AP ch.3 Flashcards

16531711	ALEXANDER THE GREAT	Successor of Philip II; successfully conquered Persian Empire prior to his death in 323 B.C.E.; attempted to combine Greek and Persian cultures.	0
16531712	HIMALAYAS	Mountain region marking the northern border of the Indian subcontinent; site of the Aryan settlements that formed small kingdoms or warrior republics.	1
16531713	MONSOONS	Seasonal winds crossing Indian subcontinent and southeast Asia; during summer bring rains.	2
16531714	ARYANS	Indo-European nomadic pastoralists who replaced Harappan civilization; militarized society.	3
16531715	SANSKRIT	The sacred and classical Indian language.	4
16531729	VEDAS	Aryan hymns originally transmitted orally but written down in sacred books from the 6th century B.C.E.	5
16531730	MAHABHARATA	Indian epic of war, princely honor, love, and social duty; written down in the last centuries B.C.E.; previously handed down in oral form.	6
16531731	RAMAYANA	One of the greatest epic tales from classical India; traces adventures of King Rama and his wife.	7
16531732	UPANISHADS	Later books of the Vedas; contained sophisticated and sublime philosophical ideas; utilized by Brahmans to restore religious authority.	8
16543436	VARNAS	Clusters of caste groups in Aryan society; four social castes- Brahmans (priests), warriors, merchants, and peasants; beneath four Aryan castes was groupof socially untouchable Dasas.	9
20460778	UNTOUCHABLES	Lowest caste in Indian society; performed tasks that were considered polluting- street sweeping, removal of human waste, and tanning.	10
20462704	INDRA	Chief deity of the Aryans; depicted as a colossal, hard-drinking warrior.	11
20462705	CHANDRAGUPTA MAURYA	Founder of Maurya dynasty; established first empire in Indian subcontinent; first centralized government since Harappan civilization.	12
20462706	MAURYAN	Dynasty established in Indian subcontinent in 4th century B.C.E. following invasion by Alexander the Great.	13
20462707	ASHOKA	Grandson of Chandragupta Maurya; completed conquests of Indian subcontinent; converted to Buddhism and sponsored spread of new religion throughout his empire.	14
20462708	DHARMA	The caste position and career determined by a person's birth; Hindu culture required that one accept one's social position and perform occupation to the best of one's ability in order to have a better situation in the next life.	15
20462709	KUSHANS	Dynasty that succeeded the Mauryas in northwestern India; sponsors of Buddhism; empire did not extend to Ganges River valley.	16
20462710	GUPTAS	Dynasty that succeeded the Kushans in the 3rd century C.E.; built empire that extended to all but the southern regions of Indian subcontinent; less centralized than Mauryan Empire.	17
20463645	KAUTILYA	Political advisor to Chandragupta Maurya; one of the authors of Arthashastra; believed in scientific application of warfare.	18
20463646	GURUS	Brahmans who served as teachers for the princes of the imperial court of the Guptas.	19
20760803	VISHNU	The Brahman, later Hindu, god of sacrifice; widely worshipped.	20
20760804	SHIVA	The Brahman, later Hindu, god of destruction and reproduction; worshipped as the personification of cosmic forces of change.	21
20760805	REINCARNATION	The successive attachment of the soul to some animate form according to merits earned in previous lives.	22
20760806	BUDDHA	Creator of major Indian and Asian religion; born in 6th century B.C.E. as son of local ruler among Aryan tribes located near Himalayas; became an ascetic; found enlightenment under bo tree; taught that enlightenment could be achieved only by abandoning desires for all earthly things.	23
20760807	NIRVANA	The Buddhist state of enlightenment, a state of tranquility.	24
20760808	KAMASUTRA	Written by Vatsayana during Gupta era; offered instructions on all aspects of life for higher caste males, including grooming, etiquette, selection of wives, and instruction on lovemaking.	25
20760809	STUPAS	Stone shrines built to house pieces of bone and personal possessions said to be relics of the Buddha; preserved Buddhist architectural forms.	26
20760810	SCHOLAR-GENTRY	Chinese class created by the marital linkage of the local land-holding aristocracy with the office-holding shi; superseded shi as governors of China.	27