HIS102 Term Test
Cuneiform
Who: cuneiform was developed by the ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia
What: a triangular wedge used as a pen/stylus to make impressions on clay
When: ca. 4000-2300
Where: was developed in the city of Sumer
Significance: The significance of cuneiform was it allowed for the creation of literature and revealed information about trade and ancient Mesopotamian history
Code of Hammurabi
Who: King Hammurabi
What: the most complete collection of Babylonian laws
When: developed during the reign of Hammurabi → 1792-1750 BCE
Where: Babylon
Significance: it offers insight into the history of law, social justice and even the Bible.
Alexander the Great
Who: was from Macedonia
What: combined the focus of the Greek city-states and defeated the Persian Empire. He allowed the local Persian culture and costumes to continue
When: 356-323 BCE → Hellenistic Period
Where: Greece
Significance: One of the world’s greatest military generals, he created a vast empire that stretched from Macedonia to Egypt and from Greece to part of India. This allowed for Hellenistic culture to become widespread.
Qin Shihuangdi
Who: Qin Shihuangdi was the emperor of the Qin dynasty, he was remembered as a tyrant and a monster
What: Creator of the first unified Chinese empire, was a punishment based state and he abolished inheritance. He declared himself “The First Emperor”.
When: ruled from 221-206 BCE
Where: State of Qin in northwestern China
Significance: his achievements had profound cultural impact on the dynasties that followed
Xiongnu
Who: powerful nomadic people from the northwest
What: great tribal group that was able to dominate much of Central Asia
When: 3rd century BCE
Where: came roughly from the area of Mongolia and dispersed westward
Significance: led to the Chinses exploration and conquest of much of Central Asia
Bactrian Camels
Who: Parthian people
What: a two-humped camel with sturdy, thick legs, and long hair, rides through the mountains
When: 2nd millennium BCE
Where: Mongolia and China
Significance: were able to travel across harsh conditions along the Silk Road and expand trade
Palmyra
Who: came under Roman control by the time of the emperor and later Zenobia ruled over the multicultural kingdom
What: Palmyra was a city built on an oasis
When: 19th century BCE
Where: natural oasis → ancient city in south-central Syria
Significance: Palmyra was significant because it was an important archaeological site for findings of layering of cultures, and became the nexus of trade routes for the Parthians and Romans.
Odoacer
Who: one of the foederati, the hired soldiers from the outlying Germanic tribes in the Roman army toward the end of the Roman empire.
What: declared himself King of Italy
When: mid-5th century
Where: Italy
Significance: The significance of Odoacer for world history is that the date he declared himself king is usually considered the date for the fall of the Roman empire.
Satrap
Who: established by Darius
What: local, provincial governors and the areas they governed were called a satrapy
When: During the Achaemenian Empire
Where: Persia
Significance: expanded civilizations by trade, foreign relations, education, economic development, etc.
Polis
Who: Greeks belonged to a city-state (Corinthian, Spartan, Athenian, etc,) → were outposts
What: polis was an ancient Greek city-state
Where: Greece
Significance: the goal was not conquest but the economic development/trade of Greece, was the key to Greek society
Carthage
Who: Phoenicians
What: was a trading outpost, good relay station for trade
When: was founded in 8th century BCE
Where: Northern coast of Africa, roughly present-day Tunisia
Significance: became the main trading post for the Phoenicians.
Trireme
What: a trireme is a large ancient Greek boat meant to carry soldiers with three rows of oars. Not much space for cargo
When: 525 BCE
Where: Athens, Greece
Significance: triremes were faster and stronger than the other ships that the other people had. Would be able to travel longer routes and develop trade.
Babylon
What: was able to conquer other areas of Mesopotamia
When: 1800-1500 BCE
Where: Babylon was an ancient city located on the lower Euphrates river in southern Mesopotamia, within modern-day Iraq.
Significance: became the main commercial and administrative center for Babylonia
Parthians
Who: Greek and Persian cultures were mixed
What: claimed to restore the Persian rule
When: 247 BCE - 224 CE
Where: Present-day Northwestern Iran
Significance: built one of the greatest and most powerful empires of the ancient world
Sasanid (Sassanian Empire)
Who: descendants of Persian and Greek cultures
What: conquered the Parthians, promoted the religion of Zoroastrianism, often traded along the Silk Roads
When: 224-651 CE
Where: came from the same homeland of the Achaemenids
Significance: succeeded the Parthian Empire
Hoplite
Who: male citizens across Greece from ages 18 up to 60 years old could be called to join the armed forces
What: a hoplite is the most common type of heavily armed foot-soldier
When: 7th to 4th centuries BCE
Where: Greece
Significance: helped Greece defeat Persia during the Battle of Plataea and Marathon
Romanitas
Who: Tertullian
What: collection of political and cultural concepts and practices
When: 3rd century
Where: historical region that is not present-day Pakistan
Significance: defined what is meant to be a Roman
Aqueduct
Who: Romans
What: structures used to carry water in the form of a bridge across a valley or gap
When: 312 BCE - 226 CE
Where: Rome
Significance: would increase crop production which would lead to economic prosperity
Sogdians
Who: merchants and middlemen (traders)
What: learned languages and spread across Central Asia
When: 5th century BCE
Where: Sogdia - Central Asia
Significance: had major influence on world art, culture, and trade
Xuanzang
Who: Buddhist monk and Chinese pilgrim
What: brought back lots of sanskrit literature, set up translation school
When: 602-664
Where: China
Significance: helped expand and offered insight into the history of Buddhism
Tabgach/Tuoba
Who: Clan of Xianbei people
What: northern kingdoms that came into China, the Xianbei people were able to reunify parts of China, integrated Buddhism into Chinese society
When: 310-376 BCE
Where: in early imperial China
Significance: further expanded Buddhism and reinforced it to other parts of China
Chang'an
Who: former capital of the Han, Sui, and Tang dynasties
What: was the capital of several dynasties of Ancient China
When: c. 1600-1046 BCE)
Where: north-central China
Significance: was an important world trade and cultural centre which contributed much to the exchange and development of ancient civilizations.
Foederati
Who: Rome’s higher soldiers
What: an auxiliary soldier serving the Roman Empire
When: 476 BCE
Where: Rome
Significance:
Huns
Who: a central European tribe
What: pushed the other German tribes to assemble a fairly large Empire on the outskirts of Rome, pushed other tribes towards Rome (Anglo-Saxons, Goths, Visigoths, Alamanni, Franks and Vandals)
When: 5th century on
Where: Rome
Significance: became part of the chipping away of the Roman Empire
Constantine
Who: first Roman Empire to profess Christianity
What: converted to Christianity, saw it as a way to unify the empire and bring the religion under his control
When: year 313
Where: Rome
Significance: became so central to the Roman culture that the split between East and West was largely over religious differences.
Umma
Who: people who believe in Islam
What: a community of believers
When: 622-1258 CE
Where: anywhere in the world
Significance: connected people through their devotion to one god
House of Wisdom
Who: predominantly Persian populace
What: center for translation, teaching, scholarship, collecting of books, translated from classical Greek, Persian, Latin, all of these different classical texts
When:
Where: Baghdad
Significance: intended to reflect the continuity of Persian heritage
Ibn Buttata
Who: was a Muslim Scholar
What: explored the entire islamic world, appointed as a qadi, and as an official to travel to China, wrote a book called “The Travels of Ibn Battuta”
When: 14th century
Where: from the Tangiers
Significance: provided insight and information about the people, places and cultures he encountered on his voyages of the Islamic world, travelled for the sake of knowledge
Dhow
What: was a boat, made of planks tied together with palm fibre and made it flexible
When:
Where: Indian Ocean
Significance: was a vessel used primarily for the expansion of trade, could carry bulk goods (silk) made it more possible to carry different kinds of goods than the Mediterranean ships