World History Key Terms and Concepts

Vocabulary flashcards covering foundational ancient civilizations, religious and philosophical traditions, and early Islamic history based on the lecture notes.

Neolithic Revolution

The wide-scale transition of human cultures from nomadic hunting and gathering to settled agriculture and animal domestication (circa 10,000–8,000 BCE), which enabled permanent settlements, population growth, specialized labor, and early civilizations.

Cuneiform

The world’s earliest known system of writing, characterized by wedge-shaped impressions made on clay tablets using a stylus, invented around 3400–3000 BCE by the Sumerians in Mesopotamia to record economic transactions, laws, and literature.

Hammurabi’s Code

A set of 282 legal inscriptions compiled by King Hammurabi around 1750 BCE in Babylon, carved onto stone steles to establish a standardized, public legal system based on retribution ('an eye for an eye').

Indus Seals

Small, carved steatite (soapstone) seals produced around 2600–1900 BCE by the Harappan/Indus Valley Civilization, featuring animal depictions and undeciphered script, used by merchants to mark ownership and verify goods in long-distance trade.

Oracle Bones

Pieces of turtle shell or animal bone used during the Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE) by Chinese royal diviners to forecast the future and communicate with ancestors; they contain the earliest surviving Chinese writing.

Abraham/Ibrahim

A foundational patriarch (c. 2000–1800 BCE) who migrated from Ur to Canaan and rejected idol worship to establish a covenant with God, revered as the primary father of monotheism in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.

Daoism

A philosophical and religious tradition founded traditionally by Laozi in China during the Warring States period, centered on harmony with the Dao (the 'Way'), natural simplicity, and wu wei (effortless action/non-striving).

Confucianism

An ethical and philosophical system founded by Confucius (Kong Fuzi) in 6th–5th century BCE China that aimed to restore social order through filial piety, ritual propriety (li), humaneness (ren), and strict hierarchical relationships.

Bhagavad-Gita

A 700-verse sacred Hindu scripture embedded within the Mahabharata, composed as a dialogue between Prince Arjuna and Krishna addressing duty (dharma), selfless action (karma yoga), and devotion (bhakti).

Jihad

An Arabic term meaning 'struggle' or 'striving' in the cause of God, divided into Greater Jihad (internal spiritual struggle against sin) and Lesser Jihad (outward physical defense of the Muslim community and faith).

Warring States Period

An era (475–221 BCE) of intense military conflict and political division among rival Chinese states following the collapse of royal Zhou authority, which spurred the 'Hundred Schools of Thought' and led to the Qin unification.

Mandate of Heaven

A Chinese political and religious doctrine created by the Zhou Dynasty around 1046 BCE asserting that heaven (Tian) confers the right to rule based on moral integrity, providing an ideological basis for the Dynastic Cycle.

Battle of Yarmuk

A 6-day battle in August 636 CE where Rashidun Caliphate forces under Khalid ibn al-Walid decisively defeated the Byzantine army, ending Byzantine rule in the Levant and opening the path for Islamic expansion.

Umayyad Dynasty

The first hereditary Islamic Caliphate (661–750 CE), established by Mu'awiya I and based in Damascus, which expanded the empire into Spain, North Africa, and Central Asia while standardizing coinage and official Arabic administration.

Caliphate

An Islamic system of political-religious government led by a Caliph (successor to the Prophet Muhammad), originating in 632 CE in Medina to provide centralized leadership and religious unity for the Muslim community (Ummah).