Ch. 1
1. Discuss the shift from a hunting and gathering economy
to the production of food by systematic agriculture.
Why do you think some historians
call this transition the greatest event in pre-history?
2. The Nile River has been described as the coronary artery of ancient Egypt. Write an essay explaining this statement.
3. The Code of Hammurabi was one of the first of all ancient legal codes. In what ways was it modern? How was it different from modern Western legal codes?
4. Compare and contrast the civilizations of Mesopotamia and Egypt in regard to religion and politics.
5. Compare and contrast the role of women and families in Mesopotamian and Egyptian societies.
6. Explain how the geography of Mesopotamia affected
society, religion,
and people's perception of
nature in Sumer and Mesopotamia .
Ch. 2
1. What part did the Hebrew Bible, Hebrew law, and the prophets play in the development of Hebrew religion and society?
2. How did the Hebrew state and religion differ from earlier Near Eastern states and religions? How were they the same?
Ch 3
1. What was the effect of Greek geography on Greek history and society?
2. Explain why Homer was used as the basis for Greek education. What did the Greeks learn from Homer?
3. What were the characteristics of the Greek city state?
4. What role did each of the following play in the life of Athens: male citizens, women, slaves, foreigners?
5. What were the causes, results, and the turning point of the Persian Wars?
6. Discuss the causes and course of the Peloponnesian War. What impact did the war have on the Greeks?
7. Monarchy, democracy, oligarchy, aristocracy,
and tyranny are all derived from the Greeks. What did each mean?
Give a specific example of
how each was practiced in Greek history.
8. Discuss 3 historical artifacts of concerning ancient Minoan and Mycenean culture.
9. Discuss the principal features of Minoan and Mycenean culture and civilization.
10. Discuss the political structure of ancient Athens and Sparta.
Ch 4
1. Discuss the career and major achievements of Philip of Macedonia.
2. What were Alexander's goals and how successful was
he in achieving them?
What was his legacy?
3. Discuss the major characteristics of Hellenistic cities. How did these urban centers differ from the Greek city states of the classical era?
Ch 5
1. What did the plebeians want, and what did they succeed in getting? Can Rome be considered a democracy because of this struggle?
2. What were the causes and results of the Punic Wars?
3. Trace the steps by which Rome acquired an empire from 264 to 133 B.C. What happened to the political structure and political values of the Roman Republic?
4. Discuss the effects of Roman imperialism on the relationship between the plebeians and the patricians, the Roman countryside, the economy, and on Roman politics.
5. Discuss the political structure of the Roman Republic and the divisions between the Roman classes.
6. Discuss the role of the Senate, the generals, and the politicians in the decline and fall of the Roman Republic.
Ch 6
1. Discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the Roman
emperors from Augustus to Nero.
How did the empire survive the
reigns of emperors like Caligula and Nero?
2. Explain the factors involved in the spread of Christianity
in the Roman Empire.
It has been said that Christianity
came about in the right place at the right time. Do you agree?
3. Discuss the efforts made by Diocletian and Constantine
to restore the Roman Empire.
Did they succeed?
4. Discuss the role of the Senate, the generals, the politicians, and the German tribes in the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.
Ch 7
1. What roles did monks and nuns play in early medieval society?
Ch
8
1. What positive and negative impacts did the Vikings
make on the history and culture of medieval Europe?
2. Describe feudalism completely. It has been said that feudalism was the perfect system for the Middle Ages. Explain.
3. Describe manorialism. What was its relationship to feudalism?
4. In what ways did the feudal system respond to the conditions in Europe during the 9th and 10th centuries? What was the relationship between landholding and political authority during the feudal period?
5. How did the need for defense against invaders effect the establishment of a decentralized political system under semi-independent lords.
6. Describe the operation of a medieval manor from the point of view of the agricultural labor that had to be performed. What was the lord's demesne, and how was it separated from the peasant's land?
Ch 9
1. Discuss specifically the role of the monastic orders in medieval Europe.
2. How important were new agricultural practices to the production of food in the High Middle Ages?
Ch 10
1. How did the revival of trade and cities effect the economy and society of Europe in the High Middle Ages?
2. Discuss the reasons for the rise of cities during the Middle Ages.
Ch 11
1. The author states that universities were a product of the High Middle Ages. How and why did universities develop the High Middle Ages?
Ch 12
1. To what extent were climate and disease key factors in producing economic and social changes?
2. What was the main cause of the Black Plague? What were the social and economic effects?
