World History Study Guide to 1648

This is the growing list of study terms for World history, from creation to 1648 (the same midpoint used by the CLEP exams).

This should grow from 384 (about half are honors) to nearly 500 terms -- about half basic and half honors -- and every term should be described in the table. An examination on this material will be given in November 2011.

Basic terms

the first Chinese emperor he ruled from 221 B.C. to 210 B.C. He built new roads and made all of China use the same coin and weight system. He also made a standard form of writing so everyone would understand his decrees.

Term	Definition
Abraham	Approximately 2000 B.C. Father of Jewish people; God made a covenant with him to make his descendants great in number. Arabs claim descendance from Abraham's son Ishmael.
Acropolis	Portion of a town or city that is built on a hilltop for easy defense. Best known Acropolis is in Athens, where the democratic assembly met. Most Greek city-states had an Acropolis.
the Academy	Founded by Plato, this was the first great center of learning
Aesop	a Greek writer famous for writing ''Aesop's Fables'' (around 600 B.C.), such as "The Fox and the Grapes" and "The Wolf in Sheep's Clothing".
Aesop's Fables	Stories and fables written by Aesop around 600 B.C. They contain moral teaching.
Ahuramazda	The creator in the Persian's religion of Zoroastrianism.
Alexander the Great	356 - 323 B.C. Born to Philip II of Macedon and tutored by Aristotle. Conquered Greece, Egypt, Persia, and more, but turned back at India. Alexander's conquests spread Greek culture and language and helped the future spread of Christianity.
Alexandria	City in Egypt captured by Alexander the Great and Hellenized. Known for its famous library.
Analects	The analects are a record of the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, written and compiled by his disciples circa 400-300 B.C.
Ancient world	Civilized world before the fall of the Roman Empire in AD 476.
Anselm	A Christian philosopher, founder of scholasticism, and archbishop of Canterbury
Antisthenes	A disciple of Socrates; founded Cynicism.
Archimedes	287 – 212 B.C. Greek mathematician and engineer. Discovered Archimedes' Principle, invented "Archimedes' screw," and built defenses against the Romans for his city of Syracuse; killed by the Romans.
Archons	Aristocratic officials elected by the Athenian government to make the laws; later overtook by tyrants who rose to power in the 600s BC
Aristocracy	"Rule by the best": aristocrats were generally wealthy and privileged. European feudal government resembled aristocracy, and some governments in ancient Greece were aristocracies.
Aristotle	384 to 322 B.C. Greek philosopher, student of Plato and tutor to Alexander the Great. Focused on experience with the physical world; studied biology and founded a school, the Lyceum, resembling a university with specimens and a library.
Art of Warfare	First military treatise; written by Sun Tzu. Reflects the insight shared by ancient Chinese culture.
Assyrian Empire	1400-605 B.C. First dependent on Babylonia, then became an independent state, and finally an empire. Known for cruelty, especially to the Hebrews. Captured northern Kingdom of Israel in 722, but destroyed by Medians in the 600s.
Athens	Greek city-state. Democracy begun by Pericles in 5th century B.C. Previously ruled by aristocrats. First democracy in the world and a great naval power. Rival with Persia but united to defeat invading Persians.
Attila the Hun	Last and greatest ruler of the Huns. Fought against the eastern Roman Empire and then fought the western Roman Empire throughout the mid AD 400s. Almost defeated, but then almost sacked Rome; turned away by Pope Leo I.
Augustus Caesar	63 B.C. - A.D. 14. Succeeded Julius Caesar and became first Roman Emperor. Ruler during the birth of Christ. Defeated Mark Antony for rule of Rome.
Ezana	Ezana was the king of Axum, in Africa. He ruled from A.D.330 to A.D.350. He was the first Christian king in Africa.
Babylon	The major Mesopotamian city in the ancient Middle East. Greatest ruler was Hammurabi. Developed Cuneiform, used base-60 numbers, and defeated ancient Sumer about 2000 B.C. Later cruel to Hebrews.
Babylonia	State and Empire created by Babylon. First empire existed from 1900-1600 B.C. Resurged as the Neo-Babylonian Empire from 625-538 B.C. Imposed Babylonian Exile on Hebrews.
B.C.E.	Flawed secularized term to denote "Before Common Era" same dating system as B.C. but secularized.
Bible	Collection of Hebrew (Old Testament) and Christian (New Testament) Scriptures. Foretells the coming of a Messiah for the Hebrews, and recounts ancient history including the Tower of Babel and the Great Flood.
Brahman/Brahmin	Brahman: the ultimate god or existence in Hinduism, of which all existence is somehow a part, or from which all comes; Brahmin: the highest class for families in the Hindu caste system
Bronze Age	It is the age referred to during which time bronze was the common metal used in people's everyday lives. It was used for jewelry, tools, utensils, weapons, and it helped enable the introduction of the plough.
Buddha	"Awakened One" in Buddhism. What Siddhartha Gautama's followers called him.
Buddhism	It is a belief system which teaches that desire causes suffering and if desire is eliminated, enlightenment and Nirvana are attained.
Byzantine Empire	It was the eastern part of the Roman Empire that split away. It outlasted the Western half by 1000 years due to its greater financial resources.
Carthage	A city off the coast of Africa whose rivalry with Rome led to the three Punic Wars at the end of which Carthage was destroyed and decreed never to be rebuilt.
Caste	It is a social rank in Hinduism. Brahmans are priests and scholars, Kshatriya are rulers, Vaishya are peasants, and Shudra are serfs. Good karma enables one to improve his caste in the next life.
Celts	A tribal people who had lived and had controlled parts of Europe including Ireland, England, Scotland, and Wales since ancient times, whose religious consisted of worshiping many gods and being led by priests called "druids", until converted to Christianity by Saint Patrick in Ireland
C.E.	Secularized term for A.D. same dating system as A.D. But Means Common Era instead of In the Year of our lord.
Chaldeans	The ancient Babylonians
Chandragupta Mauryan	Built the largest Indian empire in India's history. A tough and strong dictator.
Charlemagne	King of the Franks from 768 AD to 814 AD, and Holy Roman Emperor from 800 AD; he greatly expanded both his empire and Christianity during his rule.
China	The world's oldest major civilization
city-states	Small nations consisting of only a single city each; common in ancient Greece. Examples included Sparta, Athens and Corinth. They fought each other, but also banned together to defeat the Persians when that great empire sought to absorb Greece.
Civilization	A group of people who live in an area. They have agriculture, currency, a government and laws, and an economy.
Classical Civilizations	Ancient Mediterranean civilizations that were generally pre-Christian, such as Rome, Greece, and Egypt
Classicism	A Renaissance movement in the arts, looking back to ancient Rome and Greece for inspiration
Code of Hammurabi	The code of Hammurabi was one of the first set of written laws. It was a harsh code that demanded an eye for an eye a tooth for a tooth. Hammurabi was the king of Babylon from 1792 to 1750 B.C.
Code of Manu	Hindu law containing rules and codes of conduct.Written in 200 BC, India.
Colosseum	A massive stadium in Rome that was used to hold gladiatorial contests, chariot racing and killing Christians for entertainment.
Comedy	In a classical sense, a play with a happy ending. All classical plays were either a "comedy" or a "tragedy".
Confucius	A very famous Chinese philosopher who came up with many ideas about ethics and social conduct
Constantine	The first Christian emperor of Rome who legalized Christianity and ended the persecution of Christians
Constantinople	Modern day Istanbul, it was the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire from AD 330. Also known as Byzantium.
Council of Nicaea	325 AD. A council of bishops called by Constantine to obtain agreement on various aspects of Christianity such as the doctrine of the Trinity and the role of the Roman Bishop(the Pope)and also in order to address disunity in the Church stemming from Arianism.
cuneiform	The earliest known form of writing. Consists of lines and dashes to represent different concrete things, such as fish.
Cynicism	Philosophy that focuses on the negative things of life. Founded by Antisthenes.
David	Second king of Israel and a descendant of Jesus Christ. He was chosen by God to replace Saul and he expands the kingdom of Israel greatly.
Delian League	Alliance against Persia; formed in 477 BC consisting of Athens and various other Greek city-states and Aegean towns; controlled by Athens who imposed taxes and used the League's budget to fund Athenian projects
Dharma	The laws of religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism
Diaspora	The migration or scattering of a people away from their ancestral home.
Direct Democracy	laws are made by votes of the citizens, rather than by elected officials. Athens of ancient Greece was the first direct democracy.
Dorians	tribes that settled Greece between 1100 and 1000 B.C., having a military ruling class that oppressed the local people some cities even after the Greeks established democracy in Athens. The "Doric order" is the simplest form of Greek architecture, consisting of a straight column without any artistic trim at the top.
Early agriculture	Crops such as grain being grown in places such as Egypt
Edict of Milan	a political proclamation that fully legalized Christianity (and all other religions) throughout the Roman Empire. This edict was issued by Constantine I in 313 AD, shortly after the end of the Diocletian persecutions against Christians.
Egypt	One of the oldest civilizations in recorded history, going back over 5,000 years
Eightfold Path	The Buddhist path to reach the end of suffering
Enlightened One	A translation of the name Buddha
Epic of Gilgamesh	A Sumerian poem preserved on stone tablets with a story bearing great resemblance to Noah's ark
Euclid	Lived 325-365 B.C. in Hellenistic Alexandria.A Greek mathematician and the father of geometry who wrote the Elements.
Euphrates river	The Euphrates is a river that was the border of Mesopotamia and was both a trading route and a protection for Mesopotamia. The land between the Euphrates and the Tigris river is known as the fertile crescent and is the birthplace of civilization.
Fertile Crescent	An area of land in the Middle East area where it was easier to grow crops
First Punic War	254-241 BC; Rome conquered the island of Sicily and developed a navy; though no match for the powerful Carthaginian navy, Romans invented a corvus, allowing them to board enemy ships and win the war
Four Noble Truths	Important principles in Buddhism
Gentiles	The term for people who are not of Israeli descent.
Gracchi brothers	Two tribunes of ancient Rome who wanted to help the poor by redistributing land from the rich
Great Wall of China	A large wall created in Ancient China to keep invaders out of the country
Greece	The most significant ancient civilization, and it may have even been the greatest civilization of all time. Greece had many remarkable acheivments including, the invention of democracy, and the discovery of mathematics and philosophy. Intellectually, politically, and militarily, Greece had it all.
Greek drama	Theatrical tradition of ancient Greece between 600 and 400 B.C. with two main types: comedies (good ending) and tragedies (bad ending)
Greek empire	An important empire that produced some of the first works of literature and mythology that has impacted culture today
Gupta empire	An empire that covered much of modern India and Pakistan that came up with algebra, the concepts of zero and infinity, and the numbers 1-9
Hammurabi	King of Babylon who developed the Code of Hammurabi, which is based on the concept of an eye for an eye
Hannibal	Military commander who planned attacks against Rome and Spain
Hebrews	God's chosen people, and the ancestors of the Israelites
heliocentric	A theory where the Sun is the center of the universe.
Hellenistic	Relating to Greek culture, particularly in lands beyond Greece as conquered by Alexander the Great beginning in 335 B.C.
Hieroglyphics	A phonetic alphabet developed by the ancient Egyptians that uses the pictographic symbols to represent both an object and/or a phonetic sound.
Himalaya Mountain Range	Mountain range famous for having the world's tallest peaks, including Mount Everest and K2; a geographic protection which isolated ancient China
Hinduism	A major religion. It is polytheistic, and is practiced in many places, most notably India.
Hippocrates	"The father of medicine", developed the Hippocratic Oath which all medical students worldwide take as a condition of graduation.
Holy Roman Empire	Sometimes called the First Reich; it lasted from 900 to 1806 AD, and included the territory in Europe that was loosely under the authority of the Holy Roman Emperor. In practice, the constituent states ruled themselves.
Homer	An early Greek poet, famous for lengthy sagas such as Iliad and The Odyssey.
Huns	A tribe of people who fought with the Romans in what is now the Ukraine. They were considered by many Romans to be the most ferocious of enemies
Ideograms	A graphic symbol representing a concept or an idea
India	A country that was home to the Indus Valley civilization and dates back over 3,000 years
Indus River Valley	A fertile valley that was home to an ancient civilization and is modern Pakistan and northwestern India
Iron Age	An era where tools and weapons were made primarily out of iron
Isaac	The promised son born to Abraham and Sarah in their old age. The father of the Israeli people.
Ishmael	The son born to Abraham and Sarah's servant, Hagar. Ishmael is revered by Muslims as an ancestor who was unfairly treated as an outcast after Isaac was subsequently born to Abraham and Sarah.
Israel	The chosen nation of God and place where most events of the Bible took place
Jainism	Branched off of Hinduism, this religion stresses strict vegetarianism and non-violence towards all life.
Jesus	The Holy Messiah of the Christian faith, and the only son of God who was promised to save all humanity. He was the only founder of a religion to perform miracles to cure the suffering, the only one to emphasize the power of faith, and the only one to give up His life for the salvation of others.
Joan of Arc	17 year old girl who heard God calling her to lead the French army against the English in the 15th century. Was later canonized by the Catholic Church
Judah, Kingdom of	the southern kingdom of a divided Israel
Julius Caesar	A political leader who laid out the groundwork for the future Roman Empire, and also provided the foundation of the Gregorian calendar
Justinian I/the Justinian Code	Eastern Roman Emperor from 527 to 565 who developed the Justinian Code, which is the basis of civil law in many places
Karma	In Hinduism, everything a person has done. Determines status in the next life
Kassites	Eastern Tribe which controlled Babylon.
Kautilya	Advisor to Chaundragupta Maurya, wrote book "Arthoshastra" on maintaining political power.
Latin	The language spoken in ancient Rome that has contributed to many modern day European languages, including English
Lyceum	The great center of learning founded by Aristotle, which then competed with the Academy
Niccolo Machiavelli	An Italian political theorist and author, known for his book The Prince, which showed how a self-serving ruler will follow the policy that the "end justifies the means."
Magadha	Led Aryans to join and try to repel the Persians.
Magna Carta	A charter of personal and political liberties granted to the barons by King John of England in June 1215.
Maize	Corn, first grown by Native Americans
Mandate of Heaven	Chinese mandate that held that the gods blessed good rulers and overthrew bad ones
manor	Under feudalism during the Middle Ages, a manor was a farm owned by a lord who had peasants to do the work and pay him rent in exchange for food, shelter and protection
Marc Antony	A Roman commander and close friend of Caesar. He was in the 1st civil war of the Roman Republic
Martin Luther	An important Christian figure who launched the Protestant Reformation and founded the Lutheran Church. He was responsible for the first major split from the Catholic Church
Mauryan Empire	A Buddhist empire covering much of modern India
Mesoamerica	Mexico and Central America, where Pre-Columbian (before Christopher Columbus' exploration in 1492) civilizations existed
Mesopotamia	Modern-day Iraq, where civilization first appeared
Messiah	Essentially means anointed by God. Jesus Christ is the Messiah of Christianity
Michelangelo	A Renaissance painter and sculptor, known for his paintings on the Sistine Chapel ceiling, among other masterpieces. The archetypal Renaissance man.
Middle Ages	A period of time, also called the Medieval Ages, spanning from approximately 500 AD to 1500 AD, where kingdoms were ruled by the system of feudalism
Middle Kingdom	Egyptian kingdom known for its works and ideas that ended due to a civil war
monotheism	The belief in a religion worshipping only one god. Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are monotheistic religions.
Moses	The prophet who led the Israelites out of Egypt. He also brought the Ten Commandments to the Israelites, and is credited with writing the first five books of the Bible
Nile	River in Egypt which flows towards the Mediterranean Sea and supplies Egypt with water.
New Kingdom	Ancient Egypt at the time of Moses, where many buildings were built primarily with slave labor
Nicene Creed	A core statement of Christianity that asserts the Holy Trinity of God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Ghost
Nirvana	The ultimate goal of Buddhism, the end of all suffering
Oath of the Hindu Physician	Oath requiring, among other things, Doctors not to drink alcohol and to have an honest Doctor-Patient relationship.
Old Kingdom	The ancient Egyptian kingdom that built the famous pyramids
Olympics (Ancient Greek)	An ancient Greek sporting event first held in 776 B.C., establishing the beginning of the Greek civilization
Paper	thin layer of pulp dry on the bamboo screen.
Paul	An apostle of Jesus, and the only one not to have seen Him in the flesh. He went to different churches and wrote letters that make up a part of the New Testament of the Bible
Pax Romana	27 B.C.-180 A.D. A time of peace for the Roman Empire
Peloponnesian War	War fought between Athens and Sparta, 431-404 B.C. The war was ultimately won by Sparta and its allies
Pentateuch	The first five books of the modern Bible, believed to have been written by Moses
Persian empire	A large empire stretching from India to southern Europe and Egypt
Persian Wars	Wars between Persia (modern-day Iran) and Greek city-states such as Athens and Sparta
Peter	A disciple and apostle of Jesus, who taught in areas such as Jerusalem and Palestine
Petra Petra was an ancient city that lasted from some time in 6th century B.C. to 360 A.D. when an earthquake destroyed their water supply. The city is famous for its buildings carved in red sandstone and given the name the pink city. Also Indiana Jones was filmed there.
phalanx	Common Greek military formation. Rectangular, also the Greek word for "finger".
pharaoh	The ruler of Ancient Egypt
Philip of Macedon	King of Macedonia, and father of Alexander the Great who arranged for him to be homeschooled. Philip lived from 359 to 336 B.C., and his son succeeded him in power.
Philistines	Group of people occupying the land of Canaan. Enemies of Israel and God.
Phoenicians	An ancient people who lived and traded goods on the east coast of the Mediterranean Sea, and who developed a new language based on an alphabet of 22 letters. All Western alphabets, such as English and French and Italian and Greek and Latin, are based on it.
Plato	Athenian philosopher who wrote several treatises on philosophy, logic, ethics, rhetoric, and mathematics. He founded the Academy, of which Aristotle was the most famous student.
polis	The name for city-states in Ancient Greece
polytheism	A religion with many gods. This was the norm in ancient times until Judaism and Christianity emerged
Ptolemy	Greek mathematician, geographer, astronomer, and astrologer
Punic Wars	Enabled the Roman republic to gain control of the Mediterranean Sea and access to many goods
pyramids	A structure with 3 or more triangular-shaped sides and a base that is either a triangle, a rectangle or some other polygon. These structures have been built for thousands of years, in such diverse areas as Egypt, Mexico, North America, China and India. Pyramids have either smooth sides, like the famous pyramids in Egypt, or stepped sides similar to those built by the Mayans in Mexico.
Reformation	Events that led to the separation of Catholic and Protestant churches
Renaissance	A revival in the arts and in Greek and Roman literature, and more of a focus on the current life
Roman empire	Transition of Rome from a republic to having an emperor, starting with the appointment of Augustus Caesar as ruler in 27 B.C.
Roman republic	The first republic, located in Rome, and the basis of many principles of the government of the United States
Rome	The capital city of the Roman Empire, and of modern day Italy. Founded by Romulus and Remus, who supposedly fought over which one of them the city would be named after. Romulus killed his brother, and had the city named after himself.
Rosetta Stone	Ancient text written on stone in three different languages that enabled the first translations of Egyptian hieroglyphics
Royal Road	Ancient Persian highway rebuilt by Darius the Great
Saul	The first king of Israel appointed by God. He turned out to be a very flawed character, afflicted by jealousy for David.
satraps	Governors in the distant lands of the Persian empire which expanded further to Egypt and Arabia; carefully watched by a special force called the "King's Eyes and Ears" to prevent any rebellions
Scholasticism	Christian doctrines about man popular in the Middle Ages
Scientific Revolution	The beginning of modern science in the mid-1500s
Second Punic War	218-202 BC; Rome fought against Hannibal, leader of Carthage, who crossed over the Alps with his army and elephants to surprise the Romans but ultimately could not conquer Rome; Rome acquired Spain as a result of this war
Senate	The dominant force of the Roman Republic's government.
Seven Wonders of the Ancient World	A listing of the most impressive public works in the world written by Greek writer Antipater in the 2nd century B.C.
Shang Dynasty	First dynasty of China that lasted from 1766 B.C. to 1122 B.C.
Siddhartha Gautama	The Buddha, and the founder of the religion of Buddhism
Silk Road	A trade route from East China to Central Asia and Europe
Socrates	An Athenian philosopher who believed that the world we experience is a poor substitute for reality. His philosophy inspired Plato and in turn Aristotle, and became the accepted Orthodoxy until modern times.
Socratic method	[[A teaching method developed by Socrates which consists of asking questions]]
Solomon	Third king of Israel. Wrote Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon.
Solon of Athens	One of the Seven Sages of Greece, believed that one should, "keep everything with moderation."
Sparta	A Greek city-state well-known for its military prowess. Fought (and won) the Peloponnesian war against Athens.
Spread of Buddhism	Buddhism traveled outside of India along the Silk Road
Stirrup	The stirrup was invented in China in 322 B.C. The stirrup greatly helped riders control their horses more and gave advantage in battle.
St. Augustine	(A.D. 354-430) A father of the early Christian church who wrote an intellectual discussions of the faith
Sumer	Homeland of the Sumerians, located in Mesopotamia, in present-day Iraq
Sumerians	The earliest civilizations living in the Middle East; invented many things including the first known form of writing
Sun Tzu	Wrote The Art of War, a Chinese book on military strategy.
Taijitu	Also called "Yin and Yang". Symbol for Taoism. Represents a constant interaction in nature between two forces having opposite qualities.
Taoism (Daoism)	Chinese philosophy of seeking harmony with nature
Ten Commandments	The laws of the God of Israel handed down to Moses
Theocracy	A government ruled by the laws of a specific religion
Thales of Melitus	philosopher in the Greek tradition.
Thomas Aquinas	An Italian Christian philosopher whose ideas were influential in developing complex Christian theology.
Third Punic War	Romans destroyed Carthage in 146 BC and then went into Macedonia and Greece to defeat the regions in revenge for having helped Hannibal; as a result, Rome controlled all the land around the Mediterranean, equivalent to the entire western civilized world
Thirty Years' War	Primarily a religious conflict as Catholic states sought to suppress Protestantism. It began as a fight between Bohemian Protestants and Hapsburg Catholics in 1618, and soon became a political conflict for power that included Spain, Holland, Denmark, France, Sweden, and The Habsburgs of the Holy Roman Empire. The war ended with the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.
Thucydides	Greek scientific historian, wrote History of the Peloponnesian War, the first work of