Bedouins:
1) Nomads;
2) Each tribe headed by sheik, elected by heads of families comprising the tribe;
3) developed a code of ethics known as muru'ah (manly virtue);
4) women had great degree of independence;
5) in seventh century had no unifying religion
Kaaba:
1) Means "cube;"
2) Square temple in Mecca containing the sacred Black Stone;
3) Holy place of annual pilgrimage for the Arabic tribes;
4) draped with the pels of sacrificial animals and had shrines for 360 gods;
5) Cleansed of pagan idols by Muhammad and became the supreme religious center of Islam
Mecca:
1) Became a significant city to to deep well and location where two caravan routes met;
2) Religious sanctuary for Arabic tribes;
3) Controlled by the Koraysh tribe by the sixth century;
4) Forced Muhammed and his followers to leave in 622;
5) Army defeated and truce allowed Muslims to visit again
Muhammad:
1) Prophet and founder of Islam;
2) Lived from 570 to 632;
3) Many thought him a poor poet who attempted to pass his works as creations of G-d or that he was possessed by demons;
4) Believed he was the last and greatest prophet of a monotheistic G-d;
5) Led forces defeating the Koraysh army of Mecca, which reinforced Islam
Khadija:
1) Employer of Mohammad when he was twenty;
2) Wealthy widow whose caravans traded with Syria;
3) Married Mohammad;
4) Had two sons who died in infancy and two daughters;
5) Provided comfort and advice to Mohammad when he went into depressions because of self-doubt
Islam:
1) Monotheistic religion Mohammad preached;
2) means "surrender or submission to the will of G-d;
3) followers known as Muslim;
3) Places great emphasis on the necessity of obedience to G-d's law;
4) God is Allah ("the God");
5) Demands its followers be compassionate, ethical and just.
Abu Bakr:
1) A leading merchant of the Koraysh tribe
2) highly respected for his integrity;
3) constant companin of Mohammed during his persecution and exile;
4) became the first caliph (leader) of Islam;
5) with Muhammad, was the last to leave Mecca when it became known the Koraysh intended to kill Muhammed
Hijrah:
1) Means "migration;"
2) Muhammad and his followers move from Mecca to Medina, which took place in 622;
3) Used to establish the year one on the Islamic calendar;
4) Move turned Medina into the leading center of power in the Arabian peninsula;
5) Allowed the establishment of a genunine community (ummah) in Medina.
Koran:
1) Collected revelations given to Muhammad;
2) comes from Arabic word qur'an meaning "recitation;"
3) Not allowed to be translated for worship;
4) fundamental and ultimate source of knowledge about Allah;
5) contains the theology of Islam
"Five Pillars:"
1) The five essential duties all Muslims are required to perform;
2) Profession of faith;
3) Prayer;
4) Giving alms;
5) fast during Ramadan; and
6) Make pilgrimage to Mecca at least once
Islam's Spread:
1) Spread quickly after Mohammad's death due to both conversions and jihads, military victories; Spread rapidly during the reigns of the first four caliphs (632-661);
3) Also aided by political upheavals occuring outside Arabia;
4) a personal tax on all non_muslims in conquered lands also caused increased conversions;
5) Spread also due to egalitarian feature of Islam (few barriers of race and nationality)
Justinian:
1) Lived from 527 to 565;
2) last emperor of Rome to attempt seriously to return the Roman Empire to its first century grandeur;
3) Damage following an earthquake allowed him to carry out a massive project of empire-wide urbal renewal;
4) reformed the government and ordered a review of Roman law leading to the publication of the Code of Justinian;
5) put down a rebellion triggered by his expensive and ambitious projects
Heroclius:
1) Lived from 610 to 641;
2) Served as the Byzantine governor of North Africa;
3) overthrew the mad emperor Phocas of Constantinople
4) Designed a compact state and an administration conceived to deal simultaneously with the needs of govenment and the challenges of defense;
5) System known as the "theme" system (meaning "district")
Iconoclast Controversy:
1) means "image-breaking"
2) Crusade launched by Emperor Leo the Isaurian in 726 against the use of icons or other images;
3) Army ordered to destroy icons;
4) Sparked a violent reaction in the western part of the empire;
5) Government response was to further persecute those opposed to the policy.
Golden Age:
1) Period between 842 and 1071 when Byzantium enjoyed political and cultural superiority over its western and eastern foes;
2) Produced artists, scholars, and theologians as well as great warriors;
3) Constantinople mades its major contributions to Eastern Europe and Russia;
4) Conflict between the Roman and Byzantine churches;
5) Most significant indication of this was seen in contest between Photius and Pope Nicholas I
Cyril and Methodius:
1) brothers who were Byzantine missionaries;
2) Natives of Thessalonica who learned the Slavic language
3) led a mission to Moravia, ruled by King Rastislav
4) Cyril devised an alphabet for the Slavs;
5) translated the liturgy and many books into Slavic
Basil II:
1) Lived from 963 to 1025;
2) Surnamed Bulgaroctonus, or Bulgar-slayer;
3) Stopped the Bulgarians at the battle of Balathista in 1014;
4) Ended the conflict between the Byzantine and Arab armies through his victories;
5) Allowed Constantinople to attain leadership status in the world
**Alexium Comnenus:
1) Lived from 1081 to 1118;
2) Byzantine ruler who appealed to Pope Urban II for help against the Turks;
3) Received instead Crusaders whom he sent to reclaim some losses in Asia Minor;
Paledogus Dynasty:
1) Lasted from 1261 to 1453;
2) Ruled the empire during its final two centuries;
3) Empire faced with inflation, feudalism, and church problems;
4) Last emperor was Constantine XI;
5) Constantinople fell to the Turks (Ottomans) in 1453
Kiev:
1) Located at the transition point between the forest and steppe zones;
2) Became the seat of government for the Varangian Oleg (892?-913);
3) Reached its height during under Yaroslaw the Wise (1019-1054);
4) Political breakup occurred due to the seniority system of succession;
5) briefly emerged again as a center of power in the early 1100's, but a half century of decline followed.
Vladimir I:
1) Most important ruler in the Kievan phase of Russian history;
2) Overcame his brothers to rule the state from 980 to 1015;
3) Made peace with the Volga Bulgars;
4) Worked with the Byzantines against the Bulgarians;
5) Convert to Orthodoxy for political reasons
Yaroslav I:
1) Known as Yaroslav the Wise;
2) Lived from 1019-1054;
3) Caused the Kievan state to reach its height;
4) Undertook major building projects, revised the law code and promoted the growth of the church;
5) Built dynastic alliance with Henry I of France
Margol Conquest:
1) Genghis Khan united the tribesmen of Mongolia and aimed for world conquest;
2) By conquered Kiev and other Russian principalities by 1240;
3) Penetrated the outskirts of Vienna in 1242;
4) Armies returned to the lower Volga after the death of Genghis Khan instead of taking Western Europe;
5) Mongol domination of Russia lasted from 1240 to 1480
Moscow:
1) First mentioned in 1147;
2) came to be the core of the new Russia;
3) Well placed in a protective setting of marshy ground and forests and along a river route;
4) The title of Grand Duchy of Moscow was established by one of Alexander Nevsky's sons,
5) By the mid 15th century, Moscow was definitely the leader in Russia and its territory had expanded;
6) Seat of the Russian Orthodox church.
Ivan III:
1) Known as Ivan the Great;
2) Lived from 1642 to 1505;
3) married the niece of the last Byzantine emperor and claimed to be the legitimate successor;
4) Sometimes called him Tsar, derived from "Caesar;"
5) Viewed Moscow as the Third Rome, the successor to Rome and Constantinople as the center of Christianity.
Ivan IV:
1) Grandson of Ivan III'
2) Known as Ivan the Terrible;
3) Lived from 1547 to 1584;
4) Ordered the exiling or executing of many, including the destruction of Novgorod, Russia's second city;
5) Established a new code of laws, reformed the morals of the clergy and built the still-standing St. Basil's Cathedral in Moscow
