Ancient Foundations & Faith
This term describes a belief in many gods, whereas this term describes the belief in only one.
What are Polytheism and Monotheism?
This Greek word refers to a city-state, the fundamental political unit of ancient Greece.
What is a Polis?
In this early form of Roman government, citizens elected representatives to lead, rather than a single king.
What is the Republic?
This massive trade network connected China to the Mediterranean, exchanging goods like spices and textiles.
What is the Silk Road?
Power is shared (Senate), check and balances, and term limits.
Republic
Judaism, Christianity, and Islam all trace their lineage back to this biblical patriarch.
Who is Abraham?
Derived from the Greek words for "people" and "power," this system allowed citizens to vote directly on laws.
What is Democracy?
This Roman Emperor ended the persecution of Christians and moved the capital to the East.
Who is Constantine?
This city, formerly known as Byzantium, became the wealthy "New Rome" of the Eastern Empire.
What is Constantinople?
Power is centralized (One Emperor), hereditary rule, permanent standing army.
Empire
While all three Abrahamic faiths value the Old Testament, Islam’s primary holy text is the Quran. What is Judaism’s holy text?
What is the Torah?
This field of study, meaning "love of wisdom," was championed by Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
What is Philosophy?
This AD 313 proclamation established religious toleration for Christianity within the Roman Empire.
What is the Edict of Milan?
Political instability, barbarian invasions, and economic inflation are all cited as causes for this 476 AD event.
What is the Fall of Rome (Western)?
This Ancient Chinese concept represents the balance of opposite forces, such as light and dark or male and female.
What is Yin and Yang?
The Olympics, the architectural use of columns, and the birth of theater are all contributions from this civilization.
What is Greece?
To make the massive empire easier to manage, this emperor famously divided it into Western and Eastern halves.
Who is Diocletian?
River civilizations like Mesopotamia and Egypt shared this geographic similarity, which allowed for surplus food.
What is Fertile Soil (or Floodplains)?
Most river civilizations were organized into these, where priests or kings sat at the top and slaves/farmers at the bottom.
What are Social Hierarchies (or Classes)?
This philosopher was sentenced to death for "corrupting the youth" of Athens and questioning tradition.
Who is Socrates?
Concrete, the arch, and the creation of a vast road system are major contributions from this civilization.
What is Rome?
While the West fell into the "Dark Ages," this half of the Roman Empire survived for another thousand years.
What is the Byzantine Empire (or Eastern Roman Empire)?