AP World History- Chapter 5 and 6 Vocabulary Flashcards

248713749	monsoon	a seasonal wind of the Indian Ocean and southern Asia caused by the differences in temperatures between the rapidly heating and cooling landmasses of Africa and Asia	0
248713750	karma	In Indian tradition, the residue of deeds performed in past and present lives that adheres to a 'spirit' and determines what form it will assume in its next life cycle. Used in India to make people happy with their lot in life.	1
248713751	Therevada Buddhism	"Way of the Elders" branch of Buddhism followed in Sri Lanka and much of Southeast Asia	2
248713752	Mahabharata	A vast epic chronicling the events leading up to a cataclysmic battle between related kinship groups in early India. It includes the Bhagavad-Gita, the most important work of Indian sacred literature.	3
248713753	theater state	state that acquires prestige and power by developing attractive cultural forms and staging elaborate public ceremonies (as well as redistributing valuable resources) to attract and bind subjects to the center.	4
248713754	Sasanid Empire	Iranian empire, established ca. 226, with a capital in Ctesiphon, Mesopotamia. The Sasanid emperors established Zoroastrianism as the state religion. Islamic Arab armies overthrew the empire ca. 640.	5
248713755	Trans-Saharan Caravan Route	The trade route in Africa that connected central Africa with its northern and eastern ends. It connected the various cultures dotted throughout Africa as well as the Roman society.	6
248713756	Sub-Saharan Africa	The region south of the Sahara Desert in Africa; includes some of the world's richest deposits of minerals, yet still remains one of the largest regions of undeveloped natural resources in the world.	7
248713757	"Small Traditions"	Historians' term for a localized, usually non-literate, set of customs and beliefs adhered to by a single society, often in conjunction with a "great tradition"	8
248713758	Mauryan Empire	The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. It was founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 324 B.C.E. and survived until 184 B.C.E. From its capital at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes.	9
248713759	Vedas	Early Indian sacred 'knowledge'-the literal meaning of the term-long preserved and communicated orally by Brahmin priests and eventually written down.	10
248713760	Moksha	The Hindu concept of the spirit's 'liberation' from the endless cycle of rebirths.	11
248713761	Hinduism	Term for a wide variety of beliefs and ritual practices that have developed in the Indian subcontinent since antiquity. Hinduism has roots in ancient Vedic, Buddhist, and south Indian religious concepts and practices.	12
248713762	Bhagaved-Gita	The most important work of Indian sacred literature, a dialogue between the great warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna on duty and the fate of the spirit.	13
248713763	Funan	An early complex society in Southeast Asia between the first and sixth centuries C.E. It was centered in the rich rice-growing region of southern Vietnam, and it controlled the passage of trade across the Malaysian isthmus.	14
248713764	Stirrup	Device for securing a horseman's feet, enabling him to wield weapons more effectively. First evidence of the use of stirrups was among the Kushan people of northern Afghanistan in approximately the first century C.E.	15
248713765	Savanna	Tropical or subtropical grassland, either treeless or with occasional clumps of trees. Most extensive in sub-Saharan Africa but also present in South America.	16
248713766	Bantu	Collective name of a large group of sub-Saharan African languages and of the peoples speaking these languages.	17
248713767	Varna	(Hinduism) the name for the original social division of Vedic people into four groups (which are subdivided into thousands of jatis)	18
248713768	Buddha	An Indian prince named Siddhartha Gautama, who renounced his wealth and social position. After becoming 'enlightened' (the meaning of Buddha) he enunciated the principles of Buddhism.	19
248713769	Tamil Kingdoms	The kingdoms of southern India, inhabited primarily by speakers of Dravidian languages, which developed in partial isolation, and somewhat differently, from the Aryan north.	20
248713770	Silk Road	Caravan routes connecting China and the Middle East across Central Asia and Iran.	21
248713771	Indian Ocean Maritime System	In premodern times, a network of seaports, trade routes, and maritime culture linking countries on the rim of the Indian Ocean from Africa to Indonesia.	22
248713772	Sahel	a strip of dry grasslands on the southern border of the Sahara; also known as "the shore of the desert"	23
248713773	Tropical Rain Forest	High-precipitation forest zones of the Americas, Africa, and Asia lying between the Tropic of Cancer and the Tropic of Capricorn.	24
248713774	Armenia	One of the earliest Christian kingdoms, situated in eastern Anatolia and the western Caucasus and occupied by speakers of the Armenian language.	25
248713775	Jati	(Hinduism) a Hindu caste or distinctive social group of which there are thousands throughout India	26
248713776	Mahayana Buddhism	"Great Vehicle" branch of Buddhism followed in China, Japan, and Central Asia. The focus is on reverence for Buddha and for bodhisattvas, enlightened persons who have postponed nirvana to help others attain enlightenment.	27
248713777	Ashoka	Third ruler of the Mauryan Empire in India (r. 270-232 B.C.E.). He converted to Buddhism and broadcast his precepts on inscribed stones and pillars, the earliest surviving Indian writing.	28
248713778	Gupta Empire	Powerful Indian state based, like its Mauryan predecessor, on a capital at Pataliputra 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	29
248713779	Parthians	Iranian ruling dynasty between ca. 250 B.C.E. and 226 C.E.	30
248713780	Steppes	Treeless plains, especially the high, flat expanses of northern Eurasia, which usually have little rain and are covered with coarse grass. They are good lands for nomads and their herds. Living here promoted the breeding of horses and the development of military skills that were essential to the rise of the Mongol Empire	31
248713781	"Great Traditions"	historians term for a literate, well-institutionalized complex of religious and social beliefs and practices adhered to by diverse societies over a broad geographical area	32
248713782	Ethiopia	East African highland nation lying east of the Nile River.	33
248713783	Tibetan Buddhism	a Buddhist doctrine that includes elements from India that are not Buddhist and elements of preexisting shamanism	34