Deck 12: Cultural Exchange in Central and Southern Asia, 300-1400

Question 1

In the mid-twelfth century, which of the following created a subsistence crisis in Central Asia?

A) A population boom put pressures on agricultural resources.
B) An outbreak of plague caused widespread death among agricultural workers.
C) A drop in the mean annual temperature led to agricultural problems.
D) A sustained drought led to crop failure and other hardships.

Answer 1

A drop in the mean annual temperature led to agricultural problems.

Question 2

Which of the following was an important activity of the Eastern Turks?

A) They controlled a united confederation.
B) They practiced settled agriculture.
C) They were Buddhists.
D) They frequently raided China.

Answer 2

They frequently raided China.

Question 3

The Turks first appeared as part of what empire on the Silk Road?

A) Rouruan
B) Byzantine
C) Mongol
D) Xiongnu

Answer 3

Rouruan

Question 4

The Mongol script that Chinggis Khan ordered created was based on the script used by what other society?

A) Sanskrit
B) Uighur Turks
C) Urdu
D) Chinese

Question 5

What important talent did Mongol women possess?

A) They were expert horseback riders.
B) They were trained to be skilled warriors.
C) They preserved Mongol culture by being masterful orators.
D) They were known for their beautiful pottery.

Question 6

What is the first great nomad confederation that historians have clearly identified?

A) The Scythians
B) The Xiongnu (or Huns)
C) The Turks
D) The Uzbeks

Question 7

According to Map 12.3, "The Spice Trade, ca. 100 B.C.E-1500 C.E.," which spice was sourced from the largest number of locations?

A) Pepper
B) Nutmeg
C) Cinnamon
D) Cloves

Question 8

What was one of the first things recorded in the new Mongol script?

A) A record of the Mongol laws and customs
B) The Secret History, a history of the Mongol people
C) Prayers to the Sky and Earth
D) A warfare manual to be distributed among the confederation

Question 9

What happened to Chinggis Khan's empire at his death?

A) It was inherited by his grandson Khubilai Khan.
B) It was divided into four parts among his descendants.
C) It almost immediately fell into disarray.
D) It came entirely under the control of his eldest son.

Question 10

In the seventh century, who ultimately defeated the Eastern Turks?

A) Xiongnu
B) Tang Dynasty
C) Byzantines
D) Western Turks

Question 11

Political organization among nomadic herding peoples was generally based on which of the following?

A) Clan ties
B) Buddhism
C) Economic arrangements
D) Language

Question 12

What was one of the few specialist professions among the Mongol people?

A) Mare milker
B) Cheese maker
C) Blacksmith
D) Wool felter

Question 13

In what warfare skill did the steppe nomads excel?

A) They were particularly adept at sieges.
B) They were very skilled archers.
C) Their very large population gave them a large, talented infantry.
D) Their command of iron smelting gave them the weapons to excel at hand-to-hand combat.

Question 14

What evidence in this illustration reflects Chinese influence on Mongol military tactics?

A) The exploding projectile
B) The color variations of their clothing
C) The fighting isn't taking place on horseback
D) The grouping pattern of the soldiers

Question 15

Which of the following dominate Central Asian geography?

A) Tropical forests
B) Arid grasslands
C) High mountain ranges
D) Fertile plains

Question 16

What conventions guided family decision making in Mongol society?

A) Women participated in family decisions.
B) As in most patriarchies, men made decisions.
C) Elders were responsible for decisions.
D) A democratically elected council made decisions.

Question 17

What goods predominated in the trade of Central Asian nomads?

A) Textiles
B) Iron
C) Grain
D) Horses and fur

Question 18

In organizing his army, Chinggis Khan sought to do which of the following?

A) Incorporate women into the cavalry
B) Use exclusively Chinese units
C) Break traditional tribal loyalties
D) Mix infantry and cavalry in one unit

Question 19

What is a yurt?

A) The castle of a Mongol war chief
B) The protective body covering worn by Mongol warriors
C) The small horse that Mongols rode
D) A round tent in which Mongol families lived

Question 20

What happened to the father of Temujin (or Chinggis Khan)?

A) He was killed by his wife.
B) He was captured and enslaved by a rival.
C) No one knows because his story is lost.
D) He was poisoned by a rival.

Question 21

The Gupta modeled their empire on what earlier empire?

A) Alexander the Great's
B) The Tang Dynasty of China
C) Chinggis Khan's
D) The Mauryan

Question 22

By the middle of the thirteenth century, there were many

A) Muslims in power in China.
B) Mongol converts to Catholicism.
C) Chinese in positions of power in Mongolia.
D) Nestorian Christians in Central Asia.

Question 23

Mongols were aided in their conquest of Syria by exploiting the unrest of what part of Syria's population?

A) Muslims
B) Jews
C) Zoroastrians
D) Christians

Question 24

Who benefited most from the Mongols' dissemination of technological and scientific ideas?

A) Europe
B) The Middle East
C) China
D) Japan

Question 25

Why did the Mongol army return to Karakorum in 1241?

A) For the coronation ceremony of Khubilai
B) For the election of a new khan following the death of Ögödei
C) To provide needed staffing and monitoring of the China trade center
D) To gather more troops after being defeated in Baghdad

Question 26

Which of the following is true of the Mongol conquest of southern China?

A) It took less than two years.
B) It drew on the skills of experts in naval and siege warfare.
C) It was successful, in large part, as a result of their expert use of horses.
D) It included the killing of the Chinese empress dowager.

Question 27

During the rule of Khubilai in China, how did Mongols interact with the Chinese people and their culture?

A) Mongols adopted many Chinese cultural practices.
B) Chinese were treated as legally inferior to all non-Chinese.
C) Mongols adopted Chinese-style housing and gave up their use of yurts.
D) Mongol governors and other administrators were required to wear Chinese-style clothing.

Question 28

How did the Mongols use conquest to improve their empire?

A) To further the Mongol social system, they imposed their traditional tribal groupings on subjugated peoples.
B) They treated all subjugated men as slaves who were used as soldiers and agricultural workers.
C) They improved their own capital city by importing skilled workers from conquered regions.
D) They often exploited the labor of women of conquered territories who were forced to work at Mongol military camps.

Question 29

What was a consequence in Europe of Marco Polo's travels to China?

A) His writings inspired Europeans to try to conquer China.
B) He convinced the Pope to dispatch a mission to convert the Chinese.
C) He was jailed for serving Khubilai Khan.
D) His writings helped convince Europeans that Asia was a land of riches.

Question 30

Khubilai discouraged the Mongols in China from doing what?

A) Marrying the Chinese
B) Learning to read Chinese
C) Returning to Mongolia
D) Harming Chinese citizens

Question 31

How is Chinese influence on Mongol military tactics reflected in this illustration of the Mongols conquering Baghdad?

A) It is reflected in the clothing they wear.
B) It depicts them utilizing a traditional Chinese battle formation.
C) It depicts them using a catapult and arrows.
D) It is reflected in their use of amphibious troops.

Question 32

According to Map 12.3, "The Spice Trade, ca. 100 B.C.E.-1500 C.E.," which cities or countries were most likely to engage in the ever-increasing spice trade?

A) Those that were maritime powers
B) Those that were located along major inland waterways in southern and eastern Asia
C) Those that were located on or near the Caspian Sea
D) Those that were accessible to the trade routes that ran through the Tibetan Plateau

Question 33

Of all the religions the Mongols encountered, which expanded the most under their empire?

A) Catholicism
B) Orthodox Christianity
C) Islam
D) Buddhism

Question 34

How was Khubilai related to Chinggis?

A) Nephew
B) Father
C) Grandson
D) Brother

Question 35

Many positions in the Mongol Empire's administration went to which ethnic group?

A) Uighur Turks
B) Persians
C) Turks
D) Chinese

Question 36

Which of the following helped the Japanese to repeatedly repulse Mongol invasions?

A) Strong samurai armies and two fierce storms that destroyed the Mongol fleets
B) The expert military leadership of the Japanese emperor
C) The bravery and skill of the Japanese citizenry
D) The intervention of Korea on the side of Japan

Question 37

The route taken by Marco Polo, illustrated in Map 12.1, "The Mongol Empire," mimicked very closely the route utilized by which of the following?

A) Mongol invaders on their way to Japan
B) Viking raiders attempting to establish supremacy in the Arabian Sea
C) Traders shipping precious metals from South America
D) Spice traders

Question 38

The Black Death that struck Europe and the Middle East in the mid-fourteenth century probably came from where?

A) Africa
B) India
C) West Asia
D) Central Asia

Question 39

Timur, who arose as a new conqueror as Mongol rule declined, began as which of the following?

A) A Mongolian nomad
B) A Persian scholar
C) A Uighur herdsman
D) A Turkish noble

Question 40

Which of the following was true of the Mongol system of tax-farming in China?

A) It helped establish social stability.
B) It was favored by ordinary Chinese over their traditional taxes.
C) It allotted farmland to the highest bidders.
D) It involved the sale of tax licenses to Central Asian Muslim merchants.

Question 41

How did Chinggis Khan reorder the Mongol army?

Question 42

Describe the role of women in Mongol society.

Question 43

How did warfare make some nomadic tribes of Central Asia powerful and others less so?

Question 44

How was the Gupta Empire organized?

Question 45

What group's attacks irreparably weakened the Gupta Empire?

A) Mongols
B) Muslims
C) Huns
D) Buddhism

Question 46

What was the name of the first state to appear in Southeast Asia, with its capital in southern Vietnam?

A) Funan
B) Khmer
C) Indonesia
D) Malay

Question 47

What was the religious policy of the Gupta emperors?

A) They were Hindu but tolerated all faiths.
B) They persecuted Buddhists.
C) They encouraged the adoption of Islam.
D) They demanded that their subjects be Hindus.

Question 48

Why were Europeans considered the biggest beneficiaries of the spread of technology with the Mongol conquests?

Question 49

The Khmer Empire was centered in what modern-day country?

A) Vietnam
B) Thailand
C) Cambodia
D) Laos

Question 50

What was Kalidasa's profession in Gupta India?

A) Playwright and poet
B) Mathematician
C) Hindu Brahman
D) Ascetic monk

Question 51

Briefly describe the Uighur empire and subsequent kingdom to the thirteenth century. What kind of model did it present for later Central Asian empires?

Question 52

Trace the extent of the Mongol conquests. What was the cultural and economic impact of the initial conquests?

Question 53

What led to the collapse of the Easter Island society?

Question 54

How did Muslim Turkic rulers generally treat Hindus in India?

A) They saw them as an inferior race subject to extermination.
B) They considered them exempt from taxation because of their holiness.
C) They considered them a "protected people" like the Christians and Jews.
D) They ignored the caste system, viewing all Hindus as untouchables.

Question 55

Who invaded and looted the Delhi sultanate in 1398?

A) Timur
B) Chinggis Khan
C) Ögödei
D) Khubilai Khan

Question 56

How did Muslim rulers in northern India generally treat indigenous Hindus?

Question 57

Where did "Arabic" numerals originate?

A) Mecca
B) Karakorum
C) Persia
D) India

Question 58

What led to the success of Chinggis and the Mongols as invaders?

Question 59

What did the Arab invaders of the Sind and the Turkish invaders of Khurasan have in common?

A) Interest in Buddhism
B) Ethnic background
C) Respect for Hinduism
D) Belief in Islam

Question 60

From where did the Srivijayan rulers of Sumatra draw their ideas on governing?

A) India
B) Vietnam/Funan
C) The Khmer Empire
D) China's Tang Dynasty

Question 61

Why were the Mongols unsuccessful in conquering Japan and the Delhi sultanate? What do these defeats tell us about the limitations of Mongol military skills?

Question 62

The civilizations that arose in Southeast Asia featured both indigenous and foreign elements. Identify and describe those elements that were borrowed. How can we explain the adoption of these foreign elements?

Question 63

Use the following to answer questions:
Sanskrit

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 64

Use the following to answer questions:
steppe

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 65

Use the following to answer questions:
protected people

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 66

Describe the encounter between Muslim Turkic warriors and Hindu India. What cultural barriers separated Muslim from Hindu? What different tactics did Muslim rulers use to govern Hindu populations?

Question 67

Use the following to answer questions:
yurts

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 68

During the twelfth through fourteenth centuries, nomadic peoples from the Eurasian steppe conquered most of the continent, culminating in the Mongol conquest. How can we explain this shift in military power from the older urban civilizations to the nomadic steppe peoples?

Question 69

Use the following to answer questions:
khanates

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 70

Use the following to answer questions:
Chinggis Khan

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 71

Use the following to answer questions:
jati

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 72

How do you explain the fact that the various nomadic empires, particularly the Mongol, were relatively short-lived?

Question 73

Use the following to answer questions:
tax-farming

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 74

Use the following to answer questions:
nomads

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 75

Use the following to answer questions:
Srivijaya

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.

Question 76

Use the following to answer questions:
sati

A)Groups of people who move from place to place in search of food, water, and pasture for their animals, usually following the seasons.
B)Grasslands that are too dry for crops but support pasturing animals; they are common across much of the center of Eurasia.
C)Tents in which the pastoral nomads lived; they could be quickly dismantled and loaded onto animals or carts.
D)The title given to the Mongol ruler Temujin in 1206; it means Great Ruler.
E)The states ruled by a khan; the four units into which Chinggis divided the Mongol Empire.
F)Assigning the collection of taxes to whoever bids the most for the privilege.
G)The Muslim classification used for Hindus, Christians, and Jews; they were allowed to follow their religions but had to pay a special tax.
H)The thousands of Indian castes.
I)A practice whereby a high-caste Hindu woman would throw herself on her husband's funeral pyre.
J)India's classical literary language.
K)A maritime empire that held the Strait of Malacca and the waters around Sumatra and adjacent islands.