Which ancient civilization is remembered for its system of city-states?

• A. Egypt
• B. Greece
• C. Mesopotamia
• D. India

Answer: (B)

City-states are independent political communities made up of a city and its surrounding territory, each with its own government and laws. Ancient Greece is remembered for this arrangement because many separate poleis, such as Athens and Sparta, governed themselves rather than being ruled by a single centralized authority. They shared language and religion, but each city-state made its own decisions, formed alliances or rivalries, and developed distinct political experiments and cultures within the same broader Greek world. While other regions had centralized states or different organizational patterns, the widespread, self-governing city-states of Greece are the feature most closely associated with this concept.