600-1450 Practice Questions

The artwork shown above most likely an example of

A. the spread of Christianity.

B. the spread of the Mongols.

C. the spread of Buddhism.

D. the spread of the Persians.

E. the spread of Islam.

Which of the following statements is true about Chinese influence on the surrounding areas?

1. Confucianism, Hinduism and Buddhism were introduced into Vietnam from China.
2. The Chinese civil service exam with its emphasis on merit was adopted in its entirety in Japan.
3. The Chinese civil service exam was adopted in Korea, but was only open to the nobility.
4. China introduced a fast-growing kind of rice called Champa into Vietnam.
5. China did not trade directly with its Japanese or Korean neighbors.

48. What accounts for the relative weakness of the Song Empire?

1. It never succeeded in achieving the degree of centralization that had typified the Tang Empire.
2. The scholar-gentry quickly lost influence under the Song, and the bureaucracy ceased to function effectively.
3. Lack of agricultural productivity produced a general failure of the Chinese economy during the Song dynasty.
4. The military was subordinated to the civilian administrators of the scholar-gentry, leaving the dynasty vulnerable to nomadic dynasties on the frontier.
5. The population declined and there were not enough people to support the systems that were already established.

3. Which of the following is an example of successful outreach of major religions from 600 to 1450?

A. Sufis taking Islam to Southeast Asia.

B. Crusaders spreading the Christian faith into Eastern Asia.

C. Buddhist monks gaining favor in the Umayyad court.

D. Traders taking Buddhism to Eastern Europe.

E. Missionaries spreading Christianity to Southern Africa.

1. Within the Byzantine state, as had been the case with government in most of the dynasties of China, the chief power and influence was

A.emperors and their trained bureaucrats.

B. the Church and clergy.

C. large aristocratic landowners.

D. the military.

E. merchants and artisans.

12. Which of the following was NOT a similarity between the establishment of Buddhism in China and Christianity in Western Europe?

a. Both the Buddhist and Christian establishments built hierarchies modeled on their respective empires.

b. Reformers often accused both Buddhist and Christian establishments of forgetting their central spiritual missions.

c. Both Buddhism and Christianity appealed to recently settled nomadic rulers who sought legitimacy for their rule.

d. Both Buddhist and Christian monasteries offered relative freedom from male control for substantial numbers of women.

8. Which of the following was NOT an important Eurasian trade route before 1450?

a. The Sand Roads across the Sahara Desert

b. The Sea Roads across the Indian Ocean

c. The Silk Roads across central Asia

d. The Atlantic Ocean Roads across the eastern Atlantic between Europe and equatorial West Africa

64. What new industry, transmitted to the Islamic world from China, was introduced during the Abbasid period?

a. steel production.

b. paper manufacture.

c. bronze production.

d. silk production.

e. iron production.

22. One of the strengths of Islam which made it a successful universalizing religion similar to Christianity was its

A. Use of a common language, Arabic to unite all members.

B. Insistence that there was only one God

C. Support for merchants and commercial values.

D. Egalitarianism that transcended previous loyalties ethnicities, or allegiances.

E. Condemnation of violence as incompatible with faith.

55. What was the level of trade in the Abbasid Empire?

A. Long-distance trade with Africa, the Mediterranean, India, and China continued to flourish despite periodic interruption.

B. Trade with the East grew, but the Crusades eliminated the western trade routes.

C. Trade with Africa and the Mediterranean continued to expand, but the wars in India disrupted the eastern trade routes.

D. As a whole, long-distance trade along the traditional caravan routes virtually ceased during the Abbasid Empire.

E. Trade with Africa, the Mediterranean, India and China began under the Abbasids for the first time ever.

12. Which of the following statements best describes the significance of the Bantu migration?

A. The migration allowed for the opening up of the trans-Saharan trade and the spread of Islam to West Africa.

B. As the Bantus migrated, they spread their agriculture, culture, and language throughout Africa.

C. The migration eliminated hunter and gather communities from Africa established an economy solely based on agriculture;

D. Christian missionaries often followed the Bantus as they migrated, spreading their religion and Western values throughout Africa.

E. The Bantus used the monsoon winds to migrate from Southeast Asia to East Africa, bringing the banana, which could be easily cultivated in Africa.

56. How did Islam and Hinduism differ?

1. Hinduism stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Islam was more rigid in terms of orthodox belief.
2. Islam stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Hinduism embraced a caste-based social system.
3. Hinduism stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Islam embraced a caste-based social system.
4. Hinduism required strict adherence to ceremonial duties, while Islam allowed its followers freedom in style of religious worship.

22. Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the Umayyad and Abbasid Empires?

1. They both persecuted “people of the book”.
2. They both expanded the dar al-Islam through peaceful means only.
3. Only the Umayyads showed special favor to Arabs.
4. Only the Abbasids moved their capital away from Mecca.

28. Which ethnic group came to dominate most of the Middle East and South Asia by the end of the fifteenth century?

1. Turks
2. Arabs
3. Persians
4. Europeans
5. Bantu

31. Hammurabi's Code, the Islamic sharia, and the Justinian Code are all examples of developments in which field?

1. Literature.
2. Law.
3. Engineering.
4. Medicine.
5. Religion.

17. What was the driving force for urbanization in the Tang and Song dynasties?

1. There were labor shortages in urban areas that drew workers from the overpopulated countryside.
2. Chinese artisans chose to move into cities for the opportunity to pursue their craft.
3. Availability of food from increased agricultural production and a fine distribution system allowed urban growth.
4. The Chinese during that period revered urban professions so cities attracted large populations.

24. In 1000, Western Europe was more economically developed than

A. China

B. India

C. the Islamic world

D. none of the above

33. Which of the following had the greatest manufacturing capacity during the time period 1000-1450?

a) Japan

b) Inca

c) China

d) Western Europe

62% 3. In India c. 500-1000, and later in Southeast Asia, what proved to be the most effective at achieving conversions from Hinduism to Islam?

1. Marriage of Hindu merchants with local Muslim women
2. A hope for improved political status after conversion
3. The use of forced conversions
4. The work of missionaries which allowed a mixing of traditional practices with Islam.
5. The powerful writings of Harud al Rashid.

“The term southernization is used here to refer to a multifaceted process that began in Southern Asia and spread from there to various other places around the globe. The term is meant to be analogous to westernization. Westernization refers to certain developments that first occurred in western Europe. Those developments changed Europe and eventually spread to other places and changed them as well. In the same way, Southernization changed Southern Asia and later spread to other areas, which then underwent a process of change.” Lynda Shaffer in Southernization 1994

In which of the following statements is the author in the greatest agreement with Shaffer’s statement above?

A. In the past, there was significant trade among the societies clustered around the South Asian center.

B. In the past, every civilization imports and exports aspects of its culture.

C. In world history it is important to go beyond the relatively static structures of the civilization narrative.

D. The whole of the Afro-Eurasian zone is the only context large enough to provide a framework for answering the more general and more basic historical questions.

3. Which belief system, in its original form, would most strongly support a patriarchal form of society?

A. Daoism

B. Confucianism

C. Christianity

D. Buddhism

10. During the Abbasid period, the status of women in Islamic communities

F. improved as a result of the increase of trade and the booming economy.

G. remained unchanged from the pre-Islamic period.

H. improved as a result of greater occupational and political opportunities within the Abbasid bureaucracy.

I. declined, in part, as a result of the growing cultural influence of the conquered populations such as the Persians.

20. How did the political center of Islam change after the Mongol invasions?

A. Baghdad remained the capital of Islam, but under the control of successive Mongol dynasties who converted to Islam.

B. After Baghdad and the Abbasids were destroyed, Islam had various political centers, including Cairo and Istanbul.

C. The political center of Islam was removed to sub-Saharan Africa.

D. Mongolian became the language of politics and commerce.

55. Which of the following represents an accurate comparison between post-classical Eastern and Western Europe?

A. Western Europe traded more with Asian than Eastern Europe did.

B. Latin was the official language in both societies

C. Western Europe was more organized politically during most of the post-classical period than Eastern Europe.

D. Political units in the Western half of Europe struggled for political cohesion more than that in the East

61. Which of the following statements is true about Chinese influence on the surrounding areas?

A. Confucianism, Hinduism and Buddhism were introduced into Vietnam from China.

B. The Chinese civil service exam with its emphasis on merit was adopted in its entirety in Japan.

C. The Chinese civil service exam was adopted in Korea, but was only open to the nobility.

D. China did not trade directly with its Japanese or Korean neighbors.

63. Which of the following was NOT a factor that led to the decline or revival of the specified urban area?

A. The Black Death ultimately led to larger cities in Europe

B. The Little Ice Age led to urban growth.

C. The Mongol invasion destroyed Kiev.

D. An increase in trade led to the growth of Malacca.

8. Women’s participation in the marketplace in Mongol societies, Southeast Asia, and Africa can be described as

A. relegated to the manufacturing of luxury crafts like ironworking.

B. part of the activities of the entire nuclear family.

C. an integral and independent part of commercial activity.

D. incidental and infrequent due to child-rearing responsibilities.

21. Which of the following was true of women's experience in the Middle Ages in Europe?

A. There were no alternatives to marriage for women.

B. Women officiated at masses.

C. Women played no role in local commerce.

D. Women's roles as assistants to and comforters of men were stressed.

50. One of the major differences between India and Western Europe during the beginning of the postclassical era (ca 600-1000) is that

A. India actively participated in a global commercial trade whereas Western Europe did not.

B. India did not suffer from any foreign invasions whereas Western Europe had to fight against foreign invaders from Asia and Africa.

C. India had a strong religious tradition uniting it and Europe had none at all.

D. All of the above are differences.

52. What was a similarity between sub-Saharan African, Northwestern European, and Japanese civilizations in the post-classical era?

1. They did not inherit much from the classical civilizations in their respective regions.
2. They were completely isolated from major postclassical civilizations.
3. They were colonies of larger, more powerful post-classical civilizations.
4. They were far more centralized than most post-classical states.

41% 46. What was the social impact of the Mongol conquest on Russia?

1. The Russian nobility was entirely exterminated, giving rise to a society largely composed of free peasants
2. Due to the crushing burden of tribute paid to the Mongols, the Russian peasantry was reduced to serfdom.
3. The Mongols ended trade in Russia, permanently destroying the commercial and artisan classes in Russia.
4. Russian women were elevated to new levels of social prominence by the Mongols.
5. The Russian economy grew dramatically with the destruction of the entire landlord class and the increase in trade along the Indian Ocean.

62% 14. Which of the following characterized Western Europe from 600-1000:

1. European art, music, and philosophy generally dealt with religious themes.
2. The Eastern Orthodox Church provided only religious unity to medieval Europe.
3. The status of all women in medieval Europe was the same.
4. The growth of feudalism in Europe during the Middle Ages was caused by the existence of a strong central government.

47. A result of the Black Death epidemic in Europe was

1. the beginning of serfdom in Western Europe.
2. peasant revolutions.
3. the beginning of the feudal system in Western Europe.
4. All of the above are true

5. Which of the following was NOT one of the crops that was spread beyond its area of origin during the 600-1450 period of increasing interaction?

A. Tomato.

B. Rice.

C. Sugarcane.

D. Citrus fruits.

4. Mongol rule in Russia and China differed in that

A. in China, the Mongols maintained Chinese traditions of isolation from all foreigners

B. Eurasian trade routes under Mongol protection connected Russia more to Western European trade routes than it connected China to them

C. the Mongols became more involved in administration in China than in Russia (Russia was more of a tribute state than a conquered state)

D. Russia advanced culturally under Mongol rule while China became increasingly backward

The artwork shown above most likely an example of

F. the spread of Christianity.

G. the spread of the Mongols.

H. the spread of Buddhism.

I. the spread of the Persians.

J. the spread of Islam.

Which of the following statements is true about Chinese influence on the surrounding areas?

1. Confucianism, Hinduism and Buddhism were introduced into Vietnam from China.
2. The Chinese civil service exam with its emphasis on merit was adopted in its entirety in Japan.
3. The Chinese civil service exam was adopted in Korea, but was only open to the nobility.
4. China introduced a fast-growing kind of rice called Champa into Vietnam.
5. China did not trade directly with its Japanese or Korean neighbors.

48. What accounts for the relative weakness of the Song Empire?

1. It never succeeded in achieving the degree of centralization that had typified the Tang Empire.
2. The scholar-gentry quickly lost influence under the Song, and the bureaucracy ceased to function effectively.
3. Lack of agricultural productivity produced a general failure of the Chinese economy during the Song dynasty.
4. The military was subordinated to the civilian administrators of the scholar-gentry, leaving the dynasty vulnerable to nomadic dynasties on the frontier.
5. The population declined and there were not enough people to support the systems that were already established.

3. Which of the following is an example of successful outreach of major religions from 600 to 1450?

F. Sufis taking Islam to Southeast Asia.

G. Crusaders spreading the Christian faith into Eastern Asia.

H. Buddhist monks gaining favor in the Umayyad court.

I. Traders taking Buddhism to Eastern Europe.

J. Missionaries spreading Christianity to Southern Africa.

1. Within the Byzantine state, as had been the case with government in most of the dynasties of China, the chief power and influence was

J. emperors and their trained bureaucrats.

K. the Church and clergy.

L. large aristocratic landowners.

M. the military.

N. merchants and artisans.

12. Which of the following was NOT a similarity between the establishment of Buddhism in China and Christianity in Western Europe?

a. Both the Buddhist and Christian establishments built hierarchies modeled on their respective empires.

b. Reformers often accused both Buddhist and Christian establishments of forgetting their central spiritual missions.

c. Both Buddhism and Christianity appealed to recently settled nomadic rulers who sought legitimacy for their rule.

d. Both Buddhist and Christian monasteries offered relative freedom from male control for substantial numbers of women.

8. Which of the following was NOT an important Eurasian trade route before 1450?

a. The Sand Roads across the Sahara Desert

b. The Sea Roads across the Indian Ocean

c. The Silk Roads across central Asia

d. The Atlantic Ocean Roads across the eastern Atlantic between Europe and equatorial West Africa

64. What new industry, transmitted to the Islamic world from China, was introduced during the Abbasid period?

a. steel production.

b. paper manufacture.

c. bronze production.

d. silk production.

e. iron production.

22. One of the strengths of Islam which made it a successful universalizing religion similar to Christianity was its

F. Use of a common language, Arabic to unite all members.

G. Insistence that there was only one God

H. Support for merchants and commercial values.

I. Egalitarianism that transcended previous loyalties ethnicities, or allegiances.

J. Condemnation of violence as incompatible with faith.

55. What was the level of trade in the Abbasid Empire?

F. Long-distance trade with Africa, the Mediterranean, India, and China continued to flourish despite periodic interruption.

G. Trade with the East grew, but the Crusades eliminated the western trade routes.

H. Trade with Africa and the Mediterranean continued to expand, but the wars in India disrupted the eastern trade routes.

I. As a whole, long-distance trade along the traditional caravan routes virtually ceased during the Abbasid Empire.

J. Trade with Africa, the Mediterranean, India and China began under the Abbasids for the first time ever.

12. Which of the following statements best describes the significance of the Bantu migration?

F. The migration allowed for the opening up of the trans-Saharan trade and the spread of Islam to West Africa.

G. As the Bantus migrated, they spread their agriculture, culture, and language throughout Africa.

H. The migration eliminated hunter and gather communities from Africa established an economy solely based on agriculture;

I. Christian missionaries often followed the Bantus as they migrated, spreading their religion and Western values throughout Africa.

J. The Bantus used the monsoon winds to migrate from Southeast Asia to East Africa, bringing the banana, which could be easily cultivated in Africa.

56. How did Islam and Hinduism differ?

1. Hinduism stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Islam was more rigid in terms of orthodox belief.
2. Islam stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Hinduism embraced a caste-based social system.
3. Hinduism stressed the egalitarianism of all believers, while Islam embraced a caste-based social system.
4. Hinduism required strict adherence to ceremonial duties, while Islam allowed its followers freedom in style of religious worship.

22. Which of the following is an accurate comparison of the Umayyad and Abbasid Empires?

1. They both persecuted “people of the book”.
2. They both expanded the dar al-Islam through peaceful means only.
3. Only the Umayyads showed special favor to Arabs.
4. Only the Abbasids moved their capital away from Mecca.

28. Which ethnic group came to dominate most of the Middle East and South Asia by the end of the fifteenth century?

1. Turks
2. Arabs
3. Persians
4. Europeans
5. Bantu

31. Hammurabi's Code, the Islamic sharia, and the Justinian Code are all examples of developments in which field?

1. Literature.
2. Law.
3. Engineering.
4. Medicine.
5. Religion.

17. What was the driving force for urbanization in the Tang and Song dynasties?

1. There were labor shortages in urban areas that drew workers from the overpopulated countryside.
2. Chinese artisans chose to move into cities for the opportunity to pursue their craft.
3. Availability of food from increased agricultural production and a fine distribution system allowed urban growth.
4. The Chinese during that period revered urban professions so cities attracted large populations.

24. In 1000, Western Europe was more economically developed than

E. China

F. India

G. the Islamic world

H. none of the above

33. Which of the following had the greatest manufacturing capacity during the time period 1000-1450?

a) Japan

b) Inca

c) China

d) Western Europe

62% 3. In India c. 500-1000, and later in Southeast Asia, what proved to be the most effective at achieving conversions from Hinduism to Islam?

1. Marriage of Hindu merchants with local Muslim women
2. A hope for improved political status after conversion
3. The use of forced conversions
4. The work of missionaries which allowed a mixing of traditional practices with Islam.
5. The powerful writings of Harud al Rashid.

“The term southernization is used here to refer to a multifaceted process that began in Southern Asia and spread from there to various other places around the globe. The term is meant to be analogous to westernization. Westernization refers to certain developments that first occurred in western Europe. Those developments changed Europe and eventually spread to other places and changed them as well. In the same way, Southernization changed Southern Asia and later spread to other areas, which then underwent a process of change.” Lynda Shaffer in Southernization 1994

In which of the following statements is the author in the greatest agreement with Shaffer’s statement above?

E. In the past, there was significant trade among the societies clustered around the South Asian center.

F. In the past, every civilization imports and exports aspects of its culture.

G. In world history it is important to go beyond the relatively static structures of the civilization narrative.

H. The whole of the Afro-Eurasian zone is the only context large enough to provide a framework for answering the more general and more basic historical questions.

3. Which belief system, in its original form, would most strongly support a patriarchal form of society?

A. Daoism

B. Confucianism

C. Christianity

D. Buddhism

10. During the Abbasid period, the status of women in Islamic communities

O. improved as a result of the increase of trade and the booming economy.

P. remained unchanged from the pre-Islamic period.

Q. improved as a result of greater occupational and political opportunities within the Abbasid bureaucracy.

R. declined, in part, as a result of the growing cultural influence of the conquered populations such as the Persians.

20. How did the political center of Islam change after the Mongol invasions?

A. Baghdad remained the capital of Islam, but under the control of successive Mongol dynasties who converted to Islam.

B. After Baghdad and the Abbasids were destroyed, Islam had various political centers, including Cairo and Istanbul.

C. The political center of Islam was removed to sub-Saharan Africa.

D. Mongolian became the language of politics and commerce.

55. Which of the following represents an accurate comparison between post-classical Eastern and Western Europe?

E. Western Europe traded more with Asian than Eastern Europe did.

F. Latin was the official language in both societies

G. Western Europe was more organized politically during most of the post-classical period than Eastern Europe.

H. Political units in the Western half of Europe struggled for political cohesion more than that in the East

61. Which of the following statements is true about Chinese influence on the surrounding areas?

E. Confucianism, Hinduism and Buddhism were introduced into Vietnam from China.

F. The Chinese civil service exam with its emphasis on merit was adopted in its entirety in Japan.

G. The Chinese civil service exam was adopted in Korea, but was only open to the nobility.

H. China did not trade directly with its Japanese or Korean neighbors.

63. Which of the following was NOT a factor that led to the decline or revival of the specified urban area?

A. The Black Death ultimately led to larger cities in Europe

B. The Little Ice Age led to urban growth.

C. The Mongol invasion destroyed Kiev.

D. An increase in trade led to the growth of Malacca.

8. Women’s participation in the marketplace in Mongol societies, Southeast Asia, and Africa can be described as

E. relegated to the manufacturing of luxury crafts like ironworking.

F. part of the activities of the entire nuclear family.

G. an integral and independent part of commercial activity.

H. incidental and infrequent due to child-rearing responsibilities.

21. Which of the following was true of women's experience in the Middle Ages in Europe?

E. There were no alternatives to marriage for women.

F. Women officiated at masses.

G. Women played no role in local commerce.

H. Women's roles as assistants to and comforters of men were stressed.

50. One of the major differences between India and Western Europe during the beginning of the postclassical era (ca 600-1000) is that

A. India actively participated in a global commercial trade whereas Western Europe did not.

B. India did not suffer from any foreign invasions whereas Western Europe had to fight against foreign invaders from Asia and Africa.

C. India had a strong religious tradition uniting it and Europe had none at all.

D. All of the above are differences.

52. What was a similarity between sub-Saharan African, Northwestern European, and Japanese civilizations in the post-classical era?

1. They did not inherit much from the classical civilizations in their respective regions.
2. They were completely isolated from major postclassical civilizations.
3. They were colonies of larger, more powerful post-classical civilizations.
4. They were far more centralized than most post-classical states.

41% 46. What was the social impact of the Mongol conquest on Russia?

1. The Russian nobility was entirely exterminated, giving rise to a society largely composed of free peasants
2. Due to the crushing burden of tribute paid to the Mongols, the Russian peasantry was reduced to serfdom.
3. The Mongols ended trade in Russia, permanently destroying the commercial and artisan classes in Russia.
4. Russian women were elevated to new levels of social prominence by the Mongols.
5. The Russian economy grew dramatically with the destruction of the entire landlord class and the increase in trade along the Indian Ocean.

62% 14. Which of the following characterized Western Europe from 600-1000:

1. European art, music, and philosophy generally dealt with religious themes.
2. The Eastern Orthodox Church provided only religious unity to medieval Europe.
3. The status of all women in medieval Europe was the same.
4. The growth of feudalism in Europe during the Middle Ages was caused by the existence of a strong central government.

71% 47. A result of the Black Death epidemic in Europe was

1. the beginning of serfdom in Western Europe.
2. peasant revolutions.
3. the beginning of the feudal system in Western Europe.
4. All of the above are true.

5. Which of the following was NOT one of the crops that was spread beyond its area of origin during the 600-1450 period of increasing interaction?

A. Tomato.

B. Rice.

C. Sugarcane.

D. Citrus fruits.

4. Mongol rule in Russia and China differed in that

E. in China, the Mongols maintained Chinese traditions of isolation from all foreigners

F. Eurasian trade routes under Mongol protection connected Russia more to Western European trade routes than it connected China to them

G. the Mongols became more involved in administration in China than in Russia (Russia was more of a tribute state than a conquered state)

H. Russia advanced culturally under Mongol rule while China became increasingly backward

51% 56. The map shown above most likely is depicting

1. the spread of the use of paper.
2. the spread of the use of gunpowder.
3. the spread of Mongol rule.
4. the spread of the Black Death.