Ancient and Medieval history
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- When did civilizations appear in the Near East?
- 4000 and 3000 BCE
- When was writing invented in Mesopotamia?
- 3500 BCE
- When did Sumer exist?
- 4000-2000 BCE
- What were the Sumerians known for?
- Inventing writing (cuneiforms)
- Who conquered Sumer in around 2300-2200 BCE?
- The Akkadians
- Where was the capital of the Amorites (Old Babylonians) 2000-1550 BCE?
- Babylon
- What was King Hammurabi of Babylon known for?
- A legal code: social class determined punishment for a crime
- Who conquered Syria, Palestine, and much of Mesopotamia around 1100 BCE?
- The Assyrians
- Who conquered the Assyrian territory in 612 BCE?
- The Chaldeans (New Babylonians)
- Who ordered the destruction of the Temple of Solomon and the enslavement of the Jews in 587 BCE?
- King Nebuchadnezzar
- Who defeated the Chadleans in 538 BCE?
- Cyrus, king of the southern Persians
- Whose religion was Zoroastianism around 530 BCE?
- The southern Persians
- What did Zoroastrians believe?
- A supreme being (Ahura Mazda) was in a cosmic battle with the forces of evil
- What are the seven periods of Egyptian history?
-
Archaic Period
Old Kingdom
First Intermediate Period
Middle Kingdom
Second Intermediate Period
New Kingdom
Late Dynastic Period - What religious ideas of the Egyptians showed up later?
-
Monotheism
Afterlife - When were the Jews enslaved in Egypt?
- 1500 BCE
- What two religious ideas did the Jews contribute in pre-Christian times?
-
monotheism
humankind's covenant with God to lead ethical lives - Who were two Hebrew kings in the period 1000-930 BC?
-
King David
Solomon - Where did the Minoans live 2600-1250 BCE?
- Crete
- When was the Greek Dark Ages?
- 1200-750 BCE
- Who wrote the Iliad and the Odyssey?
- Homer
- In the archaic period (800-500 BCE)what form of government did the Greek have?
- city-state (polis)
- What armed camp in Greece enslaved the Messenians in 650 BCE?
- Sparta
- What was Draco known for?
- Draconian Code, harsh law (Athens 621 bce)
- What did Solon do in Athens 630-560 BCE?
- Reformed Draconian laws, enfranchised lower classes
- When was the high point of Greek civilization (Classical Age)?
- 5th century BCE
- What war opened the 5th century BCE in Greece?
- Persian War
- What were the Persian Wars?
- series of conflicts between the Greek world and the Persian Empire that started about 500 BC and lasted until 448 BC
- After Athens was burned by the Persians in 480, which leader rebuilt Athens?
- Pericles
- What public buildings did Pericles build with Delian League money in 5th century BCE in Athens?
-
Parthenon (Temple of Athena the Virgin)
Other Acropolis buildings - What caused the Peloponnesian War?
- The rise of Athens' power in forming the Delian League
- Who fought in the Pelopennesian War (431-404 BCE)?
- Sparta and Athens
- Which conquest unified the Greek city-states in the 4th century BCE?
- Conquest of Alexander the Great
- What marked the beginning of the Hellenistic Age in Greece (4th century BCE)?
- The conquest of Alexander the Great
- Which Greek philosophy of the 4th century BCE emphasized the individual and excellence through rhetoric, grammar, music, and math?
- Sophism
- Which Greek philosopher (470-399 BCE) emphasized a process of questioning with students?
- Socrates
- Who wrote "Republic", describing an ideal state ruled by a philosopher king? (428-348 BCE)
- Plato
- Who was a student of Socrates and a teacher of Artistotle?
- Plato
- Who was Plato's pupil who critized him for his metaphysical view of the world? (384-322 BCE)
- Aristotle
- What are the classical orders?
- ancient styles of building design differing in proportions and details, but most apparent in columns
- Which classical order of architecture is characterized by short, faceted, heavy columns with plain, round capitals (tops) and no base?
- Doric order
- Which classical architectural order has slender, fluted pillars with a large base and two opposed volutes (also called scrolls) in the echinus of the capital?
- Ionic order
- Which classical architectural order has a slender fluted column with an ornate capital decorated with acanthus leaves?
- Corinthian order
- Name two lyric poets of Greece 5th century
-
Sapho
Pindar - What is hubris, which was written about by Aeschylus (525-456 BCE)?
- exaggerated pride or self-confidence often resulting in retribution
- Who wrote about hubris in his tragedies in classical Greece?
- Aeschylus
- Who wrote Oedipus Rex? (492-406 BCE)
- Sophocles
- Who is considered the most modern of the Classical Greek tragedians because he was psychologically minded? 484-406 BCE
- Euripides
- Who was a pioneer in Greek comedy who used political themes, and wrote Lysistrata? 450-388
- Aristophanes
- Who was known as the Father of History in Classical Greece?
- Herodotus
- What is the traditional founding date for Rome?
- 753 BCE
- Who inhabited Northern and Central Italy before 800 BCE?
- Etruscans
- Who were the Patricians in Rome? (500 BCE)
- Wealthy landowners who held power
- What powerful trading outpost in modern-day Tunis did the Romans defeat in the three Punic Wars? (264-146 BCE)
- Carthage
- What did the Populares party want in Rome? 150-130 BCE
- land reform and lower grain prices
- Who led a slave rebellion in 73 BCE in Rome?
- Spartacus
- Who was the dictator of Rome in 47 BCE and was later assasinated by Brutus and Cassius?
- Caesar
- What name was Octavian given when he was given a vote of confidence by the Senate in 27 BCE?
- Augustus
- What were two of the reforms of Augustus between 27 BCE and 14 CE (the Augustan Age)?
-
New tax collection
new coinage
fire and police protection
land for settlers in the province - When was the Pax Romana?
- 27 BCE and 180 CE
- Who made up the triumverate after Ceasar was assasinated in 44 BCE?
- Octavian Caesar, Marc Antony, Ledipus
- Augustus faced four major challenges during the Pax Romana. What were two of them?
-
Secure Northern borders against attack
Reduce size of large, unmanageable army
Help urban and farm populations
Promote confidence among the senatorial class - Who wrote the Aenid, an account of Rome's rise (1st century BCE)?
- Vergil (70-19 BCE)
- Who were two Roman authors of the Augustan Age?
-
Vergil (Aenid)
Horace (Odes)
Ovid (Ars Amatoria)
Livy (narrative history of Rome) - When was Rome's Silver Age?
- 14 to 180 CE
- Who were two of the authors of Rome's Silver Age?
-
Seneca (5 BCE to 65 CE)
Juvenal (50-127)
Plutarch
Tacitus - Who were the two chief exponents of Stoicism in the Silver Age of Rome?
-
Marcus Aurelius (emperor)
Epictetus (slave) - What were some of the tenets of Stoicism (Silver Age of Rome)
-
Live in harmony with nature
You can only control internal things
Rejection of desire - What were the three orders of law distinguished in Rome during the Silver Age?
-
Civil law (Roman citizens)
Laws of the people (merged Roman law with laws of other people of the Empire)
Natural law (governed by reason) - Which astronomer, mathematician and geographer from Egypt set the sun and planets of the solar system orbiting around the Earth (Silver Age of Rome)?
- Ptolemy
- What is the Ptolemaic explanation of the motion of the planets?
- The theory that the planets and sun orbited the earth (Ptolemy, Silver Age of Rome)
- What was Natural History, written by Pliny the Elder during the Silver Age of Rome?
- The first encyclopedia, containing facts and fantasy
- What were two major achitectural feats of the Silver Age in Rome?
-
Colosseum
Pantheon - What were some of the causes of the tumult in Rome after the Pax Romana (third century)?
-
Civil War
Rome's frontiers attacked
Leadership turnover - Who attacked the Mesopotamian territory of the Roman Empire in 224 CE?
- Sassanians, a Persian dynasty
- Who captured Rome's Balkan provinces by 250 CE?
- Germanic Goths
- Who attacked the Roman Empire from central Asia in the 4th century?
- Attila the Hun
- Who looted Rome in 410 CE?
- Visigoths under Alaric
- Who moved the Roman capital to Constantinople 306-337 CE?
- Constantine
- What is the current name of the city that was known as Constantinople?
- Istanbul, Turkey
- What was the name of the eastern section of the Roman Empire, with its capital at Constantinople, which remained in existence after the fall of Rome in the 5th century?
- Byzantine Empire
- What were the three aspects of the culture of the Byzantine Empire?
-
A combination of:
Roman statehood
Hellenistic culture
Christian religion - When was the Byzantine Period?
- 395 to 1453.
- What was the language of the Byzantine Empire?
- Greek
- Who overran the southern provinces of the Byzantine Empire (including Mesopotamia, Syria, Egypt, and the Exarchate of Africa) in the 7th century?
- Muslim Arabs
- Who was sent by Venice to capture and loot Constantinople in 1204?
- Crusaders
- In 1453, to whom did Constantinople fall?
- Ottoman Turks
- What is one of the lasting effects of the Byzantine Empire?
- spread of Eastern Orthodoxy religion
- When was Mohammed born?
- 570 CE
- What are the five pillars of faith for Muslims to observe (outlined in the Sharia)?
-
1. one God, Mohammed is his prophet
2. Pray 5 times a day
3. Perform charitable acts
4. Fast from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan
5. Make a hajj to Mecca - In what manuscript are Mohammed's teachings found?
- Koran
- Who established the Islamic Empire between 634 and 642??
- Omar
- Who defeated the Byzantines and gained Jerusalem in 637?
- Sword of Islam
- In what city were the Sunnite Omayyad caliphs based in (661-750)?
- Damascus
- Which regions did the Omayyad caliphs conquer 661-750?
- Spain, areas of France, India and parts of China
- Who ruled the Islamic Empire from 750-1258?
- Abbasid caliphs
- Where was the apital of the Abbasid caliphs 750-1258?
- Baghdad
- Who invaded the Abbasids and seized Baghdad in 1258?
- Genghis Khan
- Who arrived in Japan during the Kofun Era (300-710), beginning feudalism?
- Nomadic warriors from throughout Asia
- What sort of aristocracy developed during the Heian Era in Japan 794-1185?
- Hereditary military aristocracy
- During which period did Buddhism appear in Japan?
- Kofun Era 300-710
- What was the Japanese word for landed estates in the Heian Era (794-1185)?
- Shoen
- What was a bushidan?
- Small groups of warriors who defended shoen during the Heian Era in Japan
- What were the two dominant clans at the end of the Heian Era in Japan?
-
Taira
Minamoto - When was the Taira-Minamoto War and who won?
- 1180-1185, Minamoto won
- Who established the shogunate in Japan in 1185?
- Minamoto no Yorimoto
- What was a jitro, and when did they exist?
- Vassals who were appointed land stewards 1200s, Japan
- What was a shugo, and what did they do in 1333?
- Shugo were provincial governors who acted as liaisons between Kamakura government and local jitro. Overthrew Kamakura shogunate
- What was a daimyo and when did they exist?
- A local feudal lord who ruled over one of many autonomous domains, formed alliances, 1550s
- Name the three bafku of Japan (shogunates)
-
Kamakura Shogunate
Ashikaga Shogunate
Tokugawa Shogunate - When were all special privileges of the samurai class abolished in Japan?
- 1868 (Meji Restoration)
- Where did the Harappan civilization live and when?
- Indus Riber basin, India, before 1500 BCE
- Who ruled India during the Vedic age (1500 BCE)?
- Indo-Aryans from northwest
- What were the characteristics of the Harappan religion (3000-1500 BCE)of the Indus River Valley?
-
God Siva
reincarnation
mental concentration (later yoga) - What were the characteristics of the religion of the Indo-Aryan people who took over the Indus River Valley around 1500 BCE (basis for hinduism)?
-
pantheon of gods
bramhas (priests) performed sacrifices
caste system - Which empire did the Indian kingdoms fall under in the 3rd century BCE?
- Mauryan Empire
- When was the Mauryan Empire in India and what was it known for?
- 322-185 BC, religious tolerance (Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism)
- Where did Chinese civilization originate?
- Yellow River Valley
- What were the three early dynasties of China?
-
Xia
Shange (1500 BCE)
Zhou (1122-211 BCE) - What were some of the teachings of Confuscius? (after 211 BCE)
- Good order of society depends on ethical ruler
- Where did the Nok live?
- In modern Nigeria, Africa
- Where did the Ghana people live?
- About 500 miles from what we now call Ghana
- With whom did the Ghana trade?
- Berber merchants
- When did Muslim influence grow in Ghana?
- 1054 to 1076
- Which kingdom conquered the Ghana people and when?
- 1200s, Mali kingdom
- What was the thriving city of the Mali kingdom in the 1200s?
- Timbuktu
- The Songhai lived near what river?
- the Niger River
- Who was Sunni Ali?
- Powerful magician king of Songhai empire
- Where did the Mayan live?
- Yucatan peninsula, Guatemala, Honduras
- What advancements did the Mayans make?
-
Elaborate calendar
concept of zero
astronomy
art
engineering - What are some preserved Mayan sites?
-
Chichén Itzá
Uxmal
Palenque - Name some of the advanced cultures in Mexico during the Mayan period
-
Toltec
Olmec
Zapotec - Where did the Aztec flourish?
- South Central region of present-day Mexico
- When did the Aztec Empire exist?
- 1200s to 1500s
- What was the most famous city of the Aztecs?
- Tenochtitlan
- When and where was the Chimu Empire?
- 1100 AD to the late 1400's AD, Andes
- What were the flat-topped mounds made by ancient Andean civilization called?
- huacas
- What were the main achievements of the Incas?
-
roads
advanced political system
counting system - When did the Incan culture exist?
- 1450 to 1530
- What were the two major groups of mound builders in North America?
-
Woodland
Mississippian - What are large building projects, such as mounds, indicative of?
- Powerful ruling class
- What were the mounds of the Woodland peoples used for and when?
- Burial, 500 BCE to 1000 CE
- What were the mounds of the Mississippian people used for and when were they made?
- 500 CE, substructure for wooden temples
- Who occupied most of Europe during antiquity?
- Germanic tribes
- What groups came from the Germanic tribes of the North of Europe?
- Vikings, Norsemen
- What tribes came from the eastern Germanic tribes in Europe?
- Vandals, Burgundians, Goths
- Which tribes came from the western Germanic tribes in Europe?
- Saxons, Lombards
- What was the dominant tribe in Eastern Europe and Russia?
- Slavs
- What happened to the Germanic tribes when the nomadic tribes from Asia invaded? (4th and 5th century)
- Pushed Germanic tribes into conflict with Roman empire
- What was the most important Medievlal Germanic state?
- Frankish Kingdome
- Who was the head of the Frankish Kingdom (481-511 CE)?
- Clovis
- Who founded the Merovingian Dynasty after converting to Christianity?
- Clovis I
- Who founded the Carolingian Dynasty (768-814)?
- Charlemagne
- What was the Holy Roman Empire?
- Political conglomeration of lands in western and central Europe in the Middle Ages and later (840-1800)
- When was Charlemagne's reign?
- 771 to 814
- Which three groups attacked Europe in the 9th and 10th centuries?
-
Vikings from North
Muslims from South
Magyas from East - Who led the Normans in the Battle of Hastings in 1066?
- William the Conqueror
- Why was the Norman Conquest (begun by Battle of Hastings in 1066) such a watershed event for England?
- It tied England more closely with Continental Europe and away from Scandinavian influence, created one of the most powerful monarchies in Europe, created the most sophisticated governmental system in Europe, changed the English language and culture, and set the stage for a long future of English-French conflict.
- Who were (are) the Magyar?
- Hungarians
- Who became the first true "Holy Roman Emperor" in 962 CE?
- Otto I
- What were some of the effects of Rome's collapse?
-
Decline of cities
Reversion to barter system
Fall in agricultural productivity - What is manorialism and when did it develop?
-
1000 CE
King grants large estates to nobles, self-sufficient, encompass several villages - What is feudalism and when did it develop?
-
1000 CE
Decentralized political system of personal ties and obligations that tied vassals to their lords. - When did literacy nearly disapper in Western Christendom?
- early Middle ages
- When did the High Middle Ages, a time of improved technologies, occur in Europe?
- 1050-1300
- What is enfranchisement and when did it occur?
- Freeing of serfs, High Middle Ages
- What was the Investiture Controversy?
-
1077 CE
between the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire and the Pope concerning who would control appointments of church officials (Investiture). Led to nearly 50 years of civil war in Germany and the disintegration of the German empire - What was the Magna Carta and when was it signed?
- Established the principle of a limited English monarchy 1215, King John I England and barons (forced king to sign)
- When did the Capetian dynasty control France?
- 987CE to 1328
- What were the four dynasties of France?
-
Carolingian 843-987
Capetian 987-1328
Valois 1328-1589
Bourbon 1589-1792 - When did the Muslims conquer Spain from the Visigoths?
- 710
- What caused Russia to lose contact with the West for almost a century starting in 1245?
- Conquest of the Mongols (Tatars)
- What was the goal of the Crusades (1096 to 1300)?
- liberate Holy Land from infidels
- How many crusades were there between 1096 and 1300?
- 7
- What was Scholasticism?
- Effort to reconcile faith and reason and instruct Christians on how to make sense of the pagan tradition.
- Who wrote Sic et Non and was a proponent of Scholasticism?
- Peter Abelard (1079-1144)
- Who wrote that there were two orders of truth: lower (reason) and higher (mysteries of God)?
- Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274)
- Who were two writers of the fabliaux?
-
Bocaccio
Chaucer