Front Office Football Central - IWS #194: The Cradle of Civilization

I'm a relative newcomer to the IWS franchise, but I've picked up on the sports tilt in the series. As much as I'd like to jump the gun on an Olympics-themed set of questions, that's still six weeks away, so I'll trust that someone else will pick up that torch (rimshot!). So here are six items about the Near East/Fertile Crescent/Middle East/whatever you like to call that part of the world, with a little bit from the past, present, and future. I plan on scoring responses first chance I get Monday morning.

(PS - glad I'm now able to fix the spelling of my name in the Hall of Heroes.)

*******************************************************

The Rules

The rules are the same as previous FOFC “I’m With Stupid" Contests, as set forth by the game’s widely revered and beloved founding fathers.

The object of this contest is to answer the questions posted, and to provide the most common answer among those submitted. For each question, your score will be equal to the number of people who submitted that response. Your score for the contest will be the product of your individual question scores. Yes, that word "product" here in the States means that they will be multiplied together, not added. Highest score wins.

Collaboration of any kind is strictly forbidden. No posting your answers to this board, nor sharing them by e-mail or in any other way with other potential contestants. Just don't be an asshat, and this should end well.

All determinations of "matches" and anything else requiring judgment fall to that of the sole administrator of this round of the game. You can reduce the need for doubt and judgment by properly spelling your submissions, being clear, and that sort of thing. My decisions are final and utterly inarguable, no exceptions.

Any references that are unclear to you, due to language or geography, should be understood to be authored from the perspective of an English-speaking American. However, your answers do not necessarily have to be correct in order to score points. If I ask "What is the most decorated team in the history of the NHL?" and you answer "the Boston Bruins" along with 9 other ninnies, you each (regrettably) score 10 points, despite the fact that the obviously correct answer is "the Montreal Canadiens."

*******************************************************

The Hall of Heroes

Spoiler

*******************************************************

The Questions

1. Name an ancient civilization that once ruled all or part of the Middle East.

2. Name a modern-day nation in the Middle East.

3. Name a language (other than Arabic) spoken in the region.

4. Name the Middle Eastern nation with the most peaceful reputation.

5. Give the probability of an autonomous Palestinian state being created within the next 50 years.

6. Because I can't resist -- predict which Middle Eastern nation will win the most medals (any flavor) at next month's Summer Olympics.