AP Exams
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AP World History
Key events, civilizations, and concepts for AP World History from ancient to modern times.
All 30 Cards
Mesopotamia
Cradle of civilization; Tigris & Euphrates rivers; Sumerians, Babylonians, Assyrians; cuneiform writing
Ancient Egypt
Nile River civilization; pharaohs, pyramids, hieroglyphics; 3100-30 BCE; mummification
Indus Valley Civilization
Modern Pakistan/India; Harappa & Mohenjo-Daro; advanced urban planning; declined ~1900 BCE
Ancient Greece
Democracy, philosophy, art; Athens vs Sparta; Alexander the Great; Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
Roman Empire
Republic → Empire; law, engineering, roads; fell 476 CE (West); Christianity became state religion
Silk Road
Trade network connecting China to Mediterranean; spread goods, ideas, religion, and disease; ~130 BCE-1453 CE
Islam's Golden Age
8th-14th century; advances in math, science, medicine, philosophy; Baghdad, Córdoba; preserved Greek texts
Tang Dynasty (618-907)
Chinese golden age; poetry, art, trade; expanded Silk Road; Buddhism spread; civil service exams
Feudalism
Medieval social system: king → lords → vassals → serfs; land for military service; Europe and Japan
Black Death (1347-1351)
Bubonic plague killed 30-60% of Europe; spread via fleas/rats; led to labor shortages and social change
Renaissance (14th-17th c.)
Cultural rebirth in Europe; humanism; art (da Vinci, Michelangelo); began in Italian city-states
Protestant Reformation
Martin Luther's 95 Theses (1517); challenged Catholic Church; led to Protestantism; religious wars
Age of Exploration
15th-17th century; Europeans explored Americas, Africa, Asia; Columbus 1492; colonialism; Columbian Exchange
Columbian Exchange
Transfer of plants, animals, diseases between Old and New World after 1492; potatoes, horses, smallpox
Atlantic Slave Trade
16th-19th century; ~12 million Africans enslaved; triangular trade; Middle Passage; abolished gradually
Scientific Revolution
16th-17th century; Copernicus, Galileo, Newton; empirical method; challenged religious authority
Enlightenment
18th century intellectual movement; reason, liberty, progress; Locke, Voltaire, Rousseau; influenced revolutions
French Revolution (1789)
Overthrew monarchy; Liberty, Equality, Fraternity; Reign of Terror; Napoleon rose to power
Industrial Revolution
Late 18th century; factory system; steam power; urbanization; began in Britain; transformed economy
Imperialism
European colonization of Africa and Asia in 19th century; driven by resources, markets, nationalism
World War I (1914-1918)
Alliance system, nationalism, imperialism; trench warfare; Treaty of Versailles; 17 million dead
Russian Revolution (1917)
Overthrew Tsar Nicholas II; Bolsheviks led by Lenin; established communist Soviet Union
World War II (1939-1945)
Axis vs Allies; Holocaust; atomic bombs; 70-85 million dead; UN created; Cold War followed
Decolonization
Post-WWII independence movements in Asia and Africa; India 1947, African nations 1960s; end of empires
Cold War (1947-1991)
US vs USSR; capitalism vs communism; nuclear arms race; proxy wars; Berlin Wall fell 1989
Globalization
Increasing interconnection of world economies, cultures, and populations; driven by trade, technology, migration
Mongol Empire
Largest contiguous land empire; Genghis Khan; 13th-14th century; connected East and West; Pax Mongolica
Ottoman Empire
1299-1922; controlled SE Europe, Middle East, N. Africa; Constantinople (Istanbul); declined after WWI
Mughal Empire
1526-1857; ruled Indian subcontinent; Akbar promoted tolerance; built Taj Mahal; declined under British rule
Meiji Restoration (1868)
Japan modernized rapidly; ended feudalism; industrialized; became imperial power; defeated Russia 1905
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