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AP World History Period 2 Flashcards

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8348933944Ahura MazdaIn Zoroastrianism, the good god who rules the world.0
8348933945Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.E.), conqueror of the Persian Empire and part of northwest India.1
8348933946AryansIndo-European pastoralists who moved into India about the time of the collapse of the Indus Valley civilization; their role in causing this collapse is still debated by historians.2
8348933947AshokaThe most famous ruler of the Mauryan Empire (r. 268-232 B.C.E.), who converted to Buddhism and tried to rule peacefully and with tolerance.3
8348933948Caesar 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.).4
8348933949Cyrus (the Great)Founder of the Persian Empire (r. 557-530 B.C.E.); a ruler noted for his conquests, religious tolerance, and political moderation.5
8348933950Darius IGreat king of Persia (r. 522-486 B.C.E.) following the upheavals after Cyrus's death; completed the establishment of the Persian Empire.6
8348933951Greco-Persian WarsTwo major Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 B.C.E. and 480 B.C.E., in which the Persians were defeated on both land and sea.7
8348933952Gupta EmpireAn empire of India (320-550 C.E.).8
8348933953Han dynastyChinese dynasty that restored unity in China softened legalist policies. Begun in 202 B.C. by Liu Bang, the Han ruled China for more than 400 years.9
8348933954Hellenistic eraThe period from 323 to 30 B.C.E. in which Greek culture spread widely in Eurasia in the kingdoms ruled by Alexander's political successors.10
8348933955HerodotusGreek historian known as the "father of history" (ca. 484-ca. 425 B.C.E.). His Histories enunciated the Greek view of a fundamental divide between East and West, culminating in the Greco-Persian Wars of 490-480 B.C.E.11
8348933956hopliteA heavily armed Greek infantryman. Over time, the ability to afford a military wares and to fight for the city came to define Greek citizenship.12
8348933957IoniaThe territory of Greek settlements on the coast of Anatolia; the main bone of contention between the Greeks and the Persian Empire.13
8348933958Mandate 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.14
8348933959Battle of MarathonAthenian victory over a Persian invasion in 490 B.C.E.15
8348933960Mauryan EmpireA major empire (322-185 B.C.E.) that encompassed most of India.16
8348933961PatriciansWealthy, privileged Romans who dominated early Roman society.17
8348933962Pax 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.18
8348933963Peloponnesian 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.19
8348933964PersepolisThe capital and greatest palace-city of the Persian Empire, destroyed by Alexander the Great.20
8348933965Persian EmpireA major empire that expanded from the Iranian plateau to incorporate the Middle East from Egypt to India; flourished from around 550 to 330 B.C.E.21
8348933966PlebiansPoorer, less privileged Romans who gradually won a role in Roman politics.22
8348933967Punic WarsThree major wars between Rome and Carthage in North Africa, fought between 264 and 146 B.C.E., that culminated in Roman victory and control of the western Mediterranean.23
8348933968Qin 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.24
8348933969Qin ShihuangdiLiterally "first emperor" (r. 221-210 B.C.E.) forcibly reunited China and established a strong and repressive state.25
8348933970SolonAthenian statesman and lawmaker (fl. 594-560 B.C.E.) whose reforms led the Athenians toward democracy.26
8348933971WudiHan emperor (r. 141-86 B.C.E.) who began the Chinese civil service system by establishing an academy to train imperial bureaucrats.27
8348933972XiongnuNomadic peoples to the north of the Great Wall of China who were a frequent threat to the stability of the Chinese state.28
8348933973AristotleA Greek polymath philosopher (384-322 B.C.E.); student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.29
8348933974AtmanThe human soul, which in classic Hindu belief seeks union with Brahman.30
8348933975Bhagavad 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
8348933976BrahmanThe "World Soul" or final reality in upanishadic Hindu belief.32
8348933977BrahminsThe priestly caste of India.33
8348933978BuddhismThe cultural/religious tradition first enunciated by Siddhartha Gautama34
8348933979ConfucianismThe Chinese philosophy first enunciated by Confucius, advocating the moral example of superiors as the key element of social order.35
8348933980ConfuciusThe founder of Confucianism (551-479 B.C.E.); an aristocrat of northern China who proved to be the greatest influence on Chinese culture in its history.36
8348933981ConstantineRoman emperor (r. 306-337 C.E.) whose conversion to Christianity paved the way for the triumph of Christianity in Europe.37
8348933982DaodejingThe central text of Daoism; translated as The Way and Its Power.38
8348933983DaoismA Chinese philosophy/popular religion that advocates simplicity and understanding of the world of nature, founded by the legendary figure Laozi.39
8348933984Filial pietyThe honoring of one's ancestors and parents, a key element of Confucianism.40
8348933985Greek rationalismA secularizing system of scientific and philosophic thought that developed in classical Greece in the period 600 to 300 B.C.E.; it emphasized the power of education and human reason to understand the world in nonreligious terms.41
8348933986HinduismA word derived from outsiders to describe the vast diversity of indigenous Indian religious traditions.42
8348933987HippocratesA very influential Greek medical theorist (ca. 460-ca. 370 B.C.E.); regarded as the father of medicine.43
8348933988Jesus of NazarethThe prophet/god of Christianity(ca. 4 B.C.E.-ca. 30 C.E.).44
8348933989YahwehA form of the Hebrew name of God used in the Bible. The monotheistic religion developed by the Hebrews, emphasizing a sole personal god with concerns for social justice.45
8348933990KarmaIn 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.46
8348933991LaoziA legendary Chinese philosopher of the sixth century B.C.E.; regarded as the founder of Daoism.47
8348933992LegalismA Chinese philosophy distinguished by an adherence to clear laws with vigorous punishments.48
8348933993Mahayana"Great Vehicle," the popular development of Buddhism in the early centuries of the Common Era, which gives a much greater role to supernatural beings and proved to be more popular than original (Theravada) Buddhism.49
8348933994MokshaIn Hindu belief, liberation from separate existence and union with Brahman.50
8348933995NirvanaThe end goal of Buddhism, in which individual identity is "extinguished" into a state of serenity and great compassion.51
8348933996PlatoA disciple of Socrates whose Dialogues convey the teachings of his master while going beyond them to express Plato's own philosophy; lived from 429 to 348 B.C.E.52
8348933997PythagorasA major Greek philosopher (ca. 560-ca. 480 B.C.E.) who believed that an unchanging mathematical order underlies the apparent chaos of the world.53
8348933998Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)The Indian prince turned ascetic (ca. 566-ca. 486 B.C.E.) who founded Buddhism.54
8348933999SocratesThe first great Greek philosopher to turn rationalism toward questions of human existence (469-399 B.C.E.).55
8348934000Theravada"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 practices rather than beliefs.56
8348934001UpanishadsIndian mystical and philosophical works, written between 800 and 400 B.C.E.57
8348934002VedasThe 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.58
8348934003Warring States PeriodPeriod in China from 403 to 221 B.C.E. that was typified by disorder and political chaos.59
8348934004Yin and YangExpression of the Chinese belief in the unity of opposites.60
8348934005ZarathustraA Persian prophet, traditionally dated to the sixth or seventh century B.C.E. (but perhaps much older), who founded Zoroastrianism.61
8348934006ZoroastrianismPersian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra.62
8348934007caste as varna and jatiThe system of social organization in India that has evolved over millennia; it is based on an original division of the populace into four inherited classes, with the addition of thousands of social distinctions based on occupation, which became the main cell of social life in India.63
8348934008dharmaIn Indian belief, performance of the duties appropriate to an individual's caste; good performance will lead to rebirth in a higher caste.64
8348934009helotsThe dependent, semi-enslaved class of ancient Sparta whose social discontent prompted the militarization of Spartan society.65
8348934010KshatriyaThe Indian social class of warriors and rulers.66
8348934011latifundiaHuge estates operated by slave labor that flourished in parts of the Roman Empire67
8348934012PericlesA prominent and influential statesman of ancient Athens (ca. 495-429 B.C.E.); presided over Athens's Golden Age.68
8348934013scholar-gentry classA term used to describe members of China's landowning families, reflecting their wealth from the land and the privilege that they derived as government officials.69
8348934014SudraThe lowest Indian social class of varna; regarded as servants of their social betters; eventually included peasant farmers70
8348934015the "three submissions"In Chinese Confucian thought, the notion that a woman is permanently subordinate to male control: first that of her father, then of her husband, and finally of her son.71
8348934016UntouchablesAn Indian social class that emerged below the Sudras and whose members performed the most unclean and polluting work.72
8348934017VaisyaThe Indian social class that was originally defined as farmers but eventually comprised merchants.73
8348934018AxumClassical-era kingdom of East Africa, in present-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia; flourished from 100 to 600 C.E. and adopted Christianity.74
8348934019Bantu expansionGradual migration of peoples from their homeland in what is now southern Nigeria and the Cameroons into most of eastern and southern Africa, a process that began around 3000 B.C.E. and continued for several millennia. The agricultural techniques and ironworking technology of these farmers gave them an advantage over the gathering and hunting peoples they encountered.75
8348934020Coptic ChristianityThe Egyptian variety of Christianity, distinctive in its belief that Christ has only a single, divine nature.76
8348934021Silk RoadTrade route stretching from China into Europe.77
8348934022syncretisma blending of beliefs and practices from different religions into one faith78
8348934023monasticismThe lifestyle of a monk or nun, characterized by prayer and solitude79

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