World History Reference Sheet

It is where the earliest known cities, writing, and organized governments developed, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers

The earliest known writing system, using wedge-shaped marks pressed into clay tablets by the Sumerians

One of the earliest written legal codes (c. 1754 BC), establishing laws and punishments for Babylon

Massive stepped temple towers built by the Sumerians and Babylonians as places of worship

The Neo-Babylonian Empire under King Nebuchadnezzar II (c. 600 BC)

They developed the first widely-used alphabet and were master seafarers and traders across the Mediterranean

Cyrus the Great of Persia in 539 BC

Its annual floods deposited fertile soil for farming, making Egypt the 'gift of the Nile'

The ruler of ancient Egypt, considered a living god and intermediary between the gods and people

The ancient Egyptian writing system using pictorial symbols representing sounds and ideas

A stone inscribed in three scripts (hieroglyphics, Demotic, Greek) that enabled scholars to decode hieroglyphics

They believed preserving the body was essential for the soul (ka) to live on in the afterlife

Old Kingdom (pyramids), Middle Kingdom (expansion), and New Kingdom (empire)

Ramesses II (the Great), who ruled for 66 years and built many of Egypt's greatest monuments

An independent city-state, the basic political unit of ancient Greece (e.g., Athens, Sparta)

A system where adult male citizens directly participated in lawmaking and governance — the world's first democracy

Sparta was a militaristic society focused on warrior training from age 7, while Athens valued education, arts, and democracy

Conflicts (490-479 BC) where Greek city-states united to defeat the Persian Empire's invasions

He conquered an empire stretching from Greece to India, spreading Greek culture (Hellenism) throughout the ancient world

The spread of Greek language, culture, philosophy, and art throughout the ancient world after Alexander's conquests

A war between Athens and Sparta (431-404 BC) that weakened all Greek city-states; Sparta won

Monarchy (753-509 BC), Republic (509-27 BC), and Empire (27 BC - 476 AD)

Two consuls, a Senate of patricians, and assemblies of citizens — with checks and balances

A Roman general and dictator who expanded Rome's territory but was assassinated in 44 BC for concentrating power

The first Roman Emperor (27 BC), who established the Pax Romana — a 200-year period of peace and prosperity

A roughly 200-year period (27 BC - 180 AD) of relative peace, stability, and prosperity across the Roman Empire

Military pressures from barbarian invasions, economic decline, political instability, and overextension of the empire

Emperor Constantine granted religious tolerance, making Christianity legal throughout the Roman Empire

A political and economic system where lords granted land (fiefs) to vassals in exchange for military service and loyalty

It was the unifying institution — providing education, preserving learning, guiding morals, and wielding political influence

A series of religious wars (1096-1291) launched by European Christians to recapture the Holy Land from Muslim control

A devastating plague (1347-1351) that killed roughly one-third of Europe's population

A charter forced on King John of England, limiting royal power and establishing that even the king is subject to law

Foundation for constitutional government

King of the Franks who united much of Western Europe and was crowned Holy Roman Emperor by the Pope in 800 AD

They preserved classical learning, copied manuscripts, ran schools and hospitals, and advanced agriculture

A cultural rebirth (14th-17th century) beginning in Italy, reviving interest in classical Greek and Roman learning, art, and humanism

An intellectual movement emphasizing human reason, classical learning, and individual potential, while often remaining within a Christian framework

Michelangelo (1508-1512)

Revolutionized communication by making books affordable and widely available, spreading ideas rapidly across Europe

Niccolo Machiavelli — arguing that rulers should use cunning and force to maintain power, separating politics from morality

Italy's wealthy trading cities (Florence, Venice), classical Roman heritage, and patronage by families like the Medici

A 'Renaissance man' — painter (Mona Lisa, Last Supper), scientist, engineer, anatomist, and inventor

Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses (1517) challenging the sale of indulgences and other Church practices

Sola fide (faith alone), sola scriptura (Scripture alone), sola gratia (grace alone)

His Institutes of the Christian Religion systematized Reformed theology, emphasizing God's sovereignty and predestination

The Catholic Church's response to Protestantism, including the Council of Trent, Jesuits, and internal reforms

The Pope refused to annul his marriage to Catherine of Aragon; Henry declared himself head of the Church of England

Treaties ending the Thirty Years' War that established the principle of state sovereignty and religious tolerance in Europe

An 18th-century intellectual movement emphasizing reason, science, individual rights, and skepticism of traditional authority

All people have natural rights to life, liberty, and property; government exists to protect these rights

The separation of powers into legislative, executive, and judicial branches to prevent tyranny

A revolution overthrowing the monarchy and aristocracy, inspired by Enlightenment ideals but descending into the Reign of Terror

Legitimate government rests on the consent of the governed through a social contract expressing the 'general will'

It established the scientific method and transformed understanding of nature through figures like Galileo, Newton, and Copernicus

A transformation (c. 1760-1840) from agrarian economies to machine-based manufacturing, beginning in Britain

The steam engine, particularly James Watt's improvements (1769)

Urbanization, rise of a factory working class, child labor, pollution, and eventually labor reform movements

Free-market capitalism with limited government intervention, described in 'The Wealth of Nations' (1776)

Capitalism exploits workers; history is driven by class struggle, leading inevitably to a workers' revolution and communism

Militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism (MAIN), triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

The peace treaty ending WWI that imposed heavy reparations and territorial losses on Germany, sowing seeds for WWII

Economic depression and resentment led to fascist dictators (Hitler, Mussolini) and communist expansion (Stalin)

The systematic genocide of six million Jews and millions of others by Nazi Germany during WWII

Allied victory; the United Nations was founded; the U.S. and Soviet Union emerged as rival superpowers

The first international war crimes tribunal, holding Nazi leaders accountable and establishing the principle that 'following orders' is not a defense

A geopolitical struggle (1947-1991) between the U.S. (capitalism/democracy) and Soviet Union (communism) fought through proxy wars, nuclear arms race, and ideological competition