World History Semester Exam Flashcards
Civilization
A form of culture characterized by advanced cities, specialized workers, complex institutions, record keeping, and advanced technology
Prehistory
The time before written records
Empire
A political unit in which a number of peoples or countries a controlled by a single ruler
Civil service
The administrative department of a government- especially those in which employees are hired on the basis of their scores on examinations
Mandate of Heaven
Created by the Zhou rulers of China- the divine approval thought to be the basis of royal authority
Hammurabi Code
Single, uniform code of law created by Hammurabi of Babylon to unify his empire
Dynasty
A series of rulers from a single family
Confucianism
The teachings of Confucius, who taught about diligence, reverence, truthfulness, generosity, and respect for elders; centered around relationships
Daoism
A philosophy based on the ideas of the Chinese thinker Laozi who taught that people should by guided by a universal force called the Dao
Legalism
A Chinese political philosophy based on the idea that a highly efficient and powerful government is key to social order
Polis
A Greek city-state; the fundamental political unity of Ancient Greece after about 750 B.C.
Example: Athens
Democracy
Citizen- controlled government, either directly or through representatives
Example: Pericles increased number of public officials given salaries- more citizens engaged in self- government
Monarchy
A government in which power is held in the hands of a single person
Example: rulers in Mycenae
Aristocracy
A government in which power is in the hands of a hereditary ruling class or nobility
Example: Athens prior to 594 B.C.
Oligarchy
A government in which power is in the hands of a few people, especially when rule is based on wealth
Example: Sparta
Cultural diffusion
The spreading of ideas or products from one culture to another
Example: contact between Mycenaeans and Minoans led to Mycenaeans adopting basis of Minoan culture
Republic
A form of government in which power rests with citizens who have the right to vote for their leaders
Example: the Roman government
Senate
The supreme governing body made up originally of aristocrats
Example: patricians
Patrician
The member of the wealthy, privileged, upper class
Plebeian
One of the common farmers, artisans, and merchants who made up most of the Roman population
Example: members of the tribal assembly
Twelve tables
Roman laws carved onto twelve tablets or tables; established the idea that all citizens have right to protection under the law
Dictator
A political leader given absolute power to make laws and command the army for a “limited” amount of time
Example: Julius Caesar
Pax Romana
27 B.C. - 180 A.D. ; first ruler was Augustus; time of peace and prosperity where Rome was at the height of its power
Example: Rome spread 3 million square miles
Justinian Code
The body of Roman civil law collected and organized by the order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian around A.D. 534; decided legal questions that regulated whole areas of people’s lives and lasted for 900 years
Eastern Orthodoxy
The Christian Church of the Eastern Empire
Czar
A Russian emperor; title first came to be in rule of Ivan III, when Russia was liberated from Mongols
Hagia Sophia
The cathedral of holy wisdom in Constantinople, built by the order of the Byzantine emperor Justinian; hailed as one of the most beautiful churches in the world
Five Pillars
The five duties Muslims are to carry out:
- Confession of faith
- Prayer
- Almsgiving
- Fasting
- Pilgrimage (hajj)
Sunni
The branch of Islam whose members acknowledge the first four caliphs as the rightful successors of Muhammad
Shi’a
The branch of Islam that believes Ali and his descendants to be the rightful successors of Muhammad
Sufi
A Muslim mystic who seeks to achieve direct contact with god through mystical means
House of Wisdom
A center of learning established in Baghdad in the 800s
Secular
Concerned with worldly rather than spiritual manners
Example: papacy under Pope Gregory I
Feudalism
A political system in which nobles are granted the use of lands that legally belong to their king, in exchange for their loyalty, military service, and protection of the people who lived on that land; most powerful institution in medieval Europe
Manorialism
The vesting of legal and economic power into one lord, supported economically from his own direct landholding and from the contributions of a legally subject part of the peasants who live on his manor
Holy Roman Empire
An empire established in Europe in the tenth century A.D., originally consisting of lands is what is now Germany and Italy; the political state of the Catholic Church
Crusades
The expeditions in which medieval Christian warriors sought to recover control of the Holy Land from the Muslims
Effects: expanded trade between Europe and southwest Asia, lessened the power of popes and feudal nobility, increased power of kings, thousands of lives lost, disrupted trade in other parts of world, hatred between Christians and Muslims
Reconquista
The effort of Christian rulers to drive Muslim Moors our of Spain (1100s- 1492)
Effect: led to Inquisition
Inquisition
A Roman Catholic tribunal for investigating and prosecuting charges of heresy (especially those active in Spain)
Commercial Revolution
The expansion of trade and business that transformed European economies during the 16th and 17th century
Effect: birth of local marketplaces with goods from all over Europe; manor is no longer self- sufficient; expansion of trade routes across Europe, Arabia, Southwestern Asia
Vernacular
The everyday language of a people in a country or region
Estates General
An assembly of representatives from all three estates (social classes) in France; beginning of democratic tradition in France that would set up central gov.
Great Schism
1376- a division in the medieval Roman Catholic Church, during which rival popes were established in Avignon and Rome
Black Plague
A deadly disease which spread across Europe and Asia, killing millions of people (bubonic plague)
Grand Canal
A waterway which connected the Huang He and the Chang Jiang which provided a vital trade route between the northern cities and southern rice- producing cities of the China Delta
Moveable type
Blocks of metal or wood, each bearing a single character, that can be arranged to make up a page for printing
Samurai
One of the professional warriors who served Japan’s feudal lords
Shogun
A supreme military commander who ruled in the name of the emperor
Bushido
The strict code of behavior followed by samurai warriors (chivalry)
Renaissance
A period of “rebirth” in European history, lasting from about 1300 to 1600, during which the renewed interest in classical culture led to far- reaching changes in art, learning, and views of the world
Humanism
An intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focus on human potential and achievements
Reformation
A 16th century movement for religious reform; lead to the founding of Christian churches that rejected the Pope’s authority
Indulgence
A pardon releasing a person from punishments due for sin
Predestination
The doctrine that God has decided all things before hand, including which people would be eternally saved; main belief of Calvinism
Catholic Counter Reformation
A 16th century movement in which the Roman Catholic Church sought to make changes in response to the Protestant Reformation
Columbus
Italian sea captain whose goal was to find a route to Asia by sailing west across Atlantic Ocean….
Instead he reached an island in the Caribbean and opened door for European exploration of Americas
Columbian Exchange
The global transfer of plants, animals,and diseases that occurred during European colonization of the Americas
Conquistador
The Spanish soldiers, explorers, and fortune hunters who took part in the conquest of the Americas in the 16th century
Colony
A land controlled by another nation
Favorable balance of trade
An economic situation in which a country sells more economic goods abroad than it sells than it buys from abroad
Capitalism
An economic system based on private ownership and the investment of money in business
Hernan Cortes
Spanish conquistador who took over Aztec Empire in Mexico
