HIST 1111: World History I - Exam 1 Key Terms

Vocabulary flashcards covering all key terms listed for Dr. Todesca's Fall 2026 HIST 1111 World History I First Exam.

Megafaunal extinction

The die-off of large mammal species that coincided with human expansion and climate changes during the transition to the Holocene period.

Neolithic Revolution

The fundamental transition of human societies from hunting and gathering to agriculture and permanent settlement, encompassing pastoralism and the agricultural revolution.

Pastoralism

A branch of agriculture concerned with the raising, herding, and management of livestock during the Neolithic Era.

Agricultural revolution

The key aspect of the Neolithic Revolution involving plant domestication and settled crop farming.

Indo-Europeans

A group of prehistoric populations speaking related languages that migrated across Eurasia, influencing regional cultures and languages.

Semites

A group of ancient Near Eastern peoples who spoke Semitic languages, including the Akkadians, Phoenicians, and Hebrews.

Ziggurat

A massive stepped pyramidal structure built in ancient Mesopotamian city-states as a religious temple complex.

Cuneiform Script

A wedge-shaped writing system developed by ancient Sumerians in Mesopotamia, among the earliest known systems of writing.

Sargon of Akkad

The ancient Mesopotamian ruler who founded the Akkadian Empire by conquering Sumerian city-states.

Hieroglyphs

The formal pictorial writing system used by ancient Egyptians for sacred and official records.

pharaoh

The title given to the divine monarchs who ruled ancient Egypt.

Hammurabi’s Law Code

A comprehensive set of ancient Near Eastern laws issued by King Hammurabi of Babylon, famous for retributive justice principles.

“sea peoples”

A mysterious coalition of seafaring raiders who invaded and disrupted eastern Mediterranean civilizations during the Late Bronze Age.

"Bronze Age Collapse"

The widespread, violent disruption and decline of major Near Eastern and Mediterranean civilizations around 1200 B.C.

Phoenicians - “Purple People”

An ancient seafaring Semitic civilization renowned for maritime trade and nicknamed "Purple People" for their costly purple dye production.

Hittites

An ancient Anatolian Indo-European empire known for iron manufacture and military conflicts in the Bronze Age Near East.

The Assyrians

A powerful ancient Near Eastern empire centered in northern Mesopotamia, characterized by imperial expansion and military power (Wiesner, chap. 2).

Persian Empire

A vast ancient Iranian empire in Southwest Asia created under Achaemenid rule (Wiesner, chap. 2).

Cyrus the Great

The founder of the Achaemenid Persian Empire who conquered Babylon and established a policy of religious tolerance (Wiesner, chap. 2).

Zoroastrianism

An ancient dualistic monotheistic Iranian religion based on the teachings of the prophet Zoroaster (Wiesner, chap. 2).

Minoan Culture

An Aegean Bronze Age civilization centered on Crete, renowned for its palace architecture and art.

Knossos

The main palace complex and political center of Minoan culture on the island of Crete.

Mycenaean Culture

The late Bronze Age Greek civilization on the mainland known for fortified palace citadels.

The Greek Renaissance (Archaic Age), 800-500 B.C.

The period of ancient Greek history from 800 to 500 B.C. marked by political recovery, emergence of the polis, and cultural rebirth.

Homer (Iliad)

The ancient Greek epic poet credited with composing the Iliad, which narrates key events of the Trojan War featuring heroes like Achilles and Hector.

Achilles

The central Greek warrior hero in Homer's Iliad, famous for his military prowess and wrath.

Hector

The Trojan prince and chief army commander featured in Homer's Iliad who was slain by Achilles.

Lyric poetry

A genre of ancient Greek poetry designed to express personal feelings and emotions, often performed with music.

Sappho of Lesbos

An Archaic Greek female lyric poet celebrated for her emotional poetry written on the island of Lesbos.

polis (poleis)

The ancient Greek city-state, which served as the fundamental political, social, and economic organization unit.

oligarchy

A political system in which power and governance are held by a small group of elite or wealthy citizens.

Pan-Hellenic Culture

The shared religious traditions, cultural identity, and athletic contests (such as the Olympics) unifying distinct Greek city-states.

The Peloponnesus

The large southern peninsula of Greece connected to the mainland, containing major city-states like Sparta.

Reforms of Lycurgus in Sparta

The legal and social transformations instituted by the legendary lawgiver Lycurgus that made Sparta an austere military state.

Xenophon

An ancient Greek historian, soldier, and student of Socrates whose writings provide detailed accounts of Spartan society.

homoioi (Spartan equals)

Full Spartan male citizens who held equal political rights and completed the rigorous state training system.

Messenia

The neighboring region conquered by Sparta, whose indigenous inhabitants were reduced to state-owned serfs.

Sparta

A dominant Greek city-state in the Peloponnesus known for its militarized social order and powerful land army.

helots

The subjugated serf population enslaved by Sparta to work agricultural lands in Messenia and Laconia.

hoplites (hoplon)

Heavily armed Greek citizen-infantrymen who fought equipped with a large round shield called a hoplon.

phalanx

A tight rectangular tactical military formation of hoplites carrying overlapping shields and long spears.

Reforms of Solon in Athens (Plutarch)

Early 6th-century B.C. socio-economic reforms introduced in Athens by Solon to abolish debt slavery and broaden civic involvement, recorded by Plutarch.

Council of the Areopagus

An ancient council of elite Athenian elders composed of former archons that held high judicial authority.

boule (Council of 400/500)

The Athenian executive council responsible for setting the agenda for the general assembly, expanded from 400 to 500 members under Cleisthenes.

Cleisthenes

An Athenian statesman credited with reforming the constitution to establish the foundations of Athenian democracy.

ecclesia

The popular assembly of citizens in democratic Athens responsible for voting directly on legislation and policy.

The Persian Wars

A series of conflicts in the early 5th century B.C. between the Achaemenid Persian Empire and allied Greek city-states defending their freedom.

Darius

The King of Persia who launched the first Persian invasion of Greece, ending at the Battle of Marathon.

Xerxes

The Persian King and son of Darius who launched a massive second land-and-sea invasion of Greece.

Ionian Colonies

Greek settlements on the western coast of Asia Minor whose rebellion against Persian rule triggered the Persian Wars.

Battle of Marathon

The 490 B.C. battle where Athenian forces decisively repulsed the invading Persian force sent by King Darius.

Thermopylae

A narrow mountain pass where King Leonidas led 300 Spartans and Greek allies in a heroic delay action against Xerxes' Persian army in 480 B.C.

Herodotus

Ancient Greek historian known as the "Father of History" who recorded the background and events of the Persian Wars.

Themistocles

Athenian general and politician who convinced Athens to build a fleet and orchestrated the Greek naval defeat of Persia.

Ostracism

An Athenian democratic mechanism by which citizens could vote annually to banish a prominent political figure for ten years.

Hubris

Excessive pride or dangerous arrogance that, in Greek thought, invited divine retribution.

Thucydides

An Athenian historian celebrated for his critical, objective history documenting the Peloponnesian War.

Funeral Oration

A famous speech attributed to Pericles in Thucydides' history that commemorated Athenian war dead while praising democracy.

Melian Dialogue

A key passage in Thucydides' history depicting the power debate between Athenian commanders and the neutral islanders of Melos.

Melos

An island state that sought neutrality in the Peloponnesian War but was conquered and subjugated by Athens.

Pericles

A prominent Athenian general and statesman who led Athens during its Golden Age and at the onset of the Peloponnesian War.

rhetoric

The art of effective and persuasive public speaking, vital to civic and legal life in classical Greece.

Delian League/Athenian Empire

An anti-Persian military alliance formed by Greek states that evolved into a hegemonial Athenian empire.

Peloponnesian War

The protracted conflict (431–404 B.C.) between the Athenian Empire and the Spartan-led Peloponnesian League.

Plato

Classical Greek philosopher, student of Socrates, and founder of the Academy who wrote works including Apology, Allegory of the Cave, and Phaedo.

Apology

Plato's dialogue recording Socrates' speech in defense of himself at his trial in Athens.

Allegory of the Cave

A famous philosophical dialogue section from Plato's Republic illustrating human perception, reality, and education.

Phaedo

Plato's dialogue describing the final hours of Socrates and presenting arguments for the immortality of the soul.

Philip II of Macedonia

The King of Macedon who reorganized the Macedonian army, defeated the Greek poleis at Chaeronea, and formed the League of Corinth.

Battle of Chaeronea

The 338 B.C. battle in which Philip II of Macedonia defeated allied Greek forces to establish Macedonian hegemony over Greece.

League of Corinth

A federation of Greek states organized by Philip II of Macedonia to unite Greece for a campaign against Persia.

Alexander the Great

King of Macedonia and son of Philip II who conquered the Persian Empire and established a vast Hellenistic empire.

Ptolemy (Ptolemaic Egypt)

A general of Alexander the Great who founded the Ptolemaic Dynasty ruling Hellenistic Egypt.

Seleucus (Seleucid Persia)

A Macedonian general who founded the Seleucid Empire over Alexander's Asian conquests.

Antigonus (Antigonid Macedonia)

A Macedonian general whose dynasty ruled Macedonia and parts of Greece during the Hellenistic era.

Hellenistic Science

Scientific advances during the Hellenistic era characterized by thinkers such as Euclid, Aristarchus, Eratosthenes, and Archimedes (Wiesner, chapter 5).

Euclid

A Hellenistic mathematician based in Alexandria known as the "Father of Geometry" for compiling the Elements.

Aristarchus

A Hellenistic astronomer who presented the earliest known heliocentric model of the solar system.

Eratosthenes

A Hellenistic scholar and librarian who calculated the circumference of the Earth with remarkable precision.

Archimedes

A Hellenistic mathematician, physicist, and engineer from Syracuse who established foundational principles of hydrostatics and mechanics.

koine

The common dialect of Greek that became the shared language throughout the Mediterranean during the Hellenistic period.

The Riace Bronzes

A pair of full-size classical Greek bronze statues of warriors discovered off the coast of Italy, showcasing mastery in metal sculpture.

Apollonius’ the Boxer

A Hellenistic bronze sculpture depicting a seated, battered boxer that exemplifies realistic artistic expression.

contrapposto

An artistic sculpting technique where a human figure's weight is shifted onto one leg, creating a dynamic, naturalistic pose.