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357663338Neolithic Revolution/Agricultural Revolutionthe period of transition from nomadic lifestyles to agricultural lifestyles0
357663339Civilizationbegins forming when a food surplus allows for a specialization of labor, resulting in the formation of complex economic, governmental, and religious structures to help keep things as predictable and orderly as possible1
357663340Bronze Agethe latter part of the neolithic era characterized by the development of bronze from the combination of tin and copper2
357663341city statesmany early civilizations made up of these, urban areas and the surrounding agricultural land under their control3
357663342Mesopotamiaearly civilization(s) between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, lasting from about 3000 BC until defeat by the Persian empire4
357663343cuneiformform of writing developed by the Sumerians in early mesopotamia5
357663344Sumerian Civilizationearliest Mesopotamian civilization, rose in the southern part of mesopotamia6
357663345Polytheisticworshiping more than one god, most ancient belief systems7
357663346Zigguratstemples built by the Sumerians to appease angry gods, similar to Mayan and Egyptian pyramids8
357663347Akkadcity state north of Sumer which rose to power with Sumer's decline9
357663348BabylonMesopotamian city state that overran Akkad by 1700 BC10
357663349Code of Hammurabiextensive code of laws developed by king Hammurabi of Babylon, huge step towards modern codes of law11
357663350Hittitesbecame an ancient military superpower because of their use of iron for weapons, invaded Babylon and dominated it by 1500 BC12
357663351Assyrianslearned to use iron after being defeated by the Hittites, and subsequently use iron weapons to defeat the Hittites and develop an empire, eventually defeated by the Medes and Chaldeans13
357663352Ninivehthe capital of the Assyrian empire14
357663353NebuchadnezzarChaldean king who rebuilt Babylon as a showplace of architecture and culture15
357663354The Persian Empireby 500 BC stretched from beyond Nile river valley in Egypt around the eastern Mediterranean through present day Turkey and Greece, and then eastward to present day Afghanistan16
357663355Great Royal Roadlargest road in the Persian Empire, stretched some 1600 miles from the Persian Gulf to the Aegean sea.17
357663356Lydianssmaller society within the Persian empire that came up with the idea of coined money18
357663357Phonecianssmaller society w/in Persian empire who developed powerful naval city states around the Mediterranean and invented the first simple phonetic alphabet19
357663358Hebrewssmaller society w/in Persian empire significant because of their belief in Judaism which was the first monotheistic religion, established Israel and Palestine on the eastern shores of the Mediterranean by 1000 BC20
357663359Egyptian Civilizationdeveloped in the Nile river valley b/c the soil was rich21
357707553King Menesunited the NIle river valley prior to the Old Kingdom of Egypt, built capital @ Memphis and led organized efforts to control floodwaters (drainage/irrigation systems)22
357707554Pharaohsegyptian rulers that directed huge construction projects23
357707555hieroglyphicsEgyptian writing system in which pictures represent letters and words24
357707556Queen Hatshepsut of Egyptfirst known female ruler in history, ruled for 22 yrs during the new kingdom25
357707557Indus valley civilizationcivilization in the Indus river valley that was partially isolated from other civilizations by mountains to the north and west, known for it's excellent industry26
357707558Khyber passa gap in the Hindu Kush mountains that provided the Indus river valley civilization access to the rest of the world but was also a gateway for invaders27
357707559Harappa and Mohenjo Daromajor cities of the Indus Valley civilization, enormous by ancient standards28
361916154AryansNomadic tribes from the Caucasus mtns that invaded the indus valley civilizations in 1500 BC29
361916155Vedas and Upanishadsthe recorded polytheistic beliefs of the Aryans, which led to the development of Hinduism30
361916156Hinduismevolved from aryan polytheistic beliefs; the ethnic religion of India31
361916157Caste Systembased on the rigid Aryan social structure; divided into three classes (from top to bottom: Warriors, Priests, Peasants); became an element of Hindu culture, and later a middle class of landowners and merchants developed and priests became the top class.32
361916158Brahmansthe revised priest class in the caste system who were moved to the top over warriors because they were believed to be closer to the gods33
361916159Shang Chinarose in the Yellow river valley, earliest Chinese civilization, controlled large parts of northern China at it's peak; existed from 1600 to 1100 BC; limited outside world contact except w/ mesopotamia34
361916160Patriarchalsociety led by the eldest males of each household, inheritence and name passed down from eldest son to eldest son, etc...35
361916161Zhou Dynastyreplaced Shang Dynasty in 1100 BC, kept most customs and traditions of Shang dynasty, ruled for 900 yrs, longer than any other chinese dynasty, developed feudal system, eventually collapsed b/c of warfare between kingdoms36
361916162bureaucraciesgovernment tasks organized by dept or "bureau"; helps diff parts of gov. specialize and stabilize.37
361916163Bantulanguage family which can be traced from the Niger and Benue rivers in West Africa to South central and East central africa because of the Bantu Migrations38
361916164Bantu Migrationsbegan in 1500 BC and continued for about 2000 yrs; said to be spurred by climate change in the Sahara region; people moved to central africa and adopten sedentary lifestyle in a stateless society39
361916165Jenne-Jenobelieved to be the first city in sub saharan Africa; populated by Bantu speakers who stayed put; although urban and developed, did not adopt hierarchical society40
361916166Olmecearly civilization from 1200-1400 BC in Mexico; urban society built oncorn,beans,and squash surpluses; polytheistic, large building projects, and developed calendar and writing systems; developed independently of any other civilizations41
361916167Chavinearly civilization from 900 to 300 BC in the Andes; urban society w/ large building projects, polytheistic beliefs, used llamas as beasts of burden, developed metallurgy, developed independently of any other civilization42
361916168Mayan Civilizationdominated southern Mexico and Central America from 300 BC to 800 AD, city states under one king, religious warfare for human sacrafice victims and human labor.43
361916169TikalHUGE Mayan city, most important Mayan political center, may have been populated by over 100,000 ppl44
361916170Chichen ItzaMayan built tiered temple similar to Mesopotamian ziggurats and Egyptian pyramids45
361916171Mauryan Empiredeveloped in northern India in 321 BC (just after Alexander's visit) largest Indian empire to date, became wealthy because of trade with Rome and military force; declined in 232 BC b/c of invasions from the north and economic issues46
361916172Chandragupta Mauryaunified smaller Aryan kingdoms into the Mauryan Empire47
361916173Ashoka MauryaChandragupta's grandson, took Mauryan empire to it's peak, converted to buddhism b/c of remorse for military violence in Kalinga, and preached non-violence and moderation for the rest of his reign, spread buddhism throughout India48
361916174Rock and Pillar edictsedicts carved by Ashoka Maurya on rocks and pillars encouraging generous and righteous lives49
361916175Chandra Guptafounder of the Gupta Empire in India50
361916176Gupta Empirefollowed Mauryan Empire from 375 to 415 AD, more decentralized and smaller than Mauryan, dveloped concept of pi and zero; Hinduism was dominant; totally collapsed under pressure fro White Huns in 550 AD51
361916177Arabic numeralsdecimal system based on #'s 1-9, developed in Gupta India then diffused to Arabs52
361916178Qin Dynastyemerged as dominant state from inter-kingdom warfare following Zhou dynasty, ruled for little over a decade, incredibly unified and standardized everything, organized53
361931885Great Wall of Chinamultitude of seperate fortification walls that were united as a single huge wall during the Qin dynasty54
361931886Qin ShihuangdiQin ruler who recentralized the Zhou dynasty's feudal kingdoms and standardized laws, currency, weights, measures, and systems of writing in the empire, refused to tolerate any dissent, fell b/c of peasant revolts55
361931887Legalismdominant belief in China beginning with the Qin dynasty, basically assumes that all people ar bad and unruly by nature and need strict laws to keep them in line, tempered with confucianist ideals later on56
361931888Han dynastyexisted in china from abou 200 BC to 200AD, trade thrived along silk road, civil service exams made it a meritocracy w/ skilled bureaucracy57
361931889Xiongnunomadic tribe from Northern asia believed be Huns, invaded territory from China to Eastern Europe, more success in Europe, driven out of China by Wu Ti58
361931890Wu Ti''warrior emperor" of the Han Dynasty, expanded empire into central Asia despite pressure from Huns59
361931891Ancient Greecelocated on a peninsula between the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, bad for agriculture, but achieved wealth through coastal trade60
361931892PolisAncient greek city state w/ distinct culture and identity, often in conflict with other Polis61
361931893Athensone of the major ancient greek city states; political, cultural, and cultural center of greek civilization; home of first "democracy" (not really a democracy b/c only free adult males participated)62
361931894Spartaone of the ,major ancient greek city states; agricultural and military; austere, highly disciplined lifestyle; military training stressed equality but not individuality63
361931895Draco and Solonaristocrats in ancient greece who worked to develop democracy and ensure fair, equal, and open participation.64
361931896Persian Warsunited all greek city states against mutual enemy, Persia, prior to development of Athenian democracy; most of athens destroyed, but ended in stalemate; greek victories @ marathon and salamis allowed greeks to keep control of aegean sea.65
361931897Golden age of Periclesperiod of peace and prosperity after persian wars, philosophy, arts, mathematics, and science flourished.66
361931898Periclesruler under whom athens was rebuilt after persian wars, became a cultural powerhouse, and established democracy for all adult males67
361931899Delian Leagueestablished by athens under pericles, alliance w/ other city states against common enemies68
361931900Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle3 most famous classic greek philosophers during pericles's golden age69
361931901Homerwrote Illiad and odyssey, famous epic poems during pericles's golden age70
361931902Peloponnesian Warbetween Delian league and Peloponnesian league (sparta and Aegean city states) in 431 BC over trade dispute involving city of corinth71
367664074Macedoniansinvaded Athens from the north after it was weakened by plague and naval defeat following the Peloponnesian war72
367664075Phillip of Macedonruled the Macedonians from 359-336 BC73
367664076Alexander the GreatPhillip of Macedon's son, taught by Aristotle, widely expanded Macedonian dominance, conquered Persian Empire and spread his own empire from the Mediterranean to India74
367664077Antigonidone of three sections of Alexander's empire, Greece and Macedon75
367664078Ptolemaicone of three sections of Alexander's empire, Egypt76
367664079Seleucidone of the three regions of Alexander's empire; contained Bactria and Anatolia77
367664080Hellenismculture, ideals, and way of life in ancient Greece; spread by Alexander's empire78
367664081Patricianslandowning free males in Ancient Rome79
367664082Plebiansnon-land-owning free males in Ancient Rome, lower class80
367664083Twelve Tables of Romecodified Roman laws; included concept of "innocent until proven guilty"; the codification of Roman law during the republic81
367664084CarthageCity located in present-day Tunisia, founded by Phoenicians ca. 800 B.C.E. It became a major commercial center and naval power in the western Mediterranean until defeated by Rome in the third century B.C.E.82
367664085Punic WarsA series of three wars between Rome and Carthage (264-146 B.C.); resulted in the destruction of Carthage and Rome's dominance over the western Mediterranean.83
367664086HannibalCarthaginian military commander who, in the Second Punic War, attempted a surprise attack on Rome, crossing the Alps with a large group of soldiers, horses, and elephants.84
367664087first triumviratethe three Roman generals, (Gnaeus, Pompey, Marcus Crassus, and Julius Caesar) who ruled the Roman Republic from 60 to 46 B.C.; marked beginning of end of Roman Republic85
367664088Julius CaesarMade dictator for life in 45 BCE, after conquering Gaul, assinated in 44 BCE by the Senate because they were afraid of his power; made a significant decision not to conquer Germany86
367664089second triumvirateOctavius, Marc Antony, and Lepidus. Ocatvius took over and Republic was over; Rome entered Pax Romana with Octavius.87
367664090OctaviusPart of the second triumvirate whom the power eventually shifted to. Assumed the name Augustus Caesar, and became emperor. Was the end of the Roman Republic and the start of the Pax Romana.88
367664091Pax RomanaA period of peace and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire, lasting from 27 B.C. to A.D. 180.89
367664092Paganismthe state religion of the Roman empire from the Republic to the early days of the empire90
367664093Christianitya 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; originated in 31 BC91
367664094ConstantineEmperor of Rome who adopted the Christian faith and stopped the persecution of Christians (280-337)92
367664095Edict of Milanissued by Constantine in 313, ended the "great persecution" and legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire; made Christianity official religion of the Roman Empire93
367664096DiocletanRoman Emperor who improved administration and tax collection, divided the Roman empire in two94
367664097ConstantinoplePreviously known as Byzantium, Constantine changed the name of the city and moved the capitol of the Roman Empire here from Rome.95
367664098VisigothsGermanic people who migrated to Rome, originally came from Scandinavia and Russia. They adapted Roman cultures and provided troops for the Roman army. They created settlements around Rome, and stormed and sacked it in 410. The western part of the Roman Empire was in shambles by the mid fifth century CE.96
367664099AtillaLeader of the Huns who put pressure on the Roman Empire's borders during the 5th century97
367664100Silk RoadAn ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean Sea extending some 6,440 km (4,000 mi) and linking China with the Roman Empire. Marco Polo followed the route on his journey to Cathay; became very important again from 1200 to 1600 AD, during mongol rule98

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