World History: Classical and Postclassical Civilizations Review

These vocabulary flashcards cover key terms, civilizations, and religious developments from the Classical and Postclassical periods (600 B.C.E. to 1200 C.E.) as detailed in the lecture transcript.

Achaemenid Empire

A vast Persian empire founded around 559 B.C.E. by Cyrus the Great, known for its centralized government and religious toleration.

Athens

A Greek city-state that developed democracy and saw a Golden Age in the late 400s B.C.E. characterized by advances in philosophy and theater.

Sparta

A Greek city-state that organized its entire society around a powerful military.

Hellenistic world

The region across Egypt, Persia, and India where Greek culture spread due to the conquests of Alexander the Great in the 300s B.C.E.

Twelve Tables

Publicly displayed written laws in Rome designed to protect individual rights and provide a check on government power.

Aqueducts

Roman engineering systems designed to transport water to cities.

Diaspora

The spreading of Jews to various lands in northern Africa and Europe following Roman persecution in the Middle East.

Universalizing religion

A faith that actively seeks converts and is easily adaptable to different regions, such as Christianity or Buddhism.

Entrepôt

A coastal trading center where goods from various regions are imported and exported, such as Constantinople.

Justinian Code

A consolidation of Roman law created by Justinian the Great that served as a legal foundation in Europe into the 19th century.

Teotihuacan

A large multicultural urban center near modern-day Mexico City known as the 'city of the gods' with a population of 125,000 by the 6th century C.E.

Mayans

An influential classical civilization in the Americas that developed complex writing, an accurate calendar, and the concept of zero.

Quran

The sacred scriptures of Islam containing the revelations received by the prophet Muhammad.

Five Pillars of Islam

The core principles of Islam: belief in Allah, ritual prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage to Mecca.

Sharia

A law code based on the Quran that regulates both religious and civic behavior without distinguishing between the two.

Sunni

The major branch of Islam that believes the caliph should be selected from among all leaders in the Islamic community.

Shi'a

The branch of Islam that believes the caliph must be a blood relative of Muhammad.

Dar al-Islam

A term meaning 'House of Islam,' referring to the areas united under Islamic rule and culture.

Jizya

An additional tax paid by non-Muslim subjects within the Abbasid Caliphate to keep their faith.

Grand Canal

A waterway over 1,000 miles long built by the Sui Dynasty to connect southern agricultural regions with northern population centers.

Tributary system

A Chinese arrangement where surrounding kingdoms made payments and submitted to rule in exchange for trading privileges.

Neo-Confucianism

A philosophical melding of Confucian, Buddhist, and Daoist beliefs that became popular during the Song Dynasty.

Shogun

A military general at the top of the Japanese political and social hierarchy.

Daimyos

Powerful land-owning nobles in Japan who commanded forces of samurai.

Shinto

Japan's official religion centered on the veneration of ancestors and nature spirits.

Bantu migrations

The movement of people from west central Africa between 1000 B.C.E. and 1500 C.E. that spread farming, iron-working, and language.

Ghana

A wealthy West African kingdom that prospered by taxing the gold and salt trade along trans-Saharan routes.

Great Zimbabwe

A large kingdom in southeast Africa that dominated the region between the 12th and 15th centuries.

Cahokia

A major trade hub of the Mississippian civilization with a population larger than London at its height.