Deck 2: Iron Age Civilizations

Question 1

The most common language spoken by people of the eastern Mediterranean after 1200 B.C.E. was ______________.

A) Semitic
B) Aramaic
C) Coptic
D) Urdu
E) Greek

Answer 1

Aramaic

Question 2

Raw molten iron poured into molds to cool is called ______________.

A) bronze
B) cast iron
C) weapon iron
D) hybrid iron
E) steel

Answer 2

cast iron

Question 3

The exception to objects made from cast iron instead of bronze in the Iron Age was usually ______________.

A) plows
B) weapons
C) jewelry
D) household implements
E) horse collars

Answer 3

weapons

Question 4

The Philistines were primarily ______________.

A) soldiers
B) merchants
C) artisans
D) farmers
E) fishermen

Question 5

Who were the first People of the Book?

A) Assyrians
B) Phoenicians
C) Hebrews
D) Lydians
E) Philistines

Question 6

The Hebrew entrance of Canaan ______________.

A) was led by Joshua
B) is controversial with respect to the exact date
C) resulted in Hebrews massacring Canaanite populations to protect their religious practices
D) is an example of the movement of peoples at the end of the Bronze Age
E) is all of these

Question 7

Iron in its metallic form ______________.

A) has a low melting point
B) was common
C) does not naturally exist
D) was found in meteorites
E) was used to make bronze

Question 8

One of the main reasons why the Hebrews' religion was so constant was because ______________.

A) they wrote it down in scripture
B) they had a dedicated cult of oral recitation
C) it became widespread and popular
D) it fully integrated religion and government into a theocracy
E) None of these.

Question 9

One of the unique products that the Phoenicians traded was ______________.

A) coffee from Africa
B) lobsters from Crete
C) hemp rope from Persia
D) cotton from India
E) purple dye from Tyre

Question 10

How many primary gods did the Phoenicians worship?

A) One
B) Two
C) Three
D) Four
E) Five

Question 11

The general direction of the spread of civilization during the Iron Age was ______________.

A) west
B) east
C) north
D) south
E) in all directions

Question 12

The symbolic demonstration of a covenant between God and his chosen people was ______________.

A) human sacrifice
B) circumcision
C) ritual celebration of fire
D) keeping a holy day for fasting and prayer
E) vegetarianism

Question 13

The city in Phoenicia that exported papyrus was ______________.

A) Byblos
B) Tyre
C) Damascus
D) Jaffa
E) Carthage

Question 14

One of the most significant developments of the Phoenicians was ______________.

A) lateen sails
B) democracy
C) the alphabet
D) cast iron technology
E) monotheism

Question 15

Cities in the Iron Age were ______________.

A) located in river valleys
B) formed in large groups for protection from invaders
C) smaller and fortified
D) politically autonomous
E) struggling to deal with a massive increase in population caused by constant warfare

Question 16

The Hebrew Bible is known as the ______________.

A) Torah
B) Tanakh
C) Avestas
D) Upanashids
E) Dead Sea Scrolls

Question 17

All of the following Mesopotamian cultural elements were retained by the Hebrews except ______________.

A) an epic about a hero found cast adrift as an infant
B) a legend about a flood
C) laws including the concept of "an eye for an eye"
D) a base 60 mathematical system
E) descriptions of ziggurats

Question 18

The major emphasis of economies in the Iron Age was on ______________.

A) agriculture
B) pastoralism
C) self-sufficiency
D) trade and manufacturing
E) conquest and seizure

Question 19

The first inventors of coins in the Near East were the ______________.

A) Phoenicians
B) Akkadians
C) Assyrians
D) Lydians
E) Greeks

Question 20

Assyrians were most likely the earliest people to work with ______________.

A) bronze
B) copper
C) iron
D) marble
E) stone

Question 21

The strongest of the Assyrian successor states was the ______________.

A) New Babylonians/Chaldeans
B) Medians
C) Egyptians
D) Armenians
E) Lydians

Question 22

The main reason that so much is known of Iron Age Assyria is that ______________.

A) the Assyrian Empire conquered all known literate territory at the time
B) other civilizations formed a united opposition and detailed their experiences
C) the Assyrians engaged in significant foreign policy and were methodical about compiling treaties
D) Assyrian rulers maintained records of their accomplishments
E) Herodotus wrote about it in his Histories

Question 23

The first Iron Age empire was built in which region?

A) Israel
B) Phoenicia
C) Assyria
D) Egypt
E) None of these.

Question 24

The death of King Solomon led to ______________.

A) a split into two different Hebrew kingdoms, Judah and Israel
B) a complete collapse of Hebrew society
C) overthrow by the Egyptians
D) a period known as the Dark Ages
E) destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem

Question 25

Persians settled in Iran around what year?

A) 4000 B.C.E.
B) 3000 B.C.E.
C) 2000 B.C.E.
D) 1000 B.C.E.
E) 500 B.C.E.

Question 26

The destruction of the First Temple in Jerusalem was accomplished by ______________.

A) Halofernes
B) Cyrus the Great
C) Nebuchadnezzar
D) Ashurbanipal
E) Hammurabi

Question 27

Who built the first Hebrew temple?

A) Moses
B) Adam
C) Abraham
D) Solomon
E) El Shaddai

Question 28

Early Assyrians settled around which river?

A) Tigris
B) Euphrates
C) Nile
D) Jordan
E) Rubicon

Question 29

Which area did Assyria not conquer in expanding its empire?

A) Israel
B) Babylonia
C) Egypt
D) Medes
E) Greece

Question 30

Which is the most likely reason for the collapse of the Assyrian Empire?

A) Resentment of conquered peoples who formed rebellions
B) The high cost of maintaining a vast standing army
C) Decreased agricultural production by drafting farmers into military service
D) Difficulty in effectively managing a far-flung empire
E) All of these.

Question 31

Cyrus the Great did much to advance the Persian Empire through ______________.

A) massive destruction of all opposition
B) utilizing representative government under a strict authoritarian state
C) liberating all people previously enslaved under the Chaldeans to destroy his enemies
D) relatively peaceful assimilation
E) establishing a uniform set of weights and measures to help the economy grow

Question 32

The most significant characteristic of the Assyrians was their ______________.

A) military skill
B) diverse social organization
C) religious tolerance toward others
D) progressive farming technique
E) literary advancement

Question 33

Whom did Cyrus defeat in 550 B.C.E.?

A) The Hebrews
B) The Magi
C) The Persians
D) The Medes
E) The Assyrians

Question 34

While the original covenant of monotheism was made between God and Abraham, the renewed, finalized covenant was symbolized by ______________.

A) Moses leading the Hebrews out of bondage in Egypt
B) Joshua entering Canaan
C) Deborah's victory over Sisera
D) Abraham's sacrifice of Isaac
E) Moses delivering the Ten Commandments

Question 35

Assyrians maintained control of their empire by ______________.

A) peaceful coexistence
B) terror and brutality
C) government representatives known as satraps
D) ruthless assimilation
E) None of these.

Question 36

The Assyrian King responsible for the conquest of Jerusalem and Judah was ______________.

A) Tilget-Pilesar
B) Sennacherib
C) Sargon II
D) Nebuchadnezzar
E) Ashurbanipal

Question 37

Which of the following was not a means of Assyria's superior military forces?

A) Utilizing cavalry instead of chariots
B) Utilizing swords instead of lances
C) Incorporating engineers into siege warfare
D) Applying advanced catapult technology assimilated from the Chaldeans
E) Undermining fortified cities by "sapping" or digging tunnels under walls

Question 38

El Shaddai was ______________.

A) the original name of the Hebrew god
B) the first book of the Torah
C) the name of Abraham's first son
D) the name of the Hebrew sojourn in Egypt
E) the honorific given to Moses

Question 39

The city of Nineveh, under the reign of Assurbanipal, was notable for ______________.

A) building extensive ziggurats to glorify the king
B) being a central repository for the imperial cavalry
C) housing extensive libraries of cuneiform tablets
D) having 150 tons of iron bars on hand for weapons manufacture
E) the most elaborate religious temples to their harvest god, Zardoz

Question 40

What was one of the Nebuchadnezzar's accomplishments in fortifying Babylon?

A) He built the Ishtar gate.
B) He created a system of irrigation ensuring continuous fresh water to the city.
C) He built ziggurats for central planning.
D) He established a quota of maximum numbers of people who could enter the city at any time.
E) He erected twelve walls around the city, each headed with a symbol of the zodiac.

Question 41

Compare and contrast Bronze and Iron Age civilizations.

Question 42

Whom did the Diaspora disperse?

A) Jews
B) Persians
C) Assyrians
D) Phoenicians
E) Magi

Question 43

The Persian state religion promoted by Zoroaster relied on written texts called the ______________.

A) Torah
B) Zend Avesta
C) Kethuvim
D) Prophecies
E) Sacred Scrolls of Aton

Question 44

Discuss the Persian religion and how it differed from the other religions of the Iron and Bronze age.

Question 45

What are the distinguishing characteristics of Hebrew civilization ?

Question 46

Why was iron was so significant to the development of civilization? How and where it was used?

Question 47

Why were the Persians better tolerated than the Assyrians?

A) They allowed religious freedom.
B) They did not have any taxes.
C) They did not require people to serve in the military.
D) They ruled by treaty rather than mandate.
E) None of these.

Question 48

The most prosperous people in the Persian Empire were ______________.

A) landowners who were rewarded by the king for military service
B) artisans who contributed to the local economy
C) warriors who were recruited for the Immortals
D) scholars who translated literature
E) priests in Zoroastrian Temples

Question 49

Who are the only people the Persian kings did not defeat and conquer?

A) Chaldeans
B) Medians
C) Lydians
D) Scythians
E) All of these.

Question 50

How did Cyrus' reign come to an end?

A) He died of old age.
B) He passed the throne to his son, Cambyses.
C) He was killed conquering Athens.
D) He died in battle with Queen Tomyris.
E) He fell on his sword while getting off his horse.

Question 51

What are the ways in which early Hebrew civilization arose from, and eventually diverged from Mesopotamian culture?.

Question 52

Zoroastrianism was based in a dualistic world that promised ______________.

A) an afterlife for everyone who could cross the River Styx
B) separation of the dead into the good and bad, with the good rewarded
C) rebirth into a new life cycle based on karma
D) punishment for nonbelievers in eternal dust and torment
E) paradise for those of noble birth

Question 53

Which of the following is a significant weakness of the Persian Empire?

A) Its lack of a uniform culture in a diverse population
B) The autonomy granted to the satraps
C) The demobilization of the enormous military of the Assyrians
D) The lack of scientific development in the empire
E) An unstable economy because of lack of artisanal development

Question 54

Who conquered Egypt in 525 B.C.E.?

A) Moses
B) Darius
C) Cambyses
D) Ahura Mazda
E) Cyrus

Question 55

Explain the importance of the Phoenicians in the eastern Mediterranean and the Near East during the Iron Age.

Question 56

Discuss how Hebrew civilization developed in the absence of traditional civilizing features and permanent settlements.

Question 57

The majority of the Persian army were made from ______________.

A) Eunuchs who guarded the palace
B) The Immortals who were the king's personal body guard
C) Captured prisoners of war who were forced to convert to Zoroastrianism
D) Remnants of the overthrown Assyrian military
E) Recruits specialized from diverse geographic regions in the empire

Question 58

Compare the development of law among the Hebrew population with that of other Near Eastern civilizations.

Question 59

Compare the techniques of the Assyrians and the Persians in building and maintaining an empire.

Question 60

How did the creation of a coin system by the Lydian civilization represent a universal change to civilizations?

Question 61

Jews in Babylon after the end of the Babylonian Captivity were discriminated against and harassed by Persians.

Question 62

Because the Arameans had a monopoly on overland trade, their language replaced Akkadian as the most common language in the Near East.

Question 63

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
Torah

Question 64

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
Monotheism

Question 65

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
scripture

Question 66

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
Phoenicians

Question 67

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
Deborah

Question 68

As a tactic of controlling conquered populations, the Assyrians used deportation of mass numbers of people.

Question 69

Compare the role of women in Hebrew tradition, using Deborah, Esther, and Judith as examples. What makes these perspectives unusual?

Question 70

Their political unity made the Israelites a formidable opposition to the Philistines.

Question 71

The strongest of the successor states to the Assyrian Empire was the newly commercial state of Egypt.

Question 72

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
Strait of Gibraltar

Question 73

As an aid in keeping business records, the Assyrians perfected the alphabet.

Question 74

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
Philistines

Question 75

Cast iron was soft and brittle and did not keep a sharp edge.

Question 76

The greatest Assyrian king was Tiglath-Pilezer III.

Question 77

Persian kings saw themselves as divine.

Question 78

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
Moses

Question 79

Instructions: Please define the following key terms.
cast iron

Question 80

The strongest support for conservative monotheism was in Judah.