Crash Course World History: The Dark Ages Worksheet

According to the worksheet, why is this period called the Middle Ages and also the Dark Ages? Choose the statement that matches both labels.

• It bridges European history between the end of the Roman Empire and the beginning of the Modern Age and was considered ‘unenlightened’.

• It describes the time between the fall of Greece and the rise of the Renaissance and was known for universal literacy.

• It marks Asia’s transition from classical to medieval eras and was renowned for scientific breakthroughs.

• It denotes the years of continuous empire-wide peace and technological stagnation in Africa.

What did Medieval Europe have less of compared to the original Roman Empire from hundreds of years prior?

• Less trade, fewer cities, and less cultural output

• More centralized taxation and larger armies

• Greater urbanization and extensive public works

• Increased maritime commerce and standardized currency

Which urban planning element did Mohenjo Daro and Rome include that London and Paris did not initially prioritize?

• Sewage systems

• Public amphitheaters

• City walls

• Aqueducts

In the absence of a centralized government in Medieval Europe, what was the dominant system organizing political and social life?

• Feudalism

• Democratic assemblies

• City-state republicanism

• Absolute monarchy

Which statement best captures feudalism as described in the video?

• A political system based on reciprocal relationships

• A cash-based bureaucracy managed by civil service exams

• A direct democracy with universal male suffrage

• An imperial structure reliant solely on centralized taxation

Feudalism functioned economically because which group worked the land and kept some of the production to feed themselves?

• Peasants

• Knights

• Merchants

• Priests

The small-scale, local nature of feudalism was suited to times of danger because threats to safety were also primarily what?

• Small scaled and local

• Large and imperial

• Maritime and distant

• Ideological and religious

After the fall of major centralized powers like Rome and the Han Dynasty, what political pattern tended to emerge?

• Power flowed to local lords who could protect peasants better than the state

• Nation-states quickly reasserted centralized control

• Democratic city councils replaced monarchs across regions

• Trade leagues formed that eliminated local warfare

Where did the Umayyad Dynasty exert control, and to which city did they move the capital?

• Most of the Middle East, much of North Africa, and west into Spain; capital moved to Damascus

• Only the Arabian Peninsula; capital moved to Mecca

• Central Asia and Persia; capital moved to Baghdad

• Iberia and the Maghreb; capital moved to Cordoba

What happened to the Umayyads in 750 CE due to their focus on keeping Arab Muslims atop the social hierarchy?

• They were overthrown by the Abbasids

• They conquered the Tang Dynasty

• They split the empire into independent caliphates

• They converted the capital to a theocracy led by jurists