World History Semester 1 - Study Guide
UNIT SUMMARIES
World Religions: The 5 major World Religions, their roots, and central beliefs.
Foundations of Civilization: The easiest ancient civilizations and how they were governed and formed.
Silk Roads: Ways and things people traded along the trading network known as the Silk Road.
Encounter and Exchange: Different societies from different continents encounter each other for the first time.
*European Revolutions: The 5 major European revolutions and how they affected European nations and governments.
Unit 1 - World Religions
Monotheistic Religions
The three major monotheistic religions are Christianity, Islam, and Judaism.
Christianity:
Monotheistic religion believes in God the creator of the heavens and earth.
Holy Trinity: The father (God), the son (Jesus), and the holy spirit.
Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah, son of the Virgin Mary, was crucified and then resurrected 3 days later, + his 12 disciples.
Ten commandments: 1. You shall have no other gods before Me. 2. You shall make no idols. 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 4. Keep the Sabbath day holy. 5. Honor your father and your mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet.
Paul: Responsible for writing most of the next testament. (13 chapters)
Holy Bible: Central religious Text, Old Testament (Hebrew Bible), and New Testament (After Jesus was born).
Judaism:
Monotheistic religion believes in God the creator of the heavens and earth.
The Covenant: A promise between God and Abraham that if he obeyed God, then God would protect his descendants.
Moses: Led the Israelites out of slavery.
*Abraham: Commanded to sacrifice his son but was told by God to stop, became the Father/Leader of the Jews.
Ten commandments: 1. You shall have no other gods before Me. 2. You shall make no idols. 3. You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 4. Keep the Sabbath day holy. 5. Honor your father and your mother. 6. You shall not murder. 7. You shall not commit adultery. 8. You shall not steal. 9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor. 10. You shall not covet.
Canaan: Land given to the Israelites by God.
Torah and the Hebrew Bible: The Torah is the first 5 books of the Hebrew Bible (Written by Moses), The Hebrew Bible is the central religious text.
Islam:
Monotheistic religion believes in Allah the creator of the heavens and earth.
Sunna: Best model for proper living in the name of Allah. (Muhammadâs example)
*Muhammad: The last Islamic prophet and the messenger of Allah.
It is disrespectful to have pictures of religious figures because Allah is much more than imagination can depict.
5 Pillars of Faith: Faith, Prayer (5 times a day facing towards Mecca), Pilgrimage (Traveling yearly to Mecca to see Kaaba), Alms (Giving back), and Fasting (Dawn-Sunset during Ramadan).
Imam: Religious Islamic leader.
Qurâan: Central religious text, from the perspective of Allah talking to the Muslims.
Polytheistic Religions
The two major monotheistic religions are Hinduism and Buddhism.
Hinduism:
Polytheistic religion believes in millions of gods/deities, no central leader or founder
Brahman: The world soul that unifies all atmans (people).
Brahma (the creator), Vishnu (the protector), and Shiva (the destroyer).
Each family has its own family deity, each god stands for something different
Moksha: A state of perfect understanding of all things, goal for all Hindus
Hindus believe in reincarnation and that your karma from past lives decides your fate in your next life. The cycle of reincarnation continues until moksha is achieved.
Use of a caste system, one can work their way up with good karma.
A woman's enlightenment is dependent on her husbandâs enlightenment
Ganges River: Believed to flow from the feet of Vishnu and over the head of Shiva (contact of two gods makes the river holy), where large festivals are held yearly.
Upanishads: Religious text, explains the relationship between Brahman and Atmans.
Vedas: Central religious text in Hinduism.
Buddhism:
Polytheistic religion believes in millions of gods. However, there is a single founder.
*Siddhartha Gautama (Buddha): Founder of Buddhism, believed that religion was the only refuge from inevitable suffering.
4 Noble Truths: 1. Life is filled with suffering and sorrow. 2. The cause of all suffering is peopleâs selfish desire for the temporary pleasures of this world. 3. The way to end all suffering is to end all desires. 4. The way to overcome such desires and attain enlightenment is to follow the Eightfold Path, which is called the Middle Way between desires and self-denial
Eightfold path (leads to Nirvana): Right view, right resolve, right speech, right conduct, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness, and right samadhi.
Buddhists believe in reincarnation and that the cycle continues until Nirvana is ac
Nirvana: release from selfishness and pain, ends reincarnation cycle.
No Caste system and ANY individual can be enlightened.
In what ways do these religions also serve as ethical systems that guide society where they are practiced?
Christianity:
Unit 2 - Foundations of Civilization
What is a civilization?
5 Aspects of Early Civilizations:
Advanced Cities
Specialized Workers (Farmers, scribes, etc.)
Complex Institutions
Record Keeping
Improved Technology (Wheel, etc.)
SPICE:
Society/Social: How people interact with each other
Political: Government
Interaction with the Enviornment: How civilizations utilized natural resources, etc.
Cultural: Religion, etc.
Economical: Economy, trade, currency/money, etc.
Important Terms and Concepts
People:
Hammurabi: Emporer of Babylon, Created Hammurabiâs code which were a set of laws/rules to govern the nation.
Concepts:
Nomadic lifestyle: Hunters and Gatherers, Nomads would temporarily live in many different places, they followed where their food was. (Found mostly in early African civilizations)
Ziggurat: Mesopotamian buildings that served as a place of worship and government building, shows how religion and politics were hand in hand during the founding of early civilizations.
Cultural Diffusion: The spreading of cultures through migration, trade, etc.
Direct Democracy: A form of government where the people share equal political power and vote on governmental issues.
Example: Athens
Republic: A form of government where the people vote to elect representatives to have political power and vote on governmental issues.
Example: Roman Republic, USA, etc.
Mandate of Heaven: Ancient Chinese ideology that a ruler was thought to be in power because God wanted him to, if things in the country went wrong â the people believed that they had âlost their mandate of heavenâ and would often result in rebellion.
Places:
Fertile Crescent: Place in the mediteranian where the soil was rich enough to farm on, catalyzed the transition from the nomadic lifestyle to early civilizations.
Yellow River: ???
Unit 3 - Silk Roads
Important Terms and Concepts
People:
Mongolian Empire:
Mansa Musa:
Caliph:
Concepts:
Cultural Blending: The merging of cultures through trade, very prominent during the time of the Silk Road because of the trade it brought.
Caravan:
Bazaar:
Unit 4 - Encounter and Exchange
Important Terms and Concepts
People:
Montezuma II: Violent Aztec leader who ruled at the time of Cortez and the Spaniardâs encounter and eventual colonization of parts of the Americas.
Prince Henry: Known as Prince Henry the Navigator,
Zheng He: Chinese explorer
Qing Dynasty: Chinese dynasty
Concepts:
âGod, Glory, Goldâ: Central motivations for European exploration.
God - Spreading the word of God.
Glory - To bring glory to their nations.
Gold - To find gold (Currency)