Terms
This empire is known for its tolerance of diverse cultures and system of satraps.
What is the Persian Empire?
As cities grew in Vedic India, this group of priests became uneasy due to the mixing of people and the challenge to traditional social categories.
Who are the Brahmans?
This period from 722 to 481 BCE, during the Eastern Zhou dynasty, was a time of relative peace and the rise of regional powers.
What is the Spring and Autumn period?
These were the independent, self-governing city-states in ancient Greece.
What are polis?
This ancient road stretched over 1,600 miles, allowing communication and trade across the Persian Empire.
What is the Royal Road?
This is the occupational sublevels within the caste system, which were organized by kinship, profession, and product.
What is Jatis?
From 403 to 221 BCE, this chaotic period in the Zhou dynasty saw the rise of powerful regional states and widespread warfare.
What is the Warring States period?
The Greek city-state developed a direct democracy in 508 BCE.
What is Athens?
This term refers to the caste system in Vedic India, with categories like Brahmins, Kshatriyas, and Vaishyas.
What is the Varna?
This group, placed at the very bottom of the social hierarchy, was often critical of the caste system and faced social exclusion.
What are the untouchables?
This Chinese philosopher, born in 551 BCE, believed that all humans are naturally ethical and advocated for a government based on moral integrity.
Who is Confucius?
This term describes the illegal seizure of power by one individual in ancient Greece, often viewed negatively.
What is tyranny?
This doctrine justified the rule of emperors through divine authority as long as they governed justly.
What is the Mandate of Heaven?
In Vedic India, these were the two primary forms of government, one led by hereditary monarchs and the other by a small group of elites.
What are monarchy and oligarchy?
According to Daoism, rulers should govern by doing this—accepting the world as it is and avoiding attempts to control or change it.
What is non-interference?
This term describes the period from 500 to 323 BCE, also known as the Greek Golden Age, which saw advances in philosophy, art, and democracy.
What is Classical Greece?
This term describes the blending of different religious and cultural traditions.
What is syncretism?
This teacher from an oligarchy community challenged Brahman beliefs and taught that the path to enlightenment involved renouncing desires.
Who is the Buddha?
This foundational text for Daoism, attributed to Master Lao, emphasizes harmony with the natural world and non-interference as the path to peace. (Original and translated name)
What is the Daodejing (The Book of the Way and Its Power)?
In ancient Athens, citizens would gather at this official meeting place to listen to orations and debate matters of the state.
What is the Pnyx?