Stretching across modern-day Syria and through Iraq, the Tigris–Euphrates river system surrounds the areas once known as the Fertile Crescent. This river system allowed the Mesopotamian civilization to flourish. Therefore, (C) is correct. (A), (B), and (D) are all incorrect because they mismatch the rivers to their geographic areas, as shown in the map. The Nile River runs through Egypt, the Indus River runs through India and Pakistan, and the Huang He (Yellow) River is in China.
The Egyptian, Mesopotamian, and Indus Valley civilizations all had polytheistic religions, in which the supreme gods and goddesses controlled the forces of nature; a common characteristic for civilizations that relied on agriculture. The Chinese civilization, however, had a religion based on ancestor worship; there was no uniform system of religion. Because the question asked for a feature common to all four civilizations, (A) is the correct answer. All four of the civilizations thrived during the Bronze Age, generally considered to fall between 3000 B.C.E. and 1000 B.C.E. Further, archaeological evidence confirms that bronze was made and used in all four civilizations. Therefore, (B) is incorrect. Archaeologists have uncovered samples of writing in which pictures or symbols depicted specific concepts, including Egyptian hieroglyphics, Sumerian cuneiform, the Harappan Seals of the Indus Valley, and Chinese oracle bone inscriptions. Thus, (C) is incorrect. All four civilizations had varying degrees of social stratification. Generally, leaders and their advisers were at the top, followed by scholars, professionals, merchants, artisans, laborers, and the lower classes. (D) is incorrect.
The Nile River, noted for its dangerous rapids called “cataracts,” was the backbone of the Ancient Egyptian civilization. Along with the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, the Nile River provided an effective barrier against outside invaders due to its limited navigability. Therefore, (D) is the correct answer. The Huang He, although it deposited mineral-rich loess soil, often flooded violently and unpredictably, killing millions. The river is nicknamed “China’s Sorrow” for this very reason. Thus, (A) is incorrect. The Indus Valley Civilization’s main cities were located far away from central India, the source of the Ganges; further, the Indus Valley Civilization developed largely in isolation from the rest of the Indian subcontinent. Therefore, (B) is incorrect. The map clearly shows the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers emptying into the Persian Gulf, which allowed easy access to Arabia, Persia, and beyond. Indeed, archaeological evidence confirms that Sumerian traders used riverboats and “gulf boats” to travel as far as the Indus Valley. Thus, (C) is incorrect.
Mohenjo-daro and Harappa were the most notable cities in the Indus Valley Civilization, centered in modern-day Pakistan and India. The ruins were discovered in the 1920s and are still being studied by archaeologists today. (D) is the correct answer. Some of the old oasis towns of the Silk Road, like Samarkand, are thriving cities today. Thus, (A) is incorrect. Athens and Sparta were the most dominant Ancient Greek city-states. Thus, (B) is incorrect. Many of the Mediterranean basin’s port cities still thrive today, including Alexandria, Egypt. Therefore, (C) is incorrect.
The Harappan seals—metal and clay tiles featuring engraved images of animals and a script—remain undeciphered to this day. Linguists and archaeologists believe that translating these seals would help unlock the secrets of the Indus Valley Civilization. Therefore, (A) is correct. These cities are two of the earliest-known examples of urban planning and public sanitation. Therefore, (B) and (C) are incorrect. (D) is incorrect because the proximity of these cities to the Indus River not only provided the water needed to grow crops like wheat and cotton, but also provided a means to ship these goods elsewhere.
Both the Twelve Tables and Hammurabi’s Code reflected the social structure of ancient societies, where a ruling elite occupied a privileged position above commoners. Thus, (A) is correct. While religious morality evolved alongside legal codes, they were not the primary motivation for social stratification. While the Roman Republic did, for a period, see its leadership bound by the rule of law, the first Babylonian empire was not a republic. Thus, (C) is incorrect. Both the Roman Republic and the first Babylonian empire were growing, internally stable bodies. They were not undergoing societal collapse; (D) is incorrect.
The Twelve Tables and Hammurabi’s Code both embodied the idea that “the punishment should fit the crime.” Indeed, the excerpts both display that more severe crimes were punishable by death. Further, both documents reference retaliation—the saying “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth” originated in Hammurabi’s Code. For these reasons, (B) is correct. Hammurabi expected his subjects to settle disputes through the Code itself, often using retaliation. Principles that are used in courtrooms today originated in the Twelve Tables. Therefore, (A) is incorrect. Both documents show that the wealthy paid fines for committing crimes that caused lower classes to be punished more severely. Thus, (C) is incorrect. Both legal codes made clear that a woman was to be subservient to her husband and to her home. (D) is incorrect.
Both of the excerpts reference the idea that “no one is above the law.” Prior to the development of written legal codes, laws were arbitrary and the lower classes were often subjected to the abuses of the wealthy and powerful. By creating systems of uniform law that applied to everyone everywhere, the Twelve Tables and Hammurabi’s Code both gave the lower classes rights that they had not had before; therefore, (B) is correct. (A) is incorrect because this statement only applies to the Twelve Tables; Hammurabi had vowed that anyone who changed, defiled, or destroyed his laws would be cursed. (C) is incorrect because only Republican Rome was ruled as a limited democracy, unlike Babylon, which was ruled by a king. (D) is incorrect because this statement only applies to Hammurabi’s Code, which unified both Semitic and Sumerian ideas. The Twelve Tables were not intended to unify or change old customs.
In both Christianity and Buddhism, women could live the life of a nun. The Biblical excerpt illustrates the concept of becoming a nun. The Buddhist poem describes the transformation of a courtesan into a nun; for both, the aim is the same: seeking spiritual purity while being free from the traditional roles of wifehood and motherhood. For this reason, (A) is the correct answer. (B) is incorrect because both religions considered women to be spiritual equals to men, despite socially delineated gender roles. (C) and (D) are both incorrect for a similar reason: the messages of both Christianity and Buddhism appealed to women. Both religions attracted female converts through their egalitarian ideals and their tales of holy men and holy women. Similarly, both Christian and Buddhist women were empowered to read spiritual texts (recall that Hindu women were not allowed to read the Vedas, and that Buddhism was created as an alternative to Hinduism).
As Christianity spread through the Mediterranean Basin, and as Buddhism spread through Asia, people started questioning the true nature of their respective founders. Consequently, different divisions of Christianity and Buddhism emerged, many of which are still practiced. For example, Nestorian Christians believed that Christ contained two distinct qualities, human and divine, rather than those two qualities being unified. Similarly, Theravada Buddhists consider the Buddha unique while Mahayana Buddhists believe he is merely one of many Buddhas. This similarity makes (D) the correct answer. (A) is incorrect because only Christianity is a religion of salvation; Christians believe that eternal life in Heaven is their ultimate goal, while Buddhists believe that nirvana, a state of perfect peace signified by breaking free from reincarnation, is their goal. (B) is incorrect because only Christianity are monotheistic while Buddhists feel that they can seek enlightenment without divine guidance. (C) is incorrect because it directly contradicts the correct answer; Buddhists do not see Buddha as both fully divine and fully human, and Christians only accepted this idea after the Council of Nicaea met in 325 C.E. and issued the Nicene Creed.