Classical Empires (600 B.C.E. - 600 C.E.) Vocabulary

Vocabulary flashcards covering the key terms, figures, governance structures, and historical achievements of Classical Empires (600 B.C.E. - 600 C.E.) including the Qin, Han, Maurya, Persian, Greek, and Roman civilizations.

Classical Empire

A historical empire (600 B.C.E.–600 C.E.) that established enduring patterns for government, philosophy, religion, art, and science for future civilizations.

Shi Huangdi

The ruler who abolished feudalism between 221 B.C.E. and 207 B.C.E., declared himself first emperor, and established a strong centralized state in China during the Qin Dynasty.

Mandate of Heaven

The Chinese concept of divine right stating that rebellion against unjust rulers was justified and that victors of rebellion were chosen by the gods.

Dynastic Cycle

A six-step pattern in Chinese history detailing the rise, decline, disasters, loss of divine approval, overthrow, and restoration of peace under a new dynasty.

Legalism

A classic school of Chinese philosophy of law and administration holding that an orderly society is achievable only through strict laws and harsh punishments.

Han Fei Tzu

A Chinese Legalist philosopher ($280\text{--}233\text{ BCE}$) who taught that unenforced penalties and unrespected laws endanger a ruler's actions and allow evil to persist.

Great Wall

A monumental Qin Dynasty architecture structure made of rammed earth and local stones, built by civilians, soldiers, and convicts, estimated at $5,000\text{ km}$ ($3,107\text{ miles}$) long.

Henotheism

A religious structure found in Hinduism where followers worship a single deity, Brahman, while recognizing other gods and goddesses.

Samsara

The Hindu doctrine of the continuous cycle of life, death, and reincarnation.

Karma

The universal law of cause and effect recognized in both Hinduism and Buddhism.

Nirvana

The spiritual echelon in Buddhism representing a state of inner peace, wisdom, and enlightenment.

Chandragupta Maurya

The founder of the Maurya Empire ($321\text{ BCE}\text{--}185\text{ BCE}$) who maintained order through a well-organized bureaucracy, harsh punishments, tax farming, and a secret police force.

Ashoka

The grandson of Chandragupta Maurya who converted to Buddhism after the bloody Kalinga War, abolished slavery, stopped animal sacrifices, and made Buddhism the state religion around $260\text{ B.C.E.}$

Rock and Pillar Edicts

Inscriptions of laws, policies, and Buddhist beliefs posted throughout the Maurya Dynasty to keep the public informed and united under Ashoka.

Stupas

A prominent form of Buddhist architectural structures that spread across India and Southeast Asia during the Maurya period.

Direct Democracy

A political system developed in 5th Century B.C.E. Athens where citizens served in an assembly and cast votes on decisions using stones.

The Republic

Plato's philosophical work describing an ideal state protected by a philosopher king to prevent mob rule caused by excessive democracy.

Oligarchy

A system of government used in militarized Sparta, where power was concentrated in the hands of a small group, resting on rampant slavery of the Helots.

Zoroastrianism

A monotheistic religion endorsed and spread by the Persian Empire.

Cyrus Cylinder

An ancient clay cylinder written in Akkadian cuneiform declaring Cyrus the Great's chosen status by the god Marduk to restore peace and repatriate displaced peoples.

Naqsh-e Rostam

An archaeological necropolis located $12\text{ km}$ northwest of Persepolis featuring Iranian rock reliefs and tombs of Achaemenid kings, including Darius the Great and Xerxes.

Satraps

Lesser kings appointed by Persian Emperors to govern divided provinces, allowed to maintain local customs, languages, and religions provided they paid tribute.

Royal Road

A major Persian transport route that boosted trade and facilitated a imperial postal service across the empire.

Delian League

An alliance led by Athens that forced coastal Greek city-states to pay funds to rebuild Athens, triggering tension with Sparta.

Peloponnesian League

A military alliance created by Sparta to counter Athenian power, leading to the Peloponnesian War ($431\text{ BCE}\text{--}404\text{ BCE}$).

Hellenistic Age

The period ($323\text{--}32\text{ BCE}$) following Alexander the Great's death during which Greek culture and influence spread across the ancient world, centered in Alexandria, Egypt.

Roman Republic

A representative democracy ($509\text{ BCE}\text{--}27\text{ CE}$) based on the principle that no single individual should gain complete political power.

Patricians

The landowning upper class of Rome that comprised the 300-member Senate and dominated early Roman government.

Plebeians

The majority Roman population consisting of farmers, merchants, and artisans represented by elected tribunes.

12 Tables

Rome's written public legal code establishing principles such as innocence until proven guilty, the right to face accusers, and evidence-based guilt.

Augustus

The title given to Octavian in $27\text{ B.C.E.}$ when he became the first emperor of Rome, initiating the Roman Empire.

Pax Romana

A 200-year era of relative peace during which the Roman Empire expanded to an estimated $70\text{ million}$ people and promoted widespread cultural diffusion.

Edict of Milan

A late Roman imperial decree that ended the official persecution of Christians and facilitated Christianity's status as the state belief system.

Bread and Circuses

A Roman state policy of distributing free grain and staging public entertainments like gladiator matches to pacify urban masses and mask economic inequality.

Confucianism

The official state philosophy of the Han Dynasty ($206\text{ BCE}\text{--}220\text{ CE}$), focused on maintaining social order and proper administrative governance.

Civil-Service Exam

A meritocratic test system based on Confucian principles used by Chinese dynasties to select educated state bureaucrats regardless of family origin.

Pax Sinica

A 400-year era of peace, economic growth, and population expansion in China under Han Dynasty rule.

Yellow Turban Rebellion

A massive peasant uprising in $126\text{ C.E.}$ triggered by over-taxation and linked to secret Daoist societies, severely destabilizing the Han Dynasty.