Final Review Words

Allah

In Islam, the Supreme being; God

Animism

A religious belief that every object in nature has its own spirit and that people’s ancestors in the spirit world watch over them in the living world. Many traditional African religions were animist

Apartheid

Any system or practice that separates people according to color, ethnicity, caste, etc.

Aqueducts

A bridgelike structure that carries a water conduit or canal across a valley or over a river

Archeologist

A specialist in the scientific study of prehistoric peoples and their cultures by analysis, artifacts, inscriptions, monuments, etc.

Artifact

A handade object, as a tool, or the remains of one, as a shard of pottery, characteristic of an earlier time or cultural stage, especially such an object found at an archeological excavation

Aristocracy

A government ruled by any class or group considered to be superior, as through education, ability, wealth, or social prestige

Atman

The individual self, known after enlightenment to be identical with Brahmin

Aztec

In the Valley of Mexico and has a mild climate that was good for agriculture. Around 1325, the Aztecs settled on an island in Lake Texcoco, where they built their capital and largest city, Tecochtitlán. They became accomplished corn farmers, warriors, and temple builders. The aggression and warrior skill the Aztecs allowed them conquer neighboring people. Eventually, the empire stretched over most of central Mexico and included millions of people.

Balance of Power

Distribution of political and economic power that prevents any one nation from becoming too strong.

Brahman/Brahmin

a member of the highest, or priestly, class among the Hindus.

Bubonic Plauge

A contagious disease that devastated the world (primarily Europe) in the 1300s; spread through trade by fleas on rats.

Buddhism

A religion based on a philosophy of self denial and meditation. Buddhism teaches that because of human desires, life is filled with pain and suffering. The only way to end these desires is to give up searching for material things. Buddhism started in India and has spread into Southeast Asia, China, and Japan.

Bushido

Code of conduct for samurai during the feudal period in Japan

Byzantine

An empire in Eastern Europe, formed after the fall of Rome.

Capitalism

Economic system characterized by private ownership of property and the desire to make money as the main stimulus to production. Under this system, capital is invested in the hope of creating more wealth for the entrepreneur (the individual who risks his or her money)

Caste System

In traditional India, society was organized into hereditary social classes known as “castes.” One’s caste determined whom one associated with, what occupations one could enter. Hindus believe that each person is born into a particular caste based on that person’s behavior in a previous life.

Chivalry

The code of conduct followed by knights during the Middle Ages.

Civilization

An advanced form of human culture in which some people lived in cities, have complex institutions, use some form of writing, and are skilled in science and technology.

Code of Hammurabi

A Babylonian legal code instituted by Hammurabi and dealing with criminal and civil matters

Confucianism

A system of beliefs based on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher. The main message of his teachings was that a person can achieve peace and harmony by fulfilling his or her proper role in the family and society. Confucianism has had a great influence on China and countries in East Asia.

Consuls

An official appointed by the government of one country to look after its commercial interests and the wellfare of its citizens in another country

Covenant

The agreement between God and the ancient Israelites

Crusades

A call to arms by various Popes for an army of Christian knights to capture what Christians believed was their “Holy Land” (Jerusalem) from the Muslim Turks. The Crusades greatly increased trade between the East and West.

Culture

A people’s way of life. It includes such things as languages, clothes, houses, family, organization, religion, and rituals.

Cultural diffusion

The exchange of different ideas and goods between cultures

Democracy

A system in which citizen participate in government decisions either by either voting directly on issues brought before them (direct democracy) or by electing people to represent them (republic). Democracy was first developed in Athens around the 5th century B.C.

Dictatorship

A system in which citizens have few rights and the government is controlled by individual or small group. For example, Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin were dictatorships

Divine Right

A European concept based on the idea that all political power comes from God. According to this theory, each king was God’s deputy on Earth, the royal commande expressed God’s wishes. For example, King Louis XIV of France claimed to rule his country by divine right.

Encomienda System

The spanish created vast plantation which were controlled by small, privileged class in Latin America. This system led to the use of enslaved peoples by the landowners

Eightfold Path

In Buddhism, the pursuits of one seeking enlightenment, comprising right understanding, motives, speech, action, means livelihood, effort, intellectual activity, and contemplation

Ethnic Group

A group of people united by a common culture. Ethnic groups may be based on race, religion, language, or a common history. Tribes are also ethnic group

Ethnocentrism

The belief in the inherent superiority of one’s own ethnic group or culture. For example, the Chinese traditionally believed that their culture was superior, and that other peoples were barbarians.

Fertile Crescent

An arc of rich farmland in Southwest Asia, between the Persian Gulf and the Mediterranean Sea.

Feudalism

A political, social, and economic system which has rigid class structure and in which land was exchanged for military service. The social systems in Europe during the Middle Ages and Japan in the 1600s and the 1700s are examples of feudalism.

Filial Piety

In Confucianism, the important virtue and primary duty of respect, obedience, and care for one’s parents and elderly family members.

Five Pillars of Islam

Faith, prayer, alms, fasting, pilgrimage

Five Relationships

ruler to subject, father to son, husband to wife, elder to younger, friend to friend

Four Noble Truths

Everything in life is suffering and sorrow, The cause of all suffering is people’s selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world, The way to end suffering is to end all desires, The way to overcome such desires and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is called the Middle Way between desires and self-denial

Fundamentalism

A religious movement characterized by a strict belief in the literal interpretation of religious texts

Ghana

A kingdom just south of the Sahara desert. They began to use camels to carry goods across the Sahara desert. From the north came salt; from the west came the rich resources of gold, ivory, and other goods. Ghana was located in the middle of the salt and gold trade routes.

Golden Age

A peaceful period in the history of a culture in which its literature, the arts, and sciences flourish

Gupta Empire

The second empire in India, founded by Chandra Gupta 1 in AD 320. The two centuries of Gupta rule are sometimes referred to as the Golden Age of Hindu culture

Hijrah

The flight of Muhammad from Mecca to Yathrib (Medina) to escape persecution in 622 AD

Hinduism

A religion followed by millions of people in South Asia. Hindus believe in reincarnation (a person’s soul never dies, but leave the body to be reborn in another living thing). Hindus also believe in many gods and goddesses

Humanism

intellectual movement at the heart of the renaissance that focused on worldly subjects rather than religious ones

Hunter-gatherer

A member of a group of people why subsist by hunting, fishing, or foraging in the wild

Inca

The Inca began settling in the valley of Cuzco in the Andes Mountains of central Peru around the year 1200. The lands they occupied included mountains, costal desert, and low-lying jungle. They also developed highly advanced terracing and irrigation methods to allow farming in difficult mountain terrain

Islamic fundamentalism

Movement by Muslim reformers who oppose westernization and want to apply Islamic principles to problems in their nations

Justinian’s code

code of laws organized by the Byzantine emperor Justinian in the 500s

Karma

A persons good or bad deeds

Koran/Quran

the sacred text of Islam

Kshatriyas

a member of the Hindu royal and warrior class

Legalism

The principals and practices of a school of political theorists advocation strict legal control over all activities, a system of rewards and punishments uniform for all classes, and an absolute monarchy

Louis XIV

King of France who led an absolute monarchy during France’s classical age

Magna Carta

A “great charter” signed by King John of England, which limited the power of the English monarchy. The charter promised that the King would not imprison English nobles or townspeople except according to the laws of the land and after a fair trial

Mali

located in a grassland region on the southern border of the Sahara desert in an agriculturally rich area along the upper Niger River. It became powerful by controlling the rich trans-Saharan trade routes between northern and western Africa, especially the gold trade. Control of the Niger river helped Mali grow as an empire. The cities of Mali became important trading centers for all of West Africa as well as famous centers of wealth, culture, and learning

Mandate of Heaven

A political theory of ancient China in which those in power were given the right to rule from a divine source

Manorialism

An estate or territorial unit, consisting of a lord’s lands within which he has the right to exercise certain privileges, exact certain fees, etc.

Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa was Mali’s greatest king, ruling from 1312 to 1337 AD. Mansa Musa, who was Muslim, made a pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 AD

Martin Luther

A German monk who wrote the 95 thesis

Maya

Lived in the farming villages on the Yucatan Peninsula and the highlands to the south. They built city-states in Central America that included great pyramid temples and public plazas featuring huge stone columns that recounted their history. The limeston of the Yucatan Peninsula was easily quarried and used for building and tool making. In the south, volcanoes stretched over the highlands and yielded valuable resources. The fertile volcanic soil allowed the people to grow crops

Mercantilism

an economic theory that a nation’s wealth is measured by the amount of its gold and silver. Mercantilists urged European rulers to acquire colonies in the 17th and 18th centuries

Modernization

The process of shedding traditional beliefs in favor of the modern ideas, methods, and technologies

Moksha

freedom from the mortal world

Monarchy

Supreme power of sovereignty held by a single person

Mongols

nomads from the Asian steppes who built an empire in China. Notable leaders include Genghis Khan and Kublai Khan

Monotheism

the doctrine or belief that there is only one God

Moses

The Hebrew prophet who led the Israelites out of Egypt and received the Ten Commandments

Mughal Empire

Muslim dynasty that ruled most of northern India from the early 16th to the mid-18th

Nationalism

devotion and loyalty to one’s own country; patriotism

Neolithic Revolution

The major change in human life caused by the beginnings of farming- that is, by people’s shift from food gathering to food producing

Nirvana

In Buddhism, freedom from the endless cycle of personal reincarnations, with their consequent suffering

Oligarchy

A form of government in which all power is vested in a few persons; government by the few - especially one in which rule is based upon wealth

Ottoman Empire

Islamic-run superpower ruled large areas of the Middle East, Eastern Europe and North Africa for more than 600 years. The chief leader, known as the Sultan, was given absolute religious and political authority over his people. Ottoman Empire was a source of great regional stability and security, as well as important achievements in the arts, science, religion, and culture

Paleolithic Age

Prehistoric period that lasted from about 2,500,000 to 8,000 BC, during which people made of crude stone tools and weapons-also called the Old Stone Age

Papyrus

A material on which to write, prepared from thin strips of the pith of this place laid together, soaked, pressed, and dried, used by the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans

Patricians

A person of noble or high rank; aristocrat

Pax Romana

Term meaning “Roman Peace” for a period covering about 200 years beginning with the reign of Augustus

Plebeians

A member of the common people

Protestant reformation

The breaking away of a large number of Europeans from the Catholic Church. The reformation ended the religious unity of Western Europe and led to a century of religious wars.

Revolutions

A sudden and basic change in which people govern themselves, see the world, or make things

Reincarnation

Rebirth of the soul in a new body

Shintoism

The official religion of Japan. Shintoism teaches that the spirits or gods are found throughout nature. Japanese Emperors claim to be the spiritual leaders of the Shinto religion

Silk road

A network of trade routes, formally established during the Han Dynasty of China, which linked the regions of the ancient world in trade

Subsistence farming

A system of agriculture in which a farmer produces only enough food to meet the family’s immediate needs

Tang & Song Dynasties

powerful dynasties helped China experience a Golden Age and created new inventions/technology such as the magnetic compass, paper money, porcelain, and gunpowder

Ten commandments

The commandments summarizing the basic obligations of man towards God and his fellow men, delivered to Moses on Mount Sinai engraved on two tables of stone

Terrace Farming

Agriculture in a flat area of land a steep hillside

Totaltarianism

A system in which a dictatorial government controls all aspects of life, even education, ideas, the economy, music, and art, and citizrns have no individual rights. Stalin in the Soviet Union and Hitler in Nazi Germany imposed totalitarian governments

Tribunes

Elected to protect the interest and rights of the plebeians from the patricians

Twelve tables

The earliest code of roman civil, criminal, and religious law

Upanishads

Any of a class of the sacred books embodying the mystical doctrines of ancient Hindu

Urbanization

The movement of peoples from rural areas to cities in search of jobs and new opprotunities

Westernization

The process of adopting western ways. Peter the Great “westernized” Russia the 18th century and Japan adopted similar policies in the 19th century during the Meiji Restoration

Zheng He

Chinese explorer and military leader during the Ming dynasty