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AP World History Period 2 Flashcards

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5607998278Ahura MazdaIn Zoroastrianism, the good god who rules the world.0
5607998279Alexander the GreatAlexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.E.), conqueror of the Persian Empire and part of northwest India.1
5607998280AryansIndo-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
5607998281AshokaThe 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
5607998282Athenian 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.4
5607998283Caesar 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.).5
5607998284Cyrus (the Great)Founder of the Persian Empire (r. 557-530 B.C.E.); a ruler noted for his conquests, religious tolerance, and political moderation.6
5607998285Darius IGreat king of Persia (r. 522-486 B.C.E.) following the upheavals after Cyrus's death; completed the establishment of the Persian Empire.7
5607998286Greco-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.8
5607998287Gupta EmpireAn empire of India (320-550 C.E.).9
5607998288Han dynastyDynasty that ruled China from 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E., creating a durable state based on Shihuangdi's state-building achievement.10
5607998289Hellenistic 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.11
5607998290HerodotusGreek 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.12
5607998291hopliteA heavily armed Greek infantryman. Over time, the ability to afford a hoplite panoply and to fight for the city came to define Greek citizenship.13
5607998293Mandate 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
5607998294Battle of MarathonAthenian victory over a Persian invasion in 490 B.C.E.15
5607998295Mauryan EmpireA major empire (322-185 B.C.E.) that encompassed most of India.16
5607998296Olympic GamesGreek religious festival and athletic competition in honor of Zeus; founded in 776B.C.E. and celebrated every four years.17
5607998297PatriciansWealthy, privileged Romans who dominated early Roman society.18
5607998298Pax 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
5607998299Peloponnesian 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
5607998300PersepolisThe capital and greatest palace-city of the Persian Empire, destroyed by Alexander the Great.21
5607998301Persian 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
5607998302PlebiansPoorer, less privileged Romans who gradually won a role in Roman politics.23
5607998303Punic 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
5607998304Qin 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
5607998305Qin ShihuangdiLiterally "first emperor" (r. 221-210 B.C.E.) forcibly reunited China and established a strong and repressive state.26
5607998306SolonAthenian statesman and lawmaker (fl. 594-560 B.C.E.) whose reforms led the Athenians toward democracy.27
5607998307WudiHan emperor (r. 141-86 B.C.E.) who began the Chinese civil service system by establishing an academy to train imperial bureaucrats.28
5607998308XiongnuNomadic peoples to the north of the Great Wall of China who were a frequent threat to the stability of the Chinese state.29
5607998309Yellow Turban RebellionA major Chinese peasant revolt that began in 184 C.E. and helped cause the fall of the Han dynasty.30
5607998310Angra MainyuIn Zoroastrianism, the evil god, engaged in a cosmic struggle with Ahura Mazda.31
5607998311AristotleA Greek polymath philosopher (384-322 B.C.E.); student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great.32
5607998313Ban ZhaoA major female Confucian author of Han dynasty China (45-116 C.E.) whose works give insight into the implication of Confucian thinking for women.33
5607998314Bhagavad GitaA great Hindu epic text, part of the much larger Mahabharata, which affirms the performance of caste duties as a path to religious liberation.34
5607998315bhakti movementAn immensely popular development in Hinduism, advocating intense devotion toward a particular deity.35
5607998317BrahminsThe priestly caste of India.36
5607998318BuddhismThe cultural/religious tradition first enunciated by Siddhartha Gautama37
5607998319ConfucianismThe Chinese philosophy first enunciated by Confucius, advocating the moral example of superiors as the key element of social order.38
5607998320ConfuciusThe 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.39
5607998321ConstantineRoman emperor (r. 306-337 C.E.) whose conversion to Christianity paved the way for the triumph of Christianity in Europe.40
5607998322DaodejingThe central text of Daoism; translated as The Way and Its Power.41
5607998323DaoismA Chinese philosophy/popular religion that advocates simplicity and understanding of the world of nature, founded by the legendary figure Laozi.42
5607998324Filial pietyThe honoring of one's ancestors and parents, a key element of Confucianism.43
5607998326HinduismA word derived from outsiders to describe the vast diversity of indigenous Indian religious traditions.44
5607998327HippocratesA very influential Greek medical theorist (ca. 460-ca. 370 B.C.E.); regarded as the father of medicine.45
5607998328IsiaihOne 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.).46
5607998329Jesus of NazarethThe prophet/god of Christianity(ca. 4 B.C.E.-ca. 30 C.E.).47
5607998330YahwehThe monotheistic religion developed by the Hebrews, emphasizing a sole personal god (Yahweh) with concerns for social justice.48
5607998331KarmaIn 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.49
5607998332LaoziA legendary Chinese philosopher of the sixth century B.C.E.; regarded as the founder of Daoism.50
5607998333LegalismA Chinese philosophy distinguished by an adherence to clear laws with vigorous punishments.51
5607998334Mahayana"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.52
5607998336NirvanaThe end goal of Buddhism, in which individual identity is "extinguished" into a state of serenity and great compassion.53
5607998337PlatoA 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.54
5607998338PythagorasA major Greek philosopher (ca. 560-ca. 480 B.C.E.) who believed that an unchanging mathematical order underlies the apparent chaos of the world.55
5607998339Saint PaulThe first great popularizer of Christianity (10-65 C.E.).56
5607998340Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha)The Indian prince turned ascetic (ca. 566-ca. 486 B.C.E.) who founded Buddhism.57
5607998341SocratesThe first great Greek philosopher to turn rationalism toward questions of human existence (469-399 B.C.E.).58
5607998342TheodosiusRoman emperor (r. 379-395 C.E.) who made Christianity the official religion of the Roman state, banning all polytheistic rituals.59
5607998344UpanishadsIndian mystical and philosophical works, written between 800 and 400 B.C.E.60
5607998345VedasThe 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.61
5607998346Warring States PeriodPeriod in China from 403 to 221 B.C.E. that was typified by disorder and political chaos.62
5607998347Yin and YangExpression of the Chinese belief in the unity of opposites.63
5607998348ZarathustraA Persian prophet, traditionally dated to the sixth or seventh century B.C.E. (but perhaps much older), who founded Zoroastrianism.64
5607998349ZoroastrianismPersian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra.65
5607998350caste 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.66
5607998351dharmaIn Indian belief, performance of the duties appropriate to an individual's caste; good performance will lead to rebirth in a higher caste.67
5607998352helotsThe dependent, semi-enslaved class of ancient Sparta whose social discontent prompted the militarization of Spartan society.68
5607998353karmaIn Indian belief, the force generated by one's behavior in a previous life that decides the level at which an individual will be reborn.69
5607998355latifundiaHuge estates operated by slave labor that flourished in parts of the Roman Empire70
5607998356PericlesA prominent and influential statesman of ancient Athens (ca. 495-429 B.C.E.); presided over Athens's Golden Age.71
5607998358scholar-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.72
5607998360the "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.73
5607998361UntouchablesAn Indian social class that emerged below the Sudras and whose members performed the most unclean and polluting work.74
5607998364Empress 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.75
5607998366AxumClassical-era kingdom of East Africa, in present-day Eritrea and northern Ethiopia; flourished from 100 to 600 C.E.76

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