Persian empire
-in 500bce it was the biggest and most impressive empire -kings were very important and were mourned with scared fire extinguishings after death -king Darius and Cyrus were important rulers -imperial system of government
Athenian democracy
-radicalized by the winning in the greco-Persian wars -men of the poorer ranks that helped to win the war helped to push for equality and democracy -Athenian democracy was in the golden age of Athens.
Greco-Persian Wars
-started with bumping boundaries during both expansion periods in history. -Persians were bigger empire and set out to punish the Greeks for their revolts when Persia took over the settlements on the coast of Greece. -Greeks beat the Persians on land and sea
Alexander the Great
-ruler of Greece -son of Phillip 2 -unified Greece to help defeat Persia once and for all -conducted one of the greatest ,ilitary feats of the time -Alexander was the "king of Asia" -anointed pharaoh of Egypt at age 24
Hellenistic Era
-a time where Greek culture was spread all throughout Eurasia. -main channels for the spread were Alexander's territories that he gained and future additions to the Greek empire. -Greek libraries had over 700,000 volumes in it. -"golden age" for greece
Caesar Agustus
-end of a republic, beginning of empire -referred to as first man instead of king -ROMAN -government was in a fragile state so he kept the democratic names while running it as an emire. -conquests were of the roman people not of the roman state -provided security, grandeur, and relative prosperity for the Mediterranean world.
pax romana
"the roman peace" time of romes greatest extent and greatest authority
Qin shihuangdi
-ruler of china -unified china and developed a bureaucry -equipped the army with iron weapons - ienforced legalism named himself shihuangdi which means "first emperor" -extended boundaries to Vietnam and Korea -scholars who opposed shihuangdi were executed and their books burned -started the creation of the great wall of china to keep the barbarians out
Han dynasty
-retained the centralized features of shihuandis creation -not as harsh as shihuangdi - confucianism instead of legalism -consolidated the imperial state and established the political patterns that lasted into the twentieth century
Mauryan empire
-INDIAN EMPIRE -not as long lasting as the Greeks, Chinese, or Persian empires -50 million people -large army force -used spies to find out information on neighboring empires -many industries: weaving, spinning, mining, shipbuilding, and armaments.
Ashoka
-Mauryan emperor -left edicts and thinkings on pillars throughout town -conversion to Buddhism -govern in accord with the religious values and morals and teachings of Hinduism and buddhism
Legalism
-advocated clear rules and harsh punishments as a means of enforcing the authority of the state.
Confucianism
-Confucius started this during 6th century BCE -social harmony through moral outlook -secular outlook -importance of education -family as model of the state
Ban Zhao
-woman writer -Chinese culture -wrote the "lessons for women" -lessons for women spelled out the implication of Confucian thinking for women -educate young girls so they could make their husbands look better -all women are subjective to their husbands.
Daoism
-associated with laozi -opposite thinking of confucianism -ridiculed efforts of social hierarchy and governmental constrictions. -urged withdrawal in nature -immense realm of nature -nature was their "zen"
Vedas
-from Indian culture and religion -collection of poems, hymns, prayers, and rituals -compiled by priests -priests were the Brahmins
Upanishads
-compiled by anonymous thinkers and philosophers around 800-400 in Indian culture -mystical and highly philosophical works that sought to probe the inner meaning of the sacrifices prescribed in the Vedas.
Siddhartha Gautama
-he is the Buddah -prince from a small north Indian state. -he sought to find a cure to the grieving and sickness and death throughout life. -the struggle could only be stopped by achieving nirvana which is ultimate enlightenment.
Theravada/Mahayana
Theravada was the teachings of the elders and portrayed the Buddha as a wise teacher but not divine unlike Mahayanna"the great vehicle" which was more popular and viewed the Buddha as a god.
Bhagavad Gita
hindu text that affirms the performance of the caste duties as a process to religious liberation.
Zoroastrianism
Persian monotheistic religion founded by the prophet Zarathustra.
Judaism
monotheistic religion that was developed by the Hebrews and emphasizes the god Yahweh with concerns for social justice
Greek Rationalism
a secularizing system of scientific and philosophic thought that developed in classical Greece. it emphasized the power of education and human reason to understand the world in no religious terms.
Socrates, Plato, Artistotle
-Socrates was a Greek philosopher who turned rationalism torward questioning human existence. -Plato was a disciple of Socrates whose dialogues explain his ideas. -Aristotle is another Greek philosopher who questioned human thinking and helps form Greek rationalism.
Jesus of Nazareth
the man who started the movement towards Christianity. He was believed to be the prophet / Son of God for the religion.
Saint Paul
-the push forward for Christianity -he was really the first person to spread Christianity throughout Eurasia.
Wang Mang
-Chinese official -court official who took over -he ruled during the 8th century CE -Confucius thinker
China's scholar-gentry class
-families own land in China -they were very intelligent -were paid for to go to school by family or village "sponsors" -held power in the government eventually
Yellow Turban Rebellion
peasants wore yellow scarves around their heads during revolts against the government near the Yellow River, it looked forward to the thought of "the Great Peace" - a golden age of complete equal and social harmony, and common ownership of property.
Caste as Varna and Jati
VARNA: -- separated everyone into 4 ranks -- cannot move up or down in the caste system. --the caste was reputedly formed by a god which meant it was eternal and couldn't be changed at all. JATI: --occupational based groups melded with the varna to create the Jati. --you were born into a caste due to the karma --believed in karma, dharma, and rebirth
"ritual purity" in Indian social practices
you have to be pure during your one life to be moved up in a caste in the next life. It uses the ideas of karma and dharma to do the right things in one life to achieve a better and higher status in the next life.
Greek and Roman slavery
-domestic duties -maybe be freed in lifetime due to the ideas and religious views of the owners -described as the "slave society" -sometimes used for sexual purposes to their owners.
Spartacus
a roman slave gladiator that led a slave revolt in 73 BCE.He led a revolt that took off and for two years, they lived in reversed roles, they were executing slave owners.
the "Three Obediences"
women were subordinate to men. first to father than husband then son.
Empress Wu
-reigned in 690-705 -only woman to ever rule during history of china -she elevated the importance of women during that time.
Aspasia and Pericles
-Pericles was an Athenian leader and lawmaker. He strengthened Athenian Democracy and brought a period of peace and prosperity for Athens. He was a patron for the arts and had the Acropolis of Athens built. -Aspasia also very influential in the Athenian culture. She was the wife of Pericles. She was born in the Greek city Miletus. She was very influential aspect of Pericles life and was obviously very educated. She is compared to the Japanese Geisha Girl.
Helots
-greeks who had been enslaved when Sparta conquered their lands. -outnumbered the amount of free citizens in Sparta and
Meroë
-city in southern Nubia that was the center of Nubian civilization between 300BCE and 100 CE. -along the Nile -one of the Nile valley civilizations
Axum
-first Christian kingdom -in present day Ethiopia -very wealthy and a big trade city
Niger Valley Civilization
city based civilization that flourished from 300 BCE to 900 CE. in floodplain of Niger river valley that included major cities such as jenne-jeno, lack of centralized state.
Bantu expansion
migration of bantu speaking people form homeland in Nigeria into eastern and southern Africa, a process that began around 3000BCE. the agricultural techniques and iron working technologies of bantu speaking farmers gave them an advantage over the hunter-gatherers.
maya civilization
-mesoamerican civilization -major classical civilization -created math, engineering landscape, vast system of city states -disappeared quickly due to climate change and warfare
teotihuacán
-city in Mayan -mesoamerican -most urban city of its time -very influential on trade routes -city was located around trade
Chavín
-classical civilization in south America - Peru -800-400BCE -location around trade -major deities were animals
Moche
-south America -complex irrigation system -Peru -government were priests
Chaco Phenomenon
-major settlement of modern day southwestern USA and northwestern Mexico. -build large pueblos -hundreds of miles of roads were built throughout the city.
Mound Builders / Cahokia
Mound Builders are the members of any culture east of the Mississippi in what is now USA who built mounds of earth. -- Cahokias were mound building center near st. Louis Missouri.