Worlds Together, Worlds Apart, 2 e.
Glossary
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Glossary Terms for letter: P
Pagani A pejorative word used by Christians to designate pagans.
Palace The palace, both as an institution and as a set of buildings, appeared around 2500 BCE, about a millennium later than the Mesopotamian temple. The palace quickly joined the temple as a defining landmark of city life. Eventually, it became a source of power rivaling the temple, and palace and temple life often blurred, as did the boundary between the sacred and the secular.
Palmyra A Roman trading depot in modern-day Syria; part of a network of trading cities that connected various regions of Afro-Eurasia.
Papacy The institution of the pope; the Catholic spiritual leader in Rome.
Parthians A horse-riding people who pushed southward around the middle of the second century BCE and wiped out the Greek kingdoms in Iran. They then extended their power all the way to the Mediterranean, where they ran up against the Roman Empire in Anatolia and Mesopotamia.
Pastoral nomadic communities Around 3500 BCE, western Afro-Eurasia witnessed the growth and spread of pastoral nomadic communities that herded domesticated animals with demanding grazing requirements.
Pastoralism The herding and breeding of sheep and goats or other animals as a primary means of subsistence.
Paterfamilias The father of the family, which itself was the foundation of the Roman social order.
Patrons In the Roman system of patronage, men and women of wealth and high social status acted as "patrons," protecting dependents or "clients" of a lower class.
Pax Romana Latin for "Roman Peace," this term refers to the period between 27 BCE and 180 CE during which conditions in the Roman Empire were settled and peaceful.
Pax Sinica A period of peace (the first century BCE) during which agriculture, commerce, and industry flourished in East Asia under the rule of the Han.
Peloponnesian War A war fought between 431 and 404 BCE between two of Greece's most powerful city-states, Athens and Sparta.
Periplus A book that reflected sailing knowledge; in such books captains would record landing spots and ports. The word periplus literally means "sailing around."
Persepolis Darius I's capital city in the highlands of Fars; a ceremonial center and expression of imperial identity as well as an important administrative hub.
Petra City in modern-day Jordan that was the Nabataean capital. It profited greatly by supplying provisions and water to travelers and traders. Many of its houses and shrines were cut into the rocky mountains. Petra means "rock."
Phalanx The military formation used by Philip II of Macedonia, whereby heavily armored infantry were closely arrayed in battle formation.
Philip II of Macedonia The father of Alexander the Great, under the rule of whom Macedonia developed into a large ethnic and territorial state. After unifying Macedonia, Philip went on to conquer neighboring states.
Philosophia Literally "love of wisdom"; this system of thought originally included speculation on the nature of the cosmos, the environment, and human existence. It eventually came to include thought about the nature of humans and life in society.
Phoenicians Known as the Canaanites in the Bible, they were an ethnic group in the Levant under Assyrian rule in the seventh century BCE; they provided ships and sailors for battles in the Mediterranean. The word Phoenician refers to the purple dye they manufactured and widely traded, along with other commercial goods and services, throughout the Mediterranean. While part of wider Mesopotamian culture, their major contribution was the alphabet, first introduced in the second millennium BCE, which made far-reaching communication possible.
Phonemes Primary and distinctive sounds that are characteristic of human language.
Plant domestication Plant domestication occurred as far back as 5000 BCE, when plants began to naturally retain their seeds. With the domesticated plant, seeds could be harvested. Most were used for food, but some were saved for planting in subsequent growing cycles, resulting in a steady food supply. This process happened first in the southern Levant and spread from there into the rest of Southwest Asia.
Plato A disciple of the great philosopher Socrates, Plato lived from 427 to 347 BCE; his works are the only record we have of Socrates' teaching. He was also the author of formative philosophical works on ethics and politics.
Plebs In Rome, this term referred to the "common people." Their interests were protected by officials called Tribunes.
Potassium-argon dating A major dating technique based on the changing chemical structure of objects over time, since over time potassium decays into argon. This method makes possible the dating of objects up to a million years old.
Potter's wheel An advance made at the city of Uruk, where potters made significant technical breakthroughs using a fast wheel that enabled them to mass-produce vessels in many different shapes.
Pottery Vessels made of mud and later clay that were used for storing and transporting food. The development of pottery was a major breakthrough.
Proto-Indo-European The parent of all the languages in the Indo-European family, which includes, among many others, English, German, Norwegian, Portuguese, French, Russian, Persian, Hindi, and Bengali.
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