Early World History

Various tribal people who all spoke related languages derived from a common tongue and who eventually settled in Europe, Iran, and northern India are called . . .

Indo-Europeans

which of the following geographical statements about Egypt is TRUE?

Lower Egypt is the northern most part of the country

Which of the following WAS NOT one of the four Hellenistic kingdoms formed after the death of Alexander the Great?

Maccabbean Kingdom

Which of the following pairings of African Kingdoms with their geographic location is FALSE:

The Kingdom of Ife on the Island of Madagascar off the East Coast of Southern Africa

The Sumerian language belongs to which of the following world language families?

it is unrelated to any known language families

Roman citizenry divided itself into 2 classes of society called -

patricians and plebians

Which geographic area of Eurasia was the central homeland to the pre-agricultural culture known as the Natufians?

the Levant

What period of Egyptian history followed the expulsion of the Hyksos, the Semitic Shepherd Kings of Lower Egypt?

the New Kingdom

The primary providers of food for the family oriented hunter-gather clans and probable originators of the cultivation of plants were

women

Mystical Islam, which is a development of meditative thought and practices derived from influences of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Greek Philosophy, is called

Sufism

The ziggurat could first be found in cities built by this ancient people

Sumerians

All of the following statement about Alexander the Great are True, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: Alexander's campaigns across the Asian world lasted for over 20 years. IS: Alexander exported Greek culture throughout his newly formed empire, which created the Hellenistic Era IS: Alexander died from an unknown illness at the age of 33 IS: Alexander's personal tutor and mentor was Aristotle

All of the following statements concerning the Han Dynasty of China are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: Although the Han and Roman Empires reached their zenith around the same time and resembled each other in population size, China's empire was larger in territorial size IS: The Han Chinese invented the civil service examination system to select officials based on merit. The Han bureaucracy was staffed by educated men who were later called mandarins IS: The Han softened Legalism with Confucian humanism. This Han pattern of mixing power with ethics characterized the Chinese political system for the next 2,000 years. IS: In 2 C.E. the Han Empire contained at least 60 million people, and the Roman Empire ruled some 55 million. However most of the Han subjects lived in China, whereas the Romans were greatly outnumbered by their colonized populations.

When comparing Egyptian Civilization with those in Mesopotamia, all of the following are true, EXCEPT

**NOT**: Due in part to its vast river systems, the Mesopotamians had a more cohesive confederation of their city-states, enjoying internal trade via travel up and down the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers. IS: Egyptian cities were largely administrative centers that housed all the priests, artisans, and tax collectors that maintained the temples and Mesopotamian cities were large commercial centers. IS: Egyptian river valleys along the Nile were much narrower than those in Mesopotamia, therefore communities along the Nile were more spread out and isolated from each other. IS: Flooding patterns differed between the two regions - the Nile gave a slow, predictable flooding while the flooding of the rivers in Mesopotamia were very unpredictable and oft-times violent.

All of the following are tenets of the Five Pillars of Islam, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: Jihad, holy war against unbelievers or pagans IS: Hajj, pilgrimage to Mecca at least once in a lifetime IS: Shahada, testimony and declaration of faith IS: Salah, prayer 5 times a day.

All of the following personalities were key figures in the founding of Christianity, its expansion throughout the Roman Empire, and its eventual transformation into the State Religion of Rome, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: Peter IS: Constantine the Great IS: Saul IS: Jesus

All of the following statements regarding the Swahili City States of the East African Coast are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: Swahili city-states extended up and down the East Coast of Africa, from Mozambique in the North to Somalia in the South. IS: Swahili urbanism consisted of several hundred towns and about 2 dozen city-states with populations up to 10,000 people each. IS: By the end of the 9th century, Khariji Muslim traders trafficked in Black African slaves from both East and West Africa, which were in high demand in the Islamic Abbasid Empire for sugarcane and rice plantation laborers. IS: Swahili rulers and merchants had converted to Islam, but most of the villagers stayed faithful to their African spirituality.

All of the following statements regarding the African Kingdom of Aksum are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: The Kingdom of Aksum was founded along the shores of the White Nile in northern Sudan IS: The kingdom of Aksum adopted Christianity as tis state religion in 333CE, making it the 3rd Christian state in history, after Armenia and Georgia. IS: The Kingdom of Aksum became the principle supplier of African goods to the Roman Empire IS: The Kingdom of Aksum was the first Imperialist state in history to come out of Sub-Sahara Africa.

All of the following statements concerning the Mamluk Empire are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: The Mamluk Empire centered in the Western Mediterranean, which included Muslim states in Andalusia, Morocco, Algeria, and Tunisia. IS: The Sultan was the top of the Mamluk ruling class who controlled a military regime composed from a highly trained slave army IS: The Mamluks were ultimately defeated by the Ottomans and absorbed into their Empire IS: French Crusaders under Louis IX invaded in 1249 but were repelled by the Mamluks

All of the following statements concerning the Shang Dynasty of China are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: The Shang Dynasty was preceded by the Xia Dynasty, which was the first truly historically documented dynasty of China IS: The Shang were harsh task-masters who practiced human sacrifice of their slaves as part of their religious observances IS: The Shang are responsible for the introduction of bronze and the earliest porcelain craftsmanship into China IS: The Shang were a highly militaristic people who fostered a social hierarchy dominated by landowning aristocrats

The Classical Age of Greek history includes all of the following historical events, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: The Trojan Wars IS: The Peloponnesian Wars IS: The Persian Wars IS: Campaigns of Alexander the Great

All of the following statements regarding the African Empire of Mali are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: The founder of the Mali Empire was Mansa Musa, Mali's most famous ruler. IS: The source of Mail's power and wealth came from its gold fields as both Muslim and Christian nations were now minting gold coins. IS: After the Mali emperor annexed the Berber City of Timbuktu in 1324, the city became a commercial and scholarly hub of est. 100,000 inhabitants IS: The Mali Empire lasted for over 400 years and was the most enduring empire in Sub-Sahara Africa

All of the following statements concerning the beliefs and practices of Buddhism are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: The founder of the belief system known as Buddhism is attributed to Kung Fu-Tze IS: The Four Noble Truths teach that all life is suffering and that the only way to stop suffering is to stop craving. IS: The Eightfold Path embodies all the right views, speech, conduct and actions to help one eliminate craving and suffering. IS: When one fully escapes suffering through eliminating all desire, then can he achieve the epitome of enlightenment, Nirvana, or nothingness.

All of the following statements about the Meroe culture of Africa are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: The height of the Meroe Kingdom was the last two centuries BCE, as they declined after Ptolemaic Egypt fell to the Romans. IS: The Meroe kings were descended from the 25th Nubian Dynasty of Egypt. IS: Meroe farmers harvested sorghum, millet, wheat and barley IS: The British named Meroe the "Pittsburgh of Africa" due to its superior knowledge of iron working

All of the following statements concerning the Empires of India in the first millennium CE are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: The most significant ruler of the Mauryan Period was Emperor Chanddregupta Maurya who converted to Buddhism and sent his sons as Buddhist missionaries to Sri Lanka, introducing Buddhism outside India IS: The three dominant religions practiced on the Indian subcontinent were Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism IS: The Classical Age of the Indian Empires was the Gupta Period, when the religion of Hinduism flourished and became the dominant faith IS: India developed trade relationships with Rome, the Safavid Empire, China, and territories in Southeast Asia.

All of the following statements concerning the Zhou Dynasty are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: Zhou government dissolved political fragmentation and established a strong central government where the King ruled all provinces with supreme power IS: Peasants was the largest group of commoners and their superiors assigned them work and punished them if it was not done. Peasants were assigned houses, wore prescribed clothes to indicate their status, and had specified tax obligations. IS: Zhou Kings justified their authority to rule by introducing the concept called the Mandate of Heaven. IS: Zhou society was divided into aristocrats, commoners, and slaves. Most aristocratic families owned large estates that were worked by slaves

Which of the following cultural practices of Paleolithic societies is NOT correct?

**NOT**: construction of permanent domiciles Correct: carving stone "Venus" figurines of women as fertility amulets Correct: use of stone for tools and weapons Correct: intricate cave paintings of animals and hunting scenes

All of the following statements regarding the Aeneid are true, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: it was a political tool to further the power and status of Caligula as supreme ruler of Rome IS: The epic hero of the story, Aeneas, who eventually discovered Latium, was heralded as the son of the Roman goddess Venus. IS: it postulated a new founding myth for Romans that linked them to the Trojan Wars of the Iliad. IS: it was written by the Roman Poet Publius Vergilius Maro in the 1st century CE (AD)

Which of the following was NOT a technological advancement achieved during the Neolithic Age?

**NOT**: smelting of iron IS: invention of the wheel IS: domestication of plants and animals IS: discovery and control of fire

All of the following were theories concerning the causes for the Fall of the Roman Empire in the West, EXCEPT:

**NOT**: the appearance of Islam IS: the rise of Christianity IS: lead poisoning IS: invading hordes of non-Italians

Which of the following categories was NOT a section of jurisprudence in the Law Code of Hammurabi?

**NOT**: worshipping other gods IS: marriage disputes IS: business partnerships IS: treatment of slaves

The capital city of the Byzantine Empire was

Constantinople

This North African city-state was once a colony of the Phoenicians and became an Empire of the Mediterranean that challenged Rome in the Punic Wars

Carthage

Who is credited with building the foundation for Democracy in the Greek city-state of Athens?

Cleisthenes

The leader of the Qin Dynasty of China who instigated a harsh legalistic approach to government and began assassinating the Confucian thinkers of the overthrown Zhou Dynasty titled himself Shi Huangdi, which means

First Emperor

Which of the following epochs of human existence (est. 10,000 to 8,000 bce) is the transition period between hunting-gathering existence of humans and agricultural societies?

Mesolithic

Most Harappan cities were located in the region of modern-day

Pakistan

By what name do we call the time period of Roman History from 31 BCE to 180 CE, from Caesar Augustus to Marcus Aurelius?

Pax Romana

The first Empire builder was

Sargon the Great

Which of the following ancient Mediterranean peoples diminished the power of the Hitties and the Egyptians in the Levant around 1200 BCE?

Sea Peoples

According to the Hebrew biblical account, which of the following sequence of events is true?

Under Abraham Hebrews migrate to Palestine / Moses frees the Hebrews from slavery in Egypt / the Hebrew nation-state of Israel exists under a series of kings / Assyrians and Babylonians carry-off Hebrew captives to Mesopotamia

Harappan cities . . .

all shared common structural patterns

What was the main reason for the prosperity of the Greek city-states during the Archaic Period, circa 750 bce to 500 bce?

colonization and maritime trade

This Latin term describes the "wedge-shaped" writing system developed in Mesopotamia.

cuneiform

All of the following relationships were part of the 5 Cardinal Relationships promoted by Confucianism, EXCEPT:

friend and foe