11-14-03
Review Questions on Ancient Mesopotamia,
China and India
Mesopotamia Review
1. Why do we say that “history begins at Sumer”?
2. Why did organized governments arise in Sumer? Gilgamesh
3. Why is the Code of Hammurabi such an important advancement in civilization?
4. How did the Babylonians fit the punishment to the crime?
5. Is harshness in the law the key to an orderly society?
6. What was the great contribution of the Jews to civilization?
7. Where did the Jews come from originally in the Middle East?
8. Why did the Jews go into Egypt?
9. How did the Jews get out of Egypt?
10. Who were the Phoenecians?
11. What ancient civilizations gained complete or partial control of the Near East?
12. Where did the Persian expansion fail?
13.Who conquered the Persian Empire?11
14. What were the main features of the ancient Persian religion of Zoroastrianism?
China Review
1. How did location shape China’s view of the world? Sara Tucker, Washburn Univ.
2. Why is China’s population unevenly distributed?
3. How have rivers influenced the lives of the Chinese?
4. What did the Chinese mean when they said they were the “Middle Kingdom”?
5. What are the six regions of China?
6. What were three achievements of the Shang dynasty?
7. How did the Mandate of Heaven explain changes in dynasties?
8. What three schools of thought emerged in China? What ideas and values did each school emphasize? Confucius
9. Why did Buddhism appeal to the Chinese?
10. Why has the family been so significant in Chinese culture?
11. What role did education play in the development of traditional Chinese civilization?
12. Why could the Han dynasty (206 B.C. - 220A.D.) be seen as the beginning of the Chinese centralized, bureaucratic state?
13. What were three values of the traditional Chinese family?
14. How did Chinese civilization advance under the Han dynasty?
15. Why did Buddhism become popular in China during the Period of Disunity between the end of Han dynasty and the beginning of the Tang dynasty?
India - Review
1. What are the principal nations of the Indian sub-continent? Which smaller nations are also located in this region?
2. How does India compare in territorial size to the United States?
3. What are the 4 main geographic regions of India?
4. What are India 3 major rivers?
5. How do the Himalayas affect India’s climate?
6. What summer winds from the Indian Ocean bring rain to India?
7. Which languages are most frequently spoken on the Indian sub-continent?
8. What are the main ideas related to the Aryan Invasion Theory?
9. Most scholars believe what social system grew out of the Aryan invasion and conquest of the Dravidians?
10. What is the Hindu belief that the soul may be reborn into another being?
11. What is the meaning of the concept - karma?
12. What is the meaning of the concept - dharma?
13. What is moksha?
14. Where is the Hindu philosophy to be found?
15. What are the sacred Sanskrit writings of the Hindus?
16. Why do people say Hinduism is more a way of life than a religion?
17. How does caste influence everyday life?
18. Why is there some weakening of the caste system today?
19. Which elements of Hindu thought became a part of Buddhism? How is Buddhism different from Hinduism?
20. Why did Buddhism decline in India?
21. What is the Indian religion that draws its ideas from Hinduism and Islam?
22. Where did Indian civilization begin?
23. How did Hinduism come to India?
24. How are Darius I of Persia (518 B.C.) and Alexander the Great (326 B.C.) associated with Indian history?
25. Who was the founder of the Mauryan Dynasty (320-185 B.C.)?
26. How did Asoka influence India and Southeast Asia?
27. Why is the Gupta Dynasty (320-535 A.D.) called the “Golden Age” of Indian culture?