Deck 17: Nomadic Empires and Eurasian Integration

Question 1

The term sultan means

A) "the chosen one."
B) "first among equals."
C) "consecrated before god."
D) "master of nature."
E) "chieftain."

Answer 1

E

Question 2

The environment of central Asia

A) guaranteed a bountiful harvest.
B) does not receive enough rain to support large-scale agriculture.
C) was marred by such violent flooding that urbanization was almost impossible.
D) facilitated urbanization because of its tremendous agricultural potential.
E) was dominated by devastating monsoon rains.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Nomadic peoples' military might was based on their

A) infantry.
B) possessing much larger armies than their enemies.
C) extensive use of artillery.
D) cavalry forces.
E) use of gunpowder.

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Which of the following religions did NOT ever become popular among the nomadic Turkish tribes?

A) Hinduism
B) Buddhism
C) Nestorian Christianity
D) Islam
E) Manichaeism

Question 5

At Manzikert in 1071,the Saljuq Turks won an important victory over the

A) Byzantines.
B) Mongols.
C) Abbasids.
D) Chinese.
E) Indians.

Question 6

The earliest religion of the Turkish peoples was

A) Islam.
B) shamanistic.
C) Buddhist.
D) Nestorian Christian.
E) Hindu.

Question 7

Karakorum was the

A) Asian capital of the Mongol empire.
B) founder of the Mongol empire.
C) term applied to the Mongol policy of religious toleration.
D) last powerful Mongol ruler.
E) leading god in the Mongol divine hierarchy.

Question 8

The class structure of nomadic societies normally produced

A) a tightly-structured class system with little flexibility.
B) no class distinctions.
C) a fluid two-class system of nobles and commoners.
D) a division into nobles,warriors,farmers,and slaves.
E) a caste system copied from India.

Question 9

Which of the following did NOT act as a limitation on the development of central Asian societies?

A) the aridity of the climate
B) a lack of trading opportunities
C) the nomadic lifestyle of the population
D) the absence of large-scale craft production
E) the limited potential for large-scale agriculture

Question 10

The Turkish peoples

A) were a single,homogeneous group.
B) established a tightly structured centralized government.
C) abandoned their urban existence because of disease and economic pressures.
D) spread Islam to southwest Asia.
E) never formed a single,homogeneous group.

Question 11

The largest empire of all time was created by the

A) Romans.
B) Chinese.
C) Mongols.
D) Incas.
E) Indians.

Question 12

Most of the Mongol states

A) collapsed during the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
B) collapsed during the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries.
C) collapsed during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries.
D) collapsed during the sixteenth century.
E) continue to endure in modified form to the present day.

Question 13

In the tenth century,the Turks living near the Abbasid empire began a large-scale conversion to

A) Buddhism.
B) Nestorian Christianity.
C) Islam.
D) Hinduism.
E) Zoroastrianism.

Question 14

The Ghaznavid Turkish leader who raided and plundered India in the eleventh century was

A) Osman.
B) Chinggis Khan.
C) Hülegü.
D) Mahmud.
E) Tamerlane.

Question 15

The nomadic Turkish tribes made use of kumiss,which

A) was an iron lance.
B) were large tents made of felt.
C) were shaman priests.
D) were central Asian oxen.
E) was an alcoholic drink fermented from mare's milk.

Question 16

In 1055,the Saljuq Turkish leader Tughril Beg

A) conquered Constantinople.
B) was recognized as sultan by the Abbasid caliph.
C) sacked the Indian city of Delhi.
D) conquered northern China.
E) formed an alliance with the Byzantines.

Question 17

Yurts were

A) tents used by the nomadic Turks.
B) the first powerful Turkish tribe.
C) the shamans who dominated nomadic Turkish religious thought.
D) Turkish chieftains.
E) the iron foundries that provided the Turks with their technological and military advantage.

Question 18

The political power of the khans was based on

A) a tightly structured imperial framework.
B) indirect rule through the leaders of allied tribes.
C) an extension of the traditional Turkish urban kingship.
D) the shamanistic belief in the divinity of the ruler.
E) an educated class of scholarly bureaucrats-an idea borrowed from China.

Question 19

Mahmud of Ghazni's incursion into India in the eleventh century was inspired by

A) his desire for plunder.
B) his own missionary zeal to spread the Islamic faith.
C) a desire to gain revenge for Indian crimes against his father.
D) his desire to visit the religious sites associated with the Buddha.
E) his devotion to Hinduism.

Question 20

The noble class,in nomadic society,

A) ruled with absolute authority at all times.
B) based their wealth and power on extensive landholdings.
C) received their position through inheritance,and couldn't lose it.
D) was based on divine sanction.
E) was fluid,with many opportunities for rising and falling.

Question 21

In 1279,Khubilai Khan proclaimed the

A) Song dynasty.
B) Ming dynasty.
C) Yuan dynasty.
D) Han dynasty.
E) Qing dynasty.

Question 22

Khubilai Khan's military and imperial pursuits

A) copied his father's when he conquered Persia.
B) had little success when he tried to conquer Vietnam,Cambodia,Burma,and Japan.
C) successfully brought Japan under Mongol control.
D) incorporated Russia into the growing Mongol empire.
E) conquered eastern Europe.

Question 23

The capital of Tamerlane's empire was

A) Khanbaliq.
B) Beijing.
C) Karakorum.
D) Baghdad.
E) Samarkand.

Question 24

The Mongols brought about greater integration among Eurasian peoples by all of the following means EXCEPT

A) increased trade.
B) resettlement of conquered peoples.
C) a common state religion.
D) diplomatic missions.
E) the establishment and maintenance of a courier network.

Question 25

The Mongol naval campaign against Japan in 1281

A) was a complete success.
B) turned back because of the fear of disease.
C) was the largest seaborne expedition before World War II.
D) was aided by a favorable wind that the Chinese came to call kamikaze.
E) conquered the northernmost islands of Japan.

Question 26

Marco Polo spent almost twenty years at the court of

A) Chinggis Khan.
B) Tamerlane.
C) Hülegü.
D) Chaghatai.
E) Khubilai Khan.

Question 27

In 1295,the Ilkhan Ghazan converted to which religion,causing it to become the favored religion in Persia?

A) Buddhism
B) Nestorian Christianity
C) Judaism
D) Zoroastrianism
E) Islam

Question 28

By the thirteenth century,the Delhi sultans

A) became the first dynasty to unite all of India since the ancient world.
B) remained the last Hindu opposition to expanding Islamic authority.
C) claimed authority over all of northern India.
D) won widespread support because of their unqualified tolerance of Hinduism and Buddhism.
E) united all of southeast Asia for the only time in history.

Question 29

During the period of Mongol domination,

A) trade slowed dramatically because of heavy taxation.
B) long-distance trade became much less risky.
C) interaction between different peoples of Eurasia was limited by Mongol cruelty.
D) unification was achieved by the implementation of a state religion.
E) trade was halted by the extension of the Great Wall of China.

Question 30

The Chaghatai khans ruled

A) China.
B) Russia.
C) Persia.
D) southeast Asia.
E) central Asia.

Question 31

Chinggis Khan

A) created a tightly structured centralized government.
B) relied heavily on the Chinese to fill major governmental positions.
C) did not establish a centralized government in the lands he conquered.
D) carried Chinese governmental techniques to Persia.
E) carried Persian governmental techniques to China.

Question 32

At its height,Chinggis Khan's army was as large as

A) 125,000 troops.
B) 200,000 troops.
C) 350,000 troops.
D) 520,000 troops.
E) 670,000 troops.

Question 33

In an effort to strengthen the Mongol fighting forces,Chinggis Khan

A) emphasized traditional tribal affiliations.
B) traded with Europeans to obtain more powerful modern artillery.
C) disbanded the Mongol cavalry and instead placed emphasis on the infantry.
D) inspired them with a devotion to Allah.
E) formed new military units with no tribal affiliations.

Question 34

The founder of the Ottoman Turk state was

A) Chaghatai.
B) Osman.
C) Ilkhan Ghazan.
D) Mehmed II.
E) Tamerlane.

Question 35

Nomadic people did not wander aimlessly through the steppes; rather,they followed migratory cycles.

Question 36

During their time as rulers of China,the Mongols

A) strengthened the Chinese educational and examination system.
B) made tremendous use of native Chinese administrators.
C) forbade the Chinese from learning the Mongol language.
D) encouraged intermarriage between Mongols and Chinese.
E) forged a lasting cultural and diplomatic exchange with Japan.

Question 37

Commerce ground to a halt in the ilkhanate of Persia in the 1290s after

A) the government issued paper money.
B) the introduction of the bubonic plague.
C) a devastating Turkish invasion.
D) the conversion of Ilkhan Ghazan to Nestorian Christianity.
E) the success of the fifth crusade.

Question 38

After 1215,the Mongol capital in China was

A) Beijing.
B) Khanbaliq.
C) Karakorum.
D) Nara.
E) Dunhuang.

Question 39

Russia was dominated from the thirteenth through the fifteenth centuries by the

A) great khans.
B) Chaghatai khans.
C) ilkhans.
D) Golden Horde.
E) Turks.

Question 40

The late-fourteenth-century Turkish ruler who weakened the Golden Horde,sacked Delhi,and launched campaigns in southwest Asia and Anatolia was

A) Chinggis Khan.
B) Osman.
C) Khubilai Khan.
D) Tamerlane.
E) Chaghatai.

Question 41

How were Persia and China influenced by Mongol conquests? How were the Mongols transformed by their contact with the Persians and Chinese?

Question 42

Chinggis Khan was the unifier of the Mongols.His given name was Temüjin and he was born in 1167.

Question 43

How dependent were the nomadic societies on their animals? How is this dependence different from today? How did this dependence influence the development of the nomadic societies?

Question 44

Mongols of the group known as the Golden Horde overran Russia and mounted expeditions into Poland,Hungary,and Germany in the thirteenth century.

Question 45

The Ottoman campaign culminated in 1453 when Osman captured the Byzantine capital of Constantinople.

Question 46

Explore the career of Tamerlane.Were his aspirations any different than those of his conquering predecessors? How did he influence Eurasia?

Question 47

Led by the Saljuqs,Turkish peoples began migrating into Anatolia in large numbers in the early eleventh century.

Question 48

Examine the social structure and culture of Turkish nomadic tribes.How were the tribes structured? What role did warfare play in determining social status?

Question 49

Examine the life of the Turkish nomadic tribes.How did they adjust to their environments? How did the environment limit their development? How did the environment and their nomadic lifestyle influence their intellectual world?

Question 50

Nomadic people did not trade with settled people,and sought neither manufactured nor agricultural products.

Question 51

Compare and contrast the reigns of Chinggis Khan,Khubilai Khan,Tamerlane,and Osman.How did these rulers influence Eurasia?

Question 52

The most important institution of the Mongol state was the clan,which magnified the power of the small population.

Question 53

What influence did the Mongols have on Eurasian trade and cultural integration?

Question 54

Compare and contrast the political and social structures,motivations,and influences of the Turkish and Mongol tribes.

Question 55

Despite their fearsome reputations,were the Mongols tolerant rulers? Was their approach different in different parts of the empire?

Question 56

When the Mongol forces overcame a city,they routinely separated out those with specialized skills and sent them to a place where their services were needed.

Question 57

Marco Polo wrote that the Mongols were "stout and valiant soldiers,and inured to war." Why were the Mongols such great warriors? Why couldn't they turn their conquests into long-lasting empires?

Question 58

The consolidation of Mongol rule in China came during the reign of Chaghatai,one of Chinggis Khan's sons.

Question 59

Examine the rise of the Ottoman Turks.How did they benefit from other conquerors that came before them? How important was the conquest of Constantinople?

Question 60

By facilitating trade and communications throughout Eurasia,the Mongols unwittingly expedited the spread of bubonic plague.

Question 61

What does the book mean when it states that most of the Mongol leaders were better conquerors than administrators? How was this evident in the various Mongol states? Were there exceptions to that rule?

Question 62

How did the geography of central Asia affect the development of the nomadic cultures? How did these people adapt to their environment? What advantages did their adaptations give them?

Question 63

What role did religion(s)play in the nomadic empires? What generalizations can you make? What are the significant differences?

Question 64

Examine Map 17.2,The Mongol empires,ca.1300 C.E. How were the Mongols able to create the largest empire in history? Did they form a unified empire? How did they influence Eurasia?

Question 65

How did the Turks come to topple the Byzantine empire?

Question 66

Through what means did the Mongols integrate Eurasian cultures? List and explain at least five ways they did this.

Question 67

Discuss the military organization,techniques,and strategies of these Asian nomads.How did these abilities make their military so formidable?

Question 68

Read the passage from Marco Polo (see Textbook: Sources from the Past: Marco Polo on Mongol Military Tactics).Discuss the relationship between the Mongols and their environment.How were they dependent on their horses? How did their nomadic existence influence the manner in which they governed their empire?

Question 69

What does the passage from Marco Polo tell you about the military power of the Mongols? (See Textbook: Sources from the Past: Marco Polo on Mongol Military Tactics.)Why were they so successful?

Question 70

Examine the reign of Khubilai Khan.How was he different from his grandfather,Chinggis Khan? What was Khubilai Khan's legacy?

Question 71

Discuss the role of epidemics in the decline of the Mongol empires.

Question 72

Examine Map 17.1,Turkish empires and their neighbors,ca.1210 C.E. What role did the nomadic tribes play in the formation of these empires? After studying the huge and diverse area covered by these empires,discuss the importance of trade and cultural integration.

Question 73

How did the Mongols come to conquer China? What were the key elements in their success?

Question 74

Examine the influence of Turkish tribes in Persia,Anatolia,and India.What inspired the Turks to conquer these areas?

Question 75

What does the story of Guillaume Boucher represent? How does it fit in with Mongol strategies for Eurasian integration?

Question 76

Examine the role Chinggis Khan played in the creation of the Mongol empire.What were the foundations of his success? What was his legacy?

Question 77

Look at the picture of the siege of Baghdad on page 373.Consider the extraordinary diversity of the lands conquered by the Mongols.How could the Mongols rule over an area this complex? Were the Mongols,for all their well-documented ferocity,tolerant rulers?

Question 78

Look at Map 17.3,Tamerlane's empire,ca.1405 C.E. In what ways were his conquests similar to those of the earlier Turkish and Mongol tribes? Compare Tamerlane to Chinggis Khan.