Chapter 5
Chapter 5 of 1001 Questions and Answers on General History. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit LibriVox.org. Recording by D. Randall.
1001 Questions and Answers on General History by Benjamin Hathaway, Persia and Palestine. 1. Where is Persia? 2. In southwestern Asia, south of the Caspian Sea. 3. What is the native name of Persia? Iran.
3. In two how many states or provinces is it divided? 22 large and 10 small ones. 4. What is the capital and largest city? Tehran. 5. What is the biblical name for Persia?
Elam. 6. Who founded the Persian Empire and when? Cyrus the Great in the 6th century BC. 7. What was its extent? It reached from the Aegean Sea to India, beyond the Euphrates.
8. What did it include? Media, Assyria, Babylon, Asia Minor and Syria. 9. By whom was he succeeded? His son, Cambyses. 10. What was the chief event of the reign of Cambyses?
The invasion and conquest of Egypt in a single battle. 11. What stratagem did he use? He placed before the army cats, dogs and other animals sacred to the Egyptians. 12. How did the Persians regard these two kings? They called Cyrus father and Cambyses despot.
13. Who was called the second founder of the Persian Empire? Darius I. 14. What did he accomplish? He perfected the organization of the empire, dividing it into 23 provinces, over which he placed governors called by the Persians satraps.
15. Who was the son and successor of Darius? Xerxes. 16. What great invasion did Xerxes attempt to conquer Greece? 17. Was he successful? He was not.
Terrified by the destruction of his fleet, he fled into Asia. 18. What effect did this failure have on Xerxes? He gave up to luxury and was finally murdered by two of his servants in the year 465 BC. 19. What great change took place in the year 331 BC? The empire became a Grecian province.
20. Who produced this change? Alexander the Great. 21. What is the present government of Persia? It is an absolute monarchy. 22. What is the title of the ruler?
King or Shah? 23. What one thing limits the power of the Shah? His inability to set aside any of the accepted doctrines of Mohammedanism. 24. What were the characteristics of the Persians? Originally they were a hardy race of simple manners and great courage in war.
In later days they grew to be luxurious and effeminate. 25. What was the great end of Persian education? To ride, to draw the bow and to speak the truth. 26. What was notable in their architecture? Broad, sculptured staircases and tall slender columns.
27. What wonderful ruins are in Persia? Persepolis, the magnificent capital of the ancient empire, consisting now of fragments of the palaces of Xerxes, Cyrus and Darius and the royal tombs. 28. What was the religion of the early Persians? A simple worship of the spirit of good and a belief in an evil spirit to be hated and shunned.
29. What did it become later? The people became converts to the religion of Zoroaster and worshiped the element of fire under priests called Maji. 30. What is said of the power of the national customs of ancient Persia? The king was bound by them as closely as his subjects.
His command, once given, could not be revoked even by himself. Hence arose the phrase, unchangeable as the laws of the Medes and Persians. 31. Where was ancient Palestine? A part of Syria, lying between the desert on the east and the Mediterranean Sea. 32. By what other names is it known?
Holy Land and sometimes Judea. 33. How many divisions in Palestine? 34. What are they? Galilee, Samaria, Judea and the elevated district east of the Jordan. 35. Which was the most important province?
Judea. 36. What was the capital of Palestine? Jerusalem. 37. Who made it the capital? King David.
38. Why was it called Palestine? It is derived from the Hebrew word Philistia. 39. What is the principal river? The Jordan. 40. Describe the River Jordan.
It rises in the Lebanon Mountains and, after flowing 13 miles, enters Lake Tiberias, which is 620 feet above the level of the sea. Then, flowing south a distance of 100 miles, it enters the Dead Sea, which is 1,300 feet below the level of the Mediterranean. 41. What was Palestine called in ancient times?
The Land of Canaan. 42. What do we know of the early history of the Hebrews? Abram, founder of the Hebrews, came from Chaldea about 2000 BC. They lived like the Arabs of today, in tents with their flocks and herds. Later generations were invited to settle in Egypt, where they were subsequently greatly oppressed
and finally rescued from bondage by Moses. 43. Who accomplished the conquest of Palestine? Joshua, the successor to Moses, destroyed 31 cities of Canaan in 6 years of hard fighting and allotted the country to the 12 tribes of Israel. 44. Name the three greatest kings of Israel.
Saul, David, and Solomon. Each reigned 40 years. 45. Who was Saul? The first king of Israel, chosen of God through the prophet Samuel. 46. What was the character of David's reign?
He enlarged the boundaries of Palestine, fixed the capital at Jerusalem, organized an army, and enforced the worship of Jehovah as the national religion. 47. Describe the reign of Solomon. It was the most splendid period of Jewish history. He built the great temple in Jerusalem, erected magnificent palaces,
and sent expeditions to India and Arabia. 48. What occurred after Solomon's death? The empire was rent into the petty kingdoms, Israel and Judah, the former containing 10 tribes, the latter two. 49. What was the fate of the kingdom of Israel?
It was idolatrous, and after much turmoil and many vicissitudes, the people vanished from history. They are known as the lost tribes. 50. What happened to the kingdom of Judah? It retained the national religion and existed for nearly 400 years. Then Nebuchadnezzar destroyed Jerusalem and sent the king
and many of the inhabitants in chains to Babylon. 51. What was the restoration? After a captivity of 70 years, the Jews were allowed by Cyrus to return to Judea and rebuild their temple. 52. When was Jerusalem taken by Rome?
In 70 AD by Titus, after a siege of untold horror. 53. What was done with the Jews? They were scattered as slaves or exiles. 54. Who has ruled Palestine most of the time since then? The Saracens and Turks, both Mohammedans.
55. What were the crusades and when did they occur? They were pilgrimages made to Palestine during the Middle Ages by the people of Europe for the purpose of rescuing Jerusalem from Mohammedan power. 56. Were they successful? They were not. 57. Who rules Palestine at present? It is subject to the Turks.
58. How has the Jewish nation influenced the world? Its sacred books constitute the Bible and its religion has molded the faith of the most civilized nations. 59. What great interest has the Hebrew commonwealth for us? It was the first republic of which we have definite knowledge.
60. What was the character of the Mosaic laws? They were mild and far beyond the spirit of the age. 61. How was learning regarded by the Hebrews? It was held in high esteem and everyone received what we should call a common school education. Also, every boy was compelled to learn a trade.
End of chapter 5
