Test #1 Flashcards
where is the fertile crescent
between the Mediterranean sea and the Persian Gulf
which geographical factor contributed most to the rich soil of Mesopotamia
silt
The river valleys of Mesopotamia not only supported agriculture. They also
provided transport and encouraged trade
The Mesopotamian religion, which identified nearly 3,000 gods and goddesses, can be described as
polytheistic
In addition to kings, who had great political power in Sumeria?
priests and priestesses
Wealth and economic power in Sumer was dictated mainly by
religion
Which of these innovations is Sumerian?
a # based on 60
An achievement of Sumerian culture was the development of the
wagon wheel
In construction, the Sumerians developed the
arch
The Sumerians were the first to make
bronze
The central meeting place in a polis was usually a hill called
acropolis
According to Aristotle, to whom did a citizen of a polis belong?
to the state
The new Greek military system, based on the use of hoplites, involved
heavily armed footsoldiers who marched into battle in tight formations, carrying large shields to protect them from the enemy.
The Greeks spread their culture throughout the ancient world by
leaving their homeland to establish distant colonies with good prospects in farming and trading.
Who supported the efforts of the Greek tyrants to control the city-states?
those who had used their skills in trade and industry to become wealthy
What did the people of Sparta do when they wanted to expand their city-state?
they conquered the neighboring colonies of Laconia and Messenia
who were the ephors
A group of five Spartan men who oversaw the education of the youth and all citizens’ conduct.
How did the Athenians react to the laws enacted by their leader Draco?
They gave full power to Solon, who canceled debts and freed those who had been enslaved for owing money under Draco
When Athens was an oligarchy, who were the people who served as its rulers?
aristocrats
How did Cleisthenes lay the foundations for democracy in Athens?
He created a council of 500 that proposed, debated, and voted on laws before enacting them.
Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus attempted to help the landless poor by…?
taking back land from large landowners.
What was the outcome of the Gracchus’s plan?
It caused instability.
To whom did Marius’s landless military recruits swear an oath?
the general
What was one effect of Marius’s new recruitment strategy?
sulla seized power in Rome
Julius Caesar was a member of the______
first triumvirate
How did the civil war between Caesar and Pompey end
Caesar defeated Pompey and was named dictator.
After Caesar’s death, Octavian and Antony…
fought control for Rome
In 31 B.C., at the Battle of Actium in Greece..
Octavian destroyed Antony and Cleopatra’s army.
After the defeat of Antony…?
Rome became an empire with Augustus as emperor.
Augustus changed Roman law, such that?
the emperor had direct control over the provinces
what contributed to Rome’s expansion
large fertile plains
Because Rome was built where the Tiber River was narrow ________
it was a natural place for travelers to cross
After 650 B.C., which group migrated south from Etruria and came to control Rome?
etruscans
What was one effect of the Etruscan influence?
Rome Transferred from a Village to a City.
The two orders of Roman society were known as the_____
plebians and patricians
Describe the plebeians
social class made up of craftspeople, merchants, and small farmers
the twelve tables were
Rome’s first system of law
Romans associated the Law of Nations with
natural or universal law
what sparked the first Punic war
Romes invasion of Sicily
What happened After the end of the Third Punic War?
Rome controlled the whole of the Mediterranean
What kind of government did the Roman Empire have under the Severan Rulers?
a military government
In the third century, the Roman Empire was invaded in the west by Germanic tribes and in the east by
sassanid Persians
Why would the Roman army hire Germans to fight as Roman soldiers?
Because the plague had killed so many people, there were not enough Roman men to satisfy the army’s need for soldiers.
Why did Diocletian divide the Roman Empire into four prefectures?
He believed the empire had grown too large for a single ruler.
Why did most jobs become hereditary during the reigns of Diocletian and Constantine?
To ensure the tax base and cope with a labor shortage, the emperors issued edicts that forced workers to stay in their jobs.
The social and political reforms of Diocletian and Constantine ___________.
were only temporarily successful
Which of the following statements about Constantinople is true?
It became one of the great cities of the world.
who were the Huns
a tribe of nomads from Asia who pushed the Visigoths into Roman territory
who was Romulus Augustus
the emperor deposed in 476
who were the vandals
a Germanic tribe that sacked the city of Rome in 455
who led the army that defeated the Ostrogoths in Italy
belisarius
What was Justinian’s most important contribution to western culture?
Codifying Roman law in The Body of Civil Law
Justinian rebuilt the city of _____________.
constantinople
This city was the chief center for trade between the east and west.
constantinople
Which of the following statements best describes the role of the Christian Church in the Byzantine Empire?
The Byzantines believed that God had commanded their state to preserve true Christianity.
What group challenged the Byzantine Empire by advancing into Asia Minor in the eleventh century?
turks
Who were Leo IX and Michael Cerularius?
They were the pope and patriarch who excommunicated each other in 1054.
What happened when the eastern Roman army was defeated by Islamic troops at Yarmuk in 636?
The Eastern Roman Empire lost the provinces Syria and Palestine.
How did the Macedonian emperors foster economic prosperity in the Byzantine Empire?
by expanding trade relations with western Europe
When the Byzantine emperor outlawed icons, how did the Catholic church in the west respond?
it condemned the act
