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WHI People Review
World History I People Review
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Archeologists | One who studies early human cultures, mainly by looking at artifacts they left behind |
Lucy | Hominid skeleton discovered by Donald Johanson |
Neanderthals | Early people who lived during the Old Stone Age. They wore animal skins, used fire, more efficient tools, and buried their dead. |
Cro-Magnons | Group of early people appearing about 35,000 years ago in Europe. They made even better tools and weapons, and created cave art. |
Homo Sapiens | Modern man |
Paleolithic Society | Nomadic, simple tools and weapons, used fire, lived in clans, developed oral language, created cave art |
Neolithic Society | Developed agriculture, domesticated animals, advanced tools and weapons, made pottery, developed weaving |
Pharaoh | "Great House"; Egyptian ruler's title |
Menes | United all of Egypt into one kingdom |
Hyksos | Group of people who arrived in ancient Egypt from Asia and introduced new war tools (chariot and compound bow) |
Hatshepsut | First known female ruler. Strong ruler who kept Egypt's borders secure and built trade with other lands |
Thutmose III | Hatshepsut’s stepson who brought Egypt to the height of its power through conquest and trade until his death |
Amenhotep IV | Tried to make Egypt monotheistic by banning all gods except the sun god, Aton. Changed his name to Akhenaton, which means "he who is pleasing to Aton" |
Ramses II | Called Ramses the Great. Kept the Egyptian empire together and ordered the construction of many temples and monuments |
Scribes | Egyptian clerks who read or wrote for those who could not do so for themselves |
Cleopatra | Tries to unite Egypt but is unsuccessful. Teams up with Marc Antony. Commits suicide after Octavian declares war on them. Roman Empire takes over |
Tutankhamen | Young boy pharaoh whose tomb was found untouched in the Valley of the Kings |
Caravans | Groups of people traveling together for safety over long distancesSumerians |
Akkadians | Semitic speaking people who conquered the Sumerians and established an empire that reached as far as the Mediterranean Sea |
Babylonains | Conquered the Sumerians and adopted their culture. Active traders, rights for women, created the horoscope, oldest written law code – Code of Hammurabi |
Hittites | Warlike people who invaded the Tigris-Euphrates Valley from Asia Minor. First to smelt iron, had a law system, allowed for religious freedom |
Assyrians | Semitic speaking people from North Mesopotamia who adopted Sumerian culture. Fierce effective warriors – 1st to use cavalry |
Chaldeans | Conquered most of the Fertile Crescent. Built many canals and buildings, skilled astronomers. Led by Nebuchadnezzar |
Persians | Empire stretched from Indus River to Europe. Built a road system was used to connect the Empire together. Practiced Zoroastrianism |
Phoenicians | Highly skilled sailors and great sailors. Invented glass blowing and purple dye and created the Phoenician Alphabet |
Lydians | 1st to coin money – created a money economy |
Sargon | Akkadian king who established an empire that reached as far west as the Mediterranean Sea |
Hammurabi | King of Babylon. Responsible for Hammurabi’s CodeNebuchadnezzar |
Cyrus | Known as “the Great”. Rebelled against Medes and captured Babylon and took over the rest of the Fertile Crescent and Asia Minor |
Darius I | Persian ruler who expanded its empire |
Xerxes I | Persian ruler who expanded its empire. Son of Darius |
Zoroaster | Persian religious reformer who founded Zoroastrianism |
Hebrews | Monotheistic people living in the Fertile Crescent who are the ancestors of modern Jews |
Abraham | Founder of JudaismTwelve Tribes of Israel |
Moses | Hebrew law-giver and prophet. Led the Israelites out of Egypt into the Promise Land. By tradition, he received the Ten Commandments on Mount Sinai |
Saul | First king of united Israel |
David | King who made Jerusalem the capital and a religious center |
Solomon | King under which Israel reached its height of its wealth and power |
Harappans | Earliest civilization of the Indus River Valley |
Indo-Aryans | Indo-European tribes who moved in slow waves into Indian about 1750 BC |
Brahmins | Special priests of the Indo-Aryan society who knew the proper forms and rules of their complicated religious rituals |
Siddhartha Gautama | Son of an Indian rajah. Philosopher, founder of Buddhism. Known as Buddha (Enlightened One) |
Chandragupta Maurya | First ruler to unite and govern much of India |
Asoka | Emperor of India’s Maurya dynasty. Converted to Buddhism; send Buddhist missionaries across Asia |
Chandra Gupta II | Gupta dynasty – reign brought prosperity to India. Great progress was made in the arts |
Aryabhata | Indian mathematician who is the first to have used algebra and solve quadratic equations |
Xia | Line of kings ruling over a late Neolithic people in the Huang River region of China starting in about 2000 BC |
Shang Dynasty | Invaders of the Huang River valley who came to power sometime between 1750 BC and 1500 BC and established the first dynasty in China |
Zhou Dynasty | People who overthrew the Shang dynasty of China in 1122 BC |
Qin Dynasty | Dynasty that came to power in China in 221 BC under which the first true empire of China was created |
Han Dynasty | Dynasty of rulers that ruled a centralized and growing empire in China |
Cheng | Founded the Qin Dynasty |
Liu Bang | Commoner who became a general. Overthrew the Qin Dynasty and established the Han Dynasty |
Liu Ch’e | Longest ruling Han emperor. Also known as Wu Ti |
Confucius | Chinese philosopher. Founded Confucianism, a religion based on reason rather than spirituality |
Laozi | Chinese philosopher and mystic. Founder of Taoism |
Minoans | Earliest Greek civilization that had developed on the island of Crete |
Mycenaeans | Civilization on the Greek mainland that conquered the Minoans |
Oracles | Special places where ancient Greeks believed gods spoke through priests and priestesses |
Hoplite | Heavily armed Greek infantry who carried long spears and fought in closely spaced rows |
Tyrants | Rulers who seized power by force but who ruled with the people’s support |
Aristocracies | Greek city-states controlled by nobles |
Helots | Conquered people of the Peloponnesus, who became the lowest class in Spartan society |
Ephors | Five officials in ancient Sparta who were elected for one year terms to make sure the king stayed within the law |
Metics | People living in Athens who were not citizens, who could work and who paid taxes but were not allowed to own land or take part in government |
Archons | Rulers in ancient Athens who served one-year terms |
Sparta | Greek city-state with a rigid and highly militarized society |
Athens | Greek city-state with a democratic society where the arts and culture flourished |
Draco | Archon who is believed to have created Athen’s first written law code |
Solon | Archon who settle disputes between creditors and debtors by erasing the debts of the poor and outlawing slavery for debt |
Peisistratus | Ruled Athens as a tyrant. Improved its economy, but clashed with the nobles |
Cleisthenes | Ruler who seized power and turned Athens into a democracy |
Sappho | Female poet who wrote about everyday life in Greece |
Sophists | Athenian men who opened schools for boys to study government, mathematics, ethics, and rhetoric |
Themistocles | Lead the Greek’s defeat of the Persian navy at the Battle of Salamis |
Pericles | Athenian statesman, orator, and general. Ruled during Athen’s golden age |
Myron | Greek sculptor – The Discus Thrower |
Phidias | Greek sculptor – statues of Athena in Parthenon and Zeus at the Temple of Olympia |
Praxiteles | Greek sculptor – statues were lifelike and natural in form and size |
Socrates | Greek philosopher. Plato describes his ideas in the Dialogues. Forced to commit suicide because his teachings were thought to corrupt the young |
Plato | Greek philosopher; student of Socrates. Described ideal state ruled by philosophers |
Aristotle | Greek philosophers, pupil of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great |
Pythagoras | Greek philosopher who believed that everything could be explained through mathematics – developed the Pythagorean theorem |
Hippocrates | Considered the founder of modern medical science – taught that disease comes from natural causes, not as punishment from the gods; believed rest, fresh air, and proper diet were the best cures |
Herodotus | First historian of the Western world; called the Father of History – traveled and wrote about the countries and cultures he encountered |
Sophocles | Playwright who wrote tragedies in which he defended many traditional Greek values – wrote Oedipus Rex |
Euripides | Playwright who wrote tragedies that questioned many old beliefs and ideas; wrote The Trojan Women about the pain and misery of war |
Aristophanes | Playwright of comedies – wrote Clouds |
Philip II of Macedon | King of Macedon; spend 3 years as a hostage in Thebes where he learned Greek culture; organized a strong army to conquer Greece; father of Alexander the Great |
Demosthenes | Athenian orator who criticized Philip II of Macedon |
Alexander the Great | King of Macedonia. Conquered Persia and created vast, short-lived empire that reached to India |
Zeno | Established the Stoic philosophy in Athens – believed every person had some “spark” of the divine within and the only way to achieve happiness is by following this spark |
Epicurus | Founder of the Epicurean philosophy – the aim of life is to seek pleasure and avoid pain |
Euclid | Developed geometry |
Archimedes | Calculated pi, the ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter, invented the compound pulley and Archimedes screw |
Aristarchus | Taught that the earth and other planets moved around the sun |
Eratosthenes | Calculated the distance around the earth |
Aeschylus | Playwright who wrote tragedies about religion and the relationship between gods and people |
Latins | Earliest settles of Rome – established Latium and lived in small villages along the Tiber River |
Etruscans | Conquered the Latins – had a written language, built well planed cities, created jewelry and fine clothing, skilled in metal, pottery, and wood |
Dictator | Absolute ruler |
Consuls | Chief executives elected to run the government in ancient Rome |
Praetors | Elected Roman officials who helped the consuls |
Censors | Roman officials who registered citizens according to their wealth |
Tribunes | Officials elected by Rome’s popular assemblies |
Patricians | Powerful landowners who controlled Roman government and society |
Plebeians | Farmers and workers who made up most of the Roman population |
Hannibal | Carthaginian general. Fought Second Punic War against Rome |
Scipio | Roman general who defeats Hannibal at the Battle of Zama |
Spartacus | Gladiator who led a slave rebellion against Rome |
Gladiators | In Ancient Rome, a man who fought other men or animals to entertain the public |
The Gracchi | Two brothers, Tiberus and Gaius Gracchus, who saw the need for reform in the Roman Republic |
Gaius Marius | Roman general who reformed the army by creating an army of volunteers who were well rewarded with money and land |
Lucius Cornelius Sulla | Marched on Rome; ruled as a dictator; enlarged the Senate by 300 members and gave it complete control over the government |
Julius Caesar | Roman general, statesmen, and writer. Conquered Gaul and ruled as dictator of Roman Republic until his murder |
Gnaeus Pompey | Roman general; part of the First Triumvirate |
Cleopatra | Daughter of the Ptolemy family; placed on the throne of Egypt by Casear |
Marc Antony | Roman general; part of the Second Triumvirate; teamed up with Cleopatra, committed suicide |
Augustus (Octavian) | First emperor of Rome. Reformed administration and promoted culture |
Julio-Claudian Emperors | Relatives of Caesar who ruled for 54 years of the Pax Romana following the death of Augustus |
Five Good Emperors | Five rulers who led Rome for almost 100 years during the Pax Romana |
Galen | Roman physician who wrote several volumes that summarized all the medical knowledge of his day |
Ptolemy | Astronomer – developed the Ptolemaic System – belief that the sun, planets, and stars revolved around the earth |
Virgil | Roman poet – wrote the Aeneid about Aeneas, a prince of Troy |
Horace | Roman poet – wrote of human emotions in odes, satires, and epistles (letters) |
Ovid | Roman poet – wrote love lyrics and the Metamorphoses |
Tacitus | Roman historian who wrote Annals, a history of Rome under the Julio-Claudian emperors |
Plutarch | Wrote Parallel Lives, a collection of Greek and Roman biographies |
Rabbis | Teacher of Jewish law; spiritual head of a congregation |
Martyrs | Persons put to death for their beliefs |
Bishops | Heads of the Catholic Church in major cities |
Patriarchs | Senior of chief bishop in the Eastern Orthodox Church |
Pope | Title assumed by the patriarch of Rome and head of the Catholic Church; from the Latin word meaning “father” |
Jesus | Jewish religious teacher. Believed by Christians to be Son of God and Savior of Mankind. Crucified for treason against Rome |
Paul | Christian apostle and missionary who spread the teachings of Jesus to the gentiles |
Disciples | Followers of Jesus |
Diocletian | Roman general made emperor in 284 AD; divided the Roman empire in two – ruled the eastern part; controlled all aspects of life, drove out invaders and ended lawlessness, tried unsuccessfully to control the economy |
Constantine | Emperor of Rome; made Christianity the empire’s official religion; moved the capital from Rome to Byzantium, which he renamed Constantinople |
Goths | One of a group of Germanic tribes who flooded into the Roman Empire and later revolted, weakening the empire |
Vandals | One of a group of Germanic tribes who invaded and destroyed territory in the Roman Empire |
Huns | Nomadic people from Asia who attacked the Roman Empire |
Attila | Fierce Han leader who conquered Gaul |
Kush | Early African kingdom along the Nile River; conquered and ruled Egypt for 50 years before being expelled; conquered by the Aksum |
King Ezana | Aksum king who conquered the Kush and establish an Aksum kingdom |
Aksum | African kingdom located in the Ethiopian Highlands |
Swahili | African society that emerged in the late 1100s along the East African coast and combined elements of African, Asian, and Islamic cultures |
Zimbabwe | African kingdom in south Africa, located between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers; capital city known as Great Zimbabwe |
Ghana | Earliest west African kingdom |
Mali | West African kingdom; capital city was Timbuktu – center for trade and learning |
Songhai | West African kingdom; capital city Gao was an important trade city located on the Niger River |
Mansa Musa | Ruler of Mail. Made hajj to Mecca and brought back Muslim scholars to Mali |
Sonni ‘Ali | Captured Timbuktu and established the Songhai kingdom |
Mohammad I Askia | King of Songhai and excellent administrator. Made Timbuktu a center of Muslim scholarship |
Ibn Battuta | Arab traveler who left an account of his journeys and the places he visited |
Olmec | Earliest culture of Mexico, beginning in about 1200 BC |
Maya | One of the most advanced early people in the Americas, occupying most of the Yucatan Peninsula |
Aztec | Wandering warriors who gradually came to rule central Mexico |
Inca | Civilization in the Andes Mountains in South America that by the end of the 1400s included much of what is now Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile |
Iconoclasts | People who opposed the use of icons in worship |
Justinian | Byzantine emperor. Responsible for codification of laws named after him |
Theodora | Wife of Justinian; served as an advisor to Justinian and helped improve the status of women |
Belisarius | General of the Byzantine army; crushed the Nika Revolt |
Cyril & Methodius | Greek scholars and missionaries. Developed the Cyrillic Alphabet and spread Christianity among the Slavs |
Ottoman Turks | Asian people who conquered Constantinople in the 1300s and established a large empire |
Boyars | Russian noble |
Rurik | Leader of the Rus; took control of Novgrod and ruled over Kiev and the Slavic tribes |
Rus | People led by Rurik who cam to rule Kiev and the Slavic tribes along the Dnieper River |
Yaroslav the Wise | Russian ruler who built many churches and introduced Russia’s first law code (Pravda Russkia) |
Vladimir I | Russian ruler who converted to Christianity and tried to force Kievans to convert; had all pagan statues destroyed |
Czar | Title taken by Ivan the Terrible; Russian for “Caesar” |
Vladimir Monomakh | Russian ruler whose reign saw a brief revival of Kiev; lead attacks against the Polovsty |
Polovtsy | Turkish people who controlled the area south of Kiev |
Ivan III | Ivan the Great – became the first ruler of the independent state called Russia |
Ivan IV | Ivan the Terrible – 1st czar of Russia, modernized the legal code, cruel and brutal leader |
Bedouins | Nomadic Arab herders of sheep and camel |
Muhammad | Arab prophet and religious leader; founded Islam. His teachings are recorded in the Quran. Proclaimed himself the messenger of Allah |
Muslims | Followers of the religion of Islam |
Caliph | Title meaning “successor to the Prophet” used in government and religion in Islamic society |
Imams | Spiritual leaders who, according to some Shi’ah Muslims, should be direct descendants of Muhammad |
Sultan | Muslim ruler |
Abu Bakr | Chosen as Muhammad’s successor; given title of caliph; helped unite Arabic tribes |
‘Umar | Succeeded Abu Bakr as caliph; continued to expand the Islamic empire |
Sunni | One of two branches of Islam; its members accept the first four caliphs as successors of Muhammad |
Shi’ah | One of two branches of Islam; its members reject the authority of the caliphs who succeeded Calif Ali |
Sufi | Muslim mystics who tried to live simple lives |
Rabi’ah al-Adawiyah | The 1st female Sufi mystic |
Tariq | Berber general who led a Muslim army into Spain and conquered it |
Moors | Muslims who made Spain their home in the 700s AD |
Al-Razi | Arab chemist and physician. His written works include a medical encyclopedia and a handbook of diseases |
Ibn Sina | Persian physician and philosopher. Wrote work that was standard medical text until 1500 |
Al-Idrisi | Muslim geographer – created new, more accurate maps |
Kami | Japanese gods or nature spirits |
Shogun | Military governor of Japan |
Samurai | Member of a military class in feudal Japan who owed loyalty to a daimyo |
Daimyo | Japanese feudal lord who led an army of samurai |
Fujwara | First family to gain control over the central government in Japan |
Lady Murasaki Shikibu | Japanese poet who wrote The Tale of Genji about Prince Genji – world’s 1st novel and literary masterpiece |
Kublai Khan | Mongol emperor. Founded Yuan dynasty in China, which flourished under his rule |
Franks | Germanic tribe that created an empire encompassing present-day France and much of the neighboring areas |
Clovis | Frankish king who established the Merovingian line; converted to Christianity |
Merovingians | Clovis and his successors, who were generally weak Frankish rulers who left the job of governing to palace officials |
Charles Martel | Charles the Hammer – Frankish king who defeated the Moors at the Battle of Tours |
Carolingians | Line of Frankish rulers established by Pepin III’s coronation |
Charlemagne | King of the Franks; founder of the Holy Roman Empire |
Louis the Pious | King of France and Catholic Saint, noted for his wisdom and his piety |
Magyars | Nomadic group who invaded Europe; eventually settled in what is now Hungary |
Angle-Saxons | Germanic tribes that established several independent kingdoms in England |
Vikings | Germanic people from Scandinavia who often raided western Europe |
Lord | A person who grants land to a vassal in a feudalism |
Vassal | Feudal tenant who held land from a lord in return for military and other service |
Knight | Mounted warrior |
Serf | Peasant tied to his lord’s land |
Cardinals | A high officer in the Roman Catholic Church who participates in the election of a new pope |
Abbot | Head of a monastery who controlled and distributed all property |
Abbess | Head of a convent who served a role similar to an abbot |
Heretics | People who denied the truth of the official church’s principles or who preached beliefs not approved by the church |
Saint Benedict | Founder of Western monasticism and of Benedictine Order |
Hildegard of Bingen | German nun who wrote religious music and medical text; founded the convent at Rubertsburg and served as its first abbess |
Saint Patrick | Credited for bring Christianity to Ireland |
Saint Augustine | Led a group of monks to England; became Achbishop of Canterbury, the center of the Christian church in England |
William the Conqueror | Won the Battle of Hastings and gains control of land in England and France |
Henry II | Married Eleanor of Aquitaine and ruled over England and half of France |
Eleanor of Aquitaine | Married Henry II and brought half of the land in France to the marriage |
King John | Weak English king who was forced to sign the Magna Carta |
King Richard I | English king who fought in the Crusades. Known as Richard The Lionheart |
King Edward I | King of England who strengthens the monarchy and creates the Model Parliament |
Hugh Capet | Established the Capetian Dynasty in France. Weak king chosen by French nobles |
Philip II (France) | French king who strengthened the monarchy through the use of bailiffs |
Philip IV | French king who creates the Estates General |
Charles VII | French king who ascends the throne with the help of Joan of Arc. Creates France's first permanent army, a Royal Council, and taxes land and salt to generate revenue |
Louis XI | French king known as "the spider king" who used trickery, bribery, and a spy network. Expand France to include Burgundy and did not use the Estates General |
Frederick Barbarossa | Holy Roman Emperor who led an army during the 3rd Crusade – drowned on the way to the Holy Land and his army turned back |
Seljuq Turks | Muslim people from central Asia who gained control of Palestine, or the Holy Land to Christians, during the late 1000s |
Urban II | Pope who gave a speech that launched the 1st Crusade |
Saladin | Muslim leader during the Crusades |
Apprentice | One who learns a skill under a master |
Journeyman | Skilled worker who was paid wages by a master |
Middle Class | Class of skilled workers between the upper class and the poor unskilled workers |
Troubadours | Traveling singers who entertained people during the Middle Ages |
Dante Alighieri | Wrote the Divine Comedy - written in the vernacular about the faults he saw in Italian society |
Geoffrey Chaucer | Wrote The Canterbury Tales - written in the vernacular and poked fun at society and the clergy |
Peter Abelard | Important philosopher of scholasticism. His book Sic et Non raised many questions about the church's teachings |
Thomas Aquinas | Great medieval philosopher - He was a monk who wrote Summa Theologiae which summarized medieval Christian thought |
Henry Tudor | English king who appoints many advisors from the middle class, uses local government, taxes land to gain revenue, avoids war, and creates the Star Chamber. England prospers under his reign |
Joan of Arc | French heroine and martyr. Helped the French to win the 100 Years War. Captured and burned as a heretic. Proclaimed a saint by the Catholic Church in 1920 |
Ferdinand & Isabella | Spanish monarchs who unified Aragon and Castile, financed Columbus’ expedition to America, defeated the Moors, and expelled the Jews from Spain |
Charles V (Spain) | King of Spain and Holy Roman Emperor – divided the vast lands among members of his family |
Philip II (Spain) | Spanish king who expanded the kingdom of Spain by annexing Portugal |
Mongols | Asian power who invaded Russia |
Genghis Khan | Mongol warrior. Founder of a huge Mongol empire in northern China and Central Asia |
Francesco Petrarch | Renaissance scholar, poet, and humanist |
Niccolo Machiavelli | Italian political philosopher and diplomat. Author of The Prince, which describes how an amoral prince can retain power. The “ends justify the means” |
Leonardo da Vinci | Italian artists and scientist. Famous as painter of Mona Lisa |
Michelangelo | Italian sculptor, architect, and painter. Best known for painting the ceiling of Rome’s Sistine Chapel |
Johannes Gutenberg | German printer who invented the printing press |
Desiderius Erasmus | Dutch humanist and church reformer. Translated New Testament from Greek to Latin and wrote In Praise of Folly |
Thomas Moore | Wrote Utopia about an ideal society |
William Shakespeare | English playwright and poet. Widely held to be one of world’s greatest writers in any language. Author of 36 plays, 152 sonnets, and several longer poems |
Medici Family | Rich family that served as the first bankers and rulers of Florence |
Martin Luther | Christian monk who wanted to reform the Catholic Church; was thrown out by Catholic Church; founded the Lutheran Church |
Patron | Wealthy person who gave money in the support of the arts |