Deck 2: Early Societies in Southwest Asia and the Indo-European Migrations

Question 1

The first people in the world to use wheeled vehicles were the

A) Sumerians.
B) Assyrians.
C) Egyptians.
D) Phoenicians.
E) Hebrews.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Conditions for women in Mesopotamia

A) increased dramatically over the centuries.
B) reached their high point during the time of the Assyrians.
C) grew increasingly worse over time.
D) improved dramatically when women were allowed to do away with the veil.
E) were always very good; women had tremendous personal freedoms.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The Mesopotamian style of writing was known as

A) demotic.
B) cuneiform.
C) hieroglyphs.
D) Coptic.
E) alphabetic.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The first complex society was developed in the southern Mesopotamian land of

A) Akkad.
B) Assyria.
C) Sumer.
D) Babylonia.
E) Palestine.

Question 5

Iron metallurgy came to Mesopotamia from the

A) Hebrews.
B) Hittites.
C) Phoenicians.
D) Egyptians.
E) Assyrians.

Question 6

Eridu,Ur,Uruk,Lagash,Nippur,and Kish were all associated with

A) Egypt.
B) Nubia.
C) Phoenicia.
D) Mesopotamia.
E) Jerusalem.

Question 7

While Hammurabi's code was based on the concept of lex talionis,it was also shaped by

A) social standing.
B) the will of the Mesopotamian gods as expressed by the priestly class.
C) the language spoken by the accused perpetrator.
D) the age of the accused perpetrator.
E) the religion of the victim.

Question 8

What individual believed that the gods had chosen him to "promote the welfare of the people ...[and] to cause justice to prevail in the land"?

A) Moses
B) Nebuchadnezzar
C) Hammurabi
D) Sargon of Akkad
E) Gilgamesh

Question 9

Mesopotamian metalworkers discovered that if they alloyed copper and tin they could produce

A) obsidian.
B) steel.
C) iron.
D) silver.
E) bronze.

Question 10

The later Mesopotamian people who built a large empire based on a powerful army with iron weapons and the use of professional officers were the

A) Hittites.
B) Hyksos.
C) Assyrians.
D) Babylonians.
E) Hebrews.

Question 11

Gilgamesh was associated with what city?

A) Jerusalem
B) Kish
C) Uruk
D) Lagash
E) Ur

Question 12

With few precedents to guide them,the population of Mesopotamia adapted and created

A) social organization.
B) writing.
C) agricultural cultivation.
D) the development of religion.
E) competition amongst different groups.

Question 13

A Mesopotamian stepped pyramid is known as a

A) coptic.
B) eridu.
C) lugal.
D) lex talionis.
E) ziggurat.

Question 14

The creator of the first empire in Mesopotamia was

A) Hammurabi.
B) Moses.
C) Sargon of Akkad.
D) Gilgamesh.
E) Nebuchadnezzar.

Question 15

In Mesopotamia,prisoners of war,convicted criminals,and heavily indebted individuals were the three main sources for

A) slaves.
B) indentured servants.
C) dependent clients.
D) mercenary soldiers.
E) indentured priests.

Question 16

Mesopotamia developed into a

A) strict patriarchal society.
B) society where the sexes enjoyed relative equality.
C) predominantly matriarchal society.
D) society with few social distinctions.
E) society dominated by a growing mercantile middle class.

Question 17

The word Mesopotamia means

A) the "pure land."
B) the "land of the strong."
C) "the blood of Gilgamesh."
D) "wedge-shaped."
E) "the land between the rivers."

Question 18

Evidence shows that the Mesopotamians

A) traded extensively with peoples as far away as Anatolia,Egypt,and India.
B) lived an isolated existence and did not trade.
C) traded exclusively with the Egyptians.
D) traded extensively until the time of the Assyrians,when trade dropped to nothing.
E) traded exclusively with the Phoenicians.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a Semitic language?

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

Question 20

Enkidu

A) was the Sumerian god of wisdom.
B) was a leading Sumerian city-state.
C) was the most powerful Babylonian king.
D) was Gilgamesh's friend.
E) is the Hebrew word for "holy."

Question 21

At its high point,which empire controlled not only Mesopotamia but also Syria,Palestine,much of Anatolia,and most of Egypt?

Question 22

The Hebrew god was known as Yahweh.

Question 23

Which of the following languages is NOT of Indo-European origin?

A) Egyptian
B) Farsi
C) Hindi
D) Greek
E) Italic

Question 24

Horse-drawn chariots were first invented by the

A) Egyptians.
B) Assyrians.
C) Hittites.
D) Babylonians.
E) Hyksos.

Question 25

Are there drawbacks to the rise of complex societies? In other words,is every aspect of civilization good? Are there still problems today that stretch back to the rise of civilization?

Question 26

Examine the history of the Hebrews.Why did they have so much trouble uniting into a powerful political force? How did their wanderings and misfortune affect the development of their form of monotheism?

Question 27

What aspects of Mesopotamia as a region encouraged the formation of the first complex societies?

Question 28

Examine the reign of Hammurabi.In what ways was his reign the high point of Mesopotamian history? Explain the significance of his code.

Question 29

The first alphabet was created by the Phoenicians.

Question 30

The powerful Babylonian king who formulated a sophisticated law code was Hammurabi.

Question 31

The Phoenicians invented the horse-drawn chariot.

Question 32

Nebuchadnezzar was the first conqueror to unite all of Mesopotamia.

Question 33

Lex talionis was a legal principle,the "law of retaliation."

Question 34

Examine the rise of the Mesopotamians.What were the political and cultural foundations of their society? Who were the most important leaders?

Question 35

Gilgamesh is the hero of the oldest known epic.

Question 36

Hebrew monotheism has its origins with

A) Abraham.
B) Moses.
C) Joseph.
D) David.
E) Solomon.

Question 37

The first simplified alphabet,containing only twenty-two letters,was created by the

A) Mesopotamians.
B) Assyrians.
C) Hebrews.
D) Phoenicians.
E) Babylonians.

Question 38

The original homeland of the Indo-European speakers was

A) Mesopotamia.
B) northern Germany.
C) southern Russia.
D) India.
E) Egypt.

Question 39

Examine the social structure of the Mesopotamians.Were there great divisions between the different social classes? How had the social distinctions changed since the period of prehistory?

Question 40

What role did the Indo-Europeans play in history? What were their main contributions?

Question 41

How did the role of women evolve during the growth and maturation of complex societies in Mesopotamia?

Question 42

What were the social strata in ancient Mesopotamia? How were slaves acquired and used?

Question 43

What was the significance of the need for irrigation to the political development of Mesopotamia?

Question 44

Examine the question of monotheism.Why was it such an unusual religious view in the ancient world?

Question 45

What does the Epic of Gilgamesh tell us about the worldview of the Mesopotamians?

Question 46

What were the underlying principles of Hammurabi's code of laws and what does the law code tell us about the kind of society that existed in Mesopotamia at the time?

Question 47

Compare and contrast the religious beliefs of the early Mesopotamians and the Hebrews.What do the differences tell us about these societies?

Question 48

Why were the Assyrians such formidable conquerors?

Question 49

What role did technological innovations and trade play in the rise of the Mesopotamians? What innovations led to turning points in the histories of these societies? How widely did they trade?

Question 50

What were the major achievements of the Mesopotamians? How did these achievements influence later societies?

Question 51

Examine the creation of early methods of writing.How did this innovation influence the lives of the peoples of the ancient world?