Deck 8: The Worlds of Christianity and Islam 400-1000

Question 1

In the late fourth century a council of bishops acknowledged the special status of the bishop of ___________ by designating him as patriarch, the supreme leader of the church.

A) Constantinople
B) Alexandria
C) Anatolia
D) Rome

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The conflict between Nestorius, the patriarch of Constantinople, and Cyril, the bishop of Alexandria, was over

A) the celibacy of priests
B) the divine nature of Jesus
C) the divinity of Mary
D) the virginity of Mary

Answer 2

B

Question 3

After his coronation, Justinian I embarked on a campaign to

A) eradicate Christianity
B) eradicate non-Christian religions
C) impose religious uniformity on the empire
D) promote tolerance across the empire

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The Persian Sasanid Empire

A) converted to Christianity
B) attempted to stamp out Christianity across its territory
C) encouraged the spread of Christianity, but only outside the imperial core
D) generally tolerated Christianity, except in Armenia

Question 5

Axum was the chief marketplace for

A) iron
B) silk
C) pottery
D) precious African goods

Question 6

The Axum monarchy declined when

A) trade routes shifted away from the Red Sea to Syria
B) they adopted Christianity
C) it was overthrown by an army of warrior lords allied with Christian monasteries
D) their intolerance of other religious creeds made them pariahs

Question 7

In 800, Pope Leo III declared __________ to be the protector of the church, a pivotal moment in the schism between Latin and Byzantine Christendom.

A) the Byzantine emperor
B) Justinian II
C) Charlemagne
D) himself

Question 8

Within Byzantium, debate raged over the proper conduct of life and religion in a Christian society, especially

A) the marriage of priests
B) the veneration of icons
C) conversion practices
D) the accumulation of wealth

Question 9

The iconoclastic movement in Byzantium was inspired by

A) a period of economic and political stability
B) contact with Islam
C) dislike of the Pope
D) nostalgia for fading Christian orthodoxy

Question 10

Among the Germanic peoples, a household's wealth and prestige were determined by

A) how many cattle it possessed
B) how close its property was to the church at the center of each village
C) the number of sons it produced
D) the social status of its oldest member

Question 11

In 418, the Visigoths became the first Germanic people to complete the transition from confederation to kingdom when they

A) invaded and occupied northern Italy
B) established a capital in northern Gaul
C) defeated Charlemagne
D) negotiated an alliance with the Byzantine emperor that allowed them to occupy southern Gaul

Question 12

After the Ostrogoths conquered the Italian peninsula on the orders of the Byzantine emperor, they

A) handed the territory over to Constantinople
B) restored Roman self-rule
C) established a coalition with the local Goths
D) refused to relinquish control to Constantinople

Question 13

To preserve local order when the Roman state collapsed, the Frankish kings allied with

A) Byzantium
B) the Huns under Attila
C) Christian bishops
D) Charlemagne

Question 14

Charles Martel, founder of the Carolingian dynasty, became the undisputed leader of the Franks after his decisive victory over the ________ at Tours.

A) Huns
B) Muslims
C) Visigoths
D) Romans

Question 15

Pope Leo III's decision to proclaim Charlemagne _________ forged a lasting bond between the papacy and the secular rulers of Latin Christendom.

A) Caesar
B) Augustus
C) imperator
D) a saint

Question 16

The Carolingian monarchs

A) resettled the old Roman towns
B) revitalized urban life
C) preferred to hold court at rural villas
D) established new capital cities

Question 17

Hardest hit by the waning fortunes of the Byzantine empire were

A) the peasants
B) the monks and priests of the empire's monasteries
C) the landowning aristocrats
D) the merchants

Question 18

Like the Germanic peoples, most Slavs lived in

A) small farming settlements consisting of several extended related families
B) nomadic bands that roamed the countryside
C) small cities
D) clans limited to those descended from the pater familias

Question 19

The decisive reorientation of Rus away from its Scandinavian origins under Prince Vladimir was marked by

A) the decision to move the Slav capital to Kiev
B) conversion to Christianity
C) the splintering of Slav culture into Serb, Croat, Polish, etc.
D) the adoption of shifting cultivation

Question 20

Once Muhammad began preaching publicly, he became a pariah among the affluent and powerful clans because of his

A) insistence that he was chosen by god
B) egalitarian vision, in which all believers were equal before God
C) refusal to pay taxes
D) revelations accusing the Jews of breaking the covenant with God

Question 21

The Qur'an is regarded by Muslims as

A) replacing the outdated Jewish Torah and Christian Gospels
B) the one true source of revelations from God
C) the first in a new set of revelations from God, with the second to come from a prophet yet to be revealed
D) the completion of earlier revelations from God set down in the Jewish Torah and the Christian Gospels

Question 22

After Muhammad's death, the newly created position of caliph

A) inherited Muhammad's role as prophet and leader of the Muslim community
B) inherited Muhammad's role as prophet, but not as leader of the Muslim community
C) inherited Muhammad's position as leader of the Islamic community, but not his role as prophet
D) was identical to the Christian pope

Question 23

The split that created Shi'a and Sunni Muslims was sparked by

A) the insurrection led against the Umayyad caliphate by Husayn
B) the Umayyad caliphate's decision to move the imperial government to Damascus
C) Husayn's insistence that the imams were illegitimate pretenders to Muhammad's legacy
D) Ali's assassination

Question 24

Muslim rulers allowed subjects to practice their own religions if they were "Peoples of the Book," which included

A) Christians and Jews
B) Zoroastrians and Christians
C) pagans and Zoroastrians
D) Jews, Christians, and Zoroastrians

Question 25

The collapse of the Umayyad regime was caused by

A) a revolt by the Abbasids
B) rebellions by Bedouin tribes and Shi'a communities
C) internal dissent over Umar II's efforts to erase distinctions between Arabs and non-Arabs
D) attacks by the Byzantines, which weakened the Umayyads

Question 26

According to Islamic law, Muslims

A) could not enslave their fellow Muslims
B) could enslave anyone
C) could enslave only fellow Muslims
D) were prohibited from owning slaves

Question 27

The Abbasids moved their capital to

A) Damascus
B) Medina
C) Mecca
D) Baghdad

Question 28

Early Viking raids in England and France targeted

A) Christian churches
B) Christian believers
C) pagans
D) Christians and pagans alike

Question 29

The Norse king's role was to

A) accumulate wealth
B) distribute wealth
C) levy taxes
D) enact laws

Question 30

The abundance of Islamic coins found in Viking hoards

A) is a sign of rising commercial activity between the two cultures
B) shows the increasing skill of Viking metalworkers
C) were likely obtained through piracy
D) were likely paid as ransom