Excerpt from a treaty between an Assyrian king and the
ruler of a subject city-state in northwestern Iran, circa 670 b.c.e.
1. The particular consequences invoked in the ritual curse in the treaty most strongly support
which of the following statements about ancient Mesopotamia?
(A) States' legitimacy was based on claims to secular authority.
(B) Ongoing environmental degradation occurred as a byproduct of the spread of pastoralism.
(C) Maintaining and expanding agricultural production was seen as a core task of
governments.
(D) The domestication of plants occurred before the domestication of animals.