Early Chinese Dynasties
Classical India
Classical Mediterranean
Long-distance Trade
Classical Religion and Philosophy
100
This idea originated during the Zhou Dynasty, which helped to both legitimize the new ruler, and explain why the previous dynasty had fallen from power.
What is the "Mandate of Heaven?"
100
To establish a new social order in early India following the invasion of the Aryans, this rigid social hierarchy eventually emerged, designating people initially by their skin color as well as their profession, this system became increasingly associated with profession and hereditary status over time.
What is the "caste system?"
100
This form of government originated in Classical Athens around the 5th century BCE, and though idealized by later historians as allowing the participation of all people, it only initially allowed the participation of men with a certain level of wealth (land).
What is "democracy?"
100
This series of overland trade routes carried various goods across the vast continent of Asia. These goods often included silks, various spices, wine, porcelain, glassware, olive oil, precious stones, ivory, animal skins, and many other expensive luxury goods that would fetch high prices in the markets far from their origins.
What are the "Silk Roads?"
100
Buddhism, founded by Siddhartha Gautama around 534 BCE, originated in northern India, is centered upon the Four Noble Truths and the Eight-fold Noble Path, seeks a state of ultimate enlightenment (or Nirvana), and was spread to this region via the Silk Roads, where it would eventually have a significant influence on later religious thought.
What is "China?"
200
This concept, building upon earlier traditions of ancestor veneration, emphasizes the importance of family, and especially, the duty of family members to serve the will of the father.
What is "filial piety?"
200
He founded the first large-scale empire to emerge in India, beginning in the north and eventually encompassing much of the Indian subcontinent.
Who is "Chandragupta Maurya I?"
200
This term applies to the most common political unit found in Classical Greece, centering upon a central and independently ruled urban community and the hinterlands that supported it.
What is the "city-state" or "polis?"
200
Manichaeism was an example of this religious process, by which aspects from various religions (in this case, Buddhism, Christianity, and Zoroastrianism) combined to form new religious traditions and practices.
What is "syncretism?"
200
Daoism, which emphasizes personal reflection and recognition of a central cosmic force (Dao), is believed by many to have been founded by this individual, sometime around the 5th or 6th century BCE, whose ideas were collected in the Tao Te Ching.
Who is "Laozi" or "Lao Tzu?"
300
Out of the chaos of the Warring States Period, Qin Shi Huang forged the powerful state of Qin, bringing together neighboring territories into the first recognizably unified Chinese empire. He used both this ideology, as well as a powerful military, to reestablish order throughout much of the region.
What is "legalism?"
300
This ruler is known for erecting numerous stone pillars inscribed with his codified laws, and converting to Buddhism after the bloody conquest of the neighboring state of Kalinga.
What is "Ashoka Maurya?"
300

Recognizing the danger posed by larger neighbors, like the powerful Persian Empire, the Greek city-states eventually banded together into this alliance for mutual defense, with a central treasury that was initially housed on the island of Delos.

What is the "Delian League?"

300
Maritime trade in the Indian Ocean basin relied heavily upon these seasonal winds, which could be predicted to blow westward in the summer and eastward in the winter. This allowed ancient mariners to more safely cross vast distances on the Indian ocean, dispersing trade-goods and cultural forms throughout the region.
What are the "monsoons?"
300
Legalism helped restore order to China at the end of the Warring States Period under the newly dominant Qin state. Based upon the principle that inherently evil humans required harsh laws to maintain order, Legalism discouraged these, and rather emphasized agricultural and military service to the state.
What are the "arts," or "education," or "commerce," etc.
400
The invention of this material, during the Han dynasty, quickly replaced silk and bamboo as a commonly used material for writing upon, and gradually spread throughout Afro-Eurasia.
What is "paper?"
400
This native Indian cultural group was largely displaced by the Aryan invasions of the Indian subcontinent around 1000 BCE, though their culture and language continued to flourish in southern India and the island of Sri Lanka.
What are "Dravidians?"
400
With the collapse of Alexander's great empire, this general managed to seize the rich lands of Egypt, ruling from the newly created Hellenistic city of Alexandria, which would become a beacon of Greek culture and scholarship in the Classical world.
Who is "Ptolemy?"
400
Pivotal to the success of the Silk Roads was securing as much of the routes they followed as possible. Han Wudi managed to subdue this central Asian nomadic steppe people late in the second century BCE, and thus open up vast new economic opportunities for Han China.
Who are the "Xiongnu?"
400
This Greek philosopher said "An unexamined life is not worth living," and encouraged reflection upon questions of ethics and morality. He was later sentenced to death by Athenian authorities for corrupting the youth of the city.
Who is "Socrates?"
500
As Confucianism emphasizes proper relationships and the displaying of Confucian morals in the public sphere, this term is applied to individuals who are exemplars of Confucian values, and who serve as superior examples for others to emulate.
What are "junzi?"
500
This religion was founded by Vardhamana Mahavira in the 5th century BCE, it disregarded the strict caste system, preached salvation through discarding selfish behavior, and believed that all living beings possessed a soul. Thus, followers practiced ahimsa, or nonviolence toward all living creatures.
What is "Jainism?"
500
The prosperity of Rome during the Republican period became increasingly concentrated in the hands of the rich and powerful Patrician class, who owned these large agricultural estates, which were increasingly worked by slaves captured during Rome's constant wars, rather than by free Roman citizens of the Plebeian class.
What are "latifundia?"
500
Anchoring the western edge of the classical Silk Roads, the vast Roman Empire supplied all of the following goods for eastward trade except: Glassware, jewelry, artworks, silk, perfumes, textiles.
What is "silk?"
500
Besides disregarding the rigid caste system, Buddhism gained initial popularity in India with the salvation related concept of Nirvana. The more popular Hinduism of the Gupta period incorporated this Hindu term for salvation, helping it to eventually supplant Buddhism as the dominant religion of the subcontinent.
What is "moksha?"
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