Answers and Explanations
Section I, Part A: Multiple-Choice
1 . A The Hellenistic culture combined Greek elements with those from local cultures as Alexander
the Great’s army conquered the area from North Africa to the Indus valley. Though Greek culture
also spread into India through trade in the Bactria region, this image is unrelated to class systems
(B). A frieze is not considered monumental sculpture (C). Buddhism is considered a belief system
rather than a religion (D).
2 . D Hellenistic culture involved the blending of Greek and local cultures in the wake of
Alexander the Great’s conquests of Asia Minor and the Indus valley region. Punic (A) refers to
Rome’s wars against Carthage; and both Justinian (B) and Constantinian (C) refer to Byzantine
emperors.
3 . C Under Alexander the Great, Greek culture blended with the conquered people’s ideas,
institutions, and traditions. Gandhi was a 20th-century Indian nationalist who promoted Indian
independence (A); and both Caesar Augustus (B), the first Roman emperor, and Chinggis Khan
(D), the first Mongol emperor, retained local customs, but did not adopt them personally.
4 . D The Mongols did not require or force conversion, but encouraged tolerance of all religions.
Public libraries (A), universal health care (B), and chess (C) were all characteristic of the golden
age of Arab rule.
5 . A The Mongols, particularly the Golden Horde in Central Asia, used tribute as a method of
asserting dominance over the Russian princes (B). The Mongols developed extensive trade
networks in Central Asia (A). They did not use religion to reinforce their power (C). The
Mongols also did not engage in large-scale public works projects (D).
6 . A With Russia’s conquest by the Mongols, its focus shifted from Western Europe toward the
East and Central Asia. Russia was primarily a tributary state (B); it kept its nomadic ways and did
not develop trade. The predominant religion in Russia was Orthodox Christianity (C), spread by
the Byzantines. When the Mongols converted to Islam, it helped motivate Russia to break free.
Russia remained a series of small, disunited principalities (D).
7 . A Both the Mongols and the Persians left cultural, political, and economic traditions in place,
and even some conquered rulers as well. The Mongols typically moved into areas that were
already occupied and used the resources that were already in place. Since they were nomadic,
building large monuments to glorify themselves was not part of their culture (B). Neither culture
is known for promoting equality for women. Both had traditions of harems (C). The Persians
were not monotheistic (D); the religion that they were known for developing, Zoroastrianism,
had two opposing godlike forces.
8 . C Paragraph 1 refers to the “shrine of his grandfather.” Shrines indicate worship. The following
two paragraphs (choices A, B, and D) do not refer to ancestor worship.
9 . C Daoism emphasizes being true to one’s inherent nature. It (A) focuses exclusively on wisdom,
(B) is inherently Confucian, and (D) is part of the Mandate of Heaven.
