HIST 211: World Civilizations to 1500

The country which is now present-day Iran.

Ancient kingdom of SE Asia established in the 6th cent. by the Cambodians, or Khmers.

king of the Huns (445-53). The fear Attila inspired is clear from many accounts of his savagery, but, though undoubtedly harsh, he was a just ruler to his own people.

Arabic Salah ad-Din, 1137?–1193, Muslim warrior and Ayyubid sultan of Egypt, the great opponent of the Crusaders, b. Mesopotamia, of Kurdish descent.

Mongol conqueror, ruler of all Mongol peoples from 1206. He conquered the empires of northern China 1211–15 and Khwarazm 1219–21, and invaded northern India in 1221, while his lieutenants advanced as far as the Crimea. When he died, his empire ranged from the Yellow Sea to the Black Sea; it continued to expand after his death to extend from Hungary to Korea. Genghis Khan controlled probably a larger area than any other individual in history. He was not only a great military leader, but the creator of a stable political system.

Mongols live in Mongolia, Russia, Inner Mongolia (China), Tibet, and Nepal. In the early 13th century, united under Genghis Khan, the Mongols from 1206 to 1226 conquered central Asia, attacked Eastern Europe and established the Mongolian Empire, a rather loosely constructed federation of tribal groups.

Vast state founded in the late 13th cent. by Turkish tribes in Anatolia and ruled by the descendants of Osman I until its dissolution in 1918.

The last dynasty of native rulers to reign in Persia before the Arab conquest.

A former federation of states in SE Asia.

Islam, one of the world’s great monotheistic religions, was founded (or restored) by the Prophet Muhammad (570-632 CE), who lived in Mecca and Medina on the Arabian Peninsula.

The Qur'an is the Holy Book of Islam. Muslims treasure the text in its original Arabic as the literal word of God, the last of God's books revealed to humanity, transmitted by the Prophet Muhammad.

[Skt.,=the enlightened One], usual title given to the founder of Buddhism. He is also called the Tathagata [he who has come thus], Bhagavat [the Lord], and Sugata [well-gone]. He probably lived from 563 to 483 B.C.

Religion and philosophy founded in India c.525 B.C. by Siddhartha Gautama, called the Buddha. The basic doctrines of early Buddhism include the "four noble truths": existence is suffering (dukhka); suffering has a cause, namely craving and attachment (trishna).

Moral and religious system of China. Its origins go back to the Analects, the sayings attributed to Confucius, and to ancient commentaries. In its early form (before the 3d cent. B.C.) Confucianism was primarily a system of ethical precepts for the proper management of society.

Sanskrit poem incorporated into the Mahabharata, one of the greatest religious classics of Hinduism.

The Western term for a religious tradition developed during the first millennium and intertwined with the history and social system of India.

Classical Sanskrit epic of India, probably composed between 200 B.C. and A.D. 200.

From The Columbia Encyclopedia
Ancient native religion of Japan still practiced in a form modified by the influence of Buddhism and Confucianism.

The philosophical system stems largely from the Tao-te-ching, a text traditionally ascribed to Lao Tzu but probably written in the mid-3d cent. B.C.

Oldest scriptures of Hinduism and the most ancient religious texts in an Indo-European language.

From Britannica Concise Encyclopedia
Ancient religion of India that was contemporary with the composition of the Vedas and was the precursor of Hinduism.

The Chinese concept that everything is explicable in terms of two complementary but opposing principles.