HISTORY WORDS FOR MIDTERM 1/14/16

Subcontinent

A large landmass that is part of a continent

Veneration

Great respect or honor

Indra

A Hindu god of war and rain

Sects

Smaller groups within a religion

Caste

A social class in India

Ahimsa

Belief in nonviolence

Nirvana

A state of enlightenment and freedom from suffering

Moksha

Release from the cycle of rebirth

Chandragupta

Founder of the Maurya Empire in India

Vedas

Sacred Hindu texts

Karma

Actions that affect a person's future lives

Ethics

Moral principles that guide behavior

Colony

A settlement ruled by another country

Diaspora

The scattering of people from their homeland

Sabbath

The Jewish day of rest

Satrap

A governor in the Persian Empire

Decipher

To decode or figure out meaning

Ziggurat

A temple in ancient Mesopotamia

Cuneiform

A wedge-shaped writing system

Demotic

A simplified form of Egyptian writing

Monsoon

Seasonal winds that bring heavy rain

Plateau

An area of high, flat land

Hierarchy

A system of ranking people or groups

Tolerance

Acceptance of differences

Barter Economy

An economy based on trading goods without money

Asoka

A Mauryan ruler who spread Buddhism

Plato

A Greek philosopher and student of Socrates

Heresy

A belief that goes against official religion

Socrates

A Greek philosopher and teacher of Plato

Strait

A narrow body of water connecting two larger bodies

Knossos

A palace and center of Minoan civilization

Phalanx

A Greek military formation

Herodotus

The 'Father of History'

Parthenon

A temple in Athens dedicated to Athena

Homer

A Greek poet who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey

Shrines

Sacred places of worship

Frescoes

Wall paintings made on wet plaster

Cultural Diffusion

The spread of ideas, beliefs, and customs

Trojan War

A war between the Greeks and the city of Troy

Citizens

Members of a state or nation

Comedies

Humorous plays