Q 01/05

Which writing system, pressed into clay tablets, did the Sumerians develop in Mesopotamia?

A) Linear B

B) Hieroglyphs

C) Cuneiform

D) Indus Script

Answer · why

C) Cuneiform

Cuneiform means 'wedge-shaped', after the marks a cut reed left in wet clay; it grew out of accounting records kept in the city of Uruk and stayed in ...

Q 02/05

The 1494 Treaty of Tordesillas split newly found lands outside Europe between Castile and which other seafaring kingdom?

A) Portugal

B) France

C) England

D) Denmark

Answer · why

A) Portugal

Portugal and Castile drew their line 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands; the far side of the globe was only divided in 1529, by the Treaty of ...

Q 03/05

Mansa Musa, famous for the gold he spent on his pilgrimage to Mecca, ruled which West African state?

A) Songhai

B) Mali

C) Ghana

D) Kanem

Answer · why

B) Mali

Mali reached its territorial peak under Mansa Musa; he brought scholars home from his pilgrimage, among them the Andalusian poet al-Sahili, and helped...

Q 04/05

Which Greek philosopher founded the Peripatetic school, also known as the Lyceum?

A) Aristotle

B) Socrates

C) Zeno of Citium

D) Plato

Answer · why

A) Aristotle

Aristotle founded the school at Athens' Lyceum around 335 BC; 'Peripatetic' comes from the Greek for walking about, after the covered walk where he is...

Q 05/05

In Roman tradition, the expulsion of King Tarquin the Proud in 509 BCE replaced the monarchy with which form of government?

A) Republic

B) Empire

C) Democracy

D) Theocracy

Answer · why

A) Republic

A republic: in the traditional account the Romans handed the king's powers to two consuls elected for a single year, a check on any return to one-man ...