| 5083123544 | Alexander the Great | Alexander III of Macedon (356-323 B.C.E.), conqueror of the Persian Empire and part of northwest India. | | 0 |
| 5083123545 | Aryans | Indo-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 |
| 5083123546 | Ashoka | The 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 |
| 5083123547 | Athenian democracy | A 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 |
| 5083123548 | Caesar Augustus | The 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 |
| 5083123549 | Cyrus (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 |
| 5083123550 | Darius I | Great king of Persia (r. 522-486 B.C.E.) following the upheavals after Cyrus's death; completed the establishment of the Persian Empire. | | 6 |
| 5083123551 | Greco-Persian Wars | Two 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 |
| 5083123552 | Gupta Empire | An empire of India (320-550 C.E.).
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. | | 8 |
| 5083123553 | Hellenistic era | The 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. | | 9 |
| 5083123554 | Herodotus | Greek 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. | | 10 |
| 5083123555 | Mandate of Heaven | The 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. | | 11 |
| 5083123556 | Mauryan Empire | A major empire (322-185 B.C.E.) that encompassed most of India. | | 12 |
| 5083123557 | Patricians | Wealthy, privileged Romans who dominated early Roman society. | | 13 |
| 5083123558 | Pax Romana | The "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. | | 14 |
| 5083123559 | Peloponnesian War | Great 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. | | 15 |
| 5083123560 | Persepolis | The capital and greatest palace-city of the Persian Empire, destroyed by Alexander the Great. | | 16 |
| 5083123561 | Persian Empire | A 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. | | 17 |
| 5083123562 | Plebians | Poorer, less privileged Romans who gradually won a role in Roman politics. | | 18 |
| 5083123563 | Punic Wars | Three 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. | | 19 |
| 5083123564 | Qin Dynasty | A 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. | | 20 |
| 5083123565 | Qin Shihuangdi | Literally "first emperor" (r. 221-210 B.C.E.) forcibly
reunited China and established a strong and repressive state. | | 21 |
| 5083123567 | Xiongnu | Nomadic peoples to the north of the Great Wall of China who were a frequent threat to the stability of the Chinese state. | | 22 |
| 5083123568 | Yellow Turban Rebellion | A major Chinese peasant revolt that began in 184 C.E. and helped cause the fall of the Han dynasty. | | 23 |
| 5083123569 | Aristotle | A Greek polymath philosopher (384-322 B.C.E.); student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. | | 24 |
| 5083123570 | Atman | The human soul, which in classic Hindu belief seeks union with Brahman. | | 25 |
| 5083123572 | Brahman | The "World Soul" or final reality in upanishadic Hindu belief. | | 26 |
| 5083123573 | Brahmins | The priestly caste of India. | | 27 |
| 5083123574 | Buddhism | The cultural/religious tradition first enunciated by Siddhartha Gautama | | 28 |
| 5083123575 | Confucianism | The Chinese philosophy first enunciated by Confucius, advocating the moral example of superiors as the key element of social order. | | 29 |
| 5083123576 | Confucius | The 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. | | 30 |
| 5083123577 | Constantine | Roman emperor (r. 306-337 C.E.) whose conversion to Christianity paved the way for the triumph of Christianity in Europe. | | 31 |
| 5083123579 | Daoism | A Chinese philosophy/popular religion that advocates simplicity and understanding of the world of nature, founded by the legendary figure Laozi. | | 32 |
| 5083123580 | Filial piety | The honoring of one's ancestors and parents, a key element of Confucianism. | | 33 |
| 5083123581 | Greek rationalism | A 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. | | 34 |
| 5083123582 | Hinduism | A word derived from outsiders to describe the vast diversity of indigenous Indian religious traditions. | | 35 |
| 5083123584 | Jesus of Nazareth | The prophet/god of Christianity(ca. 4 B.C.E.-ca. 30 C.E.). | | 36 |
| 5083123586 | Karma | In 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. | | 37 |
| 5083123587 | Laozi | A legendary Chinese philosopher of the sixth century B.C.E.; regarded as the founder of Daoism. | | 38 |
| 5083123588 | Legalism | A Chinese philosophy distinguished by an adherence to clear laws with vigorous punishments. | | 39 |
| 5083123589 | Mahayana | "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. | | 40 |
| 5083123590 | Moksha | In Hindu belief, liberation from separate existence and union with Brahman. | | 41 |
| 5083123591 | Nirvana | The end goal of Buddhism, in which individual identity is "extinguished" into a state of serenity and great compassion. | | 42 |
| 5083123594 | Siddhartha Gautama (the Buddha) | The Indian prince turned ascetic (ca. 566-ca. 486 B.C.E.) who founded Buddhism. | | 43 |
| 5083123597 | Vedas | The 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. | | 44 |
| 5083123598 | Yin and Yang | Expression of the Chinese belief in the unity of opposites. | | 45 |
| 5083123599 | Zarathustra | A Persian prophet, traditionally dated to the sixth or seventh century B.C.E. (but perhaps much older), who founded Zoroastrianism. | | 46 |
| 5083123600 | Zoroastrianism | Persian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra. | | 47 |
| 5083123601 | dharma | In Indian belief, performance of the duties appropriate to an individual's caste; good performance will lead to rebirth in a higher caste. | | 48 |
| 5083123602 | karma | In Indian belief, the force generated by one's behavior in a previous life that decides the level at which an individual will be reborn. | | 49 |
| 5083123611 | Rock and pillar edicts | A series of edicts on rocks and pillars created by Ashoka that reminded Mauryans to live righteous lives according to Buddhist principles. | | 50 |
| 5083123613 | Han Dynasty | (202 BCE-220 CE) This dynasty continued the centralization of the Qin Dynasty, but focused on Confucianism and education instead of Legalism. | | 51 |
| 5083123614 | satrap | A governor of a province in ancient Persia | | 52 |
| 5083123616 | Hellenism | Greek culture spread across western Asia and northeastern Africa after the conquests of Alexander the Great. The period ended with the fall of the last major Hellenistic kingdom to Rome, but Greek cultural influence persisted until the spread of Islam. | | 53 |
| 5083123620 | paganism | The profession of no religion | | 54 |
| 5083123621 | legalism | A Chinese philosophy that was devoted to strengthen and expand the state through increased agricultural work and military service. | | 55 |
| 5083123624 | Great Wall of China | world's longest man made structure built to keep invaders from the north out of China, started by the Qin Dynasty, expanded by the Han Dynasty, | | 56 |
| 5083123625 | Great Royal Road | Highway constructed by Persians in 5th century BCE to facilitate rapid communication among the large empire | | 57 |
| 5083123628 | Constantinople | City founded as the second capital of the Roman Empire. A large and wealthy city that was the imperial capital of the Byzantine empire and later the Ottoman empire, now known as Istanbul, Turkey | | 58 |
