650 1450 Ap Sample Questions

650 CE – 1450 CEMyers

Why was the Caliph Uthman disliked by so many Arabs?

A) He had halted the process of expansion and thus stopped the flow of booty to the tribesmen.

B) He was the first Caliph to be chosen from Muhammad’s early enemies, the Umayyads.

C) He was not an Arab. D) He was a firm supporter of Muhammad’s

son-in-law and nephew, Ali. E) He murdered Ali.

B) He was the first Caliph to be chosen from Muhammad’s early enemies, the Umayyads.

What was the result of the first civil war between All and the Umayyads?

A) All was able to defeat the Umayyad clan and reduce them to political insignificance.

B) Ali was killed in the conflict, but his son Hasan was named Caliph and won a great victory over the Abbasids.

C) Despite early successes, Ali’s faction disintegrated leading to an Umayyad victory and Ali’s assassination.

D) Ali suffered a disastrous military defeat at the Battle of Siffin, and the Umayyads emerged victorious.

E) Islam remained firmly united behind the heirs of Husayn.

C) Despite early successes, Ali’s faction disintegrated leading to an Umayyad victory and Ali’s assassination.

The political and theological faction within Islam that recognized only Ali and the descendants of the family of Muhammad as rightful rulers was called:

A) Shi’is. B) Sunnis. C) Kharij. D) Fiqhs. E) Sufis.

A) Shi’is.

Under the Umayyads, the political center of Islam shifted to:

A) Baghdad. B) Merv. C) Constantinople. D) Damascus. E) Cairo.

D) Damascus.

What was the nature of citizenship within the Umayyad Empire?

A) All converts to Islam, regardless of their ethnic origins, were full citizens and members of the elite.

B) Only Muslim Arabs were first-class citizens of this great empire.

C) The Umayyads recognized all residents of their empire, whether Muslims or “peoples of the book” as full citizens.

D) Arabs rapidly lost their dominance in the Umayyad Empire to the native residents of Persia.

E) Malawi were accorded full rights of citizenship.

B) Only Muslim Arabs were first-class citizens of this great empire.

The term for non-Arab Muslim converts is:

A) jizya. B) dhow. C) mawali. D) dhimmis. E) umma.

C) mawali.

What was the Umayyad attitude to other religions? A) The Umayyads suppressed all religions within

their territories other than Islam. B) The Umayyads converted to Christianity, but

continued to permit the open worship of Islam. C) The Umayyads displayed tolerance towards the

religions of dhimmi peoples. D) Christianity and Judaism were suppressed as

heresies, but other communities were permitted to retain their religions.

E) Zoroastrians and Hindus were never accepted.

C) The Umayyads displayed tolerance towards the religions of dhimmi peoples.

What was the most significant of the transformations brought about by the Abbasids’ rise to power?

A) the final defeat of the Byzantine Empire B) the admission of the mawali as full

members of the Islamic community C) the destruction of absolutism within Islamic

government D) the destruction of Sunni influences within

Islam E) victory in the Crusades

B) the admission of the mawali as full members of the Islamic community

The Abbasids moved the political center of their empire to:

A) Baghdad. B) Constantinople. C) Merv. D) Damascus. E) Jerusalem.

A) Baghdad.

What was the nature of the Abbasid government? A) The Abbasids abandoned the formality and absolutism

of the Umayyads and established an open and representative government.

B) The Abbasids outdid the Umayyads in establishing an absolutist government symbolized by the growing powers of the wazirs and the sinister presence of the executioner.

C) The Abbasid government represented a return to the principles of government in the first days of the Orthodox Caliphate.

D) The Abbasids continued the policies of the Umayyads virtually without change, including the maintenance of an exclusively Arabic elite.

E) The Abbasid government was extremely efficient.

B) The Abbasids outdid the Umayyads in establishing an absolutist government symbolized by the growing powers of the wazirs and the sinister presence of the executioner.

What was the nature of the economy of the Abbasid period?

A) It was a period of general prosperity typified by urban growth and the restoration of the Afro-Eurasian trade axis.

B) There was a general crisis in the agricultural economy resulting from the constant warfare of the period.

C) The economic downturn of the era was typified by the breakdown in the trade between the Middle East and China.

D) Although commerce was generally resuscitated during the Abbasid period, artisan production dropped off significantly.

E) Trade was initiated with Northern Europe.

A) It was a period of general prosperity typified by urban growth and the restoration of the Afro-Eurasian trade axis.

Who were the ayan? A) Abbasid bureaucrats B) African slaves C) free artisans D) a rural landholding elite E) Jewish converts to Islam

D) a rural landholding elite

What was the status of artisans in Abbasid cities? A) Handicraft industries were staffed by slave

labor exclusively. B) The number of artisans decreased along

with the economic crisis of the Abbasid period. C) Artisans were free men who owned their

own tools and who formed guild-like organizations to negotiate wages.

D) Artisans were able to utilize their guild-like organizations to seize political control of most Abbasid towns.

E) Artisans found no markets for their goods.

C) Artisans were free men who owned their own tools and who formed guild-like organizations to negotiate wages.

What was the nature of slavery within the Abbasid social system?

A) According to the Quran, slavery could not exist in Islam, and the Abbasid freed all former slaves.

B) Slavery was limited to the non-Arab converts to Islam, and died out during the period of the Abbasid Empire.

C) Because most unskilled labor was left to the unfree, slaves could be found in both the towns and countryside of the Abbasid Empire.

D) Slavery was known in Abbasid cities, but was virtually unknown in the countryside where most labor was performed by a free peasantry.

E) Most slaves worked under favorable conditions

C) Because most unskilled labor was left to the unfree, slaves could be found in both the towns and countryside of the Abbasid Empire.

What was the primary cultural contribution of the Muslims during the Abbasid period?

A) The Muslims were able to recover and preserve the works of the ancient philosophers as well as transmit from one civilization to another.

B) The Muslims became extraordinarily adept at portraiture, focusing on depictions of Muhammad and the early Caliphs.

C) Although the material culture of the Abbasid period remained poor, Muslims were able to make some advances in music.

D) Islamic learning was necessarily unique, as they had no access to the ancient traditions of philosophy and science.

E) Islamic culture excluded any recognition of the achievements of earlier civilizations.

A) The Muslims were able to recover and preserve the works of the ancient philosophers as well as transmit from one civilization to another.

By the ninth century, what happened to the Abbasid control of the empire?

A) The Abbasids continued to develop absolutism in such a fashion that they controlled a large portion of Eurasia.

B) Non-Arab peoples, particularly the Turks who had converted to Islam, increasingly dominated political life.

C) Successive defeats of the Abbasids by the Byzantine Empire led to the collapse of the dynasty and the emergence of a Greek hegemony.

D) Eventually the Persian influence in the Abbasid Empire resulted in the removal of the capital to Merv and the rise of a purely Persian dynasty.

E) The Abbasid empire had all but disappeared by the ninth century.

A) The Abbasids continued to develop absolutism in such a fashion that they controlled a large portion of Eurasia.

Which of the following was NOT a reason for the decline of the Abbasid dynasty by the ninth century A.D.?

A) the collapse of the cities B) the retention of regional identities by the

population C) the difficulty of moving armies across the

great distances of the empire D) the difficulty of compelling local

administrators to obey E) disputes over succession

A) the collapse of the cities

Which of the following groups did NOT revolt against Abbasid rule?

A ) slaves B) peasants C) Sunnis D) Shi’is E) Buyids

C) Sunnis

How did the Caliph al-Mahdi resolve the problem of succession in the Abbasid dynasty?

A) He specified the rule of primogeniture (the succession of the oldest son).

B) He accepted the Shi’i doctrine that only the person with the most direct relationship to Muhammad should succeed.

C) He accepted the radical proposition that only a man of demonstrable Islamic purity should succeed.

D) He failed to resolve the problem of dynastic succession with disastrous results.

E) He appointed one of his sons to succeed him.

D) He failed to resolve the problem of dynastic succession with disastrous results.

What was the innovation of the Abbasid court with respect to women?

A) the establishment of the harem B) the legislation of multiple marriages for

women C) the creation of Islamic nunneries D) legislation against concubinage and

prostitution E) more equality of rights

A) the establishment of the harem

What was the regional splinter dynasty that captured Baghdad in 945?

A) Mongols B) Buyids C) Seljuk Turks D) Ghazni E) Avars

B) Buyids

What group successfully captured Baghdad in 1055?

A) Mongols B) Buyids C) Seljuk Turks D) Ghazni E) Berbers

C) Seljuk Turks

What was the religious affiliation of the Seljuk Turks?

A) Christian B) Shi’i C) Sufi D) Sunni E) Eastern Orthodox

D) Sunni

In what year was Jerusalem captured by Christian Crusaders?

A) 985 B) 1099 C) 1142 D) 1245 E) 1258

B) 1099

What was the impact of the Seljuk conquest of Baghdad on the Abbasid Empire?

A) The Empire continued to crumble as a result of the military successes of Fatimid Egypt and the Byzantine Empire.

B) The imposition of a Christian government in the name of the Abbasid Caliphs temporarily restored order.

C) The Seljuks abandoned the Middle East for further conquests in the Indian subcontinent.

D) It actually restored the ability of the empire to meet the challenges of Egypt and the Byzantine Empire.

E) It left them unprepared to deal with the Mongols.

D) It actually restored the ability of the empire to meet the challenges of Egypt and the Byzantine Empire.

Who was the Muslim leader responsible for the reconquest of most of the territories belonging to the Christian Crusaders?

A) Firdawsi B) Muhammad ibn Qasim C) al-Ghazali D) Saladin E) Umar

D) Saladin

What accounts for the success of the First Crusade?

A) the overwhelming military superiority of western military technology

B) the contemporary emergence of the Christian Seljuk Turks in Baghdad

C) Muslim political fragmentation and the element of surprise

D) the support and cooperation of the Jewish community of the Holy Land

E) the power of the Byzantine Empire

C) Muslim political fragmentation and the element of surprise

The fall of Acre, the last Crusader stronghold, occurred in what year?

A) 1099 B) 1135 C) 1193 D) 1291 E) 1204

D) 1291

What was the impact of the Crusades on the Christian West?

A) Christians adopted military techniques, words, scientific learning, and Arabic numerals among other things.

B) Christians rejected most Muslim influence, although they did gain a taste for Muslim wines and liquors.

C) There was no Muslim influence on the Christian West.

D) The Crusades interrupted the trade of the Mediterranean and cut off the West from Islam until 1293.

E) The crusades led to an extension of Feudalism.

A) Christians adopted military techniques, words, scientific learning, and Arabic numerals among other things.

What was the impact of the Crusades on Islam? A) The Muslims adopted military technology,

words, scientific knowledge among other things from the West.

B) Although they resisted most influence, the Muslims did acquire a taste for western cuisine.

C) There was minimal western impact on Islam. D) The Crusades temporarily cut off all

exchange between the West and Islam. E) Islam fell into decline and was eclipsed by

the Mongols.

C) There was minimal western impact on Islam.

What was the trend of urbanization during much of the Abbasid Empire?

A) Because the Abbasids abandoned Baghdad for other capitals, cities within the empire tended to wither and die.

B) Successive invasions led to a decline in urbanization.

C) Despite political disintegration and a decline in the agricultural economy, towns continued to grow rapidly.

D) Towns established in the early years of the dynasty were able to hold their own, but there was little growth.

E) The Abbasids forcibly relocated people to the desert.

C) Despite political disintegration and a decline in the agricultural economy, towns continued to grow rapidly.

What was the level of trade in the Abbasid Empire?

A) Long-distance trade with Africa, the Mediterranean, India, and China continued to flourish despite periodic interruption.

B) Trade with the East grew, but the Crusades eliminated the western trade routes.

C) Trade with Africa and the Mediterranean continued to expand, but the wars in India disrupted the eastern trade routes.

D) As a whole, long-distance trade along the traditional caravan routes virtually ceased during the Abbasid Empire.

A) Long-distance trade with Africa, the Mediterranean, India, and China continued to flourish despite periodic interruption.

What was the primary written language of the later Abbasid court?

A) Arabic B) Persian C) Latin D) Greek E) Cyrillic

B) Persian

What group captured Baghdad in 1258? A) Buyids B) Seljuk Turks C) Crusaders D) Mongols E) Avars

D) Mongols

How did the political center of Islam change after the Mongol invasions?

A) Baghdad remained the capital of Islam, but under the control of successive Mongol dynasties.

B) The center of Islam passed with the withdrawal of the invaders into the steppes of central Asia.

C) Baghdad became a provincial backwater, supplanted by Cairo to the east and soon thereafter Istanbul to the north.

D) The political center of Islam was removed to sub-Saharan Africa.

E) Mongolian became the language of politics and commerce.

C) Baghdad became a provincial backwater, supplanted by Cairo to the east and soon thereafter Istanbul to the north.

What was the difference between the Islamic invasions of India and previous incursions of the subcontinent?

A) With the Muslims, the peoples of India encountered for the first time a large-scale influx of invaders with a civilization as sophisticated as their own.

B) With the Muslims, the peoples of India encountered for the first time an invasion from the west rather than the east.

C) The Muslims were rapidly able to unify all of India into a single empire.

D) The Muslims, unlike previous invaders, bypassed the Gangetic plain in preference for southern India.

E) Islam had no lasting effect on India.

A) With the Muslims, the peoples of India encountered for the first time a large-scale influx of invaders with a civilization as sophisticated as their own.

How did Islam and Hinduism differ? A) Hinduism stressed the egalitarianism of all believers,

while Islam was more rigid in terms of orthodox belief. B) Islam stressed the egalitarianism of all believers,

while Hinduism was more rigid in terms of orthodox belief.

C) Islam stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Hinduism embraced a caste-based social system.

D) Hinduism stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Islam embraced a caste-based social system.

E) Hinduism was monotheistic, while Islam was polytheistic.

C) Islam stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Hinduism embraced a caste-based social system.

How did the Muslim conquerors of Sind treat the Hindu and Buddhist residents of the region?

A) all non-Muslims were put to death B) Hindus and Buddhists were treated as

dhimmis or “peoples of the book” C) most of the Muslims converted to Hinduism D) forced conversions of the native population

followed the Muslim military successes E) Hinduism prohibited, Buddhism tolerated

B) Hindus and Buddhists were treated as dhimmis or “peoples of the book”

What was the most critical cultural advance as a result of the increased contact between Muslims and Indian civilization?

A) Muslims adopted the Hindu pantheon of gods.

B) Muslim commerce was increasingly dominated by the merchant caste of India.

C) Muslims adopted the system of mathematical notation later referred to as Arabic numerals.

D) Muslims adopted the highly stratified social system common in Indian civilization.

E) India adopted Islamic science.

C) Muslims adopted the system of mathematical notation later referred to as Arabic numerals.

What groups were responsible for the conversion of Indians to Islam?

A) traders and Sufi mystics B) ulama and Sunni evangelists C) soldiers and Shi’a exiles D) the Mongols and Seljuk Turks E) Delhi Sultans

A) traders and Sufi mystics

Why were the Sufis effective missionaries within the Indian subcontinent?

A) they enjoyed the support of the Hindu princes because of their support for brahmin ritual

B) in both style and message they shared much with Indian mystics and wandering ascetics

C) they were supported by huge armies of Arabs who migrated to India in search of land

D) they rejected low caste Hindus in preference for converts among the brahmin elite

E) their message was totally new to India

B) in both style and message they shared much with Indian mystics and wandering ascetics

What groups in India were most likely to convert to Islam?

A) brahmins and merchants B) raja and warriors C) members of the administrative

machinery of the Islamic kingdoms D) Buddhists and low caste Hindus E) Sikhs and sultans

D) Buddhists and low caste Hindus

How did Hinduism respond to the challenge of Islam? A) Hindus abandoned their emphasis on many deities

in favor of monotheism in the person of Shiva. B) Hindus placed greater emphasis on the devotional

or bhaktic cults of gods and goddesses such as Shiva and Vishnu.

C) Hindus converted to Islam in increasing numbers, until Muslims outnumbered Hindus in the subcontinent.

D) The brahmins accepted Islam as a variety of orthodox Hindu belief, while anticipating the incorporation of the Muslim immigrants into the Indian caste system.

E) Hindus created a new warrior class.

B) Hindus placed greater emphasis on the devotional or bhaktic cults of gods and goddesses such as Shiva and Vishnu.

The spread of Islam to southeast Asia was delayed until the fall of the Buddhist trade empire of:

A) Borneo. B) Sumatra. C) the Celebes Islands. D) Shrivijaya. E) Kashmir.

D) Shrivijaya.

In general, how did Islam spread in Southeast Asia?

A) Port cities were points of dissemination to other links in trading networks.

B) Most of Southeast Asia was converted to Islam after the military victories of Qutb-ud-din Aibak.

C) Islam was carried to Southeast Asia from China.

D) Trade to Southeast Asia from Africa and Persia established Islamic centers on the mainland from which conversion took place.

E) Isolated regimes were visited by dervishes.

A) Port cities were points of dissemination to other links in trading networks.

Between 800 and 1500 as the frequency and intensity of contact with the outside world increased, what was the most significant impact on sub-Saharan Africa?

A) the arrival of the Portuguese B) the arrival of Christianity C) the arrival of Islam D) the arrival of Chinese merchants E) the arrival of the Mamluks

C) the arrival of Islam

What was one of the major differences between African civilizations and other post-classical societies?

A) African civilizations were built somewhat less clearly on prior precedent than was the case in other post-classical societies.

B) African civilization was almost entirely dependent on cultural importations from Islam and the Arabic world.

C) Prior to 800, African civilizations had no prior contacts with civilizations outside of the African continent.

D) There were no civilizations in Africa until the post-classical period.

E) African civilizations were based on European models.

A) African civilizations were built somewhat less clearly on prior precedent than was the case in other post-classical societies.

Which of the following statements concerning political and religious universality in Africa is most accurate?

A) Although a universal empire did not develop in Africa, Islam provided a principle of universality in the continent.

B) During the post-classical period, Africa was politically united under a single government but remained religiously diverse.

C) Universal religions found no adherents in Africa—a fact that helps to account for the failure of a universal political system to develop.

D) Neither universal states nor universal religion characterized Africa, but both Christianity and Islam did find adherents in Africa.

E) There were no similarities in the various African religious beliefs.

D) Neither universal states nor universal religion characterized Africa, but both Christianity and Islam did find adherents in Africa.

African societies organized around kinship or other forms of obligation and lacking the concentration of political power and authority were referred to as:

A) stateless. B) hunting and gathering bands. C) Bantu conical clans. D) Islamic tribes. E) proto-Empires.

A) stateless.

Which of the following statements best describes the indigenous religion of much of sub-Saharan Africa?

A) Much of sub-Saharan Africa was Christian. B) Animistic religion—belief in the power of natural

forces personified as deities—characterized much of Africa.

C) African religion prior to the arrival of the Muslims was typified by an independent form of monotheism characterized by worship in monumental temple complexes.

D) Uniquely, African societies lacked religious principles prior to the arrival of the Christians and Muslims.

E) Sub-Saharan groups were influenced by Hindu beliefs.

B) Animistic religion—belief in the power of natural forces personified as deities—characterized much of Africa.

Which of the following was NOT a belief shared by practitioners of many indigenous African religions?

A) the idea of a creator deity B) the basic tenets of Coptic Christianity C) the veneration of ancestors D) the view that the land had religious

significance E) well-developed concepts of good and evil

B) the basic tenets of Coptic Christianity

Which of the following statements concerning the economies of Africa is NOT correct?

A) North Africa was fully involved in the Mediterranean and Arab economic world.

B) Settled agriculture and iron working had been established in many areas before the post-classical period.

C) Trade was handled by professional merchants, often in kinship groupings.

D) Much of the region lacked a market economy and was based on self-sufficient agricultural units.

E) Stateless societies found it difficult to maintain long-distance trade.

D) Much of the region lacked a market economy and was based on self-sufficient agricultural units.

What was the major drawback to African trade with other civilizations?

A) Such trade was entirely in the hands of foreign merchants.

B) International trade resulted in the conquest of all of Africa by the Muslims.

C) Africa tended to exchange raw materials for manufactured products and failed to develop an industrial technology.

D) Despite the significance of international trade, Africa failed to urbanize.

E) Trade was not handled by professional merchants.

C) Africa tended to exchange raw materials for manufactured products and failed to develop an industrial technology.

What region of Africa was first converted to Islam by 700 A.D.?

A) East Africa B) Central Africa C) West Africa D) North Africa E) South Africa

D) North Africa

The puritanical reform movements of the Almoravids and Almohadis arose among what groups of people?

A) the Berbers, native desert dwellers of North Africa

B) the Arabs during the conquest of North Africa

C) the Nubians of the early Sudan D) the inhabitants of the empire of Mali E) the Ethiopians and the Coptic Christians

A) the Berbers, native desert dwellers of North Africa

What does the phrase “equality before God and inequality within the world” mean?

A) It refers to the indigenous African religion’s emphasis on social equality.

B) It refers to the powers exercised by the African rulers.

C) It refers to the equality that all clan heads enjoyed within African society.

D) It refers to the Islamic emphasis on equality of all believers, but the continued acceptance of social stratification.

E) It means that Africans favored a variety of socialism.

D) It refers to the Islamic emphasis on equality of all believers, but the continued acceptance of social stratification.

What was the most important Christian kingdom in Africa?

A) Mali B) Songhay C) Kongo D) Ethiopia E) Egypt

D) Ethiopia

The Sahel refers to the: A) grassland belt at the southern edge of the Sahara that

served as a point of exchange between the forests of the south and North Africa.

B) East African coastline that became the primary point of contact for Muslim merchants from India and Southeast Asia and African traders.

C) series of trading ports that rapidly developed along the Atlantic coast to support the trade in African slaves.

D) forest zone of Central Africa that remained free of Islamic influence largely because of the inability of the camel to withstand the climate of the region.

E) that part of the Sahara that extends onto the Arabian peninsula.

A) grassland belt at the southern edge of the Sahara that served as a point of exchange between the forests of the south and North Africa.

What was the geographical location of the empire of Mali?

A) between the Zambezi and Congo Rivers B) between the cities of Mogadishu and

Mombasa C) between the Niger and Senegal Rivers D) along the Nile River valley E) in the Atlas mountains of North Africa

C) between the Niger and Senegal Rivers

Songhay was originally part of what African empire?

A) Ethiopia B) Axum C) Mali D) Zimbabwe E) Soumauro

C) Mali

What accounted for the downfall of Songhay? A) the collapse of the irrigation system on

which the agricultural economy depended B) invasion by a Moroccan Muslim army

equipped with firearms C) invasion by the Portuguese D) defeat and incorporation within the Mali

Empire E) The rise of the Swahili coast

B) invasion by a Moroccan Muslim army equipped with firearms

What was the common cultural trait of the urbanized trading ports of the East African coast?

A) membership in the Soninke tribe B) the artistic style of the Nok culture C) Bantu-based and Arabic-influenced Swahili

language D) a single ruling family from the Malinke tribe E) descent from shiraz in Persia

C) Bantu-based and Arabic-influenced Swahili language

What was the nature of trade with the towns of East Africa?

A) Most trade was focused on caravans crossing the Sahel to North Africa.

B) Trade was limited to local commerce among the towns and with the hinterlands lying west of the urbanized coast.

C) Trade was limited to gold and salt. D) There was active trade to the Persian Gulf and

Egypt, but little beyond those points. E) International trade flourished in the urbanized

ports of East Africa, including commerce with India and China.

D) There was active trade to the Persian Gulf and Egypt, but little beyond those points.

How did the expansion of Islam aid in the creation of international trade on the East African coastline?

A) Islam expanded to India and Southeast Asia providing a religious bond of trust between those regions and the converted rulers of the cities of East Africa.

B) Because Islam regarded Christians as peoples of the book, Muslim merchants came to trade at the Christianized ports of East Africa.

C) The connection with the Islamic states of North Africa permitted the urbanized ports of East Africa to trade widely with northern Europe.

D) The direct trade routes between the African states of West Africa and the coast of East Africa stimulated commerce between the cities of the east and the Atlantic Ocean.

E) Islamic merchants established banking houses on the coast.

A) Islam expanded to India and Southeast Asia providing a religious bond of trust between those regions and the converted rulers of the cities of East Africa.

Many African societies unaffected by either Christianity or Islam developed states without:

A) much success. B) monumental architecture. C) systems of government. D) systems of writing. E) borders.

D) systems of writing.

Which of the following statements concerning Great Zimbabwe is NOT correct?

A) “Zimbabwe” actually refers to the stone buildings that were typical of the culture.

B) Great Zimbabwe was both the capital of the kingdom and a religious center.

C) Great Zimbabwe was constructed by Arab Muslims who were trading with the Bantu residents of the region.

D) By the fifteenth century, a centralized state had begun to form centered on Great Zimbabwe.

E) Sofala was the entrepot for Zimbabwean goods.

C) Great Zimbabwe was constructed by Arab Muslims who were trading with the Bantu residents of the region.

Which of the following statements concerning the impact of Islam on sub-Saharan Africa is most accurate?

A) Islam cut off North Africa from the regions of sub-Saharan Africa.

B) Although Africa had never been totally isolated from the Mediterranean, the spread of Islam brought large areas of Africa within the global community.

C) With the conversion of regions of the continent to Islam, Africa became the center of the Islamic world.

D) Despite widespread conversion of Africans to Islam, the continent remained outside the trading sphere of the Islamic world.

E) African development can be understood solely in terms of Islamic influences.

B) Although Africa had never been totally isolated from the Mediterranean, the spread of Islam brought large areas of Africa within the global community.

Which of the following is most correctly seen as a direct descendant of the Roman Empire?

A) Frankish Empire B) Ottoman Empire C) Byzantine Empire D) Abbasid Empire E) Holy Roman Empire

C) Byzantine Empire

The Byzantine Empire lasted from: A) 500 to 1450. B) 200 to 1200. C) 300 to 1700. D) 700 to 1650. E) 300 B.C.E. to 600 C.E.

A) 500 to 1450.

The significance of the Byzantine Empire included all of the following EXCEPT:

A) The empire’s ability to survive for almost a thousand years.

B) The importance of the empire’s capital at Constantinople as a major urban center.

C) The ability of the empire to spread its cultural and political influence to the Balkans and southern Russia.

D) The empire’s conquest of the Ottoman Empire and its inclusion of all of the Middle East.

E) Its takeover of Rome and Roman Catholicism.

D) The empire’s conquest of the Ottoman Empire and its inclusion of all of the Middle East.

What was the most important “stepchild” of the Byzantine civilization?

A) Italy B) the Middle East C) Russia D) Poland E) Greece

C) Russia

Which of the following does NOT represent a similarity between the spread of civilization in eastern and western Europe?

A) Civilization spread northward from a Mediterranean base.

B) Animism gave way to monotheism. C) Northern political units rapidly dominated

the political sophistication of civilization areas in Asia and North Africa.

D) In both cases newly civilized areas looked back to the Greco-Roman past.

E) Christianity was spread in both cases.

C) Northern political units rapidly dominated the political sophistication of civilization areas in Asia and North Africa.

Which of the following represents a difference between the spread of civilization in eastern and western Europe?

A) They produced different versions of Christianity, culturally as well as organizationally separate.

B) Only eastern Europe developed north-south commercial ties.

C) Centralized government and well-organized bureaucracy was more a feature of western Europe than eastern Europe.

D) Eastern Europe retained less fully the culture of the later Roman Empire than did the West.

E) Only the east faced the threat of an Islamic invasion.

A) They produced different versions of Christianity, culturally as well as organizationally separate.

The capital of the Byzantine Empire and its commercial center was located at:

A) Rome. B) Nicaea. C) Constantinople. D) Baghdad. E) Athens.

C) Constantinople.

The emperor responsible for the initial construction of Constantinople was:

A) Constantine. B) Justinian. C) Diocletian. D) Heraklius. E) Procopius.

A) Constantine.

What was the great church built in Constantinople by Justinian?

A) St. Peter’s B) The Cathedral of St. Dimitri C) Hagia Sophia D) Sts. Cyril and Methodius E) St. Basil

C) Hagia Sophia

Starting with the reign of Justinian, what was the official language of the eastern empire?

A) Latin B) Persian C) Arabic D) Greek E) Aramaic

D) Greek

The name normally given to the form of Christianity that emerged in the Byzantine Empire was:

A) Roman Catholicism. B) Nestorianism. C) Orthodox Christianity. D) Solafideanism. E) Coptic Christianity.

C) Orthodox Christianity.

What Eastern emperor was responsible for the attempted restoration of a united Roman Empire after 533?

A) Constantine B) Justinian C) Diocletian D) Theodosius E) Michael II

B) Justinian

Which of the following was NOT one of Justinian’s positive contributions to the Byzantine Empire?

A) the rebuilding of Constantinople B) systematizing of the Roman legal code C) the reconquest of Gaul D) the construction of Hagia Sophia E) territorial gains in North Africa and Italy

C) the reconquest of Gaul

All of the following were outcomes of Justinian’s wars of reconquest EXCEPT:

A) the permanent addition of Rome to the Byzantine Empire.

B) increased tax pressures on the government.

C) military successes in North Africa and Italy. D) weakening of the empire’s defenses on its

eastern frontiers. E) establishment of a key artistic center at

Raven.

A) the permanent addition of Rome to the Byzantine Empire.

After the seventh century, what group posed the greatest threat to the eastern frontiers of the Byzantine Empire?

A) the Seasoned Persians B) the Germans C) the Huns D) the Arab Muslims E) the Romans

D) the Arab Muslims

Byzantine cultural life centered on the secular traditions of:

A) Islam. B) Confucianism. C) Ancient Egypt. D) Hellenism. E) Norse legends.

D) Hellenism.

In which of the following ways were the Byzantine bureaucracy and the Chinese bureaucracy similar?

A) There was an extensive state exam system in both.

B) Emperors played little role in either government. C) There was no linkage of the bureaucracies to

local administration. D) Both bureaucracies were open to talented

commoners, not just aristocrats. E) They were driven by the authority of the church.

D) Both bureaucracies were open to talented commoners, not just aristocrats.

Which of the following statements concerning urbanization within the Byzantine Empire is most correct?

A) Constantinople controlled the economy and grew to enormous size, but other cities were relatively small.

B) Constantinople began to decline in population in the later years of the Byzantine Empire and was surpassed by the growth of other urban centers.

C) Like China, the Byzantine Empire was heavily urbanized with many cities numbering more than 100,000.

D) Most people in the Byzantine Empire lived in five great cities: Constantinople, Nicaea, Smyrna, Rome, and Athens.

E) Constantinople was never a center of trade, but dominated the Empire culturally.

A) Constantinople controlled the economy and grew to enormous size, but other cities were relatively small.

What were the primary exports of the Byzantine Empire?

A) food products B) raw materials, such as metal ores from Asia

Minor C) luxury products, such as silk, cloth and

carpets D) the empire produced little of significance

and was almost exclusively an importer of goods

E) cash crops, such as cotton and indigo

C) luxury products, such as silk, cloth and carpets

What was the result of the conflict over the use of religious images in the Orthodox Church?

A) Like the Muslims, the Orthodox Church banned subsequent use of religious images in favor of non-representational art.

B) Because of the popular reaction in favor of icons, the Orthodox Church restored their use; but the close relationship between church and state was broken.

C) After a long and complex battle, icon use was gradually restored, while the tradition of state control over church affairs was also reasserted.

D) Because of the strong resistance of the monks, icon use was restricted to those regions of the empire where the monasteries had little influence.

E) The use of icons was sanctioned in both the Eastern and Western churches.

C) After a long and complex battle, icon use was gradually restored, while the tradition of state control over church affairs was also reasserted.

Which of the following issues was a cause for the split between the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches after 1054?

A) the Orthodox church’s lack of bishops B) the insistence of the patriarch of Constantinople

on supremacy within church councils C) the absence of monasticism in Roman

Catholicism D) the Roman Catholic practice of requiring

celibacy for its priests E) polygamy among Orthodox priests

D) the Roman Catholic practice of requiring celibacy for its priests

In the eleventh century, what group of people seized most of the Asiatic provinces of the Byzantine Empire?

A) the Huns B) the Mongols C) the Ottoman Turks D) the Seljuk Turks E) the Mamluks

D) the Seljuk Turks

What was the outcome of the Western crusade of 1204?

A) The crusaders succeeded in temporarily pushing back the Turks and restoring the Asiatic provinces of the Byzantine Empire.

B) The crusade succeeded in establishing a Western kingdom in the Holy Land, but failed to relieve the Asiatic provinces of the Byzantine Empire.

C) The crusaders attacked and conquered Constantinople, temporarily establishing a Western kingdom there.

D) The crusade resulted in the establishment of a Western kingdom of Bulgaria in the Balkans.

E) The Holy Land was restored to the Jews.

C) The crusaders attacked and conquered Constantinople, temporarily establishing a Western kingdom there.

In what year did the Ottoman Turks successfully capture Constantinople and bring the Byzantine Empire to a close?

A) 1071 B) 1326 C) 1453 D) 1501 E) 1492

C) 1453

The Slavic alphabet created by Orthodox missionaries to the Slavs is called:

A) cursive. B) Constantinopolitan. C) Cyrillic. D) Russo-Slavic. E) Sanskrit.

C) Cyrillic.

Which of the following countries was converted to Orthodox Christianity?

A) Poland B) Russia C) Hungary D) Czechoslovakia E) Lithuania

B) Russia

The kingdom of Kiev in southern Russia was established by traders from what region?

A) Scandinavia B) Czechoslovakia C) the Balkans D) the Byzantine Empire E) the Middle East

A) Scandinavia

Why did Vladimir I prefer Orthodox Christianity to Roman Catholicism?

A) He preferred to avoid the pitfalls of the veneration of icons.

B) He believed that Roman Catholicism implied papal interference, while Orthodoxy embraced the control of the church by the state.

C) He was not familiar with Roman Catholicism, because the Western form of Christianity had not penetrated into eastern Europe.

D) He did not believe in clerical celibacy which was required of the Roman Catholic priesthood.

E) He rejected the Roman Catholics’ emphasis on the sacraments.

B) He believed that Roman Catholicism implied papal interference, while Orthodoxy embraced the control of the church by the state.

What group of peoples were responsible for the conquest of Kievan Russia in 1236?

A) Huns B) Mongols C) Ottoman Turks D) Seljuk Turks E) Safavid Persians

B) Mongols

The post-classical period in Western history between the fall of the Roman Empire and the fifteenth century is referred to as the:

A) Middle Ages. B) Renaissance. C) Age of Discovery. D) Baroque. E) Modern Era.

A) Middle Ages.

Which of the following statements concerning the impact of Christianity on polytheistic religions in western Europe is most accurate?

A) Christianity eradicated all traces of those earlier religions as the new religion became universal in western Europe.

B) The process of conversion produced a religious amalgam in which beliefs in magic and supernatural spirits coexisted with Christianity.

C) Although Christianity made inroads, many areas of Europe retained polytheistic beliefs and rejected the new religion.

D) Small islands of polytheistic belief remained, but Christianity eradicated belief in magic and spirits wherever the new religion was accepted.

E) Few polytheistic religions existed in Europe during the Middle Ages, but their influences grew.

B) The process of conversion produced a religious amalgam in which beliefs in magic and supernatural spirits coexisted with Christianity.

Medieval backwardness in western Europe accounts for:

A) the failure of the medieval West to establish centralized governments.

B) the inability of the West to establish trade contacts with the larger world commercial network.

C) the refusal of the West to adopt technologies and knowledge from other civilizations.

D) the anxiety of the West about the more powerful Muslim world.

E) the lack of a universal language of learning.

D) the anxiety of the West about the more powerful Muslim world.

Which of the following was NOT a sign of vitality in the medieval western culture following the Roman Empire’s fall?

A) population growth B) the development of the university C) the development of new political forms

and social organization D) the development of a purely secular

society E) the strong current of spirituality

D) the development of a purely secular society

Following the fall of Rome, where was the center of the post-classical West?

A) the former Roman colony of Spain B) Italy, particularly Rome C) the central plain of northern Europe:

France, the Low Countries, southern and western Germany

D) Greece E) the British Isles

C) the central plain of northern Europe: France, the Low Countries, southern and western Germany

Who were the invaders who disrupted the development of political institutions in the medieval West until the tenth century?

A) Muslims B) Mongols C) Vikings D) Chinese E) Turks

C) Vikings

Which of the following statements concerning the intellectual activity of the medieval West prior to the eighth century is most accurate?

A) Classical rational traditions were actively united with Christian mysticism to carve out a new intellectual world.

B) With the few literate people concentrated in monasteries, little was achieved other than copying older manuscripts.

C) Universities rapidly created a new intellectual climate in which logic was applied to matters of Christian doctrine.

D) All literacy and contact with the ancient culture was lost in the centuries following the fall of Rome.

E) Roman scholars achieved more during this period than their Islamic counterparts.

B) With the few literate people concentrated in monasteries, little was achieved other than copying older manuscripts.

The system that described economic and political relations between landlords and their peasant laborers was called:

A) manorialism. B) feudalism. C) slavery. D) capitalism. E) monasticism.

A) manorialism.

Agricultural laborers under the jurisdiction of aristocratic landowners were called:

A) artisans. B) guilds. C) serfs. D) bourgeoisie. E) fiefs.

C) serfs.

The moldboard was: A) a system of justice common to the manorial

regime of the medieval West. B) a technological innovation: a plow that

allowed deeper turning of the soil. C) a technological innovation: a water-driven

mill for grinding grain. D) the peasant council that determined the

division of land and labor in a peasant village. E) a cutting board used by peasants to make

bread.

B) a technological innovation: a plow that allowed deeper turning of the soil.

Which of the following statements concerning the three-field rotation system is most accurate?

A) Introduced in the eighth century, the three-field rotation added acres to production by leaving only a third of the land unplanted.

B) The three-field system removed land from production by reserving one-third for fallow.

C) The three-field system was rapidly replaced after the eighth century by the two-field system that offered greater flexibility in terms of crop rotation.

D) The three-field system removed fallow fields and replaced them with nitrogen-bearing crops.

E) It represented a net increase in productivity where it was used.

A) Introduced in the eighth century, the three-field rotation added acres to production by leaving only a third of the land unplanted.

Relationships between members of the military elite based on a reciprocal exchange of land for military service and loyalty were called:

A) manorialism. B) feudalism. C) capitalism. D) the guild system. E) monasticism.

B) feudalism.

The members of the military elite who received land in return for military service in the bands of the greater lords were called:

A) fiefs. B) benefices. C) vassals. D) serfs. E) lords.

C) vassals.

Which of the following statements about feudalism is most accurate?

A) Although it inhibited the development of strong central states, some kings were able to use feudalism to build their own power.

B) Although it provided initial political stability, feudalism was rapidly replaced by a western European imperial system.

C) Feudalism represented only a brief, and largely unsatisfactory, attempt to create political stability in western Europe.

D) Feudalism produced centralized monarchies by the eighth century.

E) Feudalism caused rapid economic gains.

A) Although it inhibited the development of strong central states, some kings were able to use feudalism to build their own power.

What Frankish king was responsible for the conversion of his people to Christianity in order to gain a vague domination over the Franks?

A) Charles Martel B) Clovis C) Charlemagne D) Pepin III E) Louis IX

B) Clovis

What belief did the conversion of Germanic kings create among western religious leaders, particularly the pope?

A) That the Church was subordinate to the secular monarchs.

B) That the Church had a legitimate authority separate from and superior to the secular rulers.

C) That the Church should avoid conversion of northern Germanic kings.

D) That such conversion represented a danger to the papal hierarchy.

E) That the church should fear powerful kings.

B) That the Church had a legitimate authority separate from and superior to the secular rulers.

In what year was Charlemagne able to establish a substantial, if temporary, empire in France and Germany?

A) 500 B) 800 C) 900 D) 1000 E) 1100

B) 800

Which of the following statements concerning the Holy Roman Emperors after the tenth century is most accurate?

A) They built upon the Carolingian foundations to establish the most centralized government found in the medieval West.

B) Building on a feudal framework rather than the Carolingian Germanic foundations, the Holy Roman Emperors created a strongly centralized government.

C) Discarding much of the former Carolingian empire, the Holy Roman Emperors reestablished a centralized government in northern Italy.

D) The rule of the Holy Roman Emperors became increasingly hollow, because they did not build a solid monarchy from regional foundations.

E) Dukedoms and city-states yielded political authority to the Holy Roman Empire.

D) The rule of the Holy Roman Emperors became increasingly hollow, because they did not build a solid monarchy from regional foundations.

What was the impact of the improved economy after the tenth century on the social system of western Europe?

A) The improvements in the agricultural system retarded the development of towns and restricted social mobility.

B) Harsh serfdom became the rule throughout western Europe.

C) The increased pace of economic life created a less rigid structure.

D) Despite the improved economy, the rigid social system associated with feudalism continued to dominate western Europe.

E) the merchants lost considerable power.

C) The increased pace of economic life created a less rigid structure.

Which of the following regions achieved feudal monarchy prior to the end of the Middle Ages?

A) Holy Roman Empire B) England C) Low Countries D) Spain E) Italy

B) England

Which of the following areas was NOT one of the regions into which expansion from western Europe took place?

A) eastern Germany and Poland B) northern Africa C) Spain D) Iceland and Greenland B) Asia Minor

B) northern Africa

In what year did Pope Urban II call for the first crusade?

A) 1095 B) 1130 C) 1236 D) 1453 E) 1066

A) 1095

Which of the following did NOT occur as a result of the crusades?

A) The Kingdom of Jerusalem was established for nearly a century in the Holy Land.

B) The fourth crusade resulted in the temporary conquest of Constantinople.

C) The crusades helped to open the West to new cultural and economic influences from the Middle East.

D) The crusades demonstrated a new Western superiority in the wider world.

E) The crusaders did not always remain focused on religious goals.

D) The crusades demonstrated a new Western superiority in the wider world.

The Fourth Crusade was manipulated by merchants in Venice, who turned it into an attack on:

A) Constantinople. B) Jerusalem. C) Athens. D) Alexandria. E) Rome.

A) Constantinople.

In what way was the educational system of the medieval West different than that of China?

A) the West abandoned their classical heritage B) the universities were not tied into a single

bureaucratic system C) in the West, there were no state

bureaucracies to hire university graduates D) the West lacked a formal system of

education E) university education was literacy-based

B) the universities were not tied into a single bureaucratic system

The leading figure in the synthesis of classical rational philosophy with Christian theology was a teacher at the University of Paris in the thirteenth century:

A) Thomas Aquinas. B) William of Ockham. C) Peter Abelard. D) William of St. Thierry . E) Geoffrey Chaucer.

A) Thomas Aquinas.

Because of its base in the universities of western Europe, the dominant medieval philosophical approach was referred to as:

A) existentialism. B) corporate theology. C) social contract theology. D) scholasticism. E) Hellenistic.

D) scholasticism.

During the eleventh century, what new architectural style featuring pointed arches and flying buttresses became dominant in western Europe?

A) Romanesque B) Gothic C) Structuralism D) Turkic E) Baroque

B) Gothic

All of the following were functions of the merchant and artisan guilds EXCEPT:

A) limitation of membership. B) regulation of apprenticeship. C) ensuring a free market economy. D) guaranteeing good workmanship. E) giving its members a voice in local

government.

C) ensuring a free market economy.

Which of the following was a result of the Hundred Years War during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries?

A) kings reduced their reliance on feudal forces in favor of paid armies

B) an English victory C) mounted knights continued their dominance

over footsoldiers and archers D) major battles resulted in enormous loss of

life over the course of the war E) replenishment of natural resources.

A) kings reduced their reliance on feudal forces in favor of paid armies

Which of the following was NOT typical of the challenges to typical medieval institutions in the fifteenth century?

A) the landowning aristocracy lost its dominance as the chief military force

B) the balance between church and state began to favor the dominance of the state

C) the medieval intellectual and artistic synthesis was breaking down

D) a single imperial government replaced the fragmented political structure of the Middle Ages

E) parliaments limited the power of kings.

D) a single imperial government replaced the fragmented political structure of the Middle Ages

Which of the following statements concerning the importance of medieval economics is most true?

A) Medieval economic thought and practice was of no consequence to later Western economic thinkers and actors.

B) Medieval economics set a much more direct stage for later developments than classical economics had done.

C) Medieval economics simply repeated the thought and practice of earlier economic thinkers.

D) Medieval economics, overall, tended to discourage merchant activity and technical innovation.

E) Medieval economic systems were based on global trade.

B) Medieval economics set a much more direct stage for later developments than classical economics had done.