Chpt. 5, The Classical Period

Question 1

Aksum

Answer 1

a kingdom located in the Ethiopian highlands; replaced Meroe in the first century CE; received strong influence from the Arabian peninsula; eventually converted to Christianity

Question 2

Ethiopia

Answer 2

a Christian kingdom that developed in the highlands of eastern Africa under the dynasty of King Lalaibela; it retained Christianity in the face of Muslim expansion elsewhere in Africa

Question 3

Sahara

Answer 3

a desert running across northern Africa; separates the Mediterranean caost from southern Africa

Question 4

Shintoism

Answer 4

the religion of the early Japanese culture; devotees worshipped numerous gods and spirits associated with the natural world; offers of food and prayers made to gods and nature spirits

Question 5

Olmec culture

Answer 5

a cultural that arose at San Lorenzo and La Venta in Mexico c. 1200 BC; they featured irrigated agriculture, urbanism, and writing systems

Question 6

Teotihuacan

Answer 6

the site of classical culture in central Mexico; an urban center with important religious functions, supported by intensive agriculture in surrounding regions; population of as much as 200,000

Question 7

Maya

Answer 7

a classic culture emerging in southern Mexico and Central America contemporary with Teotihuacan; it extended over a broad region, featured monumental architecture, written language, calendrical and mathematical systems, and highly developed religion

Question 8

Inca

Answer 8

a group of clans centered at Cuzco that were able to create an empire incorporating various Andean cultures; the term was also used for the leader of the empire

Question 9

Polynesia

Answer 9

islands contained in a rough triangle whose points lie in Hawaii, New Zealand, and Easter Island.

Question 10

Yellow Turbans

Answer 10

Chinese Daoists who launched a revolt in 184 CE in China promising a golden age to be brought about by divine magic.

Question 11

Sui

Answer 11

A dynasty that succeeded the Han in China. It emerged from the strong rulers in northern China and united all of northern China and reconquered southern China.

Question 12

Tang

Answer 12

Dynasty that succeeded the Sui in 618 CE, it was more stable than the previous dynasty.

Question 13

Rajput

Answer 13

Regional princes in western Indian; they emphasized military control of their regions.

Question 14

Devi

Answer 14

A mother goddess within Hinduism. She was widely worshipped following the collapse of Gupta; they encouraged new emotionalism in religious ritual

Question 15

Islam

Answer 15

A major world religion having its origins in 610 CE in the Arabian peninsula. It literally means “submission,” and is based on the prophecy of Muhammad.

Question 16

Allah

Answer 16

The supreme God in strictly monotheistic societies.

Question 17

Byzantine Empire

Answer 17

The eastern half of the Roman Empire following the collapse of the western half of old empire. It retaine the Mediterranean culture, particularly the Greek; they later lost Palestine, Syria, and Egypt to Islam. The capital was at Constantinople.

Question 18

Justinian

Answer 18

An early Byzantine emperor responsible for major building in Constantinople and a codification of roman law; his efforts to recapture some additional previously Roman territory ended in failure.

Question 19

Saint Augustine

Answer 19

An influential church father and theologian; born in Africa and ultimately bishop of Hippo in Africa. He was a champion of Christian doctrine against various heresies and very important in the long-term development of Christian thought on such issues as predestination.

Question 20

Coptic

Answer 20

A Christian sect in Egypt that was later tolerated after Islamic takeover.

Question 21

bodhisattvas

Answer 21

Buddhist holy men who built up spiritual merits during their lifetimes. Their prayers after death could aid people to achieve reflected holiness.

Question 22

Mahayana

Answer 22

A Chinese version of Buddhism that placed considerable emphasis on Buddha as a god or savoir.

Question 23

Jesus of Nazareth

Answer 23

A prophet and teacher among the Jews believed by Christians to be the Messiah; he was executed in 30 CE.

Question 24

Paul (previously Saul) of Tarsus

Answer 24

One of the first Christian missionaries; he moved away from instistence that adherents of the new religion follow Jewish law and his use of Greek as the language of the Church.

Question 25

Benedict

Answer 25

the founder of monasticism in what had been the western half of the roman Empire. He established the Benedictine Rule in the 6th century. This paralleled the development of Basi’s rules in the Byzantine Empire.

Question 26

animism/totemism

Answer 26

A religious outlook that sees gods in many aspects of nature and propitiates them to help control and explain nature. It was typical of Mesopotamian religions.