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AP World History - Classical Era Flashcards

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10516801908Alexander the GreatLeader of Macedon (356-323 B.C.E.), who conquered Persia and Egypt, creating an empire that merged several cultures.0
10516801909AshokaThe most famous ruler of the Mauryan Empire (r. 268-232 B.C.E.), who promoted Buddhism and practiced religious tolerance.1
10516801910Chandragupta MauyraFounder of the Mauryan dynasty. Began centralization of power in S. Asia.2
10516801911Caesar AugustusThe great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar who emerged as sole ruler of the Roman state at the end of an extended period of civil war (r. 31 B.C.E.-14 C.E.).3
10516801912ConstantineRoman emperor of the 4th century CE who legalized Christianity.4
10516801913Cyrus (the Great)Founder of the Achaemenid Empire (r. 557-530 B.C.E.); a ruler noted for his conquests, religious tolerance, and political moderation.5
10516801914Darius IAchaemenid king (r. 522-486 B.C.E.) who expanded the Persian empire through military conquest and undertook building campaigns in Susa and Parsargaade.6
10516801915GuptaEmpire that promoted hinduism and under which India entered a "golden age" of culture.7
10516801973Mauryan Empire8
10516801916Han dynastyChinese dynasty that restored unity in China, pacified the xiongnu, and set up the civil service exams to create competent bureaucrats to administer the empire.9
10516801917HellenisticThe spread of Greek culture throughout Afro-Eurasia from 323 to 30 B.C.E by Alexander the Great and hsi political successors.10
10516801918Ptolemaic EmpireDynasty of Egypt founded by descendants of Macedonian generals. They promoted science, greek learning, and trade.11
10516801919Mandate of HeavenThe ideological underpinning of Chinese emperors, this was the belief that a ruler held authority by command of divine force as long as he ruled morally and benevolently.12
10516801920PatriciansWealthy, privileged Romans who dominated early Roman society.13
10516801921plebiansMembers of the general citizenry of ancient Rome. It included all citizens not connected to one of Rome's privileged families. They had little real power.14
10516801922Pax RomanaThe "Roman peace," a term typically used to denote the stability and prosperity of the early Roman Empire, especially in the first and second centuries C.E.15
10516801923Peloponnesian WarGreat war between Athens (and allies) and Sparta (and allies), lasting from 431 to 404 B.C.E. The conflict ended in the defeat of Athens and the closing of Athens's Golden Age.16
10516801924PersepolisThe capital and greatest palace-city of the Persian Empire, destroyed by Alexander the Great.17
10516801925PataliputraLocated at the confluence of the Ganges and Son Rivers in northeastern India. It was the capital city of the Mauryan and Gupta empires.18
10516801926AlexandriaAn important center of the Hellenistic civilization best known for the Lighthouse and largest library in the ancient world19
10516801927Appian Way (Via Appia)One of the earliest and strategically most important Roman roads of the ancient republic20
10516801928SamarkandImportant trading city that benefited from it's position along the silk roads.21
10516801929Qin DynastyA short-lived (221-206 B.C.E.) but highly influential Chinese dynasty that succeeded in reuniting China at the end of the Warring States period.22
10516801930Qin ShihuangdiLiterally "first emperor" (r. 221-210 B.C.E.) forcibly united China and established a strong and repressive state.23
10516801931WudiHan emperor (r. 141-86 B.C.E.) who began the Chinese civil service system by establishing an academy to train imperial bureaucrats.24
10516801932Han FeiFounder of legalism, a system justifying rule by a strong authority25
10516801933Kong FuziChinese philosopher who promoted a system of social and political ethics emphasizing order, moderation, and reciprocity between superiors and subordinates. The Analects contains a collection of his sayings and dialogues compiled by disciples after his death.26
10516801934SocratesThe first great Greek philosopher to turn rationalism toward questions of human existence (469-399 B.C.E.).27
10516801935AristotleA Greek philosopher (384-322 B.C.E.) who stressed the importance of using empirical evidence to explain the natural world28
10516801936SolonAthenian statesman and lawmaker (fl. 594-560 B.C.E.) whose reforms led the Athenians toward democracy.29
10516801937PlatoPhilosopher who believed the wisest men should rule. He introduced the idea that human misery due to their not engaging properly with a class of entities he called forms, chief examples of which were Justice, Beauty, and Equality.30
10516801938Bhagavad GitaA great Hindu epic text, part of the much larger Mahabharata, which affirms the performance of caste duties as a path to religious liberation.31
10516801939BrahminsThe priestly caste of India.32
10516801940BuddhismThe cultural/religious tradition first enunciated by Siddhartha Gautama33
10516801941DaoismA Chinese philosophy/popular religion that advocates simplicity and understanding of the world of nature, founded by the legendary figure Laozi.34
10516801942Filial pietyThe honoring of one's ancestors and parents, a key element of Confucianism.35
10516801943HinduismA word derived from outsiders to describe the vast diversity of indigenous Indian religious traditions.36
10516801944HippocratesA very influential Greek medical theorist (ca. 460-ca. 370 B.C.E.); regarded as the father of medicine.37
10516801945Jesus of NazarethThe prophet/god of Christianity(ca. 4 B.C.E.-ca. 30 C.E.).38
10516801946PaulFollower of Jesus who helped spread Christianity by preaching to both Jews and non-Jews and speaking to large audiences throughout the Roman Empire.39
10516801947PeterOne of the 12 Apostles who made Rome the center of Christianity and is known as the first pope.40
10516801948KarmaIn Hinduism, the determining factor of the level at which the individual is reincarnated, based on purity of action and fulfillment of duty in the prior existence.41
10516801949LaoziA legendary Chinese philosopher of the sixth century B.C.E.; regarded as the founder of Daoism.42
10516801950LegalismA Chinese philosophy distinguished by an adherence to clear laws with vigorous punishments.43
10516801951NirvanaThe end goal of Buddhism, in which individual identity is "extinguished" into a state of serenity and great compassion.44
10516801952Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)The Indian prince turned ascetic (ca. 566-ca. 486 B.C.E.) who founded Buddhism.45
10516801953Theravada"The Teaching of the Elders," the early form of Buddhism according to which the Buddha as a wise teacher but not divine and which emphasizes withdrawal from earthly pleasures in order to achieve nirvana46
10516801954MahayanaA form of Buddhism popular in East Asia that47
10516801955UpanishadsIndian mystical and philosophical works, written between 800 and 400 B.C.E.48
10516801956VedasThe earliest religious texts of India, a collection of ancient poems, hymns, and rituals that were transmitted orally before being written down ca. 600 B.C.E.49
10516801957Yin and YangExpression of the Chinese belief in the unity of opposites.50
10516801958ZarathustraA Persian prophet, traditionally dated to the sixth or seventh century B.C.E. (but perhaps much older), who founded Zoroastrianism.51
10516801959Manichaeisma syncretic religious system founded by a Persian claiming to be a prophet. It combined Gnostic Christianity, Buddhism, Zoroastrianism, and various other elements, which included doctrines of light and darkness:; the need for an ascetic life to purify the soul; and the need for personal salvation from the divine force of goodness.52
10516801960jatisocial distinctions based on occupation, which became the main cell of social life in India.53
10516801961ZoroastrianismPersian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra.54
10516801962helotsThe dependent, semi-enslaved class of ancient Sparta whose social discontent prompted the militarization of Spartan society.55
10516801963PericlesA prominent and influential statesman of ancient Athens (ca. 495-429 B.C.E.); presided over Athens's Golden Age.56
10516801964SudraOriginally the lowest Indian social class of varna; regarded as servants of their social betters; eventually included peasant farmers57
10516801965UntouchablesAn Indian social class that emerged below the Sudras and whose members performed the most unclean and polluting work.58
10516801966VaisyaThe Indian social class that was originally defined as farmers but eventually comprised merchants.59
10516801967Silk RoadTrade route stretching from China into Europe.60
10516801968Yellow Turban uprisingChinese peasant uprising that weakened the Han Empire.61
10516801969Spartacus RebellionOne of the largest slave revolts in history. It was led by a Roman slave who was backed by thousands of other slaves. It demonstrates the weakness of having a labor system increasingly dependent on slavery.62
10516801970ParthianEmpire in modern Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan. originally made of nomadic peoples from Central Asia . They were able to defend the region from the Romans.63
10516801971VisigothsTribe who sacked Rome in the 5th century CE64
10516801972XiongnuCentral Asian tribe who harassed the early Chinese empires until they were occupied and pacified by the Han.65

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