1. Please explain why the Byzantine Empire continued to be a sovereign state for almost 1000 years after the fall of the Western Roman Empire, and please explain the long-term causes of the end of the Byzantine Empire. In your answer, please present specific facts to support your arguments. 2. Please explain why the Abbasid Caliphate replaced the Umayyad Caliphate, and please explain why the Abbasid Caliphate was able to promote the Golden Age of Islam. 3. Please evaluate the argument that the predominantly Muslim Delhi Sultanate and the predominantly Muslim Moghul Dynasty used the same regime maintenance methods as the predominantly Hindu Gupta Empire. 4. Please explain why both the continental and island parts of Southeast Asia attracted Indians and Arabs during the Middle Ages, and attracted Western Europeans during the Early Modern Era. Please use specific examples to explain the activities of these foreign groups in Southeast Asia, and please explain how Southeast Asians responded by acquiescence and/or resistance (e.g., trade, religious conversion, the Srivijaya Empire, the Brunei Sultanate, etc.). 5. Please explain why the Sui Dynasty was able to reunite the Chinese homeland into a single state, why the Tang Dynasty caused a flourishing of Chinese culture, and why the Song Dynasty was unable to preserve the unity of China when it was confronted by the Nomadic Dynasties. 6. Please evaluate the argument that, when comparing Chinese influence in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan, the largest amount of influence occurred in Korea, and the smallest amount of influence occurred in Vietnam. Please use specific facts to support your arguments. 7. Please use specific facts about technological, economic, and political history to evaluate the argument that the ENSO (also named “El Nino”) weather pattern reduced the rate of technological advancement in the Mesoamerican and Andean Civilizations, and as a result, they did not invent military technologies that would have allowed them to permanently repulse the invasions by Spain during the 1500s. 8. Please use specific facts to justify the argument that, during the Medieval Era (476 CE to 1402 CE), the Sub-Saharan African Civilizations significantly participated in cultural and economic exchanges with Europe and Asia. In your answer, please do not consider the Prehistoric Era (to 3200 BCE) and the Ancient Era (3200 BCE to 476 CE). 9. Please evaluate the argument that economic and territorial gain were the primary motives for Western European participation in the Crusades. In your answer, please compare and contrast the motives for the Crusades and the motives for the Viking expansion. 10. Please fully evaluate the argument that the Mongol Empire’s legacy was not positive for the Afro-Eurasian continent. 11. Please explain the causes and consequences of the rivalry between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires. 12. Please explain the causes and consequences of the Renaissance. In yo ...

1. 1. Please explain why the Byzantine Empire continued to be a
sovereign state for almost 1000 years after the fall of the
Western Roman Empire, and please explain the long-term
causes of the end of the Byzantine Empire. In your answer,
please present specific facts to support your arguments.
2. Please explain why the Abbasid Caliphate replaced the
Umayyad Caliphate, and please explain why the Abbasid
Caliphate was able to promote the Golden Age of Islam.
3. Please evaluate the argument that the predominantly Muslim
Delhi Sultanate and the predominantly Muslim Moghul Dynasty
used the same regime maintenance methods as the
predominantly Hindu Gupta Empire.
4. Please explain why both the continental and island parts of
Southeast Asia attracted Indians and Arabs during the Middle
Ages, and attracted Western Europeans during the Early Modern
Era. Please use specific examples to explain the activities of
these foreign groups in Southeast Asia, and please explain how
Southeast Asians responded by acquiescence and/or resistance
(e.g., trade, religious conversion, the Srivijaya Empire, the
Brunei Sultanate, etc.).
5. Please explain why the Sui Dynasty was able to reunite the
Chinese homeland into a single state, why the Tang Dynasty

2. caused a flourishing of Chinese culture, and why the Song
Dynasty was unable to preserve the unity of China when it was
confronted by the Nomadic Dynasties.
6. Please evaluate the argument that, when comparing Chinese
influence in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan, the largest amount of
influence occurred in Korea, and the smallest amount of
influence occurred in Vietnam. Please use specific facts to
support your arguments.
7. Please use specific facts about technological, economic, and
political history to evaluate the argument that the ENSO (also
named “El Nino”) weather pattern reduced the rate of
technological advancement in the Mesoamerican and Andean
Civilizations, and as a result, they did not invent military
technologies that would have allowed them to permanently
repulse the invasions by Spain during the 1500s.
8. Please use specific facts to justify the argument that, during
the Medieval Era (476 CE to 1402 CE), the Sub-Saharan
African Civilizations significantly participated in cultural and
economic exchanges with Europe and Asia. In your answer,
please do not consider the Prehistoric Era (to 3200 BCE) and
the Ancient Era (3200 BCE to 476 CE).
9. Please evaluate the argument that economic and territorial
gain were the primary motives for Western European
participation in the Crusades. In your answer, please compare

3. and contrast the motives for the Crusades and the motives for
the Viking expansion.
10. Please fully evaluate the argument that the Mongol Empire’s
legacy was not positive for the Afro-Eurasian continent.
11. Please explain the causes and consequences of the rivalry
between the Ottoman and Safavid Empires.
12. Please explain the causes and consequences of the
Renaissance. In your answer, please compare and contrast
Scholasticism and Humanism, and please explain why the
Reformation was a consequence of the Renaissance.
13. Please explain the Triangle Trade, and please explain why
both European nations and African nations willfully participated
in this process despite its human rights violations.
14. Please explain both the successes and failures of Spanish
colonization in the Western Hemisphere during the 1400s and
1500s. In your answer, please do not consider activities that
occurred after 1600.
15. Lesson Notes 11 includes an essay that is entitled “The

4. World Historiography of World History.” After studying this
essay, please evaluate the argument that it is inappropriate to
apply Western European Civilization’s analytical paradigms to
other cultures. In your answer, please consider the written
record, the oral folkloric record, the cultural imperative to write
world history books, and the possible fallacy of Winston
Churchill’s statement that “the victors write history.”
EXTRA CREDIT QUESTION
16. Please evaluate the argument that the Ancient Egyptian
Civilization had more respect for human rights than any other
civilization that we have studied in HIS-131, World History I.