State and Empire in Eurasia/North Africa, 500 B.C.E.

Chapter 3 Summative Quiz

Question

1. Persian political organization included which of the following features?

An emperor who was little more than a figurehead

Lower-level officials drawn from local authorities

A civil service examination system

A written constitution

Question

2. Which of the following was a unique feature of political life in classical Greece?

The granting of limited political rights to slaves

Representative democracy

The idea of free male citizens running the affairs of state

The universal right to vote for all men and women above the age of sixteen

Question

3. A major development that occurred during the Hellenistic era was

Sparta’s defeat of Athens in the Peloponnesian War.

the spread of Greek culture throughout most of the ancient world.

the Mongol conquest of Europe.

the expansion of the Roman Empire to its greatest height.

Question

4. The conquests of which leader contributed to the widespread dissemination of Greek culture during the Hellenistic era?

Qin Shihuangdi

Ashoka

Caesar Augustus

Alexander the Great

Question

5. Athens’ leadership in which event launched Athens on a path to establish its dominance over other city-states in the region?

Greco-Persian Wars

Peloponnesian War

Pax Romana

The Macedonian invasion of Greece

Question

6. When Germanic tribes entered into the western part of the Roman Empire, they

were rapidly assimilated into Roman culture.

ensured that slaves continued to make up a large portion of society.

rejected all of Roman culture, instead imposing their own culture.

produced a hybrid culture that drew on both Germanic and Roman elements.

Question

7. Which of the following expresses the basic difference between what the Roman Empire and the Han dynasty believed was the key to good government?

The Roman Empire empowered the bureaucracy while the Han dynasty empowered the people.

The Roman Empire depended on a merit-based system of political recruitment while the Han dynasty limited political office to the aristocracy.

The Roman Empire believed in the separation of church and state while the Han dynasty made religion the basis of government.

The Roman Empire emphasized good laws while the Han dynasty emphasized good men.

Question

8. In contrast to what followed after the collapse of the Han dynasty in China, the collapse of the Roman Empire

led to the emergence of highly decentralized political systems.

caused an increase in population growth.

ushered in a new phase of stability.

produced a culturally homogenous civilization.

Question

9. When the Roman Empire disintegrated in 476 C.E., the eastern part of the empire came to be known as

The Holy Roman Empire

The Byzantine Empire

The Gupta Empire

Macedonia

Question

10. In contrast to the Roman Empire, the process of empire formation in China

was less dependent on military force.

had precedents to follow.

involved the absorption of a foreign religious tradition.

took centuries to complete.

Question

11. Which of the following has been put forward to explain why empires were much less prominent in India than in China?

India’s unparalleled cultural diversity

The lack of invasions from Central Asia into the Indian subcontinent

India’s lack of a well-defined social structure

The absence of any tradition of large states in India

Question

12. The Persian Empire and the Mauryan dynasty were similar in that both

defined the right of the emperor to rule through the Mandate of Heaven.

controlled parts of eastern China.

relied on imperial spies to keep tabs on distant provinces.

ultimately evolved into republican governments.