ORT History flashcards

32 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Neolithic Revolution

Transition from hunting-gathering to settled agriculture, beginning around 10,000 BCE in the Fertile Crescent, leading to surplus food, urbanization, and social stratification.

Cuneiform

One of the earliest writing systems, developed in Sumer (Mesopotamia) around 3200 BCE using wedge-shaped marks on clay tablets for administration and literature.

Code of Hammurabi

Babylonian legal code (c. 1754 BCE) inscribed on a stele, featuring 282 laws with graded penalties according to social status and the principle of retaliation.

Mandate of Heaven

Zhou dynasty doctrine that rulers govern with divine approval; natural disasters and rebellion signaled loss of the mandate, justifying dynastic change.

Athenian democracy

Direct democracy in classical Athens (c. 508 BCE) where eligible male citizens voted in the Assembly on laws and policy; women, slaves, and foreigners were excluded.

Roman Republic

Roman government (509–27 BCE) with consuls, Senate, and popular assemblies; a mixed constitution that influenced later republican thought.

Pax Romana

Period of relative peace and stability across the Roman Empire (27 BCE–180 CE), facilitating trade, road building, and cultural exchange.

Justinian Code

Compilation of Roman law ordered by Byzantine emperor Justinian (527–565 CE), known as the Corpus Juris Civilis, which influenced later European legal systems.

Magna Carta

English charter (1215) forced on King John by barons, limiting royal power and establishing that the monarch is subject to law.

Mongol Empire

Largest contiguous land empire in history, founded by Genghis Khan in 1206, which facilitated trade and cultural exchange across Eurasia.

Renaissance

Cultural and intellectual movement (14th–17th centuries) in Europe, emphasizing classical learning, humanism, and artistic innovation, beginning in Italian city-states.

Protestant Reformation

16th-century religious movement initiated by Martin Luther's 95 Theses (1517), challenging papal authority and leading to new Christian denominations.

Columbian Exchange

Widespread transfer of plants, animals, diseases, and people between the Americas and Afro-Eurasia after 1492, transforming diets, populations, and economies.

Scientific Revolution

Intellectual transformation (16th–17th centuries) that replaced Aristotelian cosmology with empirical and mathematical approaches, exemplified by Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton.

Enlightenment

18th-century European intellectual movement emphasizing reason, individual rights, and skepticism of traditional authority; influenced political revolutions.

Industrial Revolution

Period of rapid mechanization and economic change (c. 1760–1840) beginning in Britain, marked by steam power, factories, and urbanization.

Silk Road

Network of overland trade routes connecting China, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean; facilitated exchange of goods, ideas, religions, and diseases.

Indian Ocean trade

Maritime trade network linking East Africa, Arabia, India, and Southeast Asia, driven by monsoon winds; spread Islam and cultural exchange.

Trans-Saharan trade

Camel caravan trade across the Sahara linking West African kingdoms (Ghana, Mali, Songhai) with North Africa; exchanged gold, salt, and ideas.

Atlantic slave trade

Forced migration of about 12 million Africans to the Americas (c. 1500–1900) across the Middle Passage; profoundly shaped economies and societies.

Berlin Conference

1884–1885 meeting of European powers that established rules for the partition of Africa, leading to colonial conquest without African representation.

Primary source

Document or artifact created at the time of an event by a participant or witness; provides direct evidence but must be critically evaluated.

Historiography

The study of how history has been written, including changing interpretations, methods, and assumptions of historians over time.

Source criticism

Method of evaluating sources for authenticity (external criticism) and credibility (internal criticism), considering author, purpose, bias, and context.

Oral history

Method of collecting historical information through recorded interviews with participants; valuable for underrepresented voices but subject to memory limitations.

BCE/CE

Before Common Era and Common Era; secular equivalents of BC/AD. There is no year zero; 1 BCE is followed by 1 CE.

Periodization

Division of history into named periods (e.g., Middle Ages, Renaissance) based on perceived significant change; a constructed framework that varies by region.

Cause and effect

Historical reasoning that identifies long-term causes, short-term triggers, and consequences of events, while avoiding oversimplification and logical fallacies.

Historical empathy

Understanding past actors' beliefs and actions within their own historical context, without judging by present-day values (presentism).

Comparative history

Approach that examines similarities and differences between societies or events to identify patterns and deepen understanding of historical processes.

Diffusion

Spread of ideas, technologies, or cultural practices from one society to another through trade, migration, or conquest, often with adaptation.

Historical significance

Judgment about the importance of a historical event or person based on criteria such as lasting impact, relevance, and contemporary remembrance; often debated.