Whap chapter 3 review

1. Which of the following statements is true of second-wave empires? a. They imposed cultural uniformity on their subjects. b. They stimulated the exchange of ideas and cultures. c. They tended to coalesce peacefully among people who shared a common culture. d. They hindered economic development by devastating large territories.

The answer b. By bringing together people of different traditions and religions, second-wave empires stimulated the exchange of both cultures and ideas.

21. Which of the following statements is true of China's Qin dynasty? a. It united China, but its rule was so brutal that the dynasty lasted less than twenty years. b. It united China and ruled for about four centuries. c. It united China by creating a loose overlordship that tolerated diversity among its subjects. d. It ruled for a short time and then passed peacefully to the Han dynasty.

The answer is a. It was only the successor to the Qin, the Han dynasty, that succeeded in ruling China for four centuries. Qin Shihuangdi united China beginning in 221 B.C.E. and instituted centralizing policies that were so repressive that his dynasty collapsed by 206 B.C.E. in the reign of his son.

11. How did ancient Greece come to be unified? a. It was defeated by Macedonian king Philip II. b. Sparta defeated Athens in the Peloponnesian War. c. The Greek states joined together voluntarily to fight the Persian threat. d. Greece was only unified when the Romans conquered it.

The answer is a. Philip defeated a coalition of Greek states and unified the Greeks.

25. Which of the following statements accurately reflects Roman cultural attitudes? a. Many elite Romans regarded Greek culture as superior to their own. b. Romans displayed a cultural arrogance that assumed that everything non-Roman was "barbarian." c. Romans prided themselves on their warlike nature and largely dismissed literature, art, and other elements of high culture as effeminate. d. Romans actively sought to impose their culture on their subjects.

The answer is a. Romans admired Greek literature, philosophy, and art, and elite Romans received a Greek education.

17. Which of the following was a reason why Rome was transformed from being a republic to the rule of an emperor? a. Rome had acquired so much territory that republic government could no longer function. b. A charismatic leader rose whose conquests won so much territory that Rome made him emperor to govern it all. c. The senate, unable to govern Rome's large territory, chose an emperor from among themselves. d. The last consul of Rome simply failed to step down after his term of office ended, becoming emperor.

The answer is a. Rome's expansion led to violent upheavals, as a few men were enriched and many others impoverished, leading to civil wars and the eventual triumph of Augustus as the first emperor.

3. What was the ruling dynasty of the Persian Empire? a. The Achaemenid dynasty b. The Seleucid dynasty c. The Mauryan dynasty d. The Darian dynasty

The answer is a. The Achaemenid dynasty, founded by Cyrus the Great in 557 B.C.E., ruled Persia until Alexander the Great's conquest.

27. The major revolt that led to the fall of China's Han dynasty is known as the a. Yellow Turban Rebellion. b. Taiping Rebellion. c. Great Slave Rebellion. d. Great Buddhist Rebellion. .

The answer is a. The Yellow Turban Rebellion of 184 C.E. so badly undermined the Han dynasty that it soon fell

30. Why is Ashoka important to world history? a. He was the Han emperor of China who created China's civil service system. b. He was a Mauryan emperor, an enlightened ruler who tried to govern in accord with religious values. c. He was the last ruler of the Persian Empire. d. He was a Central Asian military leader whose invasion brought down China's Han dynasty.

The answer is b. Ashoka (268-232 B.C.E.) has been regarded as a model enlightened ruler of India, who tried to rule in accord with the moral teachings of both Buddhism and Hinduism.

10. Which Greek state practiced the most radical form of democracy? a. Macedonia b. Athens c. Sparta d. Corinth

The answer is b. Athens had the most radical democracy of any Greek state, giving full citizenship to the men of the poorer classes who provided rowers for her fleet.

23. Which of the following statements is true of both the Roman and the Chinese Empires in the early years of the Common Era? a. Both empires imposed a high degree of cultural uniformity on their subjects. b. Both empires claimed divine support to help sustain their rule. c. Both empires repressed foreign religious ideas. d. Both empires created an elaborate bureaucracy.

The answer is b. Both empires invoked supernatural sanctions, the Chinese emperors claiming to rule by the mandate of heaven while the Romans began to deify dead emperors.

19. The creation of this empire was regarded as a restoration of an earlier age of unity. a. Mauryan Empire b. Chinese Empire c. Roman Empire d. Persian Empire

The answer is b. China had been a unified state under the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties, only to fall apart in the Warring States period; the various states fought to reunify China, with the state of Qin eventually triumphing.

7. Which of the following statements is true of the ancient Greek concept of citizenship? a. The rights of citizens were most developed in Greece's overseas colonies. b. Greek ideas of citizenship varied over time and place, but on the whole, the Greeks gave an extraordinary public role to their citizens. c. Citizenship was open only to the wealthy, giving both elite men and women the right to speak and vote on public business. d. Citizenship was open only to wealthy men.

The answer is b. Different parts of Greece developed very differently politically, but all gave citizens the right to speak and vote on public business.

14. What is a consul? a. A Greek priest b. An elected Roman state executive c. A member of the Roman elite d. A Hellenistic king

The answer is b. In the Republic, Romans elected two consuls each to carry out the executive functions of government.

4. The god Ahura Mazda gave authority to the rulers of which empire? a. Qin b. Persian c. Roman d. Mauryan

The answer is b. The majority religion of Persia was Zoroastrian, and Ahura Mazda was the major god.

28. Which of the following statements is true of Indian civilization? a. It has often been politically fragmented but is united by a common culture. b. It is both politically fragmented and culturally diverse. c. It is culturally diverse but has usually united politically. d. Through history, it has usually been united both politically and culturally.

The answer is b. Through many centuries, Indian history has been shaped by its combination of political fragmentation and vast cultural diversity.

15. Who fought the Punic Wars? a. Greece and Persia b. Persia and Rome c. Rome and Carthage d. Persia and Carthage

The answer is c. Called "Punic" because of Carthage's Phoenician origins, this series of wars between Rome and Carthage cemented Rome's position as the great power of the Mediterranean world.

9. What victory over the Persians in 490 B.C.E. was touted as a great victory of Greek freedoms over Asian despotism? a. The Battle of Thermopylae b. The Battle of Issus c. The Battle of Marathon d. The Battle of Actium

The answer is c. Greece's victory over the Persians at Marathon in 490 B.C.E. helped shape the notion of an East/West divide.

20. This empire-builder's chosen name actually means "first emperor." a. Chandragupta Maurya b. Augustus c. Qin Shihuangdi d. Cyrus

The answer is c. Qin Shihuangdi literally means "first emperor from the state of Qin." It was the name assumed by the ruler who united China in the late third century B.C.E.

24. Which of the following statements is true of Roman citizenship in the imperial period? a. It was given only to people who had adopted Latin and other elements of Roman culture. b. It remained restricted to the people of Italy and only a few special allies of the Roman state. c. It gave legal status but did not mark cultural assimilation. d. The number of citizens gradually declined as Italians tried to maintain their privileges among the large number of non-Italians in the empire.

The answer is c. Roman citizenship was highly prized because it gave particular legal rights; it did not require a person to be culturally Roman.

12. What was the most important historical effect of Alexander the Great's conquests? a. He created a lasting empire that transformed Eurasian society. b. His conquest of China exposed the Chinese for the first time to European culture. c. His conquest allowed the widespread dissemination of Greek culture. d. His conquest led to a massive inflow of Persian culture into Greece.

The answer is c. Thanks to Alexander, Greek "Hellenistic" culture spread beyond the Mediterranean to Egypt, Mesopotamia, and India.

5. Of what empire was it said that "there is no nation which so readily adopts foreign customs"? a. Greek b. Mauryan c. Persian d. Roman

The answer is c. The Persians were very willing to adopt the customs both of the people they conquered and of their neighbors.

26. This second-wave empire created a civil service system that provided a special education for bureaucrats, complete with examinations and selection by merit. a. Roman Empire b. Persian Empire c. Greek Empire d. Chinese Empire

The answer is d. Emperor Wudi first established an imperial academy to train officials for the Chinese bureaucracy, thus beginning China's civil service system.

18. This second-wave empire for centuries maintained an "empire in disguise" that kept the appearance of government by the people while in reality being controlled by a single emperor. a. Mauryan Empire b. Persian Empire c. Chinese Empire d. Roman Empire

The answer is d. Growing out of the Roman Republic, for centuries Roman emperors—beginning with Augustus—maintained the form of a republican government while keeping the reality of power for themselves.

16. What is the name for the Roman head of household, the man who exercised absolute rights over his wife, children, and slaves? a. patrician b. mos maiorum c. patriarch d. pater familias

The answer is d. Literally meaning "father of the family," the pater familias was a head of household with sweeping rights over wife, children, and slaves, although his power eroded over time.

8. Why is Solon important to ancient history? a. He was the great reformer of the Roman state. b. He created the Persian Empire. c. He was the first Chinese emperor. d. He reformed the Athenian political system.

The answer is d. Solon's reforms vasty expanded Athens's democracy.

29. Which statement accurately describes the political philosophy of the Mauryan treatise called Arthashastra? a. It advocates brotherly love and care for neighbor as the key to successful political organization. b. It advocates careful subordination of inferiors to superiors and a sense of filial duty. c. It advocates using the moral system of Hinduism as the basis for the Mauryan state. d. It advocates that rulers ignore considerations of morality and act pragmatically to do whatever is best for the state.

The answer is d. The Arthashastra is pragmatic and even amoral in its recommendations that kings act as brutally as necessary for the common good

6. Which of the following best describes ancient Greece? a. It consisted of many city-states that usually were able to coexist peacefully. b. It consisted of a number of federated states, loosely ruled by a council of religious elders. c. It was a unified state, with its capital at Athens. d. It consisted of many city-states that were in frequent conflict but united by a common religion and language.

The answer is d. The Greeks enjoyed a growing sense of common cultural identity even though the larger city-states fought each other with depressing frequency.

22. This Chinese dynasty established the political patterns that continued to govern China until the twentieth century. a. Qin b. Xhou c. Tang d. Han

The answer is d. The Han dynasty built their state upon Confucian political principles, establishing political patterns that lasted into the twentieth century.

13. Which of the following statements is true of the Hellenistic states? a. They lasted only briefly before being swallowed up. b. They spread and furthered the democratic political principles of Greece. c. They quickly adopted the bureaucratic systems and languages of the regions they ruled. d. They were monarchies whose rulers rejected democracy.

The answer is d. The Hellenistic states were imperial states whose monarchs more closely resembled the kings of the peoples they now ruled rather than the political systems of Greece.

2. In 500 B.C.E., which of the world's empires was the largest and most impressive? a. Mauryan Empire b. Qin Empire c. Greek Empire d. Persian Empire

The answer is d. The enormous Persian Empire had somewhere between 35 and 50 million subjects and enormous territories, making it the world's largest and most impressive.