The Ancient Near East : Peoples and Empires

Question 1

The Hebrew prophets :

Answer 1

were considered by the Hebrews to be the voice of Yahweh.

Question 2

The Hebrew Bible :

Answer 2

focuses on the basis theme of the necessity of the Hebrews to obey their God.

Question 3

The central, sacred text of Zoroastrianism is the :

Answer 3

Zend Avesta

Question 4

True or False

The first five books of the Hebrew Bible are known as the Pentateuch.

Answer 4

True

Question 5

The words of the Hebrew prophets :

Answer 5

• Promoted universalism by stating that all nations would one day worship the God of Israel
• Proclaimed that Israel would rise again from the ashes of conquest
• Advocated social justice by condemning the rich for mistreating the poor
• Encouraged a seperation between Jews and non-Jews

For the test the answer is : All of the above

Question 6

The greatest international sea traders of the ancient Near East were the :

Answer 6

Phoenicians

Question 7

True or False

The Persian “god” was Zoroaster, and the holy book of the religion was the Ahuramazda.

Answer 7

False

Question 8

Many scholars today :

Answer 8

doubt that the early books of the Hebrew Bible reflects the true history of the Israelites.

Question 9

Which of the following statements best describes the Assyrian government?

Answer 9

The king’s power was absolute; they were vicars of the Assyrian god Ashur

Question 10

Darius accomplished all of the following except :

• Building a canal that linked the Red Sea with the Mediterranean Sea.
• Conquering Egypt
• Creating a Persian province in western India
• Conquering Thrace
• Built a new Persian cattapult at Persepolis

Answer 10

Conquering Egypt

Question 11

True or False

The Medes and the Persians were both Indo-European speakers.

Answer 11

True

Question 12

The weakening of the Persian Empire was largely attributed to :

Answer 12

The kings hoarding of wealth and over taxation of their subjects.

Question 13

Nebuchadnezzar II accomplished all of the following except :

• The revision of the Persian law code
• Rebuilding Babylon
• Defeating the Assyrians
• Building the Hanging Gardens of Babylon
• Destroyed Judan and carried the population into exile.

Answer 13

The revision of the Persian law code

Question 14

Which of the following statements is not true of the Chaldean empire?

• Babylon was its great central city
• It was the longest-lasting of the great Near Eastern empires
• The Hanging Gardens were created in this time
• The people of the empire welcomed its fall to the Persians
• Nebuchadnezzar II was its most successful ruler

Answer 14

It was not the longest-lasting of the great Near Eastern empires.

Question 15

All of the following are correct about Byblos except :

• It was an Egyptian commercial center
• It was a Phoenician port city
• It was a distribution center for Egyptian papyrus
• The Greek word for book is derived from its name
• It was located in ancient Palestine

Answer 15

It was not an Egyptian commercial center.

Question 16

Assyrian kings organized their empire more effectively by :

Answer 16

were middlemen in the international trade of the era.

Question 17

Solomon’s most revered contribution to the Hebrew society was to :

Answer 17

construct the Temple, the symbolic center of the Hebrew religion and society.

Question 18

The Phoenicians’ contributions to the ancient Near East included all but :

• The founding of the colony of Carthage
• A simplified alphabet and system of writing
• The establishment of trading stations througout the Mediterranean
• Their defeat and destruction of the Hebrew’s twelve tribes
• Distributed Egyptian papyrus throughout the Mediterranean

Answer 18

Their defeat and destruction of the Hebrew’s twelve tribes.

Question 19

True or False

The historian of The Persian Wars was Herodotus.

Answer 19

True

Question 20

The Persian army :

Answer 20

was a professional army that depended on mercenaries.

Question 21

Hebrew monotheism had a spiritual legacy that included :

Answer 21

Christianity and Islam.

For the test the answer is A & B

Question 22

All of the following are true of the Hebrew conception of God except :

• He was the creator of but not an inherent part of nature
• All peoples of the world were subject to him
• That he would punish those not following his will
• There was no room for personal relationships with him, as his word was law
• He was a just and good God

Answer 22

There was no room for personal relationships with him, as his word was law.

Question 23

Assyrian society was well known for its :

Answer 23

assimilation of other cultures and developments of a polyglot society.

Question 24

All of the following were Assyrian kings except for :

• Sennacherib
• Ashur
• Ashurbanipal
• Tiglath-Pileser
• Shalmaneser III

Answer 24

Ashur was not an Assyrian king

Question 25

Which of the following was not a part of the Persian military?

• calvary
• infantry
• Praetorian Guard
• immortals
• navy

Answer 25

The Praetorian Guard was not part of the Persian military.

Question 26

True or False

Nebuchaznezzar rebuilt the city of Nineveh, making it the Persian capital, and there he erected the Ishtar Gate, which opened on to the Triumphal Way.

Answer 26

False

Question 27

True or False

Like most other empires in the ancient world, the Assyrians refused to mix their conquered peoples with the native Assyrians and instead kept those who were conquered isolated and seperated from each other and from the Asysrian rulers.

Answer 27

False

Question 28

True or False

As in many other societies, most Hebrews believed that polygamy was the preferred form of marriage.

Answer 28

False

Question 29

Which of the following was not part of the Hebrew religious tradition?

• The law
• The revelation
• The covenant
• The prophets
• Monotheism

Answer 29

The revelation

Question 30

The Assyrian army was able to conquer and maintain an empire due to its :

Answer 30

ability to use diversified military tactics.

Question 31

The Persian king who undertook an invasion of th Greek mainland in the early fifth century was :

Answer 31

Darius

Question 32

The destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. and the Babylonian Captivity of the Hebrews occured at the hands of the :

Answer 32

Chaldeans

Question 33

Which of the following statements concerning the Persian kings is false?

Answer 33

The king’s palace demonstrated the international flavor and wealth of the empire.

Question 34

Zoroastrianism :

Answer 34

stressed the free will and power of humans to choose between good and evil.

Question 35

True or False

Cyrus the Great, the founder of the Persian Empire, was a member of the Achaemenid dynasty.

Answer 35

True