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68 Cards in this Set
- Front
- Back
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Acropolis |
in early Greek city-states, a fortified gathering place at the top of a hill which was sometimes the site of temples and public buildings |
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Archipelago |
a group or chain of many islands |
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Astrolabe |
an instrument used by sailors to determine their location by observing the positions of stars |
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Bantu |
a family of languages spoken in central and southern Africa; a member of any group of the African people who speak that language |
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Buddhism |
a religious doctrine introduced in northern India in the sixth century B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, known as the Buddha, or "Enlightened One" |
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Bushido |
"the way of the warrior," the strict code by which Japanese samurai were supposed to live |
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Caliph |
a successor of Muhammad as spiritual and temporal leader of the Muslims |
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Caste System |
a set of rigid categories in ancient India that determined a person's occupation and economin potential as well as his or her position in society, based partly on skin color |
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Chrisianity |
monotheistic religion that emerged during the first century |
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City-State |
a city that has political and economic control over the surrounding countryside |
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Civilization |
a complex culture in which large numbers of people share a number of common elements such as social structure, religion, and art |
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Clergy |
church leaders |
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Commercial Capitalism |
economic system in which people invest in trade goods to make profits |
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Common Law |
a uniform system of law that developed in England based on court decisions and on customs and usage rather than on written law codes; replaced law codes that varied from place to place |
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Confucianism |
the system of political and ethical ideas formulated by the Chinese philosopher Confucius toward the end of the Zhou dynasty; it was intended to help restore order to a society that was in a state of confusion |
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Crusades |
a series of military expeditions launched by Christian Europeans to win the Holy Land back from Muslim control |
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Cuneiform |
"wedge-shaped," a system of writing developed by the Sumerians using a reed stylus to create wedge-shaped impressions on a clay tablet |
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Daimyo |
"great names," heads of noble families in Japan who controlled vast landed estates and relied on samurai for protection |
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Dao |
"Way," the key to proper behavior under Confucianism |
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Democracy |
"the rule of the many," government by the people, either directly or through their elected representatives |
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Direct Democracy |
a system of government in which the people participate directly in government decision making through mass meetings |
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Domestication |
adaption for human use |
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Dynasty |
a family of rulers whose right to rule is passed on within the family |
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Empire |
a large political unit, usually under a single leader, that controls many peoples or territories |
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Epic Poem |
a long poem that tells the deeds of a great hero, such as the Iliad and the Odyssey of Homer |
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Epidemic |
an outbreak of disease that spreads rapidly |
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Feudalism |
political and social system that developed during the Middle Ages, when royal governments were no longer able to defend their subjects; nobles offered protection and land in return for service |
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Fief |
under feudalism, a grant of land made to a vassal; the vassal held political authority within his fief |
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Guild |
a business association associated with a particular trade or craft; guilds evolved in the twelfth century and came to play a leading role in the economic life of medieval cities |
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Heresy |
the denial of basic church doctrines |
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Hieroglyphics |
"priest-carvings" or "sacred writings," a complex system of writing that used both pictures and more abstract forms; used by the ancient Egyptians and Mayans |
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Hijrah |
the journey of Muhammad and his followers to Madinah in 622, which became year 1 of the official calendar of Islam |
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Hinduism |
the major Indian religious system, which had its origins in the religious beliefs of the Aryans who settled India after 1500 B.C. |
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Hominid |
humans and other humanlike creatures that walk upright |
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Imperator |
commander in chief; the Latin origin of the word emperor |
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Inquisition |
a court established by the Catholic Church in 1232 to discover and try heretics; also called the Holy Office |
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Islam |
monotheistic religion that emerged in the Arabian Peninsula during the seventh century |
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Judaism |
monotheistic religion developed among the Israelites |
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Khanate |
one of the several seperate territories into which Genghis Khan's empire was split, each under the rule of one of his sons |
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Laity |
church members who are not clergy |
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Lineage Group |
an extended family unit that has combined into a larger community |
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Magna Carta |
the "Great Charter" of rights, which King John was forced to sign by the English nobles at Runnymeade in 1215 |
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Mandate of Heaven |
claim by Chinese kings of the Zhou dynasty that they had direct authority from heaven to rule and to keep order in the universe |
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Manor |
in medieval Europe, an agricultural estate run by a lord and worked by peasants |
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Mesoamerica |
the name used for areas of Mexico and Central America that were civilized before the arrival of the Spanish |
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Money Economy |
an economic system based on money rather than barter |
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Monk |
a man who separates himself from ordinary human society in order to dedicate himself to God; monks live in monasteries headed by abbots |
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Monotheistic |
having one god |
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Mosque |
a Muslim house of worship |
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Neolithic Revolution |
the shift from hunting of animals and gathering of food to the keeping of animals and the growing of food on a regular basis that occurred around 8000 B.C. |
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New Monarchies |
in the fifteenth century, government in which power had been centralized under a king or queen, i.e., France, England, and Spain |
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Nomad |
person who regularly moves from place to place |
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Oligarchy |
"the rule of the few," a form of government in which a small group of people exercises controls |
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Patriarchal |
dominated by men |
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Patrician |
great landowners, they formed the ruling class in the Roman Republic |
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Plebeian |
in the Roman Republic, a social class made up of minor landholders, craftspeople, merchants, and small farmers |
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Polis |
the early Greek city-state, consisting of a city or town and its surrounding territory |
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Pope |
the bishop of Rome and head of the Roman Catholic Church |
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Reincarnation |
the rebirth of an individual's soul in a different form after death |
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Republic |
a form of government in which the leader is not a king and certain citizens have the right to vote |
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Sacrament |
Christian rite |
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Samurai |
"those who serve," Japanese warriors similar to the knights of medieval Europe |
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Savanna |
broad grassland dotted with small trees and shrubs |
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Serf |
in medieval Europe, a peasant legally bound to the land who had to provide labor services, pay rents, and be subject to the lord's control |
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Shinto |
"the Sacred Way," or "the Way of the Gods," the Japanese state religion; among its doctrines are the divinity of the emperor and the sacredness of the Japanese nation |
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Shogun |
"general," a powerful military leader in Japan |
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Sultan |
"holder of power," the military and political head of state under the Seljuk Turks and the Ottomans |
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Systematic Agriculture |
the keeping of animals and the growing of food on a regular basis |
