Deck 2: The Ancient Near East: Peoples and Empires

Question 1

According to the biblical account, Solomon's most revered contribution to the Hebrew society was to

A)centralize royal power along the lines of Mesopotamian despotism.
B)divide the Hebrew tribes into two separate political kingdoms.
C)decentralize royal power and spread it among the 12 Hebrew tribes.
D)construct the Temple, the symbolic center of the Hebrew religion and society.
E)receive the Ten Commandments from God.

Answer 1

construct the Temple, the symbolic center of the Hebrew religion and society.

Question 2

According to the Hebrew Bible, Moses united the Israelites after their enslavement in

A)Canaan.
B)Egypt.
C)Akkad.
D)Persia.
E)Babylonia.

Answer 2

Egypt.

Question 3

The historian of The Persian Wars was Thucydides.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

Most biblical scholars claim that most of the early books of the Hebrew Bible accurately reflect the historical events of the Israelites.

Question 5

Hebrew religion

A)believed in two gods who struggled for power.
B)was an ethical religion centered around the law of God.
C)taught there was covenant between the Hebrews and Ahurmazda.
D)emphasized the worship of multiple lesser deities in addition to Yahweh.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 6

The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C.E. and the Babylonian Captivity of the people of Judah occurred at the hands of the

A)Chaldeans.
B)Assyrians.
C)Philistines.
D)Persians.
E)Sea Peoples.

Question 7

The Hebrew prophets

A)were considered by the Hebrews to be the voice of God.
B)often served as judges in the Hebrew courts.
C)attempted to foretell the future for the Hebrew military leaders.
D)encouraged the integration of Jews and non-Jews.
E)celebrated the acquisition of wealth and power.

Question 8

The Greeks and the Romans, Indo-European speakers, derived their alphabet from the Semitic-speaking Phoenicians.

Question 9

The Medes and the Persians were both Semitic speakers.

Question 10

Ahuramazda was the supreme Persian god.

Question 11

After the death of Solomon, tensions between the northern and southern tribes led to the establishment of two kingdoms, the kingdom of ____ and the kingdom of ____.

A)Palestine and Judea
B)Canaan and Palestine
C)Palestine And Judea
D)Israel and Palestine
E)Israel and Judah

Question 12

Nebuchadnezzar rebuilt the city of Nineveh, making it the Persian capital, and there he erected the Ishtar Gate, which opened on to the Triumphal Way.

Question 13

All of the following are true of the Hebrew conception of God EXCEPT

A)he was the creator of but not an inherent part of nature.
B)all peoples of the world were subject to him.
C)that he would punish those not following his will.
D)there was no room for personal relationships with him, as his word was law.
E)he was a just and good God.

Question 14

Like most other empires in the ancient world, the Assyrians refused to mix their conquered peoples with native Assyrians and instead kept those who were conquered isolated and separated from each other and from the Assyrian rulers.

Question 15

According to the tradition of the Hebrews, they were descendants of the patriarch ____ who had migrated from Mesopotamia to the land of Canaan.

A)Adam
B)Noah
C)Abraham
D)Moses
E)David

Question 16

The Hebrew Bible describes the conquest of the Philistines, the Moabites, and Jerusalem as the achievements of

A)Ezra.
B)Joshua.
C)Solomon.
D)David.
E)Saul.

Question 17

Cyrus the Great permitted the Jews to return to Jerusalem after his capture of Babylon.

Question 18

Most Hebrews believed that monogamy was the preferred form of marriage.

Question 19

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible are known as the Zend Avesta.

Question 20

Scholars generally agree that the Israelites emerged as a distinct group of peoples, possibly organized into tribes between

A)3000 and 2500 B.C.E.
B)2500 and 2000 B.C.E.
C)1800 and 1500 B.C.E.
D)1200 and 1000 B.C.E.
E)600 and 400 B.C.E.

Question 21

The principal economic basis of Assyrian society was

A)heavily irrigation-based farming.
B)agriculture based on farming villages.
C)international trade.
D)sea-based commerce.
E)manufacturing of luxury items.

Question 22

The greatest international sea traders of the ancient Near East were the

A)Sea Peoples.
B)Phoenicians.
C)Carthaginians.
D)Philistines.
E)Canaanites

Question 23

Assyrian art was primarily concerned with

A)outshining the remnants of Sumerian and Babylonian culture.
B)illustrating the gods, especially Marduk.
C)glorifying the king, hunting, and war.
D)displaying the virtues of women and female priests.
E)showing the lives of ordinary Assyrian subjects.

Question 24

The Assyrians' use of terror tactics and atrocities

A)were used universally on all captured prisoners.
B)especially targeted inhabitants of the empire who rebelled against Assyrian rule.
C)were used to make up for an absence of an intelligence network.
D)prevented foreign cultures from mixing with the Assyrian population.
E)was quickly abandoned as unworkable.

Question 25

All of the following were Assyrian kings EXCEPT for

A)Sennacherib.
B)Ashur.
C)Ashurbanipal.
D)Tiglath-Pileser.
E)Shalmaneser III.

Question 26

Nebuchadnezzar II accomplished all of the following EXCEPT:

A)the revision of the Persian law code.
B)rebuilding Babylon.
C)defeating the Assyrians.
D)building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon.
E)destroying Judah and carrying the population into exile.

Question 27

All of the following helped make Assyria an efficient military machine EXCEPT for

A)iron weapons.
B)terrorist actions.
C)humane treatment of prisoners.
D)superior, diversified tactics.
E)ruthless leaders.

Question 28

The Assyrian army was able to conquer and maintain an empire due to

A)its ability to use diversified military tactics.
B)its avoidance of siege warfare.
C)its lenient treatment of rebellious subjects.
D)Assyria's naturally protected boundaries.
E)its reliance exclusively upon massive armies of infantry soldiers.

Question 29

Which of the following statements BEST describes the Assyrian government?

A)a limited monarchy, where the king's power was checked by an assembly
B)a theocracy, where the priests of the temple had the real power
C)an aristocracy, with the landed nobility possessing political power
D)an oligarchy, with the aristocracy having the major say in government
E)the king's power was absolute; they were vicars of the Assyrian god Ashur

Question 30

The Assyrians are important in history for their innovations in

A)empire building.
B)urban architecture.
C)trade and commerce.
D)fine art and literature.
E)religion.

Question 31

All of the following are correct about Byblos EXCEPT:

A)It was an Egyptian commercial center.
B)It was a major Phoenician city.
C)It was a distribution center for Egyptian papyrus.
D)The Greek word for book is derived from its name.
E)It was located in ancient Canaan.

Question 32

Many scholars today

A)believe the Hebrew Bible is a completely accurate historical record.
B)contend that the Hebrew Bible was originally written down in the fifth century A.D.
C)doubt that the early books of the Hebrew Bible reflects the true history of the Israelites.
D)argue that the Hebrew Bible was first written in Greek.
E)claim that none of the Hebrew Bible was written before the era of the Roman Empire.

Question 33

The covenant

A)acted as a contract between God and the tribes of Israel.
B)identified the Hebrews as God's chosen people.
C)could only be fulfilled by the Hebrews' obedience to the law of God.
D)was formed during the period of the Exodus
E)All of these are correct.

Question 34

Which of the following was NOT part of the Hebrew religious tradition?

A)the law
B)the revelation
C)the covenant
D)the prophets
E)monotheism

Question 35

The Phoenicians' contributions to the ancient Near East included

A)the founding of several permanent colonies on the Italian peninsula.
B)a simplified alphabet and system of writing.
C)the establishment of an empire in Mesopotamia.
D)their defeat and destruction of the Sea Peoples.
E)their conquest of the Philistines.

Question 36

The relationship between the Assyrian king and his officials was based on

A)fear.
B)loyalty.
C)money.
D)cult of personality.
E)coercion.

Question 37

The Hebrew Bible

A)differs fundamentally from the Torah and the Old Testament of the Christian Bible.
B)focuses on the basic theme of the necessity of the Hebrews to obey their God.
C)related only the words of the prophets and tells us little about Hebrew daily life.
D)tells little about the history of the Hebrews before the Babylonian Captivity.
E)was written in Aramaic.

Question 38

Assyrian society was well known for its

A)assimilation of other cultures and development of a polyglot society.
B)manumission of slaves.
C)monumental cities.
D)monotheism.
E)monumental religious and burial structures.

Question 39

Which of the following statements is NOT true of the Chaldean Empire?

A)Babylon was its great central city.
B)It was the longest-lasting of the great Near Eastern empires.
C)The Hanging Gardens was created in its time.
D)The people of the empire welcomed its fall to the Persians.
E)Nebuchadnezzar II was its most successful ruler.

Question 40

Assyrian kings organized their empire more effectively by

A)increasing the power of local noble governors.
B)reducing the numbers of royal officials.
C)being middlemen in the international trade of the era.
D)concentrating their resources on internal economic development rather than on military spending.
E)encouraging religious toleration in order to prevent religious uprisings by non-Assyrians.

Question 41

The central, sacred text of Zoroastrianism is the

A)Talmud.
B)Vedas .
C)Zend Avesta .
D)prayers of Ashur.
E)Bhagavad Gita .

Question 42

The sun god, who became a helper of Ahuramazda and later, in Roman times, the source of another religion, was

A)Avesta.
B)Osiris.
C)Buddha.
D)Vishnu.
E)Mithra.

Question 43

The Ishtar Gate sat outside the city of

A)Byblos.
B)Jerusalem.
C)Babylon.
D)Tyre.
E)Sidon.

Question 44

The Persian King Cyrus the Great was succeeded by his son

A)Nebuchadnezzar II.
B)Darius.
C)Xerxes.
D)Cambyses II.
E)Zoroaster.

Question 45

Darius accomplished all of the following EXCEPT

A)building a canal that linked the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.
B)conquering Egypt.
C)creating a Persian province in western India.
D)conquering Thrace.
E)building a new Persian capital at Persepolis.

Question 46

The decline of the Hittites and Egyptians around 1200 B.C.E.

A)brought an end to Near Eastern civilization.
B)created a power vacuum which allowed several small states to emerge and temporarily flourish.
C)allowed the Persians under Cyrus the Great to immediately establish an empire.
D)was caused by Assyrian conquest.
E)was caused by the conquests of David and Solomon.

Question 47

The elite infantry of the Persian army were known as the

A)Immortals.
B)Marines.
C)Praetorian Guard.
D)Assassins.
E)Invisibles.

Question 48

Which of the following statements concerning the Persian kings is false?

A)As he was considered a god, the king held the power of life and death over all subjects.
B)The Great Kings tended to become greedy and hoard their treasuries.
C)Events like the "king's dinner" were meant to demonstrate the luxurious power of the king.
D)The king's palace demonstrated the international flavor and wealth of the empire.
E)The Persian kings were relatively tolerant in matters of religion.

Question 49

The Persian Empire reached its largest territorial boundaries under

A)Cyrus.
B)Darius.
C)Xerxes.
D)Cambyses.
E)Darius III.

Question 50

The Persian Royal Road stretched from Sardis to the capital at

A)Persepolis.
B)Byblos.
C)Athens.
D)Susa.
E)Ephesus.

Question 51

In Zoroastrianism, the evil spirit was known as

A)Avesta.
B)Ahriman.
C)Ahuramazda.
D)Mithra.
E)Vishnu.

Question 52

Zoroastrianism emphasized

A)a struggle between good and evil.
B)the eventual triumph of evil over good.
C)the inability of humans to choose between right and wrong.
D)the impossibility of an afterlife for the human soul.
E)All of these are correct.

Question 53

The weakening of the Persian Empire was largely attributed to

A)a corrupt system of satraps that was never closely monitored by the king.
B)the constant erosion and diminishment of its standing army.
C)the kings' hoarding of wealth and over-taxation of their subjects.
D)a lack of communication due to its vast size.
E)earthquakes and volcanic eruptions.

Question 54

The founder of the Persian Empire, who defeated Babylon and freed the Jews from captivity in 539 B.C., was

A)Cyrus the Great.
B)Artaxerxes.
C)Cambyses.
D)Nebuchadnezzar II.
E)Solomon.

Question 55

The Persian king who undertook an invasion of the Greek mainland in the early fifth century B.C.E. was

A)Cyrus.
B)Cambyses.
C)Zoroaster.
D)Darius.
E)Nebuchadnezzar.

Question 56

The most tolerant and efficient of the Near Eastern empires was the

A)Egyptian.
B)Assyrian.
C)Chaldean.
D)Persian.
E)Babylonian.

Question 57

Which of the following statements about the Persian army is true?

A)By the time of Darius, the army had disintegrated.
B)By the time of Darius, the army had seized control of the empire.
C)By the time of Darius, the army had become professionalized.
D)The army was less important than the navy.
E)The army was made up entirely of foreign mercenaries.

Question 58

Which of the following statements concerning Zoroastrianism is false?

A)It taught a spiritual message of monotheism.
B)It spread due to its acceptance by the Persian kings.
C)It did not include a last judgment among its beliefs.
D)Its supreme deity was Ahuramazda.
E)Eventually, it regressed into a type of polytheism.

Question 59

Which one of the following is NOT considered part of the Judeo-Christian heritage in West Civilization?

A)monotheism.
B)law.
C)morality.
D)social justice.
E)revenge.

Question 60

The Persian Empire's system of satrapies allowed for

A)subject peoples to play a dominant role in civil administration.
B)a sensible system of collecting tribute based on an area's productive capacity.
C)noble offices to be filled by election rather than hereditary means.
D)widespread corruption by the satraps, who acted without the king's knowledge.
E)the enforcement of religious uniformity throughout the empire.

Question 61

Talk about:
the Exodus

Question 62

Talk about:
David

Question 63

Talk about:
the kingdom of Judah

Question 64

Talk about:
the Diaspora

Question 65

Talk about:
prophets

Question 66

Talk about:
the covenant

Question 67

Talk about:
Yahweh

Question 68

Talk about:
Torah

Question 69

Talk about:
the Temple

Question 70

Talk about:
monotheism

Question 71

Talk about:
Saul

Question 72

Talk about:
Babylonian captivity of the Jews

Question 73

Talk about:
Moses

Question 74

Talk about:
the ten lost tribes

Question 75

Talk about:
Hebrews

Question 76

Talk about:
Solomon

Question 77

Talk about:
Hebrew Bible

Question 78

Talk about:
Canaan

Question 79

Talk about:
the Pentateuch

Question 80

Talk about:
Jerusalem