Axum
a state in the Ethiopian highlands; received influences from the Arabian peninsula; converted to Christianity
Shinto
religion of the early Japanese court; included the worship of numerous gods and spirits associated with the natural world
Pastoral Nomads
any of the many peoples, form the steppes of Asia that herded animals; transhumant migrants
Celts
early migrants into western Europe; organized into small regional kingdoms; had mixed agricultural and hunting economies
Germans
peoples from beyond the northern borders of the Roman Empire; had mixed agricultural and pastoral economies; moved into the Roman Empire in the 4th and 5th centuries C.E.
Slavs
Indo-European peoples who ultimately dominated much of the eastern Europe; formed regional kingdoms by the 5th century C.E.
Olmec
cultural tradition that arose at San Lorenzo and La Venta in Mexico circa 1200 B.C.E.; featured irrigated agriculture, urbanism, elaborate religion, beginnings of calendrical and writing systems
Polynesia
islands contained in a rough triangle with its points at Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island
Yellow Turbans
Chinese Daoists who launched a revolt in 184 C.E., promising a golden age to be brought about by divine magic
Sui
dynasty succeeding the Han; grew from strong rulers in northern China; reunited China
Tang
dynasty succeeding the Sui in 618 C.E.
Rajput
regional military princes in India following the collapse of the Gupta Empire
Devi
mother goddess within Hinduism; devotion to her spread widely after the collapse of the Gupta and encouraged new emotionalism in religious ritual
Diocletian
Roman emperor (284-305 C.E.); restored later empire by improved administration and tax collection
Constantine
Roman emperor (321-337 C.E.); established his capital at Constantinople; used Christianity to unify the empire
Byzantine Empire
eastern half of the Roman Empire; survived until 1453; retained Mediterranean, especially Hellenistic, culture
Mahayana
version of Buddhism popular in China; emphasized Buddha's role as a savior
Bodhisattvas
Buddhist holy men who refused advance toward nirvana to receive prayers of the living to help them reach holiness
Saints
holy men and women in Christianity; their merit could be tapped by ordinary Christians
Pope
Bishop of Roma; head of the Catholic church in western Europe
Augustine
North African Christian theologian; made major contributions in incorporating elements of classical philosophy into Christianity
Benedict
founder of monasticism in the former western half of the Roman Empire; established the Benedictine rule in the 6th century