Greece
Greek philosopher of Athens; his teaching style was based on asking questions. He wanted people to question their own beliefs. He was arrested and condemned to death for challenging authority.
Who is Socrates?
A military unit of the ancient Roman army, made up of about 5,000 foot soldiers and a group of soldiers on horseback; the term also means a multitude.
What is a legion?
A temporary rule by military authorities over a civilian population, usually imposed in times of war or civil unrest.
What is martial law?
The Spanish soldiers, explorers, and fortune hunters who took part in the conquest of the Americas in the 16th century.
What are conquistadors?
A period of European history, lasting from about 1300 to 1600, during which renewed interest in classical culture led to far-reaching changes in art, learning, and views of the world.
What is the Renaissance?
A war, fought during the 1200s BC, in which the Mycenaeans attacked the independent trading city of Troy in Anatolia.
What is the Trojan War?
Roman general and one of the greatest military leaders in history; he conquered most of Gaul and was named dictator for life in Rome. He was later murdered by a group of senators who opposed his enlarged powers.
Who is Julius Caesar?
A sudden seizure of political power in a nation.
What is a coup d’état?
Italian explorer, sailing for Spain, who reached the Americas in 1492 while searching for a western sea route from Europe to Asia.
Who is Christopher Columbus?
Italian painter, sculptor, architect, musician, engineer, and scientist; his interests and talents spanned numerous disciplines. He painted the Mona Lisa.
Who is Leonardo da Vinci?
A traditional story about gods, ancestors, or heroes, told to explain the natural world or the customs and beliefs of a society.
What is a myth?
A period of peace and prosperity throughout the Roman Empire lasting from 27 BC to AD 180.
What is the Pax Romana?
Leader of India’s struggle for independence from Great Britain; he organized the population for protest through the methods of nonviolent resistance and civil disobedience.
Who is Mohandas Gandhi?
A grant of land made by Spain to a settler in the Americas, including the right to use Native Americans as laborers on it.
What is encomienda?
Italian Renaissance sculptor, architect, painter, and poet; he sculpted the Pietà and the David, and he painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
Who is Michelangelo Buonarroti?
A series of wars in the fifth century BC, in which Greek city-states battled the Persian Empire.
What are the Persian Wars?
Capital city of the eastern Roman empire; formerly the Greek city of Byzantium and today the Turkish city of Istanbul.
What is Constantinople?
Leader of the Chinese Communists; he led a successful revolution and established a Communist government in China in 1949.
Who is Mao Zedong?
Spanish conquistador; from 1519 to 1521, he defeated the Aztec Empire, conquering Mexico for Spain.
Who is Hernando Cortes?
German inventor and printer; he invented movable type. His first printed publication was a 1,282-page Bible.
Who is Johannes Gutenberg?
Greek philosopher; a student of Socrates, he started a school Athens called the Academy. In The Republic he describes an ideal society run by philosopher-kings.
Who is Plato?
A series of three wars between Rome and Carthage (264–146 BC); resulted in the destruction of Carthage and Rome’s dominance over the western Mediterranean; “Punic” is an adjective that comes from the Latin word for Phoenician.
What are the Punic Wars?
A group of revolutionary Russian Marxists who took control of Russia’s government in November 1917.
What are Bolsheviks?
Spanish conquistador, conqueror of Peru; founder of Lima, Peru. From 1530 to 1533, he conquered the Inca Empire.
Who is Francisco Pizarro?
A Renaissance intellectual movement in which thinkers studied classical texts and focused on human potential and achievements.
What is humanism?