Deck 7: The Empires of the Early Middle Ages 800-1000: Creation and Erosion

Question 1

The result of Leo III's policy of iconoclasm was

A)many Muslims converted to Greek Orthodox Christianity.
B)many Greek Christians converted to Islam.
C)a widening gulf between Latin Christianity and Greek Christianity.
D)the conversion of the pagans in Gaul slowed down tremendously.
E)many Arian Christians became Catholic Christians.

Answer 1

a widening gulf between Latin Christianity and Greek Christianity.

Question 2

The Treaty of Verdun

A)divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts.
B)gave Normandy to the Viking king Rollo.
C)established the Danelaw.
D)formalized the schism between the Western and Eastern Churches.
E)marked the Carolingian emperor protector of the papacy.

Answer 2

divided the Carolingian Empire into three parts.

Question 3

Islam expanded rapidly in part because

A)the Greek Orthodox Church's belief in Arianism had alienated many Christians.
B)Western Latin Christians opposed the Byzantine Empire.
C)conquests by Persians had softened up the Byzantines.
D)the reorganization of the themes and strategoi in Arabia made the Muslim army more efficient.
E)their toleration for "People of the Book."

Answer 3

their toleration for "People of the Book."

Question 4

Sunnites believe that

A)only the descendants of Ali, Muhammad's son-in-law, are legitimate rulers.
B)the Koran forms the only legitimate Islamic law.
C)only Arab Muslims can become religious teachers.
D)writings of companions of Muhammad regarding various problems are legitimate laws.
E)all religious authority rests with the Umayyads.

Question 5

Heraclius recovered much of the Byzantine Empire by 622 by defeating

A)Persia.
B)Seljuk Turks.
C)Visigoths.
D)Merovingians.
E)Muslims.

Question 6

An important Spanish-Islamic scholar on Aristotle that helped shape Western philosophy was

A)Córdoba.
B)ibn-Rushd.
C)Rhazes.
D)Alhambra.
E)Harun al-Rashid.

Question 7

Arabia had never been conquered by either the Byzantines or the Persians because

A)the Red Sea prevented an invasion.
B)Muslim fortifications made it militarily difficult.
C)of the Arabian Peninsula's harsh environment.
D)United Arab tribes deterred invasions.
E)Arabs were "People of the Book."

Question 8

The hijra formed a turning point in Muhammad's career because it

A)marked the beginning of Allah's revelations.
B)began the siege and eventual defeat of Mecca.
C)became a fundamental duty of his (and Islamic) faith.
D)marked the completion of the compilation of the Koran.
E)provided him with a political and military base.

Question 9

Whose translation of the Bible became the standard in Western Europe during the Middle Ages?

A)King James
B)St.Benedict
C)Vulgate
D)Alcuin
E)Louis the Pious

Question 10

The use of vernacular languages in the Orthodox Church contributed to

A)the superiority of the patriarch of Constantinople over the pope.
B)the development of a centralized authority in the Eastern Churches.
C)the supremacy of the pope in determining religious dogma.
D)the unity of liturgical development.
E)the development of autonomous churches based on vernacular languages.

Question 11

Which of the following best describes the Carolingian Renaissance?

A)a new and speculative philosophy regarding the relation between faith and reason
B)the re-establishment of Carolingian commerce using the denarius as standard specie
C)a revival of the Carolingian miniscule
D)a standardization of education, language, texts, and Church liturgy
E)also called the Northumbrian Renaissance because of where it took place

Question 12

Iconoclasm, the policy initiated by Emperor Leo III, required that

A)all icons be worshiped as true representations of God.
B)all soldiers (themes) live and fight as a collective unit (strategoi).
C)all religious texts be translated into Greek from Latin.
D)images of Jesus, Mary, and the saints be destroyed.
E)sacred and secular kingship be combined into one.

Question 13

Which best describes the position and status of women in the Byzantine Empire?

A)Divorced women and widows had full legal rights.
B)Byzantine nuns could perform charity work outside the monastery.
C)Dowries stayed with the husband's family.
D)Life remained very much as it had in the ancient world.
E)Women took the lead in business and commerce because husbands were soldiers.

Question 14

The schism between the Eastern and Western Churches was provoked by

A)papal claims of supremacy.
B)disagreement over whether priests could or could not marry.
C)the emergence of Rome as the most powerful city in the Mediterranean.
D)linguistic, theological, and cultural differences.
E)the founding of Constantinople.

Question 15

According to Islam, the final prophet of God (Allah) is

A)Abraham.
B)Ishmael.
C)Jesus.
D)Zoroaster.
E)Muhammad.

Question 16

Missi dominici

A)were the chief magistrates of the imperial court.
B)was the imperial ideology stressing the sacredness of the emperor.
C)were collections of imperial edicts.
D)was the title of Einhard's biography of Charlemagne.
E)were traveling imperial inspectors.

Question 17

One of the primary goals of Charlemagne was to

A)be crowned Emperor.
B)conquer Anglo-Saxon England.
C)encourage learning within his domains.
D)regain the Holy Land from the Muslims.
E)leave his domains to one heir to create what might have resembled a modern state.

Question 18

The Umayyads were

A)caliphs who were the first line of hereditary rulers of the Arab empire.
B)a Muslim school of philosophers specializing in Aristotle.
C)successors to the Abbasid dynasty.
D)the Turkish tribe that defeated the Byzantine army at Manzikert.
E)the Frankish dynasty preceding the Carolingians.

Question 19

The position of women in Islamic society depended very much on

A)the number of husbands she had.
B)her social class and when she lived.
C)inheritance from her family.
D)her ethnic heritage.
E)the number of wives a man had.

Question 20

Muslim toleration of "People of the Book" includes

A)Sumerians.
B)Greeks.
C)literate individuals.
D)Saracens.
E)Christians.

Question 21

Review the "Einhard on Charlemagne" feature in this chapter.Einhard was a member of Charlemagne's court.What evidence from this selection can you find that this fact may have influenced his biography of the emperor?

Question 22

One of the principle reasons for the Viking out-migrations from Scandinavia was

A)Magyar invasions and migrations forced them to seek lands to settle.
B)the Vikings wanted to trade more with the wealthy Rus.
C)arable land could not support the population expansion.
D)an invitation by the French king to protect his kingdom against Saracen invasion.
E)population decline of the Verangians, allowing settlement of the Vikings in sparsely populated areas.

Question 23

The Edda help illuminate the legends of

A)the pagan Anglo-Saxons.
B)Christianized Anglo-Saxons.
C)Carolingian Franks and their conquest of the Merovingians.
D)the origins of the Rus in Kiev.
E)the Norse gods.

Question 24

Explore the possible motives for Emperor Leo III's policy of iconoclasm.

Question 25

Describe and explain the combination of factors that allowed the Arabs to quickly conquer and convert much of the Byzantine Empire, as well as other areas.

Question 26

How did commercial activities in the Byzantine Empire differ from those in Western Europe? Why?

Question 27

The illustration of the Koran found in this chapter contains no images of Allah or Muhammad.How would this help explain the motives for Emperor Leo III's policy of iconoclasm?

Question 28

Review the feature entitled "The Koran on Christians and Jews" in this chapter.How does Islam build upon the traditions of Judaism and Christianity in this passage?

Question 29

What common factors contributed to the decline of the Arabic, Byzantine, and Carolingian empires?

Question 30

What are the problems historians encounter with primary sources in writing the history of women in the Middle Ages, and how can an awareness of these issues contribute to a greater understanding of women in the Middle Ages?

Question 31

Consider the photographs of Islamic architecture seen in this chapter.Why did this type of architecture emphasize open spaces and running water?

Question 32

Which one of the following was primarily responsible for the decline of the Principality of Kiev?

A)Viking invasions
B)conversion to Christianity
C)expansion of the Cumans under Yaroslav the Wise
D)internal struggles and external invaders
E)rebellion of the boyars

Question 33

What factors led to the fragmentation of the Islamic Empire after the Umayyads?

Question 34

Compare methods of military expansion and defense in the Arabic, Byzantine, and Carolingian empires.

Question 35

Review the feature entitled "The Koran on Christians and Jews" in this chapter.How does this selection illustrate Islamic toleration of "People of the Book"?

Question 36

From map 7.5, how does the shallow draft of Viking warships explain the paths of their invasions?

Question 37

What institutions and procedures did Charlemagne institute in order to maintain more effective control over local officials? How does this represent the limitations of kingship at this time?

Question 38

How were the new invaders, the Vikings, able to establish themselves in much of northern and eastern Europe?

Question 39

Compare the intellectual ferment of the Arabs to the Carolingian Renaissance.

Question 40

Why would the ninth-century ivory from Aachen seen in this chapter depict the Virgin Mary very much like a warrior? What does the inclusion of the spindle signify?

Question 41

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Yaroslav the Wise.

Question 42

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Alcuin.

Question 43

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: bezant.

Question 44

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: the Edda.

Question 45

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Danelaw.

Question 46

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: ibn-Rushd/Averröes.

Question 47

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Carolingian Renaissance.

Question 48

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Al-Razi/Rhazes.

Question 49

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Kiev.

Question 50

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Heraclius.

Question 51

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: denarius.

Question 52

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Islam.

Question 53

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Louis the Pious.

Question 54

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Vladimir.

Question 55

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Sunnites.

Question 56

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: missi dominici.

Question 57

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: iconoclasm.

Question 58

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Muhammad.

Question 59

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Seljuk Turks.

Question 60

Review the "Einhard on Charlemagne" feature in this chapter.In what ways did Charlemagne himself embody the cultural flowering that he initiated and encouraged?

Question 61

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Kingdom of Lothar.

Question 62

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Anglo-Saxon Chronicle.

Question 63

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Normandy.

Question 64

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Umayyads.

Question 65

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Treaty of Verdun.

Question 66

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: filioque.

Question 67

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: guilds.

Question 68

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Alfred of Wessex.

Question 69

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Mecca.

Question 70

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: hijra.

Question 71

Identify/define and explain the significance of the following: Shiites.