history study guide woohoo

• Where did the Indians learn of the vast network of caravan routes?

Central Asian Nomads

• Mathematicians in the Gupta Empire of ancient India were the first to calculate the 

Value of Pi

Which of the following was introduced to India by a single founder?

Buddhism

• Caste became an integral part of the Hindu faith. How did this affect the development of the Indian civilization?

The Brahmans, or the priestly class, became the power in the Indian civilization

• Which external factor did Han China and the Roman Empire both face that contributed to their decline?

The Threat of Nomadic Invaders

• After the fall of the western Roman Empire, what was one indicator that long-distance trade had declined?

Most roads were not repaired.

In the late Roman Empire, 284-476 C.E., what role did the Praetorian Guard play?

They determined how long an emperor ruled over Rome.

• Which Chinese general would declare himself emperor of the Han Dynasty after a civil war with Xiang Yu?

Liu Bang

• Why did the West eventually emerge stronger than China after the fall of their classical civilizations?

Rome was so thoroughly destroyed that a new civilization had to emerge that was better able to meet the demands of a changing world.

• Which of the following was a characteristic of the Mandate of Heaven in China?

The right to rule depended on continued divine approval.

inflation

a drastic drop in the value of money coupled with a rise of prices

mercenary

foreign soldiers who fought for money

Diocletian

In a.d. 284, ​​Diocletian ​​, a strong-willed army ​​ leader, became the new emperor. He ruled with an iron fist and severely limited ​​ personal freedoms. Nonetheless, he restored order to the empire and increased its ​​ strength. Diocletian doubled the size of the Roman army and sought to control ​​ inflation by setting fixed prices for goods. To restore the prestige of the office of ​​ emperor, he claimed descent from the ancient Roman gods and created elaborate ​​ ceremonies to present himself in a godlike aura.

Diocletian believed that the empire had grown too large and too complex for ​​ one ruler. In perhaps his most significant reform, he divided the empire into the ​​ Greek-speaking East (Greece, Anatolia, Syria, and Egypt) and the Latin-speaking ​​ West (Italy, Gaul, Britain, and Spain). He took the eastern half for himself and ​​ appointed a co-ruler for the West. While Diocletian shared authority, he kept ​​ overall control. His half of the empire, the East, included most of the empire’s ​​ great cities and trade centers and was far wealthier than the West.

Because of ill health, Diocletian retired in a.d. 305. However, his plans for orderly ​​ succession failed. Civil war broke out immediately. By 311, four rivals were compet- ​​ ing for power. Among them was an ambitious young commander named Constantine, ​​ the same Constantine who would later end the persecution of Christians.

Constantinople

capital of the eastern roman empire, established by constantine I

Attila

Meanwhile, the Huns, who were ​​ indirectly responsible for the Germanic assault on the ​​ empire, became a direct threat. In 444, they united ​​ for the first time under a powerful chieftain named ​​ Attila ​​(AT•uhl•uh). With his 100,000 soldiers, Attila ​​ terrorized both halves of the empire. In the East, his ​​ armies attacked and plundered 70 cities. (They failed, ​​ however, to scale the high walls of Constantinople.)

The Huns then swept into the West. In A.D. 452, ​​ Attila’s forces advanced against Rome, but bouts of ​​ famine and disease kept them from conquering the ​​ city. Although the Huns were no longer a threat to ​​ the empire after Attila’s death in 453, the Germanic ​​ invasions continued.

Romulus Augustulus

Final Emperor of the Western Roman Empire

Mahayana

a sect of Buddhism ​​​​that offers salvation to all and allows popular worship

Chandragupta

first leader of the Indian Empire of Maurya

theravada

​​a sect of Buddhism ​​​​focusing on the strict spiritual discipline originally advo- ​​cated by the Buddha

stupa

. ​​mounded stone structures built over ​​​​Buddhist holy relics.

Brahma

​​a Hindu god considered the ​​​​creator of the world

Vishnu

​​a Hindu god considered the pre­ ​​​​server of the world.

Shiva

. ​​a hindu god considered the destroyer ​​​​of the world

Kalidasa

one of India’s greatest writers

silk roads

the collection of trade routes that brought goods from as far as east as china and as far west as the roman empire

Han Dynasty

which ruled China for more than 400 years, is ​​ divided into two periods. The Former Han ruled for about two centuries, until ​​ A.D. 9. After a brief period when the Han were out of power, ​​ the Later Han ruled for almost another two centuries. The Han ​​ Dynasty so influenced China that even today many Chinese ​​ call themselves “people of the Han”.

centralized government

​​a government in which power ​​​​is concentrated in a central authority to which local ​​governments are subject.

civil service

persons employed in the civil administration of government

Liu Bang

first emperor of the Han dynasty

code of Justinian

major reform of Byzantine law created by Emperor Justinian I