AP World History Governments and Empires – Flashcards
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Old Kingdom: Egypt
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2686-2181 BCE. The period in which Egypt got its first continuous peak of civilization. A time of wealth when Pharoah was a live god. Pharoah had complete power and ordered the building of the pyramids.
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Harappa, Mohenjo-Daro
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2600-1500 BCE. 2 of the greatest cities of the Indus Valley Civilization in Pakistan. Mohenjo-Daro was the administrative center and probably the most developed city in the world. Harappa had a writing system, centers for people to gather, and social/economic structure.
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The Middle Kingdom: Egypt
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2040-1786 BCE. Egypt was re-established under 2 kings, Intef and Mentuhotep. Under these kings, trade with foreign countries began again, irrigation was repaired, and writings of texts formed.
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Xia Dynasty
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1994-1600 BCE. The first dynasty in China. Established by the legendary Yu the Great. The dynasty is considered an evolutionary stage between the more primitive cultures adn the urban Chinese, even though the dynasty's existence has yet to be archaeologically proven.
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New Kingdom: Egypt
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1550-1069 BCE. Egyptian civilization formed after the coutnry's reunification. Fights between Egypt and countries in West Asia caused an economic depression in the whole Mediterranean and West Asia. Egypts most prosperous time, their army grew.
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Zhou Dynasty
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1045-256 BCE. Lasted longer than any other dynasty in China. Began to use iron instead of bronze and writing improved from ancient forms. Beginings of Chinese philosophy were founded such as Confucianism and Taoism. Believed in the Mandate of Heaven which said that heaven would grant the Zhou power only as long as the rulers governed wisely.
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Mayan Empire
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600 BCE to Present. A mesoamerican civilization known for having the only fully-developed written language at the time. Constructed pyramids, used hyroglyphics, and developed a complex calendar system. Belief system tied to agricultural lifestyle.
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Achaemenid Empire
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550-330 BCE. Known as the persian Empire, biggest empire at the time. Ruled by Cyrus the Great and grew to span 3 continents: Asia, Africa, and Europe. Known for innovaitons in postal systems, road systems, and the usage of an official language. Invaded by Alexander III and afterward collapsed.
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Roman Republic
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509-27 BCE. A part of the Ancient Roman Empire that had a republican form of government. Started after the Roman monarchy was overthrown and centered on seperation of powers and check and balances. Governing body consisted of a Senate (patricians: wealthy only) and an Assembly (patricians and plebians: wealthy and commoners). The model for modern-day American government.
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Era of Warring States: China
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475-221 BCE. The 2nd of the Easter Zhou Dynasty. Regional warlords captured smaller states around them and stole all their power. Had 7 strong states with different powers that fought. Large advancements in education because many schools were opened across the nation. Iron took the place of bronze in making weapons.
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Mauryan Dynasty
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322-185 BCE. The first state to unify most of the Indian subcontinent. Founded by Chandragupta Maurya in 322 and survived until 185 BCE. From its capitol at Pataliputra in the Ganges Valley it grew wealthy from taxes.
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Qin Dynasty
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221-206 BCE. Extremely brief, best known for connecting the seperate fornification walls that eventually became the Great Wall of China. Well organized, centralized, and territorial. Created standardized laws, currencies, weights, measurements, and writing systems.
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Han Dynasty
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206-220 BCE.Chinese dynasty where they created developed paper, very accurate sundials, and calendars. Developed civil service system based on the teachings of Confucius ensuring that government officials would be highly educated.Buddhism spread and trade thrived along the Silk Road.
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Roman Empire
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Western: 27 BC-476 BCE. Eastern: 476 CE- 1453. Time of the ancient Roman Empire that began after the Republican era, characterized by a dictatorial kind of government and had huge territorial property in Europe and parts of the Mediterranean. Had 6.5 million kilometers of land surface and influenced the language, architecture, religion, law and governments of many nations around the world today.
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Gupta Dynasty
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320-600 CE. Powerful Indian state-based, like it Mauryan predecessor, on a capitol in the Ganges Valley. Controlled most of the Indian subcontinent through a combination of military force and its prestige as a center of sophisticated culture.
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Sui Dynasty
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581-618 CE. Imposed tight political discipline in China. Built the Grand Canal which helped transport rice from the South to the North. Founded by Sui Wendi with the capitol of Luoyang. Improved the Great wall of China and Buddhism spread.
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Tang Dynasty
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618-907 CE. Much like the Han using Confucianism. had the equal field system, a bureaucracy based on merit and a Confuciansim education system. Trained strong armies of almost a million troops to fight off nomadic powers from Asia. Made story cultural influence over Korea and Vietnam.
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Umayyad Caliphate
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661-750 CE. Islamic government that established a capitol of Damascas. Conquered North Africa, the Iberian Penninsula, Southwest Asia, and Persia and had a bureaucracy with only Arab Muslims and became the largest Arab Muslim state in history.
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Nara Period: Japan
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710-794 CE. Empress Gemmei established the capital of Heijõ-kyõ (present day Nara) agriculturally and village-based. Most people followed a religion that worshipped natural and ancestral spirits. Upper-Nara copied many Chinese ways, including Chinese written characters.
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Abbasid Caliphate
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750-1258 CE. Followed the Umayyad's who focused on administrative concepts rather than conquering. Had a bureaucracy that any Muslim could be a part of.
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Holy Roman Empire
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800-1806 CE. A place in central Europe under a Holy Roman Emporer was Otto I. The last was Francis II, who slowly made the empire fall apart in 1806 during the Napoleon Wars. Inits last centuries it became more like a union of territories.
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Song Dynasty
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960-1220 CE. The first government in the world to use paper money and the first Chinese governemtn to set up a permanent navy. First to use gun powerd and compasses to discover the north. Seperated into 2 periods. The first, Nothern Song, controlled most of the center of China. Southern Song is the time after they lost control of North China. Southern Song greatly improved its naval strength so it could defend its water and land borders so they could carry out naval missions out of the country.
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Angkor Wat
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1150 CE -Present. A Hindu temple built by Angkor, Cambodia. made for king Suryavarman II to be part of his capital city. It is so well preserved that it is the only one of the temples to still be a religious center since it was built. over the years, however, it has changed from Hindu to Buddhist. Angkor Wat means "city temple".
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Great Zimbabwe
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1270-1550 CE. The Kingdom of Zimbabwe's capital city. Was made to be a palace for the ruler at the time. Was a trading center.
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Yuan Dynasty
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1271-1368 CE. Established when the Mongols conquered the Chinese Song Dynasty. Mongol reign short-lived, ending when the Mongols were driven from China in the 1300s.
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Ottoman Empire
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1299-1923 CE. The Turks took over Constinople and made Istanbul capital. The early Ottomans were tolerant of Jews and Christians. Eventually, the Turks conquered most of the law previously belonging to the Byzantine Empire. As the empire grew, so did religious prosecution.
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Sultanate of Delhi
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1306-1527 CE. Through its duration many dynasties used Delhi as a place to rule from. Some were the Manluk, the Khilji, the Tughlaq, the Sayyid, and Lodi dynasties. Introduced an early monetary system to their provinces. Sultans based their law on the Qur'an. Let non-muslim people practice their religion if they paid tax. Controlled regions from cities.
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Aztec Empire
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1325-1500 CE. Also known as Mexica, the Aztecs created a powerful empire in central Mexico. Forced defeated people to provide goods and labor as tax. At its best had complex myth and religious traditions and reached amazing architectural and artistic accomplishments.
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Songhay
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1340-1591 CE.An empire located in Western Africa. One of the largest African Empires in history. Had the same name as its most powerful ethnic group, Songhai. Sulaiman-Mar is credited with taking the power away from the Mali Empire and getting independence for beginings of the Songhai kingdom.
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Ming Dynasty
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1568-1644 CE. Marked the return of traditional Chines rule to the empire in 1368 after the collapse of the Yuan Dynasty. Built a strong centralized government based on traditional Confucian principles, reinstated the civil service examination, and removed the Mongolian influence by reinvigoration Chinese culture.
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Spanish Empire
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1400s- Late 1900s. Made up of territories and colonies in Europe, Africa, and Asia controlled from Spain. At its strongest, it was one of the biggest empires in world history according to how much land they had, and one of the 1st global empires. Royalty from the Castile and Aragon kingdoms ruled it. Christopher Colombus led the first Spanish exploration trip which led them to colonizing America.
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Incan Empire
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1438-1533 CE. Centered in the Andes Mountains of Peru, controlled over 2,000 miles of the coastline of South American during 1400s. Had a professional army, a bureaucratic government organization, a unified language, and complex roads and tunnels. Their efficient farming practices supported large cities, and their religion was polytheistic and involved human and animal sacrifice. Known for their excellent architecture. Ruins exist to this day.
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English Empire
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1500s CE- Present. At its height it was the largest empire in history, and for a over a century the main global power. Held 1/4 of the population at the time. Its political, linguistic, and cultural legacy is widespread.
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Safavid
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1501-1736 CE. Iranian empire established by Ismail Safavi, who declared Iran a Shi'ite state. Had a mixed culture of Persians, Ottomans, and Arabs. Left their influence by creating and spreading Shi Islam around West Asia.
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Mughal Empire
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1526-1858 CE. In India was the first to unite almost the entire subcontinent. The early empire established a policy of religious tolerance where Hindus and Muslims could openly practice. Ended by 1700 when Muslims began to persecute Hindus. Established trade relations with Europeans (namely British and Portuguese).
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Tokugawa Shogunate
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1600-1868 CE. Intended to be temporary replacement to temporary rule. Founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu and was ruled by his family from then on. Called the Edo Period because of the capital city, Edo, w hich is modern day Tokyo was ended during the Meiji Restoration.
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Qing Dynasty
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1644-1912 CE. Empire establsihed in China by Manchus who overthrew the Ming Empire. Was ruled by Manchus people who began to isolate themselves from Western Culture.
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French Empire
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1804-1815/1852-1870 CE. Broken into 2 main periods. the first was led by Napoleon I and II. Extended French influence over much of Western Europe and into Poland. At its strongest had 130 departments and 44 million people. Also had a powerful and wide reaching military in Germany, Italy, and Spain. 2nd empire engaged in wars and smaller battles. the majority of them increased land size of the Empire. Napoleon known for granting freedom of press to people.
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Dominion of Canada
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1867-Present. Explored by the English and French and then formed by the English. The Statue of Westminister (1931) confirmed Canada's status as an independent nation. 2nd largest country in the world. First inhabited by Native Americans.
