AP World History – Midterm Review Guide

The Midterm Exam will consist of two parts.

Part I will be 50 definitions that you will need to match with the proper term. All definitions will come from the list below.

Part II will consist of 2 separate essays that you will need to write. You will have 4 choices for each essay, all taken from the list following the definitions.

Terms and Definitions:

1. Bantu migration:
The spread of Bantu-speaking peoples from their homeland in what is now southern Nigeria or Cameroon to most of Africa, in a process that started ca. 3000 B.C.E. and continued for several millennia.

2. Çatalhüyük:
An important Neolithic site in what is now Turkey.

3. chiefdom:A societal grouping governed by a chief who typically relies on generosity, ritual status, or charisma rather than force to win obedience from the people.

4. Clovis culture:
The earliest widespread and distinctive culture of North America; named from the Clovis point, a particular kind of projectile point.

5. Fertile Crescent:
Region sometimes known as Southwest Asia that includes the modern states of Iraq, Syria, Israel/Palestine, and southern Turkey; the earliest home of agriculture.

6. Göbekli Tepe:
A ceremonial site comprising 20 circles made up of carved limestone pillars located in southeastern Turkey. The site, which dates to 11,600 years ago, was built by hunter-gatherers who lived at least part of the year in settled villages.

7. pastoral society:
A human society that relies on domesticated animals rather than plants as the main source of food; pastoral nomads lead their animals to seasonal grazing grounds rather than settling permanently in a single location.

8. Code of Hammurabi:
A series of laws publicized at the order of King Hammurabi of Babylon around 1750 B.C.E. Known as the first law code.

9. Epic of Gilgamesh:
The most famous extant literary work from ancient Mesopotamia, it tells the story of one man’s quest for immortality.

10. Hatshepsut:
Ancient Egypt’s most famous queen; reigned 1472–1457 B.C.E.

11. Mohenjo Daro/Harappa:
Major cities of the Indus Valley civilization; both of which flourished around 2000 B.C.E.

12. Olmec civilization:
An early civilization that developed along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico around 1200 B.C.E.

13. patriarchy:
Literally “rule of the father”; a social system of male dominance.

14. Alexander the Great:
Alexander III of Macedon (356–323 B.C.E.), conqueror of the Persian Empire and part of northwest India.

15. Ashoka:
The most famous ruler of the Mauryan empire (r. 268–232 B.C.E.), who converted to Buddhism and tried to rule peacefully and with tolerance.

16. Athenian democracy:
A radical form of direct democracy in which much of the free male population of Athens had the franchise and officeholders were chosen by lot.

17. Caesar Augustus:
The great-nephew and adopted son of Julius Caesar who emerged as sole ruler of the Roman state at the end of an extended period of civil war (r. 31 B.C.E.–14 C.E.).

18. Greco-Persian Wars:
Two major Persian invasions of Greece, in 490 B.C.E. and 480 B.C.E., in which the Persians were defeated on both land and sea.

19. Han dynasty:
Dynasty that ruled China from 206 B.C.E. to 220 C.E., creating a durable state based on Shihuangdi’s state-building achievement.

20. Hellenistic era:
The period from 323 to 30 B.C.E. in which Greek culture spread widely in Eurasia and North Africa in the kingdoms ruled by Alexander’s political successors.

21. Mauryan Empire:
A major empire (322–185 B.C.E.) that encompassed most of India.

22. pax Romana:
The “Roman peace,” a term typically used to denote the stability and prosperity of the early Roman Empire, especially in the first and second centuries C.E.

23. Persian Empire:
A major empire that expanded from the Iranian plateau to incorporate the Middle East from Egypt to India; flourished from around 550 to 330