HIST 151: Chapter 7 Reading Guide

Bentley & Ziegler, Traditions & Encounters — Chapter 7: The Empires of Persia

Note: This is a reading guide, not a study guide. Complete it while you read — it directs you to specific passages, keeps you engaged, and holds you accountable as you move through the text. The goal is comprehension and evidence-gathering, not review.

World history can cover unfamiliar civilizations and time periods. This guide will help you identify the most important events, peoples, and processes so that by the time you finish the chapter, you will have a solid grasp of the material — and be well prepared for the Chapter Quiz.

Anchor Questions — Step 1: Go to the page indicated. Find the sentence using the opening words provided. Type the entire sentence verbatim into the first box.
Anchor Questions — Step 2: Answer the question in your own words using that sentence as your evidence. No outside research needed or permitted.

Review Questions: Answer in your own words from your reading. No outside research needed or permitted.
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Anchor Question 1

Achaemenid Administration: The Satrapies

On Page 125, find the sentence beginning with the words: "Second, the rulers created..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

What measures did Achaemenid rulers like Darius implement to prevent regional governors, or satraps, from rebelling or asserting independence?

Anchor Question 2

Roads and Communications

On Page 126, find the sentence beginning with the words: "In addition to improving..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How did the construction of the Persian Royal Road facilitate the administration and integration of the vast Achaemenid empire?

Anchor Question 3

The Achaemenid Commonwealth

On Page 127, find the sentence beginning with the words: "Xerxes did not seek..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How did the ruling style of Xerxes differ from his predecessors, Cyrus and Darius, and what were the consequences of his approach?

Anchor Question 4

The Parthians

On Page 129, find the sentence beginning with the words: "The Parthians discovered that..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How did a change in agricultural practices allow the Parthians to gain a significant military advantage over nomadic raiders from the steppes?

Anchor Question 5

The Sasanians

On Page 129, find the sentence beginning with the words: "From their cosmopolitan capital..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

In what ways did the Sasanians attempt to legitimize their rule and re-create the splendor of earlier Persian empires?

Anchor Question 6

Imperial Bureaucrats

On Page 131, find the sentence beginning with the words: "The requirements of imperial..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How did the requirements of a cosmopolitan imperial administration alter the traditional social hierarchy of Persian society?

Anchor Question 7

Free Classes

On Page 131, find the sentence beginning with the words: "The most remarkable of..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

Why did cultivators in the Persian heartland invest the massive human labor required to construct underground canals known as qanat?

Anchor Question 8

Standardized Coins

On Page 132, find the sentence beginning with the words: "It was much simpler..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

How did the adoption of standardized coins — a practice originating in Lydia — accelerate economic development within the Persian empires?

Anchor Question 9

Zoroastrian Teachings

On Page 135, find the sentence beginning with the words: "At that time individual..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

According to the teachings of Zarathustra, what is the fundamental nature of the universe and the ultimate fate of human souls?

Anchor Question 10

Influence of Zoroastrianism

On Page 137, find the sentence beginning with the words: "Those teachings included the..."

Type the entire sentence verbatim here to identify the evidence:

Which specific theological concepts did Judaism, Christianity, and Islam ultimately adopt from the Zoroastrian faith?