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CHAPTER 8

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1. What general description is indicative of ancient India as a political unit?

A. Disunity under rulers in separate states

B. Powerful dynasties ruling over a united India

C. Indian empires enduring foe lengthy time periods

D. Minimal cultural cohesion

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CORRECT ANSWER = A

B. This has happened, but not often

C. United empires have not endured there for very lengthy periods

D. There has been very strong cultural cohesion

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2. What do the Aryan epics contain valuable information on?

A. Rituals & sacrifices

B. Mystical speculation

C. Social values & classes

D. Conquests of the Aryans

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CORRECT ANSWER = C

A. The Brahmanas cover this

B. The Upanishads cover this

D. The Vedas mention this

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3. How was India first unified politically?

A. Through the Janapadas

B. By Alexander the Great

C. When Chandragupta Maurya Marched into northwest Inida

D. By the Hindu faith

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CORRECT ANSWER = C

A. Janapadas were disunited territories

B. Alexander’s troops mutinied and he turned back

D. The Hindu faith had exited a long time, during which India had not been united

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4. What did the Maurya Dynasty base its government upon?

A. Earlier political structures

B. Artha Shastra

C. Mahabharata

D. Upanishads

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CORRECT ANSWER = B

A. They were actually regional state governments

C. & D. These on religion & morals rather than politics

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5. The Maurya state appears to have controlled/regulated all these except for:

A. Gender relations

B. The guilds

C. The religious establishment

D. Caste rules

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CORRECT ANSWER = B.

A. These rules were ardently enforced

C. The state attempted to regulate its use of wealth & power

D. These were also state-enforced

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6. What religious faith seems to have been particularly favored by the Maurya and Kushana Dynasties?

A. Buddhism

B. Hinduism

C. Confucianism

D. None of these

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CORRECT ANSWER = A

B. Hindus were given no particular favor

C. This was an ethnic Chinese faith and did not factor in India

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7. To what did the first Gupta Emperor owe his rise to power?

A. Military prowess

B. A fortunate marriage

C. Political assassination of opponents

D. Coming from a prominent family

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CORRECT ANSWER = B

A. It was his son Samudra Gupta who earned that distinction

C. He did not perpetrate this

D. His family was of no historical fame

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8. What statement is most correctly applicable to developments during the Gupta Period?

A. Gupta rule was highly centralized, and rigidly controlled from the top

B. Literature began moving away from Sanskrit to modern Hindi script

C. The term “Golden Age” was applied to this period because of its rulers’ political accomplishments

D. The was a revival of Hindu philosophy and religious authority

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CORRECT ANSWER = D

A. Gupta rule was often indirect

B. There was a great resurgence of Sanskrit literature

C. It was applied more because of the period’s cultural brilliance

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9. How did the Huna invasion most impact India?

A. Northern cities were favored, and prospered accordingly

B. No further unification of India from the inside was seriously attempted

C. India’s population pool was seriously weakened

D. Buddhist monasteries underwent a period of revival

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CORRECT ANSWER = B

A. Northern urban centers declined

C. It was, rather, enriched by Gujaras & Rajputs entering western India

D. They were attacked and never recovered

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10. How has the history of India been generally interpreted and written?

A. From the perspective of the Ganges Valley

B. From the perspective of the Indus Valley

C. From a Buddhist perspective

D. None of these

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CORRECT ANSWER = A

B. The Indus Valley declined and became a desert region

C. Buddhism declined and the majority of Indians are of the Hindu faith

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11. What most accurately reflects the interaction between Aryan and non-Aryan Indians?

A. The Aryans were the first recorded peoples to migrate into India

B. The most distinct and separate region of India has been the far east

C. The people of Gujarat identify strongly with the rest of India

D. Many non-Aryans were absorbed into the caste system

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CORRECT ANSWER = D

A. Some immigrants certainly preceded the Aryans

B. This distinction belongs to the far south

C. They have always seen themselves as a distinct ethnic group

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12. What generally marks the historical relationship between India and Southeast Asia?

A. Constant military struggle and attempted conquests

B. Complete domination by Buddhist cultural elements

C. Peaceful religious and cultural diffusion from India over the centuries

D. Deliberate isolation of certain kingdoms from Indian influence

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CORRECT ANSWER = C

A. This was the exception rather than the rule

B. Hindu elements were equally active

D. There always appears to have been ready interchange

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13. How may it be said that comparisons of India with Rome and China cannot be straight forward?

A. China and Rome drew upon much more ancient traditions

B. India was totally dominated by a single religious group

C. Chinese and Latin languages had more in common with each other

D. In China and Rome the state, unlike in India, was fundamental to all areas of life

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CORRECT ANSWER = D

A. Indian civilization is believed to be more ancient than either of the others

B. Hinduism & Buddhism vied with each other during this time

C. Latin and Indian language belong to the same (Indo-European) language family

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14. Again, in comparison with the Chinese and Roman empires, how has the Indian example proved unique?

A. In imposing central institutions on its subjects

B. In integrating rather than defeating its constituent parts

C. In proving to be more resistant to outside ideas

D. In its tensions between centralized and regional interest groups

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CORRECT ANSWER = B

A. This was actually Roman and Chinese policy

C. India has been assimilating outside ideas for centuries

D. This is true of all empires