World History 1010 Bian Exam 1

primary tradition

traditions that are primary bc they took shape first and is more important/enduring

secondary tradition

tradition that takes place after primary, less important/enduring

defining moment

period bw 500 BC and 500 CE when major civilizations developed their defining or distinguishing characteristics

creative minorities

political, intellectual, religious leaders/thinkers who helped shape and define their civilizations during defining moment

resource endowments

total means w/in a given geographical and ecological environment that are available for the development of human society

• natural resources
• intellectual and institutional resources

civilization

form of human culture characterized by the existence of cities, a distinct religious structure, a new political structure, a new social structure, and writing

bureaucracy

administration of gov't chiefly through bureaus or departments staffed w nonelected or appointed officials // a type of human society characterized by the existence and dominance by such a bureaucracy

mesopotamia

"land between the two rivers"

Tigris

A river in southwestern Asia that flows through the eastern part of the Fertile Crescent

Euphrates

A river in southwestern Asia that flows through the southern part of the Fertile Crescent.

sumerians

The people who dominated southern Mesopotamia through the end of the third millennium B.C.E. They were responsible for the creation of many fundamental elements of Mesopotamian culture-such as irrigation technology, cuneiform, and religious conceptions.

city-states

Different sections of land owned by the same country but ruled by different rulers

sargon

leader of the Akkadians, created the first regional empire in Mesopotamia ~2340 BC

akkadian empire

began in 2350 BCE when Sargon began conquering Sumerian cities. The empire was the first to unite city-states under a single ruler and ruled for 200 years.

empire

political unit having an extensive territory // the territory that includes such a unit

code of hammurabi

1750 BC, most extensive and complete Mesopotamian law code

• penal law prescribed death penalties for crimes such as murder, civil law provided regulations on prices, wages, and commercial transactions

• marked the transition of Mesopotamian society from one governed primarily by customs and conventions to one governed primarily by bureaucratic laws

cuneiform

system of writing. created by sumerian ~3000 BC, used reed styluses to make wedge shaped impressions on tablets

medes

ancient Iranian ppl who lived in the Northwestern portions of present day Iran, Kurds' ancestors

persians

ancient Iranian ppl who lived in present day Iran, used persian language, mother tongue

achaemenid dynasty

one of four dynasties under the persian empire, descended from Cyrus the Achaemend, formed the primary traditions of the Persian civilization

dynasty

sequence/succession of rulers from the same family

cyrus

founder and first king of the first Achaemend

darius

kinsman of Cyrus, made important contribution to formation of the primary political tradition of Persian civilization characterized by administrative centralization

• efforts to establish effective lines of communication across empire
• constructed a new capital at Persepolis
• appointed governors to serve as agents and oversee different provinces

centralize

to bring under a single, central authority, refers to process of bringing administrative power under a single, central, and typically imperial authority

Persepolis

capital of the Persian Empire, built by Darius

Satrapy

province of Persian Empire

satrap

provincial governor of Persian Empire

Zoroaster

6th cent. BC, founder of Zoroastrianism

Ahura Mazda

Zoroastrian supreme deity, eternal, benevolent, creator of everything good

Angra Mainyu

Zoroastrian evil, destructive spirit

Zoroastrianism

early monotheistic religion (ish) believed that following a cosmic conflict, Ahura maza's forces of good would prevail and Angra Mainyu and the principle of evil would disappear forever

monotheism

belief that there is only one god

magi

a zoroastrian class of priests that maintained calendars, taught zoroastrian values, and doctrine, and committed it to writing (Avesta)

Avesta

scripture of Zoroastrianism

Bedouins

arabic-speaking nomadic peoples who organized themselves into tribal groups which depended heavily on networks for support in times of need

Mecca

City in western Arabia, birthplace of the Prophet Muhammad, and ritual center of the Islamic religion

Khadija

Muhammad's wife and first convert to Islam

Quran

the word of God revealed through Prophet Muhammad

Allah

God of Islam

Muhammad

the Arab prophet who founded Islam (570-632)

Islam

submission to the will of Allah

Muslim

one who submits (to the will of Allah)

Ka'ba

cubic stone structure that houses the Black Rock

Medina

City in western Arabia to which the Prophet Muhammad and his followers emigrated in 622 to escape persecution in Mecca

Umma

"community of the faithful": refers to the whole community of Muslims bound together by ties of religion

theocracy

form of gov't in which official policy is governed by immediate divine guidance or by officials who are regarded as divinely guided, no strict separation bw church and state

hajj

pilgrimage to the Ka'ba in Mecca

caliph

"deputy": a leader of Islamic Policy, regarded as Muhammad's successor and by tradition always male

Abu Bakr

first Caliph, wealthy merchant from Mecca

Umayyad dynasty

descended from Umayya and were a clan separate from prophet Muhammad's in the Quarish/Quraysh tribe, created the First Islamic Empire

• capitol Damascus, central location helped maintain communication across the expanding parts of the empire

• ruled as conquerors

• taxed those who did not convert to Islam

Abbasid Dynasty

founded by Abu Abbas

• cosmopolitan
• not a conquest dynasty
• relied heavily on earlier Persian techniques of state-craft by relying on central administrative bureaucracy
• capital Baghdad

Abu-al-Abbas

founder of the Abbasid dynasty

Baghdad

capital of Abbasid dynasty

Ulama

community leaders of learned scholars, people with religious knowledge, important w/in local communities

Revealed Knowledge

Quran, Hadith, Sharia

Hadith

sayings and doings of prophet Muhammad

Sharia

Islamic law, extracted from Quran and Hadith and codified into law

rational knowledge

• gained through experiments, observation, or rational analysis
• dealt w science, technology, humanities, arts of gov't
• drawn from Persian, Indian, and Greek sources along w the expansion of the Islamic Empire and subsequently translated into Arabic and other languages

arabic numerals

descended from Hindu-Arabic numeral system developed by Indian mathematicians, which were adopted by Persian mathematics in India, and passed to the Arabs further West

from there, they were transmitted to Europe in the Middle ages

mystical knowledge

sufism/mysticism: belief in intuitive spiritual revelation, the belief that personal communication or union w the divine is achieved through intuition, faith, or sudden insight rather than through rational thought

sufi

transmitter of mystical knowledge, one who believes in sufism, serves as a saint in Islamic society

madrasa

building used for teaching Islamic theology and religious law, typically includes library and a mosque

• college or educational institution
• came into being as a center for legal studies during the 11th and 12th cent.

sunnis Muslims

believed that the first 3 caliphs were all legitimate successors of prophet Muhammad and that guidance on belief and life should come from Quran, not from a human authority or spiritual leader

shiite Muslims

believed Ali, cousin and son in law of Muhammad, should be first Caliph

• faction began as a movement of political opposition to early successors of Muhammad
• claimed that the only legitimate successors to the Prophet were the descendants of Ali

Ali

cousin and son-in-law to Muhammad and fourth caliph, considered to be the first caliph by Shiite Muslims

grand vizier

the Ottoman sultan's chief minister who carried the main burdens of the state and who led the council meetings

military patronage state

State structured as a vast military institution

• all state functions absorbed into royal military household

• bureaucrats and religious functionaries w/in royal military household were ranked and paid like the military elite

Ottoman Empire

Islamic state founded by Osman in northwestern Anatolia after the fall of the Byzantine Empire, capital Bursa

Anatolia

A large peninsula at the western edge of Asia where the Ottoman Empire was based

Seljuk Turks

• first to inhabit and dominate Anatolia and establish a dynasty
• consolidated power at the expense of the Byzantine Empire
• suffered defeat from the Mongols

Osman Gazi

Turkish leader able to defeat Byzantine Empire and emirates, founded the Ottoman Empire

emirates

territory ruled by an emir: chieftan/prince

Bursa

capital of the Ottoman Empire

Ottoman Dynasty

dynasty founded by Turkic-speaking people who advanced into Asia Minor during the 14th century, the most powerful Islamic empire in history, lasted until the early twentieth century.

sultan

head of military patronage state // ruler of a muslim country

Topkapi palace

Political headquarters of the Ottoman Empire, located in Istanbul, constructed 6 years after the fall of Constantinople

Harem

house or section of a house reserved for women members of a muslim household

Mehmed the Conqueror

brought the final collapse of the Byzantine Empire, created the Law of Fratricide

Law of Fratricide

whenever a successor took the throne, he would execute all his brothers/nephews/competitors except ONE

Sultan Murad

Ottoman leader who started the military recruitment of slaves (Janissaries)

devshirme

the recruitment and training system under the Ottoman Empire

• required each province to furnish a levy of christian boys raised as Muslims and became soldiers in the ottoman army or officials in the Ottoman Bureaucracy

divan

Imperial council that advised the sultan during the Ottoman Empire

• state affairs were discussed and the business of running the Empire was carried out
• consisted of grand viziers and other leading officials
• met weekly to deliberate on the political, administrative, and religious affairs of the state

Crete

A Greek island in the Mediterranean Sea, southeast of Greece

Arthur Evans

archaeologist that discovered Minoan civilization on Crete

Minoan Civilization

characterized by

• existence of monumental architecture at Knossos
• lack of protective fortifications
• Cretans were great traders and merchants

suffered a sudden and catastrophic collapse around 1450 BC

Knossos

city in Crete

Mycenaean Civilization

"Mycenae": fortified site first excavated by German archaeologist, Schliemann

• located on the Peloponneseus Peninsular

• adopted the linear A script of Crete and transformed it into linear B

Schliemann

German archaeologist who discovered the Mycenae's fortified citadel

Dark Age

period bw 1200 - 700

• characterized by constant internal warfare and political, economic, and social depression
• period of sustained systemic crisis
• little to no artifacts, ruins, or other traces remain

polis

emerged by the 8th cent. as a fundamental institution // small but autonomous political unit in which all major political, social, and religious activities were carried out at one central location

chief Archon Solon

• allowed aristocrats to keep their lands
• cancelled debts, forbade debt slavery, and liberated current debt slaves
• his reforms established a basic framework for a resolution of Athens's social tensions and class conflict

tyrant

ruler who came to power in an unconstitutional way and was not subject to law

Cleisthenes

-resisted the attempt to reestablish an aristocratic oligarchy

• undertook reforms which established the base for democracy

democracy

gov't by the ppl, exercised directly or through representatives

aristocracy

gov't by a ruling class, especially hereditary nobility

oligarchy

gov't by a few, especially a small faction of persons or families

monarchy

gov't by a monarch, ruler of a state

tyranny

gov't in which a single ruler is vested w absolute power and authority

anarchy

no gov't, absence of any form of political authority

constitutional gov't

gov't whose power is defined and limited by law