AP World History Flashcards

199108923	Mesopotamia	Region of great cities (e.g Ur and Babylong) located between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; chronologically the first urban hearth, dating to 3500 BCE, and which as founded in the Fertile Crescent.	0
199108924	cuneiform	A system of writing in which wedge-shaped symbols represented words or syllables. It originated in Mesopotamia and was used initially for Sumerian and Akkadian but later was adapted to represent other languages of western Asia.	1
199108925	Epic of Gilgamesh	this epic poem is the earliest recorded human writing in existence. Gilgamesh was a great Babylonian epic based on an actual king named Gilgamesh. The longest and most full version of Gilgamesh which has been found was written in cuneiform on twelve stone tablets Cuneiform	2
199108926	lex talionis	principle developed in early Babylonian law and present in both biblical and early Roman law that criminals should receive as punishment precisely those injuries and damages they had inflicted upon their victims. Many early societies applied this "eye-for-an-eye" principle literally.	3
199108927	Code of Hammurabi	the set of laws drawn up by Babylonian king Hammurabi dating to the 18th century BC, the earliest legal code known in its entirety (Mesopotamia)	4
199108928	Vedas	Earliest known Indian literature, which contains religious chants and stories that were originally passed down orally from generation to generation and then recorded in Sanskrit after writing developed	5
199108929	Upanashads	ethics/holy writings of hindusare philosophical texts considered to be an early source of Hindu religion. More than 200 are known, of which the first dozen or so, the oldest and most important, are variously referred to as the principal, main (mukhya) or old Upanishads	6
199108930	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. (p. 184)	7
199108931	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 (186) (320-520 C.E.)	8
199108932	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. (184)	9
199108933	bureaucracy	a system of government administration consisting of numerous bureaus or offices, especially one run according to inflexible and inefficient rules; any large administrative system characterized by inefficiency, lots of rules, and red tape	10
199108934	Buddhism	the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases, and that enlightenment obtained through right conduct and wisdom and meditation releases one from desire and suffering and rebirth	11
199108935	Theravada	Prevalent form of Buddhism in Sri Lanka, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, and Kampuchea (Chambodia); focuses on the earliest texts and emphasizes monastic lifestyle. 250 B.C.E.	12
199108936	Mahayana	the later of the two great schools of Buddhism, chiefly in China, Tibet, and Japan, characterized by eclecticism and a general belief in a common search for salvation, sometimes thought to be attainable through faith alone.	13
199108937	Qin	A people and state in the Wei Valley of eastern China that conquered rival states and created the first Chinese empire (221-206 B.C.E.). The Qin ruler, Shi Huangdi, standardized many features of Chinese society and enslaved subjects.	14
199108938	Warring States Period	the period from 5th century BC to the unification of China by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BC when regional warlords battled amongst eachother and there was no ruler	15
199108939	philosophy	a belief (or system of beliefs) accepted as authoritative by some group or school	16