DOUBLE CHECK #3, 14
CH 9
Rise of Islam
TEST #
1) The Q’uran was instrumental in promoting Islam because:
a) its words were so beautiful that when recited, they inspired listeners to convert
b) literacy was very common among 7th century Arabs, and many were moved as they read this intriguing new piece of literature
c) it was word-for-word identical to the bible, and people were impressed that Muhammad could recite something he’d never read
d) it actively set Islam apart from other religions because it preached intolerance and superiority- hence, people wanted to join to avoid being damned like everyone else
2) Prior to the rise of Islam in the 7th century CE, Arab culture was often plagued by
a) total lack of access to trade routes
b) chronic invasions from Rome and then Egypt
c) two rival Arabic Kingdoms contantly waging war on one another
d) a tendency towards clan violence and vendetta
3) Which of the following is NOT a major effect that Islam had on society?
a) the reorganization of conflict-prone clans into a unified community of Muslims
b) the codification of a number of restrictive and discriminatory attitudes towards women
c) the solidification of the power of the elite classes
d) the advocacy of the poor to help improve their social status
4) Which of the following was not an idea that the Muslims adopted and/or adapted (really, I just wanted to say those two words together) from another region that they came into contact with?
a)Indian asceticism in Sufi Islam
b)European philosophy in Muslim scholarship
c)Indian maritime technology
d)Persian bureaucracy and monarchy in government
5) Why was civil (internal) war so abhorrent to Muslims?:
a) Civil war broke apart the solidarity of the ummah
b) Civil war allowed for Muslim territories on the periphery to split from the central government
c) Civil war meant that the Sasanid Empire would come in and crush them
d) Civil war resulted in the death of those who kept order in the empire
6) Prior to his career as a prophet, Muhammad was
a) a merchant
b) a clan chieftain
c) a farmer
d) a soldier
7) Which of the following was NOTa way in which Muhammad demonstrated his respect for women?
a)allowing them to have sexual relationships with as many men as they wanted
b)asking the advice of his wives, particularly Khadija and A’isha
c)allowing them to divorce their husbands (though it wasn’t as easy for them)
d)teaching that they were equally capable of reaching paradise
8) Muhammad respected the monotheistic traditions of the Jews and Christians because:
a) he saw himself as a prophet of the same religion
b) he respected their tolerance and openness to other ideas and religions
c) he related to their belief in monotheism, though he believed his was a different God
d) he refused to understand that they didn't believe in his teachings
9) Which of the following isn’t one of the five pillars of Islam?
a) Faith in Allah and Muhammad as his prophet
b) Praying to Mecca five times a day
c) Renunciation of luxury
d) Giving alms to the poor
10) The “jizya” was
a) the term for any Muslim execution of non-believers
b) the term for a Christian who converted to Islam
c) the term for a Jew who converted to Christianity
d) the term for a tax paid by non-Muslims in Islamic empires
11) Shi'ites believe:
a) Abu Bakr and his descendents were the rightful caliphs
b) Mu'awiyah and his descendents were the rightful caliphs
c) The first three caliphs and the caliphs of the Umayyad dynasty were the rightful caliphs
d) Muhammad’s son-in-law Ali and his descendents were the rightful caliphs
12) Which of the following is true about territories conquered by Muslim armies
a)Areas that were conquered were always both Islamized as well as Arabized
b)Multiple failed invasion attempts of Persia caused them to be completely conquered, including the elimination of languages such as Farsi
c)Countries such as modern Iran and Turkey Islamized without Arabizing
d)Countries such as Egypt and Iraq Islamized without Arabizing
13) During the Abbasid dynasty, the Islamic world was:
a) shut off from Eurasian trade routes, and accordingly, very poor
b) a major center of learning and technological innovation
c) lacking in most of the major technologies places like Europe had developed
d) a major center of trade, though few cultural advances were made during this time
14) Which of the following statements most accurately describes the differences between the Ummayad and Abbasid Empires:
a) while the Ummayads were heavily influenced by the Persians, the Abbasids were influenced by the Turks
b) while the Abbasids were almost totally focused on conquest, the Ummayads were focused on forcing non-Muslims to convert
c) while the Ummayads held conquered peoples in high esteem, the Abbasids had no respect at all for non-Arabs
d) while the Ummayads were focused mostly on conquering non-Arabs, the Abbasids were more focused on governing lands that were already conquered
15) The most divisive issue for the ummah after Muhammad died was:
a) whether or not to attack the Byzantine Empire
b) choosing successors to the leadership of Islam
c) whether he should be buried within the Ka’ba
d) the way he should be depicted on his funeral shroud
16) Which of the following is true about The Battle of Talas in 751?
a)It allowed the Abbasid Dynasty to conquer Southern China
b)It served a check on the westward expansion of China
c)It caused the southernization of Song Dynasty China
d)It caused the spread of Confucianism to the elites of the Sassanids
17) Prior to the development of Islam, the Ka’baa
a) was used as the treasury of the Kuraish tribe
b) hadn’t existed at all
c) consisted only of the Well of Zamzam
d) was a polytheistic site of worship and pilgrimage
18) In creating an administrative and cultural framework for their empire, the Arabs borrowed heavily from
a)the Nabiteans of pre-Islamic Arabia
b)the Sassanid Persians
c)the Tang dynasty
d)the Axumites
Read the following two accounts of the Battle of Tours and answer the questions that follow.
A European account of the Battle of Tours (Poitiers) in 732
“The Muslims planned to go to Tours to destroy the Church of St. Martin, the city, and the whole country. Then came against them the glorious Prince Charles, at the head of his whole force. He drew up his host, and he fought as fiercely as the hungry wolf falls upon the stag. By the grace of Our Lord, he wrought a great slaughter upon the enemies of Christian faith, so that---as history bears witness---he slew in that battle 300,000 men, likewise their king by name Abderrahman. Then was he [Charles] first called "Martel," for as a hammer of iron, of steel, and of every other metal, even so he dashed: and smote in the battle all his enemies. And what was the greatest marvel of all, he only lost in that battle 1500 men. The tents and harness [of the enemy] were taken; and whatever else they possessed became a prey to him and his followers. Eudes, Duke of Aquitaine, being now reconciled with Prince Charles Martel, later slew as many of the Saracens as he could find who had escaped from the battle.”
An Arab account of the Battle of Tours (Poitiers) in 732
“The Moslems smote their enemies, and passed the river Garonne, and laid waste the country, and took captives without number. And that army went through all places like a desolating storm. Prosperity made those warriors insatiable. At the passage of the river, Abderrahman overthrew the count, and the count retired into his stronghold, but the Moslems fought against it, and entered it by force, and slew the count; for everything gave way to their scimitars, which were the robbers of lives. All the nations of the Franks trembled at that terrible army, and they betook them to their king Caldus [Charles Martel], and told him of the havoc made by the Moslem horsemen, and bow they rode at their will through all the land of Narbonne, Toulouse, and Bordeaux, and they told the king of the death of their count. Then the king bade them be of good cheer, and offered to aid them. . . . He mounted his horse, and he took with him a host that could not be numbered, and went against the Moslems. And he came upon them at the great city of Tours. And Abderrahman and other prudent cavaliers saw the disorder of the Moslem troops, who were loaded with spoil; but they did not venture to displease the soldiers by ordering them to abandon everything except their arms and war-horses. And Abderrahman trusted in the valour of his soldiers, and in the good fortune which had ever attended him. But such defect of discipline always is fatal to armies. So Abderrabman and his host attacked Tours to gain still more spoil, and they fought against it so fiercely that they stormed the city almost before the eyes of the army that came to save it; and the fury and the cruelty of the Moslems towards the inhabitants of the city were like the fury and cruelty of raging tigers. It was manifest that God's chastisement was sure to follow such excesses; and fortune thereupon turned her back upon the Moslems.”
“Near the river Owar [Loire], the two great hosts of the two languages and the two creeds were set in array against each other. The hearts of Abderrahman, his captains and his men were filled with wrath and pride, and they were the first to begin to fight. The Moslem horsemen dashed fierce and frequent forward against the battalions of the Franks, who resisted manfully, and many fell dead on either side, until the going down of the sun. Night parted the two armies: but in the grey of the morning the Moslems returned to the battle. Their cavaliers had soon hewn their way into the center of the Christian host. But many of the Moslems were fearful for the safety of the spoil which they had stored in their tents, and a false cry arose in their ranks that some of the enemy were plundering the camp; whereupon several squadrons of the Moslem horsemen rode off to protect their tents. But it seemed as if they fled; and all the host was troubled. And while Abderrahman strove to check their tumult, and to lead them back to battle, the warriors of the Franks came around him, and he was pierced through with many spears, so that he died. Then all the host fled before the enemy, and many died in the flight. . . .”
19. In the European account of the battle, the success of Charles is attributed to
a)the cowardice of the Muslim invaders
b)the extraordinary piety of Charles
c)the superior intelligence and technology of the Europeans
d)the ferocity of the Europeans and the power of their God
20. In the Arabic account of the battle, the failure of the Muslim invasion is attributed to
a)the failure of the Arabs’ camels to handle the cold European weather
b)the greed of the Arabs in accumulating plunder and being distracted by it
c)the cowardice of Abderrahman in leaving the battlefield
d)the superior fighting skills of Charles and his Frankish warriors