Deck 5: An Age of Empires: Rome and Han China

Question 1

Rome's technological expertise is evident in

A) its roads, aqueducts, concrete, and arches.
B) its symphonies and the invention of the violin.
C) its fleets of boats called junks and the sea routes it pioneered to Asia.
D) the invention of the water wheel.
E) the invention of gunpowder.

Answer 1

its roads, aqueducts, concrete, and arches.

Question 2

What city became the new imperial capital of the Roman Empire in 324 C.E.?

A) Damascus
B) Alexandria
C) Athens
D) Carthage
E) Constantinople

Answer 2

Constantinople

Question 3

The economic wealth of the early Roman state was based on

A) farming.
B) mercantilism.
C) mining.
D) fishing.
E) the military.

Answer 3

farming.

Question 4

How was Paul successful in extending Christianity?

A) He limited his proselytizing to urban areas.
B) He only converted Romans to Christianity.
C) He refused to debase himself by using anything Roman.
D) He was able to use the benefits of Roman citizenship, roads, and cities to spread Christianity.
E) He found that both Jews and Christians readily accepted his views of Jesus as the messiah.

Question 5

Two protracted and bloody wars against the Carthaginians were important because

A) Rome won control of the western Mediterranean.
B) they limited Rome's southern expansion.
C) it was the first time Rome had ever lost a war.
D) Roman slaves were freed.
E) they joined forces with the Carthaginians to create the Cartho-Roman Empire.

Question 6

Starting with the reign of Augustus, the Roman army was reorganized and redeployed to

A) face the threat from the Parthian Empire.
B) hold the empire's borders, rather than expanding them.
C) fight several civil wars against other Romans.
D) allow non-Romans into the military.
E) invade Russia.

Question 7

Which emperor in the third century implemented dramatic economic reforms to halt the decline of the Roman Empire?

A) Diocletian
B) Tiberius
C) Constantine
D) Brucellosis
E) Claudius

Question 8

As the numbers of independent farmers declined in the later Republic, Italian landowners increasingly turned to

A) tenant farmers.
B) inexpensive slaves.
C) agricultural wage laborers.
D) female and child labor.
E) letting their land lie fallow.

Question 9

Before 212 C.E., many people living outside Italy became Roman citizens

A) as soon as the Roman legions conquered them.
B) only if they swore allegiance to Rome.
C) if they were wealthy enough to buy citizenship.
D) after serving lengthy terms of military service.
E) by living in Rome for a year and a day.

Question 10

During the Republic, Romans managed their imperial territories by

A) brutal domination and conquest, enslaving local populations.
B) establishing a system of satrapies and using local leaders to enforce Roman power.
C) nonoccupation and little interaction other than tax collection.
D) establishing a provincial administration and sending a Roman senator to oversee matters.
E) dispatching the army to occupy the area and bring the locals into line.

Question 11

One of the most enduring consequences of the Roman Empire has been the

A) persistence of the Roman system of mathematics.
B) complete suppression of all barbarian groups surrounding the Roman Empire.
C) tradition of peaceful regime change.
D) Romanization of the western Mediterranean.
E) military innovations that revolutionized warfare.

Question 12

The conversion to Christianity of which Roman emperor ushered in a time of tolerance, acceptance, and eventual dominance of Christianity?

A) Diocletian
B) Tiberius
C) Constantine
D) Brucellosis
E) Claudius

Question 13

The Roman concept of "municipal aristocracy"

A) meant that local elite rulers were appointed by Rome to manage cities and towns in the provinces.
B) meant that each province had a capital city that retained its pre-Roman royal structure.
C) meant that the minor relatives of the emperor were given prestigious positions on the outskirts of the empire.
D) meant that retired members of the military were given jobs in civil administration that granted them local prestige.
E) was a phrase that urbanized Romans used to insult backwater administrators.

Question 14

The center of political action in the Roman Republic was

A) the Council of Nobles.
B) annually elected civic officials.
C) the Senate.
D) the Plebeian Council.
E) the Congress of Monarchs.

Question 15

The most visible symptom of Rome's "third-century crisis" was the

A) neglect of the military.
B) sack of Rome by Germanic tribes.
C) burning of Rome by Emperor Nero.
D) frequent change of rulers.
E) loss of territory.

Question 16

How did the early Romans view the natural world?

A) As a cosmic credit and debit sheet on which one's actions determined one's destiny
B) As a body of natural laws understandable by humans
C) As a shadow world of paradise
D) As filled with numerous invisible shapeless forces called numina
E) As created by a single God

Question 17

Th e political context of Jesus's ministry and acclamation by his followers as the messiah was

A) the collapse of the Roman Empire.
B) the Roman occupation of Judaea.
C) the Roman war with the Celts.
D) widespread unrest caused by slave rebellions.
E) the barbarian invasion of Rome.

Question 18

The emperor responsible for the reorganization of the Roman government after 31 B.C.E. was

A) Julius Caesar.
B) Caligula.
C) Nero.
D) Claudius.
E) Octavian.

Question 19

Which statement is true about Roman women?

A) They were equal to Roman men.
B) They had no say in family matters.
C) They exercised influence over husbands and sons, but played no public role.
D) They were required to provide ten years of military service.
E) They were powerless and virtually slaves in their own homes.

Question 20

Why was becoming Christian considered an act of disloyalty in the Roman Empire?

A) Rome had a strong monotheistic tradition.
B) Christians could not worship the emperor as a deity.
C) Rome required all citizens to learn about all world religions.
D) Christian theology demanded that all people live in a Christian utopia.
E) One of the aims of Christianity was to overthrow dictators.

Question 21

The leading export commodity of China during the Han period was

A) cotton textiles.
B) wheat and barley.
C) silk.
D) purple dye.
E) gold.

Question 22

According to Confucianism, one of the reasons the family is important is because

A) it gives women an opportunity to exert their influence.
B) it gives children the tools they need to realize themselves as unique individuals.
C) all its members are equal.
D) it provides the model for good government organization.
E) it is the fundamental economic unit of society.

Question 23

The important Han innovations include the development of

A) the horse collar, the watermill, and the crossbow.
B) the saddle, penicillin, and bronze.
C) alcohol, the wheel, and glass.
D) the canal, the three-field system, and concrete.
E) the wheel, the stirrup, and the pulley.

Question 24

Which of these was not a reason why the Roman republic saw a steady increase in numbers of poor city-dwellers?

A) Lack of work in the countryside.
B) The growth of latifundia.
C) Rising domestic wheat production.
D) Cities provided opportunities for rural people to find work.
E) Investors schemed to deprive absent soldier-farmers of their land.

Question 25

The Confucian view of proper female behavior was exemplified by the

A) three wise gods.
B) three submissions.
C) three flowers.
D) three trials.
E) three virtues.

Question 26

The patron/client relationship was all of these except

A) an extension of the conception of authority that structured the Roman family.
B) an early conception of the value of customer service.
C) a pattern of social behavior that institutionalized inequality.
D) a system that offered both patron and client benefits in exchange for obligations.
E) an important part of the political system in republican Rome.

Question 27

Which of the following was not a part of Shi Huangdi's effort to create a unified Chinese state?

A) Abolition of slavery.
B) A law code that imposed equal penalties regardless of social status.
C) Construction of roads and canals.
D) Standardized weights and measures.
E) A decision to avoid innovation and embrace tradition.

Question 28

Imperial China derived most of its wealth and tax revenue from

A) long-distance trade.
B) tolls for canal use.
C) religious tithes.
D) agriculture.
E) tribute paid by conquered peoples.

Question 29

The well-planned urban capital of the Han dynasty was

A) Beijing.
B) Seoul.
C) Nanjing.
D) Chang'an.
E) Hong Kong.

Question 30

It was customary for young brides in China to

A) marry for love.
B) live with their husbands' families.
C) continue their education after marriage.
D) play a public role in their village.
E) take over family leadership from their mothers-in-law.

Question 31

The Qin ruler took the title Shi Huangdi , which meant

A) "First Emperor."
B) "Holy Man."
C) "First Among Equals."
D) "Great Warrior."
E) "Big Emperor."

Question 32

In what way did Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty significantly differ from previous emperors?

A) He used warfare to quell his enemies.
B) He placated nomadic confederations with goods and political marriages.
C) He was ambitious in exploring and conquering more territory.
D) He emphasized Legalism.
E) He appealed to popular religion.

Question 33

The early Han emperors reformed the Legalist system by

A) making it harsher.
B) distributing government jobs to the peasantry.
C) incorporating elements of Co nfucianism.
D) replacing it with the Mandate of Heaven.
E) eliminating it.

Question 34

Which of the following is not generally considered a contributing factor to the fall of the Han Empire?

A) Corruption within the government.
B) Attacks by non-Chinese from across the frontiers.
C) The frustration of hungry peasants.
D) The subversive ideas of Buddhism.
E) Failure of attempts at reform.

Question 35

In an effort to increase his power, Shi Huangdi cracked down on

A) Confucians.
B) Legalists.
C) Daoists.
D) Buddhists.
E) Christian missionaries.

Question 36

According to the theory of the Mandate of Heaven,

A) the emperor was a link between the living and the ancestors.
B) the emperor needed to perform rituals in order to maintain the harmony of Heaven and earth.
C) natural disasters could be punishment for ethical failures in government.
D) if a ruler is overthrown, it is because he has lost divine favor.
E) All of these.

Question 37

The paterfamilias was

A) the oldest living male in a family, who exercised absolute authority over the household.
B) the oldest living male in a family, who was pitied and mocked for his feebleness.
C) a figure accorded considerable respect, but little actual power.
D) was the father of the most children in an extended family, and had absolute authority over the household.
E) not really an important part of Roman family life.

Question 38

Under the Principate, the emperor of Rome

A) had limited powers in accordance with his title as "first among equals."
B) ruled as a dictator.
C) did not depend upon the political support of the army.
D) had no voice in the choice of his successor.
E) aligned his interests with the Senatorial class and ignored the less-wealthy equites .

Question 39

Which of the following did the early imperial Chinese not believe in?

A) Ghosts
B) A capricious anthropomorphic sky god
C) Earth spirits
D) The spiritual power of ancestors
E) Divination

Question 40

In its early years, Christianity was particularly appealing to

A) Jews.
B) soldiers and nobles.
C) Senators.
D) disenfranchised groups.
E) merchants and urban artisans.

Question 41

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Qin

Question 42

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
aqueduct

Question 43

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Roman Principate

Question 44

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Jesus

Question 45

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
pax romana

Question 46

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
third-century crisis

Question 47

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
equites

Question 48

Han government officials

A) usually came from the gentry.
B) were all aristocrats.
C) were often from the merchant class.
D) usually had little education.
E) tended to advance their own interests, rather than those of the central government.

Question 49

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Shi Huangdi

Question 50

Which of the following was not true of Han officials?

A) They received training at the imperial university.
B) They primarily came from the merchant class.
C) They were well-versed in Confucian classics.
D) Over time, they became a self-perpetuating, privileged class.
E) They represented the emperor's effort to undermine the power of the aristocracy.

Question 51

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Augustus

Question 52

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
gentry

Question 53

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Romanization

Question 54

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Roman Republic

Question 55

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Chang'an

Question 56

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Constantine

Question 57

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Paul

Question 58

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
patron/client relationship

Question 59

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Roman Senate

Question 60

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Han

Question 61

Both Rome and China were large, diverse and heavily populated empires at the beginning of the Common Era (CE). Compare the two, and contrast Romanization with Qin and Han strategies for creating social and cultural unity.

Question 62

Describe the rise of the Han dynasty in China.

Question 63

Instructions: Explain/Define the following terms.
Xiongnu

Question 64

What role did technology play in the success and spread of the Han dynasty?

Question 65

D escribe the problems that led to the Roman Empire's "third-century crisis."  How was the crisis resolved and what were the consequences of that resolution?

Question 66

Discuss the unification of China under the Qin dynasty. What policies did the first emperor, Shi Huangdi, establish to create a unified Chinese civilization?

Question 67

Discuss the career of Paul of Tarsus. Did he benefit from the pax romana ? If he did, does this benefit support the theory that Rome was a "commonwealth of peoples"?

Question 68

How did Confucianism envision the Chinese social order?  Did this vision go uncontested during the Qin and Han periods?

Question 69

Explain the reasons for the expansion of the Roman Empire.

Question 70

Explain the expansion of Christianity at the same time that Rome was in decline. Are these factors related?