AP World History Review

1. 650 CE – 1450 CE AP World History Review

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. And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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.

7. A) Shi’is. And the answer is

8. Under the Umayyads, the political center of Islam shifted to: A) Baghdad. B) Merv. C) Constantinople. D) Damascus. E) Cairo.

9. D) Damascus. And the answer is

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. And the answer is

12. The term for non-Arab Muslim converts is: A) jizya. B) dhow. C) mawali. D) dhimmis. E) umma.

13. C) mawali. And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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 And the answer is

18. The Abbasids moved the political center of their empire to: A) Baghdad. B) Constantinople. C) Merv. D) Damascus. E) Jerusalem.

19. A) Baghdad. And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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

25. D) a rural landholding elite And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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

35. A) the collapse of the cities And the answer is

36. Which of the following groups did NOT revolt against Abbasid rule? A ) slaves B) peasants C) Sunnis D) Shi’is E) Buyids

37. C) Sunnis And the answer is

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. And the answer is

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

41. A) the establishment of the harem And the answer is

42. What was the regional splinter dynasty that captured Baghdad in 945? A) Mongols B) Buyids C) Seljuk Turks D) Ghazni E) Avars

43. B) Buyids And the answer is

44. What group successfully captured Baghdad in 1055? A) Mongols B) Buyids C) Seljuk Turks D) Ghazni E) Berbers

45. C) Seljuk Turks And the answer is

46. What was the religious affiliation of the Seljuk Turks? A) Christian B) Shi’i C) Sufi D) Sunni E) Eastern Orthodox

47. D) Sunni And the answer is

48. In what year was Jerusalem captured by Christian Crusaders? A) 985 B) 1099 C) 1142 D) 1245 E) 1258

49. B) 1099 And the answer is

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.