Midterm Flashcards
a seasonal prevailing wind in the region of South and Southeast Asia, blowing from the southwest between May and September and bringing rain (the wet monsoon ), or from the northeast between October and April (the dry monsoon ).
Monsoon
the most common form of plague in humans, characterized by fever, delirium, and the formation of buboes.
Bubonic plague
a major religious and cultural tradition of South Asia, developed from Vedic religion.
Hinduism
a religion represented by the many groups (especially in Asia) that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha
Buddhism
The rebirth of a soul in a new body
Reincarnation
(in Hinduism and Jainism) release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma.
Moksha
(in Buddhism) a transcendent state in which there is neither suffering, desire, nor sense of self, and the subject is released from the effects of karma and the cycle of death and rebirth. It represents the final goal of Buddhism.
Nirvana
the path to nirvana, comprising eight aspects in which an aspirant must become practiced: right views, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.
Eightfold path
an ancient Indic language of India, in which the Hindu scriptures and classical Indian epic poems are written and from which many northern Indian languages are derived.
Sanskrit
a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity
Caste system
In cultural anthropology and cultural geography, cultural diffusion, as first conceptualized by Alfred L
Cultural diffusion
the monotheistic religion of the Jews.
Judaism
the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.
Christianity
the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.
Islam
Decalogue: the biblical commandments of Moses
Ten Commandments
The Five Pillars of Islam are five basic acts in Islam, considered mandatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life. They are summarized in the famous hadith of Gabriel. They make up Muslim life, prayer, concern for the needy, self purification and the pilgrimage
Five pillars
(in Judaism) the law of God as revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures (the Pentateuch).
Torah
the attribution of a soul to plants, inanimate objects, and natural phenomena.
Animism
Shinto: the ancient indigenous religion of Japan lacking formal dogma; characterized by a veneration of nature spirits and of ancestors
Shintoism
the four central beliefs containing the essence of Buddhist teaching
Four noble truths
the belief in or worship of more than one god.
Polytheism
the doctrine or belief that there is only one God.
Monotheism
The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code, dating back to about 1772 BC. It is one of the oldest deciphered writings of significant length in the world
Code of Hammurabi
a member of the highest Hindu caste, that of the priesthood.
Brahman
the principle of cosmic order.
Dharma
an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean (4,000 miles); followed by Marco Polo in the 13th century to reach Cathay
Silk Road
In China, common names for China include Zhongguo and Zhonghua, while Han and Tang are common names given for the Chinese ethnicity. Other names include Huaxia, Shenzhou and Jiuzhou.
Middle Kingdom
a system of philosophical and ethical teachings founded by Confucius and developed by Mencius.
Confucianism
the peace that existed between nationalities within the Roman Empire.
Pax Romana
a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power.
Guilds
a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.
Democracy
writing consisting of hieroglyphs.
Hieroglyphics
denoting or relating to the wedge-shaped characters used in the ancient writing systems of Mesopotamia, Persia, and Ugarit, surviving mainly impressed on clay tablets.
Cuneiform
a geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates
Fertile Crescent
a 6th century masterpiece of Byzantine architecture in Istanbul; built as a Christian church, converted to a mosque in 1453, and made into a museum in the middle of the 20th century
Haggis Sophia
The Corpus Juris Civilis is the modern name for a collection of fundamental works in jurisprudence, issued from 529 to 534 by order of Justinian I, Eastern Roman Emperor.
Justinian’s code
In agriculture, a terrace is a piece of sloped plane that has been cut into a series of successively receding flat surfaces or platforms, which resemble steps, for the purposes of more effective farming. This type of landscaping, therefore, is called terracing
Terrace farming
The Commercial Revolution was a period of European economic expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism which lasted from approximately the 16th century until the early 18th century. It was succeeded in the mid-18th century by the Industrial Revolution.
Commercial revolution
the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code.
Chivalry
The Hundred Years’ War was a series of conflicts waged from 1337 to 1453 between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of France for control of the French throne. Many allies of both sides were also drawn into the conflict.
One Hundred Years’ War
Manorialism, an essential element of feudal society, was the organizing principle of rural economy that originated in the villa system of the Late Roman Empire, was widely practiced in medieval western and parts of central Europe, and was slowly replaced by the advent of a money-based market
Manorialism
