HTWH Midterm

Empire

Empire

A group of states or territories controlled by one ruler

Roman Empire

Existed from 27 BCE to about 400 CE. Conquiered entire Mediterranean coast and most of Europe. Ruled by an emperor. Eventually oversaw the rise and spread of Christianity.

Polytheism

Belief in many gods

Monotheism

Belief in one God

Colesseum

a large amphitheater in Rome that held deadly gladiatorial games

Pax Romana

Roman Peace

Western Roman Empire

Branch of the empire with Rome as capital (destroyed in 476 A.D)

Eastern Roman Empire

also known as the Byzantine empire; used mostly Greek language and culture; capital-Constantinople (new Rome); enjoyed benefit of Mediterranean trade;

Constantine

Emperor of Rome who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians (280-337)

Rome

Capital of Italy

Constantinople

City founded as the second capital of the Roman Empire; later became the capital of the Byzantine Empire

Why did the Roman Empire fall?

Disease, corruption, and increased taxes

Byzantine Empire

(330-1453) The eastern half of the Roman Empire, which survived after the fall of the Western Empire at the end of the 5th century C.E. Its capital was Constantinople, named after the Emperor Constantine.

Justinian

Byzantine emperor in the 6th century A.D. who reconquered much of the territory previously ruler by Rome, initiated an ambitious building program , including Hagia Sofia, as well as a new legal code

Theodora

the wife of Justinian, she helped to improve the status of women in the Byzantinian Empire and encouraged her husband to stay in Constntinople and fight the Nike Revolt.

Justinian's Code

Laws of the byzantine empire based the twelve tables of Roman law, became a basis for laws in many European nations

Judaism

A religion with a belief in one god. It originated with Abraham and the Hebrew people. Yahweh was responsible for the world and everything within it. They preserved their early history in the Old Testament.

Christianity

A monotheistic system of beliefs and practices based on the Old Testament and the teachings of Jesus as embodied in the New Testament and emphasizing the role of Jesus as savior.

Feudalism

A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who live on the land

Serf

A person who is bound to the land and owned by the feudal lord

Knight

A man who received honor and land in exchange for serving a lord as a soldier.

Noble

a person of high rank by birth or title

King

highest-ranking leader of a group of people

Pope

Head of the Roman Catholic Church

Vassal

A knight who promised to support a lord in exchange for land

Fief

land granted by a lord to a vassal in exchange for loyalty and service

Islam

A religion based on the teachings of the prophet Mohammed which stresses belief in one god (Allah), Paradise and Hell, and a body of law written in the Quran. Followers are called Muslims.

Byzantine Innovations

Flame thrower, spoon, mosaics, domes, grenades

Muhhamad

Founder of Islam

Sunni

A branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Shi'a

the branch of Islam whose members acknowledge Ali and his descendants as the rightful successors of Muhammad

Abbasid

Dynasty that succeeded the Umayyads as caliphs within Islam; came to power in 750 C.E.

Umayyad

the first dynasty of Arab caliphs whose capital was Damascus

Islamic Golden Age

period of 750 years when islam contributed greatly to med., science, philosophy, and architecture

Mecca

Holy city of Islam

Medina

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

Arabesque

complex, ornate design

Bazzar

A market selling different kinds of goods

Caliph

A supreme political and religious leader in a Muslim government

Mongols

People from Central Asia when united ended up creating the largest single land empire in history.

Nomads

people who wander from place to place, follow food source

Chinggis Khan

Born in 1170s in decades following death of Kabul Khan; elected khagan of all Mongol tribes in 1206; responsible for conquest of northern kingdoms of China, territories as far west as the Abbasid regions; died in 1227, prior to conquest of most of Islamic world.

Temujin

Genghis Khan's real name

Khanate

regional Mongol empires that arose following the death of Chinggis Khan

Types of Government

Democracy, Monarchy, Dictatorship, Oligarchy, Theocracy

Sparta

Greek city-state that was ruled by an oligarchy, focused on military, used slaves for agriculture, discouraged the arts, worshiped Ares

Athens

A democratic Greek polis who accomplished many cultural achievements, and who were constantly at war with Sparta, worshiped Athena

Erastosthenes

This ancient scholar calculated the circumference of the earth using shadows, described it as a sphere

Origin story

a story in which an explanation of how something came to be is given, used to create laws/rules in societies

Zeus

King of the gods

City state

a city that with its surrounding territory forms an independent state

Polis

Greek city-state

Acropolis

Highest part of the polis, could be closer to the gods, used for religious purposes, government meetings

Agora

a public open space used for assemblies and markets

Greece location

Europe, Rocky & steep terrain, mountains kept city states isolated from each other, peninsula

Polytheistic

Belief in many gods

Hinduism

A religion and philosophy developed in ancient India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and a supreme being who takes many forms

Chief gods of Hinduism

Brahma (creator), Vishnu (preserver), Shiva (destroyer)

Vedas

Ancient Sanskrit writings that are the earliest sacred texts of Hinduism

Origin of Hinduism

Indus River Valley

Brahman

A single spiritual power that Hindus believe lives in everything

Caste System

A Hindu social class system that controlled every aspect of daily life, no social mobility

2 lowest parts of the Caste system

Sudra (common people) and Dalit (untouchables)

Karma

The belief that actions in this life, whether good or bad, will decide your place in the next life

Dharma

a person's religious and moral duties

Henotheistic

the worship of one god without denying the existence of other gods

Brahmin

the highest of the four classes of the caste system, traditionally made up of priests

Rama

Incarnation of Hindu god Vishnu made famous in the Ramayana

Ramanyana

An epic poem that had a decisive influence in shaping the Indian civilization, It tells the story of a prince on a journey to save his princess who was captured by the evil king

Moksha

Becoming liberated for the cycle of reincarnation in Hinduism, final peace

Moksha potam

board game that represents moving up in the caste system to reach moksha, reincarnation through karma

Buddhism

the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth

Siddhartha Gautama

The prince who is said to have founded Buddhism

The Buddha

Means "Enlightened One," he is said to have found a path for overcoming suffering

The 4 Noble truths

Core of Buddha's doctrine; all life involves suffering, desire is the cause of suffering, elimination of desire brings the end to suffering, and disciplined life conducted in accordance with the Eightfold Path brings elimination of desire

Nirvana

a condition of great peace or happiness

Eightfold Path

In Buddhism, the basic rules of behavior and belief leading to an end of suffering

the Edicts of Ashoka

A moral code created by Ashoka of the Muaryan dynasty in India related to public welfare and foster just government

Ashoka

Leader of the Mauryan dynasty of India who conquered most of India but eventually gave up violence and converted to Buddhism, guilt

Year Hinduism began

pre- 18th century

Year Buddhism began

6th century BCE

Sanskrit

First written language of India, Indus River Valley

Confucious

A Chinese philosopher of the Zhou Dynasty, developed a code of behavior based on old traditions, good behavior, and truth

Confucianism

The system of ethics, education, and statesmanship taught by Confucius and his disciples, stressing love for humanity, ancestor worship, reverence for parents, and harmony in thought and conduct

Han Dynasty

imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 and expanded its boundaries and developed its bureaucracy, Confucious, gov. positions based on merit

Zhou Dynasty

A decentralized Chinese dynasty in China because of the massive size, and whose emperor was the first to claim to be a link between heaven and earth. Iron metallurgy increased in this dynasty

Qin Dynasty

(221-207 BCE) The first centralized dynasty of China that used Legalism as its base of belief

Legalism

the belief that people were bad by nature and needed to be controlled through fear

Han Feizi

Chinese philosopher who promoted Legalism as governing paradigm

5 constant relationships

used as a general rule of respect, such as parent-child or ruler-subject

Prehistory

the period of time before written records

Old Stone Age

Paleolithic Age

New Stone Age

Neolithic Age

Agricultural Evolution

transition from a hunter-gatherer lifestyle to an agricultural way of life

Domestication

the process of changing plants or animals to make them more useful to humans

Mesopotamia

Land between two rivers, fertile soil made easy farming and irrigation systems

Hammurabi

He was the first person to write down a legal code in early Babylon that gave punishment based on crime and social status

Location

the position that something occupies on Earth's surface

Place

a particular position or point in space

Region

An area distinguished by a unique combination of trends or features