Special Sub-Topic: Kings, Queens, and Rulers of the Ancient World Click Here To Play: Kings, Queens, and Rulers of the Ancient World

The Pharaoh Khufu (Also known as Cheops, in Greek) built the Great Pyramid, and called it 'Ikhet'. What does the word 'Ikhet' mean in ancient Egyptian?

The Glorious. He chose the name well for something that is still "glorious" after nearly fifty centuries!

Hammurabi's famous Code included punishments for all of the following except which of these?

Thefts from ordinary citizens. Besides such obvious gaps, the laws do not seem to be in any particular order. This is no indication either as to whether we have knowledge of the whole code, or only the laws about which there was doubt.

Which Pharaoh ruled for twenty-two years as the co-regent to Queen Hatshepsut, before taking the limelight as Egypt's great Warrior Pharaoh?

Thothmes III. No country of the Near East has ever attained as large an empire or so much power as Egypt under Thothmes III.

Akhnaton was the first monotheistic king of Egypt, changing worship from thousands of individualized Gods, to only Aton. What was the visible symbol of Aton?

Solar Disk. The change to monotheism did not fare well with the priests and common citizens of the day, and soon after Akhenaton's death, his son in law (Tutankhamen) returned the state to the old religion.

Which of the following is NOT one of the curses God bestowed upon the Egyptians for refusing to allow the Israelites to leave?

drought. First Moses/God turned the Nile to blood. When Ramses II still refused to allow the slaves to leave, frogs came out of the water, followed by lice and flies, painful boils, hail, locusts, and a total eclipse of the sun.

To whom was David referring in his lament, "Thy love to me was wonderful, passing the love of women"?

Jonathan. Jonathan and David were so close, that it is said that in their last meeting they swore eternal fidelity, and "wept one with another".

Which of these Biblical writing is NOT attributed to Solomon?

Words of the Wise (Proverbs, chpater 22, verses 17-24). It is doubtful that any of these were written by Solomon, as it was common practice in Solomon's day to attriubte works to famous names. "Words of the Wise," however, has not been credited to him at all.

The first known library was in the Assyrian capital of Nineveh. Which Assyrian leader created the library?

Ashurbanipal. The Assyrians were known for their cruelty, and Ashurbanipal was no exception. He would have placed his war conquests higher than his library in importance, but today one can see the true value of his accomplishment.

King Croesus of Lydia consulted an oracle about his state's well-being, and received the reply, "When a mule shall become king of the Medes, then do not waste a moment, nor blush to seem a coward, but flee." Who is this "mule" to whom the oracle refers?

Cyrus the Great. Cyrus was the intended mule, his mother being a Mede and his father a Persian.

Who did Darius I succeed as ruler of the Persian Empire? (Hint: It was Cyrus the Great's son)

Cambyses. Cambyses died suddenly while in Syria, and out of several nobles Darius I was chosen to succeed him.