Period 1 Practice Exam

“The adoption of the mamluk* institutions by the Abbasids was followed almost immediately by [the] . . . disintegration of the state. . . . The disintegration of the Abbasid state was an intensely painful process in which it seemed at times as if the very venture of Islam was coming to an end, like that of Alexander the Great before it. . . . Indeed, that Islam was soon to disappear was the very premise upon which the [Shi‘ite] revolutionaries held out their promise of a moral and material recovery: nothing less . . . could now save the marriage between religion and power to which the Islamic [state] owed its existence.”

*an Arabic term designating an enslaved person, in this case, a slave soldier of Turkic origin

Patricia Crone, Danish-American historian of Islamic history, Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity, 1980

1) The disintegration of the Abbasid Caliphate most directly led to which of the following political developments in the Islamic world in the thirteenth centur?

• The Russian conquest of Central Asia

• The rise of Turkic States

• The conversion of most of the Islamic world to Shi'a Islam

• The collapse of trade along the Silk Road networks

Answer explanation

Correct. The disintegration of the Abbasid state resulted in the emergence of numerous Islamic states controlled by Turkic peoples. Long before the collapse of the Abbasid Caliphate in 1258, the Islamic world split into a number of smaller successor states, most of which were dominated by Turkic ruling classes. In the thirteenth century, some examples of such states included the Delhi Sultanate of India and the Mamluk Sultanate of Egypt.

“The adoption of the mamluk* institutions by the Abbasids was followed almost immediately by [the] . . . disintegration of the state. . . . The disintegration of the Abbasid state was an intensely painful process in which it seemed at times as if the very venture of Islam was coming to an end, like that of Alexander the Great before it. . . . Indeed, that Islam was soon to disappear was the very premise upon which the [Shi‘ite] revolutionaries held out their promise of a moral and material recovery: nothing less . . . could now save the marriage between religion and power to which the Islamic [state] owed its existence.”

*an Arabic term designating an enslaved person, in this case, a slave soldier of Turkic origin

Patricia Crone, Danish-American historian of Islamic history, Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity, 1980

#2: Despite the disintegration of the Abbasid Caliphate, Islam continued to spread across Afro-Eurasia in the period 1200-1450 primarily because of which of the following?

• The conquest of the Christian Crusader States in the Levant

• The activities of Sufi missionaries

• The voyages of Muslim eunuch Zheng He

• The translation activites of Muslim Scholars

Answer explanation

Correct. The activities of Sufi missionaries were the largest factor in the further spread of Islam across Afro-Eurasia in the period 1200–1450, as Sufis won new converts in places such as Anatolia, Central Asia, India, and Southeast Asia where Islam had already been introduced.

“The adoption of the mamluk* institutions by the Abbasids was followed almost immediately by [the] . . . disintegration of the state. . . . The disintegration of the Abbasid state was an intensely painful process in which it seemed at times as if the very venture of Islam was coming to an end, like that of Alexander the Great before it. . . . Indeed, that Islam was soon to disappear was the very premise upon which the [Shi‘ite] revolutionaries held out their promise of a moral and material recovery: nothing less . . . could now save the marriage between religion and power to which the Islamic [state] owed its existence.”

*an Arabic term designating an enslaved person, in this case, a slave soldier of Turkic origin

Patricia Crone, Danish-American historian of Islamic history, Slaves on Horses: The Evolution of the Islamic Polity, 1980

#3) The combination between religious and political aspects in the Abbasid state's concept of governance is best reflected in which of the following?

• The Abbasid state had an influential Sunni religious class that often came into conflict with the state.

• The Abbasid state often allowed local rulers considerable autonomy.

• The Abbasid state patronized the construction of religious buildings such as mosques.

• The Abbasid state was headed by a calpih who was both the states supreme religious and political leader.

Answer explanation

Correct. In the Abbasid caliphate, the caliph held supreme religious and political authority, which best illustrates the Abbasid concept of governance regarding religion and political power.

“One of the most important aspects of the Maya economy was the exchange of exotic goods. Maya rulers and elites needed such goods to maintain and reinforce their social status and power. Many of these goods were used in the formal dress of kings, nobles, and priests. Without them, the elites could not carry out the rituals that were their principal duties in the eyes of the people. Jaguar pelts, fine textiles, feathers, and other such products were exchanged over long distances within the Maya lowlands. . . .

Such items were probably exchanged as dowry, gifts at royal marriages, coronations, funerals, or at religious pilgrimages. Exotic goods were also probably given as tribute to rulers by their vassals.

These high-status goods held together the Maya world and unified patterns of behavior in religion, science, and warfare. Their exchange surely went hand in hand with exchanges of information, including scientific knowledge, early writing, and, most importantly, models of political organization.”

Arthur Demarest, United States anthropologist, Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization, 2004

#4: Which of the following pieces of evidence strongly supports the author's conclusion about the importance of exotic goods to the Maya region's economy?

• Exotic goods were exchanged over long distances within the Maya lowlands.

• Exotic goods were traded between the Maya city-states and neighboring states.

• The exchange of goods went hand in hand with the exchange of information.

• The Maya region depended on the trade in exotic goods because of relatively low levels of agricultural production.

Answer explanation

Correct. Demarest claims that exotic goods such as jaguar pelts, textiles, and feathers were exchanged over long distances within the Maya lowlands, thus illustrating the importance of exotic goods to the economy of the wider Maya region.

“One of the most important aspects of the Maya economy was the exchange of exotic goods. Maya rulers and elites needed such goods to maintain and reinforce their social status and power. Many of these goods were used in the formal dress of kings, nobles, and priests. Without them, the elites could not carry out the rituals that were their principal duties in the eyes of the people. Jaguar pelts, fine textiles, feathers, and other such products were exchanged over long distances within the Maya lowlands. . . .

Such items were probably exchanged as dowry, gifts at royal marriages, coronations, funerals, or at religious pilgrimages. Exotic goods were also probably given as tribute to rulers by their vassals.

These high-status goods held together the Maya world and unified patterns of behavior in religion, science, and warfare. Their exchange surely went hand in hand with exchanges of information, including scientific knowledge, early writing, and, most importantly, models of political organization.”

Arthur Demarest, United States anthropologist, Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization, 2004

#5: The author directly uses all of the following pieces of evidence to support his argument about the relationship between exotic goods and the power of Maya rulers Except that Maya rulers

• Used exotic goods to carry out rituals that their subjects expected them to perform

• Prohibited nobles and priests from wearing certain types of exotic goods reserved for rulers

• Used exotic goods in royal coronations

• Received exotic goods as tribute payments from vassals.

Answer explanation

Correct. Demarest does not state in the passage that Maya rulers prohibited nobles and priests from wearing certain types of exotic goods.

Question 9

Feature

“One of the most important aspects of the Maya economy was the exchange of exotic goods. Maya rulers and elites needed such goods to maintain and reinforce their social status and power. Many of these goods were used in the formal dress of kings, nobles, and priests. Without them, the elites could not carry out the rituals that were their principal duties in the eyes of the people. Jaguar pelts, fine textiles, feathers, and other such products were exchanged over long distances within the Maya lowlands. . . .

Such items were probably exchanged as dowry, gifts at royal marriages, coronations, funerals, or at religious pilgrimages. Exotic goods were also probably given as tribute to rulers by their vassals.

These high-status goods held together the Maya world and unified patterns of behavior in religion, science, and warfare. Their exchange surely went hand in hand with exchanges of information, including scientific knowledge, early writing, and, most importantly, models of political organization.”

Arthur Demarest, United States anthropologist, Ancient Maya: The Rise and Fall of a Rainforest Civilization, 2004

#6) Which of the following does the author cite most directly to support his argument in the third paragraph about the importance of exotic goods in the Maya region?

• The existence of sophisticated astronomical tables

• The emergence of a unified Maya kingdom based on new political models

• The emergence of new systems of writing based on earlier Mesoamerican systems

• Tthe existence of unified patterns of behavior in warfare, science and religion

Answer explanation

Correct. Demarest argues that the exchange of exotic (or “high-status”) goods in the Maya region led to the development of unified patterns of behavior in religion, science, and warfare.

“In that year [1450 c.e.] there came to Naples a three-man embassy from the King of Ethiopia to His Highness, our King Alfonso. Among the ambassadors was a certain Pietro Rombulo, an Italian, native of the city of Messina. This Pietro claimed that he had lived among the Ethiopians for over 40 years. And he described to me how in Ethiopia there are innumerable Christians—since both the people and the king there worship Christ—among whom he had been able to live a good Christian life safely and honorably. The ruler of Ethiopia, King David, whom they call Zara Yacob, was said by the ambassadors to be the most civilized, the most just, and the most pious of princes.”

Pietro Ranzano, Catholic Church official in Naples and Sicily, universal history written circa 1480

#7) Which of the following was a continuity in the development of African states in the period circa 1200–1450?

• African states such as Ethiopia maintained close contacts with South and East Asian states across the Indian Ocean but rarely had contacts with Europe.

• Despite geographical barriers, some African states were able to maintain diplomatic and cultural contacts with the broader Afro-Eurasian world,

• Most African states rejected traditional forms of International diplomacy, such as dynastic marriages and tribute payments.

• African states needed to maintain friendly diplomatic relations with europe in order to expand their empires.

Answer explanation

Correct. Despite the barrier of the Sahara desert, African states such as Ethiopia and the states of the Sahel (Ghana, Mali, Songhai, etc.) were able to maintain regular diplomatic and cultural contacts with states in North Africa, Mediterranean Europe, and Muslim Southwest Asia.

“In that year [1450 c.e.] there came to Naples a three-man embassy from the King of Ethiopia to His Highness, our King Alfonso. Among the ambassadors was a certain Pietro Rombulo, an Italian, native of the city of Messina. This Pietro claimed that he had lived among the Ethiopians for over 40 years. And he described to me how in Ethiopia there are innumerable Christians—since both the people and the king there worship Christ—among whom he had been able to live a good Christian life safely and honorably. The ruler of Ethiopia, King David, whom they call Zara Yacob, was said by the ambassadors to be the most civilized, the most just, and the most pious of princes.”

Pietro Ranzano, Catholic Church official in Naples and Sicily, universal history written circa 1480

#8: Which of the following continuities in the development of African states in the period circa 1200–1450 most likely explains the prevalence of Christianity in Ethiopia?

• Some African states' religious traditions continued to be influenced by cultural transfers dating back to earlier centuries.

• Some African states were famous for their religious toleration and for allowing multiple religious traditions to coexist in their territories.

• African states' official religions were typically syncretic mixtures of several different religious traditions.

• While African populations mostly continued to adhere to indigenous polytheistic religions, African political elites often adopted monotheistic religions such as christianity and Islam.

Answer explanation

Correct. Ethiopia provides a good example of a cultural continuity—Christianity—being used as the basis for state building in Africa. Christianity became widespread among the Ethiopian population and was adopted by Ethiopian political elites as early as the fourth century c.e. Similar examples of a cultural continuity influencing the development of African states would be the influence of Islam in West African states such as Ghana and Mali and in the Swahili states of East Africa in the period 1200–1450. Islam had been introduced to those regions centuries earlier as well.

“In that year [1450 c.e.] there came to Naples a three-man embassy from the King of Ethiopia to His Highness, our King Alfonso. Among the ambassadors was a certain Pietro Rombulo, an Italian, native of the city of Messina. This Pietro claimed that he had lived among the Ethiopians for over 40 years. And he described to me how in Ethiopia there are innumerable Christians—since both the people and the king there worship Christ—among whom he had been able to live a good Christian life safely and honorably. The ruler of Ethiopia, King David, whom they call Zara Yacob, was said by the ambassadors to be the most civilized, the most just, and the most pious of princes.”

Pietro Ranzano, Catholic Church official in Naples and Sicily, universal history written circa 1480

#9: Which of the following was a key similarity in the policies of the rulers of African states such as Ethiopia in the period circa 1200–1450 ?

• They granted their subjects unrestricted freedom of speech.

• They used religion and laws to bolster their legitimacy.

• They faced challenges to their power from powerful merchant elites.

• They sought to achievee economic self-sufficientcy by restricting trade contacts with other socities.

Answer explanation

Correct. Like virtually all rulers throughout history, African rulers invoked both religious claims and their role as lawgivers or law enforcers to bolster their political legitimacy. For example, the ambassadors’ description of King Zara Yacob indicates that he sought to project and advertise his power in these terms as well.

“I, Edward, by the grace of God king of England, sent this decree to the reverend father in Christ William, by the grace of God archbishop of Canterbury, supreme Church leader of all England:

Know that, because of the great number of people who died in the recent pestilence, those who survive see that masters need servants, which have become scarce, and so they now refuse to serve as workmen unless they receive excessive wages.

That is why, I, considering the grave inconveniences that might come from the lack of such workmen, especially plowmen, and after consultations with the nobles and clergy of the realm, have decided that every man and woman of our realm of England shall be required to serve his or her lord at the wages that were provided five years ago, in the year 1346.

The lords are entitled to keep their serfs. If any such serf, man or woman, who is required to serve their lord will not do so, they shall be immediately committed to jail.”

King Edward III of England, the Statute of Laborers, royal decree, 1351

#10: The terminology used in the opening sentence of the decree was most directly influenced by which of the following?

• The notion that the Pope is the supreme leader of the Church

• The medieval rules of chivalry and courtly etiquette.

• The deep influence of Christianity on medieval society and culture

• The slow and uncertain nature of communications in medieval Europe.

Answer explanation

Correct. Phrases such as “by the grace of God” and “reverend father in Christ” reflect the deep religiosity of medieval society and political culture.