AMSCO 2.4 Quiz

The Sahara desert is roughly the size of which country?

• The United States

• India

• China

• Spain

Which animals were primarily used to cross the Sahara Desert?

• Horses

• Camels

• Donkeys

• Giraffes

Who created the saddle with the greatest impact on trade?

• Somalis

• Egyptians

• Malis

• Ghana

__________ was the most precious commodity that was traded across the Sahara.

• Camels

• Wheat

• Cotton

• Gold

Timbuktu became a world-renowned center of:

• Philosophical learning

• Medical Learning

• Environmental Learning

• Islamic Learning

Malian Emperor Mansa Musa’s pilgrimage to Mecca in 1324 can best be understood in the context of which of the following?

• The expansion of Islam throughout Afro-Eurasia

• The development of new transportation technologies

• The diffusion of African culture to the Middle East

• The territorial expansion of West African empires

“A strongly held misconception about the Sahara, both in popular culture and in academia, is that this desert constitutes both a physical barrier and a fundamental cultural divide between northern Africa—a constituent part of the Mediterranean and Middle Eastern historical realms—and ‘sub-Saharan’ Africa, a world apart. . . . [I argue] that the Sahara has far more often served as a link than as a barrier. . . .

Prior to the end of the 16th century c.e., [the Sahara] was essential to world trade as it afforded nearly continuous communication between China, the Indian subcontinent, the Middle East, Russia, the Mediterranean and West Africa. Trade, travel and communications between these world regions was assured by a system of caravans. . . . The 12th through the 16th centuries mark the ‘golden age’ of this trade. Demand for West African gold was at its height as the economies of the Mediterranean Sea, the Middle East, Central Asia, the Indian Ocean and Ming China expanded. . . . [In addition], the rise of the Malian and then the Songhay empires [made] the trade routes and trading cities of the African continent relatively secure, and therefore prosperous.” ~Eric Ross, Canadian historian, article included in a book, published in 2011

Which of the following best explains a development in the trans-Saharan trade networks in the period 1200–1450 ?

• The networks became more dangerous because of religious conflict between Christian and Muslim states.

• The geographic range of the networks increased because of improved commercial practices.

• The networks were increasingly disrupted because of the growing importance of maritime commerce.

• The value of merchandise along the networks increased because of demand for silver and bronze from Muslim states in North Africa and the Middle East.