Deck 2: The Ship, the Sword, and the Book: Western Asia, Ca1500-400 Bc

Question 1

Summarize the main characteristics of Zoroastrianism, and discuss how Zoroastrianism may have influenced the Hebrew religion.

Answer 1

Good answers will discuss the notion of it being an inward-looking intellectual religion.The students should point out both the similarities and the differences.Similarities would include the idea of a supreme god as creator.They both had a linear conception of history, the belief in an afterlife, and the notion of the last judgment.Differences would include the fact that Zoroastrianism was not completely monotheistic but might be called ethical dualism.Students might also allow for a counter-possibility that Zoroaster was influenced by the Hebrews.

Question 2

The Assyrian homeland was in what geographical region

A)Mesopotamia
B)Anatolia
C)The Levant
D)The Nile Valley
E)The Arabian Desert

Answer 2

Mesopotamia

Question 3

Ebla and Ugarit were

A)flourishing city-states in the area of modern Syria and Palestine.
B)Egyptian gods invoked by doctors and patients.
C)the sons of Ramses II.
D)conquerors of Egypt.
E)multi-ethnic communities.

Answer 3

flourishing city-states in the area of modern Syria and Palestine.

Question 4

What was the role of the Phoenicians in disseminating the civilization of western Asia throughout the Mediterranean world? What would you say was the most important cultural achievement they passed on, and why?

Question 5

Why was the ancient city of Ugarit important not only for its time, but for future history?

Question 6

The chief god of the Assyrians was

A)Ishtar
B)Enlil
C)Yahweh
D)Ashur
E)Osiris

Question 7

All of the following are true of the Assyrians except that

A)they used terror and deportation as political tactics.
B)their main deity, Ashur, was a goddess of peace.
C)provincial organization tended to discourage revolts.
D)part of their success was due to the weakness of the states they invaded.
E)the Assyrian army was equipped with iron armor and weapons.

Question 8

Looking at the examples of art in this chapter, what does it tell us about the societies of the time? Discuss if the art is purely decorative or whether it served political purposes; speculate on what it says about the perception man had of himself and his surroundings? Give specific examples to illustrate your point

Question 9

The Neo-Babylonians shared with the Assyrians

A)accurate astronomical observations and predictions.
B)a love of literature.
C)a strong pacifist tradition.
D)an indifference to any form of study unrelated to warfare.
E)a reputation for harsh treatment of defeated peoples.

Question 10

Discuss the development of the Hebrew religion, and compare it with what you know of the other religions mentioned thus far in the textbook.

Question 11

The main achievement of Ugartic culture was

A)the alphabet.
B)cuneiform religious script.
C)epic poetry.
D)the first dictionary.
E)metal weapons.

Question 12

Do women seem to be regarded differently in Hebrew society than in other ancient civilizations? Consider the roles played by some famous Hebrew women.

Question 13

Compare the Code of Hammurabi with the laws of the Hebrew Covenant (including, but not limited to, the Ten Commandments).In what way do they appear to have a common root? In what major way do they differ?

Question 14

The most important historical contribution of the Phoenicians was

A)the use of cedar wood for furniture.
B)the kings' merchant council.
C)slave-trading.
D)the elimination of human sacrifice.
E)the spread of Western culture and the alphabet, through their colonies.

Question 15

Ugarit was destroyed by the

A)David.
B)Phoenicians.
C)Saul.
D)the Sea Peoples.
E)Assyrians.

Question 16

Discuss the characteristics of the Assyrians and the reasons for their remarkable success as conquerors.What were their most valuable skills? Are there any similarities between Assyrian policies and those of any nation in today's world?

Question 17

Describe the Persian Empire.What helps explain its success? How was it similar to the empires it succeeded? How was it different?

Question 18

The Phoenicians were best known in the ancient world as

A)Warriors
B)Shepherds
C)Traders
D)Monotheists
E)Farmers

Question 19

Survey Hebrew political history, from the Exodus to the return from Babylon.

Question 20

All of the following are true of the Canaanites except

A)Canaan is an ancient name for the lands currently called Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.
B)the Canaanite city-states were part of the first international system of states.
C)the Canaanite city-states served as the cradle of Western writing systems.
D)the Canaanites are now known as Phoenicians.
E)the Canaanites were defeated by the invasions of the Sea Peoples.

Question 21

Which peoples were first displaced by Cyrus the Great in founding the Persian Empire?

A)Neo-Babylonians
B)The Medes
C)The Hittites
D)The Assyrians
E)The Hebrews

Question 22

The religion of Zarathustra included all of the following except

A)ethical dualism.
B)the obligation of the individual to behave rightly.
C)eternal reward or punishment based on earthly behavior.
D)an evil spirit named Ahura Mazda.
E)ceremonies involving fire.

Question 23

Phoenician colonies were located in all of the following except

A)Cyprus.
B)Malta.
C)Spain.
D)Egypt.
E)Sardinia.

Question 24

How long was the "Royal Road" from Persepolis to Anatolia?

A)100 miles
B)1,000 miles
C)1,600 miles
D)10,000 miles
E)16,000 miles

Question 25

Cyrus the Great was

A)a prince of the Medes.
B)founder of the Persian Empire.
C)one of the magi.
D)a leader of an attack on Greece.
E)succeeded by Cambyses who lost the empire to the Assyrians.

Question 26

Persian imperial administration combined

A)democracy and oligarchy.
B)absolute monarchy and theocracy.
C)semi-independent provincial government with central control.
D)local self-government with control by the senate.
E)higher taxes and trade limitations on local governments.

Question 27

The Hebrews were

A)a powerful Mesopotamian people who conquered the Babylonians.
B)a small, often-conquered people who founded the Western religious traditions.
C)the original inhabitants of a land known as Canaan or Palestine.
D)the founders of Western science and philosophy.
E)founders of the Mediterranean area tradition of religion.

Question 28

Who conquered Judea in 598 BC?

A)The neo-Babylonians
B)The Assyrians
C)The Egyptians
D)The Hittites
E)The Phoenicians

Question 29

The official art of Persia stressed

A)advanced use of metal tools.
B)the unity of the peoples under Persian leadership.
C)the strength of the people against those who would conquer them
D)home life.
E)religious ceremony.

Question 30

Around 1200 BC the Bronze Age gave way to what period

A)Copper Age
B)Brass Age
C)Iron Age
D)Metal Age
E)Chariot Age

Question 31

Reasons for the success of Achaemenid Persia included all of the following except

A)ruthless suppression of dissent.
B)a strong military.
C)general respect for the law.
D)administrative competence.
E)general generosity and tolerance of the defeated areas.

Question 32

What event in 722 BC saw the intersection of Hebrew and Assyrian history?

A)The deportation to Babylon.
B)The conquest of Judah.
C)The destruction of Jerusalem.
D)The conquest of Israel and the deportation of the Lost Tribes.
E)The defeat of the Assyrians by the Hebrews.

Question 33

The New Kingdom of Egypt ended in what year?

A)1274 BC
B)722 BC
C)590 BC
D)1000BC
E)1075BC

Question 34

The Persian idea of absolute kingship greatly affected which future leader?

A)Thutmose II
B)Caesar
C)Alexander the Great
D)Ramses II
E)Cyrus I

Question 35

The language the Persians used to unify their empire was

A)Persian
B)Sumerian
C)Hebrew
D)Aramaic
E)Akkadian

Question 36

The Persian king was all of the following except

A)treated with reverence.
B)attended by corps of slaves and eunuchs.
C)elected.
D)surrounded by splendid ceremonies and art.
E)bound by the rule of law and by the considerable power of the nobility.

Question 37

What architectural achievement was the neo-Babylonians known for?

A)Pyramids
B)The Temple of Solomon
C)The Colossus
D)The Hanging Gardens
E)The Great Lighthouse

Question 38

What is a Satrapy?

A)A unit of the Persian army
B)A Zoroastrian prophet
C)A province of the Persian empire
D)The neo-Babylonian currency
E)A Hebrew religious ritual

Question 39

Phoenician civilization flourished in what is today, modern

A)southern Israel.
B)Syria.
C)Egypt.
D)Iran.
E)Lebanon.

Question 40

The destruction of the Assyrians was the result of a coalition of the Medes and

A)Egyptians.
B)Phoenicians.
C)Neo-Babylonians.
D)Israelites.
E)Persians.

Question 41

All of the following resulted from the Babylonian Captivity of the Hebrews except

A)a divorce of membership in the Jewish community from actual residence.
B)the current form of the Torah.
C)absolute resistance to assimilation.
D)the rise of synagogues.
E)the right to return to Palestine in large numbers.

Question 42

The present state of Israel was claimed by Jews based on what precedent in their past history?

A)Israeli military conquest of Palestine
B)As payment for the Babylonian Captivity
C)Given to Abraham for his faith by God
D)Passages from the Old Testament
E)As a result of the Holocaust

Question 43

Life for the Jews under the Neo-Babylonians involved

A)slavery for Jews unwilling to give up their faith.
B)the destruction of Jewish Temples.
C)imprisonment for Jewish elders and religious leaders.
D)the evolution of the Torah.
E)deportation and separation of Jews throughout Babylon.

Question 44

In its current form, the Hebrew Bible includes

A)the Torah or Pentateuch.
B)the historical books of the early prophets.
C)the books of the later prophets.
D)the writings (books of poems, proverbs, and wisdom literature).
E)All of these

Question 45

The main role of the prophets was

A)fortunetelling.
B)exhorting the Hebrews to righteousness and devotion to God.
C)leadership of the Hebrew army.
D)political rule of Israel.
E)writing a secular history of the Jewish people.

Question 46

Which of the following does not describe the ancient Phoenicians?

A)They were considered "traders of the world."
B)They were known for creative military techniques.
C)Phoenician culture was spread by way of colonies.
D)Purple dyed textile fabrics were their trademark.
E)Their alphabet was based on the Ugarit alphabet.

Question 47

The Hebrew national history book

A)is written as a secular history.
B)makes no reference to the Covenant.
C)is considered to be a sacred history.
D)has no reference to a Hebrew nation.
E)places emphasis on military success.

Question 48

The key to Assyrian success was their

A)strong merchant fleet that controlled most of the Mediterranean trade.
B)ability to create an empire through economic alliances.
C)destruction of all defeated cultures.
D)religious and cultural tolerance.
E)massive military power.

Question 49

All of the following are features of the Hebrew religion except

A)respect for other religions and the freedom of the individual conscience.
B)a covenant between YHWH and the Hebrews.
C)an enormous amount of legal material.
D)a sacred, national history.
E)the belief that the Hebrews are the chosen people of God.

Question 50

The god of the Hebrews demanded

A)circumcision and ritual sacrifices only.
B)equality of men and women.
C)merciful treatment of the Canaanites.
D)worship, obedience, and a comprehensive and forceful system of laws.
E)Jews to worship their kings as representatives of God.

Question 51

What caused the Hebrew tribes to unite in the eleventh century?

A)Military conquests led by Saul
B)Philistine danger to the tribes as individual communities
C)Attempt to create an empire
D)To spread monotheism
E)Fear of the Assyrians

Question 52

All of the following are true of Ugarit except that

A)it had only one language.
B)it was a thriving Mediterranean port.
C)its cosmopolitanism made it distinctive among western Asian city-states.
D)as a trading center, it linked ships coming from Cyprus or the Anatolian ports with land caravans heading to Babylonia.
E)it played an important role in the spread of the alphabet.

Question 53

The good god of Zoroastrianism is called

A)Yahweh
B)Ishtar
C)Ashur
D)Ahura Mazda
E)Enlil

Question 54

Women in the Hebrew religion were

A)able to own land and have the right to sue.
B)priestesses in the Temple.
C)praised for their qualities of cunning, courage, and perseverance.
D)tribal leaders.
E)never found in the written record of the religion.

Question 55

The Hebrews came to believe in

A)a god of good and a god of evil.
B)a pantheistic world spirit.
C)no gods.
D)one transcendent god.
E)God revealing himself to many different peoples but favoring the Jewish tribes.

Question 56

Zoroastrianism was

A)Monotheistic
B)Dualist
C)Polytheistic
D)Atheistic
E)Pantheistic

Question 57

The greatest king of Israel was

A)Josiah.
B)Moses.
C)David.
D)Saul.
E)Cyrus.

Question 58

One of the few prophetesses mentioned in the Hebrew bible

A)Esther
B)Naomi
C)Rebekah
D)Deborah
E)Ruth.

Question 59

Which of the following does not describe the Ten Commandments?

A)They are more personal than Hammurabi's Code.
B)They were received by Abraham on Mt.Sinai.
C)They address the individual.
D)They set down what a worshiper should not do.
E)They regulate community life.

Question 60

Assyrian economic policy consisted of

A)creating a varied labor force through careful deportation of those conquered.
B)development of trade centers in the conquered citys.
C)the advancement of agriculture.
D)destroying all efforts to rebel.
E)naval dominance.

Question 61

Hebrew women were never found in the written record of religion.

Question 62

The Pentateuch is the first 10 books of the Hebrew bible.

Question 63

The Phoenician alphabet was based on the Ugarit alphabet.

Question 64

Fear of the Assyrians caused the Hebrew tribes to unite in the eleventh century.

Question 65

Which is not a part of the Hebrew Bible?

A)Wisdom literature
B)Torah
C)Gospels
D)Psalms
E)Historical books

Question 66

The religion of Zarathustra held a linear conception of history.

Question 67

Cyrus the Great founded the Babylonian Empire

Question 68

One of the things that characterized the Hebrew religion was Monotheism.

Question 69

The greatest King of Israel was Saul.

Question 70

Israelite egalitarianism was for both men and women.

Question 71

The Canaanites were defeated by the Sea Peoples.

Question 72

Semi-independent provincial government with central control was characteristic of the Persian Empire.