Studied by 0 peopleBabylon
capital city of the Babylonian Empire; located in Mesopotamia
Maat
Cosmic harmony (egyptian ideal)
Pharaohs
Rulers in ancient egypt
Abraham
father of Isaac; father of many nations; 12 tribes of Israel descended from him
Moses
the prophet who parted the Red Sea and led the Israelites out of Egypt; received God's law (10 commandments or Torah) on
Torah
the law, or 10 commandments, given to Moses
Jerusalem
King Solomon built the First Temple here; Israelite capital; first center of the Christian church
Polis
Greek city-states or civic communities
Hoplites
spear-armed Greek citizen-soldiers; they afforded the rise of tyrants
Tyrants
cruel rulers who seized power unconstitutionally
Sparta
Greek city that valued a military society; Spartans trained in armed camps; was a rigorous and unequal system; helots= communal slaves that did field labor while the Spartans were training
Athens
Greek city that valued a democratic society
Democracy
the participation or rule of the whole demos (the people) through large assemblies and political appointments chosen by lot
Socrates
the Athenian philosopher who was skeptical of democracy (he saw it as rule by the unreasoning and ignorant masses) and put to death
Alexander the Great
the great conqueror who took Hellenistic culture to the edges of the known world
Karma
negative consequences through the cycle of rebirth (reincarnation); occurs when the soul acts egotistically
Dharma
Duty; righteousness
Moksha
achieving enlightenment and liberation from the cycle of reincarnation
Reincarnation
the cycle of rebirth; the soul is reincarnated in another body
Vedas
sacred Hindu scriptures; devout Hindus seek to achieve moksha through the practice of rituals recorded here
Gautama Buddha
he founder of Buddhism; he taught a way to moksha (liberation) through the Four Noble Truths; also the personal name of Buddha
Yin and yang
duality, opposites; yang= masculine, active, light, dry, summer, order; yin= feminine, dark, wet, winter, chaos; the tension between these two creates the universe; philosophical interpretations of cosmos often center on their appearance
Confucianism and Confucius
believes that the moral order of heaven is shown on earth through the institution of rites, overseen by the patriarchal structures of society and family; righteousness consists of fulfilling duties; sages like Confucius/Kongzi and Mencius/Mengzi
Daoism
teaches freedom and spontaneity of the order of nature; going with the flow; Laozi and Zhuangzi
Mandate of Heaven
the God-given right to rule; the Zhou monarchs acted on this right; they believed that if a dynasty ruled tyrannically, Heaven could transfer the Mandate
Qin Shi Huang
declared himself emperor (Huangdi or "Divine Ruler"); he united China (the seven Warring States) and was the founder of the Qin Dynasty
Republic
a form of government that divided the power of the king between two consuls elected annually
Patricians
wealthy, aristocratic; claimed to be descendants of Romulus's original Senators; about fifty families that dominated the early Roman republic
Plebeians
common people; couldn't become priests, senators, consuls, etc., until they won these rights through a series of secessions, as well as representation through the office of tribune
Punic wars
a series of Roman conflicts with Carthage that ended in Roman dominance of the Mediterranean
Hellenism
Greek culture (this influenced Roman culture)
Julius Caesar
named "dictator for life"; formed the First Triumvirate, an alliance with Crassus and Pompey; defeated Pompey after Crassus's death; embarked on a series of populist reforms
Brutus and Cassius
Caesar's opponents and assassins; they committed suicide after military defeat
Octavian/Caesar Augustus
Caesar's great-nephew and heir; formed the Second Triumvirate to defeat Caesar's assassins; established the Principate (a line of emperors who adopted the title augustus); became the first Roman emperor; initiated the Pax Romana
Pax Romana
the Roman golden age; a time of peace; the two centuries that followed the rise of Caesar Augustus
Constantine the great
first Roman emperor to convert to Christianity; moved capital to Constantinople; Rome was reunited for a while under his rule
Constantinople
the capital city of the Greek-speaking eastern empire known as Byzantine
Jesus Christ
born to the Virgin Mary; Jewish workman of Galilee; baptized by John the Baptist (wilderness preacher); the Son of God; he took on flesh, was crucified, died, and resurrected three days later; his ministry involved healing, casting out demons, and teaching (famous Sermon on the Mount)
Virgin Mary
Mother of Jesus
Apostles
followers of Jesus who believed that he was the promised Messiah or Christ (means anointed one); the 12 disciples
Pentecost
Jesus ascended into heaven to sit at the right hand of God, but he sent the Holy Spirit at Pentecost to formthe church (ekklesia or "assembly") of his people
Gospels
four biographies of Jesus; heart of teaching summarized in Apostles' Creed
Trinity
though one in essence, God is three persons (hypostases); he's the Father, the Son, who is eternally begotten by the Father as His Trinity express image, and the Holy Spirit, the living love of the Father and Son; the three persons are indivisible and equal in divinity
Incarnation
Jesus is the true human, the Son and saving Messiah through incarnation; he's both human and God, possessing both natures fully
Eucharist
he Christian rite of Thanksgiving; also called the Lord's Supper or Communion, in which Christians eat bread and drink wine identified with the body and blood of Christ
Bishops
overseers that were given leadership over the Church
Ecumenical councils
they brought together bishops from across the Christian world to decide important issues on doctrine and practice, especially to identify and denounce heresy
Heresy
False teaching
Pope
Roman bishops
Martyrs
people who died for their faith; them and their remains (relics) were honored and believed to work miracles
Monasticism
a movement that began in which men and women renounced worldly possessions and ambitions to live a life, heresy false teaching Pope Roman bishops
Anthony the great
he fled civilization to battle demons in the desert; he inspired others to live a monastic life
Augustine of hippo
the North African bishop that insisted in his book "City of God" that the church was spiritual and could not be identified with worldly empires; he was one of the most influential theologians of all time
Rule of St Benedict
this prescribed a balanced communal life of work and prayer; the monks of Benedict of Nursia's monastic order
Gregory the great
a monk who became one of the greatest popes in history; the Romans favored him (he was their leader); he sent missionaries to foreign lands
Justinian
the greatest emperor of the Byzantine Empire; he tried to reconquer the West, and partially succeeded, but stretched his empire's resources; his
Axum
this empire, which adopted Greek as a trade language, converted to Christianity under King Ezana; their most powerful king, Kaleb, conquered much of Yemen
Anglo-saxons
the pagans who conquered England; missions from Rome, sent by Pope Gregory the Great, converted them
Muhammad
the final prophet of God, or the seal of the prophets; he was an Arab from Mecca who received revelations from God through the angel Gabriel; he preached full submission (islam) to the One God (he founded islam)
Mecca
the holy city that Muhammad was from; Muhammad, along with an army, conquered this city
Medina
Muhammad and his followers migrated here because they were being persecuted in Mecca; this event is known as the Hijra and is the starting date of the Islamic calendar
Quran
the primary sacred scripture of Islam; a collection of Muhammad's direct revelations
Sharia
divine law; the various sayings of Muhammad and his immediate followers, the hadith, are a secondary source of this
Hajj
means pilgrimage (to Mecca); one of the Five Pillars of Islamic practice taught by Muhammad
Caliphs
means successors; after Muhammad's death, leadership of the ummah was given to them
Rashidun
means rightly-guided; describes the first four caliphs that were given leadership after Muhammad's death; they fought a series of wars and led wildly successful conquests, taking over all of Mesopotamia, Persia, Egypt, and beyond; after Uthman's (the third Rashidun's) death, civil war broke out
Ali
Muhammad's relative (cousin); the first Fitna (civil war) broke out between him and Mu'awiya (governor of Syria); he was the
Battle of Karbala
when Ali was assassinated, and the armies of Mu'awiya's son Yazid killed Ali's last son Husayn
Shia
the loyalists of Ali's family; the minority branch of Islam; they believe that Muhammad's succession is not through the caliphate but through a series of divinely-appointed teachers, the Imams
Sunni
all the other Muslims that reject the Shia teaching; make up the majority branch
Umayyad Caliphate
this was Mu'awiya's (the governor of Syria's) caliphate; its capital was located in Damascus in Syria, and it was named after Mu'awiya's tribe; the Umayyads ruled one of the largest empires in history; the rulers were Muslim Arab chieftains, but most of its population was Christian (they had to pay a head-tax or jizya); this caliphate collapsed during the Abbasid rebellion
Abbasid Caliphate
this was established by the Abbasids after their rebellion against the Umayyad Caliphate, which caused it to collapse; Iraq was the heart of this caliphate, and Harun al-Rashid was the most famous and powerful of its caliphs
Baghdad
the capital city of the Abbasid Caliphate; the House of Wisdom was built here
Taizong
this was the Li Yuan's (the Duke of Tang's) son; he was considered by some to have been the greatest emperor in Chinese history; he reformed the Chinese state into a meritocracy; civil servants were expected to pass an imperial exam; it also sponsored the growth of Buddhism; Chinese art and literature flourished
Wu Zetian
Taizong's daughter-in-law and former concubine who, after his death, rapidly acquired supreme power, first through her husband and eventually by declaring herself emperor (first and only female Chinese emperor)
Kublai Khan
he was a Mongol that founded the Yuan Dynasty, establishing his capital Khanbaliq in the north; he also completed the conquest of China
Beijing
the great capital city of the Ming that Khanbaliq was turned into after the Mongols were overthrown
Shinto
According to this traditional religion, japan was created by the kami(gods or spirits); the emperor was descended from the sun-goddess Amaterasu and originally established his reign in Yamato on Honshu
Taika Reforms
the rise of the Fujiwara clan led to this; they were an attempt to reform Japanese politics and culture under the influence of Confucianism and Tang Dynasty China; they also centralized power under the emperor
Kyoto
this was previously known as Heian-kyo, the peace-capital of Japan; when the capital was moved from Nara to here, the Heian Period was initiated (the central power of the emperor declined and Chinese relations grew distant)
Shogun
shōguns were hereditary military leaders; after the Genpei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo became the Japanese shōgun, presiding from the family home of Kamakura; he favored the samurai during his military administration
Feathered serpent
this was one of the most important gods across Mesoamerica; he was the god of wisdom and light
Smoking mirror
this was Feathered Serpent's rival in Aztec lore; he was the god of the night and magical power
Maize
corn; this was Mesoamerica's staple crop; the rain-god was necessary for its cultivation
Calendar round
Mesoamerican people used an annual calendar (365 days) and a ritual, or sacred, calendar (260 days) in conjunction, creating this 52-year cycle of unique dates
Human sacrifice
this was a type of blood-sacrifice that had been a feature of Mesoamerican culture since Olmec times; blood was a sacred element that could be fed to the gods; (human) victims were usually slaves, children, or pow; the Aztecs believed that Left-Side Hummingbird (their patron god) was strengthened by the blood of sacrificial victims while in war; if he wasn't fed, the sun would go dark
Tenochtitlan
the Aztecs (Mexica) migrated into Mesoamerica and were directed by Left-Side Hummingbird to settle on an island in Lake Texcoco, where they built this great city; it served as the heart of the Aztec Empire (who ruled the Valley of Mexico until they were conquered)
Merovingian
King Clovis the Merovingian united the Franks at the beginning of the sixth century; he also converted to Catholic Christianity under the influence of his wife, Clotilde
Charles Martel
the mayors of the palace eventually eclipsed the Merovingian kings in authority and, with the support of the Popes, took over the title of king; Charles Martel was
Charlemagne
also known as Charles the Great, he was the greatest figure of the new Carolingian Dynasty; his conquests united most of western and central Europe; he oversaw the Carolingian Renaissance, a time of literary and cultural accomplishment and the advance of education; he was also crowned first HRE by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day
Holy Roman
Charlemagne was crowned first Holy Roman Emperor by Pope Leo III on Christmas Day in the year 800
Capetian dynasty
they were given the throne of the western portion of Charlemagne's empire, later known as France
Otto the great
Henry the Fowler's son; he defeated the Magyars, conquered Italy, and became Holy Roman Emperor; he cultivated close ties with both Rome and Constantinople, and his sponsorship of learning initiated the Ottonian Renaissance
Manorialism
the complex Frankish system by which knights received large landed estates (fiefs) from noble patrons such as kings in return for their fealty (personal allegiance), becoming lords of the manor; peasants worked these estates, and those known as serfs were bound to the land
Crop rotation
during the post-Carolingian period, farmers transitioned from crop rotation with two fields to a more efficient three-field system; this and other
Norse
also known as the Vikings, they were the Germanic people of Scandinavia; they engaged in seagoing exploration, raiding, and settlement on a large scale; Europe's wealth fell prey to plunderers who traveled across the North Sea and as far as the Mediterranean; after the Sack of Lindisfarne, they made incursions against the Carolingian empire
(Sack of) lindisfarne
one of the first known attacks of the Vikings were on the Celtic Christian abbeys of Lindisfarne
Alfred the Great
the Anglo-Saxon king that halted Viking conquests in England through an agreement to divide England between the Anglo-Saxons and the Viking-ruled Danelaw
William the conqueror
the descendant of Rollo, the Viking warlord; William laid claim to the throne of England and conquered it in 1066
Kievan Rus
the state established by the Viking migrants known as the Rus'; it was centered on the Norse cities of Novgorod and Kiev
Note
Flashcard