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| 4902174073 | monsoon | Major winds in the Indian Ocean that blew into India for half the year, and blew away from India for the other half. Helped facilitate trade in the Indian Ocean. |  | 0 |
| 4902176710 | Vedas | Early Indian sacred 'knowledge'-the literal meaning of the term-long preserved and communicated orally by Brahmin priests and eventually written down. |  | 1 |
| 4902179157 | caste system | a set of rigid social categories that determined not only a person's occupation and economic potential, but also his or her position in society |  | 2 |
| 4902182135 | karma | The belief that actions in this life, whether good or bad, will decide your place in the next life. |  | 3 |
| 4902184974 | moksha | The Hindu concept of the spirit's 'liberation' from the endless cycle of rebirths. |  | 4 |
| 4902188574 | Buddha | Means "Enlightened One." He is said to have renounced his worldly possessions and taught of a way to overcome suffering. |  | 5 |
| 4902194564 | Mahayana Buddhism | "Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and for bodhisattvas, enlightened persons who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment. |  | 6 |
| 4902198902 | Theravada Buddhism | "Way of the Elders" branch of Buddhism followed in Sri Lanka and much of Southeast Asia. Theravada remains close to the original principles set forth by the Buddha; it downplays the importance of gods and emphasizes austerity and the individual's search for enlightenment. |  | 7 |
| 4902202647 | Hindusim | a diverse body of religion, philosophy, and cultural practice native to and predominant in India, characterized by a belief in reincarnation and supreme being of many forms and natures, by the view that opposing theories are aspects of one eternal truth, and by a desire for liberation from the earthly evils. |  | 8 |
| 4902209726 | Mauryan Empire | The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes. |  | 9 |
| 4902211921 | Ashoka | Third ruler of the Mauryan Empire in India (r. 270-232 B.C.E.). He converted to Buddhism and broadcast his precepts on inscribed stones and pillars, the earliest surviving Indian writing. |  | 10 |
| 4902215139 | Mahabharta | One of the great epic poems of India that reflects the struggles of the Aryans as they moved south into India, explaining the importance of Dharma. |  | 11 |
| 4902219859 | Bhagavad Gita | The most important work of Indian sacred literature, a dialogue between the great warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna on duty and the fate of the spirit. |  | 12 |
| 4902224021 | Gupta Empire | Powerful Indian state based in the Ganges Valley. It controlled most of the Indian subcontinent through a combination of military force and its prestige as a center of sophisticated culture. Often associated with a Golden Age of classical India. |  | 13 |
| 4902232430 | Funan | An early complex society in Southeast Asia between the first and sixth centuries C.E. It was centered in the rich rice-growing region of southern Vietnam, and it controlled the passage of trade across the Malaysian isthmus. |  | 14 |
| 4902234711 | Silk Road | An 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. |  | 15 |
| 4902236179 | Parthians | Iranian ruling dynasty between ca. 250 B.C.E. and 226 C.E. |  | 16 |
| 4902257702 | Sasanid Empire | The last of pre-Islamic Persian Empire, from 224 to 651 CE. One of the two main powers in Western Asia and Europe alongside the Roman Empire and later the Byzantine Empire for a period of more than 400 years |  | 17 |
| 4902266042 | stirrup | device for securing a horseman's feet, enabling him to wield weapons more effectively. First evidence of the use of stirrups was among the Kushan people of northern Afghanistan in approximately the first century C.E. |  | 18 |
| 4902275739 | Indian Ocean Maritime System | made possible by transactions between the Mediterranean Basin and the Indian Ocean Basin. Allowed for cheaper transportation and the increased abundance of products that could be shipped. |  | 19 |
| 4912223637 | trans-Saharan caravan routes | Islamic trade in West Africa was conducted by caravans of camels. According to Ibn Battuta, the explorer who accompanied one of the caravans, the average size was a thousand camels per caravan, with some being as large as 12,000. |  | 20 |
| 4912230792 | sub-Saharan Africa | Portion of the African continent lying south of the Sahara. |  | 21 |
| 4912236037 | steppes | Treeless plains, especially the high, flat expanses of northern Eurasia, which usually have little rain and are covered with coarse grass. They are good lands for nomads and their herds. Good for breeding horses: essential to Mongol military. |  | 22 |
| 4912238152 | savanna | An area of grassland with scattered trees and bushes |  | 23 |
| 4912243481 | tropical rain forests | characterized by the greatest diversity of species, believed to include many undiscovered species. Occur near the equator. Soils tend to be low in nutrients. Distinct seasonality: winter is absent, and only two seasons are present (rainy and dry). |  | 24 |
| 4912246705 | Bantu | A major African language family. Collective name of a large group of sub-Saharan African languages and of the peoples speaking these languages. Famous for migrations throughout central and southern Africa. |  | 25 |
| 4912249040 | Armenia | One of the earliest Christian kingdoms, situated in eastern Anatolia (east of Turkey today) and the western Caucasus and occupied by speakers of the Armenian language. The Ottoman Empire is accused of systematic mass killings of Armenians in the early 20th century. |  | 26 |
| 4912251250 | Ethiopia | A Christian kingdom that developed in the highlands of eastern Africa under the dynasty of King Lalaibela; retained Christianity in the face of Muslim expansion elsewhere in Africa |  | 27 |
