Deck 12: Cross-Cultural Exchanges on the Silk Roads: During the Late Classical Era

Question 1

The prophet who promoted a syncretic blend of Zoroastrian,Christian,and Buddhist elements into a religious faith that would serve the needs of a cosmopolitan world was

A) Gregory the Wonderworker.
B) Paul of Tarsus.
C) Mani.
D) Nestorius.
E) Ashoka.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The "hearers" were

A) Manichaeans who led a normal life but who followed a strict moral code.
B) the slaves of the "elect."
C) devout Manichaeans who abstained from marriage and personal comforts.
D) the first disciples of the Buddha who carried Buddhism into China.
E) Christian missionaries who brought their faith to central Asia.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

A key element in establishing trade across the Indian Ocean was the

A) defeat of the Xiongnu.
B) defeat of the Indian pirates who controlled the region.
C) signing of an alliance with the leading Sri Lankan prince.
D) mastering of the monsoon system.
E) discovery of "Greek fire."

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Devout Manichaeans,who abstained from marriage and sexual relations and who devoted their lives to prayer and fasting,were called the

A) "hearers."
B) "chosen."
C) "Mani."
D) "elect."
E) "pure."

Question 5

The easternmost point of the main silk road was the Han capital of

A) Beijing.
B) Kashgar.
C) Erlitou.
D) Dunhuang.
E) Chang'an.

Question 6

The land route of the main silk road ran from the Han capital of ________ to the Mediterranean port of ________.

A) Chang'an; Rome
B) Beijing; Tyre
C) Nanjing; Alexandria
D) Chang'an; Antioch
E) Dunhuang; Antioch

Question 7

The trading port of Rhapta was located

A) in southern China.
B) in the eastern Mediterranean.
C) on the west African coast.
D) in the Black Sea.
E) on the east African coast.

Question 8

The expanding influence of India was shown by the fact that southeast Asian kings called themselves

A) rajas.
B) tsars.
C) sultans.
D) archons.
E) brahmins.

Question 9

The most important port on the Red Sea,constructed by the Ptolemies,was

A) Alexandria.
B) Meroë.
C) Berenice.
D) Thebes.
E) Tyre.

Question 10

The prophet Mani died in chains as a prisoner of the Sasanid emperor,under the urging of the

A) Jews.
B) Christians.
C) Zoroastrians.
D) Buddhists.
E) Muslims.

Question 11

Who among the following recorded the suffering of Christians caused by epidemic diseases in his On Mortality?

A) Aristotle
B) St. Augustine
C) Constantine
D) Mani
E) St. Cyprian

Question 12

The Nestorians were

A) Persian merchants who played a central role in trade along the silk roads.
B) a Christian community that emphasized the human nature of Jesus.
C) monks who helped bring Buddhism to China.
D) evangelical preachers who stressed the divine nature of Jesus.
E) Indian tea merchants who helped spread Hinduism to southeast Asia.

Question 13

Zhang Qian was

A) an ambassador sent out by Han Wudi.
B) the last emperor of the Han dynasty.
C) the leader of the powerful Xiongnu tribe.
D) the greatest Han philosopher.
E) an influential Han historian.

Question 14

In the ancient world,the main producer of silk was

A) Japan.
B) Ceylon.
C) China.
D) India.
E) Vietnam.

Question 15

With the collapse of political order after the fall of the Han empire,

A) Confucianism became much more popular.
B) Christianity became one of the most important religions in China.
C) Daoism and Buddhism became much more popular.
D) Hindu thought began to have a profoundly important influence in China.
E) religions of every variety were persecuted and suppressed.

Question 16

Which of the following deserts was one of the most dangerous parts of the silk roads? Its name has been interpreted as "he who enters does not come back out."

A) Sahara
B) Gobi
C) Gedrosian
D) Taklamakan
E) Bactrian

Question 17

Buddhism was spread to China by

A) Indian holy men.
B) the Mauryan emperor Ashoka.
C) foreign merchants.
D) the Koreans.
E) the Buddha.

Question 18

In the west,the principle silk roads route terminated in the Turkish port of

A) Persepolis.
B) Antioch.
C) Constantinople.
D) Alexandria.
E) Bakhara.

Question 19

Zhang Qian's mission was to line up allies for Han China against the

A) Romans.
B) Persians.
C) Mauryas.
D) Koreans.
E) Xiongnu.

Question 20

The information that Zhang Qian brought back encouraged Han Wudi to destroy the Xiongnu and lay the foundations for the

A) pax romana.
B) Sui dynasty.
C) silk roads.
D) Royal Road.
E) Han dynasty.

Question 21

Odoacer was the Visigoth leader who sacked Rome in 410 C.E.

Question 22

The Council of Nicaea and the Council of Chalcedon

A) established the boundary line between the eastern and western Roman empires.
B) accepted the Nestorian view of the solely divine nature of Jesus.
C) settled a bloody civil war and reunited Rome.
D) decided that Jesus possessed both human and divine natures.
E) adopted certain features of the Manichaean faith.

Question 23

Diocletian divided the Roman empire in half.

Question 24

Constantine was the Roman emperor who proclaimed Christianity the official religion of the empire.

Question 25

Christians were allowed to openly practice their religion when the emperor Constantine issued the Edict of

A) Rome.
B) Milan.
C) Constantinople.
D) Antioch.
E) Jerusalem.

Question 26

Christian thought was linked to Platonic philosophy through the work of

A) St. Augustine.
B) Paul of Tarsus.
C) St. Peter.
D) Theodosius.
E) St. Anthony.

Question 27

After the collapse of the western half of the Roman empire,imperial authority survived for another thousand years in the

A) Sasanid empire.
B) Ptolemaic empire.
C) Byzantine empire.
D) Holy Roman Empire.
E) Carolingian empire.

Question 28

The Roman empire was divided into two parts by

A) Diocletian.
B) Constantine.
C) Theodosius.
D) Attila.
E) Augustus.

Question 29

Constantine built a new capital for the Roman empire in the east.

Question 30

In the late fourth century,Christianity was proclaimed the official religion of the Roman empire by Emperor

A) Constantine.
B) Marcus Aurelius.
C) Theodosius.
D) Tiberius.
E) Severus.

Question 31

That Jesus possessed both human and divine natures was a decision made in part by the Council of

A) Milan.
B) Nicaea.
C) Constantinople.
D) Rome.
E) Jerusalem.

Question 32

Attila,the leader of the Huns,caused chaos in the Roman empire with his invasion of eastern Europe.

Question 33

The religion that attempted to incorporate Zoroastrian,Christian,and Buddhist elements was known as Manichaeism.

Question 34

In the structure of the early Christian church,who presided over the dioceses?

A) bishops
B) priests
C) archbishops
D) patriarchs
E) cardinals

Question 35

St.Augustine made Christian thought more appealing to the educated classes by harmonizing it with

A) Greek and Roman philosophical traditions.
B) Jewish thought.
C) Byzantine philosophy.
D) Manichaean syncretism.
E) Confucian thought.

Question 36

Nestorians were Christian thinkers who stressed the human nature of Jesus.

Question 37

The term sinicization refers to the

A) rise of a religion combining Christian,Zoroastrian,and Buddhist ideals.
B) influence of Platonic thought on early Christianity.
C) ravages of disease.
D) spread of Chinese culture.
E) belief that disease was caused by excessive human sinning.

Question 38

The tetrarchs were

A) the four officials who ruled the Roman empire under Diocletian's plan.
B) Manichaean priests.
C) early Christian hermits who influenced the rise of monasticism.
D) regional rulers who dominated trade along the silk roads.
E) Christian missionaries who lost their lives spreading the faith in central Asia.

Question 39

Nicaea was one of the early church councils that decided that Jesus possessed both human and divine natures.

Question 40

Which of the following was NOT accomplished by Constantine?

A) the building of a new capital city for the empire
B) the establishment of the tetrarchs system
C) the reunification of the empire
D) the allowance of Christians to practice their own religion
E) the promulgation of the Edict of Milan

Question 41

Examine Map 12.2,which details the spread of Buddhism,Hinduism,and Christianity.Now compare this map to Map 12.1.How was the spread of these religions tied to the trade routes?

Question 42

St.Augustine tried to harmonize Christianity with Greek and Roman philosophical traditions.

Question 43

What were the major achievements of the Roman empire? How influential were the Romans on later history?

Question 44

Compare and contrast the decline and collapse of the Han and Roman empires.Are there common problems that always help to explain the collapse of powerful empires? Use examples from earlier empires to back up your arguments.

Question 45

Examine the collapse of the Roman empire.What factors explain this event? What would be the legacy of the Roman empire?

Question 46

Compare and contrast the spread of Buddhism,Hinduism,and Christianity.What were the social and cultural implications of this movement of different faiths?

Question 47

You are a Chinese merchant in the city of Chang'an.How would you get products to the profitable Roman market? What might you bring back?

Question 48

Examine the collapse of the Han dynasty.What factors help explain this phenomenon? How influential were the Han on Chinese history?

Question 49

What are the main advantages and disadvantages of trade? How did trade along the silk roads influence the societies that engaged in trade?

Question 50

Examine the spread of Christianity.How was it helped along by the established trade routes? How did it evolve in the later Roman period?

Question 51

The Chinese emissary whose journeys helped to establish the silk roads was Zhang Qian.

Question 52

Examine the establishment of the silk roads.How did increased trade along these routes influence the participating societies?

Question 53

Examine Map 12.4,Germanic invasions and the fall of the western Roman empire,450-476 C.E.How does the map illustrate the cause of the western collapse? What factors,both political and economic (see Map 12.1),might help to explain why the eastern half of the empire survived much longer?

Question 54

Examine the structure of the early Christian church.What challenges did the church face? Relate the rise of the church to Roman history.

Question 55

What role did nomadic tribes play in the decline of the Roman empire? Examine the role of Attila the Hun in detail.

Question 56

Examine Map 12.1,The silk roads,200 B.C.E.-300 C.E.Follow the trade routes and discuss what items would be traded from country to country.How did trade along these routes foster relationships between societies?

Question 57

St.Cyprian proposed that,"It requires enormous greatness of heart to struggle with resolute mind against so many onslaughts of destruction and death." What calamity was Cyprian talking about? In what ways were the spread of diseases and the spread of Christianity linked?

Question 58

How was the religion of Manichaeism representative of the increasingly cosmopolitan world in which it developed?

Question 59

Discuss the spread of epidemic diseases along the trade routes.Examine the consequences of these diseases in the Han and Roman empires.

Question 60

Examine the rise and spread of Manichaeism.Who was Mani,and what was his basic philosophy? How influential was this religion?

Question 61

How did Buddhism become the most popular faith in all of east Asia?

Question 62

Look at the picture of St.Augustine on page 257.How does the picture reflect St.Augustine's role in transforming Christianity into a religion acceptable to the educated classes?

Question 63

Examine the illustration of the statue of the Buddha on page 246.What can this statue tell you about the mixture of religious and cultural themes that came about because of trade?

Question 64

Look at the picture of soldiers in northern India on page 241.How does the carving represent contacts between India and other states? What influence did the Persians and other visitors have on India? How did India influence the outside world?

Question 65

How did the trade networks of the Hellenistic era help set the stage for the silk roads?

Question 66

How did China's culture change after the decline of the Han dynasty?

Question 67

Referring to the selection in the text (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: St.Cyprian on Epidemic Disease in the Roman Empire),how would St.Cyprian have explained the horrors being suffered by Christians? Were the just and unjust really receiving the same punishment? What was the Roman response to the spread of disease?

Question 68

How did Europe's culture change during the late Roman empire?

Question 69

In general,what goods from what regions were traded along the silk roads?

Question 70

How did the silk roads facilitate the spread of Hinduism and Christianity?

Question 71

Why is the rise of Manichaeism such a good example of the relationship between long-distance trade and the spread of religion?

Question 72

Examine the picture of the sculpture of the four tetrarchs on page 253.What does this sculpture tell you about the fragmentation of the Roman empire? Now compare it to the illustration of the colossal statue of Constantine on page 256.How do the two statues illustrate the different roles played by Constantine and the tetrarchs?

Question 73

What were some of the main causes of the decay and fall of the western Roman empire?

Question 74

What were the long-term effects of the spread of disease along the silk roads?

Question 75

What developments in the classical era helped reduce the risks inherent in long-distance trade?

Question 76

Read the section from St.Cyprian (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: St.Cyprian on Epidemic Disease in the Roman Empire).How was this event representative of the spread of epidemic disease that was crippling both the Roman and Han empires?