Global History 9 Final Exam Review 2025

Practice flashcards covering the major concepts and vocabulary for the Global History 9 Final Exam Review 2025, including social science definitions, geography, religions, classical civilizations, and transformations of Western Europe.

Anthropologists

Social scientists who study the origin and the physical, social, and cultural development and behavior of humans by examining oral histories and archaeological evidence.

Geographers

Social scientists who study how location and climate influence the way people live.

Economists

Social scientists who study how society answers the questions of what, how, and for whom to produce, exploring issues like resource scarcity.

Archaeologists

Social scientists who study the physical artifacts of a culture.

Political Scientists

Social scientists who study the origin, development, and operation of political systems and public policy.

Sociologists

Social scientists who study society and social behavior by examining groups, cultures, and social institutions.

Historians

Social scientists who research, analyze, and interpret the past.

Primary Source

A document, speech, or evidence created during the time under study, such as a diary, personal letter, or autobiography.

Secondary Source

Accounts written after the fact with the benefit of hindsight, such as textbooks, almanacs, and encyclopedias.

City-States

Small, independent settlements, such as those in ancient Greece, that developed due to mountainous topography.

Irregular Coastline

A geographic feature of Greece and Japan that provided natural harbors and encouraged seafaring trade.

Monsoons

Seasonal winds that affect agricultural productivity in India, Bangladesh, and Southeast Asia.

Bosporus Strait

The strategic waterway where Constantinople was located, giving the Byzantine Empire control of trade routes between Europe and Asia.

Chinampas

Floating gardens built in lakes by the Aztecs to adapt to a shortage of fertile land.

Terrace Farming

An agricultural technique of cutting flat areas into mountainsides used by the Incas and the Japanese.

Archipelago

A country consisting of a chain or group of islands, such as Japan.

Shinto

A nature-based religion in Japan that believes all living and non-living things have a spirit.

Cultural Bridge

The role of the Korean peninsula in functioning as a link for the exchange of ideas between China and Japan.

Neolithic Revolution

A turning point involving the domestication of animals and the cultivation of crops, leading to permanent settlements.

Pharaoh

The ruler of ancient Egypt who was considered both a god and a king.

Hammurabi’s Code

A Mesopotamian legal system known for the principle of an eye for an eye and harsh punishments to keep order.

Cuneiform

The system of writing developed in ancient Mesopotamia.

Monotheism

The belief in one God, first practiced in Judaism by the Hebrews.

Torah

The holy book of Judaism.

Reincarnation

The belief in the rebirth of the soul in a new body, central to Hinduism and Buddhism.

Caste System

The social hierarchy of India where people are born into a class and cannot move out of it during their lifetime.

Nirvana

The Buddhist goal of ending the cycle of death and rebirth.

Four Noble Truths

The Buddhist idea that all of life is suffering caused by selfish desires.

Legalism

A Chinese philosophy based on the idea that humans are evil and harsh punishments are needed to maintain order.

Civil Service System

A Chinese system where government positions were given to skilled people who passed difficult exams.

Silk Road

A $4,000$ mile trade route connecting China in the East to the Mediterranean Sea in the West.

Cultural Diffusion

The exchange of goods and ideas between societies.

Filial Piety

The Confucian teaching that people must honor and respect the elders of their family.

Direct Democracy

A form of government in Athens where all adult male citizens were able to vote on laws.

Hellenistic Culture

A mixture of Greek, Egyptian, Persian, and Indian culture spread by Alexander the Great.

Twelve Tables of Rome

A written set of laws displayed in public that stated rules of behavior for Roman society.

Pax Romana

A $200$ year Golden Age of Rome characterized by peace, extensive trade, and achievements.

Koran (Qu’ran)

The Holy Book of Islam.

Five Pillars

The religious and moral duties required of all Muslims, such as pilgrimage to Mecca and daily prayer.

Bantu Migrations

A large movement of people in Africa over $2,000$ years that spread language, iron technology, and farming techniques.

Mansa Musa

A famous ruler of Mali who spread Islam and turned Timbuktu into a center of learning.

Trans-Saharan Trade

Trade routes across the Sahara desert where West African civilizations traded gold for salt.

Swahili Culture

An East African culture that combined African, Asian, and Islamic elements and spoke a Bantu language with Arabic influences.

Justinian Code

A written system of laws created by the Byzantine Empire based on Roman law.

Feudalism

A decentralized political system of the Middle Ages where land was exchanged for loyalty and military service.

Chivalry

A code of behavior for medieval knights that stressed loyalty and bravery.

Manorialism

The self-sufficient economic system of the Middle Ages based on nobles' estates called manors.

Crusades

Religious wars where European Christians fought to regain control of the Holy Land from Muslims.

Bushido

The code of behavior for Japanese samurai, emphasizing loyalty to the Daimyo and bravery.

Pax Mongolica

A period of peace under Mongol rule that tremendously increased trade and travel between Europe and Asia.

Black Death

A bubonic plague that started in East Asia and killed approximately $25$ million people in Europe during the late Middle Ages.

Suleiman the Magnificent

An Ottoman ruler who improved the justice system, followed Sharia law, and was tolerant of other religions.

Zheng He

A Chinese explorer during the Ming Dynasty who expanded trade and showed the superiority of China.

Humanism

A Renaissance focus on humans and life on earth instead of on God and Heaven.

Niccolo Machiavelli

The author of The Prince who argued that rulers should use any means necessary to stay in power.

Indulgences

Reductions in punishment sold by the Catholic Church that helped spark the Protestant Reformation.

95 Theses

Arguments written by Martin Luther against the sale of indulgences.

Predestination

John Calvin’s belief that God already knows who will be saved and who will be punished.

Encomienda System

A labor system where Native Americans were forced to work on Spanish plantations and in mines.

Mercantilism

The economic theory that colonies exist only to make the Mother Country wealthy.

Middle Passage

The voyage of enslaved people from Africa to the Americas.

Columbian Exchange

The global exchange of people, plants, animals, and ideas between the Old World and the New World.

Divine Right

The belief that absolute monarchs received their power to rule directly from God.

Heliocentric Theory

The idea developed by Copernicus that the planets revolve around the sun.

Natural Rights

John Locke’s idea that all people are entitled to the rights of life, liberty, and property.