In 804, a monk named Kūkai traveled to China and returned to Japan with texts that related to Shingon, or “True Word,” a form of [BLANK-1]. He attracted a large following and established a monastery south of Osaka at Mount Kōya. The popularity of his teachings increased the amount of Japanese religious art. His teachings were based on the idea that the secrets of enlightenment had already been secretly transmitted from the religion’s founder. People could access these mysteries through initiation into the mandalas, mudras, and mantras

[BLANK-1] is an Ancient Indian cosmological concept that refers to the tally of good and bad deeds a being committed during its life that determines the status of that being’s next life. This cosmological concept is central the three great religions of Ancient India: Jainism, Buddhism, and Hinduism.

The migration of the [BLANK-1] into Egypt helped to bring about Egypt’s Second Intermediate Period – an era of political fragmentation and decline around 1640-1570 B.C.E.

Spouse of Theodora of Constantinople, [BLANK-1] ruled the Byzantine Empire from 527-565. This Byzantine ruler was known for the creation of a comprehensive legal code that streamlined and simplified the numerous (and sometimes contradictory) aspects of Roman law. This collection of laws and legal commentaries continues to inform the legal profession throughout much of the world (including in the United States) today. This person’s reign was weakened by the arrival of a deadly plague (likely Bubonic Plague) between 542-560.

[BLANK-1] was the first consolidated Chinese civilization. This state’s rulers were emperors who acted both as warrior kings and as high priests. The emperors would communicate with their ancestors by divining Oracle Bones. They would throw tortoise shells and cattle bones in fires and then read the cracks made by the fire to interpret the will of their ancestors and the Yellow Emperor.

Mongol invasions seriously threatened Muslim lands in the thirteenth century, ultimately leading to the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate when Chinggis Khan’s grandson, Hülegü, sacked Baghdad in 1258 and killed the last Abbasid Caliph. In 1260, at [BLANK-1], Egyptian Mamluk soldiers defeated the Mongols and spurned their advance into Egypt. Victory in this conflict potentially saved much of African and European Muslim lands from falling to the Mongols. The death of the Great Khan recalled Mongol armies to the capital of Karakorum and ended the threat of Mongol conquest of Muslim Egypt and beyond.

Muhammad gave Muslims the idea of a unified [BLANK-1]. This was a community that consisted of all people whose bond was a common religious faith. This concept was instrumental in helping Islam become both a political and religious movement; it also facilitated conversion to the faith.

[BLANK-1] brought an end to the Warring States Period, ruled China during the Qin Dynasty, and – through the powerful minister named Li Si – promoted legalism as a political doctrine.

Muhammad’s life, as demonstrated in the Hadith provides the “normative example” of a well-lived life for a Muslim believer, a concept that came to be known as [BLANK-1].

Ancient Egypt’s fiercest foe during [BLANK-1] was a group of Indo-Eurasian speaking people who settled in Anatolia known as the Hittites. In 1258 B.C.E., Pharaoh Ramses II established a peace treaty with this group but it failed to lead to continued peace between the groups. This period of Egyptian history also saw Akhenaten’s religious revolution as well as an emphasis on military expansion