Deck 2: The Mediterranean and Middle East, 2000-500 Bce

Question 1

The Late Bronze Age in the Middle East was a "cosmopolitan era" because

A) elements of culture were widely shared.
B) it was primarily an urban-based society.
C) lifestyles were radically different from all that had gone before.
D) different groups of people remained isolated.
E) most civilizations adopted identical religions, laws, and social structures.

Answer 1

elements of culture were widely shared.

Question 2

The Hittites were the foremost power from 1700 to 1200 B.C.E. in

A) Mesopotamia.
B) Anatolia.
C) Egypt.
D) Israel.
E) Persia.

Answer 2

Anatolia.

Question 3

The collapse of the Mycenaean civilization is indicated by which of the following:

A) The disappearance of Linear B writing.
B) Destruction of palaces.
C) Competition for resources.
D) Disruption of trade routes.
E) All of the above.

Answer 3

All of the above.

Question 4

Transportation in western Asia was revolutionized in the Later Bronze Age by the introduction of

A) zebra.
B) ox.
C) horses.
D) elephants.
E) wheel.

Question 5

German businessman and archaeologist Heinrich Schliemann found shaft graves at which excavation site?

A) Troy.
B) Mycenaea.
C) Crete.
D) Pylos.
E) Corinth.

Question 6

The Assyrian ruler was

A) a king.
B) a priest.
C) the strongest warrior of the tribe.
D) both A and B.
E) we don't know how he was chosen.

Question 7

Although Minoan writing is undeciphered, Minoan artifacts indicate that

A) they were completely isolated from the Mediterranean world.
B) they had widespread trade connections.
C) they disliked goods from other lands.
D) most Minoans were illiterate.
E) they came from Anatolia.

Question 8

The location of the first European civilization to have complex political and social structures was .

A) southern Greece.
B) southwestern Macedonia.
C) the island of Crete.
D) the island of Malta.
E) the hills of Anatolia.

Question 9

Which civilization collapsed first?

A) Minoan
B) Mycenaean
C) Hittite
D) Assyrian
E) Neo-Babylonian

Question 10

The era of the New Kingdom in Egypt is characterized by restoration of Egyptian rule and

A) a return to isolationism.
B) a military alliance with the Hittites.
C) expansion north into Syria and south into Nubia.
D) a return to democracy.
E) Nubian rebellion.

Question 11

Writing in Mycenaean Greece is done in what form?

A) Linear B
B) Ogam
C) Runes
D) Cuneiform
E) Oracle bones

Question 12

Which of the following is true of the rule of Akhenaten?

A) He built a new capital named Amarna.
B) He fostered a new style of naturalistic art.
C) He created a religious monotheistic revolution.
D) His wife was Nefertiti.
E) All of the above.

Question 13

What resources did southern Greece and the Aegean have most?

A) Grapes, olives, and some grains
B) Flax, dates, and fish
C) Gold, copper, and reeds
D) Corn, squash, and potatoes
E) Fish, meat, and grain

Question 14

Before making any decisions, the Assyrian king would do what?

A) consult the gods with ritual divination
B) perform a ritual human sacrifice.
C) poll his military leaders.
D) take hallucinogens to commune with the divine forces
E) take a democratic vote of all male citizens.

Question 15

The Hyksos were able to conquer Egypt because they had

A) horse-drawn chariots carrying archers with composite bows.
B) iron weapons.
C) control of the Nile Delta region, so they could restrict irrigation to Egyptian agriculture.
D) massive armed forces from a consolidated army of the Near East.
E) superior administrative organization.

Question 16

Which woman held the throne of the New Kingdom of Egypt?

A) Nefertiti
B) Cleopatra
C) Amon
D) Hatshepsut

Question 17

The language of diplomacy and government correspondence in the Mesopotamian regions was

A) Aramaic
B) Egyptian
C) Kassite
D) Akkadian
E) Babylonian.

Question 18

The pharaoh Akhenaten is credited by many historians with

A) the invention of monotheism.
B) implementing political reforms that harmed the majority of Egyptians.
C) linking his wealth to the traditional system.
D) damaging the economy beyond repair.
E) permanently reforming corrupt temple priests in Egypt.

Question 19

The two divisions within the population of Mesopotamia were

A) Assyrians and Sumerians
B) Sumerians and Babylonians.
C) Assyrians and Babylonians.
D) Sargonians and Ninevans.
E) Phoenicians and Kassites

Question 20

The epic poem of Homer, The Iliad, related the story of a war between the Greeks and the Hittites, based on the ten year siege and eventual destruction of the city of:

A) Athens
B) Lydia
C) Hattusha
D) Çatal Hüyük
E) Troy

Question 21

After Solomon's death, the kingdom of Israel was split into

A) Judah and Israel.
B) Syria and Jerusalem.
C) the Jordan River Valley and Lebanon.
D) Lebanon and Assyria.
E) Assyria and Egypt.

Question 22

Using the tactic of mass deportation of captured prisoners, the Assyrians relocated approximately how many people?

A) 100,000
B) one million
C) four million
D) ten million

Question 23

One important and peaceful legacy of Assyrian rule was .

A) mass deportations
B) the Library of Ashurbanipal
C) the Hebrew Bible
D) the egalitarian rule of their military
E) none of the above

Question 24

Women in Israelite society were respected because they provided goods and services that sustained the family and _____.

A) could inherit from the family estate
B) and had some influence over their husbands
C) could initiate divorces
D) were allowed to become rabbis
E) gave birth

Question 25

The "recollections" of the journey of Abraham .

A) is a proven accurate historical account of past event
B) indicate the polytheistic nature of Israelite religion
C) may compress the experiences of generations of pastoralists
D) accurately describes

Question 26

The Israelites became devoted to their stern and warlike god, Yahweh, during

A) the wars that drove them from Israel.
B) forty years of wandering in the desert.
C) their enslavement in Egypt.
D) their migration from Mesopotamia to Israel.
E) the Roman occupation.

Question 27

How were the Assyrian elite bound to the monarch?

A) Oaths of obedience.
B) Fear of punishment.
C) Expectation of rewards.
D) All of the above.
E) They were not bound to the monarch.

Question 28

The basic Israelite political structure before King Saul was

A) rule by chieftains of the twelve tribes (descendants of Joseph and Jacob).
B) patriarchal rule by the leader at Shiloh.
C) rule by whoever ruled in Jerusalem.
D) an oligarchy of judges.
E) the interpretation of prophets.

Question 29

Israel is important partly because

A) it is the site of religious shrines to Medianites.
B) it is a crossroads to the Near East, Egypt, and Arabia.
C) it is the only access to the Mediterranean.
D) it is the site of perfect center under the North Star.
E) it had access to the murex snail, which produced purple dye.

Question 30

Which of the following is not one of the reasons that the Assyrians were able to conquer vast territories?

A) they had a large army of half a million men.
B) they used iron weapons.
C) they created a corps of professional soldiers.
D) they had engineers who developed machines to besiege fortified towns.
E) they had accomplished and wily diplomats.

Question 31

Which of the following poses a problem for interpreting the history of the early Israelites from the Bible?

A) They were pastoralists who did not write down their history for nearly 1,000 years.
B) The Bible was written for religious, not historical, purposes.
C) The Hebrew Bible was written in several phases by different people.
D) Hebrew civilization was interrupted by conquest several times.
E) These are all problematic.

Question 32

Diaspora means refers to the Jews being taken from their homeland to .

A) Egypt
B) Jordan
C) Syria
D) Anatolia
E) Babylon

Question 33

Information about ancient Israel can be found in the

A) chronicles of Abraham.
B) Rosetta stone.
C) Rig Veda.
D) poems of Saul.
E) Hebrew Bible.

Question 34

The homeland of the Assyrian Empire was in

A) western Anatolia.
B) northern Mesopotamia.
C) Syria-Palestine.
D) northern Arabia.
E) western India.

Question 35

The basic tenets of Jewish belief and practice prohibit

A) murder, adultery, theft, and lying.
B) banking, trading, and traveling.
C) alcohol consumption, meat eating, and violence.
D) facial hair, pastoralism, and mercantile trade.
E) gambling, moneylending, and begging.

Question 36

What was the Ark of the Covenant?

A) the ship on which Noah saved all animals and his family during the Great Flood.
B) the graphic symbol of a broken circle on the Torah, symbolizing the Jewish diaspora
C) a sacred box containing the tablets of law given to Moses.
D) a transcription of Abraham's promise of monotheism in exchange for "a land of milk and honey."
E) the pact of government from which Samuel asked Saul to be the first king.

Question 37

The chief tactic that the Assyrians used to maintain tranquility in their empire was

A) force and terror.
B) cultural toleration of a heterogeneous population.
C) monotheism.
D) requiring every man to serve in the military.
E) requiring no taxes of newly conquered areas.

Question 38

The rise of a centralized monarchy in Israel is typically attributed to .

A) Solomon
B) Abraham
C) Jacob
D) David
E) Joseph

Question 39

Solomon began an ambitious building project to create

A) the walled city of Jerusalem.
B) the Library of Alexandria.
C) the Wailing Wall.
D) the First Temple.
E) aqueducts and irrigation canals.

Question 40

The Hebrew language of the Bible reflects the speech of the Israelites until about 500 B.C.E., when it was supplanted by .

A) Linear B
B) Phoenician
C) Hebrew
D) Aramaic
E) Assyrian

Question 41

Carthage's influence in the Mediterranean Sea rested in the .

A) navy
B) merchant class
C) elite
D) priests

Question 42

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
mass deportation

Question 43

The exile of Hebrews to Babylon in 587 B.C.E. occurred under

A) Cyrus the Great.
B) Nebuchadnezzar.
C) Ashurbanipal.
D) Darius of Persia.
E) a Chaldean revolt.

Question 44

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Ramesses II

Question 45

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Linear B

Question 46

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Hatsheput

Question 47

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Akkadian

Question 48

The chief opponents of Carthaginian power in the Mediterranean Sea were .

A) Romans and Greeks
B) Moroccans and Spaniards
C) Israelites and Egyptians
D) Greeks and Persians
E) Tunisians and Libyans

Question 49

The Phoenicians developed a system of writing based on consonants, and the vowel sounds added by this group resulted in a complete alphabet writing system:

A) Chinese
B) Egyptians
C) Greeks
D) Babylonians
E) Turks

Question 50

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Library of Ashurbanipal

Question 51

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Nefertiti

Question 52

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Assyrians

Question 53

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Minoan

Question 54

The foreign policy of the Carthaginian state

A) was neglected by the Phoenician Empire.
B) was restricted by its more powerful neighbors.
C) reflected an interest in protecting the sea trade.
D) was constantly overturned by Greek powers.
E) was based on Assyrian models.

Question 55

What made certain Phoenician textiles unique?

A) Man-made fibers
B) Blind stitching
C) The combination of silk and cotton fabric
D) Purple dye
E) Their expense

Question 56

Which of the following rituals did not aid the Jews in maintaining a strong cultural identity after the loss of their state?

A) Dietary rules
B) Keeping the Sabbath
C) Ritual baths
D) Banning marriage with non-Jews
E) The requirement that men grow beards

Question 57

Carthage was founded by peoples migrating from

A) Rome.
B) Phoenicia.
C) Greece.
D) Egypt.
E) Arabia.

Question 58

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Mycenae

Question 59

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Iron Age

Question 60

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Cyclopes

Question 61

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Plutarch

Question 62

What were the significant consequences of Assyrian power in the Middle East after 721 B.C.E.?

Question 63

Some of the oldest pottery found in the Mediterranean region was made by which group first?

Question 64

What factors led to Egypt losing its isolationist perspective in the Near East?

Question 65

Which group were the first to learn iron making?

Question 66

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Phoenicia

Question 67

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Carthage

Question 68

Trace the migrations of the people ultimately known as Israelites, noting the causes and consequences of those migrations.

Question 69

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
First Temple

Question 70

Refer to Map 2.1 and identify the major rivers of the Mesopotamian, Egyptian, and Hittite kingdoms. Discuss how proximity to water facilitates the establishment of cities.

Question 71

What is meant by the description of Carthage as a commercial "empire"?

Question 72

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Israel

Question 73

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Arameans

Question 74

Describe the nature and extent of Phoenician expansion in the Mediterranean.

Question 75

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
Babylon

Question 76

Who was the longest-ruling "builder" king of the New Dynasty in Egypt?

Question 77

How did the Hittites become the foremost power in Anatolia from 1700 to 1200 B.C.E.?

Question 78

Compare the rise of civilizations in the Aegean Sea area with the rise of earlier world civilizations.

Question 79

Why have historians called the Assyrian Empire of the first millennium B.C.E. the first correct empire?

Question 80

Instructions: Identify the following term(s).
monotheism