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Ancient Mesopotamia

Total questions: 31

Worksheet time: 16mins

Name
Class
Date
1.

The city of Nineveh was the capital of which Ancient Mesopotamian civilization?

a)

Assyria

b)

Sumeria

c)

Akkad

d)

Babylon

2.

Mesopotamia encompassed present-day _____.

a)

Iraq

b)

Egypt

c)

Italy

d)

Spain

3.

Mesopotamia became a crossroads of shared traditions most likely due to _____.

a)

Frequent migration of different civilizations

b)

annual flooding carried people away

c)

A famous traveler convinced everyone to visit Mesopotamia

d)

Every civilization spoke the same language and used Mesopotamia as a destination spot to hang out

4.

The Fertile Crescent region was created by the _____.

a)

Tigris and Nile River

b)

Amazon and Nile River

c)

Tigris and Euphrates River

d)

Euphrates and Nile River

5.

Mesopotamia in Greek translates into...

a)

"The land between two rivers"

b)

"The chosen waters"

c)

"The free and the fruitful tree"

d)

"The land of the brave"

6.

Which civilization was considered the first civilization of the Mesopotamia?

a)

Sumerians

b)

Akkadians

c)

Babylonians

d)

Spaniards

7.

One of the oldest pieces of writing in Mesopotamia was the book called ______________, was written about the King of the Ur III period.

a)

The Epic of Babylon

b)

The Tower of Babel

c)

The Epic of Gilgamesh

d)

The Tale of Two Cities

8.

What was the purpose of etching the Code of Hammurabi on stele?

a)

To help the citizens learn english

b)

To communicate the laws to all people

c)

For easier travel of the laws throughout the land

d)

To prevent destruction of property

9.

How did Hammurabi's Code regulate business matters?

a)

Provided a set amount for certain kinds of jobs

b)

It stated who was allowed to own a business and who was not

c)

It limited the amount of time people could work each day

d)

It stated only the king had control over all jobs and property

10.

Which of the following was an example of "Trial By Ordeal"?

a)

Person must swallow rice in ten minutes

b)

Person must swim across the ocean to prove innocence

c)

Person must replace stolen property and admit he is guilty

d)

Person must cut off fingers and plead guilty

11.

Punishment of Hammurabi's Code would be minor if accused was...

a)

a merchant

b)

a slave

c)

A king

d)

A priest

12.

What was the purpose of Hammurabi's Code?

a)

To prevent the weak from harming the strong

b)

To prevent the strong from harming the weak

c)

To provide the king with more money

d)

To place harsh punishments on those who disagree with the government

13.

The physical setting of Mesopotamia made the region most vulnerable to _____.

a)

natural disasters

b)

enemy invasions

c)

religious intolerance

d)

cultural isolation

14.

Which of the following made it difficult for people in Mesopotamia to unite?

a)

The Tigris River and Euphrates River were difficult to cross

b)

There was not enough food so no one traveled through Mesopotamia

c)

The floods washed everything away

d)

There were civilizations with different languages and religions

15.

Which is a similarity between the Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations?

a)

Both civilizations developed governments led by top-level religious officials.

b)

Both civilizations were led by a series of successful pharaohs.

c)

Both civilizations traded with their neighbors in the region extensively.

d)

Both civilizations influenced the future justice system through Hammurabi’s Code.

16.

Unlike Mesopotamians, the Egyptians believed in _____.

a)

funerals

b)

afterlife

c)

prayers

d)

religion

17.

Unlike the civilizations found in Mesopotamia, the Egyptians followed a system of government that can be best characterized as which of these?

a)

direct democracy

b)

aristocracy

c)

strong bureaucracy

d)

theocracy

18.

Unlike Mesopotamia, the politics of Egypt mostly emphasized _____.

a)

strong regional city-states

b)

loose tribal authority

c)

strong central authority

d)

weak regional city-states

19.

Which factor led to the development of slavery in both Mesopotamia and Egypt?

a)

agriculture

b)

medicine

c)

exploration

d)

shipbuilding

20.

How do we know the significance of the natural environment in the ancient religions and mythology of Mesopotamia and Egypt?

a)

the legends about a massive hurricane

b)

the common flood myth to many religions

c)

the fear of earthquakes in legends

d)

the appearance of mountains in myths

21.

Who did the Sumerian city-states most likely choose to lead their cities?

a)

A priest

b)

A council of elders

c)

A general

d)

A council of merchants

22.

The Code of Hammurabi covered which of the following? Choose all three that apply.

a)

property law (debt, ownership disputes, etc.)

b)

religious law (how to practice one's religion)

c)

criminal law (committing a crime or charging someone with a crime)

d)

family law (marriage, divorce, etc.)

23.

Why did Hammurabi claim that his code was imparted by the gods?

a)

to avoid being labeled as a heretic

b)

to promote religious tolerance

c)

to encourage priests to enforce the laws

d)

to give the laws greater authority

24.

Which of the following best describes how Hammurabi’s code applied to social classes?

a)

It provided severe punishments for the upper classes.

b)

It distinguished punishments for each class of people.

c)

It applied only to the lower classes of society.

d)

It treated slaves the same as people from other classes.

25.

Which idea from Hammurabi’s Code describes the concept of “innocent until proven guilty”?

a)

A man who takes property must pay a certain price for it.

b)

A man who says another had done wrong must be able to show that what he says is true.

c)

A man who farms on another’s land must share his crops.

d)

A man who accepts money to lie about another must be punished.

26.

Which ancient figure developed one of the first written codes of law and posted it for his subjects to view?

a)

Hammurabi

b)

Alexander

c)

Confucius

d)

Abraham

27.

Which of these statements about Hammurabi’s Code is true?

a)

It covered only business matters.

b)

it favored people from higher social classes

c)

It stated that people were guilty until proven innocent.

d)

It listed only physical punishments.

28.

Under Hammurabi’s Code, what would most likely happen if a merchant accused a farmer of killing someone but could not prove it?

a)

The merchant would be punished.

b)

The case would remain open until proof could be found.

c)

The case would be dismissed with no results.

d)

The farmer would be punished.

29.

What is the political significance of the Code of Hammurabi?

a)

It showed an attempt to create a constitution for the kingdom.

b)

It showed that Hammurabi was a dictator.

c)

It showed that democracy was a part of Babylonian society.

d)

It showed that Babylon was basically an anarchical society.

30.

Based on the Code of Hammurabi, what was the Babylonian attitude toward slavery?

a)

Only males were taken as slaves.

b)

It was rarely practiced.

c)

Only females were taken as slaves.

d)

Slavery was commonplace in Babylon.

31.

His written code of laws most likely allowed Hammurabi to promote _____.

a)

social hierarchy

b)

unity and fairness

c)

bigotry and hatred

d)

cultural diversity