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7th grade · Social Studies · Unit 12 of 14

Assyria, Phoenicia & Persia

Empires and traders of Southwest Asia

What your child practices

The Assyrian Empire and its army and library, the Phoenician traders and their alphabet, and the Persian Empire of Cyrus and Darius, with its satrapies, Royal Road and coins.

Alabama Course of Study content standard: 7.11 · the development of the Assyrians, Phoenicians and Persian Empire

How we explain it

Children can open this short lesson before they practice.

  1. Assyria built a strong army; Ashurbanipal’s library at Nineveh held thousands of clay tablets in cuneiform.
  2. Phoenician city-states (Tire, Sidon, Byblos) were sea traders. Their alphabet became the base of Greek and Latin letters.
  3. Persia under Cyrus and Darius ruled through satrapies (provinces), with the Royal Road and coins.

Example: What was the Phoenicians’ greatest gift to later peoples? Phoenicians needed simple writing for trade. They used letters for sounds, an alphabet. Answer: an alphabet of letters for sounds

Assyria, Phoenicia & Persia in Alabama

In the Alabama Course of Study, this is unit 12 of 14 in 7th grade Social Studies, after Greece & Rome and before World Maps & Globes.

Gradelings describes a child's practice on this unit as Beginning, Approaching, Meeting or Exceeding (Four practice steps). That reflects practice, not a report-card mark: the teacher decides the mark.

Source: Alabama State Department of Education (ALSDE)

Sample questions

A taste of this unit. In the app, questions change every time and get easier or harder to match your child.

  1. Question 1

    Phoenician city-states included Tire, Sidon and…

    • Babylon
    • Byblos
    • Thebes
    • Sparta

  2. Question 2

    The Phoenicians made a valuable purple dye from…

    • sea snails
    • clay
    • beetles
    • grapes

  3. Question 3

    The Assyrian capital with a famous royal library was…

    • Athens
    • Memphis
    • Rome
    • Nineveh

  4. Question 4

    The Royal Road in Persia allowed…

    • ships to sail inland
    • trains to run
    • messengers to cross the empire quickly
    • farmers to avoid taxes

  5. Question 5

    The Phoenicians lived along the eastern coast of the…

    • Atlantic Ocean
    • Caspian Sea
    • Indian Ocean
    • Mediterranean Sea

  6. Question 6

    How did the Assyrian and Persian ways of ruling conquered peoples differ?

    • Both allowed full independence
    • The Assyrians ruled by fear; the Persians allowed local customs
    • The Persians ruled by fear; the Assyrians allowed local customs
    • Neither had governors

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