Knowledge BLASTER! Guide to World History

By Yucca Road Productions

So, you really want (or need) to learn all you can about world history, but don't have time? Okay then, you've come to the right... well, study guide!

We were helping a friend study for the contestant quiz of the Jeopardy! Game show when we realized we had accumulated enough material to teach the subject to almost anyone. A student, game show contestant, or curious world-watcher. And in only about one hundred and thirty pages!

Imagine getting all that knowledge in a simple question-and-answer format. It's like getting a copy of the final exam way in advance.

KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! Guide to World History to 1960 traces the incredible—and at times highly unlikely—development of civilization, arts, invention and industry by the great thinkers and doers.

Test yourself right now, and see if you know the answers to:
When and where did the Iron Age begin?
When and where did Mohammed begin his religious mission?
What king is known as "the English Justinian?"
Who fought the War of the Roses?
What Spanish Conquistador defeated the Incas?

How did you do? Need some practice? No worries. We got your back. Just for fun, try some more:
Who invented the battery, in 1799?
What war ended with the creation of the Union of South Africa?
What does UNICEF stand for?

Okay, that's enough. Don't overdo it. Might sprain your brain.

The KNOWLEDGE BLASTER! Series compresses a great mountain of available information into easily digestible morsels.

You get the who-did-what and when. But, be advised, if you think you need to know all the why's and why-not's, you're going to need a much bigger book.

You can use this reference work as a launch pad to propel yourself into more in-depth studies. However, if you find this little study guide provides all the information you need, then consider your knowledge...
Blasted!

We wish you the best of luck in your quest for knowledge in this fascinating subject. 'Bye now.

And, oh yes, buy now!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Yucca Road Productions
• Release date: Jun 17, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463702390

Yucca Road Productions

Yucca Road Productions started as all great enterprises do... having a cup of coffee with friends at the kitchen table. One of our little gang of misfits had decided he was destined to appear on the Jeopardy! game show. The rest of us were foolhardy enough to volunteer our surprisingly diverse knowledge sets for the task of preparing him for said destiny.A couple years later, we had accumulated so much info, it was nuts. After deleting what we decided was "trivia" in the game show's dozen or so most-used categories, we figured we could teach anybody to do well on a game show. Or an exam. Or trivia night at the neighborhood pub. Oh, yes... we nailed that one.And so, the Knowledge Blaster! series was conceived and delivered!Then Terry Marsh wrote a couple novels and approached us about getting them published. We liked the books. So, after coercing him into buying bagels for everybody, we added him to our list of ne'er-do-wells.Then Leo Moss surprised us with a book of more-or-less poetry and a novel about a reluctant magic man. We added his works to the list, too. We had to. Moss is the only guy in the group who can spell without a dictionary (so we made him editor), and we just can't find anybody else who will work for the "prestige" of it. Just kidding, Leo.So, time passes, as is its habit. We're still at the kitchen table, wondering what might happen next. We hope it involves pizza, but you never know.

Book preview

The Bronze Age Cometh

The cradle of many civilizations (such as Egypt and Mesopotamia), this region is flanked by the Nile River in the west, and the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers in the east.

—The Fertile Crescent.

Domestication of animals and crops (wheat and barley) marked the first agricultural period, called...?

—The Neolithic Revolution (or New Stone Age), 9000-8000 BC, in the Middle East.

History is said to have begun around 3100 BC because that is when a type of wedge-shaped pictographic writing (on clay tablets) appeared. This writing, called cuneiform, was invented in...?

—The ancient country of Sumer, in Mesopotamia, between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

Around 3900 BC, the wheel and the plough were developed in Mesopotamia; the sail was invented in... ?

—Egypt.

This step-shaped pyramid of the era was made of brick and used as a temple in Mesopotamia.

—Ziggurat.

Were the priests of Mesopotamia considered gods?

—No, but direct descendants of gods.

By 3100, Sumer had become civilized, with temple cities and stratification of the work force. Merchants brought copper and tin from Turkey, Cyprus, and Arabia. What were these metals combined to make?

—Bronze. Bronze casting (and the Bronze Age) probably developed around 4000 BC in the Near East.

What was the language of Sumer?

—Semitic, an ancestor of Hebrew.

A Sumerian epic reminiscent of the tale of Noah was called...?

—Gilgamesh.

Around 2400 BC this Akkadian conquered Sumer.

—Sargon, the Empire Builder.

As the Sumerian culture died out, Babylonia emerged. Who was the great leader of Babylonia?

—Hammurabi, famous for his code of law (c. 1750 BC)

What people conquered Hammurabi's Babylonia?

—The Cassites. Babylonia continued to exist until around 540 BC.

Geography had a great impact on the differences between Egyptian and Mesopotamian development. Can you explain these differences?

—The Nile had predictable flooding periods and left fertile soil on its banks for growing. Egypt had natural protection from migrating peoples from the Sinai desert, the Red Sea, and the cataracts. These factors allowed for long continuity and a degree of seclusion from the outside world. In Mesopotamia, the Tigris and Euphrates were unpredictable, discouraging development of a farming society. Mesopotamia also lacked natural resources, which encouraged trade with other areas.

The Egyptian civilization is somewhat younger than the Mesopotamian. King Menes united the rival kingdoms of Upper and Lower Egypt around 3200 BC and began the dynastic period. The Old Kingdom of Egypt began around 2689 BC. In a few years, Cheops constructed his monumental tomb. Where is the Egyptian pyramid of Cheops (or Khufu)?

—By Giza. The Sphinx is also nearby.

What was the first great capital of Egypt?

—Memphis, followed by Thebes.

Around 1700 BC, Egypt was invaded by these mystery people.

—The Hyksos. The Hyksos were expelled around 1570 BC, and the New Kingdom was created.

In Egypt, were the Pharaohs considered gods?

—Yes, they were.

This Pharaoh was the first to experiment with the monotheistic Aton religion, worshiping only the sun and calling himself the son of the sun. (c. 1370 B.C.)

—Aichnaton, or Ikhnaton (Amenhotep IV).

What was the sun deity called?

—Ra.

The last great pharaoh of Egypt died in 1166 BC. He was...?

—Ramses III.

A different family of languages, comprising most of those of Europe and many of India and southwest Asia, began to emerge. The subfamilies include Hellenic, Italic, Celtic, Germanic, and Indo-Iranian. What name is given to this family of languages?

—Indo-European.

Where did the Minoan civilization develop?

—On the Mediterranean island of Crete, south of Greece, around 2000 BC.

By 1600 BC, Mycenaean civilization was developing in Greece. This kind of writing appeared in Greece and Crete around 1500.

—Linear B script.

In Asia, the cultivation of rice is thought to have begun in Thailand around 6000 BC, and by 3500 a city stood in this country.

—China.

In India, civilizations emerged in the Indus valley around 2750 BC. By 1450, Brahma worship had developed, and these earliest Indian writings had appeared.

—The Vedas.

In the Americas, men were hunting animals at least as early as 9000 BC and spreading southward. By 3000, they were beginning to make pottery (in Ecuador and Colombia). Evidence of the first metal-working in the Americas comes from this country.

—Peru.

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The World in the Age of Iron

Who were the first to use iron?

—The Hittites, in Egypt and elsewhere.

Light horse-drawn war chariots were developed by the barbarians. The use of iron brought another revolution in human development: the Iron Age, beginning around 1350 BC.

Maritime Phoenicians settled in Lebanon, where they made cities at Tyre and Sidon, and established outposts such as this city on the site of what is now Tunis in Tunisia.

—Carthage (c. 814).

Who developed the first alphabet?

—The Phoenicians (c. 1100 BC). This was the basis of all modern European scripts.

This Semitic people migrated from Egypt to Palestine (Canaan) around 1200 BC, led by Moses.

—The Hebrews.

The Jewish religion began around 1200 with the worship of a god called...?

—Jaweh.

Hebrew Kings Saul, and then David, brought these unruly peoples under control.

—The Philistines.

After David, who made alliances with Egypt and made his capitol at Jerusalem?

—David's son, Solomon. He built the first temple there.

After Solomon's death, the kingdom split into a southern state of Judeah and this northern state.

—Israel.

This is the holy book of the Hebrews, said to contain the teachings of God.

—The Torah.

These people conquered all but Judeah and built a great system of roads. They had vast libraries of clay tablets. With their capital at Nineveh, their supremacy lasted 150 years.

—The Assyrians. 721-705 BC was the height of

Assyrian military power.

Between 622 and 550 BC, a coalition of Egyptians, Medes, and Chaldeans defeated the Assyrians. Shortly thereafter, this Persian took over Babylonia, India, Egypt, Turkey, and much of the Mediterranean.

—Cyrus the Great (founder of the Persian Empire)

The Persian invasion was welcomed in Babylonia because of the cruelty of this leader, who held some 10,000 Jewish families captive.

—Nebuchadnezzar.

Around 550 BC, this became the official religion of Persia.

—Zoroastrianism.

In the 6th century B.C., this Persian leader ruled from the Nile to the Indus. In 520, he completed a canal connecting the Nile and the Red Sea.

—Darius (I) the Great.

The first coins came into use around 650, in Greece and...?

— Lydia.

Around 550 BC, the Greek oracle at Delphi was asked by the Lydian king whether he should go to war with Persia. The oracle replied to the effect that a great empire will fall. Which empire fell?

—Lydia.

The fall of Lydia contributed to a great war between Persia