Exploring Ancient World Cultures
Quizzes on the Ancient Near East
Famous Near Eastern Rulers
Ten Questions
1. This Assyrian successor to Sennacherib continued his plan to build a
great library at Ninevah by compiling a collection of more than 22,000
clay tablets. Who was he?
2. Around 2320, this Akkadian ruler conquered the independent city-states
of Sumer and instituted a centralized government. He was also the first
ruler to employ a standing military. Who was he?
3. This Israelite king ruled immediately after Saul. During his reign, he
instituted forced labor and a system of taxation. He also took a census
of the people. Who was he?
4. This Assyrian queen ruled from 810 to 805 BCE. She is one of the few
women to achieve prominance in the ancient world. Who was she?
5. This noble Persian returned exiled Jews to Jerusalem after the
Babylonian Belshazaar failed to "read the handwriting on the wall." He
also founded the Persian Empire in 539 BCE. Who was he?
6. This Sumerian king ruled over Uruk like a tyrrant before being saved
from himself by an encounter with Enkidu. According to legend, he was
two-thirds god and one-third man. Who was he?
7. This New Babylonian leader built the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon
along with many other monumental buildings. In 586, he conquered Jerusalem
and exiled many Jews. Who was he?
8. This "Great" Near Eastern ruler built an empire-wide system of roads
and installed the first postal system. He was the third ruler of his
empire after Cyrus and his son, Cambyses. Who was he?
9. This Israelite led his people in a revolt against the Greek overlord
Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 BCE. His revolution was successful, thereby
issuing in the Hassmonian Dynasty in Palestine. Who was he?
10. This Assyrian ruler built a new capital of the empire in Ninevah.
Ruling from 705 to 681 BCE, he managed to conquer the entire region of
western Asia. Who was he?