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CLEP Western Civilization I: Ancient Near East

Subjects : clep, history
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. The first tools were made of ___________ approximately 2.5 Million years ago.






2. A nomadic agricultural lifestyle based on herding domesticated animals; tended to produce independent people capable of challenging sedentary agricultural societies.






3. Following the Bronze Age - in the 2nd Millenium - crafters began to smelt tools from _______.






4. Period from 4 -000 BC to 1 -500 BC (3rd Millenium) when bronze tools were first introduced in the Middle East.






5. The loose collection of territorially small cities in Mesopotamia which lacked unity with one another due to geographic isolation. Each was dedicated to a particular god or goddess.






6. As the most influential of the smaller Middle Eastern regional cultures - the Jews were characterized most by ______________.






7. Between 3000 and 1500 BC - the civilization flourished over the region that extended hundreds of miles from the Himalaya Mountains to the coast of the Arabian Sea. At the heart of the civilization were Harappa and Mohenjo-Daro. Both cities had popula






8. Ruler of Akkad - he established the first empire in Mesopotamian civilization conquering and uniting the Sumerian city-states under a centralized bureaucratic government. Installed himself as the mediator between the gods and man - above the priests.






9. Three main rivers of the Fertile Crescent.






10. The period prior to 12 -000 BC typified by the use of crude stone tools and hunting and gathering for subsistence; describes the majority of 2 million plus years of the existence of homo species.






11. Tombs of the Egyptian Pharaohs.






12. A combination of pictograms and phonograms that the Eqyptians used for writing.






13. From the Latin term for 'city.' Characterized by formal states - writing - cities - and monuments.






14. During this young Pharaoh's reign - the priests and military leaders who has lost power during the reign of his predecessor - Akenhaten - seized the opportunity to use the boy as their puppet and return Egypt to its traditional religion.






15. The first civilizations - they created a basic set of tools - intellectual concepts such as writing and mathematics - and political forms that would persist and spread to other parts of Europe - Asia - and Africa. Most were in decline by 1000 BC.






16. Ancient Sumerian economies were ___________ with Priests charged with caring for the gods and goddesses and then providing for the community.






17. Mesopotamian ____ was designed to persuade the good divine elements to side with practitioners.






18. The most important gods of Ancient Egypt - ________ was the sun and the begetter of the gods themselves. The myth that he was the first king on earth is the foundation on which the Pharoahs stake their claim of divinity.






19. This successfully diplomatic Pharaoh of the New Kingdom avoided continued warfare - commissioned the construction of two huge temples in Nubia that were unusually dedicated to the gods of ancient Egypt - Chiefly Amen-Re - rather than to the Pharaoh a






20. People of Akkad who overruled the Sumerians and assimilated their culture. Simplified the Sumerian cuneiform.






21. First foreigners to conquer and rule Egypt during the 15th and 16th dynasties. Later defeated by Egyptian Soldiers opening the door for the New Kingdom.






22. 'wedge-shaped.' A system of writing developed by the Sumerians that consisted of wedge-shaped impressions made by a reed stylus on clay tablets.






23. Achievements of the ___________ civilization include the construction of irrigation ditches - introduction of the plow - and wheel made pottery.






24. The smaller size of the pyramids during the 5th and 6th dynasties is reflective of the declining power of the Pharaoh and the rise in power of ____________ in an economy of increasing size.






25. Egyptian sun-god that attained preeminence above other Egyptian deities. Briefly leading the Egyptians into monotheism prior to the reign of Tutankhamen which saw the restoration of the older religion and its promise of an afterlife.






26. Dating to 3500 BC - this civilization is one of the few cases of a civilization that started from scratch






27. Egyptian Pharaoh of the New Kingdom - attempted to reduce the power of the priests by establishing a monotheistic religion dedicated to Aten - the sun-god - replacing the tradition Egyptian pantheon of gods. He established himself as the sole priest






28. The life of the _____________ was filled with anxiety and pessimism because the gods themselves were unstable and the idea of an afterlife was unknown






29. A sea-faring civilization located on the shores on the Eastern Mediterranean; established colonies throughout the Mediterranean and devised a simplified alphabet that greatly influenced the Greek and Latin writing systems.






30. Passive - Stable - Predictable - and Conformist are adjectives that the describe the _____________ people and explain why their civilization was able to survive for an extraordinary 3 -000 years.






31. Egyptian gods were often represented by ____________.






32. ___________ sacrifice was common among all religions during the late neolithic period.






33. Documents of the Hebrew god and his law. Rather than heroic tales of gods and goddesses - this book told takes of men and women both weak and strong.






34. Period of Ancient Egyptian history during which permanent settlements were established - stone and crafts work developed - burial practices moved to the outer edges of the territories - and the beginnings of a belief in the afterlife became evident.






35. Period of Ancient Egyptian history during which the Pharaohs regained powers over the priests but with somewhat less authority during which laws began to be written down.






36. First common language used for trading amongst people of different groups - replaced Hebrew in religious texts - and was probably spoken by Jesus and his disciples.






37. First Pharaoh of the Old Kingdom.






38. The early degree of organization of communities in the Fertile Crescent and primarily in Egypt can be attributed to the need for ________.






39. Beginning of the Neolithic Period or 'New Stone Age'. Saw the adaptation of sedentary agriculture and the domestication of plants and animals.






40. Early Sumerian kingdoms began as theocracies - their kings established their authority through ____________.






41. Unified all of Mesopotamia circa 1800 BC - collapsed due to foreign invasian.






42. The New Babylonian king who destroyed the Hebrew kingdom of Judah and enslaved the Jews.






43. Cunning woman who became Pharaoh during the New Kingdom. She relied heavily on propoganda claimed to be the daughter of the God Amen - often presented herself with a male body and false beard in statues and imagery. Her stepson - whom she had usurped






44. Migrated into Mesopotamia circa 4000 BC; created the first civilization within the region; organized area into city-states; established the first form of writing - cuneiform.






45. Recent archeological studies show that there were at least _____ early civilizations.






46. Stepson of Hatshepsut - he lead the military expeditions during her reign. When he became Pharaoh - he enlisted thousands of men to help him capture more land than any other Pharaoh before him. At the time - he ruled the largest empire ever ruled by






47. The Great Pyramid is the tomb of the Pharaoh ________.






48. The most important ruler in Babylonian history. Responsible for the codification of law. Ruled over public and private life; business - financial - and criminal law. Judgements were often harsh.






49. Born a commoner - this Pharaoh rose to power at the age of 15 on the coat tails of his family's military prowess and reigned until his death at age 93. As one of Egypt's greatest kings - he relied heavily on propaganda and diplomacy - building temple






50. Period of Ancient Egyptian history during which the great pyramids were built - Declined following the reign on Pepi II because of the rise in power of regional nomarchs and the dissolution of a centralized Egyptian government. This period was follow