World History Final John Calvin Said that faith was a gift God gave only certain people and that the Roman Church was an evil institution that should not be reformed but destroyed in 1536 published the Institutes of the Christian Religion soon the central work of Protestant theology He settled in Geneva soon making it the center of the Protestant world Preached predestination the notion that God long ago decided each person s eternal fate Some are destined for heaven and others for hell Calvin s followers called calvinists felt like people who led lives of faith and virtue and were among the elect He believed god only saved the elect those god had chosen beforehand Theraveda One of two branches of Buddhism prevailed in Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia largely remained true to the Buddha s simple teachings Mahayana The branch of Buddhism that came to China through Central Asia Had all the trappings of an organized religion with priests sects monasteries convents and bodhisattvas Bodhisattvas were revered as saviors of Mahayana Buddhism because they were said to be former mortals who had earned the endless peace called nirvana but positioned it to help others get there Stressed charity compassion and good works Song Empire 901 1279 Zhao Kuangyin founded the Song Dynasty Kuangyin restored Confucian civil service promoting professional governance The Song attempted to stop the rise of local warlords and armed revolts by tightly managing the army The Song consolidated the Confucian civil service Civil service exams were now standardized and strengthened requiring of applicants comprehensive knowledge of Confucian classics Under the Song Dynasty China enjoyed renewed stability and prosperity In 1114 the Song allied with the Jurchens in their revolt against the Khitans Liao Empire This ended in disaster for the dynasty The Jurchens turned against the Song and took over all of northern China The Song continued to rule southern China but never fully recovered This half of the country was arguably the most prosperous place in the world Agriculture technology cities and commerce advanced and thrived Pure Land Buddhism claimed that humans could not achieve enlightenment by their own works and instead preached salvation by faith in the buddha of Infinite Light who ruled the Western Paradise or pure land one of several innovative Buddhist sects Chan Buddhism known in Japan as Zen taught that meditation was the only path to enlightenment and which stressed love of nature simplicity of life and individual self discipline the crusades Puritans a group of Protestants during the 16th and 17th century sought religious freedom after breaking away from Church of England Seljuk Turks Seized eastern provinces of Byzantine Empire Also had overrun Syria and Palestine conquering a region known as a Holy Land by Christians Muslims and Jews Pope Urban II called for Christian warriors to aid in driving out the accused Turks Began Genghis Khan ruler of nomadic herders who lived in Central Asia under his rule Mongols overran much of Eurasia creating the largest land empire the world had ever seen Began claiming territory in 1206 until 1227 at death of Genghis Khan Ninety Five Theses issued by Luther on October 31 1517 in response to John Tetzel Challenged the Church s power to forgive sins and grant indulgences legend says he posted the theses on the Wittenberg Castle Church Door Circulated widely winning Luther support among Germans and religious reformers Evoked Rome s anger Reconquista the marriage of two monarchs Isabella of Castile and Ferdinand of Aragon Linked the largest two realms Used the Spanish Inquisition a judicial institution that prosecuted people it identified as heretics including Jews and Muslims who outwardly converted to Christianity but privately practiced their old faith Isabella and Ferdinand completed the Reconquista by conquering Granada the last Muslim outpost in Spain and expelled most Jews from their domains Gutenberg German inventor who lived from 1400 1468 Began a communications revolution in the mid 1400s Gutenberg began using movable type small metal blocks for each letter arranged in a frame to print one page and then rearranged and reused to print others Also created printing press similar to presses used to crush grapes for wine New process vastly increased the number of books and decreased their cost thus greatly advancing the spread of ideas and knowledge Magna Carta accepted by King John in 1215 affirmed nobles rights placed the king firmly under the law and barred him from raising new taxes without their consent Inquisitions Employed by the Catholic Church in Spain and Rome Job was to investigate arrest and prosecute people suspected of heretical beliefs In rome Inquisition operated under the Holy Office Fined imprisoned and sometimes executed people it convinced of false teachings Published index of Forbidden Books In Spain set up to investigate people suspected of Protestant views Bubonic Plague mid 1300s in Eurasia deadly contagion typically carried from rodents to humans by fleas unaware of how it spread people then had little protection against this terrible affliction outbreak began in southwest China where rats and people had been beset by plague sporadically for centuries in the 1330s and 1340s the plague spread to other parts of China probably aided by traveling Mongol warriors the plague across Central Asia spread by fleas by 1346 the plague had reached the Black Sea Mongols catapulted corpses over the walls into surrounded cities 30 to 60 percent of the people perished ravaged the peoples of Eurasia and northeast Africa killing millions Counter Reformation Rome s response to stop the Protestants Pope Paul III called for a general council to initiate church reforms authorized tribunals to prosecute Protestants for heresy and approved new religious orders that reinvigorated the Roman Church Isabelle of Castille One of the monarchs during the Reconquista Met with Columbus several times about his enterprise of the Indies Accepted his offer and supplied him with necessary ships Martin Luther Led the Lutheran Revolt against the Catholic Church Became a monk repeatedly fasting praying and confessing sins He still felt unworthy of salvation of and feared he was destined for hell He wonder how could a Church so worldly and corrupt help save his soul While studying at the University of Wittenberg he concluded that no one is worthy of salvation it is not something someone