finals Flashcards
Why is the Indus Valley different from all the other ancient civilizations
the lack of evidence for an organized state
Where did Hammurabi spread his law?
in Mesopotamia
What were the first civilizations
Sumer, Egypt, Nubia, Olmecs, Shang Dyn. (China), Norte Chico, Oxus, and Indus Valley
Where and what was the oldest known civilization
Sumer, in Mesopotamia (aka Fertile Crescent/Modern Iraq)
Where was the Indus Valley civilization
Modern Pakistan
What provided the primary economic foundation for civilization
Agriculture
What was Uruk
Mesopotamia’s largest city
What laid at the heart of the First Civilizations
cities
What served as political/administrative capitals, centers of cultural productions, places of local and long-distance trade, and centers of manufacturing activities
cities
What was the Code of Hammurabi
a law which dictated Babylonian punishments and was dependent on class
What was the vast majority’s class in the first civilizations
free commoners
What class was always at the bottom of class heirarchies
slaves
Where were slaves drawn from in the first civilizations
Prisoners of War, criminals, and debtors
What helped cause the emergence of patriarchy the most in the first civilizations
agriculture
Did social class affect gender roles (specifically in the first civilizations)
Yes
Where was patriarchy lighter on women in the first civilizations
Egypt
What was central to the organization and stability of the first civilizations
states
In the first civilizations was patriarchy a legal and/or idea
it was legal (there were written laws on it) and ideal
What did rule by divine right do (first civilizations)
limited needed force to coerce people
What was the largest and most impressive empire in 500 B.C.E.?
The Persian Empire
Who expanded the Persian Empire from Egypt to India
Cyrus and Darius
What was the religion of the Persian Empire
Zoroastrianism
Where was advanced irrigation within the first civilizations
Mesopotamia
Who had more population, the Persian Empire or the Greeks
Persians
How did Classical Greece expand
colonization
Where (which city) was the first democracy developed
Athens
Where was the point of collision between Persia and Greece
Ionia
Why was there collision in Ionia
because ionian greeks revolted (supported by athens) against the Persians
When was the 50 year golden age of Greek culture
after the Persian wars
Who was the feature of the Hellenistic era and created a massive greek empire stretching form Egypt to Afghanistan/India
Alexander the Great
What did the Egyptians regard/anoint Alexander the Great as
the pharaoh and “son of the gods”
What happened to Alexander’s Greek empire after he died
it was divided into 3
How did Rome start
as a small and unimportant city-state
What did Rome form after it overthrew monarchy
a republic
What was special about the Roman army
their skill and brutality
What were upper-class men defined as in the Roman Empire
soldiers and land owners
What did pax romana bring to the Roman Empire
security and relative prosperity
What is Legalism
clear rules and harsh punishments
What dynasty unified China after the age of warring states
the Qin
What followed the Qin dynasty
the Han dynasty
How did Roman and Chinese emperors claim supernatural sanctions?
dead Roman emperors were regarded as gods and Chinese emperor was considered the Son of Heaven
What foreign religion did the Roman Empire absorb
Christianity
What foreign religion did the Chinese absorb from traders
Buddhism
Which of the two was more culturally fragmented? China or the Roman Empire
the Roman Empire
Where was bureaucracy more elaborate? China or the Roman Empire
China
Why did the Han Dynasty and Roman Empire fall
the empire was too big, expensive, tax evasion, instability, and disease (5)
What is the most important difference between Chinese and Roman empires fall
what happened after their downfall
What happened after the Han fell
300 years of disorder but later reunification on a similar scale
What happened after the Roman Empire fell
fragmentation and no successful large-scale imperial system again
Why was China more successful in restoration than the Roman Empire
Romans were a minority, had weaker bureaucratic tradition, and less productive agriculture (3)
Who were the two important figures in China
Confucius and Laozi
What is the principle of Confucianism
the moral example of superiors is the solution to disorder
Who collected Confucius’ teachings and where were they put
his student collected them and put them in the Analects
What became the ideology of China after the discrediting of Legalism
Confucianism
What did Confucius believe the key to human improvement is
education
What are the Confucian virtues for ideal men called
wen and wu (physical abilities)
How was Daoism the opposite of Confucianism
education as mostly useless and encouragement of withdrawal to nature
What is dao
the way of nature
How did elite Chinese often regard Daoism compared to Confucianism
They regarded it as a complement to Confucianism
How did Hinduism develop
it developed along with Indian civilization
To what religion did the Vedas belong
Hinduism
By who were the Vedas compiled
the Hindu Brahmins (priests)
What was developed in response to dissatisfaction with the brahmins
the Upanshids
What is the ultimate goal according to the Upanishads
moksha- unity of atman (human soul) and brahman (the world soul/ultimate reality)
what is samsara
Hindu reincarnation
What legitimated and expressed
India’s gender system
Hinduism
What is was a legitimate goal for men and women according to the kamasutra
sex
Who was the Buddha
Siddhartha Gautama
What is the central Buddhist teaching
life is suffering
What other religion did Buddhism have elements from
Hinduism
Did Buddhism challenge Hinduism
yes
What was the rigid hierarchy in India called
the caste system
To who did Buddhism appeal
lower castes
Which Buddhism thinks of Buddha as god
Mahayanna
Who is the god of Zoroastrianism
Ahura Mazda