Unit 3 Content Test

When the Western Roman Empire was falling in the west, the _____________ Empire was established in the east. (Lv1Q)

• Holy Roman

• Greek

• Byzantine

• Constantine

The Black Death is believed to have first originated in what part of the world? (Lv1Q)

• Asia

• Israel

• America

• England

Who gained tremendous power during the middle ages of the Roman Catholic Church? (Lv1Q)

• Bishop

• Pope

• Archbishop

• Priest

Who is known as the prophet of Islam? (Lv1Q)

• Jesus

• Muhammad

• Confucius

• Abraham

One long-term effect of the Crusades was: (Lv1Q)

• Development of the Pax Mongolica

• Fall of the Ming dynasty

• Permanent control of Jerusalem by white Europeans

• The development of new trade routes & trade-dependent cities in Europe.

Which is an accurate description of what the map above is intending to show? (Identification - Lv2Q)

• Christian Europe was the center of most trade about 1300 ce

• Africa had no single, definitive religion

• The Islamic world had the most significant trade routes

• China developed ships that made oceanic trade easy.

Based on the map and your knowledge of the events of this time, which of these is NOT a logical reason why trade was more active in Islamic territories than elsewhere? (Application - Lv3Q)

• Europeans were busy making extensive technological & cultural advances prior to 1300.

• Islamic empires were more centrally located geographically.

• Islamic empires were more united, while European territories were divided feudally.

• Muslims were used to encountering multiple cultures and regions as their empire and religion spread.

Directions: Read the entire document and write a response.

"Trade in Europe in the early Middle Ages continued to some degree as it had under the Romans, with shipping being fundamental to the movement of goods from one end of the Mediterranean to the other and via rivers and waterways from south to north and vice versa. However, the extent of international trade in this early period is disputed among historians. There was a movement of goods, especially luxury goods (precious metals, horses, and slaves to name a few), but in what quantities and whether transactions involved money, barter, or gift-exchange is unclear. Jewish and Syrian merchants may have filled the gap left by the demise of the Romans up to the 7th century CE while the Levant also traded with North Africa and the Moors in Spain. It is probable that international trade remained the affair of only the elite aristocracy and it supported economies rather than drove them.

Into the 9th century CE, a clearer picture of international trade begins to emerge. The Italian city-states, under the nominal rulership of the Byzantine Empire, began to take over the trade networks of the Mediterranean, particularly Venice and Amalfi who would later be joined by Pisa and Genoa and suitable ports in southern Italy. Goods traded between the Arab world and Europe included slaves, spices, perfumes, gold, jewels, leather goods, animal skins, and luxury textiles, especially silk. Italian cities specialized in the exports of cloths like linen, unspun cotton, and salt (goods which originally came from Spain, Germany, northern Italy, and the Adriatic). There developed important inland trading centers like Milan which then passed on goods to the coastal cities for further export or more northern cities. The trade connections across the Mediterranean are evidenced in descriptions of European ports in the works of Arab geographers and the high numbers of Arab gold coinage found in, for example, parts of southern Italy." (Lv4Q - 4+ sentence response)"

Explain how the reading (above) represents a continuity of trade from the previous era (Unit 2), even during the Dark Ages. (Analysis – L4)

Source: Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, 2004

"The Mongols made no technological breakthroughs, founded no new religions, wrote few books or dramas, and gave the world no new crops or methods of agriculture. Their own craftsmen could not weave cloth, cast metal, make pottery, or even bake bread. They manufactured neither porcelain nor pottery, painted no pictures, and built no buildings. Yet, as their army conquered culture after culture, they collected and passed all of these skills from one civilization to the next.

The only permanent structures Genghis Khan erected were bridges. Although he hated the idea of building castles, forts, cities, or walls, as he moved across the landscape, he probably built more bridges than any ruler in history. He spanned hundreds of streams and rivers in order to make the movement of his armies and goods quicker. The Mongols deliberately opened the world to a new commerce not only in goods, but also in ideas and knowledge. The Mongols brought German miners to China and Chinese doctors to Persia. The transfers ranged from the monumental to the trivial. They spread the use of carpets everywhere they went and transplanted lemons and carrots from Persia to China, as well as noodles, playing cards, and tea from China to the West.

The Mongols who inherited Genghis Khan’s empire exercised a determined drive to move products and basic materials around and to combine them in ways that produced entirely new products and unprecedented (never before seen) invention. When their highly skilled engineers from China, Persia, and Europe combined Chinese gunpowder with Muslim flamethrowers and applied European bell-casting technology, they produced the cannon, and entirely new order of technological innovation…

In nearly every country touched by the Mongols, the initial destruction and shock of conquest by an unknown and barbaric tribe yielded quickly to an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and improved civilization."

Which statement accurately summarizes the author’s main point in this passage? (Identification – Lv2Q)

• The Mongols were culturally and technologically backwards.

• The Mongols liked to build bridges but otherwise had little economic impact.

• The Mongols conquered all of Europe, Asia, & Africa and spread their own newly crafted technologies to all those areas.

• Despite the violent conquests of the Mongols, they helped spread may recent advancements around the regions.

Source: Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World, 2004

"The Mongols made no technological breakthroughs, founded no new religions, wrote few books or dramas, and gave the world no new crops or methods of agriculture. Their own craftsmen could not weave cloth, cast metal, make pottery, or even bake bread. They manufactured neither porcelain nor pottery, painted no pictures, and built no buildings. Yet, as their army conquered culture after culture, they collected and passed all of these skills from one civilization to the next.

The only permanent structures Genghis Khan erected were bridges. Although he hated the idea of building castles, forts, cities, or walls, as he moved across the landscape, he probably built more bridges than any ruler in history. He spanned hundreds of streams and rivers in order to make the movement of his armies and goods quicker. The Mongols deliberately opened the world to a new commerce not only in goods, but also in ideas and knowledge. The Mongols brought German miners to China and Chinese doctors to Persia. The transfers ranged from the monumental to the trivial. They spread the use of carpets everywhere they went and transplanted lemons and carrots from Persia to China, as well as noodles, playing cards, and tea from China to the West.

The Mongols who inherited Genghis Khan’s empire exercised a determined drive to move products and basic materials around and to combine them in ways that produced entirely new products and unprecedented (never before seen) invention. When their highly skilled engineers from China, Persia, and Europe combined Chinese gunpowder with Muslim flamethrowers and applied European bell-casting technology, they produced the cannon, and entirely new order of technological innovation…

In nearly every country touched by the Mongols, the initial destruction and shock of conquest by an unknown and barbaric tribe yielded quickly to an unprecedented rise in cultural communication, expanded trade, and improved civilization."

Based on what is described in this excerpt, what did the author probably mean by the phrase “cultural communication?” (Application – Lv3Q)

• The Mongols caused increased interaction between different cultures

• Mongol bridge building allowed people from different cultures to send letters faster across the empire

• The Mongols prohibited different cultures from sharing ideas and advanced technologies

• The Mongols invented new technologies with their knowledge mastered from other cultures