Ancient Civilizations
A complex society with cities, government, religion, social classes, and writing or record-keeping.
What is a civilization?
What city is considered the center (capital) of the Roman Empire?
Rome
What system organized society around land and service in medieval Europe?
Feudalism.
What does “Renaissance” mean?
“Rebirth” (of interest in classical art and learning).
What is a “colony”?
A territory controlled by another country.
Which two rivers supported ancient Mesopotamia?
The Tigris and Euphrates Rivers.
What is “Pax Romana”?
A long period of relative peace and stability in the Roman Empire.
In the manorial system, what was a manor?
A self-sufficient medieval estate with the lord’s land and peasant villages.
What is humanism?
A focus on human potential and achievements, inspired by classical Greek and Roman ideas.
Name one reason Europeans began exploring by sea in the 1400s–1500s.
Trade routes to Asia, wealth (gold/spices), spreading Christianity, competition for power (any one).
What was cuneiform used for in Mesopotamia?
Writing/record-keeping (laws, trade, government, stories).
What was the purpose of Roman roads?
To move armies, trade goods, and communicate across the empire.
What was the role of a vassal?
A person who pledged loyalty and military service to a lord in exchange for land (a fief).
Name one Renaissance artist and one famous work.
Examples: Leonardo da Vinci—Mona Lisa; Michelangelo—David or Sistine Chapel ceiling; Raphael—School of Athens.
What new technologies helped make long ocean voyages more possible?
Caravel, compass, astrolabe, improved maps/lateen sails (any one or more).
Which Egyptian structure is most associated with pharaohs and burial practices?
Pyramids (especially the pyramids at Giza)
What was a key result of the Edict of Milan (313 CE)?
It legalized Christianity in the Roman Empire.
What were the Crusades?
A series of religious wars to take control of holy lands, especially Jerusalem.
How did the printing press affect Europe?
It spread ideas faster, increased literacy, and made books cheaper and more available.
What was the Columbian Exchange?
The transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and ideas between the Americas and Europe/Africa/Asia.
How did geography help protect and shape ancient Egypt?
The Nile enabled farming and trade; deserts and seas provided natural barriers from invasion.
Name two major causes of the fall of the Western Roman Empire
Invasions by Germanic groups, political instability/corruption, economic troubles, overexpansion, weak military, division of the empire (any two).
How did the Black Death change European society and economy?
Massive population loss led to labor shortages, weakening serfdom, higher wages, and social/economic shifts.
Explain one way Renaissance ideas challenged medieval traditions.
Emphasis on inquiry and individualism; secular themes in art; questioning authority; renewed study of classical texts.
Identify one major impact of European colonization on Indigenous peoples in the Americas.
Population decline from disease, loss of land, forced labor/enslavement, cultural disruption, or conflict (any one).