plumiThe reign of Darius the Great, 522–486 BC: OCR GCSE Ancient History questions
OCR GCSE Ancient History past-paper questions on The reign of Darius the Great, 522–486 BC, 2021–2025, with mark schemes and examiner’s reports where available.
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All 18 questions on The reign of Darius the Great, 522–486 BC, as a list
- June 2025, The Persian Empire, Q1(b) (1 mark): State the name of the most important Persian god. [1]
- June 2025, The Persian Empire, Q1(c) (2 marks): Identify two consequences of the Ionian Revolt. [2]
- June 2025, The Persian Empire, Q2 (6 marks): Outline the main changes that Darius introduced to the way that the Persian Empire was run. [6]
- June 2025, The Persian Empire, Q5 (20 marks): ‘The only aim of Persian kings was to live up to Cyrus’ example.’ To what extent do you agree with this view? [20]
- June 2024, The Persian Empire, Q1(b) (2 marks): Identify two of Darius’ building / engineering projects. [2]
- June 2024, The Persian Empire, Q1(c) (1 mark): Name the region of the Persian Empire which revolted in 499 BC. [1]
- June 2024, The Persian Empire, Q4 (15 marks): Using details from Passage A and your own knowledge, how significant were the actions of the previous Persian kings in influencing the activities of Xerxes? [15
- June 2023, The Persian Empire, Q3 (10 marks): Using details from Passage A and your own knowledge, what can we learn about the reasons why Darius won the power struggle at the start of his reign? [10] Passa
- June 2023, The Persian Empire, Q4 (15 marks): Using details from Passage A and your own knowledge, explain why Darius was a more successful king than Cambyses. [15] Passage A King Darius says: There was non
- June 2023, The Persian Empire, Q5 (20 marks): ‘The Persian Empire’s strength was all due to the work of Cyrus.’ To what extent do you agree with this view? [20] ()
- June 2022, The Persian Empire, Q1(a) (1 mark): Name one of the peoples Darius conquered. [1]
- June 2022, The Persian Empire, Q1(b) (2 marks): Give two reasons why Darius had the Bisitun (Behistun) inscription constructed. [2]
- June 2022, The Persian Empire, Q1(c) (1 mark): Name one battle fought between Greeks and Persians between 490 and 479 BC. [1]
- June 2022, The Persian Empire, Q5 (20 marks): ‘The building projects of the Persians were their greatest achievement.’ How far do you agree with this view? [20] ()
- November 2021, The Persian Empire, Q2 (6 marks): Outline the main features of Darius’ building projects. [6]
- November 2021, The Persian Empire, Q3 (10 marks): Using details from Passage A and your own knowledge, what can we learn about Darius’ effectiveness as a leader? [10] Passage A So it was that Babylon was captur
- November 2021, The Persian Empire, Q4 (15 marks): Using details from Passage A and your own knowledge, explain how far Darius’ attitude towards his enemies was similar to that of Cyrus. [15] Passage A So it was
- November 2021, The Persian Empire, Q5 (20 marks): ‘Cyrus was the Persian King who was the most determined to expand the empire.’ To what extent do you agree with this view? [20] ()
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