| Term | Definition |
|---|
| Neanderthals | a type of Homo Sapiens that made clothes from animal skins and seem to have been the first to bury their dead |
| Homo Erectus | Upright human being |
| Paleolithic Age | Greek for "Old Stone," the early period of human history in which humans used simple stone tools. |
| Nomadic | moving from place to place |
| Neolithic Revolution | the shift from the hunting of animals and the gathering of food to the keeping of animals and growing of food on a regular basis during the Neolithic Age. |
| Neolithic Farming | settlements that were more permanent and able to support larger populations due to the growing of crops on a regular basis. |
| Bronze Age | from 3000 to 1200 B.C., characterized by the widespread use of bronze for tools and weapons. |
| City-states | cities with political and economic control over the surrounding countryside. |
| Ziggurat | a massive stepped tower upon which the temple dedicated to the chief god or goddess of a Sumeriean city was built. |
| Cuneiform | "wedge-shaped," a system of writing developed by the Sumerians with wedge-shaped impressions made by using a reed stylus on clay tablets. |
| Six Characteristics of Civilization | Rise of Cities. Growth of Governments. Role of Religion. New Social Structure. Use of Writing. Artistic Activity |
| Rivers of Mesopotamia | Tigris and Euphrates |
| Fertile Crescent | Location in the Middle East where some of the first civilizations started |
| Sumerians | The first civilization of Mesopotamia |
| Mesopotamia | An ancient region in west Asia between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers |
| Code of Hammurabi | Collection of laws from Mesopotamia "Eye for an Eye" |
| Epic of Gilgamesh | Epic poem of Mesopotamia |
| Importance of the Nile River | Provided fertile grounds and unifying factor in Egypt |
| Importance of religion in Egypt | Created a sence of security, contol, and defined the afterlife of Ancient Egypt |
| Mummification | Preservation of the physical body for the use in the afterlife |
| Pyramids | Tombs for mumification and one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. |
| Hieroglyphics | Writing system of the ancient Egyptians |
| Papyrus | Paper made from the reeds that grew along the Nile |
| Minoans | Ancient civilization located on the Island of Crete that disapeared suddenly due to invasion. |
| Phoenicians | Ancient civilization that is best known for its earliest alphabet |
| Hebrews | Ethnic group that believed in monotheism and that they had a covenant with God. |
| Monotheism | Belief in only one god |
| Prophet | Religious teachers sent by God as his voice. |
| Yahweh | The Jewish name for God |
| Assyrian Empire | Middle Eastern empire that was well known for its expansion and early siege warfare tactics |
| Persian Empire | Middle Eastern empire that stretched from the Indus River to Asia Minor and to Egypt |
| Darius | Persian king who created a strong government and was defeated by the Greeks at Marathon |
| Zoroaster | Prophet of the "true religion" that preached monotheism in Ancient Persia |
| Indus River | Location where the first civilizations of India started |
| Sanskrit | Early form of writing from the Aryans |
| Caste System | Social hierarchy of the Hindus that does not allow social mobility |
| Reincarnation | Individuals soul is reborn in a different form after death |
| Karma | The force of a persons actions in this life in determining his or her rebirth in the next life |
| Dharma | Divine law that requires different actions from different individuals depending on their rank in the social order. |
| Four Noble Truths | Ordinary life is full of suffering. Suffering is caused by by our desire to satisfy ourselves. The way to end suffering is to end desire. The way to end desire is to follow the Middle Path. |
| Silk Road | Trade route that connected China, India, Persia and Europe during ancient times. |
| Veneration of Ancestors | Family ancestors could bring good or evil fortune to the living members of the family. |
| Mandate of Heaven | Ancient China's belief that those in power were given the right to rule from a divine source |
| Filial Piety | All memebers of the family must be subordinate of the needs of the eldest male |
| Pictograph | Picture symbols that form a picture of the object to be represented |
| Confucianism | "The duty of children to their parents is the foundation from which all virtues spring" |
| Five Constant Relationships | Parent and Child, Husband and Wife, Older and Younger Sibling, Friend and Friend, Ruler and Subject |
| Taoism | "If you try to change it, you will ruin it. If you try to hold it, you will lose it." |
| Legalism | "To govern the state by law is to praise the right and blame the wrong." |
| Great Wall | Wall built to seperate the Chinese from the barbarians |
| Inventions of the Ancient Chinese | Magnetic Compass, Gunpowder, Paper |
| Importance of geography on Greece | Mountains created isolation. Islands led to trade and colonization |
| Homer | Wrote the epic poems the Illiad and the Odyssey |
| Importance of the Illiad and Odyssey | Provided Greeks their basic heroes as well as used as text for education |
| Acropolis | Upper fortified part of the Greek cities |
| Polis | A Greek city or town |
| Phalanx | Rectangular military formation used by the Ancient Greeks |
| Sparta | City-state of ancient Greece based on military values. |
| Athens | City-state of ancient Greece based on democracy and the arts. |
| Persian War | Led to the rise of Athens as the greatest power in Greece |
| Battle of Marathon | Darius defeated by the Athenians |
| Democracy | Political system developed in the city-state of Athens |
| Cleisthenes | Creator of democracy in Athens |
| Pericles | Thought to have brought the "Golden Age" to Athens |
| Peloponnesian War | Led to the end of Athenian domination by the Sparta |
| Thucydides | Great Greek historian who wrote about the Peloponnesian War |
| Olympics | Created heroes out of normal people using competition in sports |
| Parthenon | Temple to honor the goddess Athena |
| Trilogy | A series of three stories |
| Socrates | "The unexamined life is not worth living" |
| Plato | "The objects we see with our senses are simply reflections of the "Ideal Form". Wrote the book "The Republic" about perfect government. |
| Aristotle | Analyzed and classified things based on observation and investigation |
| Herodutus | First historian and wrote about the Persian Wars |
| Alexander the Great | Spread Greek culture into Egypt, Middle East, Persia and India |
| Hellenistic Culture | A combination of Greek and Eastern cultures |
| Epicureanism | "Human beings were free to follow self intrest as a basic motivating force" |
| Stoicism | "Life's problems do not disturb you. Public service is seen as noble" |
| Etruscans | Early people of Italy who laid the foundation to Roman culture such as paved roads, drained marshes and constructed sewers |
| Romulus and Remus | Legendary brothers who were raised by a she wolf and were the founders of Rome. |
| Roman Republic | Political system where officials are elected to serve the needs of the citizens |
| Consuls | Executive officer in charge of the government and army in Rome. |
| Senate | 300 men who advised officials and shaped the laws of Rome |
| Patricians | Land owners of Rome who became the rulers |
| Plebeians | The larger part of Roman society that could vote but not hold office |
| Punic Wars | Led to Rome becoming the dominate force in the Western Mediteranean Sea over Carthage. |
| Hannibal | Carthaginian general who marched his army over the Alps and ravaged the land of Italy |
| Julius Caesar | Dictator of Rome who weakened the Senate and was assassinated on March 15, 44BC |
| Rubicon River | River that Julius Caesar crossed that started a civil war in Rome. |
| Augustus | First Emperor of Rome |
| Caligula | Name means "Little Boots", became insainly violent, claimed to be all the gods combined, made his horse a consul, murdered by his own army after insulting them |
| Nero | Initially tried to rule like Octavian, Murdered his meddling mother, Blamed and persucuted Christians for fire in Rome. |
| Hadrian | Emperor who increased the fortifications and walls of Rome. Ended the expansion of the Roman Empire. Built massiv wall in England. |
| Pax Romana | "Roman Peace" |
| Trajan | Emperor that expanded the Roman Empire to its largest boundaries. |
| Virgil | Author of the epic poem Aenid |
| Livy | Roman historian who wrote on the Punic Wars |
| Slavery | The cause for the the Romans in not developing labor saving technology |
| Gladiators | Slaves in the Roman Empire who fought to death as entertainment |
| Colosseum | Famous Roman ampitheater that was the site of gladitorial contests, mock sea battles, etc. |
| Jesus | Founder of Christianity |
| Paul | First to converte non-Jews to Christianity |
| Christianity | Changed the social values of the Roman people and the army to a more peaceful view. |
| Romulus Augustus | Last Emperor of Rome |
| Fall of the Roman Empire | 476 AD |
| Constantine | First christian Emperor of Rome |
| Theodosius | Made christianity the official religion in Roman Empire |
| Vandals | Germanic tribe that sacked Rome from North Africa and ended the Western Empire. |
| Visigoths | Germanic tribe that defeated Eastern Empire, sacked Rome then went to settle in Spain |
| Huns | Asian warriors that invaded the Roman Empire and led by Atilla |
| Islam | "Submission to the will of Allah" |
| Muhammad | Founder of the religion of Islam |
| 1st Pillar of Islam | Beleif in Allah and Muhammad as his prophet |
| 2nd Pillar of Islam | Pray five times a day toward Mecca |
| 3rd Pillar of Islam | Observe the holy month of Ramadan and fasting |
| 4th Pillar of Islam | Hajj or pilgrimage to Mecca |
| 5th Pillar of Islam | Give alms to the poor |
| Allah | Arabic name for God |
| Ka'bah | Sacred Islamic site in Mecca that houses the "Black Rock" |
| Quran | Holy scriptures of Islam |
| Caliph | The civil and religious leader of the Muslim empire after Muhammad. |
| Jihad | Holy struggle by a Muslims for a moral or spiritual goal |
| Battle of Tours | 732 AD Christians defeat Muslim invaders and stop the spread of Islam into Europe |
| Shi'ites | Muslims that believe that only direct descendants of Ali and Muhammad should become caliph. |
| Sunni | Muslims that believe that the caliph may be chosen by election or community consensus and follow the First four caliphates |
| Abu Bakr | Regarded by Sunni's as the 1st caliph and rightful succesor. The Shi'ah regard him as a traitor of Muhammad. |
| Mongols | Asian nomadic people who held the worlds largest Empire and was able to control China, India, Middle East and parts of Western Europe. |
| The Arabian Nights | Collection of folktales in Arabic during the Middle Ages |
| Mosque | Muslim place of worship |
| Clovis | King of the Franks who,converted to Catholicism and unified Gaul while establishing his capital at Paris and founding the Frankish monarchy. |
| Germanic Laws | Laws that were very personal and led to blood fueds and revenge against those that did wrong. |
| Ordeal | Method of determining a person's guilt or innocence by subjecting the accused person to dangerous or painful tests believed to be under divine control |
| Compurgation | A Germanic legal oath taken by 12 men testifying to the character of the accused |
| Diocese | The territorial jurisdiction of the bishop from the Catholic church |
| Pope | The head of the Roman Catholic Church |
| Monasticism | Living in a religious community apart from secular society and adhering to a rule stipulating chastity, obedience, and poverty. |
| Importance of Monasticism | Provided as schools, hospitals, inn for travelers, spread christianity throughout Europe |
| Charlemagne | King of the Franks who conquered much of Western Europe and was crowned Emperor in 800 AD |
| Revival by Charlemagne | Revival in education, classics and preservation of Latin culture. |
| Viking | Scandinavian people who raided Europe and eventually converted to christianity and settled down. |
| Magyar | Western Asian group who settled down in the area of the present country of Hungary |
| Vassalage | Free man proclaims dependence and faithfulness on another man and promises to serve him (usually for military purpose) |
| Feudalism | The economic and political system that developed in Europe during the Middle Ages |
| Fief | Land owned by a lord given to a vassal in return for a service |
| Subinfeudation | Lord-vassal relationship that extended to lesser landowners |
| Feudal Contract | The unwritten rules that determined the relationship between a lord and his vassal |
| Chivalry | The code of conduct followed by knights (respecting and defending the Church and women, Fight for honor, and Treat captives as guests) |
| Eleanor of Aquitaine | Queen of France as the wife of Louis VII, marriage was annulled and she then married Henry II and became Queen of England. |
| William the Conqueror | Duke of Normandy who led the Norman invasion of England and became the first Norman to be King of England |
| Battle of Hastings | The decisive battle in which William the Conqueror (duke of Normandy) defeated the Saxons (1066) and thus left England open for the Norman Conquest |
| Henry II | King of England who expanded power of royal courts and expanded king's power. |
| Magna Carta | The "Great Charter," in which the king's power over his nobles was limited, agreed to by King John of England in 1215. |
| English Parliament | Important institution in the development of representative government that emerged in the 13th century under Edward I |
| Philip II | King of France who saw wars with the English that regained control of Normandy and expanded the power of the French monarchy |
| Philip IV | King of France who created a French Parliament of three houses |
| Otto I | German king who invaded Italy and then became emperor. Started Holy Roman Empire |
| Fredrick II | German king who tried to take land from the Pope, than the Pope excommunicated him and he lost all power |
| Alexander Nevsky | Russian who defeated a German invading army and was rewarded by Mongols by becoming grand-prince and the first czar. |
| Emperor Justinian | Leader of the Byzantine Empire that helped in its revival of Romans glory and fame. |
| "The Body of Civil Law" | Codification of Roman law that was the basis of imperial law in the Eastern Roman Empire. |
| Hagia Sophia | "holy wisdom"; a church built by Justinian to show the power of the Byzantine emperor and the strength of Christianity. |
| Hippodrome | A huge stadium that was built by Justinian, which held athletic events and games. |
| Manor System (Lords and Serfs) | An economic plan by which a lord allowed serfs to farm land on his estate in return for food or other payment. |
| Money Economy | Economic system based on the use of money as a measure of value and a unit of account. |
| Guilds | An association of persons of the same trade or pursuits, formed to protect mutual interests and maintain standards |
| Papal Monarchy | Catholic church's intervention into the European political world. |
| Inquisition | A Catholic court established to judge heretics and excommunicate protestants. |
| First European University | Bologna, Italy |
| Scholasticism | A medieval philosophical and theological system that tried to reconcile faith with reason. |
| Vernacular Literature | When the common, every-day language of the people was used to write literature instead of the formal Latin. |
| Crusades | A series of military expeditions in the 11th, 12th, and 13th centuries by Western European Christians to reclaim control of the Holy Lands from the Muslims. |
| Cathedrals | A christian church that contains the seat of a bishop. |
| Castles | Large, fortified homes that nobles lived in. |
| Black Death | An outbreak of bubonic plague that was spread by rats and fleas killing a third of Europe's population. |
| Great Schism | The split in the Church when the French Pope moved back to Avignon and the Italian Pope remained in Rome. |
| Hundred Years' War | Series of campaigns over control of the throne of France, involving English and French royal families and French noble families. |
| Thermopylae | Famous battle of the 300 Spartans during the Persian War |
| Xerxes | Persian king who invaded Greece to take revenge for his fathers defeat. Lost the battle of Salamis. |
| Shari'ah | Religious laws of Islam that control the everyday life, political and social norms of the society. |
| Fall of the Byzantine Empire | Muslim armies conquered Constantinople in 1453 and invaded Eastern Europe and brought the end to Christian dominance in the East. |
| Role of the Church in the Middle Ages | Helped to create a sense of stability, unity and order in a time of chaos in Europe. |
| Importance of the 100 Years War | This war led to a change from the recruitment of nobility to the common man as soldiers to fight in future wars. |
| Fourteenth Century | Time in Europe that saw great chaos and death due to the 100 Years War as well as the spreading of the Black Plague |
| First University in Northern Europe | Paris, France |
| Oxford University | University in England that was started by students from Paris |
| Hinduism | a body of religious and philosophical beliefs and cultural practices native to India and characterized by a belief in reincarnation |
| Buddhism | the teaching of Buddha that life is permeated with suffering caused by desire, that suffering ceases when desire ceases |
| Zhou Dynasty | the imperial dynasty of China from 1122 to 221 BC |
| Qin Dynasty | the Chinese dynasty (from 246 BC to 206 BC) that established the first centralized imperial government |
| Han Dynasty | imperial dynasty that ruled China (most of the time) from 206 BC to 221 |
| Ostrogoths | a part of the goth group, they were the east part and they conquer rome in 176 |
| Mosque | (Islam) a Muslim place of worship |
| Medici | aristocratic Italian family of powerful merchants and bankers who ruled Florence in the 15th century |
| Donatello | Florentine sculptor famous for his lifelike sculptures (1386-1466) |
| Johannes Gutenberg | German printer who was the first in Europe to print using movable type and the first to use a press (1400-1468) |
| Machiavelli | a statesman of Florence who advocated a strong central government (1469-1527) |
| Turks | a member of the Turkish-speaking ethnic group in Turkey, or, formerly, in the Ottoman Empire |
| Raphael | Italian painter whose many paintings exemplify the ideals of the High Renaissance (1483-1520) |
| Confucius | Chinese philosopher (circa 551-478 BC) |
| Magna Carta | the royal charter of political rights given to rebellious English barons by King John in 1215 |
| Feudalism | A system in which poor people are legally bound to work for wealthy landowners. |
| Chivalry | courtesy towards women |
| Crusades | 1096 Christian Europe aim to reclaim Jerusalem and aid they Byzantines; 1st success and the rest a failure; weakens the Byzantines; opens up trade |
| Great Schism | the separation of most of the Eastern churches from the Western Church in A.D. 1054. |
| Black Plague | the epidemic experienced during the Middle Ages when it killed nearly half the people of western Europe |
| Stoicism | the philosophical system of the Stoics following the teachings of the ancient Greek philosopher Zeno |
| Hadrians Wall | 80 mile wall across northern britan to show the barbarian tribes that rome wasn't expanding |
| Hellenistic | relating to or characteristic of the classical Greek civilization |
| Aristocracy | the most powerful members of a society |
| Oligarchy | a political system governed by a few people |
| Roman Law | the legal code of ancient Rome |
| Battle of Zama | the battle in 202 BC in which Scipio decisively defeated Hannibal at the end of the second Punic War |
| Augustus | Roman statesman who established the Roman Empire and became emperor in 27 BC |
| Byzantine Empire | a continuation of the Roman Empire in the Middle East after its division in 395 |
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