Question 1

In what way did the Vedas promote cultural unity?

Accepted Answer

A)  by creating common ritual practices and supporting the hereditary raja states 
B)  by creating the Kshatriyas to memorize and interpret the Vedic works 
C)  by incorporating the religious beliefs of the Harappan people 
D)  by making movement between social classes possible 
A)  by creating common ritual practices and supporting the hereditary raja states 
B)  by creating the Kshatriyas to memorize and interpret the Vedic works 
C)  by incorporating the religious beliefs of the Harappan people 
D)  by making movement between social classes possible A

Question 2

What was the chief agent of change in overland trade in the first millennium BCE?

Accepted Answer

A)  the ox 
B)  the horse 
C)  the donkey 
D)  the camel 
A)  the ox 
B)  the horse 
C)  the donkey 
D)  the camel D

Question 3

In order to fulfill its agricultural and construction needs, what did the Neo-Assyrian empire do?

Accepted Answer

A)  It relocated large numbers of conquered peoples to areas in which their labor was needed. 
B)  It obtained large numbers of slaves from Africa and central Asia. 
C)  It instituted a labor system that required work from all families for a certain number of days per year. 
D)  It permitted soldiers to regularly rotate back to their homes during planting and harvesting seasons. 
A)  It relocated large numbers of conquered peoples to areas in which their labor was needed. 
B)  It obtained large numbers of slaves from Africa and central Asia. 
C)  It instituted a labor system that required work from all families for a certain number of days per year. 
D)  It permitted soldiers to regularly rotate back to their homes during planting and harvesting seasons. A

Question 4

For what major public works project did the Zhou dynasty take over responsibility?

Accepted Answer

A)  the network of roads 
B)  the Great Wall 
C)  dikes and irrigation systems 
D)  the wall of the capital city 
A)  the network of roads 
B)  the Great Wall 
C)  dikes and irrigation systems 
D)  the wall of the capital city

Question 5

In contrast to the societies of Southwest Asia and North Africa, where empires provided political integration, what happened in South Asia?

Accepted Answer

A)  A single ethnic group provided cultural and political unity. 
B)  A loose confederation of trading states provided political stability. 
C)  No stable methods of governance arose. 
D)  The common Vedic culture and beliefs provided the unifying bond. 
A)  A single ethnic group provided cultural and political unity. 
B)  A loose confederation of trading states provided political stability. 
C)  No stable methods of governance arose. 
D)  The common Vedic culture and beliefs provided the unifying bond.

Question 6

Which of the following is evidence of effect of the climate change around 1200 BCE on the lands bordering the eastern Mediterranean?

Accepted Answer

A)  Increased rains led to increased harvests for the Mycenaeans and a high point for their culture. 
B)  The pharaohs were forced to commit military resources to prevent invasions from Nubia. 
C)  Hittite rulers dispatched envoys to offer grain to provinces suffering from drought. 
D)  An Assyrian chronicle spoke of a famine so severe that people ate human flesh. 
A)  Increased rains led to increased harvests for the Mycenaeans and a high point for their culture. 
B)  The pharaohs were forced to commit military resources to prevent invasions from Nubia. 
C)  Hittite rulers dispatched envoys to offer grain to provinces suffering from drought. 
D)  An Assyrian chronicle spoke of a famine so severe that people ate human flesh.

Question 7

Which of the following is the primary reason that the Zhou made efforts to perfect their astronomical system?

Accepted Answer

A)  They were strong believers in astromancy. 
B)  They needed to be able to date the reigns of Zhou rulers. 
C)  They needed to provide work for unemployed scholars who might otherwise write satires about the Zhou court. 
D)  Since the Zhou ruled by the will of the heavens, they needed to create an accurate calendar for agricultural and religious events. 
A)  They were strong believers in astromancy. 
B)  They needed to be able to date the reigns of Zhou rulers. 
C)  They needed to provide work for unemployed scholars who might otherwise write satires about the Zhou court. 
D)  Since the Zhou ruled by the will of the heavens, they needed to create an accurate calendar for agricultural and religious events.

Question 8

The Upanishads teach that all people are part of a cosmic universe called what?

Accepted Answer

A)  Upanishads 
B)  Manu 
C)  Brahma 
D)  Vedanta 
A)  Upanishads 
B)  Manu 
C)  Brahma 
D)  Vedanta

Question 9

How did migrating peoples affect the Afro-Eurasian empires after 1200 BCE? Discuss the origins of these migrating peoples, the states they disrupted, and the ways in which they aided cultural integration.

Accepted Answer

Beginning around 1200 BCE, demographic c

Question 10

Though both the Neo-Assyrian Empire and the Persian Empire asserted military power to forge their empires, what was an important difference between them?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Persians did not have to control a multiethnic population. 
B)  The Persians' ancestors were farmers, not pastoralists. 
C)  The Persians used infantry exclusively in their army. 
D)  The Persians asserted imperial power based on persuasion and appeal to common benefit. 
A)  The Persians did not have to control a multiethnic population. 
B)  The Persians' ancestors were farmers, not pastoralists. 
C)  The Persians used infantry exclusively in their army. 
D)  The Persians asserted imperial power based on persuasion and appeal to common benefit.

Question 11

Discuss the social, religious, and political structure of Vedic society in South Asia. Of what importance was the state to the process of cultural integration?

Accepted Answer

In South Asia, it was language and belie

Question 12

Why was the eighth-century BCE Neo-Assyrian ruler Tiglath Pileser III notable?

Accepted Answer

A)  He expanded the rights of the nobles over their property in order to earn their support. 
B)  He expelled priests and other religious leaders from the state in order to stabilize his power. 
C)  He established hereditary governors in the provinces who were given wide powers to rule in the king's name. 
D)  He made several reforms, which increased the amount of property in the Land of Ashur proper. 
A)  He expanded the rights of the nobles over their property in order to earn their support. 
B)  He expelled priests and other religious leaders from the state in order to stabilize his power. 
C)  He established hereditary governors in the provinces who were given wide powers to rule in the king's name. 
D)  He made several reforms, which increased the amount of property in the Land of Ashur proper.

Question 13

Which of the following was an indicator of the depth of climate change in Afro-Eurasia around 1200 BCE?

Accepted Answer

A)  The Neo-Assyrians were forced to move their capitol to Uruk. 
B)  Desperate farmers in the Indus River valley migrated westward, settling in Mesopotamia. 
C)  New techniques in dry-weather farming flourished in the Nile valley. 
D)  There was a two-century-long decline in large-scale urban construction and artistic representation. 
A)  The Neo-Assyrians were forced to move their capitol to Uruk. 
B)  Desperate farmers in the Indus River valley migrated westward, settling in Mesopotamia. 
C)  New techniques in dry-weather farming flourished in the Nile valley. 
D)  There was a two-century-long decline in large-scale urban construction and artistic representation.

Question 14

For centuries after its founding, the Zhou dynasty's authority went unchallenged and reforms were unnecessary.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 15

Which of the following correctly characterizes what scholars know about the Israelites' origins?

Accepted Answer

A)  Judah served as a trader-state with special status, controlling trade with Egypt under Assyrian authority. 
B)  The Israelites were a pastoral nomadic people who moved into Judah from the Arabian desert and established dominance. 
C)  Judah was a hybrid society that merged aspects of the states of South Asia with its own traditions. 
D)  Material signs of a local regional culture began to emerge around 1200 BCE, culminating in the emergence of a kingdom under kings David and Solomon. 
A)  Judah served as a trader-state with special status, controlling trade with Egypt under Assyrian authority. 
B)  The Israelites were a pastoral nomadic people who moved into Judah from the Arabian desert and established dominance. 
C)  Judah was a hybrid society that merged aspects of the states of South Asia with its own traditions. 
D)  Material signs of a local regional culture began to emerge around 1200 BCE, culminating in the emergence of a kingdom under kings David and Solomon.

Question 16

Which of the following characterized the reliance on the military to establish and maintain order in the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

Accepted Answer

A)  the use of bronze weapons and infantry 
B)  the use of brutality and terror to intimidate opponents 
C)  the use of a smaller but more versatile military force 
D)  the destruction of Nineveh by Assyrian forces 
A)  the use of bronze weapons and infantry 
B)  the use of brutality and terror to intimidate opponents 
C)  the use of a smaller but more versatile military force 
D)  the destruction of Nineveh by Assyrian forces

Question 17

Which of the following about the Zhou dynasty is correct?

Accepted Answer

A)  It geographically extended its power slowly as regional aristocracies joined a hierarchical system under its rule. 
B)  It centralized its authority as it crushed numerous intrigues and attacks from local rulers. 
C)  It used religious rituals and ideas to unify political rivals. 
D)  It established a unified realm organized through appointed provincial governors. 
A)  It geographically extended its power slowly as regional aristocracies joined a hierarchical system under its rule. 
B)  It centralized its authority as it crushed numerous intrigues and attacks from local rulers. 
C)  It used religious rituals and ideas to unify political rivals. 
D)  It established a unified realm organized through appointed provincial governors.

Question 18

Which of the following was a way in which the Zhou asserted political power?

Accepted Answer

A)  The ruler's power was transmitted through clan networks. 
B)  They copied the Shang patrimonial state, centered on ancestor veneration. 
C)  They paid tribute to pastoralists to keep them from invading. 
D)  They claimed descent from the First Emperor. 
A)  The ruler's power was transmitted through clan networks. 
B)  They copied the Shang patrimonial state, centered on ancestor veneration. 
C)  They paid tribute to pastoralists to keep them from invading. 
D)  They claimed descent from the First Emperor.

Question 19

The Phoenicians developed which groundbreaking innovation?

Accepted Answer

A)  ships with stern-post rudders 
B)  monotheism 
C)  water-powered irrigation systems 
D)  the alphabet 
A)  ships with stern-post rudders 
B)  monotheism 
C)  water-powered irrigation systems 
D)  the alphabet

Question 20

What happened to China's growing wealth under the Zhou dynasty?

Accepted Answer

A)  It was concentrated in the cities, leaving the countryside relatively poorer. 
B)  It permitted the Zhou kings to reduce tax rates. 
C)  It was creating severe inflationary pressure that disrupted the political system. 
D)  It was so large that nomadic people from the north were starting to become dependent on trade with China. 
A)  It was concentrated in the cities, leaving the countryside relatively poorer. 
B)  It permitted the Zhou kings to reduce tax rates. 
C)  It was creating severe inflationary pressure that disrupted the political system. 
D)  It was so large that nomadic people from the north were starting to become dependent on trade with China.

Exam 4: First Empires and Common Cultures in Afro-Eurasia, 1250-325 Bce

In what way did the Vedas promote cultural unity?

What was the chief agent of change in overland trade in the first millennium BCE?

In order to fulfill its agricultural and construction needs, what did the Neo-Assyrian empire do?

For what major public works project did the Zhou dynasty take over responsibility?

In contrast to the societies of Southwest Asia and North Africa, where empires provided political integration, what happened in South Asia?

Which of the following is evidence of effect of the climate change around 1200 BCE on the lands bordering the eastern Mediterranean?

Which of the following is the primary reason that the Zhou made efforts to perfect their astronomical system?

The Upanishads teach that all people are part of a cosmic universe called what?

How did migrating peoples affect the Afro-Eurasian empires after 1200 BCE? Discuss the origins of these migrating peoples, the states they disrupted, and the ways in which they aided cultural integration.

Though both the Neo-Assyrian Empire and the Persian Empire asserted military power to forge their empires, what was an important difference between them?

Discuss the social, religious, and political structure of Vedic society in South Asia. Of what importance was the state to the process of cultural integration?

Why was the eighth-century BCE Neo-Assyrian ruler Tiglath Pileser III notable?

Which of the following was an indicator of the depth of climate change in Afro-Eurasia around 1200 BCE?

For centuries after its founding, the Zhou dynasty's authority went unchallenged and reforms were unnecessary.

Which of the following correctly characterizes what scholars know about the Israelites' origins?

Which of the following characterized the reliance on the military to establish and maintain order in the Neo-Assyrian Empire?

Which of the following about the Zhou dynasty is correct?

Which of the following was a way in which the Zhou asserted political power?

The Phoenicians developed which groundbreaking innovation?

What happened to China's growing wealth under the Zhou dynasty?

Becoming Human

Rivers, Cities, and First States, 3500-2000 Bce

Nomads, Chariots, Territorial States, and Microsocieties, 2000-1200 Bce

Worlds Turned Inside Out, 1000-350 Bce

Shrinking the Afro-Eurasian World, 350 Bce-250 Ce

Han Dynasty China and Imperial Rome, 300 Bce-300 Ce

The Rise of Universal Religions, 300-600 Ce

New Empires and Common Cultures, 600-1000 Ce

Becoming the World, 1000-1300 Ce

Crises and Recovery in Afro-Eurasia, 1300-1500

Contact, Commerce, and Colonization, 1450-1600

Worlds Entangled, 1600-1750

Cultures of Splendor and Power, 1500-1780

Reordering the World, 1750-1850

Alternative Visions of the Nineteenth Century

Nations and Empires, 1850-1914

An Unsettled World, 1890-1914

Of Masses and Visions of the Modern, 1910-1939

The Three-World Order, 1940-1975

Globalization, 1970-2000

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