SAT II World History : Babylonian Empire

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II World History

varsity tutors app store varsity tutors android store

Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Babylonian Empire

Which of these individuals is responsible for creating the famous Code of Laws that often defines the Babylonian civilization to modern historians?

Possible Answers:

Cyrus

Nebuchadnezzar

Gilgamesh

Ashurbanipal

Hammurabi

Correct answer:

Hammurabi

Explanation:

Hammurabi's Code of Laws is the earliest known written-down legal system. Hammurabi was a Babylonian king circa 1800 BCE. The Babylonian civilization existed in various forms for roughly 1500 years from 2000 BCE to 500 BCE. 

Example Question #1 : Babylonian Empire

The "Babylonian Captivity" involved __________.

Possible Answers:

None of the other answer choices is correct. 

The forced imprisonment, and subsequent execution, of Christians in Ancient Babylon by Hammurabi

The imprisonment of the Babylonian King by the Assyrians

The loss of much of the writings of ancient Babylon when the Persian army invaded and sacked the royal library

The capture and forced exile of many Jews from the Kingdom of Judah in Babylon

Correct answer:

The capture and forced exile of many Jews from the Kingdom of Judah in Babylon

Explanation:

The Babylon Captivity is a period of Jewish history when many Jewish citizens of the Kingdom of Judah were captured and forced into exile in ancient Babylon by the Babylonian King Nebuchadnezzar.

Example Question #84 : Prehistory To 500 C.E.

The so-called "Babylonian Captivity" ended when __________.

Possible Answers:

Ashurbanipal, and the Assyrian army, freed the Babylonian forces being held by a rebel Assyrian ruler

Cyrus the Great, and the Persian army, captured the city of Babylon

The Jewish people were led to their freedom by Moses

Cyrus the Great was executed by his own people and replaced by his much more tolerant son

Ashurbanipal and Cyrus the Great defeated the forces of Nebuchadnezzar in the Battle of Sargon

Correct answer:

Cyrus the Great, and the Persian army, captured the city of Babylon

Explanation:

The "Babylonian Captivity" of the sixth century BCE involved the forced imprisonment of much of the population of the Kingdom of Judah within the city of Babylon. It ended when Cyrus the Great conquered Babylon in 539 BCE and founded the Achaemenid Dynasty of Persia. Cyrus freed the Jewish people and they mostly returned to Judaea.

Example Question #3 : Babylonian Empire

The Ancient civilization of Babylon existed in the territory of what modern-day state? 

Possible Answers:

Egypt

India

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

Iraq

Correct answer:

Iraq

Explanation:

The Ancient civilization of Babylon existed in the modern-day state of Iraq. Although you might not have known this immediately, you should know that Babylon was a Mesopotamian kingdom and that Iraq is the only modern country on this list which falls in the region of Mesopotamia. 

Example Question #1 : Babylonian Empire

The Amorite Babylonian Dynasty of Hammurabi ended when which civilization sacked the ancient city of Babylon? 

Possible Answers:

Egyptian

Persian

Sumerian

Israelite

Hittite

Correct answer:

Hittite

Explanation:

The Sack of Babylon occurred in approximately 1530 BCE, when the Hittite ruler, Mursili I, marched his army into the heart of Mesopotamia and lay waste to Babylon. It brought about the demise of the Amorite Dynasty of Hammurabi and ushered in a new era of civilizations in the Mesopotamian region.

Example Question #2 : Babylonian Empire

Along with the Babylonian Empire, which of these was also an Akkadian civilization?

Possible Answers:

Byzantine

Kushite

Parthian

Kurdish

Assyria

Correct answer:

Assyria

Explanation:

"Akkadian" is the name of a language group, cultural group, and civilization that predates the Babylonian Empire. The Babylonian Empire arose in the Fertile Crescent of land between the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Its main rival to the North was another Akkadian civilization known as the Assyrian Empire. The two fought for centuries for control over the Fertile Crescent and each reigned as hegemonic powers for a period of time.

Example Question #1 : Babylonian Empire

The Neo-Babylonian Empire reached it's height during the reign of ________________.

Possible Answers:

Cyrus the Great

Nebuchadnezzar II

Hammurabi

Nabopolassar

Justinian I

Correct answer:

Nebuchadnezzar II

Explanation:

Cyrus the Great was the founded of the Achaemenid Empire, the progenitor of the Persian Empire. Justinian I is the most famous ruler of the Byzantine Empire. Hammurabi was the most influential ruler of the old Babylonian Empire that reached it's apex almost four thousand years ago. Nebopolassar was an early ruler of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. But, it was during the reign of Nebuchadnezzar II (605-561 B.C.E.) that the Neo-Babylonian Empire reached the height of it's powers. It is useful at this juncture to draw a distinction between the old Babylonian Empire of Hammurabi (circa eighteenth century B.C.E.) and the Neo-Babylonian Empire of Nebuchadnezzar II (more than a millennium later).

Learning Tools by Varsity Tutors