Midterm Vocabulary

Question 1

Monsoon

Answer 1

a seasonal prevailing wind in the region of South and Southeast Asia

Question 2

Bubonic Plague

Answer 2

the most common form of plague in humans, characterized by fever, delirium, and the formation of buboes.

Question 3

Hinduism

Answer 3

a major religious and cultural tradition of South Asia, developed from Vedic religion.

Question 4

Buddhism

Answer 4

a religion represented by the many groups that profess various forms of the Buddhist doctrine and that venerate Buddha

Question 5

Reincarnation

Answer 5

he rebirth of a soul in a new body

Question 6

Moksha

Answer 6

release from the cycle of rebirth impelled by the law of karma.

Question 7

Nirvana

Answer 7

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

Question 8

Eightfold Path

Answer 8

the path to nirvana, comprising eight aspects in which an aspirant must become practiced: right views, intention, speech, action, livelihood, effort, mindfulness, and concentration.

Question 9

Sanskrit

Answer 9

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.

Question 10

Caste System

Answer 10

a social structure in which classes are determined by heredity

Question 11

Cultural Diffusion

Answer 11

the spreading out of a culture

Question 12

Judaism

Answer 12

the monotheistic religion of the Jews.

Question 13

Christianity

Answer 13

the religion based on the person and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth, or its beliefs and practices.

Question 14

Islam

Answer 14

the religion of the Muslims, a monotheistic faith regarded as revealed through Muhammad as the Prophet of Allah.

Question 15

Ten Commandments

Answer 15

the commandments summarizing the basic obligations of man towards God and his fellow men

Question 16

Five Pillars

Answer 16

The Five Pillars of Islam are five basic acts in Islam, considered mandatory by believers and are the foundation of Muslim life

Question 17

Torah

Answer 17

the law of God as revealed to Moses and recorded in the first five books of the Hebrew scriptures

Question 18

Animism

Answer 18

the belief in a supernatural power that organizes and animates the material universe.

Question 19

Shintoism

Answer 19

the ancient indigenous religion of Japan lacking formal dogma; characterized by a veneration of nature spirits and of ancestors

Question 20

Four Noble Truths

Answer 20

the four central beliefs containing the essence of Buddhist teaching.

Question 21

Polytheism

Answer 21

the belief in or worship of more than one god.

Question 22

Monotheism

Answer 22

the doctrine or belief that there is only one God.

Question 23

Code Of Hammurabi

Answer 23

The Code of Hammurabi is a well-preserved Babylonian law code of ancient Iraq, formerly Mesopotamia, dating back to about 1772 BC.

Question 24

Brahma

Answer 24

The creator god, conceived chiefly as a member of the triad including also Vishnu and Shiva

Question 25

Dharma

Answer 25

the teaching or religion of the Buddha.

Question 26

Silk Road

Answer 26

an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean 4,000 miles long

Question 27

Middle Kingdom

Answer 27

a period of Egyptian history extending from the late 11th to the 13th dynasty

Question 28

Confucianism

Answer 28

a system of philosophical and ethical teachings founded by Confucius and developed by Mencius

Question 29

Pax Romana

Answer 29

the peace that existed between nationalities within the Roman Empire.

Question 30

Guilds

Answer 30

a medieval association of craftsmen or merchants, often having considerable power.

Question 31

Democracy

Answer 31

a system of government by the whole population or all the eligible members of a state, typically through elected representatives.

Question 32

Hieroglyphics

Answer 32

writing consisting of hieroglyphs.

Question 33

Cuneiform

Answer 33

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.

Question 34

Fertile Crescent

Answer 34

a geographical area of fertile land in the Middle East stretching in a broad semicircle from the Nile to the Tigris and Euphrates

Question 35

Hagia Sophia

Answer 35

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

Question 36

Justinians Code

Answer 36

Roman law: the legal code of ancient Rome; codified under Justinian; the basis for many modern systems of civil law

Question 37

Terrace Farming

Answer 37

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.

Question 38

Commercial Revolution

Answer 38

a period of European economic expansion, colonialism, and mercantilism which lasted from approximately the 16th century until the early 18th century.

Question 39

Chivalry

Answer 39

the medieval knightly system with its religious, moral, and social code.

Question 40

One Hundred Years War

Answer 40

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.

Question 41

Manoralism

Answer 41

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