History 2210-30, Offline
World Civilizations to 1600
Taft College, Fall 2008
Jennifer L. Altenhofel, PhD
jaltenhofel@taft.org
661.763.7700
Course Goals
This course surveys World History from the emergence of human beings through the
Renaissance. Topics will include the River Civilizations, Greece, Rome, China, India,
and Southeast Asia, Islam, Early American Civilizations, Africa, and the emergency of
Europe.
Required Reading
Judith G. Coffin and Robert C. Stacey, Western Civilizations, Vol 1, 16th Edition, WW
Norton, 2008. ISBN: 978-0-393-93097-9
You will need the above book for this course. It can be rented from the Taft College
bookstore.
Course Requirements
Chapter Discussions (15 @ 20 points each)
Topical Chronologies (3 @ 20 points each)
Quizzes (4 @ 40 points each)
Final Exam
Total
300
60
160
100
620
Policy on Academic Fraud
Taft College will not accept or tolerate instances of academic fraud or plagiarism among
its students or faculty. Falsifying data, sources or experimental results, submitting others'
work as if it was yours, presenting the words or ideas of others without full and
appropriate citation, and cheating on exams are all instances of academic fraud. Students
who knowingly commit any of these offenses may ((1) receive a failing grade in the
course and (2) documentation of the event will be provided to the Vice-President of
Student Services, Vice-President of Instructional Services and Director of Distance
Learning.
Plagiarism, copying or initiating the language, ideas and/or thoughts of another author
and passing them off as one's original work.--This means do not copy words, phrases or
ideas from a website, book or other print media without quoting and citing the work.
There is no need to research for exams or essays outside of the course materials.
Fraud, deceit, trickery, sharp practice or breach of confidence by which it is sought to
gain some unfair or dishonest advantage. (American College Dictionary, Random House,
1964)
Students who may be unsure as to whether or not their writing or other work may
constitute academic fraud should seek the advice of their professor prior to formal
submission or presentation. Plagiarism and academic fraud are the most serious of
offenses, but they are easily avoided with a modicum of care and forethought.
Chapter Discussions
For each chapter, answer all of the focus questions presented at the beginning of the
chapter. Answer these thoroughly and completely. You are graded on the use of specifics
in your answer, your presentation and interpretation of the larger concepts and your
ability to thoroughly answer the issues addressed in the questions. Remember to answer
every aspect of each question. Reading responses should be turned in to the LRC, TCI
Instructional Staff or via e-mail to me.
Discussions for Chapters 1-2 are due by September 19, 2008.
Discussions for Chapters 3-6 are due by October 17, 2008
Discussions for Chapters 7-9 are due by November 14, 2008.
Discussions for Chapters 10-15 are due by December 11, 2008.
Do not use information from the web or other books to answer these questions. This
is plagiarism and constitutes cheating. This means do not copy words, phrases or ideas
from a website, book or other print media without quoting and citing the work. There is
no need to research for exams or essays outside of the course materials. Please review the
following material regarding plagiarism.
Topical Chronologies
Throughout the term you will create three chronologies that correspond to the following
topics of your choosing. You must do three different chronologies.
The topics include
Politics
Wars
Religion
Economics
Society and Culture
International Relations.
You will create a chronology (similar to those in the text, for example see chronology of
the Ancient Near East just before chapter one) using three of the topics above. Your
chronology should look very similar to the one in text except you need only include 20
items for each chronology. Do not repeat a topic but choose a different topic for each of
your chronologies. The chronologies should cover the chapters specified below with the
topic of your choosing.
Chronology 1: Chapters 1-6: due October 30, 2008
Chronology 2: Chapters 7-11 due November 24, 2008
Chronology 3: Chapters 12-15 due December 11, 2008
Quizzes and Examinations
The quizzes and final exam are multiple-choice format. The final exam is comprehensive;
this means the exam covers the material from the entire course. Practice quizzes are
attached to this syllabus.
The first quiz covers chapters 1-2 and must be taken by September 19, 2008.
The second quiz covers chapters 3-6 and must be taken by October 17, 2008.
The first quiz covers chapters 7-9 and must be taken by November 14, 2008.
The Final exam covers chapters 10-15 with some comprehensive questions and must be
taken by December 11, 2008.
History 2210-30, World Civilizations to 1600
Quiz 1, Practice
Chs 1-2
1. To the peoples of the ancient world, the characteristic manifestations of civilization—
government, literature, science, and art—were necessarily products of:
a. rural life.
b. city life.
c. religious life.
d. the Ice Age.
2. Why was life expectancy in early cities shorter than among nomadic hunter-gatherer peoples?
a. The carbohydrate-rich diet was less nutritious, and cramped housing in the cities resulted
in increased chance of accident, smoke inhalation from fires, and increased exposure to
infectious diseases.
b. The success of the cities and their stored supplies of food attracted attack from outside,
chiefly by nomadic peoples.
c. The process of in-home burial led to an increase in contagious disease.
d. Food was often portioned out according to social class and sex, resulting in an inadequate
diet for women and the poor.
3. Human cultures down to the fourth millennium B.C.E. are referred to as belonging to the Stone
Age because they:
a. made most of their tools out of stone.
b. built urban structures primarily with stone.
c. used rocks and stones as weapons.
d. lived in caves.
4. Cave paintings, such as those found in Lascaux, France, are evidence of:
a. development of a stratified society.
b. development of permanent settlement.
c. development of language as well as religious and artistic ideas.
d. development of a priestly class.
5. Before 11,000 B.C.E., virtually all human societies were:
a. engaged in settled agriculture to produce crop surpluses for the gods.
b. able to use metal tools for arts, crafts, and building.
c. using men to do the hunting and women the gathering.
d. nomadic, moving incessantly in search of limited food.
6. Since human beings in the Paleolithic period had no domestic animals:
a. great disparities developed in individual wealth.
b. they could be easily ruled by tribal kings.
c. they practiced a policy of “divide, defeat, and conquer.”
d. they had no significant wealth beyond what they could carry.
7. The switch from subsistence by food gathering to food production:
a. required people to give up their faith in storm and wind gods.
b. was a momentous revolution that made stable settlements possible.
c. meant that women were no longer part of the labor force.
d. was inconsistent with raising domesticated animals as livestock.
8. Jericho, one of the world’s oldest villages, emerged as a seasonal settlement around:
a. 11,000 B.C.E.
b. 9,000 B.C.E.
c. 6,500 B.C.E.
d. 4,000 B.C.E.
9. The initial shift from village to city inhabitation took place in Mesopotamia, known to the Greeks
as “The Land Between the Rivers” and to modern historians as .
a. Israel
b. Akkad
c. Sumer
d. Egypt
10. Why was Sumer an uninviting environment for the first cities?
a. The area has no natural defenses.
b. The soil is infertile and the rivers flood unpredictably.
c. The marshy land between the rivers was fertile breeding ground for malaria and other
deadly diseases.
d. The rivers are largely unnavigable during long periods of the year, making trade difficult.
11. Although early writing was produced using pointed sticks, Sumerian scribes c. 3100 B.C.E.
advanced writing with durable reeds that:
a. almost anyone could use to produce simple documents.
b. allowed the production of clay tablets without costly baking.
c. were exclusively used by the priest class.
d. produced wedge-like script called cuneiform.
12. Tens of thousands of Sumerian clay tablets have survived:
a. but unfortunately the key to the language has not.
b. documenting the United Sumerian Empire, which lasted from 2900 to 2500 B.C.E.
c. telling us more about Sumer than we know about any other human society at the time.
d. probably because the Sumerians kept them in special underground archives.
13. Temples were central to Sumerian city life because:
a. they controlled a large proportion of land.
b. they employed the largest number of men, women, and children.
c. they dominated local and foreign trade.
d. All of the above.
14. The common religion of the Sumerians:
a. was an early form of monotheism that influenced other peoples.
b. required city-states to settle their differences peacefully.
c. guaranteed free food for the poorest members of society.
d. included 1,500 gods, with specific patron deities for each city-state.
15. Slavery in Sumerian society was:
a. based on the color of a person’s skin.
b. strictly forbidden by the Code of Hammurabi.
c. often the result of capture during war, and limited in some ways.
d. perpetual, with no chance for the slaves to gain their freedom.
16. An individual who successfully led the city-state’s army in battles was:
a.
b.
c.
d.
known as a tyrant and feared by freedom-loving citizens.
able to acquire prestige and power as a lugal (“big man”).
associated with distant countries where the gods supposedly lived.
watched by priests to see if he had magical powers of government.
17. Although the Epic of Gilgamesh can be considered the world’s first great literary masterpiece:
a. historians have not been able to reconstruct an exact version of the story as it was read in
ancient Sumer.
b. there was not actually a king in ancient Sumer named Gilgamesh.
c. the story tells us more about ancient Persian society than it does about ancient Sumer.
d. the epic is largely derived from stories in the Hebrew Bible.
18. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, the dramatic confrontation between the demi-god Humbaba and the
warriors Gilgamesh and Enkidu illustrates:
a. that a powerful lugal owes no allegiance to the gods.
b. that rural life is superior to urban life and “civilization.”
c. the deep distrust Sumerians felt toward the natural world.
d. the Sumerian attitude that the gods will reward those who do their bidding.
19. Shortly before 3000 B.C.E., people in the Near East discovered that bronze could be produced by:
a. applying advances in Sumerian mathematics and astronomy.
b. heating copper to extremely high temperatures in pottery furnaces.
c. combing copper with iron.
d. combining copper metal with arsenic or tin.
20. During the early dynastic period (2500–2350 B.C.E.), Sumerian city-states:
a. elected their rulers (lugal) for five-year terms.
b. concentrated on temples and stopped building new roads, bridges, and forts.
c. gave commoners privileges so that they would not fall into debt slavery.
d. constructed lavish tombs for their priests and members of the aristocracy.
21. Sargon of Akkad (c. 2350 B.C.E.) is significant because he:
a. was the first lugal to conquer neighboring city-states.
b. subdued Sumer and campaigned from Ethiopia to the Indus Valley.
c. built observatories and introduced the more accurate Akkadian calendar.
d. sent ambassadors to distant lands ranging from Ethiopia to Europe.
22. The Akkadian rulers of Sargon and Naram-Sin:
a. presided over the “Dark Age,” when foreigners dominated Akkad.
b. were glorified bandits who had little interest in culture.
c. wiped out the Sumerian religion and replaced it with their own.
d. ruled from cities and kept their empires through conquest and commerce.
23.
was the first king to launch wars of aggression in the name of his primary god.
a. Sargon
b. Ur-Nammu
c. Hammurabi
d. Djoser
24. Hammurabi’s empire was founded on:
a. a policy of terror.
b. constant warfare.
c. complex trade networks.
d. political strategy and diplomacy.
25. The Law Code of Hammurabi:
a. used religious language to unite the disparate provinces of Hammurabi empire.
b. included every member of Babylonian society.
c. was propagandistic in purpose.
d. created a classless society in Babylonia, freeing talented people from all walks of life to
advance the economy.
26. The civilization that emerged in ancient Egypt arose:
a. as a part of the Old Babylonian empire.
b. at the same time as that of ancient Sumer.
c. significantly later than that of ancient Sumer.
d. significantly earlier than that of ancient Sumer.
27. Historians typically divide ancient Egyptian history into to facilitate the discussion of Egyptian
politics and culture.
a. intermediate eras
b. predynastic societies
c. pharaohs
d. kingdoms and periods
28. Egyptian society:
a. was highly stratified with an influential middle class.
b. consisted of a tiny minority of royalty and nobility and a majority class of the poor,
including peasants and artisans.
c. was dependent upon a large and heavily oppressed slave class.
d. was a powerful patriarchy in which women had little participation.
29. Which of the following is not true regarding women in Egyptian society?
a. They could assume pharaonic authority.
b. They could own property.
c. They could stand before the courts as individuals without male representation.
d. They could practice sexual freedom.
30. By 3,100 B.C.E., the rivalry in Egypt between had become extreme, and each area had its own
political organizations and religious preferences.
a. city and country
b. ocean and desert
c. upper and lower kingdoms
d. Egypt and Sumer
31. The Egyptians developed elaborate tombs and burial techniques:
a. to preserve their sacred cats in the harsh desert climate.
b. following the example of the Hebrews and other nomadic people.
c. because they believed deceased people would be reincarnated as animals.
d. to provide the dead with all they would need in the afterlife.
32. The Egyptian system of hieroglyphics was:
a. deciphered by Champlain using the Rosetta Stone.
b. a popular version of the more complex cuneiform.
c. used until the invention of printing with movable type.
d. not written on papyrus because it was too expensive.
33. The important administrator of the pharaoh Djoser who initiated pyramid building in the “step”
style was:
a. Imhotep.
b. Khufu.
c. Cheops.
d. Khafre.
34. The great Pyramids of Giza, built in the Fourth Dynasty, were:
a. used for athletic events, concerts, and political rallies.
b. lost in the desert sands and unknown to the Greeks.
c. a good supply of building stone for Rome and Carthage.
d. constructed by thousands of peasant workers who were not slaves.
35. Before entering an enjoyable afterlife, the deceased Egyptian supposedly:
a. would be judged by Osiris and other divine judges.
b. confessed all sins.
c. had to buy access to heaven with offerings to the gods.
d. had to build a pyramid, large or small, according to social status.
36. The Egyptian “Book of the Dead” contains:
a. lists of prominent persons who died each year.
b. funeral regulations for members of the royal family.
c. evidence of the culture’s obsession with gloom and doom and death.
d. magic spells, formulae, and incantations needed in the afterlife.
37. The Egyptian concept of ma’at:
a. or “size,” meant that temples and palaces had to be very large.
b. is equivalent to the English “human rights.”
c. was a male god who made the universe move forward in time.
d. includes ideas of harmony, order, justice, and truth.
38. The Egyptians made notable advances in:
a. mathematics.
b. science.
c. military technology.
d. measuring time.
39. Which period saw Egypt expand its borders, abandon its isolationism, and change its ideal of
pharaoh from a god to a “good shepherd?”
a. The Old Kingdom.
b. The Middle Kingdom.
c. The First Intermediate Period.
d. The Second Intermediate Period.
40. Which comparison between Egypt and Mesopotamian civilizations is false?
a. Both underwent a melding of religious and political leadership.
b. Both engaged in massive building projects.
c. Both enjoyed significant political and cultural interactions.
d. Both civilizations developed an inward focus resulting in relative isolation.
41. During the Late Bronze Age (1500–1200 B.C.E.) in the ancient Near East, the two great imperial
powers were:
a.
b.
c.
d.
New Kingdom Egypt and the Hittite empire.
New Kingdom Egypt and classical Greece.
the Sumerians and the Egyptians.
the Hebrews and the Canaanites.
42. During the first millennium B.C.E.:
a. bronze slowly replaced iron as the primary component for tools and weapons.
b. iron slowly replaced bronze as the primary component for tools and weapons.
c. scholars from India to Ireland used the Sanskrit language in academic treatises.
d. Anatolia lost influence and was no longer a major player in Near East politics.
43. In 1786 Sir William Jones, an expert in oriental studies, suggested that:
a. Mesopotamian civilization died out because of drought.
b. out of respect for the dead, ancient sites should not be excavated.
c. bones found in Anatolia matched those of an Egyptian mummy.
d. ancient Greek and Sanskrit descended from a common, Indo-European linguistic source.
44. “Indo-European,” as used in historical or anthropological texts, refers to:
a. someone whose parents belong to different races from India and Europe.
b. linguistic and cultural patterns found in India, the Near East, and Europe.
c. the inhabitants of the strip of land connecting Asia and Europe.
d. the view that Hindus and ancient Goths had much in common.
45. The people that settled in Anatolia around 2000 B.C.E. and built a powerful, militaristic kingdom
there over the next four hundred years are known as the:
a. Philistines.
b. Assyrians.
c. Babylonians.
d. Hittites.
46. The culture of the Hittites was:
a. hindered by their lack of writing.
b. preserved for posterity by the Cassettes.
c. based on ideas borrowed from the Hebrews.
d. strongly militaristic, prone to attacks on other peoples.
47. Hattusilis’s grandson and successor, Mursilis I, expanded his family’s Bronze Age kingdom by:
a. satisfying the demands of the warrior nobility, who became Mursilis’s greatest ally.
b. annexing the neighboring kingdom of Babylon and using it as a base of operation.
c. sacking the fabled city of Babylon and collecting its riches.
d. negotiating with the Egyptians and signing a formal peace treaty with them.
48. Prior to the coming of the Hyksos, the ancient Egyptians:
a. regarded their country as the secure center of the cosmos.
b. were pessimistic about finding happiness in the afterlife.
c. spent vast sums on armies and fortresses for defense.
d. refused to trade with other peoples of the Near East.
49. The Mitannians introduced lighter chariots to carry archers, but:
a. they were not strong enough to defeat Assyria.
b. their opponents soon copied them and used protective armor.
c. they could not negotiate effectively with Hittites and Egyptians.
d. the Kingdom of Israel defeated them anyway.
50. During the Hyksos period in Egypt (17th–16th centuries B.C.E.):
a. foreigners took over government in northern Egypt and acted like pharaohs.
b. the invaders maintained their connections with the Aegean, Syria, and Palestine.
c. weakened government in the south lost control of Nubian (present-day Sudan).
d. All of the above.
51. The New Kingdom, particularly the Eighteenth Dynasty, was marked by:
a. a return to traditional values of peaceful rule and indifference to the world.
b. the ultimate triumph of the Hyksos and the fall of the Egyptian empire.
c. the failure of Pharaoh Amuse to control his military forces.
d. the peak of Egyptian cultural achievement, and political and military power.
52. When Thutmosis II died young, his sister/queen Hatshepsut:
a. ordered a lavish tomb built for her brother/husband, later known as “King Tut.”
b. shared power with the new pharaoh, Thutmosis III, and ruled the country.
c. disguised herself as a man with a beard and went into hiding.
d. went into retreat in the Valley of the Kings.
53. Thutmosis III was remarkable for:
a. his attempt to obliterate the memory of his Horus-Ra predecessors.
b. changing the Egyptian religion from polytheism to monotheism.
c. military campaigns in Palestine, including the capture of Armageddon.
d. ruling over Egypt, Palestine, Anatolia, Iraq, and Iran.
54. The division of property and wealth in New Kingdom Egypt:
a. favored the pharaoh, the officer class, and the temples of the gods.
b. guaranteed employment for all, from soldiers to peasants and artisans.
c. led to discontent among the masses and calls for reform.
d. was among the most generous of all ancient civilizations.
55. The priests at the greatest Egyptian temple complexes at Thebes:
a. were discredited by their association with the hated Hyksos.
b. required believers to approach on their knees and beg forgiveness.
c. received special favor from the Eighteenth Dynasty, who worshipped Amon-Ra.
d. supported Amenhotep IV's religious reform program.
56. As part of his religious reform, Amenhotep IV changed his name to Akhenaten and:
a. emphasized his father’s manner of devotion.
b. founded a new capital called Akhenaten (the modern city of el-Amarna).
c. sponsored artwork that depicted the new pharaoh as a masculine god in the shape of a
falcon-headed man.
d. constructed the Great Pyramid at Gaza as a memorial to his family.
57. When Akhenaten died and was succeeded by Tutankhamen:
a. the new pharaoh rejected his predecessor’s beliefs and changed his name.
b. the priests of among knew their cause was hopeless.
c. Egypt had a leader who could preserve its imperial power.
d. the Hebrews took advantage of the opportunity to flee Egypt.
58. By the fourteenth century B.C.E., international relations were marked by:
a. suspicions and hostility: states wanted as little contact as possible.
b. strictly limited trade in essential goods only: grain, oil, wine, and salt.
c. feelings of brotherhood between the Hittites and the Assyrians.
d. diplomatic standards, polite forms of address, gifts and alliances.
59. The “self-conscious cosmopolitanism” of the Late Bronze Age:
a. refers to women’s liberation from traditional family values.
b. included the adoption of hieroglyphics across the known world.
c. developed as ancient cultures actively exchanged goods and ideas.
d. was resisted by the coastal towns of Sidon and Byblos.
60. The system of writing developed by the citizens of Ugarit:
a. combined Egyptian hieroglyphics and Mesopotamian cuneiform.
b. used an alphabet of about thirty symbols for the consonants.
c. was hopelessly inefficient for the needs of trade.
d. constituted a secret language used by diplomats and spies.
61. “Aegean civilization” was long thought to have been:
a. lost to barbarian conquests in northern Africa.
b. the legendary or prehistoric component of Greek civilization.
c. invented by Virgil, Lucretius, and other ancient poets.
d. an aspect of Egyptian foreign policy and colonization.
62. Heinrich Shipman and Sir Arthur Evans:
a. were archaeologists who dug up Troy, Mycenae, and Knossos.
b. refused to accept the historical character of Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey.
c. argued that the Greeks had taken all their ideas from African cultures.
d. discovered the source of the annual flooding of the Nile.
63. The Minoans:
a. engaged in trade, not piracy, to obtain needed goods.
b. were civil servants in a redistribute economy, not warriors.
c. wrote tablets in Linear B to record their economic transactions.
d. can be identified as non-Greek allies of the Hittites and Egyptians.
64. Around 1200 B.C.E., an inscription by Pharaoh Ramses III records:
a. the end of the Late Bronze Age and the first use of iron.
b. an Egyptian victory over the “Sea Peoples,” invaders from the North.
c. drastic measures because of overpopulation, food shortages, and war.
d. the terror felt by the kings of Ugarit and Alashiya.
65. The Phoenicians’ greatest contribution to civilization was:
a. their alphabet.
b. a green dye made from seaweed.
c. printing blocks with movable type.
d. a faster sailing ship with triangular sails.
66. Members of the group known in the Hebrew Bible (Old Testament) as the Philistines:
a. were descended from the Egyptians.
b. had friendly relations with the Hebrews.
c. brought grapevines and olive trees to the Levant.
d. had no contact with the Mycenaeans or the Greeks.
67. The Hebrew Bible is an unparalleled historical source that describes the cultural practices and
theological development of the Hebrew people. However, most historians believe that:
a. the biblical stories are essentially unique to the Hebrews, with no parallels in other Near
Eastern societies.
b. few historical events actually happened as they are described in the text.
c. the Bible’s composite nature means that each biblical book should be analyzed within its
particular context.
d. the Hebrew people never really struggled with the Canaanites.
68. In the book of Judges, the Hebrew people:
a. begin to settle and organize themselves into twelve tribes.
b. build a magnificent temple to the Lord in Jerusalem.
c. receive detailed laws on marriage, divorce, property, etc.
d. are ruled by kings who pay tribute to the Assyrians.
69. During the eleventh century B.C.E., the Hebrews united:
a. under the leadership of Samuel and Saul.
b. with the Phoenicians to drive out the Philistines.
c. to form a great empire that ranged from Egypt to Persia.
d. their forces to overthrow kings Saul, David, and Solomon.
70. King David’s rule was significant in establishing:
a. the principle of monarchy: in God’s eyes, whatever a king does is right.
b. the idea of Israel as a unified nation, fulfilling God’s promises.
c. Israeli claims to rule over the East Bank of the Jordan.
d. an empire that dominated its neighbors for centuries.
71. The Hebrew cult of Yahweh emphasized:
a. miracles, healing, and worship at local tabernacles.
b. obedience to all earthly rulers as agents of God.
c. self-sacrifice and living in retreat in the desert.
d. the protective covenant between God and his people, helping transcend the old divisions
between Israel and Judah.
72. The highlight of King Solomon’s reign was the building of a great temple complex at Jerusalem,
but the downside of this activity was:
a. the mysterious disappearance of the Ark of the Covenant.
b. a series of disastrous wars against Hiram, the Phoenician king of Tire.
c. the unification of northern and southern kingdoms.
d. a highly unpopular system of taxation and forced labor used to pay for the temple.
73. The division of the ancient kingdom of Israel was:
a. provoked by Solomon’s oppressive regime.
b. a result of Solomon’s decision to cut the “baby” in half.
c. in response to popular demands to revive Baal-worship.
d. God’s way of protecting the faithful from foreign aggression.
74. Influenced by their long struggle to survive, the Assyrians:
a. tried to appease their neighbors’ demands for food and land.
b. refused to share their advanced culture and political system.
c. created a multicultural union of civilized states.
d. acted very aggressively toward other peoples.
75. Assurbanipal, King of Assyria, has the distinction of:
a. acquiring a deserved reputation for cruelty and savagery.
b. being a heretic who turned away from traditional Assyrian religion.
c. losing the decisive battle that ended Assyrian dominance.
d. establishing a great library to collect Mesopotamian culture.
76. The Assyrian king:
a. also served as chief priest of the Assyrian religion.
b. was in constant conflict with the chief priests of the Assyrian religion who used their
power over the people to challenge the powers of the ruling class.
c. did not act as a military leader, but as a god.
d. was chosen from a band of select warriors rather than being a hereditary position.
77. The defeat of the Assyrians and destruction of Nineveh in 612 B.C.E. was:
a. the work of Medes from Iran and Chaldeans (neo-Babylonians).
b. fortunate for subject peoples, who were finally freed from oppression.
c. attributed to a loss of popular confidence in Assur.
d. commemorated by sculptures and plaques in the palace wall.
78. Unlike other rulers, Cyrus of Persia (559–529 B.C.E.):
a. introduced metallic coinage in Asia Minor.
b. took the Hebrew people into captivity in his capital city.
c. lost a great empire to the barbarian tribes of central Asia.
d. allowed self-rule and religious freedom to conquered peoples.
79. The accomplishments of King Darius of Persia included:
a. recruiting foreign mercenaries for his armies.
b. building roads for transport and postal service.
c. extending Persian rule over Greece and the Aegean.
d. capturing the bandits that had terrorized Persepolis.
80. The followers of Zoroastrianism believed in:
a. polytheism, animal sacrifice, and magical rituals.
b. Ahura-Mazda (truth/light) struggling with Ahriman (evil/darkness).
c. individual guardian angels who protect believers and punish wrongdoers.
d. public cult worship sponsored by the Persian government.
History 2210-30, World Civilizations to 1600
Quiz 2, Practice
Chs 3-6
____ 1.
Although Dark Age Greece is largely undocumented and therefore difficult to
study thoroughly, it seems clear that:
a. the population of mainland Greece rose steadily throughout the period.
b. early Greeks had no developed concept of heroic ideals or epic poetry.
c. early Greeks had little interest in religion or the gods.
d. early Greeks were economically stagnant and cut off from other Near Eastern civilizations.
____
2. The Homeric epics describe:
a. the wars between the Greeks and Persians.
b. the wars between Athens and Sparta.
c. the origins of the Olympic games.
d. the capture of Troy by the Greeks.
____
3. Homer’s poetry describes a world in which:
a. the traditional Greek gods are no longer visible or accessible.
b. there are no social distinctions in Greece, and men are judged by their combat skills alone.
c. warrior aristocrats reinforce social ties through hospitality and gift-giving.
d. the Greek people are largely united, and only fight rival ethnic groups.
____
4. The Greeks became literate again during the ninth century B.C.E. by adopting:
a. cuneiform script from the Assyrians.
b. Egyptian hieroglyphics.
c. the Phoenician alphabet.
d. the Hebrew alphabet.
____
5. By the sixth century B.C.E., Greeks founded numerous colonies around the Mediterranean basin.
Where were the most historically significant colonies located?
a. France and North Africa
b. Anatolia and Italy
c. Syria and the Black Sea
d. Egypt and Palestine
____
6. After Hoplites were introduced in Greece:
a. the Dark Age ended, and the Age of Enlightenment began.
b. aristocrats lost their monopoly on military prowess.
c. foot soldiers could not withstand armed men on horses.
d. individual soldiers did not have to keep armor and weapons.
____
7. A Greek aristocrat who seized power and ruled outside the traditional constitutional framework
was called:
a. a monarch.
b. a demagogue.
c. a Hoplite.
d. a tyrant.
____
8. Lyric poetry from Archaic Greece:
a.
b.
c.
d.
____
ignores or even mocks traditional military virtues and heroism.
expresses the individual feelings of the poet.
expresses romantic longing and sexual desire.
All of the above.
9. The origins of Greek democracy can be identified, in part, in the rule of the Athenian aristocrat:
a. Nylon.
b. Solon.
c. Darken.
d. Hectares.
____ 10. Calisthenics is important in the history of Athenian government because he:
a. defeated Sparta in a series of brilliant naval campaigns.
b. rejected the practice of ostracism, which allowed Athenians to banish a citizen for ten
years.
c. championed the cause of the demos and took steps to limit the power of aristocrats.
d. defeated Persia at the Battle of Marathon.
____ 11. Sparta:
a. required all citizens to do manual labor, in order to preserve equality between them.
b. depended on the enslaved labor of helots.
c. relied on an elite, professional, mercenary army.
d. relied upon its navy for self-defense.
____ 12. The “Ionian revolution in thought” can best be described as:
a. communism.
b. cynicism.
c. relativism.
d. philosophical universalism.
____ 13. The decisive Greek military victory over the Persians at Salamis was won by:
a. the Athenian fleet.
b. the Spartan phalanx.
c. the Greek Hoplites.
d. All of the above.
____ 14. During the second Persian War, Themistocles persuaded his fellow Athenians to:
a. invade and attack Persian settlements deep within Anatolia.
b. abandon naval defensive schemes and rely on ground-based forces.
c. temporarily suspend democratic government and be ruled by a military dictator.
d. abandon the city of Athens and let the Persians burn it.
____ 15. Drama in classical Athens was transformed when:
a. Aeschylus introduced additional characters and a chorus to stage presentations in order to
present human conflict and conversation.
b. Aristotle encouraged playwrights to set aside traditional epics and tragic works for
political satire.
c. Aristophanes introduced Greek tragedy, designed to inspire the emotions of pity and fear.
d. Herodotus constructed the first amphitheater with seating benches and a stage for
performers.
____ 16. According to the historian Thucydides, the Peloponnesian war began:
a. as a way to permanently remove the Persian threat from the Aegean Sea.
b. because of the growing power of Athens, and the fear and envy this inspired in Sparta.
c. to facilitate the expansion of Athens into Syracuse (Sicily).
d. because Athens failed to support the Delia League.
____ 17. Socrates’ most famous pupil was:
a. Pythagoras.
b. Plato.
c. Aristotle.
d. None of the above.
____ 18. Hubris is:
a. excessive pride, which was punished by the gods.
b. excessive wealth, which was punished by the gods.
c. excessive strength, which was punished by the gods.
d. excessive wrath, which was punished by the gods.
____ 19. The relationship of the Greeks to their gods was:
a. one of trust and familial loyalty.
b. one of suspicion and appeasement.
c. an impersonal relationship that cultivated independence in the Greek people.
d. a personal relationship with gods who were considered to be positive forces in Greek
culture and individual welfare.
____ 20. Why didn’t Sparta benefit more from its victory in the Peloponnesian War?
a. Sparta had no interest in an empire.
b. Persia quickly defeated Sparta.
c. Sparta alienated the other Greek cities by trying to dominate them.
d. Sparta was a land power with no navy.
____ 21. During the Corinthian War (395–387 B.C.E.), Sparta fought against:
a. Thebes, under the leadership of Epaminondas.
b. Persia, under the leadership of Darius III.
c. Macedonia, under the leadership of Philip II.
d. an alliance comprised of Athens, Argos, Corinth, and Thebes.
____ 22. The Theban Sacred Band was:
a. an elite military unit composed entirely of same-sex male couples.
b. a priestly caste.
c. a group of helots.
d. a religious orchestra active in early Greek drama.
____ 23. During the economic decline of Greece in the fourth century B.C.E.:
a. former soldiers often worked as mercenaries, who disrupted the household-based culture
of the Greek poleis.
b. Greek artists created sculpture that was increasingly idealized and dignified.
c. Greek drama reached its peak under the leadership of Sophocles, Aeschylus, and
Euripides.
d. prices declined and taxes were lowered, allowing state treasuries to accumulate substantial
surpluses.
____ 24. Plato’s primary philosophical concern was:
a. to explain change.
b. the doctrine of Ideas or Forms.
c. political life in the context of free will.
d. the problem of evil.
____ 25. As outlined in The Republic, Plato’s ideal form of government is best described as:
a. a democracy.
b. a republic.
c. an aristocracy.
d. a meritocracy based on intelligence.
____ 26. Aristotle believed that:
a. the only true reality lies in unchanging Forms.
b. only matter exists, and so Forms are the creation of human minds.
c. Forms shape matter toward specific purposes.
d. the human mind cannot understand the order of the universe, and so should concentrate
only on human concerns.
____ 27. Aristotle argued that good conduct is virtuous conduct, and virtue resides in aiming:
a. to separate the mind from the body and its pursuits.
b. to live a contemplative life in seclusion.
c. for the golden mean.
d. to involve all people (men and women) in the political life of the polis.
____ 28. Whereas Plato conceived of politics as a means toward living the good life, Aristotle regarded
politics as:
a. an end in itself.
b. irrelevant to the true purposes of human life.
c. a hindrance to contemplation, which is the true end of life.
d. an essential attribute of being human, in which both women and men should participate.
____ 29. Philip II of Macedon’s early success had much to do with his:
a. early experiences in the Athenian navy.
b. reorganization of the Macedonian army.
c. understanding of the Persian phalanx formation.
d. single-minded desire to conquer Athens and subject it to one-man rule.
____ 30. Macedonian military reforms under Philip II most closely resemble earlier such reforms
undertaken by:
a. Thebes.
b. Sparta.
c. Athens.
d. Persia.
____ 31. The leading political figure urging Greek resistance to Macedonian expansionism under Philip II
was:
a. Xenophon.
b. Socrates.
c. Demosthenes.
d. Plato.
____ 32. To control his newly created empire, Alexander constructed:
a. Greek-style cities.
b. a new road system.
c. an innovative administration.
d. a postal and messenger service.
____ 33. All of the male rulers of Macedonian Egypt took the name:
a. Antigones.
b. Alexander.
c. Ptolemy.
d. Seleucus.
____ 34. The most important cultural center in the Hellenistic world was:
a. Alexandria.
b. Athens.
c. Memphis.
d. Jerusalem.
____ 35. To highlight their authority and status in the former Persian Empire, Seleucid rulers:
a. spent most of their wealth on expensive building projects and capital improvements.
b. rejected Buddhist traditions and introduced Islamic reforms.
c. minted coins containing practical advice and realistic portraits.
d. acted like divinities and emphasized their distance from everyday people.
____ 36. The Aetolians and Achaean Leagues differed from previous Greek attempts at political
organization between poleis because:
a. they represented a real political unification, with some centralization of government
functions.
b. they were military rather than true political alliances.
c. they required their members to contribute taxation to a common fund.
d. they included Macedonian cities.
____ 37. Why did autocratic rulers in the Hellenistic world encourage manufacturing industries?
a. Manufacturing trade goods slowed the development of harbors, roads, and canals.
b. Manufacturing distracted local and foreign rivals from aggressive military campaigns.
c. Manufacturing increased international trade revenues and therefore taxation and tariffs.
d. Manufacturing brought in exotic goods that were previously unavailable in the ancient
world.
____ 38. What similarities did Stoicism and Epicureanism share?
a. An emphasis on individualism, materialism, and universalism.
b. The presumption of an orderly, purposeful universe.
c. A tendency toward escapism and political disengagement.
d. All of the above.
____ 39. The ____________ believed that the cosmos is an ordered whole in which all contradictions are
resolved for ultimate good.
a. Epicureans
b. Stoics
c. Theban Sacred Band
d. Aristotelians
____ 40. During the Hellenistic period, Mithraism broke off from Zoroastrianism and emphasized:
a. rejection of this world and devotion to the sun.
b. the membership of educated elites and aristocrats.
c. non-emotional responses to the problems of this world.
d. the death and resurrection of a god named Dionysus.
____ 41. In comparison to classical Greek art, Hellenistic art became:
a. more standardized and predictable.
b. more of a commodity to be bought and sold.
c. more directly an expression of civic pride.
d. more critical of social inequalities.
____ 42. Aristarchus of Samoa was unusual among Hellenistic astronomers because:
a. he believed that the earth revolves around the sun.
b. he believed that the sun revolves around the earth.
c. he used a telescope to make astronomical observations.
d. he worked in Alexandria rather than Athens.
____ 43. Homophiles of Chalcedony was an innovative ____________ in the ancient Hellenistic world.
a. architect
b. astronomer
c. physician
d. anatomist
____ 44. Hellenistic cosmopolitanism differed from Persian and Roman cosmopolitanism because:
a. it was a product of individualism, not autocracy.
b. it did not depend upon a shared, common language.
c. it was cultural rather than linked directly to a particular imperial power.
d. it was restricted to seaports along the Mediterranean coast.
____ 45. Rome was a crucial factor in the development of European civilization because:
a. Latin is the root of all modern European languages.
b. Rome connected Europe to the cultural heritage of the Near East.
c. Rome rejected Greek traditions and established more equitable democratic institutions.
d. Roman drama and epic literature surpassed what had been created earlier.
____ 46. Virgil’s Aeneid built on Homer’s epic literature by:
a. emphasizing the superiority of Greek bronze statues.
b. predicting that Rome would be a lawless society ruled by warrior kings.
c. connecting Roman history to the heroic narrative of the Trojan War.
d. prophesying that through Jesus Christ Rome would be saved.
____ 47. One way that the Romans were influenced by the Greeks was by:
a. deciding to outlaw political parties and revenge killings of opponents.
b. observing the many Greeks who lived in Sicily and southern Italy.
c. welcoming Philip II of Macedon as “savior of the Greeks.”
d. taking in thousands of Greek refugees from religious persecution.
____ 48. Which legend explains the end of the Roman monarchy and the founding of the Republic?
a. The tale of Romulus and Remus, nursed by a she-wolf.
b. The allegory of the cave dwellers who never see the light of day.
c. The rape of Lucretia.
d. The legend of brave Horatio at the bridge.
____ 49. The division between Roman patricians and plebeians was:
a. between older and younger elements of the population.
b. between the wealthiest (2 percent) and the rest (98 percent) of the people.
c. not a factor when soldiers were needed for the army.
d. written into the laws, a legal form of discrimination.
____ 50. After a plebeian rebellion in the early fifth century B.C.E.:
a. social divisions between patricians and plebeians were abolished.
b. the patricians accepted the elected tribunes and written laws.
c. Live wrote a history from the Plebs’ point of view.
d. the chief conspirators were arrested and exiled to Africa.
____ 51. The equestrian order (Roman knights) was established when:
a. plebeians complained of limited opportunities for social advancement.
b. the army wanted to ensure a steady supply of cavalry officers.
c. soldiers demanded recognition for bold deeds in warfare.
d. businessmen who did not become senators wanted privileges.
____ 52. Traditional Roman religion included ancestor worship and:
a. major gods who resembled those of the Egyptians and Hebrews.
b. séances to recall the spirits of the dead.
c. oligarchs who played dual roles as priests and politicians.
d. an elaborate system of rewards and punishments after death.
____ 53. Once the Romans had effectively gained control of Italy (265 B.C.E.):
a. they set about standardizing weights and measures, coinage and taxation.
b. they built a commemorative pyramid in the Forum of Rome.
c. they started a series of wars for control of the western Mediterranean.
d. they conquered Ptolemaic Egypt.
____ 54. Why did the Romans regard Carthage as a threat?
a. The Carthaginian Empire in Sicily and Spain was encroaching on Rome.
b. Carthage was a Phoenician colony and could call for help from Lebanon.
c. Carthage commanded the vast resources of Saharan Africa.
d. The Carthaginians had already conquered Egypt, Palestine, and Syria.
____ 55. Since the Romans employed slaves for all forms of manual labor:
a. slaves were treated better in Roman civilization than other ancient cultures.
b. small farmers found agriculture both profitable and satisfying to their ideals.
c. women had little to do and became more dependent on their men folk and slaves.
d. no industrial revolution took place, and urban underemployment was common.
____ 56. In On the Nature of Things Lucretius argued that:
a. the gods did not create or govern the universe and there is no immortal soul.
b. men must trust in the wise, all-knowing gods, who have a universal plan.
c. one should understand that we are the crown of creation, the end of evolution.
d. humans must separate mind from matter and accept that all things must pass.
____ 57. The greatest Roman Stoic, Cicero, believed that:
a. through Christianity Roman virtue might be transformed into a new system of social
ethics.
b. Greek philosophy should be replaced with the ideals of republican Rome.
c. true happiness comes when one withdraws totally from public life and politics.
d. virtue leads to happiness, and peace of mind is the highest goal.
____ 58. When Julius Caesar adopted Octavian as his heir:
a. Octavian was the most experienced general, best qualified to rule Rome.
b. everyone hoped for a peaceful transition from uncle to grandnephew.
c. Octavian had to fight his rivals and kill his republican opponents.
d. Mark Antony and Cleopatra committed suicide rather than share power.
____ 59. The Augustan system of government:
a. was essentially a dictatorship, resulting in the disbandment of the Senate.
b. is known as the early empire or Participate, because Octavian ruled as first citizen.
c. minimized the role of the army and discouraged military expansion.
d. was socially progressive and rejected traditional Roman morality.
____ 60. Roman law consisted of three branches: civil law, natural law, and:
a. divine law.
b. the law of war.
c. the law of peoples.
d. criminal law.
____ 61. The Romans were a military society almost from the moment they settled in Italy because:
a. they were used as a slave army by the Etruscans.
b. they were continually forced to defend their own conquests against invaders.
c. they gained their power by becoming a large mercenary force for hire.
d. they had been a colony of Sparta.
____ 62. The “fall” of the Roman Empire in the fifth century A.D. has been much exaggerated because:
a. Discretion essentially ended Roman civilization in 284 A.D.
b. many Roman institutions continued to function after the triumph of German-speaking
invaders.
c. late antiquity did not begin until the seventh century A.D.
d. Christianity was never adopted as the state religion of Rome.
____ 63. Which sentence best describes the historical concept of “late antiquity” introduced in Chapter 6?
a. Late antiquity is defined by the triumph of Christianity in the Roman world, broad cultural
assimilation, and the influence of “barbarian” culture.
b. Late antiquity is characterized by the continuing influence of Greek, Roman, and Near
Eastern cultural motifs in Europe.
c. Late antiquity represents the triumph of stoic philosophy in the late Roman Empire.
d. Late antiquity is basically a synonym for middle ages, the period stretching from the birth
of Christ to the death of Discretion.
____ 64. When high culture is “watered down” for a wider public, the process is called:
a. an alphabetization.
b. hydrolysis.
c. political incorrectness.
d. vulgarization.
____ 65. Realizing that the Roman Empire had become too large for a single ruler to control it:
a. Constantine divided the empire in half, trusting a junior colleague to rule the western part.
b. Constantine built a new capital city named Constantinople in Palestine.
c. Discretion divided the empire in half, trusting a junior colleague to rule the western part.
d. Discretion resigned his position as emperor and encouraged the development of regional
republics.
____ 66. Economic reforms introduced by the early fourth century Roman Empire included:
a. a single paper currency that could be used throughout the empire.
b. legislation allowing agricultural and urban workers to change their jobs.
c. further cutbacks in military spending to meet the budget.
d. wage and price controls fixed by the government.
____ 67. According to Chapter 6, it is probably best to assume that:
a. Jesus was a historical figure described by numerous first century sources.
b. Jesus was a real person but Pontius Pilate and high priest Caiphas were probably literary
characters.
c. the existence of Jesus cannot be established; it is a matter of faith alone.
d. Paul was a companion and disciple of Jesus.
____ 68. Which statement best describes the position of the Sadducees in Palestine during the first century
C.E.?
a. The Sadducees believed that religious law pertained primarily to the temple priesthood.
b. The Sadducees rejected the authority of the Romans and refused their assistance in
selecting a new temple high priest.
c. The Sadducees believed in life after death and a system of individual rewards and
punishments.
d. The Sadducees were among the first and most enthusiastic converts to Christianity.
____ 69. Which statement best describes the position of the Pharisees in Palestine during the first century
C.E.?
a. The Pharisees believed that religious law pertained primarily to the temple priesthood.
b. The Pharisees rejected the authority of the Romans and refused their interference in
selecting a new temple high priest.
c. The Pharisees believed in life after death and a system of individual rewards and
punishments.
d. The Pharisees were among the first and most enthusiastic converts to Christianity.
____ 70. What point was in dispute between the Arians and the Euthanasias?
a. Whether Jesus was of the same being and substance as God the Father.
b. Whether human beings can earn a heavenly reward through good works.
c. Whether communion bread and wine really change into Christ’s body and blood.
d. Whether Jesus died to save all human beings, or only those of the master race.
____ 71. What were the general results of the doctrinal quarrels of the early centuries?
a. Many new churches and sects were started, increasing public understanding.
b. Believers had to be either with the church or against it on every issue.
c. Regional antagonisms were reduced as people concentrated on big questions.
d. The dogmas of the Christian Church gradually became fixed.
____ 72. In terms of organization, the fourth-century Christian church was:
a. based primarily in Jerusalem, the eventual residence of the pope.
b. essentially an underground movement, with few organized meetings, councils, or
ecclesiastical offices.
c. more defined in hierarchical terms, with a clergy distributed among patriarchs, bishops,
priests, and deacons.
d. increasingly organized, with important roles for previous outcasts such as women, slaves,
and Jews.
____ 73. The roots of the papacy lie in:
a. the imperial order of Constantine at the Council of Nice.
b. a passage from the New Testament Gospel of Matthew.
c. the Greek practice of nominating a patriarch to administer a city.
d. the general agreement among fourth-century bishops that one leader should speak for the
western church.
____ 74. St. Benedict’s monastic rule differed from St. Basil’s rule:
a. because it required monks to live in communities, not as isolated hermits.
b. because it required sexual chastity of all monks except the abbot.
c. because it emphasized the value of work.
d. because it was less austere and more moderate in its demands for monastic life.
____ 75. During late antiquity, attitudes toward women changed in Roman society because:
a. Christians asserted that their bodies belonged not to the state but to God.
b. as Rome’s power faded more children were needed to man the empire’s armies.
c. negative Greek stereotypes about the body and sexuality were finally fading.
d. St. Jerome taught that Christians should not marry.
____ 76. Romans regarded the Germans as barbarians because:
a. Germans were nomads, who lacked settled agriculture.
b. Germans were foreigners, unknown to the Romans until the fourth century C.E.
c. German society was illiterate, and Germans did not live in cities.
d. Germans had no interest in trade, only in plunder.
____ 77. The traditional date for the fall of Rome is:
a. 284 C.E., when Discretion reorganized the empire.
b. 410 C.E., when Alaric sacked the city of Rome.
c. 476 C.E., when Advancer toppled Emperor Romulus Augustus.
d. 526 C.E., when Emperor Theodore died.
____ 78. Boathouse’s most famous work was entitled:
a. The City of God.
b. The Consolation of Philosophy.
c. The Institutes.
d. The Vulgate.
____ 79. Why did Justine’s reconquest of the western Roman Empire fail?
a. Justine codified Roman law, which made a permanent merger impossible.
b. Western Christians no longer felt kinship with eastern Christians, and they fought against
Justine from within.
c. The costs associated with conquering and defending the vast western empire was too
great.
d. Constantinople fell to Persian invaders and brought an end to the eastern Roman Empire.
____ 80. When Diocletian took power:
a. he declared support for Christianity and echoed Constantine’s program of toleration to
strengthen his empire.
b. he followed Augustus’ image of princeps rather than domus to alleviate fears of his
imperial ambition and worked along side the senate and military to at least give the
illusion of a republican government.
c. he shamelessly elevated his own family and friends to prestigious offices and used his
power over the military to keep the empire in check.
d. he isolated himself from ordinary business and people and introduced an eastern style of
rule, wearing a diadem and purple robes.
History 2210-30, World Civilizations to 1600
Quiz 3, Practice
Chs 7-9
1. The seventh century C.E. was a turning point in the history of western civilizations because:
a. the entire Mediterranean world converted to Christianity.
b. the Greco-Roman world of antiquity divided into Byzantine, Islamic, and Latin Christian
realms.
c. trade connections between North Africa and the Near East were ruptured by the Islamic
conquests.
d. All of the above.
____
2. It is difficult to date the beginning of Byzantine history with precision because:
a. Constantine never administered the Roman Empire from Constantinople.
b. Greek was the only language ever used by Roman emperors in Constantinople.
c. the Byzantine Empire was the uninterrupted successor of the Roman Empire.
d. Justine resisted new forms of thought and art throughout his life.
____
3. Between 610 and 1071, the major security threats to the Byzantine Empire came from:
a. Persia, then Egypt.
b. Persia, then the Umayyad and the Abbasids.
c. Persia, then the Turks.
d. Persia, then the Slavs.
____
4. The Byzantine economy in the Early Middle Ages was:
a. highly regulated, including wage and price controls.
b. subject to wild fluctuations due to currency debasement.
c. industrially underdeveloped.
d. renowned for its use of paper money.
____
5. Early Byzantine religion was known for its:
a. intense interest in matters of doctrine and orthodoxy.
b. beautifully decorated churches.
c. rejection of the emperor as the leader of the church.
d. ability to enforce religious doctrine throughout the eastern empire.
____
6. The Iconoclastic Controversy of the eighth century C.E. was about the:
a. use or prohibition of images in church, where people might worship the objects.
b. Emperor Leo’s decision to stop wearing the toga, the symbol of imperial manhood.
c. the impossibility of smashing all the pagan idols, so some were allowed to remain.
d. biblical laws forbidding “the work of Satan” on Sundays.
____
7. Although the Iconoclastic Controversy was eventually resolved, its lasting effects included:
a. the sale or handing over of Byzantine portraits to the Muslims.
b. the destruction of nearly all pre-eighth-century religious art in the Byzantine Empire.
c. the adoption of conservative clothing styles by nobles and common people.
d. the gradual acceptance of religious diversity in the East.
____
8. Women from wealthy Byzantine families:
a. did not receive classical educations, since they were destined for domestic life.
b. could read but were not allowed to write history, novels, or poetry.
c. were educated at home by tutors, and some became literary figures of note.
d. were encouraged by parents to become actresses and singers like the Empress Theodora.
____
9. The Byzantine church of Santa Sophia was influential in the history of architecture because it:
a. was constructed in a way that made light appear to come from directly above.
b. placed a massive dome on a building with a square shape.
c. was highly innovative in its external appearance and marble embellishment.
d. was the first Christian church converted into a mosque.
____ 10. In the late sixth century C.E., the economy of Arabia:
a. was in a state of crisis brought on by the wars between Byzantium and Persia.
b. became much more commercially sophisticated as a result of changing trade routes.
c. was still almost entirely made up of nomadic Bedouins.
d. was based on the production of figs, wool, and goats at desert oases.
____ 11. The Harrah (Hegira) refers to the prophet Muhammad’s move from:
a. Medina to Mecca.
b. Mecca to Quadratic.
c. Mecca to Medina.
d. Quadratic to Mecca.
____ 12. The word Islam means:
a. pilgrimage.
b. migration.
c. submission.
d. recitation.
____ 13. In their worship of Allah, Muslims worship:
a. the prophet Muhammad.
b. the angel Gabriel.
c. the same omnipotent deity worshipped by Christians and Jews.
d. a pantheon of gods.
____ 14. The Qumran contains:
a. the revelations sent by God to Muhammad.
b. Christian teaching about Christ’s divinity.
c. excerpts from the Hebrew Torah.
d. a detailed plan for the expansion of Islam after Muhammad’s death.
____ 15. In comparison to the Umayyad, the Abbasid caliphate:
a. was more like a Byzantine successor state.
b. adopted more of the style of Persian royal absolutism.
c. moved its capital from Baghdad to Damascus.
d. All of the above.
____ 16. The Arabian Nights describes the extravagant behavior of the Abbasid caliph:
a. Ali.
b. Utahan.
c. Al-Hakims II.
d. Heron al-Rushed.
____ 17. Charlemagne and Heron al-Rushed formed an alliance partially because of their shared enemy,
the:
a. Umayyad.
b. Persians.
c. Byzantines.
d. Sunnis.
____ 18. The overall unity of the Muslim world disintegrated during the tenth and eleventh centuries
because of:
a. a special tax levied on Jews and Christians.
b. failures among the Umayyad rulers of Spain.
c. ethnic tensions among Arabs, Turks, Berbers, and Persians.
d. economic problems and a stagnating intellectual life.
____ 19. Muslim art is most strikingly different from the Byzantine, Persian, and Hellenistic models upon
which it drew:
a. because Muslims did not utilize the dome or the arch in the architecture.
b. because Muslims did not construct mosaics, regarding them as sinful luxuries.
c. because Muslim art did not portray the human body.
d. because Muslim art does not employ the rich colors of these earlier artistic traditions.
____ 20. Compared to medieval Europe in the eleventh and twelfth centuries, the Islamic world was:
a. less diverse ethnically.
b. largely united politically.
c. more advanced in technological sophistication, science, and philosophy.
d. less advanced in technological sophistication, science, and philosophy.
____ 21. The gradual conversion of the early medieval European countryside to Christianity was carried
out primarily by:
a. kings, whose armies ordered non-Christians to convert or leave Europe.
b. lay missionaries commissioned by the pope.
c. Frankish bishops seeking to enlarge their dioceses.
d. monks who founded new monasteries in frontier areas.
____ 22. Why were so many convents (monastic houses for women) founded during the seventh century
C.E.?
a. Convents met a variety of social and spiritual needs for aristocratic families.
b. Lower-class women flocked to convents as an improvement on the drudgery of their lives.
c. Nuns were the only women allowed to become priests.
d. Convents were a way for the families that founded them to make money.
____ 23. The key figure in creating an alliance between the Carolingian family, the papacy, and
Benedictine monasticism was:
a. Clovis.
b. St. Martin of Tours.
c. Charlemagne.
d. St. Boniface.
____ 24. As a Christian king responsible for ruling a Christian society, Charlemagne:
a. was careful to observe the distinctions between religious and political authority established
by St. Augustine of Hippo.
b. placed the Frankish church under the control of the pope, while he ruled the kingdom
politically.
c. took responsibility for reforming the religious life of his kingdom just as he reformed its
government.
d. became a monk at the end of his life, thus ensuring his own salvation.
____ 25. A major source of mechanical power in medieval Europe after 1050 was the:
a. four-wheeled cart, which was pulled by horse or oxen.
b. water mill, which was used to grind grain, crush paper pulp, and press oil.
c. windmill, which was used primarily to process cloth.
d. steam engine, which was used to produce cloth goods.
____ 26. The two fundamental factors driving the high medieval European economy were:
a. population growth and an increasingly efficient market for goods.
b. long-distance trade and investments in church building.
c. technological innovations in agriculture and new styles of ships that could carry more.
d. newly discovered precious metal deposits and the resulting inflation.
____ 27. Despite the potential advantages of the manorial system, ____________ played the dominant role
in creating it.
a. peasants
b. serfs
c. lords
d. kings
____ 28. Serfs were treated like slaves in parts of medieval Europe with the following major exception:
Unlike slavery:
a. serfdom was not hereditary.
b. serfs could not be fined by their lords.
c. serfs could not be tried in local “manorial” courts.
d. serfs could not be sold apart from their historic lands.
____ 29. During the High Middle Ages, fields were rotated over a ____________ cycle to increase overall
agricultural production 50–67 percent.
a. twelve-month
b. two-year
c. three-year
d. seven-year
____ 30. The rotation of crops ensured:
a. insurance against loss from natural disasters.
b. new types of food.
c. spread labor evenly over the course of the year.
d. All of the above.
____ 31. During the eleventh century, the most spectacular developments in long-distance trade took place
in:
a. northern Italy.
b. the North Sea.
c. the Rhineland.
d. Sicily.
____ 32. Although money lending was an important factor in the success of early Italian merchant activity:
a. the western Christian church condemned the practice as usurious.
b. Saint Bonaventura thought all merchants were beyond God’s favor.
c. high medieval towns prospered primarily due to the traditional landed aristocracy.
d. the papacy refused to borrow money in the Middle Ages.
____ 33. Major towns and cities in the High Middle Ages:
a. grew exponentially after the agricultural and trade improvements of the age.
b. sustained their population only through continuous immigration from the countryside.
c. were built of stone and were largely impervious to fire.
d. were grimly aware of crowd diseases and emphasized proper sanitation where possible.
____ 34. The expansion of the Byzantine Empire during the tenth and early eleventh centuries was assisted
by:
a. Christian missionary activity in Russia and the Balkans.
b. Christian missionary activity among the Abbasids.
c. Muslim opposition to commerce.
d. the First Crusade.
____ 35. When Alexius Conenose asked for western help against the Seljuk Turks, he was hoping for:
a. a crusading army that would recapture Jerusalem.
b. a large army of foot soldiers to drive the Turks from Anatolia, the Byzantine heartland.
c. a force of heavily armored knights to deploy against the lightly armored Turkish cavalry.
d. a group of Norman mercenaries to serve as his palace guard.
____ 36. Which of the following was NOT a goal Pope Urban II expressed for the First Crusade?
a. To establish peace at home by sending violent knights abroad.
b. To capture Jerusalem.
c. To reunite the Byzantine and Latin Christian churches under the command of the pope.
d. To slay Christ’s enemies wherever they could be found, especially Jews and Muslims.
____ 37. When preaching the First Crusade, some churchmen in Western Europe offered crusaders:
a. sainthood as a reward for military service.
b. a well-equipped flotilla of ships for their transport across the Mediterranean.
c. true accounts of the atrocities committed by Muslims in the East.
d. a plenary indulgence, promising that those who died would immediately go to heaven.
____ 38. The First Crusade:
a. strengthened Byzantine control over trade in the eastern Mediterranean.
b. weakened Byzantine control over trade in the eastern Mediterranean.
c. disrupted Byzantine trade along the Silk Road to China.
d. had little impact on Byzantine trade, because the Crusaders were primarily motivated by
religion, not commercial gain.
____ 39. The Crusades marked a fundamental turning point in the relationship between:
a. Byzantium and Western Europe.
b. the Islamic world and the Byzantine Empire.
c. the Islamic world and Western Europe.
d. All of the above.
____ 40. During the Fourth Crusade of 1201–1204, the Venetian navy:
a. sacked Constantinople and returned with an enormous booty.
b. finally broke through Muslim defenses and reclaimed Jerusalem.
c. transported Richard the Lionheart and Frederick Barbarous to the Holy Land.
d. attacked Jewish settlements in Cologne and Spire.
____ 41. Between 1000 and 1300 in Western Europe:
a. social mobility increased and social inequality decreased.
b. social mobility decreased and social inequality increased.
c. social mobility and social inequality both increased.
d. social mobility and social inequality both decreased.
____ 42. Courtly love emphasized the ennobling effect of:
a. the love of his lord by a vassal.
b. the love of a noble woman upon a knight.
c. the love of a knight upon a noble woman.
d. human love, regardless of the social class of the lovers.
____ 43. By 1300, nobles in Western Europe enjoyed all of the following luxuries EXCEPT:
a. glass windows.
b. private bedrooms with their own fireplaces and chimneys.
c. stone castles.
d. forks used as table utensils.
____ 44. Self-governing elites most frequently developed in areas of Western Europe where:
a. royal authority was either weak or nonexistent.
b. kings founded new cities and gave them special charters.
c. bishops were effective feudal lords over the cities in their area.
d. None of the above.
____ 45. William the Conqueror was politically innovative in that he:
a. claimed England in the name of the Roman papacy.
b. rewarded his Norman followers with cash payments rather than English land.
c. used the highly centralized English administrative authority combined with the feudal
structures of France.
d. negotiated an advantageous peace agreement with King Harold of England without
resorting to physical violence.
____ 46. King Henry II’s important dispute with Archbishop Thomas Becket was related to:
a. the preaching of indulgences before the First Crusade.
b. the authority of the Catholic Church in matters relating to faith.
c. the process of electing or “investing” archbishops in England.
d. who ultimately had legal jurisdiction over priests and church courts.
____ 47. By the early fourteenth century, the English Parliament had emerged as:
a. a representative assembly.
b. a judicial body.
c. a political and legislative body.
d. All of the above.
____ 48. Compared to their Carolingian predecessors, the kings of tenth- and eleventh-century Germany:
a. did not exercise much control over the church within their kingdom.
b. did not have any soft frontiers where they could pursue easy conquests.
c. did not have a sophisticated administrative system.
d. All of the above.
____ 49. At Canons in the winter of 1077:
a. King Henry IV humiliated himself before Pope Gregory VII.
b. King Henry IV humiliated Pope Gregory VII.
c. Pope Gregory humiliated himself before King Henry IV.
d. King Henry IV arrived, but Pope Gregory VII refused to see him.
____ 50. In which country did certain nobles successfully claim and exercise the right to elect their king,
irrespective of the claims of hereditary succession to the throne?
a. England
b. France
c. Castile
d. Germany
____ 51. To preserve their political independence, the popes of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries:
a. tried to balance the Norman kingdom of southern Italy against the German empire in
northern Italy.
b. tried to defend themselves against the Normans in southern Italy by allying themselves
with France.
c. fled to France and abandoned Italy to the Staufen emperors of Germany.
d. maintained a large standing army, which they supported with unpopular taxation from the
churches of Western Europe.
____ 52. To the territories he inherited from his father, Frederick Barbarous, King Henry VI added:
a. northern Italy.
b. Sicily.
c. Rome and central Italy.
d. Saxony.
____ 53. The twelfth-century Renaissance made it possible to speak of Europe as a reading public because
of:
a. the emergence and growth of universities.
b. widespread primary schooling.
c. new vernacular literature.
d. All of the above.
____ 54. The emphasis on visible works of Christian piety and devotion in the High Middle Ages served
to:
a. clearly distinguish Christian groups from their non-Christian neighbors.
b. introduce a sense of brotherhood among all medieval Europeans, regardless of religious
and ethnic affiliations.
c. run counter to the interests of the Roman papacy.
d. minimize the importance of rituals such as confession and the Eucharist.
____ 55. The tenth century was known for ineffective kingship throughout Europe and:
a. the momentous Investiture Conflict.
b. the beginning of the Christian Crusades against Muslims.
c. an incompetent and largely corrupt papacy.
d. local bishops who were surpassing nobles in power and authority.
____ 56. The monastic reform movement that began at Clumsy in Burgundy was unique in that it:
a. rejected the ideals of poverty, chastity, and obedience popular in other monasteries.
b. undertook the reform of a large number of subordinate “daughter houses.”
c. stressed political and economic independence from the pope in Rome.
d. led to the Norman Conquest of England.
____ 57. Taken literally, what did the term lay investiture mean to medieval Christians in the eleventh
century?
a. The legal procedure associated with making a pious Christian man or woman a saint.
b. Buying an ecclesiastical office with money, such as the position of bishop or cardinal.
c. The practice of appointing a bishop or abbot and dressing him with the symbols of his
office.
d. A business investment in monastic property with the expectation of a return.
____ 58. Innocent III was the most successful pope in the High Middle Ages because he:
a. defended papal power and excommunicated Henry IV.
b. successfully disciplined kings and heretics, but also encouraged innovative spiritual
movements.
c. established the canon law collection known as The Concord of Discordant Canons.
d. moved the papacy to Avenging, France and limited the influence of Italian cardinals.
____ 59. Compared to the Benedictine monasteries of the sixth and seventh centuries, the Clinics
monasteries of the eleventh century were more:
a. focused on missionary activity.
b. democratic in their election of new abbots.
c. interested in leading lives of poverty, chastity, and service.
d. obedient to the pope in Rome.
____ 60. The rapid growth of monastic houses, such as the Cistercians, in the twelfth century meant that
more men were becoming monks, and that:
a. the papacy had finally abandoned any spiritual connection with the monasteries.
b. the severe asceticism of the monasteries was widely popular in Europe.
c. a religiously engaged laity was supporting the church through the donation of money and
lands.
d. the observance of the Benedictine rule had become somewhat lax in the monasteries.
____ 61. Which Christian figure became the center of a rapidly expanding “cult” in the twelfth century and
the namesake of the cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris as well as other places?
a. St. Francis of Assisi
b. Hildegard of Binged
c. Jesus of Nazareth
d. the Virgin Mary
____ 62. Peter Waldo’s reform movement in the late twelfth century was considered heretical by the
church because the Waldensians did not:
a. submit them to the rule of absolute poverty.
b. accept the church’s authority and directives on the issue of lay preaching.
c. believe in the major Catholic saints.
d. support the rise and influence of medieval universities.
____ 63. St. Francis of Assisi emphasized which religious themes in his ministry and new monastic order?
a. Rejection of papal authority and a mystical approach to religion and spirituality.
b. Agricultural endowments designed to perpetually fund and support the church.
c. Apostolic poverty and an imitation of the life of Christ.
d. Healing, anointing, and the veneration of Mary.
____ 64. Compared with early medieval Christianity, Catholic spirituality in the thirteenth and fourteenth
centuries seems more concerned with:
a. the importance of local saints and miracle stories.
b. an intense identification with Christ, his life, and his sufferings.
c. inward spiritual development, resulting from a withdrawal from society and its ills.
d. a devotion to the relics of honored Christian saints.
____ 65. The growth of schools in twelfth-century Europe can be attributed primarily to:
a. the rediscovery of Aristotle’s works.
b. a rapid increase in literacy beginning in the eleventh century.
c. the general economic revival and the emergence of strong government.
d. the benevolent legislation of several reform-minded popes.
____ 66. The rise of lay education in twelfth- and thirteenth-century Europe was important because
through it:
a. cathedral schools became the main centers of European education.
b. the Bible was translated into the medieval forerunners of French, Italian, and German.
c. the West was able to attain the best of Greek and Arabic thought and build on it.
d. people were increasingly able to pursue nonreligious lines of inquiry, and western culture
ultimately became more independent of religion than other cultures.
____ 67. The term university originally meant a:
a. corporation or guild.
b. forum for discussing philosophy.
c. place of worship.
d. book where universal matters were discussed.
____ 68. Upon admission to medieval university, students typically studied the liberal arts, which meant:
a. theology and philosophy.
b. history and the social sciences.
c. mathematics, natural science, and painting.
d. advanced work in Latin grammar, rhetoric, and logic.
____ 69. In the second half of the eleventh century, educated westerners vastly increased their knowledge
when:
a. medieval scientists began conducting scientific experiments and circulating the results.
b. the works of Plato were discovered in Europe and made widely available.
c. the Englishman Robert Grassiest invented the telescope.
d. important works of Greek and Arabic literature were translated into Latin.
____ 70. Medieval scholastics taught that:
a. there was a fundamental compatibility between human reason and experience and the
divine teachings in the Bible.
b. the Bible, as a divinely inspired source, is largely incompatible with the philosophical
ideas and systems of humans.
c. careful study of the Bible shows that it contains fundamental inconsistencies.
d. science is more useful than religion, because the Christian faith cannot be defended by
reason.
____ 71. The author of the important medieval theological work Book of the Sentences was:
a. Robert Grassiest.
b. Peter Lombard.
c. Thomas Aquinas.
d. Peter Abelard.
____ 72. Compared to St. Augustine, St. Thomas Aquinas seems to have:
a. participated more aggressively in the pursuit of heretics.
b. placed less value on creating works of systematic theology.
c. placed a higher value on the ability of humans to participate in their own salvation.
d. found major inspiration in the writings of the Greek philosopher Plato.
____ 73. The medieval society depicted by vernacular epic poems in the eleventh century can be best
described as:
a. romantic and sensual.
b. extremely concerned with monastic life.
c. representing men and women equally.
d. bloody and violent.
____ 74. Dante’s Divine Comedy depicts the poet’s mythical journey through:
a. the Holy Land in search of the Holy Grail.
b. the mountains in and around medieval Florence.
c. hell, purgatory, and heaven.
d. Egypt in search of the Desert Fathers.
____ 75. Dante’s Divine Comedy stresses that:
a. Greek philosophy is neither relevant nor useful for humans.
b. salvation is unrelated to humans’ political and social activities on earth.
c. humans are fatally damaged by sin and are saved entirely by God’s grace.
d. humans have enough free will to choose well and avoid evil.
____ 76. The essential features of the Romanesque architectural style are:
a. highly decorated interiors and slender, towering columns.
b. stained-glass windows that take the place of walls.
c. rounded arches, massive stonewalls, and small windows.
d. vertical elements such as pointed arches, pinnacles, and ribbed vaulting.
____ 77. In emotional or expressive terms, the Gothic cathedral can best be thought of as:
a. otherworldly.
b. highly naturalistic and representative of ordinary life.
c. somber and dominated by horizontal structures.
d. a contemplative structure remote from the outside world.
____ 78. The “Renaissance of the Twelfth Century” should ultimately be considered a:
a. revival of classical texts creatively adapted to the unique Christian culture of the High
Middle Ages.
b. cultural achievement based fundamentally on advances in medieval science and church
architecture.
c. movement known for significant advances in painting and sculpture, especially in northern
Italy.
d. blending of secular and religious ideas that minimized the importance of Christian ideas in
society.
____ 79. High medieval drama took its primary inspiration from:
a. the Greek and Roman plays of antiquity.
b. emerging vernacular languages and themes in popular piety.
c. ancient passages in the liturgy of the western Christian church.
d. the political and cultural concerns of Elizabethan England.
____ 80. Compared to the popes active in the Early Middle Ages, popes in the High Middle Ages were:
a. less concerned about the power and influence of kings in the secular sphere.
b. less willing to control existing monastic orders and create new ones.
c. more concerned with missionary activity and conversion.
d. more concerned with defining orthodoxy and rooting out heresy.
History 2210-30, World Civilizations to 1600
Final Exam , Practice
Chs 10-15 and Comprehensive
Questions that appeared on quizzes 1, 2 or 3 may also appear on your final exam.
____
1. Late-medieval sumptuary laws can be interpreted as evidence of:
a. the rise of women.
b. the common man’s interest in monastic ideals.
c. the rich getting richer.
d. class conflict.
____
2. The English Lollards were the lay followers and successors of which late-medieval theologian?
a. Jan Zizka
b. Jan Hus
c. Master Eckhart
d. John Wyclif
____
3. During the rise of national monarchies, which modern country resisted unification and remained
divided among dozens of independent principalities throughout the Later Middle Ages?
a. Germany
b. England
c. France
d. Italy
____
4. The general peace and prosperity of Italy was broken in 1494 when it was invaded by:
a. Ottoman Turks
b. Germany
c. France
d. Spain
____
5. The Golden Horde was:
a. the Mongol dynasty that controlled Russia.
b. the payment for release of King John of France.
c. the name of the Black Prince’s new chivalric order of knights.
d. the nickname given to the first Spanish ship to return from the New World.
____
6. Moscow replaced _____________ as the center of Russian power in the Late Middle Ages.
a. Petersburg
b. Kiev
c. Odessa
d. Novgorod
____
7. When it fought against Poland–Lithuania in the late fifteenth century, Moscow appealed to its
citizens by:
a. asking the pope in Rome for help.
b. joining forces with the Ottoman Turks.
c. emphasizing the Roman Catholicism of Poland–Lithuania.
d. emphasizing the eastern Orthodox beliefs of Poland–Lithuania.
____
8. Boccaccio’s Decameron is historically significant because it:
a. recounts an actual pilgrimage trip from London to Canterbury.
b. represents the culmination of late-medieval Latin prose style.
c. is written in the vernacular and portrays men and women as they really were.
d. describes with great creativity the church’s position on sin, salvation, and hell.
____
9. A fresco painting is essentially:
a. pigment mixed with plaster that is applied to a wall.
b. pigment mixed with egg white that is applied to a wood panel.
c. pigment mixed with oil that is applied to a stretched canvas.
d. an image that is modeled and executed on an outside wall.
____ 10. The development of artillery in late medieval Europe affected military strategy in that:
a. foot soldiers were no longer useful on the battlefield.
b. mounted knights were no longer useful on the battlefield.
c. stone castles became less viable as defensive strongholds.
d. national monarchies could no longer control rebellious aristocrats.
____ 11. Compared to the High Middle Ages, the Later Middle Ages:
a. was a highpoint for the authority and prestige of the papacy.
b. signaled the beginning of vernacular poetry and popular stories of courtly romance.
c. witnessed the dissolution of significant national governments and bureaucratic institutions.
d. identified nature less with God and more as an entity that could be manipulated to meet
human needs.
____ 12. In fifteenth-century Europe, localities could expect a renewed outbreak of plague:
a. every year.
b. every two years.
c. every ten years.
d. every twenty years.
____ 13. Linguistically and ethnically, the Mongols were most closely related to the:
a. Chinese.
b. Turks.
c. Russians.
d. Persians.
____ 14. The leader who united the Mongol tribes and began the conquest of China was named:
a. Qubilai Khan.
b. Ogedai Khan.
c. Tumujin, who took the title Chingiz Khan.
d. Timur the Lame (Tamerlane).
____ 15. The expression “Mongol horde” actually comes from:
a. the Turkish word ordure, meaning, “tent” or “encampment.”
b. the Chinese words hen goal, meaning “great army.”
c. the German word hart, meaning hard or solid.
d. the English verb meaning to accumulate or stockpile.
____ 16. Why did the westward expansion of the Mongol Empire end after 1260?
a. The Mongol armies were defeated by the Germans at the Battle of Lignite.
b. The Mongol armies were defeated by the Hungarians at the River Sajo.
c. The Mongol Empire itself split up into hostile parts.
d. The internal supply lines for the Mongol army became overextended, forcing the army to
retreat.
____ 17. For Europeans, the most important consequence of the Mongol conquests was:
a. the commercial links it established between Europe and the Far East along the Silk Road.
b. that the Mongol defeats of the Abbasid caliphate removed a major threat to European
control of the eastern Mediterranean.
c. that the Mongol conquest of Russia brought Eastern Europe into closer contact with
Western Europe.
d. that by destroying Persia, the Mongols extended the life of the Byzantine empire.
____ 18. Marco Polo’s travel accounts were influential in Europe because:
a. Europeans previously knew little about life and customs in Asia.
b. Christian missionaries needed to adapt European ideas to Asian contexts.
c. Christopher Columbus eventually used Marco Polo’s maps as a guide.
d. they allowed King Louis IX of France to establish an ambassador in the Mongol court.
____ 19. When the Ottomans conquered Constantinople in 1453, the primary effect of their conquest on
Western Europe was:
a. psychological.
b. military.
c. economic.
d. geographical: it spurred European attempts to find a direct route around Africa to India
and the Far East.
____ 20. For the Ottomans, their conquest of Constantinople brought:
a. reduction in the demand for slaves, because the size of the Ottoman army could now be
reduced.
b. vast new wealth, which greatly increased the population of the city.
c. an economic crisis, as trade routes were redirected away from Constantinople.
d. relatively little change to Ottoman society.
____ 21. Until the end of the sixteenth century, the Ottoman Empire was on an almost constant war
footing. Why?
a. Christians launched a series of crusades to recapture Constantinople, forcing the Ottomans
to defend themselves.
b. Ottoman wars to expand their empire kept powerful nobles on the frontiers, away from the
capital where they might have threatened the Sultan.
c. The empire could be sustained only through raiding and conquest.
d. All of the above.
____ 22. The Ottomans drew large numbers of slaves from all of the following sources EXCEPT:
a. captives from Poland and Ukraine.
b. children from the Balkans, given up by their parents to pay their taxes.
c. voluntary recruits drawn from the rural areas of their own empire.
d. Africa, through slave traders.
____ 23. Soon after capturing the Muslim holy cities of Medina, Mecca, and Jerusalem, the Ottoman rulers
adopted the title of:
a. Sultan.
b. Pasha.
c. Caliph.
d. Prophet.
____ 24. From a military standpoint, the primary result of the sixteenth-century conflicts between the
Ottomans and the Habsburgs was:
a. significantly improved artillery technology.
b. greatly enlarged naval forces on both sides.
c. a gradual weakening of Ottoman military power.
d. renewed interest in castle building.
____ 25. The developing westward orientation of European colonial and commercial ambitions during the
fifteenth century was a consequence of:
a. the growing importance to Europe of the African gold trade.
b. the shutting down of the Silk Road as a result of the breakup of the Mongol Empire.
c. Ottoman control over the eastern Mediterranean and the Black Sea.
d. demand for Atlantic salt codfish within Europe.
____ 26. The economy of fifteenth-century Europe was marked by:
a. silver shortages.
b. inflation.
c. decreasing demand for luxury goods from the Far East.
d. the discovery of new gold supplies within Europe itself.
____ 27. As Europeans made advances in navigation and maritime technology in the fifteenth century, they
made efficient use of the quadrant, which:
a. calculated direction using magnetic forces.
b. calculated longitude using standard marine tables.
c. calculated latitude using the sun.
d. calculated latitude using the North Star.
____ 28. The first European to sail around the southern tip of Africa was:
a. Bartolomeu Dias.
b. Prince Henry the Navigator.
c. Vasco de Gama.
d. Christopher Columbus.
____ 29. In the long history of slavery in western civilization, the basic patterns of slavery were not
radicalized (in other words, directly related to ethnicity or skin color) until:
a. Europeans needed slave labor to develop the Atlantic colonies of Madeira, the Canaries,
and the Azores.
b. Lisbon became a significant market for enslaved Africans in the middle of the fifteenth
century.
c. Columbus returned with indigenous people from the New World in 1492.
d. Hernando Cortez conquered the Aztec empire of Mexico between 1519 and 1521.
____ 30. The leader of the first European expedition to reach Asia by sailing west was:
a. Amerigo Vespucci.
b. Ferdinand Magellan.
c. Christopher Columbus.
d. Vasco de Gama.
____ 31. The Renaissance originated in Italy because:
a. Greek was still a common language among educated Italian elites.
b. in the fourteenth century the papacy was the center of cultural and artistic innovation in
Europe.
c. during the later Middle Ages Italy was the wealthiest urban society in Europe.
d. during the later Middle Ages Italian schools were among the weakest in Europe.
____ 32. Renaissance Italy invested heavily in art and culture because:
a. Italy was more prosperous in the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries than it had been earlier,
and so had more money to spend.
b. cities and their rulers competed with each other in constructing public monuments and
patronizing artists and authors.
c. Italy was in an economic depression, so there was nothing else to spend money on except
for art.
d. Italy was trying to compete with France, which had a long tradition of supporting artists
and authors.
____ 33. According to Machiavelli, the ideal form of government for his native city of Florence was:
a. a republic modeled on Roman example.
b. an oligarchy modeled on Venice.
c. a monarchy modeled on France.
d. a principality, the model for which he sketched in The Prince.
____ 34. Chiaroscuro, an important painting technique of the fifteenth century Renaissance, essentially
relates to:
a. the use of light and dark shading.
b. the application of oil-based pigment on canvas.
c. precise anatomical renderings of the human body.
d. the use of linear perspective to depict three dimensions.
____ 35. In Botticelli’s Birth of Venus, the pagan goddess Venus was interpreted by some contemporary
viewers as:
a. an allegory of spring.
b. chaste love, a Christian virtue.
c. Christ during the Last Supper.
d. Ginevra da Benci.
____ 36. Leonardo da Vinci’s basic approach to painting was to:
a. produce as much saleable artwork as possible for his patrons.
b. emphasize the emotional content by distorting proportion and scale.
c. depict one central mood or emotion in each piece.
d. imitate nature as closely as possible.
____ 37. Which of the following Renaissance artists was most deeply influenced by the art of classical
Greece?
a. Leonardo da Vinci
b. Michelangelo
c. Botticelli
d. Titian
____ 38. The first freestanding nude sculpture in Western Europe since antiquity was created by the
Florentine artist:
a. Donatello.
b. Michelangelo.
c. Leonardo da Vinci.
d. Bramante.
____ 39. The primary characteristic of mannerism is:
a.
b.
c.
d.
its intensely naturalistic portrayal of the human form in all its imperfection.
a stylized, artificial, “mannered” style of painting.
distortion of the human body’s proportions to express emotion and drama.
harmonious modeling of the ideal human form.
____ 40. The dominant philosophical position in Italian Renaissance painting, sculpture, and architecture
was:
a. Aristotelians.
b. Scholasticism.
c. Paganism.
d. Neoplatonism.
____ 41. One important difference between the Italian Renaissance and the northern Renaissance that
followed was the northern:
a. reluctance to compose classical Latin prose in the style of Cicero.
b. appreciation for scholasticism and its central texts.
c. rejection of the church fathers as religious authorities.
d. interest in traditional Christian wisdom over classical virtues.
____ 42. As a textual scholar, Erasmus’ crowning achievement was:
a. his edition of the New Testament in Greek and in Latin.
b. his edition and translation of Plato’s dialogues.
c. his Colloquies.
d. his commentary on the works of Cicero.
____ 43. Albrecht Durer was the first northern European artist to master:
a. Italian Renaissance developments in oil painting.
b. Italian Renaissance techniques of engraving.
c. Italian Renaissance techniques of proportion, perspective, and modeling.
d. the anatomical precision of Italian Renaissance nudes.
____ 44. Martin Luther’s family background was:
a. the German peasantry; his father was a miner.
b. the German middle class; his father was a lawyer.
c. the German aristocracy; his father was a minor noble.
d. the German clergy; his father was a priest.
____ 45. Theologically, Martin Luther was a follower of:
a. St. Thomas Aquinas.
b. St. Augustine of Hippo.
c. Peter Lombard.
d. Erasmus of Rotterdam.
____ 46. Luther’s doctrine of “justification by faith” meant that:
a. humans are saved by their faith in God’s grace, not by the good works they do.
b. humans are saved by the good works they do.
c. faith in God can be justified by reason.
d. everyone who participates faithfully in the services of the church will be saved.
____ 47. Luther believed that works of piety and charity were:
a. vital acts that determined a Christian’s state before God.
b. not important in the life of a Christian.
c. the natural outgrowth of justification and Christian devotion.
d. unnecessary after Pope Sixtus IV more clearly defined the Treasury of Merits.
____ 48. Aside from religious motivations, many free cities in the Holy Roman Empire found Lutheranism
appealing because:
a. free cities possessed enough military power to ignore the dictates of local princes and the
Holy Roman emperor.
b. Lutherans supported the construction of new monasteries, which enhanced the wealth and
prestige of the merchant class.
c. town councils and guild masters could use reforms as a way to oppose local aristocrats and
bishops.
d. Catholic dogma had never been too appealing to educated urban elites.
____ 49. The term Protestant was first used after:
a. Martin Luther protested against indulgences in 1517.
b. Ulrich Zwingli attacked Catholicism in Zurich in 1522.
c. Anabaptists protested the custom of infant baptism in 1525.
d. Lutherans protested the action of the German Imperial Diet of 1529.
____ 50. In Switzerland, Protestant reforms were usually imposed by:
a. popular vote.
b. town councils.
c. territorial princes.
d. the lesser nobility.
____ 51. Under Calvin’s guidance, Geneva’s government can best be described as a:
a. theocracy.
b. democracy.
c. dictatorship.
d. republic.
____ 52. The main function of the Calvinist Consistory of Geneva was:
a. to supervise the churches of Geneva.
b. to supervise public and private morals.
c. to enforce laws against crime.
d. to organize the city’s defenses against its enemies.
____ 53. After 1525, Protestantism was “domesticated” by becoming more politically conservative, and by
focusing on:
a. the reform of monastic institutions.
b. educational opportunities for women and children.
c. the patriarchal family as the central institution of reformed life.
d. a compromise with Anabaptist leaders and believers.
____ 54. During the sixteenth century, in both Protestant and Catholic countries, marriage practices
changed so as to encourage:
a. more independent choice of marriage partner.
b. earlier marriage age for both men and women.
c. more parental control over their children’s choice of marriage partners.
d. easier elopements.
____ 55. The English heretical group that helped prepare England for Protestant ideas was called:
a. the Hussites.
b. the Waldensians.
c. the Lollards.
d. the Goliards.
____ 56. Why wouldn’t the pope permit King Henry VIII of England to divorce Catherine of Aragon and
marry Anne Boleyn?
a. Because the Catholic Church does not permit divorce and remarriage.
b. Because the pope believed Henry’s marriage to Catherine was valid.
c. Because the pope wanted the Tudor dynasty to come to an end.
d. Because Catherine’s nephew, Emperor Charles V, controlled Rome at the time and
disapproved of Henry’s request for a divorce.
____ 57. Which of the following religious changes generally associated with Protestantism did King Henry
VIII enforce in England?
a. Closing monasteries and convents and confiscating their property.
b. Holding church services in English and using an English Bible.
c. Permitting priests to marry.
d. Reducing the number of sacraments from seven to two.
____ 58. Queen Elizabeth I offended some extreme Protestants by:
a. prohibiting priests and ministers from marrying.
b. allowing monasteries and convents to reopen.
c. insisting that church services be held in Latin.
d. retaining church government by bishops.
____ 59. The 1555 Peace of Augsburg rested on the principle of “cuius regio, eius religio,” which meant:
a. the ruler of each principality settled all matters of religion.
b. the Holy Roman Emperor had the ultimate authority in matters of religion.
c. the papacy had the ultimate authority in matters of religion.
d. Germans were allowed to make their own choices in matters of religion.
____ 60. Which of the following religious orientations did the Peace of Augsburg exclude?
a. Lutheranism
b. Catholicism
c. Calvinism
d. atheism
____ 61. Most French Protestants were:
a. Calvinists.
b. Lutherans.
c. Zwinglians.
d. Anabaptists.
____ 62. William of Orange (“William the Silent”) fought during the religious wars to free the Netherlands
from:
a. Anabaptist rule under the Mennonites.
b. Protestant rule under the Spanish.
c. Protestant rule under the English.
d. Catholic rule under the Spanish.
____ 63. The Thirty Years’ War began when:
a. a Protestant prince became the ruler of a Catholic territory.
b. a Catholic prince became the ruler of a Protestant territory.
c. Sweden, a Protestant country, went to war against the Catholic princes of Germany.
d. France, a Catholic country, went to war against the Protestant princes of Germany.
____ 64. To promote the economic development of France, Henry IV did all of the following EXCEPT:
a. improve the transportation system.
b. hand out instructional guides on better farming techniques.
c. build factories and encourage new industries.
d. open up new silver mines within France.
____ 65. The primary goal of Cardinal Richelieu’s government was:
a. to increase and centralize royal power over France.
b. to expand French colonies in North America.
c. to extend Catholicism into Protestant territories inside and outside France.
d. to raise living standards for the French people, so as to provide “a chicken in every pot” on
Sundays.
____ 66. Charles I demonstrated his lack of political diplomacy when he:
a. married a woman with obvious Calvinist sympathies.
b. launched a costly new war against France.
c. appointed William Laud to interrogate English Catholics.
d. suggested using Irish Catholic troops to fight in Germany.
____ 67. In 1660, most English men and women welcomed the restoration of the monarchy. Why?
a. Because the new king, Charles II, was widely respected for his piety.
b. Because years of unpopular Calvinist prohibitions on public amusements had discredited
Cromwell’s Puritan regime.
c. Because when the monarchy was restored, bishops were also restored.
d. Because monarchy was the best form of government for England.
____ 68. The main theme of Montaigne’s Essays was:
a. confidence in human reason.
b. the importance of holding to absolute principles of judgment.
c. a pervasive skepticism about all human knowledge.
d. the importance of involving oneself in the great issues of the day.
____ 69. In the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, Absolutism was a political theory that:
a. encouraged rulers to turn over control of their governments to Parliament.
b. allowed rulers to govern by divine right and according to their own will.
c. discouraged military and economic competition among European states.
d. built on the democratic ideals of early Renaissance republics.
____ 70. Absolutist rulers such as Louis XIV sought control over the state because:
a. the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries were times of great disorder in Europe.
b. they were vulnerable to personal attacks—even in their own palaces.
c. they wanted to strengthen the power of the church and the papacy.
d. they hoped to strengthen the power of parliaments and representative assemblies.
____ 71. The most important opponents of royal absolutism were:
a. churchmen.
b. peasants.
c. nobles.
d. merchants.
____ 72. The governmental system used by the United Provinces in the Netherlands throughout the
seventeenth century was a(n):
a. absolutist monarchy.
b. limited monarchy.
c. oligarchy.
d. republic.
____ 73. In England, Charles II responded to the crisis produced by his father’s rule by:
a. reforming court life to match Puritan sensibilities.
b. modeling his kingship on the absolutism of Louis XIV.
c. establishing a family and producing several heirs to the throne.
d. creating the Whig party and using them to increase his influence in Parliament.
____ 74. The English call the 1688–1689 transfer of power to William and Mary the “Glorious
Revolution” because:
a. England and Scotland were formally separated and allowed to have their own kings.
b. wealthy magnates and large property holders were able to assert power and control over
local governments.
c. it established England, without bloodshed, as a mixed monarchy governed by “the King in
Parliament.”
d. Catholics were finally placed on equal footing with Protestants in public life, religion, and
government.
____ 75. The royal finance minister who increased revenues in France during the reign of Louis XIV was:
a. Cardinal Richelieu.
b. Jean-Baptiste Colbert.
c. Cornelius Jansen.
d. John Locke.
____ 76. Under Maria Theresa and her son, Habsburg absolutism:
a. was concerned primarily with Ottoman attacks on the capital of Vienna.
b. became “enlightened,” but was still limited by weaknesses within the empire.
c. declined and sovereigns no longer used the title Holy Roman Emperor.
d. declined and sovereigns reduced taxation and supported serfdom.
____ 77. In general, the policies of Peter the Great included:
a. the introduction of Western ideas and customs.
b. reducing the tax burden upon the peasantry, so that they could be more productive.
c. abolishing serfdom and giving freed serfs land.
d. rebuilding the power of the Dumas, Russia’s national assembly.
____ 78. The goal of Peter the Great’s foreign policy was to:
a. annex Prussia.
b. secure warm-weather ports for Russia.
c. secure territories in the New World.
d. open up a land route to Asia.
____ 79. By the late eighteenth century, the population of Naples, Italy had reached nearly:
a. 200,000.
b. 300,000.
c. 500,000.
d. 1,000,000.
____ 80. The cultivation of New World sugar and tobacco depended on:
a. slave labor.
b. new European technologies, such as the steam-powered turbine.
c. relative peace and cooperation among European nations.
d. cotton and rum plantations.