

Ancient Indian empire that reunited northern India and started a golden age of peace and learning.

Gupta Golden Age

Period in ancient India marked by major achievements in math, astronomy, science, and art.

Arabic Numerals

Base-10 number system with zero, created in India and spread to Europe by Arab scholars.

Hinduism

Major religion from ancient India based on Vedic traditions, reincarnation, and karma.

Brahma, Vishnu & Shiva

The three main Hindu gods representing creation, preservation, and destruction.

Reincarnation

The belief that a soul is reborn into a new body after death.

Karma

The rule that a person's good or bad actions affect their future lives and rebirth.

Moksha

In Hinduism, liberation from the cycle of rebirth to join with the divine.

Syncretism

The blending of different religions, cultures, or schools of thought over time.

Siddhartha Gautama "Buddha"

Founder of Buddhism who achieved enlightenment and taught how to end suffering.

Asceticism

Severe self-discipline and giving up physical pleasures for spiritual growth.

Enlightenment

In Buddhism, reaching supreme spiritual truth, wisdom, and freedom from desire.

Four Noble Truths & Noble Eightfold Path

Core Buddhist teachings on why people suffer and how to end suffering.

Nirvana

The ultimate goal in Buddhism: total peace and freedom from desire and rebirth.

Theravada Buddhism

Branch of Buddhism focused on traditional monastic rules and individual effort.

Mahayana Buddhism

Branch of Buddhism centered on Bodhisattvas helping everyone reach enlightenment.

Vajrayana Buddhism

Branch of Buddhism common in Tibet that uses rituals, mantras, and meditation.

Dalai Lama

Spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, believed to be the rebirth of the Bodhisattva of Compassion.

Persian Empire (Achaemenid Empire)

Vast ancient empire founded by Cyrus the Great, spanning parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe.

Cyrus the Great

Persian ruler who founded the Achaemenid Empire and was known for religious tolerance.

Darius I

Persian king who expanded the empire, built the Royal Road, and set up governed provinces.

Satrapy

A province in the Persian Empire ruled by a local governor called a satrap.

Persian Royal Road

Long highway in Persia built to speed up trade, travel, and imperial communication.

Zoroastrianism

Ancient Persian monotheistic religion centered on the struggle between good and evil.

Persian Wars

Wars between Greek city-states and Persia that saved Greece from invasion.

Herodotus

Greek writer known as the 'Father of History' for recording the Persian Wars.

Ionian Revolt

Rebellion of Greek cities in Asia Minor against Persian rule that triggered the Persian Wars.

Battle of Marathon

Famous battle in 490 BCE where Athenians defeated an invading Persian army.

Xerxes

Persian king who led a huge invasion of Greece in 480 BCE.

Battle of Thermopylae

Battle where a small Greek force led by 300 Spartans made a famous stand against a huge Persian army.

Battle of Salamis

Key naval battle where the Greek fleet destroyed much of the Persian navy.

Delian League

Alliance of Greek city-states led by Athens that turned into an Athenian empire.

Oligarchy vs. Democracy

Contrast between rule by a small elite group (Sparta) and rule by all citizens (Athens).

Athens

Greek city-state famous for creating direct democracy, philosophy, and maritime trade.

Sparta

Militaristic Greek city-state ruled by an oligarchy and focused on war and discipline.

Thucyidides

Greek historian who wrote a realistic, factual history of the Peloponnesian War.

Peloponnesian War

Conflict between Athens and Sparta that ended in Spartan victory and Athenian decline.

Socrates

Greek philosopher who taught through questioning ethics, sentenced to death in Athens.

Plato

Student of Socrates who founded the Academy and wrote philosophical works.

Aristotle

Greek philosopher and teacher of Alexander the Great who established formal logic and science.

Philip II of Macedon

Macedonian king who unified his army and conquered the Greek city-states.

Alexander the Great

Macedonian leader who conquered Persia and built an empire from Greece to India.

Darius III

The last Persian king, who was defeated in battle by Alexander the Great.

Cultural Diffusion

The spread and mixing of cultural beliefs, customs, and ideas between societies.

Hellenistic Age

Era after Alexander the Great when Greek culture spread across the Middle East.

Ethnocentrism

Believing that one's own culture is superior to all other cultures.

Koine

Common Greek language used across the Mediterranean during the Hellenistic period.

Successor Kingdoms: Ptolemaic Kingdom, Seleucid Empire, Antigonid Kingdom

Three empires carved out by Alexander the Great's generals after his death.

Roman Republic

Period of Roman history governed by elected officials and a Senate instead of a king.

Latin / The Latins

Italic tribe and language from central Italy that became the language of Rome.

Senate

Council of wealthy Roman elites that directed government spending and foreign policy.

Patricians & Plebeians

The two social classes of Rome: wealthy elites (patricians) and common citizens (plebeians).

Cursus Honorum

The set sequence of political offices held by politicians in the Roman Republic.

Twelve Tables

Rome's first written set of laws that established equal legal protections for citizens.

Punic Wars

Three wars between Rome and Carthage that ended with Rome dominating the Mediterranean.

Carthage

Powerful North African trading city that became Rome's chief rival in the Mediterranean.

Hannibal Barca

Carthaginian general who invaded Italy with war elephants during the Second Punic War.

Marius & Sulla

Roman generals whose private armies and rivalries led to civil war and weakened the Republic.

Roman Civil Wars

Wars between powerful Roman generals fighting for total political control.

First Triumvirate: Pompey, Crassus, and Julius Caesar

Secret political alliance formed in 60 BCE by three leaders to control Rome.

Second Triumvirate: Octavian, Mark Antony, and Lepidus

Official alliance formed in 43 BCE to rule Rome after Julius Caesar's death.

Octavian → Augustus Caesar

Julius Caesar's adopted heir who defeated Mark Antony to become Rome's first emperor.

Roman Republic → Roman Empire

Transition from a republic run by elected officials to an autocracy ruled by an emperor.

Pax Romana

A 200-year period of relative peace and stability across the Roman Empire.

Roman infrastructure & trade

Network of paved roads, aqueducts, and sea routes connecting the Roman world.

"Bread and Circuses"

Roman policy of giving free grain and public entertainment to keep citizens happy.

Jesus of Nazareth

Jewish teacher whose life and lessons were the foundation of Christianity.

Kingdom of Judea & Herod the Great

Roman client kingdom in Judea ruled by King Herod during Roman times.

Christianity

Monotheistic religion based on the life, teachings, death, and resurrection of Jesus.

Messiah

A promised savior in Jewish belief, believed by Christians to be Jesus.

Paul of Tarsus

Early Christian missionary who spread Christianity to non-Jews across the Mediterranean.

Christian persecution

State-sponsored mistreatment, arrest, and execution of Christians in the Roman Empire.

Constantine

Roman emperor who legalized Christianity and founded the new capital of Constantinople.

Edict of Milan

Law issued in 313 CE that granted religious freedom across the Roman Empire.

Council of Nicaea

Meeting of Christian bishops in 325 CE called by Constantine to agree on core doctrine.

Constantinople

Capital city founded by Constantine on the strategic border between Europe and Asia.

Diocletian

Roman emperor who split the administration of the empire into Eastern and Western halves.

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

The end of central Roman rule in the West in 476 CE due to invasions and internal weakness.

Greco-Roman Polytheism

Shared system of worshipping many gods common to ancient Greece and Rome.

Homer

Ancient Greek poet credited with composing the epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey.

Iliad & Odyssey

Epic Greek poems about the Trojan War and Odysseus's long voyage home.

Big Bang

The leading scientific explanation for how the universe began and expanded.

Theia Impact Hypothesis

The theory that the Moon formed from debris after a collision between early Earth and a Mars-sized body.

Primary Source vs. Secondary Source

Primary sources are direct, first-hand accounts from the time, while secondary sources analyze or interpret primary sources later.

Homo sapiens, Neanderthals & Denisovans

Different species of human ancestors that coexisted, interacted, and interbred during prehistory.

Dunbar's Number

The estimated cognitive limit of stable social relationships a single human can maintain.

Neolithic Revolution

The major shift of human societies from hunting and gathering to farming and permanent settlements.

Domestication

The process of taming wild plants and animals for human food, work, or companionship.

Sedentary Agriculture

Farming in permanent settlements rather than moving continuously as nomads.

Specialization of Labor

A system where individuals focus on specific jobs or crafts instead of growing their own food.

Social Stratification

The division of a society into different social classes or economic ranks.

Mesopotamia

An ancient region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, known as one of the earliest civilization cradles.

Cuneiform

An ancient system of wedge-shaped writing developed by the Sumerians.

Epic of Gilgamesh

An ancient Mesopotamian poem considered one of the world's oldest surviving works of literature.

Sargon the Great

The Akkadian ruler who created the world's first known multi-ethnic empire.

Hammurabi & Code of Hammurabi

A Babylonian king and his famous set of written laws establishing strict legal rules and punishments.

Bronze Age Collapse

The sudden downfall of major civilizations across the Near East and Mediterranean around 1200 BCE.

Ashurbanipal

An Assyrian king who built a famous royal library of clay tablets in the capital city of Nineveh.

Nineveh

An ancient city on the Tigris River that served as a capital of the Assyrian Empire.