The Persian Empire, Part I

15 Points Per Correct Answer - No time limit  

1. True or false: The Persians came from Aryan stock, and spoke an Indo-European language. True False

2. Just prior to the birth of the Persian Empire, Zoroaster presented his philosophical ideas and teachings, and the development and spread of the Zoroastrian faith throughout the Persian Empire followed. His teachings were formalized into the sacred book of the Zoroastrian religion, which is called...? Zend-Avesta Tripitaka Rig-Veda Adi-Granth

3. The origin of the Persian Empire can be found in a state formed at Parsumash c. 700 B.C. Who was the founder of this Persian state? Amasis Achaemenes Areus Ardishir

4. One of the keys to the building of the Persian Empire was the founding of the Median Kingdom to the north. Which Median king created this kingdom by first defeating the Scythians and then by extending his rule over the Persians to the south? Gyges Cyaxares Nahum Rusas

5. In 559 B.C. the capital of the Persian state was established at which city? Pasargadae Ecbatana Susa Persepolis

6. In 550 B.C., the son of the founder of the Median Kingdom, Astyages, was ousted from the Median throne by which Persian vassal king? Answer: (He wasn't a vassal for long, soon he became 'great'...)

7. The 'Ten Thousand Immortals' referred to which group of people of the Persian Empire? The royal bodyguard The ancestors of the Persian kings The high priests at Babylon The royal family

8. True or false: Persian rule was, at the outset, tolerant of the native beliefs and customs of its conquered peoples. True False

9. One of the first great conquests of Persia was that of Lydia, ruled by the famed king Croesus, which finally occurred in 547 by the capture of which capital city? Gordium Sinope Dascylium Sardes

10. Who was king of Babylon when the Persians conquered it in 539? Nabuchadrezzar Nabonidus Adadnirari Sargon