Mesopotamia
What is a ziggurat?
Striving to establish a cultural revolution, Akhenaten upended the traditional religious framework by championing the predominance of this deity.
What is the Aten?
While the Egyptians in this direction, only the Israelites went so far to try and establish this type of belief system marked by the worship of a singular deity.
What is monotheism?
While many factors impacted socio-political shifts in power, despite the fact that it was impossible to disprove, no concept held more sway than this one throughout the course of Chinese history up until the 20th century.
What is the Mandate of Heaven?
Within the Indian caste system, the class of servants.
What is Shudra?
Shaped like a half-moon and brimming with agricultural promise, the ancients traveled this pathway to get from one side of the world to another.
What is the Fertile Crescent?
These immigrants from southwestern Asia entered Egypt during the 2nd millennium BCE and eventually took over the country.
Who are the Hyksos?
Scholars in the 19th century CE were amazed to discover texts written in cuneiform that told a story about a certain Utnapishtim, whose story closely resembled this well known figure from ancient Israelite literature.
Who is Noah?
The emphasis on filial piety, a mainstay throughout the last two millennia in China, derives primarily from this philosophical tradition.
What is Confucianism?
As opposed to a Western conception of time, Hindus see time moving cyclically due to this, which is known in Sanskrit as samsara.
What is reincarnation?
Also known as lex talionis, this legal expression captures the principle of retributive justice highlighted by the code of Hammurapi.
What is "eye for an eye?"
Pharaohs shared this title in common with Roman emperors beginning with Augustus.
What is God?
The Hebrew Bible describes the establishment of a relationship between the Israelites' singular deity, YHWH, and the people themselves through a particular form of relationship, a term that has its roots in the socio-political realm.
What is a covenant?
This philosophical tradition focuses on inaction, as opposed to action, because, in endeavoring to act in harmony with the universal order, helps achieve the will of heaven.
What is Daoism?
In the Bhagavad Gita, Arjuna faces a gut-wrenching duty when he stares down his cousins on the battlefield, though he finds guidance from Krishna, who reminds me of the significance of this Hindu concept.
What is dharma?
In a ground-breaking decree that, through a shrewd political move, allowed for cultural autonomy and return from exile, this Persian king helped stave off rebellion in an ever-expanding empire.
Who is Cyrus?
At the ultimate judgment, an ancient Egyptian believed that her heart was weighed against this symbol for balance, also known as Ma'at.
What is a feather?
Life in ancient Israel fundamentally changed in this year due to catastrophic devastation brought on by the Babylonians.
What is 586 BCE?
The Qin dynasty adopted this philosophical tradition wholesale, leaving an effect that is still felt in China today.
What is Legalism?
The Buddhist equivalent of Hindu moksha, it can be achieved in one lifetime and does not depend on the transference of a soul.
What is nirvana?
2/3 god and 1/3 human, Gilgamesh's epic offers a sober reminder readers that this thing is inevitable.
What is death?
After the the Hyksos insurrection, ancient Egypt altered its stance on this formerly core military policy in order to showcase its strength to the rest of the world.
What is expansionism?
Ancient Israelites ascribed inherent dignity and worth to every human being based on how they were made, as shown by this phrase, which was first popularized in its Latin form.
Outside of the traditional religion, Shinto, Japanese religion expanded by way of its engagement with Chinese culture, leading to the emergence of this tradition, which eventually became the state religion around the middle of the first millennium CE.
What is Buddhism?
The veil was pulled from this individual's eyes at the Battle of Kalinga, ushering in a new era of compassion and tolerance.
Who is Ashoka?