Deck 2: The Ship, the Sword, and the Book: Western Asia, C.A 1500-400 B.C

Question 1

Define the following terms: Mt. Sinai

Answer 1

Answer not provided.

Question 2

Define the following terms: International Crisis

Answer 2

Answer not provided.

Question 3

Define the following terms: Phoenicians

Answer 3

Answer not provided.

Question 4

Define the following terms: monotheism

Question 5

Define the following terms: alphabet

Question 6

Define the following terms: covenant

Question 7

Define the following terms: David

Question 8

Define the following terms: Cyrus the Great

Question 9

Define the following terms: Torah

Question 10

Define the following terms: Temple

Question 11

Define the following terms: Babylonian Captivity

Question 12

Define the following terms: Israelites

Question 13

Define the following terms: Assyrians

Question 14

Define the following terms: Abraham

Question 15

Define the following terms: Ugarit

Question 16

Define the following terms: The Ten Commandments

Question 17

Define the following terms: Neo-Babylonians

Question 18

Define the following terms: New Testament

Question 19

Define the following terms: Zoroastrianism

Question 20

Define the following terms: Persian Empire

Question 21

The Hebrews were

A) a powerful Mesopotamian people who conquered the Babylonians.
B) a small, often-conquered people who founded the Western religious tradition.
C) the original inhabitants of a land known as Canaan or Palestine.
D) the founders of Western science and philosophy.
E) founders of the Mediterranean area tradition of religion.

Question 22

Describe the Persian Empire. What helps explain its success? How was it similar to the empires it succeeded? How was it different?

Question 23

The most important historical contribution of the Phoenicians was

A) the use of cedar wood for furniture.
B) the kings' merchant council.
C) slave-trading.
D) the elimination of human sacrifice.
E) the spread of urban culture and the alphabet.

Question 24

Discuss the characteristics of the Assyrians and the reasons for their remarkable success as conquerors. What were their most valuable skills? Are there any similarities between Assyrian policies and those of any nation in today's world?

Question 25

Compare the Code of Hammurabi with the laws of the Hebrew Covenant (including, but not limited to, the Ten Commandments). In what way do they appear to have a common root? In what major way do they differ?

Question 26

All of the following are true of the Assyrians except that

A) they used terror and deportation as political tactics.
B) their main deity, Ashur, was a goddess of peace.
C) provincial organization tended to discourage revolts.
D) part of their success was due to the weakness of the states they invaded.
E) the Assyrian army was equipped with iron armor and weapons.

Question 27

The religion of Zarathustra included all of the following except

A) ethical dualism.
B) the obligation of the individual to behave rightly.
C) eternal reward or punishment based on earthly behavior.
D) an evil spirit named Ahura Mazda.
E) ceremonies involving fire.

Question 28

Reasons for the success of Achaemenid Persia included all of the following except

A) ruthless suppression of dissent.
B) a strong military.
C) general respect for the law.
D) administrative competence.
E) general generosity and tolerance of the defeated areas.

Question 29

Persian imperial administration combined

A) democracy and oligarchy.
B) absolute monarchy and theocracy.
C) semi-independent provincial government with central control.
D) local self-government with control by the senate.
E) higher taxes and trade limitations on local governments.

Question 30

Summarize the main characteristics of Zoroastrianism, and compare it with the Egyptian religion. What are some similarities and differences? What similarities does Zoroastrianism have to other Western religions?

Question 31

Do women seem to be regarded differently in Hebrew society than in other ancient civilizations? Consider the roles played by some famous Hebrew women.

Question 32

The Hebrews came to believe in

A) a god of good and a god of evil.
B) a pantheistic world spirit.
C) no gods.
D) one transcendent god.
E) God revealing himself to many different peoples but favoring the Jewish tribes.

Question 33

Why was the ancient city of Ugarit important not only for its time, but for future history?

Question 34

The Persian king was all of the following except

A) treated with reverence.
B) attended by corps of slaves and eunuchs.
C) elected.
D) surrounded by splendid ceremonies and art.
E) bound by the rule of law and by the considerable power of the nobility.

Question 35

Cyrus the Great was

A) a prince of the Medes.
B) founder of the Persian Empire.
C) one of the magi.
D) a leader of an attack on Greece.
E) succeeded by Cambyses who lost the empire to the Assyrians.

Question 36

Survey Hebrew political history, from the Exodus to the return from Babylon.

Question 37

What was the role of the Phoenicians in disseminating the civilization of western Asia throughout the Mediterranean world? What would you say was the most important cultural achievement they passed on, and why?

Question 38

Discuss the development of the Hebrew religion, and compare it with what you know of the other religions mentioned thus far in the textbook.

Question 39

The Neo-Babylonians shared with the Assyrians

A) accurate astronomical observations and predictions.
B) a love of literature.
C) a strong pacifist tradition.
D) an indifference to any form of study unrelated to warfare.
E) a reputation for harsh treatment of defeated peoples.

Question 40

All of the following are true of the Canaanites except

A) Canaan is an ancient name for the lands currently called Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, and Syria.
B) the Canaanite city-states were part of the first international system of states.
C) the Canaanite city-states served as the cradle of Western writing systems.
D) the Canaanites are now known as Phoenicians.
E) the Canaanites were defeated by the invasions of the Sea Peoples.

Question 41

The Hebrew national history book

A) is written as a secular history.
B) makes no reference to the Covenant.
C) is considered to be a sacred history.
D) has no reference to a Hebrew nation.
E) places emphasis on military success.

Question 42

Ebla and Ugarit were

A) flourishing city-states in the area of modern Syria and Palestine.
B) Egyptian gods invoked by doctors and patients.
C) the sons of Ramses II.
D) conquerors of Egypt.
E) multi-ethnic communities.

Question 43

All of the following resulted from the Babylonian Captivity of the Hebrews except

A) a divorce of membership in the Jewish community from actual residence.
B) the current form of the Torah.
C) absolute resistance to assimilation.
D) the rise of synagogues.
E) the right to return to Palestine in large numbers.

Question 44

Phoenician civilization flourished in what is today, modern

A) southern Israel.
B) Syria.
C) Egypt.
D) Iran.
E) Lebanon.

Question 45

Which of the following does not describe the ancient Phoenicians?

A) They were considered "traders of the world."
B) They were known for creative military techniques.
C) Phoenician culture was spread by way of colonies.
D) Purple dyed textile fabrics were their trademark.
E) Their alphabet was based on the Ugarit alphabet.

Question 46

Phoenician colonies were located in all of the following except

A) Cyprus.
B) Malta.
C) Spain.
D) Egypt.
E) Sardinia.

Question 47

The greatest king of Israel was

A) Josiah.
B) Moses.
C) David.
D) Saul.
E) Cyrus.

Question 48

All of the following are true of Ugarit except that

A) it had only one language.
B) it was a thriving Mediterranean port.
C) its cosmopolitanism made it distinctive among western Asian city-states.
D) as a trading center, it linked ships coming from Cyprus or the Anatolian ports with land caravans heading to Babylonia.
E) it played an important role in the spread of the alphabet.

Question 49

Life for the Jews under the Neo-Babylonians involved

A) slavery for Jews unwilling to give up their faith.
B) the destruction of Jewish Temples.
C) imprisonment for Jewish elders and religious leaders.
D) the evolution of the Torah.
E) deportation and separation of Jews throughout Babylon.

Question 50

What caused the Hebrew tribes to unite in the eleventh century?

A) Military conquests led by Saul
B) Philistine danger to the tribes as individual communities
C) Attempt to create an empire
D) To spread monotheism
E) Fear of the Assyrians

Question 51

All of the following are features of the Hebrew religion except

A) respect for other religions and the freedom of the individual conscience.
B) a covenant between YHWH and the Hebrews.
C) an enormous amount of legal material.
D) a sacred, national history.
E) the belief that the Hebrews are the chosen people of God.

Question 52

The Persian idea of absolute kingship greatly affected which leader?

A) Thutmose II
B) Caesar
C) Alexander the Great
D) Ramses II
E) Cyrus I

Question 53

In its current form, the Hebrew Bible includes

A) the Torah or Pentateuch.
B) the historical books of the early prophets.
C) the books of the later prophets.
D) the writings (books of poems, proverbs, and wisdom literature).
E) All of these

Question 54

The key to Assyrian success was its

A) strong merchant fleet that controlled most of the Mediterranean trade.
B) ability to create an empire through economic alliances.
C) destruction of all defeated cultures.
D) religious and cultural tolerance.
E) massive military power.

Question 55

The present state of Israel was claimed by Jews based on what precedent in their past history?

A) Israeli military conquest of Palestine
B) As payment for the Babylonian Captivity
C) Given to Abraham for his faith by God
D) Passages from the Old Testament
E) As a result of the Holocaust

Question 56

The main role of the prophets was

A) fortunetelling.
B) exhorting the Hebrews to righteousness and devotion to God.
C) leadership of the Hebrew army.
D) political rule of Israel.
E) writing a secular history of the Jewish people.

Question 57

Which of the following does not describe the Ten Commandments?

A) They are more personal than Hammurabi's Code.
B) They were received by Abraham on Mt. Sinai.
C) They address the individual.
D) They set down what a worshiper should not do.
E) They regulate community life.

Question 58

Ugarit was destroyed by

A) David.
B) Phoenicians.
C) Saul.
D) the Sea Peoples.
E) Assyrians.

Question 59

The god of the Hebrews demanded

A) circumcision and ritual sacrifices only.
B) equality of men and women.
C) merciful treatment of the Canaanites.
D) worship, obedience, and a comprehensive and forceful system of laws.
E) Jews to worship their kings as representatives of God.

Question 60

The main achievement of Ugartic culture was

A) the alphabet.
B) cuneiform religious script.
C) epic poetry.
D) the first dictionary.
E) metal weapons.

Question 61

Use the map (or maps) referenced in each question for your answer. Using Map 2.1, compare the extent of the Assyrian and Persian Empires. What areas did both of them control in the course of their expansion? Where were the imperial capitals?

Question 62

The destruction of the Assyrians was the result of a coalition of the Medes and

A) Egyptians.
B) Phoenicians.
C) Neo-Babylonians.
D) Israelites.
E) Persians.

Question 63

Use the map (or maps) referenced in each question for your answer. On Map 2.2, locate the main historical sites in Hebrew history as discussed in the chapter. Consider the route of Abraham from Ur in Mesopotamia to Palestine, and of Moses leading the Hebrews out of Egypt. How far away from Jerusalem was Babylon, to which the Hebrews were deported?

Question 64

Use the map (or maps) referenced in each question for your answer. On Map 2.2, locate the present day locations of Israel, Palestine, Syria, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq.