Persia: a huge empire held together by roads and governors

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Challenge Me

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Many peoples, one empire (cards A to D; summaries in our words). Card A, a stone statue of Darius I, found at Susa in 1972. It is carved with writing in Egyptian hieroglyphs and in cuneiform in three languages, and its inscription says it was made in Egypt. Card B, Aramaic documents: letters and records in Aramaic from Persian times have been found in Egypt in the west and in Bactria in the east. The Bactria documents are dated between 353 and 324 BCE. Card C, a papyrus copied in Egypt long after Darius's time: it says Darius ordered Egypt's wise men to collect the country's old laws and write them down. Card D, the empire's dates: Cyrus the Great founded it about 550 BCE, and Alexander of Macedon conquered it by 330 BCE.

2. 1.

   Card A has writing in Egyptian hieroglyphs and in cuneiform. What does that suggest about its audience, Ari asks?

   • It was a statue of an Egyptian king, made before Persia ruled Egypt
   • It shows that people across the empire could read Egyptian hieroglyphs
   • It spoke to Egyptians and to Persian officials alike, in each one's own script
   • It was made to help scholars of today read hieroglyphs beside cuneiform, long after Persia's rule
3. 2.

   Cards A and B come from Egypt and Bactria, far apart. What do they together suggest about Persian rule, Bo asks?

   • Rulers used local forms and a shared written language to reach many peoples
   • Rulers wrote in Old Persian alone, which made Aramaic an unofficial language
   • Rulers sent Egyptian clerks to Bactria, so the two lands shared officials
   • Rulers forced each people to give up its own language and customs
4. 3.

   A student says, "Persian rulers forced all peoples to give up their own ways." How do cards A and C challenge that, Esme asks?

   • Card A shows Darius in Persian clothes alone, and card C says Egypt kept no laws
   • Card A shows Darius in Egyptian form; card C says he had old laws collected
   • They do not matter, because Egypt was one small part of the empire's lands
   • Cards A and C show that no Persian ruler changed a local custom
5. 4.

   Card C was copied in Egypt long after Darius's time. How should a historian use it, Jun asks?

   • As a later account of a tradition, drawn from sources from his time
   • As a modern summary that lists the laws of Egypt for a textbook on ancient Egypt
   • As worthless, because Egyptians who disliked Persian rule would not write it
   • As a record made during Darius's reign, so it needs no further checking
6. 5.

   Why was a shared written language such as Aramaic useful, as the documents in card B suggest, Kira asks?

   • It was the language of the statue in card A, so orders used it
   • Officials in far provinces could write to each other without translating
   • It let Alexander's officers read Persian records after they conquered the empire
   • It stopped provinces from keeping their own languages for daily life
7. 6.

   Card D says the empire began about 550 BCE and ended by 330 BCE. About how many years did it last, Luz asks?

   • About 220 years, since 550 minus 330 is 220
   • About 880 years, found by adding 550 and 330 together
   • About 22 years, from reading 220 as 22
   • About 36 years, the length of Darius's reign from 522 to 486 BCE
8. 7.

   Card B says the Bactria documents run to 324 BCE, after the empire ended by 330 BCE. What does that show, Milo asks?

   • Everything about Persian rule stayed the same after Alexander's conquest
   • Aramaic record-keeping carried on there even after the Persian Empire ended
   • Alexander's conquest began after 324 BCE, so the dates fit his rule
   • The Persian Empire had not ended, because its documents were still dated
9. 8.

   Why might Darius have wanted a statue in Egyptian style, as card A suggests, Tala asks?

   • To show that Egypt had no king before Darius ruled it
   • So archaeologists could date it after it was found at Susa in 1972
   • To present himself as a rightful ruler to Egyptians in forms they knew
   • To record the amount that Egypt paid in fixed payments each year to the Persian court
10. 9.

    Card B dates the Bactria documents from 353 to 324 BCE. About how many years do they cover, Zee asks?

    • About 677 years, found by adding 353 and 324 together
    • About 39 years, since 353 minus 324 is 39
    • About 2,350 years, counted from 324 BCE to today
    • About 29 years, since 353 minus 324 is 29
11. 10.

    A student says, "Card B proves Persians never used Old Persian for records." Which card challenges that, Ren asks?

    • Card A has cuneiform in three languages, so royal writing was not just Aramaic
    • Card C, since it says Darius wrote the laws of Egypt himself in Old Persian script
    • Neither, since an Aramaic document means the Persian language was not written
    • Card D, since it shows that Old Persian was spoken in each province