The CLEP Western Civilization I exam covers Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East; the Middle Ages; Renaissance and Reformation.  The CLEP Western Civilization I exam contains approximately 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes.   Note: This exam uses the chronological designations b.c.e. (before the common era) and c.e. (common era). The labels correspond to b.c. (before Christ) and a.d. (anno Domini), which are used in some textbooks. Exam contents:  Ancient Near East (8%–10%) Political evolution Religion, culture, and technical developments in and near the Fertile... Show more

The CLEP Western Civilization I exam covers Ancient Greece, Rome, and the Near East; the Middle Ages; Renaissance and Reformation. 

The CLEP Western Civilization I exam contains approximately 120 questions to be answered in 90 minutes.  

Note: This exam uses the chronological designations b.c.e. (before the common era) and c.e. (common era). The labels correspond to b.c. (before Christ) and a.d. (anno Domini), which are used in some textbooks.

Exam contents: 

Ancient Near East (8%–10%)
Political evolution
Religion, culture, and technical developments in and near the Fertile Crescent

Ancient Greece and Hellenistic Civilization (15%–17%)
Political evolution to Periclean Athens
Periclean Athens through the Peloponnesian Wars
Culture, religion, and thought of Ancient Greece
The Hellenistic political structure
The culture, religion, and thought of Hellenistic Greece

Ancient Rome (15%–17%)
Political evolution of the Republic and of the Empire (economic and geographical context)
Roman thought and culture
Early Christianity
The Germanic invasions
The late empire

Medieval History (23%–27%)
Byzantium and Islam
Early medieval politics and culture through Charlemagne
Feudal and manorial institutions
The medieval Church
Medieval thought and culture
Rise of the towns and changing economic forms
Feudal monarchies
The late medieval church

Renaissance and Reformation (13%–17%)
The Renaissance in Italy
The Renaissance outside Italy
The New Monarchies
Protestantism and Catholicism reformed and reorganized

Early Modern Europe, 1560-1648 (10%–15%)
The opening of the Atlantic
The Commercial Revolution
Dynastic and religious conflicts
Thought and culture
 

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CLEP Western Civilization I Practice Test: Ancient Near East to 1648

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25 Questions

1.

The central, domed structure shown above was built by the

Byzantines.Turks.Mongols.Arabs.Ostrogoths.

2. “Unhappiness is not caused by external events in themselves, but rather by our opinions about external events. It is within our power to change our thoughts about an event, and we can free ourselves from unhappiness by freeing ourselves from desire. Thus, if we no longer desire events to turn out one way or another, we will never be disappointed by them, and we can live a tranquil life, free from worry and unhappiness.”
The outlook on life described above represents the teaching of which Greek school of philosophy?

Epicureanism.Platonism.Aristotelianism.Skepticism.Stoicism.

3. The Peloponnesian League was

a commercial consortium of Phoenician city-states organized to promote overseas colonization.an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta.a commercial consortium of Greek city-states organized to promote overseas colonization.an alliance of Greek city-states during the Hellenistic period.an alliance of Greek city-states led by Athens whose transformation into the Athenian Empire precipitated the Peloponnesian War.

4. The religion of the Sumerians, with its gloomy view of the afterlife and its pantheon of capricious gods, is most fully described in which of the following ancient texts?

The Book of the DeadThe Epic of GilgameshThe Letters of AkhenatonHomer’s IliadThe Hebrew Bible

5. The most widely read philosopher in the medieval universities was

Averroes.Plotinus.Maimonides.Plato.Aristotle.

6. Which of the following was true of ancient Greek tyranny?

The philosopher Aristotle considered it an acceptable form of government.It sometimes benefited a polis by preventing anarchy.It was never tolerated by any of the citizens of a polis.It was synonymous with cruelty and oppression.It was the form of government in Sparta.

7. “He was an architect, a sculptor, a painter, and a poet. The favored subject of his art was the muscular male nude. Tormented by his own genius, he left many works unfinished. Perhaps his most influential legacy was the force of his personality, whose temperamental, brooding character defined the image of the new artist for later generations.”
The individual described above is

Thomas à Kempis.Leonardo Bruni.Michelangelo Buonarroti.Lorenzo de’ Medici.Johann Reuchlin.

8. Which of the following is NOT true of the Carolingian Renaissance?

It promoted Greek as the common language of the Frankish empire.It brought scholars from all over Western Europe to study at the court of Charlemagne.It preserved much of the classical literature of the pagans through the copying of manuscripts.It founded schools to train clerics.It promoted a simplified script, which forms the basis of the modern printed alphabet.

9. Which of the following territories was NOT part of the Angevin Empire under Henry II Plantagenet (1154—1189)?

Kingdom of EnglandDuchy of NormandyDuchy of AquitaineDuchy of SaxonyCounty of Anjou

10. ‘His father had been the governor of Britain. From his base there, he defeated his rivals in battle until finally his claim to the imperial throne was undisputed. Although he had worshiped the Persian god Mithras in his youth, he converted to Christianity and was baptized on his deathbed. He founded a new city in the east to serve as the capital of the Roman Empire.’
Who was the emperor described above?

ClaudiusMarcus AureliusDiocletianConstantineDecius

11. Philip II (1556—1598) assembled the Spanish Armada for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

to depose Elizabeth I.to restore Catholicism in England.to punish England for aiding the Dutch.to challenge Dutch naval superiority.to invade England.

12. Which of the following statements is NOT true of Pericles (c. 495—429 B.C.E.)?

He used tribute from the Delian League to fund artistic endeavors in Athens.He hired the sculptor Phidias for his building program of the Acropolis.He led the imperialistic expansion of Athens.He was frequently elected general by the people.He was an aristocrat who tried to restore oligarchy.

13. All of the following are true of the Minoans EXCEPT

They invented the first alphabet.They built magnificent palaces adorned with frescoes that depicted women leading ritual events and athletes jumping over bulls.Their settlement on the Aegean island of Thera was destroyed by a volcanic eruption.They dominated trade in the eastern Mediterreanean.Their civilization on the isle of Crete was eventually invaded by the Mycenaeans.

14. The largest of the empires of the ancient Near East, which was conquered by Alexander the Great (336—323 B.C.E.), was ruled by the

Persians.Assyrians.Sumerians.Hittites.Neo-Babylonians.

15. The written body of Jewish civil and religious law, compiled after the destruction of the Temple in 70 C.E., is known as the

Torah.Pentateuch.Tanach.Septuagint.Talmud.

16. The cause of ecclesiastical reform in western Europe before the twelfth century was led by the

Dominicans.Franciscans.Merovingians.Cluniacs.Jesuits.

17. Ostracism was originally a practice in the ancient world by which

the Phoenicians decided on members of the community to send out for the purpose of establishing colonies.the Romans executed individuals who tried to overthrow the Republic.the Spartans forced their young men to leave their mothers and live a harsh life of military training in barracks.criminals were sent to penal colonies.the Athenians temporarily exiled individuals whom they regarded as a threat to democracy.

18. Martin Luther’s outspoken opposition to the Roman Catholic Church was an immediate response to

the execution of the religious reformer John Huss.his visit to Rome, where he saw the worldliness of the papacy.the call of several German princes for a national church independent of Rome.the sale of indulgences to fund the building of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.the theological works of John Calvin.

19. All of the following were Renaissance humanists EXCEPT

Girolamo Savonarola.Marsilio Ficino.Lorenzo Valla.Giovanni Pico della Mirandola.Coluccio Salutati.

20. Which of the following authors wrote satirical works during the French Renaissance which were notorious for their coarse and earthy sense of humor?

François RabelaisCatherine de’ MediciMichel de MontaigneJean BodinBaldassare Castiglione

21. All of the following explorers and colonialists were sponsored by Spain EXCEPT

Hernando de Soto.Hernando Cortez.Vasco da Gama.Francisco Pizarro.Ferdinand Magellan.

22. Which of the following was NOT one of the achievements of Charlemagne?

He seized territory in Spain from the Muslims.He conquered the Saxons and forced them to convert to Christianity.He defeated the Lombards in Italy and made their kingdom his own.He gathered scholars from all over Latin Christendom to make his court an international center of learning.He crowned himself emperor.

23. In the map of the western Mediterranean below, the shaded areas indicate

areas devastated during the Peloponnesian War.regions held by the Romans during the First Punic War.regions colonized by the Greeks.areas seized by Augustus Caesar from the Carthaginians.areas colonized by the Phoenicians.

24.
The building shown above is the

theater of Epidauros.royal tomb in Mycenae.Parthenon in Athens.Pantheon in Rome.palace of Knossos in Crete.

25. Philip
IV. (the Fair) of France did all of the following to increase his revenue EXCEPT

destroy the Order of Knights Templar and seize their wealth.tax the clergy.debase the coinage.summon the Estates-General.exile Jews and seize their wealth.