Persia: a huge empire held together by roads and governors

Grade 6 Social Studies Worksheet - Building Confidence

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Darius speaks, and clerks record (cards A to C; summaries in our words). Card A, the Behistun Inscription, about 520 BCE: carved high on a cliff in what is now western Iran. Darius I tells, in three languages (Old Persian, Elamite and Babylonian), how he became king and put down revolts, and he lists 23 lands that he says belong to him. Card B, the Persepolis tablets, about 500 BCE: thousands of clay tablets found at Persepolis, mostly in Elamite. They are everyday records, kept by officials, of food given to workers and travelers. They were not made for the public to read. Card C, a map note: Darius's 23 lands stretched from Egypt in Africa and Lydia in the west to Bactria and Gandara in the east.

2. 1.

   Whose voice speaks in card A, and what does that voice want readers to believe, Ari asks?

   • Historians today, who list the lands of the empire for a school textbook
   • Darius, who wants readers to see his rule as rightful and wide
   • Palace clerks, who log the food given to workers and travelers each day
   • A Greek traveler, who describes the empire to readers back home in Greece and tells what he saw
3. 2.

   A student says, "Card A shows how much of the empire Darius really controlled." How strong is that claim, Esme asks?

   • Weak: a king's carving cannot be used as evidence about the lands it names
   • Weak: card A is Darius's own claim, so it shows what he wanted people to believe
   • Strong: a king carving a list in stone on a cliff would not exaggerate it
   • Strong: three languages mean three separate sources agree with each other on the lands
4. 3.

   Cards A and B were made for different readers. What do they together suggest about running the empire, Jun asks?

   • People across the empire could read both the cliff carving and the clay tablets
   • Rulers used writing both to announce claims and to keep daily records
   • Both cards list the lands that belonged to Darius's empire in three languages
   • Both cards were made for workers across the empire to read and obey
5. 4.

   Card A dates to about 520 BCE and card B to about 500 BCE. About how far apart are they, Kira asks?

   • About 1,020 years, found by adding 520 and 500 together
   • About 20 years, since 520 minus 500 is 20
   • About 2,500 years, the time from card A to the present day
   • About 500 years, the date on card B rather than the gap
6. 5.

   Card A says Darius faced revolts after becoming king. What did he do next, and what could he then claim, Luz asks?

   • He joined the rebels, and then claimed to rule the lands they held
   • He put down the revolts, and then claimed his rule held the lands together
   • He built Persepolis, which let him defeat the rebels and claim the throne
   • He moved the capital to the cliff at Behistun to watch the rebels from above
7. 6.

   What does card B show about the people who received food from officials, Milo asks?

   • Workers across the empire were paid in food that was recorded on clay
   • Workers and travelers were given food by officials, recorded on clay
   • Officials gave the food to Darius, who stored it on the cliff at Behistun
   • The 23 lands of the empire each sent food to Persepolis by the Royal Road
8. 7.

   Cards A and B both come from inside the empire. How do their viewpoints differ, Noah asks?

   • Card A is the king's public message; card B is officials' routine records
   • Both are Greek views of Persia, written by travelers from outside the empire
   • Card A shows workers' daily lives, and card B shows the king's public claims
   • Both show the king's message to the public, just on different materials
9. 8.

   Which source is better for learning what workers actually received at Persepolis, Pia asks?

   • Card B, the tablets that officials kept at the time of the work
   • Card A, because kings list their workers' pay on cliffs
   • Neither card, because officials' records are too ordinary to count as evidence
   • Card C, a modern map note about the lands of the empire
10. 9.

    Which came first, the cliff carving in card A or the tablets in card B, Zee asks?

    • Neither, because both were made at the same moment in Darius's reign
    • The tablets, because 500 is a smaller number than 520
    • The tablets, because clay is an older writing material than carved stone
    • The cliff carving, because 520 BCE is earlier than 500 BCE
11. 10.

    Why would officials write down food given to workers on clay tablets, Ren asks?

    • To teach new clerks the Old Persian script from the Behistun carving
    • To leave a history for people to read in the distant future
    • To keep track of supplies so that the food could be checked later
    • To announce the king's victories to travelers passing through Persepolis