2. 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.
3. B) He was the first Caliph to be chosen from
Muhammad’s early enemies, the Umayyads.
4. 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.
5. C) Despite early successes, Ali’s faction
disintegrated leading to an Umayyad victory
and Ali’s assassination.
6. 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.
10. 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.
11. B) Only Muslim Arabs were first-class citizens of
this great empire.
12. The term for non-Arab Muslim converts is:
A) jizya.
B) dhow.
C) mawali.
D) dhimmis.
E) umma.
14. 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.
15. C) The Umayyads displayed tolerance towards the
religions of dhimmi peoples.
16. 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
17. B) the admission of the mawali as full members
of the Islamic community
18. The Abbasids moved the political center of their
empire to:
A) Baghdad.
B) Constantinople.
C) Merv.
D) Damascus.
E) Jerusalem.
20. 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.
21. 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.
22. 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.
23. A) It was a period of general prosperity typified
by urban growth and the restoration of the Afro-
Eurasian trade axis.
24. Who were the ayan?
A) Abbasid bureaucrats
B) African slaves
C) free artisans
D) a rural landholding elite
E) Jewish converts to Islam
26. 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.
27. C) Artisans were free men who owned their own
tools and who formed guild-like organizations
to negotiate wages.
28. 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
29. C) Because most unskilled labor was left to the
unfree, slaves could be found in both the towns
and countryside of the Abbasid Empire.
30. 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.
31. A) The Muslims were able to recover and
preserve the works of the ancient philosophers
as well as transmit from one civilization to
another.
32. 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.
33. A) The Abbasids continued to develop
absolutism in such a fashion that they
controlled a large portion of Eurasia.
34. 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
38. 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.
39. D) He failed to resolve the problem of dynastic
succession with disastrous results.
40. 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
50. 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.
51. D) It actually restored the ability of the empire to
meet the challenges of Egypt and the Byzantine
Empire.
52. 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
54. 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
58. 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.
59. A) Christians adopted military techniques, words,
scientific learning, and Arabic numerals among
other things.
60. 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.
62. 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.
63. C) Despite political disintegration and a decline in
the agricultural economy, towns continued to
grow rapidly.
64. 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.
65. A) Long-distance trade with Africa, the
Mediterranean, India, and China continued to
flourish despite periodic interruption.
66. What was the primary written language of the
later Abbasid court?
A) Arabic
B) Persian
C) Latin
D) Greek
E) Cyrillic
70. 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.
71. C) Baghdad became a provincial backwater,
supplanted by Cairo to the east and soon
thereafter Istanbul to the north.
72. 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.
73. 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.
74. 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.
75. C) Islam stressed the egalitarianism of all
believers, while Hinduism embraced a caste-
based social system.
76. 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
77. B) Hindus and Buddhists were treated as
dhimmis or “peoples of the book”
78. 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.
79. C) Muslims adopted the system of mathematical
notation later referred to as Arabic numerals.
80. 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
82. 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
83. B) in both style and message they shared much
with Indian mystics and wandering ascetics
84. 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
86. 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.
87. B) Hindus placed greater emphasis on the
devotional or bhaktic cults of gods and
goddesses such as Shiva and Vishnu.
88. 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.
90. 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.
91. A) Port cities were points of dissemination to
other links in trading networks.
92. 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
94. 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.
95. A) African civilizations were built somewhat less
clearly on prior precedent than was the case in
other post-classical societies.
96. 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.
97. D) Neither universal states nor universal religion
characterized Africa, but both Christianity and
Islam did find adherents in Africa.
98. 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.
100. 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.
101. B) Animistic religion—belief in the power of
natural forces personified as deities—
characterized much of Africa.
102. 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
104. 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.
105. D) Much of the region lacked a market economy
and was based on self-sufficient agricultural
units.
106. 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.
107. C) Africa tended to exchange raw materials for
manufactured products and failed to develop
an industrial technology.
108. 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
110. 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
112. 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.
113. D) It refers to the Islamic emphasis on equality
of all believers, but the continued acceptance
of social stratification.
114. What was the most important Christian kingdom
in Africa?
A) Mali
B) Songhay
C) Kongo
D) Ethiopia
E) Egypt
116. 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.
117. 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.
118. 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
122. 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
123. B) invasion by a Moroccan Muslim army
equipped with firearms
124. 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
126. 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.
127. D) There was active trade to the Persian Gulf
and Egypt, but little beyond those points.
128. 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.
129. 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.
130. 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.
132. 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.
133. C) Great Zimbabwe was constructed by Arab
Muslims who were trading with the Bantu
residents of the region.
134. 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.
135. B) Although Africa had never been totally isolated
from the Mediterranean, the spread of Islam
brought large areas of Africa within the global
community.
136. 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
140. 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.
141. D) The empire’s conquest of the Ottoman Empire
and its inclusion of all of the Middle East.
142. What was the most important “stepchild” of the
Byzantine civilization?
A) Italy
B) the Middle East
C) Russia
D) Poland
E) Greece
144. 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.
145. C) Northern political units rapidly dominated
the political sophistication of civilization areas
in Asia and North Africa.
146. 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.
147. A) They produced different versions of
Christianity, culturally as well as
organizationally separate.
148. The capital of the Byzantine Empire and its
commercial center was located at:
A) Rome.
B) Nicaea.
C) Constantinople.
D) Baghdad.
E) Athens.
150. The emperor responsible for the initial
construction of Constantinople was:
A) Constantine.
B) Justinian.
C) Diocletian.
D) Heraklius.
E) Procopius.
152. 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
154. 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
156. 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.
158. 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
160. 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
162. 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.
163. A) the permanent addition of Rome to the
Byzantine Empire.
164. 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
166. Byzantine cultural life centered on the secular
traditions of:
A) Islam.
B) Confucianism.
C) Ancient Egypt.
D) Hellenism.
E) Norse legends.
168. 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.
169. D) Both bureaucracies were open to talented
commoners, not just aristocrats.
170. 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.
171. A) Constantinople controlled the economy and
grew to enormous size, but other cities were
relatively small.
172. 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
173. C) luxury products, such as silk, cloth and
carpets
174. 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.
175. C) After a long and complex battle, icon use
was gradually restored, while the tradition of
state control over church affairs was also
reasserted.
176. 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
177. D) the Roman Catholic practice of requiring
celibacy for its priests
178. 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
180. 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.
181. C) The crusaders attacked and conquered
Constantinople, temporarily establishing a
Western kingdom there.
182. 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
184. The Slavic alphabet created by Orthodox
missionaries to the Slavs is called:
A) cursive.
B) Constantinopolitan.
C) Cyrillic.
D) Russo-Slavic.
E) Sanskrit.
188. 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
190. 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.
191. B) He believed that Roman Catholicism implied
papal interference, while Orthodoxy embraced
the control of the church by the state.
192. 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
194. 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.
196. 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.
197. B) The process of conversion produced a
religious amalgam in which beliefs in magic
and supernatural spirits coexisted with
Christianity.
198. 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.
199. D) the anxiety of the West about the more
powerful Muslim world.
200. 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
201. D) the development of a purely secular society
202. 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
203. C) the central plain of northern Europe: France,
the Low Countries, southern and western
Germany
204. 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
206. 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.
207. B) With the few literate people concentrated in
monasteries, little was achieved other than
copying older manuscripts.
208. 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.
210. Agricultural laborers under the jurisdiction of
aristocratic landowners were called:
A) artisans.
B) guilds.
C) serfs.
D) bourgeoisie.
E) fiefs.
212. 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.
213. B) a technological innovation: a plow that
allowed deeper turning of the soil.
214. 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.
215. A) Introduced in the eighth century, the three-
field rotation added acres to production by
leaving only a third of the land unplanted.
216. 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.
218. 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.
220. 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.
221. A) Although it inhibited the development of
strong central states, some kings were able to
use feudalism to build their own power.
222. 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
224. 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.
225. B) That the Church had a legitimate authority
separate from and superior to the secular
rulers.
226. 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
228. 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.
229. D) The rule of the Holy Roman Emperors
became increasingly hollow, because they did
not build a solid monarchy from regional
foundations.
230. 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.
231. C) The increased pace of economic life created
a less rigid structure.
232. 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
234. 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
238. 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.
239. D) The crusades demonstrated a new Western
superiority in the wider world.
240. 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.
242. 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
243. B) the universities were not tied into a single
bureaucratic system
244. 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.
246. 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.
248. 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
250. 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.
252. 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.
253. A) kings reduced their reliance on feudal forces
in favor of paid armies
254. 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.
255. D) a single imperial government replaced the
fragmented political structure of the Middle
Ages
256. 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.
257. B) Medieval economics set a much more direct
stage for later developments than classical
economics had done.
