Class XI – History Paper – 2

Ans. (A) Mari

Explanation: Mari became an important trading centre in Mesopotamian civilisation and acted as a centre point of exchange of goods from various regions.

Ans. (D) Both (A) and (B)

Explanation: Gilgamesh and Enmerkar both were the important rulers of the Uruk and made numerous contributions in its development.

Ans. (B) Silver based currency

Explanation: The Late Roman Empire used silver based currency for monetary transactions.

Ans. (D) Julius Caesar

Explanation: The Roman emperor who introduced the Roman calendar was Julius Caesar. The Julian calendar was a solar calendar that Caesar introduced in 46 BC. The Julian calendar was used throughout the Roman Empire and beyond. It remained in use in Europe until the 16th century, when it was replaced by the Gregorian calendar.

Ans. (A) Mongols were more interested in invading China

Explanation: The Mongol army after the death of the Chenghis Khan became more convinced to establish their authority over China due to which they suffered defeat at several places.

Ans. (C) Europe, Asia, Africa

Explanation: The Ancient Roman Empire was a vast empire which covered the continents of Asia, Europe and Africa.

Ans. (D) Both A and B

Explanation: The two main languages spoken in the European Empire was Latin and Greek.

Ans. (D) Both A and B

Explanation: The Nobles and the big landowners were the vassals of the King in the French society.

Ans. (C) A building in which monks live

Explanation: Monasteries are buildings which are developed for the monks for the purpose of meditation and other spiritual activities.

Ans. (B) Nobility

Explanation: The clergies in the medieval Europe were all powerful and could levy taxes and regulated their own laws.

Ans. (A) Niccole Machiavelli

Explanation: “Prince” was one of the most famous works of Niccole Machiavelli which was related to the state administration.

Ans. (A) Martin Luther

Explanation: Martin Luther was a German priest who questioned several practices of the Church, the most controversial was the sale of indulgence by the Church.

Ans. (D) Both A and B

Explanation: The ideas of the Martin Luther in Europe was popularised by Jean Calvin and Ulrich Zwingle.

Ans. (C) Han

Explanation: Han is one of the major dominant ethnic group in China which has ruled over the nation as well.

Ans. (A) Wheat

Explanation: The people of the North China were the significant consumer of Wheat.

Ans. (C) Both A and R are true and R is the correct explanation of A

Explanation: The earliest inhabitants of the North America were from Asia which was established by several archaeological evidences.

Ans. (B) 1492

Explanation: The discovery of the continent of America was made by Christopher Columbus in the year 1492.

Ans. (B) A-(1) B-(iv) C-(ii) D-(iii)

Ans. (A) Military lords in the name of emperor

Explanation: Shoguns were the military commanders who were very powerful but were under the control of the Emperor of Japan.

Ans. (B) Fukuzawa Yukichi

Explanation: The line “Japan must shed its Asian characteristics and expel Asia” was said by Fukuzawa Yukichi.

Ans. (B) Convicts who had been deported from England

Explanation: The earliest settlers in the Australia were convicts who had been deported from England.

Ans. Public baths were a striking feature of Roman urban life. It is said that one Iranian ruler tried to introduce it in Iran but encountered the wrath of the clergy as water was considered a sacred element and public bathing was considered desecration. The Urban population also enjoyed a much higher level of entertainment. For instance, one calendar tells us that spectacular shows filled no less than 176 days of the year.

Ans. City life and clustering makes sense only when there are several persons engaged in diverse non- food producing occupations such as metallurgy, seal carving, administration, etc. Division of labour plays an important part in industrial and commercial growth. It played a vital role in the growth of urbanization in the city. Various necessities were taken care of by the people engaged in different occupations and this provided a great boost to urbanisation. Thus, an expert in seal making obtained tools of stone and bronze from others and his daily requirements such as earthen pots, grains and clothes, etc. were also supplied by other people who were in these occupations.

Ans. Augustus’ reign in the history of Roman Empire is known for remarkable progress in the economic sphere. He paid personal attention to economic reforms and improved means of transport for the development of trade and commerce within and outside the state. He also took steps to improve agriculture and commerce. He maintained commercial relations between the Roman Empire and other countries.

Ans. The condition of women did not change through revival, while the men enjoyed the individuality and citizenship, women were excluded from such privileges. The men of the rich family were part of public life; they joined a business and were the ultimate decision maker of the family. Women had no say to any vital decisions and/or family decisions, there rights and existence was limited as a housekeeper. Ample dowry was provided during the time of the marriage, marriages were often considered as business alliances. If the family was unable to arrange dowry those women were sent to convents and live their life as nuns.

Ans. A new school system began to be built from the 1870s in Japan. Schooling was compulsory for boys and girls and by 1910 it almost became universal. Tuition fees were minimal. The curriculum had been based on Western models but by the 1870s, while emphasising modern ideas, stress was placed on loyalty and the study of Japanese history. The ministry of education in Japan exercised control over the curriculum and in the selection of textbooks in school, as well as in teachers’ training, to create youth who will be loyal to government and become good citizen.

Ans. There was custom in the Roman cities to collect and store the grain for the whole year immediately after the harvest. Wheat, barley, beans and lentils were collected from the peasants and the peasants were left with very little grain and pulses for their own use. They used to consume the leftover grain in the winter. In the summer, when they had no grain left, they ate unhealthy food, twigs and shoots of trees and bushes and roots of inedible plants. Thus, the Roman cities treated the countryside very shabbily.

Ans. To integrate the nation, the Meiji government imposed a new administrative structure by altering old village and domain boundaries. The administrative unit had to have revenue adequate to maintain the local schools and health facilities, as well as to serve as a recruitment center for the military. All young men over twenty had to serve for a specific period of military service. A modern military force was developed. A legal system was set up to regulate the formation of political groups, control the holding of meetings and impose strict censorship. In all these measures, the government had to face opposition. The military and the bureaucracy were put under the direct command of the emperor. This meant that even after a constitution was enacted, these two groups remained outside the control of the government. In all these measures the government faced opposition.

Ans. Military: An army based on the European model was established. Military service was declared universal and obligatory, soldiers were recruited at the age of twenty. They served for three years in the active army and four years in the reserve. A national army thus came into existence. European officers were called to train them. In addition, dockyards and arsenals were constructed. Military was put under the direct command of the emperor.

Ans. When Prophet Muhammad passed away in 632 CE, the state was not a territorially well-defined entity. Medina and Mecca were the focal points of government and it was only after another half a century that Arab state was given a concrete shape. Yet, it cannot be denied that Muhammad laid the foundations of a new political structure by a process of consolidation and protection from external dangers

(i) He managed to replace tribal organisation with a state which encompassed a large number of tribes.

(ii) He was no longer just a religious leader but looked upon as a law giver.

(iii) The Umma, his followers were converted into a wider community to include polytheists and Jews of Medina. The Umma also constituted the armed forces.

(iv) Though the income of the state came from raids, they made equitable distribution of booty. One- fifth of the booty went directly to the Prophet, so that the state had independent finance. (v) In addition, regular voluntary contributions were levied on the tribes which accepted Muhammad’s leadership. This developed into an independent tax called ‘Zakať’ which all Muslims had to pay.

(vi) With the conquest of Mecca, his reputation as a religious and political leader too was established. He made conversions the sole criterion for membership of the community and within a short time, he was able to unite a large area under the new faith, Islam.

(vii) Mecca was cleansed of all idols and faith was consolidated by adding and refining rituals and ethical principles. In time, Medina became administrative capital, and Mecca the religious center of the emerging nascent Islamic state.

Ans. In the 1950s and 1960s, the US and Canadian governments thought of ending all provisions for the natives in the hope that they would join the mainstream and adopt the European culture. But the natives did not want this. In 1954, with the Declaration of Indian Rights, prepared by them, they agreed to take up the US citizenship on the condition that their reservations would not be taken away and their traditions would not be interfered with. A similar development occurred in Canada. In 1969, the government announced that they would not recognise aboriginal rights. The natives organised a series of demonstrations and debates but the question could not be resolved until 1982, when the Constitution Act accepted the existing aboriginal and treaty rights of the natives. Today, even though the natives have been greatly reduced in numbers, they have been able to assert their right to their own culture and particularly in Canada to their sacred land in a way their ancestors could not have done in the 1880s.

Ans. Ghengis Khan was the greatest leader of the tribe in Mongolia who was born around 1162 CE to the Kiyat tribe. One of the major achievements of Ghengis Khan was that he consolidated the Mongolian tribe. He organised the Mongolian people into effective and disciplinary force.

He conquered China in 1209 CE. The Great Wall of China was breached in the year 1213 and he sacked Peking in 1215.

He further defeated Qara Khita in 1218 and expanded his Mongolian territory to tranxonia, Khwarazm, Bukhara Samarkand gurgunj Nishapur Herat in 1219 to 1221.

It is evident that whereever Ghengis khan stepped its foot the land suffered a massive set back and destruction.

Genghis Khan not only conquered north China but built a vast empire but also contributed lot to the improvement of civil administration in the empire.

Ans. Genghis Khan spent most of his life in military combat. His military achievements were astounding and were largely a result of his ability to innovate and transform different aspects of Steppe combat into extremely effective military strategies. The horse riding skills of the Mongols and the Turks provided speed and mobility to the army, their abilities as rapid shooting archers from horseback were further perfected during regular hunting expeditions. The Steppe cavalry always travelled lightly and moved quickly. It brought with it, the knowledge of the terrain and weather, and therefore carried out campaigns in the middle of winters, treating frozen rivers as highways. Genghis Khan also learnt the importance of siege engines and Naphtha bombardment very quickly. His engineers prepared light portable equipment which was used against opponents with devastating effect.

Ans. (a) The Meiji Constitution was based on a restricted franchise and created a Diet with limited powers. The leaders who brought about the imperial restoration continued to exercise power and even established political parties.

(b) Between 1918 and 1931, popularly elected prime ministers formed cabinets. Thereafter, they lost power to national unity cabinets formed across party lines. The emperor was the commander of the forces and from 1890 this was interpreted to mean that the army and the navy had independent control.

(c) In 1899, the prime minister ordered that only serving generals and admirals could become ministers. This strengthening of the military, together with the expansion of Japan’s colonial empire, was connected with the fear that Japan was at the mercy of the Western powers.

(d) This fear was used to silence opposition to military expansion and to higher taxes to fund the armed forces.

Ans. State-centered nationalism found full expression in the 1930s and 1940s as Japan launched wars to extend its empire in China and other parts of Asia, a war that merged into the Second World War after Japan attacked the USA at Pearl Harbor.

This period saw greater controls on society, the repression and imprisonment of dissidents, as well as the formation of patriotic societies, many of them women’s organisations, to support the war. An influential symposium on Overcoming Modernity in 1943 debated the dilemma of how to combat the West while being modern. A musician, Moroi Saburo, posed the question of how to rescue music from the art of sensory stimulation and restore it to an art of the spirit.

He was not rejecting Western music but trying to find a way that went beyond merely rewriting or playing Japanese music on Western instruments. The philosopher Nishitani Meiji defined ‘modern’ as the unity of three streams of Western thought: the Renaissance, the Protestant Reformation, and the rise of natural sciences.

He argued that Japan’s ‘moral energy had helped it to escape colonisation and it was its duty to establish a new world order, a Greater East Asia. For this a new vision that would integrate science and religion was necessary.

Ans. The famous Warka head was discovered in the ruins of Uruk in the Mesopotamian civilisation.

Ans. The eyes and eyebrows were structured out of shells, lapis lazuli and bitumen inlays.

Ans. It was made out of hard stone imported from distant land.

Ans. The first problem is that it’s a scripture, a text vested with religious authority. And the second problem is that it speaks in metaphors and unlike the old testament does not narrate events.

Ans. The Hadiths were written to interpret the Quran.

Ans. Al-Mamum was the Abbasid Caliph. He imposed the view that Quran is God’s creation rather than his speech.

Ans. A general name given to the different societies of human inhabitants living in Australia were known as aborigines.

Ans. It was 2.4% of the total population of Australia.

Ans. 350 to 750 native communities were there in total in Australia during the end of the eighteenth century.

Ans.