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.

   Card A tells its account in three languages. What does that suggest about its audience, Bo asks?

   • It was made to help modern scholars learn to read Old Persian writing
   • Each language recorded a different list of food for the workers
   • People who spoke different languages across the empire were meant to read it
   • Each language told a different story about how Darius became king
3. 2.

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

   • Both cards list the lands that belonged to Darius's empire in three languages
   • People across the empire could read both the cliff carving and the clay tablets
   • Both cards were made for workers across the empire to read and obey
   • Rulers used writing both to announce claims and to keep daily records
4. 3.

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

   • About 2,500 years, the time from card A to the present day
   • About 1,020 years, found by adding 520 and 500 together
   • About 500 years, the date on card B rather than the gap
   • About 20 years, since 520 minus 500 is 20
5. 4.

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

   • He built Persepolis, which let him defeat the rebels and claim the throne
   • He put down the revolts, and then claimed his rule held the lands together
   • He joined the rebels, and then claimed to rule the lands they held
   • He moved the capital to the cliff at Behistun to watch the rebels from above
6. 5.

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

   • The 23 lands of the empire each sent food to Persepolis by the Royal Road
   • Officials gave the food to Darius, who stored it on the cliff at Behistun
   • Workers across the empire were paid in food that was recorded on clay
   • Workers and travelers were given food by officials, recorded on clay
7. 6.

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

   • Both are Greek views of Persia, written by travelers from outside the empire
   • Both show the king's message to the public, just on different materials
   • Card A shows workers' daily lives, and card B shows the king's public claims
   • Card A is the king's public message; card B is officials' routine records
8. 7.

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

   • Card A, because kings list their workers' pay on cliffs
   • Card B, the tablets that officials kept at the time of the work
   • Card C, a modern map note about the lands of the empire
   • Neither card, because officials' records are too ordinary to count as evidence
9. 8.

   A student says, "Darius ruled lands in both Africa and Asia." Which cards support that claim, Tala asks?

   • Card A lists Egypt, and card C places it in Africa with Bactria in Asia
   • Card B, which lists Egypt and Bactria on its tablets as lands that sent food
   • Card C, which shows that Darius ruled the whole continent of Africa
   • Card A, because the cliff carving stands on the border between two continents
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 clay is an older writing material than carved stone
    • The tablets, because 500 is a smaller number than 520
    • 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 keep track of supplies so that the food could be checked later
    • To announce the king's victories to travelers passing through Persepolis
    • To leave a history for people to read in the distant future