Deck 4: Iran, India, and Inner Asia to 200 C.E

Question 1

Modern Iran has a dual cultural heritage based on

A) Judaic/Christian cultures.
B) Islamic/Zoroastrian cultures.
C) Hindu/Buddhist cultures.
D) Confucian/Taoist cultures.

Answer 1

Islamic/Zoroastrian cultures.

Question 2

The common language of the Near East during the Achaemenid rule was

A) Greek.
B) Egyptian.
C) Indian.
D) Aramaic.

Answer 2

Aramaic.

Question 3

The third and greatest Mauryan emperor was

A) Bimbisara.
B) Ashoka.
C) Bindusara.
D) Chandragupta.

Answer 3

Ashoka.

Question 4

After the reign of Ashoka, Mauryan rule

A) continued for two centuries.
B) collapsed because of bureaucratic corruption and economic problems.
C) collapsed under the impact of Mongol invasions.
D) increased to include much of southeast Asia.

Question 5

The most significant written sources for the reign of Ashoka are

A) no longer extant.
B) contained in rock inscriptions.
C) contained in the holy writings of dharma.
D) inscribed on oracle bones.

Question 6

All of the following were part of the Mauryan legacy except

A) an imperial ideal.
B) grand cities built in stone.
C) a strengthened Buddhist movement.
D) cosmopolitan traditions of external relations and internal communication.

Question 7

The greatest achievements in Indian arts between the Mauryan and Gupta eras were inspired chiefly by the

A) Greeks.
B) Buddhists.
C) Hindus.
D) None of these answers are correct.

Question 8

Which of the following is not a trait of Hinduism?

A) the cults of Vishnu and Siva
B) the traditions of the Upanishadic Age
C) Brahmin ascendancy and Sanskrit language
D) a rigid exclusion of "unpure" religious ideas

Question 9

One of the most important sources of support for Jain and Buddhist monasteries in the post-Mauryan centuries came from

A) merchants.
B) farmers.
C) warriors.
D) None of these answers are correct.

Question 10

The Seleucid Dynasty that ruled Iran in the third century B.C.E. was created by

A) nomadic Indo-Europeans from western India.
B) Egyptian slave soldiers who turned against the Sassanids.
C) Persian barons from the frontier who disliked central control.
D) a Greek-speaking general who had served Alexander the Great.

Question 11

The Seleucid Dynasty of Persia

A) promoted a revival of Zoroastrian ideas and practices.
B) was established by the grandson of Ashoka and sought to encourage Buddhism.
C) continued Alexander the Great's policy of linking Greek and Persian cultures.
D) established the longest-lasting dynasty in Persian history.

Question 12

The most important contribution of the Seleucid Dynasty to Near Eastern history was

A) spreading democratic practices to India.
B) spreading Greek culture in urban regions across the Middle East.
C) exporting Zoroastrianism to Greece and the Mediterranean world.
D) creating four centuries of peace in the Persian realm.

Question 13

The new Hellenistic urban centers in Seleucid and Parthian times probably contributed to

A) a decrease in commitment to established cultural traditions.
B) the rise of mystic and savior cults.
C) less contact with the West.
D) None of these answers are correct.

Question 14

The farthest reach of Hellenization occurred in which satrapy of the Seleucid Empire?

A) Bactria
B) Persepolis
C) Sardis
D) Pasargadae

Question 15

The Parthians were a steppe people who

A) destroyed the Mauryan Empire in India.
B) defeated the Seleucids and created a large empire in Iran.
C) introduced silk to China.
D) spread Hellenistic culture to central Asia.

Question 16

Parthian control over the Iranian plateau in the first centuries C.E.

A) saw a sharp drop in trade between East and West.
B) encouraged the spread of Christian ideas eastward.
C) encouraged the growth of trade along the Silk Road.
D) None of these answers are correct.

Question 17

Which of the following was responsible for Parthian decline?

A) the massacre at Carrhae
B) constant wars with the neighboring Roman and Kushan Empires
C) dramatic population decline as a result of plagues from the east
D) internal conflicts between Muslims and Zoroastrians

Question 18

The great Kushan ruler, Kanishka, was a promoter of

A) Hinduism.
B) Buddhism.
C) Jainism.
D) Taoism.

Question 19

A lasting Kushan cultural contribution was

A) the school of Graeco-Buddhist art.
B) rudimentary forms of written musical notation.
C) the art of the death mask.
D) the development of detailed woodworking techniques.

Question 20

By the second century C.E. in the Indo-Iranian world, we see the

A) destruction of imperial governments and the decline into political chaos.
B) rise of royal governments with greater power and influence.
C) decline of Western influence on Eastern culture.
D) the end of economic and cultural exchanges.

Question 21

The Zoroastrian religious tradition

A) spread abroad and took root in outside cultures.
B) never had great appeal outside its homeland.
C) rejected the Parsee community in western India.
D) None of these answers are correct.

Question 22

The cross-cultural contact between Eastern and Western cultures is best symbolized by

A) the Hellenizing conquests of Alexander the Great.
B) increased trade between Parthia and China.
C) demonstrated use of the postal system established by the Achaemenids.
D) conversion of many Greeks to Buddhism.

Question 23

According to the "Religions of the World" section (pp. 110-111), in contemporary Hindu worship, puja is

A) the recitation of sacred texts.
B) devotion to meditation and self-realization.
C) bringing offerings of flowers, food, and other goods to temples.
D) a purification ritual that involves bathing.

Question 24

Hinduism can best be described as

A) polytheistic, with individual devotion to a particular god.
B) polytheistic, with simultaneous devotion to many gods.
C) monotheistic, with respect to the chosen deity.
D) monotheistic, with worship of two aspects of the Supreme Lord, Vishnu and Shiva.

Question 25

A stupa is (Image, p. 103)

A) a royal Persian palace.
B) a follower of Zoroaster.
C) a Hindu offering ceremony.
D) a Buddhist relic mound.

Question 26

Which of the following empire-location pairings is correct?

A) Achaeminid Empire - Iran
B) Mauryan Empire - the Mediterranean
C) Seleucid Empire - Ceylon
D) All of these answers are correct.

Question 27

Describe the major causes of the victory of the Medes and the Persians under Cyrus the Great. What form of empire was established under his rule? Why and how were the old enemies defeated?
Conceptual

Question 28

Discuss the major features of the Hindu and Buddhist traditions. What are the similarities between the two groups? Why did Buddhism spread to China and southeast Asia while Hinduism remained in India?
Conceptual

Question 29

Compare and contrast the evolution of Buddhism and Hinduism in the era after the Mauryans. What political, social, economic, and other conditions affected the development of these traditions?
Conceptual

Question 30

Describe the cross-cultural interactions that affected the development of Iran, India, and Inner Asia during the period following Alexander the Great's conquests. How did contact with other cultures change the various peoples of Inner Asia?
Conceptual

Question 31

Compare and contrast the teachings of Zoroastrianism to those of Hinduism.
Conceptual

Question 32

Compare and contrast the effect of Alexander the Great's conquests on the Achaemenid Empire, the development of the Seleucid Empire, and the development of the Mauryan Empire in India.
Conceptual

Question 33

What were the results of Greek influences on the Seleucid Empire? To what extent did Greek culture dominate the Seleucid world? To what extent did the Seleucids make use of and preserve native traditions?
Conceptual

Question 34

What important roles in world history did the Parthian and Kushan peoples play, and how did these roles differ or resemble those of the Indo-Greeks who preceded them?
Conceptual