Chapter 0 - Classical Civilizations

Practical vocabulary flashcards covering the transition from the Paleolithic era through the rise and fall of the Greek and Roman civilizations.

History

The study of past human events, often involving archaeology and the analysis of economic, social, and political interactions.

Paleolithic

Also known as the 'Old Stone Age,' it ended around $8,000\,BCE$ and was characterized by forager populations, hunting and gathering, and gender equality.

Neolithic Revolution

The shift from hunting and gathering to plant and animal cultivation starting in $8,000\,BCE$.

Fertile Crescent

The land between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, also known as Mesopotamia, where early civilizations like Sumer flourished.

City-state

A self-governing state consisting of a city and its surrounding territory.

Hammurabi’s Code

The first known written laws, established in Mesopotamia, based on the principle of 'an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

Polytheism

The religious belief in many powerful nature gods, such as Anu, Marduk, and Ishtar in Mesopotamia.

Cuneiform

The earliest form of writing, developed by the peoples of Mesopotamia.

Scribes

Paid writers in ancient civilizations who recorded information and documents.

Papyrus

A plant used by ancient Egyptians to create mats, rope, sandals, baskets, and paper.

Pharaoh

The title held by the absolute rulers of Ancient Egypt, such as Hatshepsut.

Hieroglyphics

An ancient Egyptian pictorial language recorded on structures and papyrus.

Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro

The two major cities of the Indus River civilization, known for granaries and sewer pipes.

Hittites

An ancient people from Anatolia who were the first to use iron weapons and horse-drawn chariots.

Polis

A Greek city-state and political unit consisting of an urban center and rural territory, including an acropolis and an agora.

Acropolis

The fortified high point of a Greek city-state containing public buildings.

Agora

The open-air marketplace and public assembly space in a Greek polis.

Hoplite

An armored infantryman of ancient Greek city-states.

Phalanx

A tactical formation of armored infantrymen (hoplites) used in ancient Greek warfare.

Humanism

A philosophical approach in ancient Greece focusing on reason, freedom of thought, and nature over religion.

Herodotus

Known as the 'father' of history for his development of methods of investigation and research.

Alexander the Great

The Macedonian leader who invaded Persia in $336\,BCE$, spreading Greek culture as far as the Indus River.

Hellenistic

A term meaning 'to imitate the Greeks,' referring to the synthesis of Greek and indigenous cultures across Alexander’s empire.

The 12 Tables

Roman laws from $450\,BCE$ that established political and social rights for the plebeians.

Punic Wars

A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage resulting in Roman control of the Mediterranean.

Latifundias

Large estates owned by wealthy Roman landowners that were worked by slaves and replaced small family farms.

Julius Caesar

A member of the First Triumvirate who declared himself 'Dictator for Life' in $49\,BCE$ before being assassinated in $44\,BCE$.

Romanization

The process of spreading the Latin language and the Roman lifestyle throughout the empire’s provinces.