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AP World History Period 2 Flashcards

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6645025857Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.E.), conqueror of the Persian Empire and part of northwest India.0
6645025858AryansIndo-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.1
6645025859AshokaThe 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.2
6645025860Athenian democracyA radical form of direct democracy in which much of the free male population of Athens had the franchise and officeholders were chosen by lot.3
6645025861Caesar 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
6645025862Cyrus (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
6645025863Darius 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
6645025864Greco-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
6645025865Gupta EmpireAn empire of India (320-550 C.E.).8
6645025866Han dynastyDynasty that ruled China from 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E., creating a durable state based on Shihuangdi's state-building achievement.9
6645025867Hellenistic 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
6645025868HerodotusGreek 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
6645025869hopliteA heavily armed Greek infantryman. Over time, the ability to afford a hoplite panoply and to fight for the city came to define Greek citizenship.12
6645025870IoniaThe territory of Greek settlements on the coast of Anatolia; the main bone of contention between the Greeks and the Persian Empire.13
6645025871Mandate 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
6645025872Battle of MarathonAthenian victory over a Persian invasion in 490 B.C.E.15
6645025873Mauryan EmpireA major empire (322-185 B.C.E.) that encompassed most of India.16
6645025874Olympic GamesGreek religious festival and athletic competition in honor of Zeus; founded in 776B.C.E. and celebrated every four years.17
6645025875PatriciansWealthy, privileged Romans who dominated early Roman society.18
6645025876Pax 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.19
6645025877Peloponnesian 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.20
6645025878PersepolisThe capital and greatest palace-city of the Persian Empire, destroyed by Alexander the Great.21
6645025879Persian 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.22
6645025880PlebiansPoorer, less privileged Romans who gradually won a role in Roman politics.23
6645025881Punic 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.24
6645025882Qin 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.25
6645025883Qin ShihuangdiLiterally "first emperor" (r. 221-210 B.C.E.) forcibly reunited China and established a strong and repressive state.26
6645025887Yellow Turban RebellionA major Chinese peasant revolt that began in 184 C.E. and helped cause the fall of the Han dynasty.27
6645025889AristotleA Greek polymath philosopher (384-322 B.C.E.); student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.28
6645025890AtmanThe human soul, which in classic Hindu belief seeks union with Brahman.29
6645025892Bhagavad GitaA great Hindu epic text, part of the much larger Mahabharata, which affirms the performance of caste duties as a path to religious liberation.30
6645025893bhakti movementAn immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity.31
6645025894BrahmanThe "World Soul" or final reality in upanishadic Hindu belief.32
6645025895BrahminsThe priestly caste of India.33
6645025896BuddhismThe cultural/religious tradition first enunciated by Siddhartha Gautama34
6645025897ConfucianismThe Chinese philosophy first enunciated by Confucius, advocating the moral example of superiors as the key element of social order.35
6645025898ConfuciusThe 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
6645025899ConstantineRoman emperor (r. 306-337 C.E.) whose conversion to Christianity paved the way for the triumph of Christianity in Europe.37
6645025900DaodejingThe central text of Daoism; translated as The Way and Its Power.38
6645025901DaoismA Chinese philosophy/popular religion that advocates simplicity and understanding of the world of nature, founded by the legendary figure Laozi.39
6645025902Filial pietyThe honoring of one's ancestors and parents, a key element of Confucianism.40
6645025903Greek 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
6645025904HinduismA word derived from outsiders to describe the vast diversity of indigenous Indian religious traditions.42
6645025905HippocratesA very influential Greek medical theorist (ca. 460-ca. 370 B.C.E.); regarded as the father of medicine.43
6645025906IsaiahOne of the most important prophets of Judaism, whose teachings show the transformation of the religion in favor of compassion and social justice (eighth century B.C.E.).44
6645025907Jesus of NazarethThe prophet/god of Christianity(ca. 4 B.C.E.-ca. 30 C.E.).45
6645025908YahwehThe monotheistic religion developed by the Hebrews, emphasizing a sole personal god (Yahweh) with concerns for social justice.46
6645025909KarmaIn 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.47
6645025910LaoziA legendary Chinese philosopher of the sixth century B.C.E.; regarded as the founder of Daoism.48
6645025911LegalismA Chinese philosophy distinguished by an adherence to clear laws with vigorous punishments.49
6645025913MokshaIn Hindu belief, liberation from separate existence and union with Brahman.50
6645025914NirvanaThe end goal of Buddhism, in which individual identity is "extinguished" into a state of serenity and great compassion.51
6645025915PlatoA 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
6645025916PythagorasA 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
6645025917Saint PaulThe first great popularizer of Christianity (10-65 C.E.).54
6645025918Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)The Indian prince turned ascetic (ca. 566-ca. 486 B.C.E.) who founded Buddhism.55
6645025919SocratesThe first great Greek philosopher to turn rationalism toward questions of human existence (469-399 B.C.E.).56
6645025920TheodosiusRoman emperor (r. 379-395 C.E.) who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman state, banning all polytheistic rituals.57
6645025921Theravada"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.58
6645025922UpanishadsIndian mystical and philosophical works, written between 800 and 400 B.C.E.59
6645025923VedasThe 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.60
6645025924Warring States PeriodPeriod in China from 403 to 221 B.C.E. that was typified by disorder and political chaos.61
6645025925Yin and YangExpression of the Chinese belief in the unity of opposites.62
6645025926ZarathustraPersian prophet, founded Zoroastrianism.63
6645025927ZoroastrianismPersian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra.64
6645025928caste 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.65
6645025929dharmaIn Indian belief, performance of the duties appropriate to an individual's caste; good performance will lead to rebirth in a higher caste.66
6645025930helotsThe dependent, semi-enslaved class of ancient Sparta whose social discontent prompted the militarization of Spartan society.67
6645025931karmaIn Indian belief, the force generated by one's behavior in a previous life that decides the level at which an individual will be reborn.68
6645025932KsatriyaThe Indian social class of warriors and rulers.69
6645025933latifundiaHuge estates operated by slave labor that flourished in parts of the Roman Empire70
6645025934PericlesA prominent and influential statesman of ancient Athens (ca. 495-429 B.C.E.); presided over Athens's Golden Age.71
6645025935"ritual purity" in Indian social practiceIn India, the idea that members of higher castes must adhere to strict regulations limiting or forbidding their contact with objects and members of lower castes to preserve their own caste standing and their relationship with the gods.72
6645025936scholar-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.73
6645025937SudraThe lowest Indian social class of varna; regarded as servants of their social betters; eventually included peasant farmers74
6645025938the "three obediences"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.75
6645025939UntouchablesAn Indian social class that emerged below the Sudras and whose members performed the most unclean and polluting work.76
6645025940VaisyaThe Indian social class that was originally defined as farmers but eventually comprised merchants.77
6645025942Empress WuThe only female "emperor" in Chinese history (r. 690-705 C.E.); patronized scholarship, worked to elevate the position of women, and provoked a backlash of Confucian misogynist invective.78
6645025945Bantu 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 thesefarmers gave them an advantage over the gathering and hunting peoples they encountered.79
6645025946BatwaForest-dwelling people of Central Africa who adopted some of the ways of their Bantu neighbors while retaining distinctive features of their own culture; also known as "Pygmies."80
6645025948Chaco PhenomenonName given to a major process of settlement and societal organization that occurred in the period 860-1130 C.E. among the peoples of Chaco canyon, in what is now northwestern New Mexico; the society formed is notable for its settlement in large pueblos and for the building of hundreds of miles of roads (the purpose of which is not known).81
6645025949ChavinAndean town that was the center of a large Peruvian religious movement from around 900 to 200 B.C.E.82
6645025953MayaThe major classical civilization of Mesoamerica; flourished from 250 to 900 C.E.83
6645025954MocheAn important regional civilization of Peru, governed by warrior-priests; flourished from around 100 to 800 C.E.84
6645025955Mound BuildersMembers of any of a number of cultures that developed east of the Mississippi River in what is now the United States and that are distinguished by their large earthen mounds, built during the period 2000 B.C.E.-1250 C.E.85
6645025956NazcaA civilization of southern coastal Peru, the Nazca became famous for their underground irrigation channels and their gigantic and mysterious lines in the desert in the form of monkeys, birds, spiders, and other designs.86
6645025957Niger Valley CivilizationDistinctive city-based civilization that flourished from about 300 B.C.E. to about 900 C.E. in the floodplain of the middle Niger and that included major cities like Jenne-jeno; the Niger Valley civilization is particularly noteworthy for its apparent lack of centralized state structures, having been organized instead in clusters of economically specialized settlements.87
6645025958Pueblo"Great house" of the Ancestral Pueblo people; a large, apartment building-like structure that could house hundreds of people.88
6645025959Semi-sedentaryTerm frequently used to describe the peoples of the eastern woodlands of the United States, Central America, the Amazon basin, and the Caribbean islands who combined partial reliance on agriculture with gathering and hunting.89
6645025960TeotihuacánThe largest city of pre-Columbian America, with a population between 100,000 and 200,000; seemingly built to a plan in the Valley of Mexico, flourished between 300 and 600 C.E., during which time it governed or influenced much of the surrounding region. The name is an Aztec term meaning "city of the gods."90
6645025961TikalMajor Maya city, with a population of perhaps 50,000 people.91
6645025962Golden AgeA combination of wealth and a time of relative peace often leads to cultural achievement in math, science, arts, and technology.92
6645025963Pax Sinica"Chinese peace"; under the Han Dynasty, China experienced 400 years of prosperity and stability93

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