| A | B |
|---|
| Aryans | invaders to India via the Hindu Kush Mountains & Khyber Pass who created a rigid class structure |
| Indus River | the location of India’s first civilization and the ancient cities of Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro |
| Ganges River | an important river in northeastern India where the Aryans eventually settled |
| Caste System | a hereditary, rigid social hierarchy brought to India by the Aryan invaders |
| Hinduism | a religion that arose in India that combined Dravidian (indigenous Indian) and Aryan beliefs and also believed that one god was represented in many different forms |
| reincarnation | the rebirth of a soul into a new body |
| karma | a Hindu belief that a person’s actions and behavior determine how that person will be reborn in his or her next life |
| Vedas and Upanishads | sacred writings for Hinduism |
| Zoroastrianism | a Persian religion that focused on good versus evil and has the Zend Avesta as its holy book |
| Siddhartha Gautama | the founder of Buddhism |
| Asoka | Indian ruler who adopted Buddhism and sent missionaries to Asia |
| Buddhism | a religion that began in ancient India that focused on the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Path to reach enlightenment |
| Four Noble Truths | basic beliefs of Buddhists that focus on ending suffering or desire by learning to control desire to reach enlightenment |
| Eight Fold Path | the actions that one must take to reach enlightenment, according to Buddhism |
| Silk Road | a trade route that connected China and Asia to Rome and Europe |
| Mandate of Heaven | in China power from the gods that allowed a ruler to rule |
| Great Wall | a line of defense built to protect northern China from invasion |
| Confucianism | a Chinese belief system that focused on the goodness of humans, right relationships, and respect |
| Taoism (Daoism) | a Chinese belief system that focused on harmony with nature, balancing yin and yang, inner peace, and simple life that followed The Way |
| Himalayas | tallest mountains that form a natural barrier for India’s northern region |
