History Final Exam 9nth Grade

Babylon

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