World History Study Guide to 1648
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This is the growing list of study terms for World history, from creation to 1648 (the same midpoint used by the CLEP exams).
This should grow from 315 to 500 terms -- about half basic and half honors -- and every term should be described in the table. An examination on this material will be given in November 2011.
Basic terms
Term | Definition |
---|---|
Abraham | Aprx. 2000 BC. Father of Jewish people; God made a covenant with him to make his descendants great in number. Arabs claim descendance from Abraham's son Ishmael. |
Acropolis | Portion of a town or city that is built on a hilltop for easy defense. Best known Acropolis is at Athens, where the democratic assembly met. Most Greek city-states had an Acropolis. |
Aesop | Ethiopian slave in 600s BC in Greece. Famous for "Aesop's Fables," such as "the fox and the grapes" and "the wolf in sheep's clothing." |
Alexander the Great | 356 BC - 323 BC. Born to Philip II of Macedon and tutored by Aristotle. Conquered Greece, Egypt, Persia, and more, but turned back at India. Alexander's conquests spread Greek culture and language and helped the future spread of Christianity. |
Analects | The analects are a record of the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, written and compiled by his disciples circa 400-300 B.C. |
Ancient world | Civilized world before the fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476. |
Archimedes | 287 BC – 212 BC. Greek mathematician and engineer. Discovered Archimedes' Principle, invented "Archimedes' screw," and built defenses against the Romans for his city of Syracuse; killed by the Romans. |
Aristocracy | "Rule by the best": aristocrats generally wealthy and privileged. European feudal government resembled aristocracy, and some governments in ancient Greece were aristocracies. |
Aristotle | 384 to 322 BC. Greek philosopher, student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great. Focused on experience with the physical world; studied biology and founded a school, the Lyceum, resembling a university with specimens and a library. |
Assyrian Empire | 1400-605 BC. First dependent on Babylonia, then became an independent state, and finally an empire. Known for cruelty, especially to the Hebrews. Captured northern Kingdom of Israel in 722, but destroyed by Medians in the 600s. |
Athens | Greek city-state. Democracy begun by Pericles in 5th century BC. Previously ruled by aristocrats. First democracy in the world and a great naval power. Rival with Persia but united to defeat invading Persians. |
Attila the Hun | Last and greatest ruler of the Huns. Fought against the eastern Roman Empire and then fought the western Roman Empire throughout the mid AD 400s. Almost defeated, but then almost sacked Rome; turned away by Pope Leo I. |
Augustus Caesar | 63 B.C. - A.D. 14. Succeeded Julius Caesar and became first Roman Emperor. Ruler during the birth of Christ. Defeared Mark Antony for rule of Rome. |
Babylon | The major Mespotamian city in the ancient Middle East. Greatest ruler was Hammurabi. Developed Cuneiform, used base-60 numbers, and defeated ancient Sumer about 2000 BC. Later cruel to Hebrews. |
Babylonia | State and Empire created by Babylon. First empire existed from 1900-1600 BC. Resurged as the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 625-538 BC. Imposed Babylonian Exile on Hebrews. |
Bible | Collection of Hebrew (Old Testament) and Christian (New Testament) Scriptures. Foretells the coming of a Messiah for the Hebrews, and recounts ancient history including the Tower of Babel and the Great Flood. |
Brahman | The ultimate god or existence in Hinduism, of which all existence is somehow a part, or from which all comes. |
brahmin | The highest level in the Hindu caste system |
Bronze Age | It is the age referred to during which time bronze was the common metal used in people's everyday lives. It was used for jewelry, tools, utensils, weapons, and it helped enable the introduction of the plough. |
Buddhism | It is a belief system which teaches that desire causes suffering and if desire is eliminated, enlightenment and Nirvana are attained. |
Byzantine Empire | It was the eastern part of the Roman Empire that split away. It outlasted the Western half by 1000 years due to its greater financial resources. |
Carthage | A city off the coast of Africa whose rivalry with Rome led to the three Punic Wars at the end of which Carthage was destroyed and decreed never to be rebuilt. |
Caste | It is a social rank in Hinduism. Brahmans are priests and scholars, Kshatriya are rulers, Vaishya are peasants, and Shudra are serfs. Good karma enables one to improve his caste in the next life. |
Celts | d |
Chaldeans | d |
China | d |
city-states | small nations consisting of only a single city each; common in ancient Greece. Examples included Sparta, Athens and Corinth. They fought each other, but also banned together to defeat the Persians when that great empire sought to absorb Greece. |
Civilization | d |
Classical Civilizations | d |
Classicism | d |
Code of Manu | d |
Colosseum | A massive stadium in Rome that was used to hold gladiatorial contests, chariot racing and killing Christians for entertainment. |
Comedy | d |
Confucius | d |
Constantine | d |
Constantinople | Modern day Istanbul, it was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire from 330 AD. Also known as Byzantium. |
Council of Nicaea | A council of Bishops called by Constantine to obtain agreement on various aspects of Christianity such as the doctrine of the Trinity and the role of the Roman Bishop (the Pope). |
cuneiform | d |
David | Second king of Israel and a descendant of Jesus Christ. He was chosen by God to replace Saul and he expands the kingdom of Israel greatly. |
Dharma | d |
Diaspora | d |
Direct Democracy | laws are made by votes of the citizens, rather than by elected officials. Athens of ancient Greece was the first direct democracy. |
Early agriculture | d |
Edict of Milan | a political proclamation that fully legalized Christianity (and all other religions) throughout the Roman Empire. This edict was issued by Constantine I in 313 AD, shortly after the end of the Diocletian persecutions against Christians. |
Egypt | d |
Eightfold Path | d |
Enlightened One | A translation of the name Buddha |
Epic of Gilgamesh | d |
Euclid | d |
Fertile Crescent | d |
Four Noble Truths | d |
Gentiles | The term for people who are not of Israeli descent. |
Gracchi brothers | d |
Great Wall of China | d |
Greek drama | d |
Greek empire | d |
Gupta empire | d |
Hammurabi | d |
Hannibal | d |
Hebrews | d |
heliocentric | d |
Hellenistic | Meaning of or from the Greeks. |
hieroglyphics | d |
Hinduism | d |
Hippocrates | d |
Homer | An early Greek poet, famous for lengthy sagas such as Illiad and The Odyssey |
Huns | A tribe of people Who fought with the Romans in what is now the Ukraine. They were considered by many Romans to be the most ferocious of enemies |
Ideograms | d |
India | d |
Indus River Valley | d |
Iron Age | d |
Isaac | The promised son born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. The father of the Israeli people. |
Ishmael | Bastard son born to Abraham and Sarah's servant. |
Israel | d |
Jainism | d |
Jesus | The Holy Messiah of the Christian faith and the only son of God who was promised to save all humanity. |
Judah, Kingdom of | d |
Julius Caesar | d |
Karma | d |
Latin | The language spoken in Rome. It has been influential in contributing to many modern day European languages including English |
Maize | d |
Mandate of Heaven | d |
Marc Antony | d |
Mauryan Empire | d |
Mesoamerica | d |
Mesopotamia | d |
Messiah | Essentially means anointed by god. Jesus Christ is the Messiah of Christianity |
Middle Ages | d |
Middle Kingdom | d |
monotheism | The belief in a religion worshipping only one god. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are monotheistic religions. |
monsoons | d |
Moses | d |
New Kingdom | d |
Nicene Creed | d |
Nirvana | d |
Old Kingdom | d |
Olympics (Ancient Greek) | d |
Paul | d |
Pax Romana | d |
Peloponnesian War | War fought between Athens and Sparta, 431-404BC. The war was ultimately won by Sparta and its allies |
Pentateuch | d |
Persian empire | d |
Persian Wars | d |
Peter | d |
pharaoh | d |
Philip of Macedon | d |
Philistines | Group of people occupying the land of Canaan. Enemies of Israel and God. |
Phoenicians | d |
Plato | Athenian Philosopher who wrote several treatises on philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, and mathematics. He founded the Academy, of Which Aristotle was its most famous student. |
polis | d |
polytheism | A religion with many Gods. This was the norm in ancient times until Judaism and Christianity emerged |
Ptolemy | d |
Punic Wars | d |
pyramids | d |
Roman empire | d |
Roman republic | d |
Rome | The capital city of the Roman Empire and now, modern day Italy. Founded by Romulus and Remus who supposedly fought over which one of them the city would be named after. Romulus killed his brother and had the city named after himself. |
Rosetta Stone | d |
Saul | d |
Senate | d |
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World | d |
Siddhartha Guatama | d |
Silk Road | d |
Socrates | An Athenian philosopher who believed that the world we experience is a poor substitute for reality. His philosophy inspired Plato and in turn Aristotle; and became the accepted Orthodoxy until modern times. |
Solomon | d |
Sparta | d |
Spread of Buddhism | d |
St. Augustine | d |
Sumer | d |
Sumerians | d |
Taoism (Daoism) | d |
Ten Commandments | d |
Theocracy | d |
Thucydides | d |
Torah | d |
Tragedy | d |
Vedas | d |
Virgil | d |
Vishnu | d |
Visigoths | d |
Warring States Period | d |
Yahweh | God as described in the Old Testament, written as YHWH in the original Hebrew. |
Yin and Yang | d |
Zhou dynasty | d |
Ziggurat | d |
Zoroastrianism | d |